Three critical factors in the Terrence E. Deal model for examining organizational climate and culture are values, rites and rituals, and communication networks, and these were assessed in a study of 80 graduate students to determine their perceptions of these elements in a university graduate program in Administration and Policy Studies (APS). The…

Habermas's theory of dialogue was used to evaluate the process of decision making that occurred in a labor-management committee's meeting to discuss flextime. The study attempted to determine why, at that meeting, the committee's consensus process of decision making failed. W.R. Bion's theory of unconscious group motives was also used to…

Stategies for organizing data on a district's energy use are presented in this guide, originally intended for use in California schools. Also presented are methods of communicating this information to those involved in planning, in recordkeeping, and in motivating staff and students to save energy. The energy accounting system offered in the first…

To examine the content of newspaper advertisements used by banks before, during, and after a major bank collapse, issues of the Knoxville (Tennessee) "News Sentinel" from 1982, 1983, and 1984 were analyzed for bank sponsored product and nonproduct advertisements. These advertisements were studied for type, size, and content relating to…

A descriptive, qualitative research design was used in a study that examined the formal socialization process in high technology organizations. The primary objective was to determine if organiations involved in high technology tended to exhibit similar symbology in the discourse produced by management for the formal socialization process. Data…

Approximately 200 employees of small and medium sized businesses participated in a study to determine if their task characteristics affected the communication network roles they enact. Specifically, the study investigated the effects of variety, autonomy, task identity, feedback, dealing with others, and friendship opportunities on the network…

There are no simple answers to the tricky business of managing conflict within organizations. Almost every conflict is a unique case with its own issues, participants, dynamics, and consequences. Still, it appears possible to differentiate between organizations that handle conflict productively and those that do not. Successful organizations view…

Intended for anyone approaching parliamentary procedure for the first time, this booklet is designed to provide a lucid explanation of parliamentary rules and the reasons for them. Chapter 1 discusses organizations, considering such things as bylaws, officers' titles, impartiality of the chair, boards, and committees. The second chapter--on the…

This notebook is designed to help the volunteer or professional responsible for "getting the word out" about an agency, organization, chapter, or project to do the necessary public relations work more successfully, professionally, and effectively. Advice on developing public awareness and identifying the organization's goals and priorities,…

A study was conducted to investigate acceptance and openness as possible universal, consequent interpersonal rewards among foreign-born employees who work in United States companies. In this replication of an earlier study using United States-born employees, 42 United States-born and 52 foreign-born employees completed a booklet containing 20…

To illustrate the experience of a nonprofit organization whose high respect for theory and research shaped the design and implementation of a major public relations program, this paper reports on a University of Michigan program to arrest erosion of the state financial support in a period of worsening economic problems. The next five sections of…

A study was conducted to examine relationships between communication apprehension (CA) levels and the sending of messages within an organization. It was expected that high CA would be more prevalent among support personnel than among managers or professionals, and that high CAs would report less communication participation and satisfaction. It was…

A quantitative analysis of 40 years of articles appearing in the "Public Relations Journal" was made to determine how the journal has responded to ethical criticism of public relations over the years. While 17% of the articles during one eight-year period discussed questions touching on ethics in some way, quantitative analytical tools…

Survey of college course offerings in organizational communication. (CH)

A survey of 16 major United States Corporations was conducted to determine how speeches by senior executives are used to publicize the corporations' views on business matters and public affairs. This paper reports the survey results in the following areas: number of full- and part-time speech writers employed by the corporations; backgrounds and…