Mark G. Ehrhart

Organizational Climate and Culture

Organizational climate and organizational culture theory and research are reviewed. The article is first framed with definitions of the constructs, and preliminary thoughts on their interrelationships are noted. Organizational climate is briefly defined as the meanings people attach to interrelated bundles of experiences they have at work. Organizational culture is briefly defined as the basic assumptions about the world and the values that guide life in organizations. A brief history of climate research is presented, followed by the major accomplishments in research on the topic with regard to levels issues, the foci of climate research, and studies of climate strength. A brief overview of the more recent study of organizational culture is then introduced, followed by samples of important thinking and research on the roles of leadership and national culture in understanding organizational culture and performance and culture as a moderator variable in research in organizational behavior. The final section of the article proposes an integration of climate and culture thinking and research and concludes with practical implications for the management of effective contemporary organizations. Throughout, recommendations are made for additional thinking and research.

Organizational citizenship behavior in work groups: a group norms approach.

Although the relationship between unit-level organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and unit outcomes has been well established in recent years, the conceptual development of OCB at the unit level of analysis has not been adequately addressed. In an effort to fill this conceptual gap and to spur future research, the authors apply the literature on group norms to the concept of OCB. The resulting framework suggests a cyclical relationship between individual- and group-level processes and ultimately offers an explanation for how OCB norms are established and maintained in work groups. The authors demonstrate how this framework incorporates past research on the relationship between unit-level OCB and unit outcomes and how it extends previous research by suggesting multiple directions for future efforts related to unit-level OCB.

Unit-Level OCB and Unit Effectiveness: Examining the Incremental Effect of Helping Behavior

Recent research has begun to address the study of OCB at the unit level of analysis (Ehrhart, 2004; Ehrhart & Naumann, 2004; Podsakoff & MacKenzie, 1997; Schnake & Dumler, 2003) and to establish the impact of unit-level organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) on unit outcomes (e.g., Koys, 2001; Podsakoff, Ahearne, & MacKenzie, 1997; Walz & Niehoff, 2000). In this study, we examined outcomes that have not been considered in past unit-level OCB research and tested for the incremental contribution of one type of unit-level OCB in predicting these outcomes beyond the effects of other important group processes. Specifically, we tested the relationship between unit-level helping behavior and four indicators of military unit effectiveness, and the incremental contribution of helping behavior beyond cohesion, conflict, and leader effectiveness. Data from 31 military units supported the hypothesis that unit-level helping behavior is related to unit effectiveness, and for three of the outcomes, that unit-level helping behavior explains incremental variance beyond other group process variables.

The implementation leadership scale (ILS): development of a brief measure of unit level implementation leadership

BackgroundIn healthcare and allied healthcare settings, leadership that supports effective implementation of evidenced-based practices (EBPs) is a critical concern. However, there are no empirically validated measures to assess implementation leadership. This paper describes the development, factor structure, and initial reliability and convergent and discriminant validity of a very brief measure of implementation leadership: the Implementation Leadership Scale (ILS).MethodsParticipants were 459 mental health clinicians working in 93 different outpatient mental health programs in Southern California, USA. Initial item development was supported as part of a two United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) studies focused on developing implementation leadership training and implementation measure development. Clinician work group/team-level data were randomly assigned to be utilized for an exploratory factor analysis (n = 229; k = 46 teams) or for a confirmatory factor analysis (n = 230; k = 47 teams). The confirmatory factor analysis controlled for the multilevel, nested data structure. Reliability and validity analyses were then conducted with the full sample.ResultsThe exploratory factor analysis resulted in a 12-item scale with four subscales representing proactive leadership, knowledgeable leadership, supportive leadership, and perseverant leadership. Confirmatory factor analysis supported an a priori higher order factor structure with subscales contributing to a single higher order implementation leadership factor. The scale demonstrated excellent internal consistency reliability as well as convergent and discriminant validity.ConclusionsThe ILS is a brief and efficient measure of unit level leadership for EBP implementation. The availability of the ILS will allow researchers to assess strategic leadership for implementation in order to advance understanding of leadership as a predictor of organizational context for implementation. The ILS also holds promise as a tool for leader and organizational development to improve EBP implementation.

Leadership and organizational change for implementation (LOCI): a randomized mixed method pilot study of a leadership and organization development intervention for evidence-based practice implementation

BackgroundLeadership is important in the implementation of innovation in business, health, and allied health care settings. Yet there is a need for empirically validated organizational interventions for coordinated leadership and organizational development strategies to facilitate effective evidence-based practice (EBP) implementation. This paper describes the initial feasibility, acceptability, and perceived utility of the Leadership and Organizational Change for Implementation (LOCI) intervention. A transdisciplinary team of investigators and community stakeholders worked together to develop and test a leadership and organizational strategy to promote effective leadership for implementing EBPs.MethodsParticipants were 12 mental health service team leaders and their staff (n = 100) from three different agencies that provide mental health services to children and families in California, USA. Supervisors were randomly assigned to the 6-month LOCI intervention or to a two-session leadership webinar control condition provided by a well-known leadership training organization. We utilized mixed methods with quantitative surveys and qualitative data collected via surveys and a focus group with LOCI trainees.ResultsQuantitative and qualitative analyses support the LOCI training and organizational strategy intervention in regard to feasibility, acceptability, and perceived utility, as well as impact on leader and supervisee-rated outcomes.ConclusionsThe LOCI leadership and organizational change for implementation intervention is a feasible and acceptable strategy that has utility to improve staff-rated leadership for EBP implementation. Further studies are needed to conduct rigorous tests of the proximal and distal impacts of LOCI on leader behaviors, implementation leadership, organizational context, and implementation outcomes. The results of this study suggest that LOCI may be a viable strategy to support organizations in preparing for the implementation and sustainment of EBP.

Assessing the organizational context for EBP implementation: the development and validity testing of the Implementation Climate Scale (ICS)

BackgroundAlthough the importance of the organizational environment for implementing evidence-based practices (EBP) has been widely recognized, there are limited options for measuring implementation climate in public sector health settings. The goal of this research was to develop and test a measure of EBP implementation climate that would both capture a broad range of issues important for effective EBP implementation and be of practical use to researchers and managers seeking to understand and improve the implementation of EBPs.MethodsParticipants were 630 clinicians working in 128 work groups in 32 US-based mental health agencies. Items to measure climate for EBP implementation were developed based on past literature on implementation climate and other strategic climates and in consultation with experts on the implementation of EBPs in mental health settings. The sample was randomly split at the work group level of analysis; half of the sample was used for exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and the other half was used for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The entire sample was utilized for additional analyses assessing the reliability, support for level of aggregation, and construct-based evidence of validity.ResultsThe EFA resulted in a final factor structure of six dimensions for the Implementation Climate Scale (ICS): 1) focus on EBP, 2) educational support for EBP, 3) recognition for EBP, 4) rewards for EBP, 5) selection for EBP, and 6) selection for openness. This structure was supported in the other half of the sample using CFA. Additional analyses supported the reliability and construct-based evidence of validity for the ICS, as well as the aggregation of the measure to the work group level.ConclusionsThe ICS is a very brief (18 item) and pragmatic measure of a strategic climate for EBP implementation. It captures six dimensions of the organizational context that indicate to employees the extent to which their organization prioritizes and values the successful implementation of EBPs. The ICS can be used by researchers to better understand the role of the organizational context on implementation outcomes and by organizations to evaluate their current climate as they consider how to improve the likelihood of implementation success.

Organizational climate and culture : an introduction to theory, research, and practice

Organizacijska klima i kultura spadaju među najvažnije psihosocijalne cimbenike uspjesnog funkcioniranja i razvoja organizacija. Stoga ovi konstrukti sve vise zaokupljaju pažnju kako istraživaca organizacijskog ponasanja, tako i prakticara koji se bave unapređenjem organizacijske ucinkovitosti i optimalnim koristenjem ljudskih resursa. Knjiga je podijeljena u dva dijela. U prvom se dijelu najprije zasebno objasnjavaju pojmovi organizacijske klime i kulture: njihova geneza, razliciti pristupi njihovom određenju i mjerenju te njihov razvoj i posljedice. Slijedi analiza njihovih slicnosti i razlika, te prikaz modela suparnickih vrijednosti koji predstavlja podesan integrativni teorijski okvir za proucavanje i jednog i drugog konstrukta. Drugi dio knjige skraceni je prikaz rezultata empirijskog istraživanja organizacijske klime i kulture u okviru teorije suparnickih vrijednosti. Ono je izvedeno u sklopu jednog međunarodnog projekta kojem je glavni cilj bio izrada adekvatnog mjernog instrumenta za mjerenje i usporedbu organizacijske klime i kulture u organizacijama iz razlicitih zemalja. Istraživanje je imalo dva temeljna cilja: ispitivanje strukture organizacijske klime i kulture u kontekstu teorije suparnickih vrijednosti te analizu njihove povezanosti sa stavovima prema radu i organizaciji. Zavrsava se rezimiranjem otvorenih teorijskih i metodoloskih pitanja te sugestijama za naredna istraživanja.

A Test of the Factor Structure Equivalence of the 50-Item IPIP Five-Factor Model Measure Across Gender and Ethnic Groups

Personality is frequently assessed in research and applied settings, in part due to evidence that scores on measures of the Five-factor model (FFM) of personality show predictive validity for a variety of outcomes. Although researchers are increasingly using the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP; Goldberg, 1999; International Personality Item Pool, 2007b) FFM measures, investigations of the psychometric properties of these measures are unfortunately sparse. The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structure equivalence of the 50-item IPIP FFM measure across gender and ethnic groups (i.e., Whites, Latinos, Asian Americans) using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. Results from a sample of 1,727 college students generally support the invariance of the factor structure across groups, although there was some evidence of differences across gender and ethnic groups for model parameters. We discuss these findings and their implications.

Predictors of nurse manager stress: A dominance analysis of potential work environment stressors

BACKGROUND Nurse managers have important but stressful jobs. Clinical or bedside nurse predictors of stress have been studied more frequently, but less has been done on work environment predictors for those in this first-line leadership role. Understanding the relative importance of those work environment predictors could be used to help identify the most fruitful areas for intervention, potentially improving recruitment and retention for nurse managers. OBJECTIVE Using Role Stress Theory and the Job Demands-Resources Theory, a model was tested examining the relative importance of five potential predictors of nurse manager stress (i.e., stressors). The work environment stressors included role ambiguity, role overload, role conflict, organizational constraints, and interpersonal conflict. DESIGN AND SETTINGS A quantitative, cross-sectional survey study was conducted with a convenience sample of 36 hospitals in the Southwestern United States. PARTICIPANTS All nurse managers working in these 36 hospitals were invited to participate. Of the 636 nurse managers invited, 480 responded, for a response rate of 75.5%. METHODS Questionnaires were distributed during nursing leadership meetings and were returned in person (in sealed envelopes) or by mail. RESULTS Because work environment stressors were correlated, dominance analysis was conducted to examine which stressors were the most important predictors of nurse manager stress. Role overload was the most important predictor of stress, with an average of 13% increase in variance explained. The second- and third-most important predictors were organizational constraints and role conflict, with an average of 7% and 6% increase in variance explained, respectively. CONCLUSION Because other research has shown deleterious effects of nurse manager stress, organizational leaders are encouraged to help nurse managers reduce their actual and/or perceived role overload and organizational constraints.

Moderators of the negative outcomes of nurse manager stress.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine moderators of the negative effects of nurse managers’ stress. Background: Nurse managers have important and stressful jobs. Stress affects outcomes such as job satisfaction and intent to quit. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was used to obtain a convenience sample to examine which factors buffered negative effects of stress. Results: Nurse managers reported high levels of stress, although stress decreased with age. Autonomy was the most effective buffer, followed by social support and predictability. Conclusions: Nurse managers should be offered autonomy and encouraged to seek support from supervisors and coworkers to reduce the negative effects of stress.