COMMUNICATION CLIMATE

Communication Climate and Organizational Climate

Organizational climate is the general quality of communication in an organization and is composed of multiple dimensions including communication patterns, openness, trust, and types of messages. Measured quantitatively, this construct is used to assess the overall communication patterns of an organization. Climate is considered an outcome of organizational structure and yet the climate of an organization is commonly held by members of the organization and can be measured by looking for common patterns of perception. According to Denison (1996) and Tagiuri (1968), climate involves organizational conditions and individual reactions.

Employees of a large service organization based in the Southwest were surveyed to determine if individual levels of organizational commitment were related positively to perceptions of organizational climate and of communication climate. The results of the study suggest that employees' perceptions of organizational climate and communication climate were correlated positively with the level of employees' organizational commitment. Specifically, multiple regression analysis indicated that organizational clarity, participation, and superior-subordinate communication accounted for 41% of the variance in organizational commitment, with participation and organizational clarity emerging as significant predictors of commitment.