Search results

The purpose of this study is to map and analyze sustainability activities and relationships at the seven Claremont Colleges and graduate institutions using social network analysis (SNA) to inform sustainability planning and programming.

Online surveys and interviews were conducted among faculty, staff and students, and a network map was created and analyzed using network statistics to identify network characteristics.

The mapped sustainability network has 291 one- and bi-directional connections but with substantial differences among institutions. Pomona and Pitzer colleges have the highest number of sustainability-related courses because of their popular Environmental Analysis programs. The two graduate schools and Scripps College are comparatively isolated. Scripps’ network is small but highly interconnected and resilient. Pomona’s network is extensive but concentrated on a single node. Several other key actors were identified based on the number of nodes extending from or connecting to them. Several new sustainability initiatives were recently launched in response to the study.

SNA and mapping for campus sustainability can highlight network gaps and network vulnerabilities. To increase completeness, a representative and sufficiently large data sample is needed, requiring multiple, coordinated forms of contact. Interviews yield more detailed and comprehensive information than online surveys but are more time-consuming. Thus, the combination of electronic surveys and in-person interviews can be a successful strategy for maximizing information collection.

The case study was the first of its kind conducted at the Claremont Colleges and one of the first in higher education. It informs sustainability planning, coordination and integration efforts.

The importance of organizational climates in enhancing employees’ job performance is well studied in the literature. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of psychosocial safety climate (PSC) and team climate on job performance, particularly through job engagement, by using a multilevel survey. The study also predicted that only PSC (and not team climate) predicted job resources (i.e. role clarity and performance feedback).

A total of 412 employees from 44 teams (72.6 per cent response rate) in Malaysian private organizations participated in the current study.

Research findings revealed that performance feedback and role clarity mediate the relationship between PSC and job engagement, and that there is no direct effect between the variables, team climate, and job resources. As expected, the study also discovered that job engagement mediates the relationship between PSC and team climate related to job performance.

This paper suggests the importance of PSC as the precursor to better working conditions (i.e. job resources) and to indirectly boosting employees’ engagement and job performance.

The study compared two distinctive organizational climate constructs that affect the different types of job resources using multilevel approach within the Asian context.