III. Supportive and Defensive Organizational Climate

A. Organizational Climate is overarching emotional quality of the workplace (Gary L. Kreps). Climate comes in two types: (a) defensive; (b) supportive.

B. Defensive Climate environment is unfriendly, rigid and unsupportive; supportive climate is warm, open, and supportive. Most organizational climates are somewhere in between the two extremes on this continuum.

• Strategy vs. Spontaneity tension: supportive climates foster more spontaneity; rehearsed and strategic communication creates defensiveness;

• Dogmatism vs. Flexibility tension: supportive climates offer more flexibility; defensive climates are more dogmatic, preferring one perspective, one solution, one attitude or one belief.

• Control vs. Collaboration tension: supportive climates foster collaboration with open tactics; defensive climates offer mostly control albeit sometimes masked in friendliness;

• Evaluation vs. Description: defensive climates tend to evaluate; supportive climates describe;

• Detachment vs. Empathy: defensive climates focus on professionalism and discount concerns; supportive climates offer empathy;

• Superiority vs. Equality: defensive climates enforce power difference; supportive climates encourage to treat each other with respect.

C. Creating a Supportive Climate: Six Possible Tactics: (a) encourage spontaneity and honesty of expression; (b) adopt a flexible mind-set; (c) seek to collaborate, not control; (d) describe challenges instead of assigning blame; (e) offer concern, not professional detachment; (f) emphasize equality.

DISCUSSION STARTER 3: What are the characteristics of your organization’s climate? Is your organization’s climate supportive, defensive, or somewhere in between? What could you do differently to improve your organization’s climate?

IV. Maintaining Peer Relationships

A. General Tactics for Maintaining Peer Relationships (Janet Cahill): (a) keep a positive perspective and upbeat communication; (b) maintain openness (follow through with promises; respect confidences; demonstrate honesty and integrity; (c) make assurances; (d) treat each other as unique human beings.

DISCUSSION STARTER 4: How many of your work peers do you consider friends rather than simply coworkers? Are there any you think of as best friends? How do your relationships with peers at work affect your feelings about your job and the organization?

B. Cross-Sex Peers: networks usually view cross-sex relationships as sexual, friends must define their relationships by (a) emphasizing proximity and shared tasks; (b) communicating only in the presence of others.

C. Workplace Romances (Shelly Hovick, James Dillard): (a) although viewed as approachable and friendly, romantically involved people are viewed as less productive; (b) give reasons for gossip; (c) especially damage the reputation of women involved in unequal relationship with supervising men.

To aid workplace romance: (a) leave romance at home; (b) be consistent and positive in your communication with colleagues; (c) use e-mail and phone judicially.

DISCUSSION STARTER 5: If you have had a workplace romance, what were the consequences, benefits, and challenges? How did you and your partner meet these challenges? If you haven’t had a workplace romance, what are your perceptions of such romances? Do you approve or disapprove of them? How could they affect your organization?