Industrial and Organizational Psychology Dynamics of Organizations

Compare and contrast organizational climate and organizational culture. Which is easier to change, and why? Use information from the Module Resources to support your response.

There is a difference between an organizational climate and an organizational culture. An organizational climate, also known as corporate climate, is a “shared perception among employees regarding their work entity: a particular organization, division, department, or work group” (Landy & Conte, 2013). There are two main types of organizational climate autocratic climate which is a highly structured workplace with little opportunity for individual responsibility or risk taking at the lowest levels and the democratic climate which is less structured, with greater opportunity for individual responsibility and risk taking (Landy & Conte, 2013). An organizational culture is a system of shared beliefs and values that were created and communicated by the managers and leaders of an organization to employees. One well know workplace culture is the culture of safety; this culture is often seen in medical fields when employees wash their hands to reduce the risk of infection and when employees dispose of used needles and syringes in hazard containers. In many ways it would be easier to change an organization culture over an organization climate. The organizational culture is based off communications from manager and an organization’s leaders while organization climate is a shared perception. It would be less difficult to communicate new values to employees than it would be to alter the employee’s perception of their work entity. To alter the climate each employee’s perceptions would have to be altered which would take time and commitment. To alter the culture the manager or organizational leader would need to communicate new values to the employees. For instance, a restaurant could change their culture to include a culture of safety by making all employees wear cut resistant gloves when cutting to prevent injury and food contamination.

References

Landy, F. J., & Conte, J. M. (2013). Work in the 21st Century: An Introduction to Industrial and

Organizational Psychology, 4th Edition.

Reflect on the lessons learned in this course. Which is the most important takeaway that you can apply now (or in the future) in the workplace? What is the muddiest point for you?

I found the lessons in this course interesting because it gave me insight into what industrial and organizational psychology actually is. Prior to taking this course I viewed industrial and organizational psychology as human resources with a psychology background. I now understand the impact an industrial and organizational psychologist can have as well as the numerous positions that an industrial and organizational psychologist can fill. I plan to use the knowledge on industrial and organizational psychology that I gained to look for a career position where I can have a positive impact on people in general. I no longer wish to work in a human resources position; instead I want to work in a position where I can help people specifically. I now desire to work to increase the efficiency of nonprofit organizations. For me, the most important takeaway is that I can obtain a position in an industrial and organization position while still working to help people. I plan to apply this knowledge in the future to look for a position where I can use my knowledge of industrial and organizational psychology to obtain a job in a position where I can work to help people. The only point that I still find slightly unclear is the positions that non-profits hire industrial and organizational psychologists to fill and what responsibilities an industrial and organizational psychologist would have within a non-profit organization.