What are the Participation and Organizational Climate?

Participation and Organizational Climate; Participation is based on the democratic value of organizational life. The basic feature of democracy as applying to organizational life can see by quoting Bennis. He observes that democracy is not permissive or laissez-faire, but the system of values – a climate of beliefs governing behavior – which people are internally compelled to affirm by deeds as well as words.

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Explain are the Participation and Organizational Climate!

Learn, the Participation and Organizational Climate! These values include:

Full and free communication, regardless of rank and power.
A reliance on consensus rather than on the more customary forms of coercion of compromise, to manage conflict.
The idea that influence is based on technical competence and knowledge than on the vagaries of personal whims or prerogative of power.
An atmosphere that permits and even encourages emotional expressions as well as task-oriented acts, and.
A basic human bias, one which accepts the inevitability of conflict between the organization and individual but which is willing to cope with and mediate in this conflict on rational grounds.

Such values involve participative management in the organization which incorporates getting things done through other people by creating a situation in which subordinates may developmental and emotional involvement in a group situation which encourages them to contribute to group goals and shares the responsibility in them. There are important ideas in this concept of participation. Mental and emotional involvement, acceptance of responsibility and motivation to contribute.

To summarise, we can say that there are three important ideas in this concept of participation:

Mental and Emotional Involvement:

The basic feature of the participative system is that there should mental and emotional involvement of the employees in the administration of the organization. This involvement is psychological rather than physical. A person who participates is ego involve rather than mere task involves. If there is no psychological involvement of the employees, the participation is no participation but just a manipulation. In such a situation, the manager tries to make people think that they are participating and having an influence, while in reality, they are not.

Acceptance of Responsibility:

A second important characteristic of participation is that people are encouraged to accept responsibility. Since people are mentally and emotionally involving in decision making, they have to undertake responsibilities also. Thus, they become both decision makers and executors.

This is a social process by which people become involving in an organization and want it to work successfully. When people want to do something, they will find a way. Under participative conditions, people perceive managers as supportive contributors to the team. Employees are ready to work actively with managers, rather reactively against them.

Motivation to contribute:

The third feature of participation is that it motivates persons to contribute to the situation. They are given opportunities to release their win resources of initiative and creativity towards the objectives of the organization. Thus, it is different from consent in that the latter process only confirms what has already decided. A consenter does not contribute to decision – making rather he merely approves. Participation uses the creativity of all persons thereby all of them contributes something in decision making.

Developing a Sound Organizational Climate:

To develop a sound organizational climate is a long term proposition. The organizational climate depends upon the organizational behavior system. The organizational climate should represent the goals and philosophies of those who join together to create the organization. The type of climate that an organization seeks is contingent upon the type of people it has, the type of technology, level of education and expect actions of people in it.

The following techniques are generally helpful in improving the climate of the organization:

Effective Communication System:

There should be two-way communication in the organization so that the employees know what is going on and react to it. The manager can modify his decision on the basis of feedback received.

Concern for People:

The management should interest in human resource development. It should work for the welfare of employees and an improvement in their working conditions. For developing a sound organizational climate, the management should have show concern for the people.

Participative Decision Making:

The management should involve the employees in the decision-making process, particularly those decisions which are related to goal setting and affect them. Participative decision making will make the employees committed to the organization and more cooperative also.

Change in Policies, Procedures, and Rules:

The organizational climate can also change by making changes in the policies, procedures, and rules. It is a time-consuming process but the changes will also be long-lasting if the workers see the changes in policies, procedures, and rules as favorable to them.

Technological Changes:

Generally, workers and employees resist any innovative changes. But where technological changes improve the working conditions of the employees, the change will be easily accepted. The better climate will be there if the management adopts innovative changes in consultation with the employees.

But all the above factors are contingent upon the assumptions of the nature of people in general. For example, the ECONOMIC MAN is basically motivated by money and economic security and hence, economic factors may be used to attract and motivate him. For a SOCIAL MAN, positive social relations and interactions are a must. Thus, the creation of a climate where a happy family atmosphere prevails is appropriate for him. The self-actuating man seeks achievement, accomplishment, and meaning in what he does. The organizational climate with a certain degree of freedom is appropriate for him.