ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE AND ITS EFFECT ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT: A STUDY ON STATE AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITIES IN UTTARAKHAND
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Date
2023-02
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G. B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar-263145
Abstract
Organizational climate is an ingrained quality of an organization and is a decisive factor in the effective realization
of organizational goals. It also serves the purpose of organizational assessment and institutional improvement initiatives.
Education sector is no different as there is greater emphasis on quality education and student achievement. A number of
factors affect academic achievement, and a growing body of literature indicates that organizational climate affects student
achievement. Despite this, there is a dearth of behavioural studies that examine the effect of organizational climate on
student achievement in higher education. Past studies on organizational climate have mostly focussed on government
departments. Moreover, multi-informant investigations have been very few. Therefore, a study entitled “Organizational
Climate and its Effect on Student Achievement: A Study on SAUs in Uttarakhand” was undertaken with the following
specific objectives: (i). To assess the organizational climate of State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) in Uttarakhand, (ii).
To analyze the variation in perception of faculty members and students regarding organizational climate of State
Agricultural Universities in Uttarakhand, (iii). To determine the extent to which organizational climate affects student
achievement in State Agricultural Universities of Uttarakhand, (iv). To study the extent to which achievement motivation
influences student achievement in State Agricultural Universities of Uttarakhand and (v). To find out the effect of socioeconomic
status on student achievement in State Agricultural Universities of Uttarakhand.
The study was conducted in both the SAUs in Uttarakhand i.e. Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and
Technology, Pantnagar and Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Uttarakhand University of Horticulture and Forestry, Bharsar.
From each university, two colleges were chosen using simple random sampling. Fifty per cent of the faculty members from
each college were selected through simple random sampling. For the selection of students, an appropriate sample size was
computed using Yamane’s formula. After eliminating first year students, 300 UG, PG and PhD degree students were
selected using probability proportional to size method. Descriptive research design was used for the study and data was
collected using pre-tested questionnaire, supplemented by personal interviews.
It was found that most of the faculty members in both the SAUs were male, belonged to young age category and
had short job experience. In GBPUAT, maximum number of the faculty members were Professors, while in VCSG UUHF,
most of the faculty members were Assistant Professors. In case of students, most of them were female, belonged to young
age category, had completed their previous education in English medium, belonged to upper-middle class urban households,
had medium level of achievement motivation and student achievement level. Maximum number of students from GBPUAT
had studied at public institutions, while in VCSG UUHF, more number of students had come from private institutions.
The overall organizational climate in GBPUAT was Dependency-Achievement while that for VCSG UUHF was
Affiliation-Achievement. This revealed that in GBPUAT, there is respect for people in power with key decisions being
controlled by a few who have the last word on all matters. VCSG UUHF gives high value to maintaining friendly relations
amongst the members and people are often rewarded on the basis of their closeness to the top persons. With respect to the
faculty members, the organizational climate came out to be Achievement-Expert Influence in GBPUAT, while for VCSG
UUHF it was Dependency-Expert Influence. As far as students were concerned, the organizational climate for GBPUAT
was Dependency-Achievement while in case of VCSG UUHF, it was Affiliation-Control. Extension had lowest score out of
all the six motives in both the universities. Correlation analysis between socio-economic status, achievement motivation,
organizational climate and student achievement showed a positive and significant relationship for both the universities. All
these three variables explained for 45.40 per cent variation in student achievement in GBPUAT. In VCSG UUHF, they
accounted for 51.40 per cent of variation in student achievement. Path analysis for GBPUAT and VCSG UUHF revealed
that organizational climate had a substantial and positive direct effect on achievement motivation while achievement
motivation had a substantial positive and direct effect on student achievement. Therefore it is evident that organizational
climate affects student achievement indirectly through achievement motivation, rather than having a direct effect on student
achievement. It was concluded that achievement motivation mediates the effect of organizational climate on student
achievement. A healthy climate contributes for the development of mental capacity and cognition of the students which, in
turn, drives the students’ motivation towards accomplishment of their goals. This drive then urges the students to perform
better and actually accomplish what is required of them academically. The study disproved direct effect of organizational
climate on student achievement so there is a need for alternate theory building. The results from the study can be used for
self evaluation of the institutions. Organizational climate in both the SAUs need improvement as they need to move from
dysfunctional motives to functional ones.
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