Organizational or group climate is the aggregated or typical
way the organization is perceived by group members (James
and Jones, 1974; Schneider, 1975; Field and Abelson, 1982).
A variety of factors can form the basis for aggregated perceptions.
Howe (1977) identified three types of aggregation,
including person variables, situation variables, and joint
person-situation variables. Person variables are individual demographics
such as age and sex. Situation variables are the
organization and its components (e.g., workgroup). Joint
person-situation variables are characteristics of the individual
with an organizational basis, such as tenure and salary. Since
the objective of this research was to establish whether ethical
work climates have inter- and/or intraorganizational bases, situation
variables and joint person-situation variables were used
for aggregation. Thus, the prime interest was whether distinguishable
ethical climates arise between different organizations,
and/or within organizations, on the bases of
organizationally defined groups (e.g., workgroup, job level).