Can organizational climate be managed? Making emotions rational

A leader's job is often to attempt achieving organizational alignment. Many theories propose climate as an effective means to help leaders carry out this task. Nevertheless, our understanding of which exact actions are needed to manage climate remains somewhat diffuse. We present a new cognitiveoriented view on climate, which enables us to discuss the influence of climate on managing the balance between integration and adaptation. In this article, we argue that climate is not as easy to manage as previously argued. In the short run, climate may serve as an effective emotional inertia to maintain the system in fit, as long as it is properly perceived and supported by the leadership style. In the longer run, climate is more influential to change, making it difficult to perceive it properly. This challenge may lead to transformative changes, causing leaders to have little control.

Duke Scholars

Author Richard M. Burton Fuqua School of Business