To explore communication patterns within organizations, a network analysis was conducted of a large New York financial institution with 98 departments and 66 branches. Functional analysis revealed that departments had more and stronger communication linkages than did branches. Departments were also closer in communication distances than branches.…

A study investigated how managers in various kinds of organizations make decisions and also examined ways that using the Marble Company simulation (developed by L. C. Lederman and L. P. Stewart in 1985) could enhance, clarify, and extend its findings. Managers were asked to write down what they would say to their subordinates in order to elicit…

In addition to assessing observed communication behaviors, this paper suggests that SYMLOG--a System for the Multiple Level Observation of Groups--can be used by participant-observers as a foil for interpreting how their own value orientations affect their data collecting and theorizing. The first section of the paper examines the research role…

Intended as an aid to researchers who must decide which measurement techniques to use in the study of organizational communication, this paper describes and analyzes three of the most widely used data collection instruments: the Communication Audit Survey Questionnaire (CAS), the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ), and the…

Employee selection and appraisal criteria were examined in 44 organizations to (1) test a new data gathering instrument, (2) determine the extent to which student interviewers and organizational interviewees had similar perceptions of the importance of the selection and appraisal criteria used in that organization, and (3) continue and expand an…

Research on sex differences in communication has produced mixed and contradictory results. An erroneous overlap exists between self reports of male-female behaviors, others' reports of perceived behaviors, and stereotyped projections based on social conditioning. The solution to this confusion in gender communication research may be triangulation,…

Each of the three sections of this book highlights a basic concept in communication research that needs more attention, and includes individual articles that review or apply new methods for the study of social communication. The first part deals with organizational analysis and field studies, and reminds its readers that mass communication is not…

The Organizational Communication Profile (OCP) provides a way to survey organization member attitudes, perceptions, expectations, and degree of satisfaction with the manner in which information is handled within the organization. Although the OCP is relatively easy to administer and interpret, the instrument has a complex design and provides…