Organizational climate as a function of personal and organizational variables.

The present study had its origins in two dominant features of the organizational climate literature. The first had to do with the fact that most measures of organizational climate have been based on the perceptions of organizationa l members (cf. Litwin & Stringer, 1968; Schneider & Hall, 1972, for examples). The second concerned the formation of these climate perceptions. According to most investigators (cf. Schneider & Hall, 1972), climate perceptions are believed to be a function of characteristi cs of the perceiver, characteristics of the organization, and their interaction. In light of the importance attributed to organizational climate for an understanding of work motivation and behaviors (cf. Litwin & Stringer, 1968, for a theory of climate), an appreciation of the antecedent factors of climate perceptions would surely enhance our understanding of the concept. .This study set out (a) to examine the personal and organizational correlates of climate perceptions and (6) to assess how personal and organizational variables might interact in the determination of climate perceptions. A major concern of this research centered on the selection of variables appropriate for the measurement of personal and organizational characteristics. Both Beer (1971) and Litwin & Stringer (1968) provided some guidance by specifying categories of