ERIC Number: ED219039
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1982
Pages: 9
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Creating a Healthy Organizational Climate.
Bolding, James T.; Van Patten, James J.
Administrator's Update, v3 n3 Win 1982
Four areas of college management responsibility are reviewed: the mission of the organization; administrator/faculty relationship; individual stress; and measuring organizational health. According to Argyris (1980) an organization updates its goals (1) as a consequence of detecting and solving routine problems, and (2) through periodical reexamination of the governing policies and values of the organization. A survey of higher education professional organizations (Boulding and Van Patten, 1980) indicates that six of the top seven faculty concerns dealt with a lack of humaneness and justice within the organization. Ways to improve administrator/staff relationships include encouraging bona fide, responsible dissent and allowing faculty representation in governance. The effectiveness of collective negotiations depends on the good will and overall consensus of all groups involved in campus governance. The following types of individual stress are addressed: burnout, role conflict, peer cohesiveness, and general morale. Signs of psychological burnout are a signal that the organization is causing problems. Faculty members are not always able to cope effectively with organizational politics. Research identifies role conflict and role ambiguity as principal sources of organizational stress (Parasuraman and Allutto, 1981). Latham and Kinne (1974) found that individuals in a healthy organization find satisfaction in working together to accomplish shared goals. Four important leadership skills to facilitate peer cohesiveness are identified, including mediating conflict and building networks. Approaches that have been used to maintain and improve morale include human potential seminars and the holistic health movement. Organizational types identified by Likert (1961) and research on the measurement of organizational health are noted. (SW)
Descriptors: Administrative Policy, College Role, Conflict Resolution, Faculty College Relationship, Governance, Higher Education, Holistic Approach, Interprofessional Relationship, Job Satisfaction, Organizational Climate, Peer Relationship, Power Structure, Problem Solving, Role Conflict, Stress Variables, Teacher Administrator Relationship, Teacher Morale, Teacher Role, Values, Work Environment
American Association of University Administrators, 1000 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20005 ($1.00).
Publication Type: Collected Works - Serials; Information Analyses; ERIC Publications
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Inst. of Education (ED), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education, Washington, DC.; American Association of Univ. Administrators, Washington, DC.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A