The validation of an organisational climate questionnaire in a corporate pharmacy group

Abstract

The creation of a healthy, motivating organisational climate should be the aim of management. Organisational climate refers to a complex set of forces within an organisation, which have a direct influence on those who work in it. Studying organisational climate is imperative to understanding how organisations function at their core. However, a validated instrument is needed to detect the climate in an organisation. The objective of this study was to validate an organisational climate questionnaire in a corporate pharmacy group. A cross sectional survey design was used. Interviews were conducted with employees and an organisational climate questionnaire was constructed. The Organisational Climate Questionnaire (OCC) was completed by a sample of employees in a corporate pharmacy group (N = 159). Descriptive statistics (e.g. means, standard deviations, skewness and kurtosis) inferential statistics were used to analyse the results. Factors extracted include recognition and feedback, management, work relationships, task characteristics, responsibility, work pressure and decision-making. The internal consistencies of two factors were unacceptable. One-way analysis of variance of organisational climate in different regions showed practically significant differences between North West and Mpumalanga regarding how they currently view management, as well as practically significant differences between North West and both Free State and Gauteng concerning Management. The average responses of the white employees and employees of colour in this study seem to be the same, except regarding recognition and feedback. The average responses of the employees from the two gender groups seem to be the same, except regarding responsibility and work pressure. Recommendations for future research were made.