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Organisational Climate: A Case Study of Singareni Collieries Company Limited, India
Organisational Climate: A Case Study of Singareni Collieries Company Limited, India
The term climate is used to indicate the quality of the internal environment which
conditions in turn the quality of cooperation, the development of the individual, the extent of
members dedication or commitment to organisational purpose, and the efficiency with which
that purpose becomes translated into results. Climate is the environment in which individuals
help, judge, reward, constrain, and find out about each other. It influences morale and the
attitudes of the individual toward his work and his environment.
favourable. As far as treatment from management is concerned they will like to be listened to
and treated, as they are someone of value. They want that managements should really feel and
care about their needs and problems. If these two are favourable, there prevails a good
climate in that organisation.
Review of Literature
The use of the term organisational climate was first used in the 1950s to describe
the environment in which people work (Hoy & Tarter, 1977).
Schneider and Hall (1972) describe climate as a global perception held by individuals
about their own organisational environment. Schneider and Synder (1975) further clarified
the approach by defining climate as a summary perception which individuals form of (or
about) an organisation. For them it is a global impression of the organisation. The global
nature of organisational climate does not suggest that the concept is uni-dimensional. Many
different types of events, practices and procedures may contribute to the global or summary
perception individuals have of their organisation.
James and Jones (1974) conducted a major review of the theory and research on
organisational climate and identified climate in three separate ways that were not mutually
Since there are not many studies been carried out in Indian public sector organisations in the
above mentioned area, the study derives importance. The review of literature indicates that
there is lot of significance in carrying out study in coal mining company since it is oldest and
employing large number of employees.
Significance of the Study
The company chosen for the project work is Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL).
SCCL is one of the oldest coal producing public sector undertaking in the country(India). It
operates 37 underground and 13 open cast mines located in four districts, employing about
75,271 people. It has been jointly owned by the government of Andhra Pradesh and the
government of India. SCCL is catering to the needs of southern India and also has been
helping other industries too. The major industries include railways, power, cement, fertilizer,
tobacco etc. The company is also using latest technology in extracting coal such as board
technology, and pillar technology. There are ten categories of workers in SCCL. The
organisation structure has three levels at the corporate, area and mine level. The Chairman &
Managing Director is the executive head of the company and is appointed by government of
Andhra Pradesh from Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre.
SCCL being the oldest coal producing company, a sound climate is required which
becomes an asset for the organisation and good management must protect it for betterment of
the organisation. Climatic aspect is a long run proposition and change in it is very slow. It
takes a long period to create a sound climate and people recognise the organisation with its
climatic part. It can improve the climate by making sincere efforts. Non-intelligent discipline
and pressuring people may yield better productivity for a short while but at the cost of its
climatic asset, so the organisation will eventually suffer from its depleted people asset.
Organisational climate can have a major influence on motivation, productivity and job
satisfaction. Climate determines the action and it creates a few expectancies as to
consequences. Employees can expect certain rewards, penalties, satisfaction or frustrations
based on the organisational climate and their expectations tend to lead to motivation.
The study of organisational climate has the following impacts on the SCCL:
1) It affects motivation, productivity and job satisfaction: Organisational climate can have a
major influence on motivation, productivity and job satisfaction, climate determines the
action and it creates a few expectancies as to consequences. Employees can expect certain
rewards, penalties, satisfaction or frustrations based on the organisational climate and their
expectations tend to lead to motivation.
3) It represents the entire social system: Organisational climate represents the entire social
system of a work group. It is clearly a system concept. There are two important aspects of
climate: a) workplace itself and b) treatment to personnel from management. If employees
feel satisfied while at work and if climate provides a sense of personal worth, it can assume
that climate in that organisation is favourable. As far as treatment from management is
concerned they will like to be listened to and treated, as they are someone of value. They
want that management should really feel and care about their needs and problems. If these
two are favourable, there prevails a good climate in that organisation.
Due to large size of the organisation, the authorities had permitted to carryout the
study in limited areas of the organisation, and conclusions will be based on limited or
partial information.
The data collected from internal records may suffer from limitations like
incompleteness, non-availability and irregularity.
The data provided may have partial view of the organisational climate as all the mine
workers may not be able to objectively judge the overall climate of the organisation.