Success on the Tenure Track: Five Keys to Faculty Job Satisfaction

6. Culture, Climate, and Collegiality

* Culture, Climate, and Collegiality * Cathy Ann Trower The Toughest Topic of All Getting one’s mind and arms around institutional climate, departmental culture, and camaraderie among colleagues is challenging yet crucial to understanding pre-tenure faculty workplace satisfaction.^^1 In fact, no other measures have greater impact on global satisfaction and intention to stay (Chaffee and Tierney 1988; Tierney and Rhoads 1993; Trower and Gallagher 2008b, 2008c; Trower 2009). Culture and Climate: An Overview It is useful to begin this analysis with a broad yet cogent definition of culture that will help to guide further discussion. The culture of an organization or group can be defined as “a pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems” (Schein 1992, p. 12). Culture is immeasurable and not readily observable, even by the very members that create and embody it (Van Maanen 1984). The shared assumptions that serve as the backbone of a culture can be inferred when considering the norms, ideology, artifacts, and stories of a person or group (Chaffee et al. 1988). These shared assumptions are not born and adopted in a vacuum, as external influences such as the media, religion, and politics create unique cultural experiences that individuals bring into the workplace. With regard to academe, college and university faculty members operate within multiple cultures at once. Consider that the academic profession hasPage 123 its own shared assumptions, some of which can be inferred through the actions and ideology of organizations such as the American Association of University Professors. In addition, each discipline (e.g., mathematics; theology) has its own norms and practices. Now take into account that institutions, whether they are community colleges or large research universities, also have their own shared assumptions. Furthermore, within these institutions, separate departments or units have their own unique cultural attributes (Austin 1994). Although many of these cultures overlap in their norms and beliefs, faculty members inevitably play favorites and assimilate to some cultures more strongly than others. For instance, some faculty identify most strongly with their institutional culture, whereas others do so more with their discipline’s culture, sometimes resulting in cultural divides between members of the faculty that can impact their sense of community and shared purpose (Tierney and Rhoads 1993). Regardless of their cultural bent, however, all faculty operate within multiple cultures and must continually negotiate their different attributes on a daily basis (Austin 1994). That faculty juggle multiple cultures in their work becomes more signifi-cant when one considers this factor’s effect on workplace satisfaction. When faculty feel misaligned with one of academe’s cultures, they tend to feel less satisfied with their job. Faculty who perceive themselves to be at odds with their department or institution’s perceived organizational culture indicate higher levels of job-related stress, report less overall satisfaction with their positions, and spend less time on teaching (Wright 2005, p. 332). The reverse is true when faculty feel that their beliefs fit with the cultures they experience at work; they generally stay longer in their jobs, are more satisfied with their position, and are more committed to their institution (Wright 2005). Faculty play a critical role in the health and vitality of institutions because they teach and advise students, conduct research, serve on committees, and offer knowledge for the betterment of society as advisers and consultants. Indeed, understanding the relationship between faculty and culture is critical if these essential participants of higher education are to perform at their best (Tierney and Rhoads 1993). When one investigates the important link between faculty satisfaction and culture, it becomes apparent that climate is an integral component. Climate, described as a “surface manifestation of culture” (Schein 1990, p. 109), can be thought of as the general feeling or attitude that members of an organization have in relation to the culture (Austin 1994). It is a ubiquitous culturalPage 124 force that can make a group member experience an array of feelings from welcomed, included, and respected to tense, excluded, and singled out. The choice of the word climate is appropriate given that people often describe their workplace using expressions such as cold or warm (Piercy et al. 2005; Somers et al. 1998); such perceptions are, however, not static. Whether at the institutional or departmental level, perceptions...