The ClimateQUAL®: OCDA survey measures the following organizational climates:
Organizational climate refers to the interpretative frameworks shared by employees regarding the priorities of their organization and it helps them understand what behavior is rewarded, supported, and expected in the organization (Schneider, 1990). Employees develop these organizational perceptions as a result of their attempts to make “sense” of the policies, practices, and procedures endorsed and enacted in an organization. There are 9 ClimateQUAL®: OCDA organizational climate scales.
This construct reflects the degree to which the organization has policies, practices, and procedures that treat employees fairly and justly. Research has shown that Organizational Climate for Justice can be separated into four dimensions. Specifically, Distributive Justice – the degree to which staff perceives that rewards are fairly distributed based upon performance. Procedural Justice – the degree to which staff perceives the procedures that determine the distribution of rewards are uniformly applied. Interpersonal Justice – the degree to which staff perceives there is fairness and respectfulness between employees and supervisors. Informational Justice – the degree to which staff perceives the explanation for distribution of procedures and rewards are provided.
This construct assesses the nature of organizational leadership. It assesses whether leaders have good working relationships with employees as well as the extent to which leaders are trusted by employees. Also, it measures the extent to which leaders are seen as authentic and perceived to be truly passionate about customer service. There were two dimensions to this construct. In each of these dimensions, the term “leader” is used to denote employees’ immediate supervisor(s).
Climate for deep diversity refers to the extent that the organization has policies, practices, and procedures that encourage diversity of ideas, values, and experiences. Two dimensions were measured.
The Climate for Demographic Diversity reflects the extent to which the library has policies, practices and procedures that support diversity among minority and majority employees. Four dimensions were assessed.
A Climate for Innovation refers to the extent to which co-workers encourage each other to share and come up with innovative solutions. A sample question is “coworkers tell each other about other new information that can be used to increase job performance”.
An organization with a Climate for Continual Learning has policies, practices, and procedures that emphasize continued employee education. A sample question is “there is excellent on-the-job training”.
An organization with a Climate for Teamwork enacts policies, practices, and procedures that emphasize the importance and usefulness of teamwork. Two dimensions were measured regarding this climate.
An organization with a Climate for Customer Service enacts policies, practices, and procedures that clearly indicate the importance and value of customer service. Seven items were used to measure this concept. A sample question is “Library employees have the job knowledge and skills required to deliver superior quality work and service”.
A Climate for Psychological Safety refers to the degree to which an organization or teams therein encourage employees to freely share opinions with each other and with management. An organization with a climate for psychological safety provides a safe environment for self-expression. A sample question is “As an employee in this library one is able to bring up problems and tough issues”.
The information summarized in this section measures employee attitude on a number of different topics, such as their commitment to the organization, their satisfaction with their work, the extent to which they feel empowered. The organizational attitude measures included in the ClimateQUAL®: OCDA are therefore different reflections of the current workforce’s morale. In other words, these measures can be thought of as an assessment of the current health of the employed workforce.
Our measure of job satisfaction uses one question to assess how satisfied an individual is with their job. Job satisfaction is measured with a 7 point scale (1=least satisfied; 5=most satisfied).
Organizational Commitment refers to the extent to which an individual employee is dedicated to staying with, and feels positively about, this organization. A sample question is “I am willing to put in a great deal of effort beyond that normally expected in order to help this organization be successful”.
An Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) is an activity not included in an employee’s job description that they nonetheless conduct to improve the organization. While not a formal part of anyone’s job, most organizations cannot work as efficiently as they do without employees doing some OCBs. A sample question is “Give up time to help others who have work or non-work problems”.
Organizational Withdrawal refers to the actions that an employee may engage in that distance themselves from the organization and reflect intentions to leave the organization. A sample question is “How often do you explore other job opportunities by checking job listings or want ads”.
Team psychological empowerment in the workplace reflects the extent to which an individual feels they can contribute to their team. A sample question is “My impact on what happens in my team/work unit is large”.
Task engagement refers to the extent to which an employee is interested in and engaged in his/her work. A sample question is “The work I do is very important to me”.
Conflict in a work unit reflects the amount of disagreements within team members. Two dimensions of work unit conflict were measured.