An application of Jones and James' perceived climate questionnaire in Australian higher educational institutions

Attempts to explore the role of organisational climate in organisational effectiveness have been hampered by inadequacies in existing climate measures (e.g. Cameron, 1978a, 1978b). This paper describes the application of Jones & James (1979) perceived climate measures on a sample of senior level Australian academics. Six climate factors were identified: organisational conflict and ambiguity; two leadership components (facilitation and supportiveness; directiveness); work group cooperation in policy committees and immediate workgroups; and organisational and professional esprit. The data reduction procedures used produced results which strongly confirmed Jones and James findings but involved only approximately one-third of their variables. This represents a more efficient measurement approach and furthers the opportunity for understanding and management of climates in effective organisational outcomes. Implications for future studies of senior managerial perceptions of climate are discussed.