The advances of contemporary rhetorical theory can be drawn upon to resolve the competing values of the two constituencies that have a stake in performance appraisals: the manager and the employee. One reason for problems in the existing model of performance appraisals is that the two sides perceive themselves to be in opposition, and that very…

In working with the institutional public relations staff, the following are important: maintaining easy-to-access files; keeping ready-to-use photographs; providing all of the information that is needed for the story; preparing tip sheets that list several story ideas; and keeping in touch with the public relations staff. With the electronic…

A study illustrated an interpretive approach to investigating personal commitment during radical organizational transition by examining how people talk metaphorically about commitment and identification as a process. A questionnaire was constructed to be used in phone interviews with six employee assistance program (EAP) counselors who contract…

Ten areas of change, or megatrends, are transforming the practice of public relations. First is the change from manipulation to effective adaptation to environmental demands, constraints, and opportunities. Second, the role of the public relations practitioner is changing from external counselor to internal team member and leader. Third is the…

Mythologies develop in corporations the same way they develop in tribes or nations and provide the driving force for building loyalty to and identification with the organization. The myth-building process involves a constituting experience or founding event, an existential interpretation of the event, the institutionalization of the event, and the…

Courses in the Foundations of Education are widely perceived as superfluous or out of touch with current needs. One way of correcting these perceptions is to make sure that when students not majoring in education take the classes they get some benefit from them. A course in educational foundations was required of all dental hygiene majors at…

A study examined the notion that employees' perceptions of communication between an organization's top managers and its employees influences certain key organizational variables in differing and predictable ways. Specifically, the study investigated whether employees' perceptions of top management communication were related to their job…

A study of decision making processes and communication rules, in a corporate setting undergoing change as a result of organizational ineffectiveness, examined whether (1) decisions about formal communication reporting systems were linked to management assumptions about technical creativity/effectiveness, (2) assumptions about…

A communication audit was conducted to diagnose and evaluate communication in a New York school district and to make general suggestions for improving communication. Based on pilot interviews of district and school staff and the general public, and on material from a Gallup Poll of the public's attitudes toward public schools, a mail survey was…

This paper describes the contingent media relations policy employed by Rockwell International, the prime contractor of the United States space shuttle program, following the 1986 destruction of the Challenger, and evaluates that policy in terms of its utility to Rockwell and its impact on public dissemination of information about the shuttle…

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…

A study explored issues regarding the selection of a Q sample in three studies using Stephenson's Q technique or Q methodology: a current study on initial interaction in interpersonal communication; a second study on the effects of alcohol use on interpersonal communication (these two studies are in progress and are the outgrowth and work of two…

This annotated bibliography provides a broad perspective on the way religion and communication relate to one another. Forty-two references are listed in the areas of (1) "Religion and Communication Theory"; (2) "Religion and Language"; (3) "Televangelism and Televangelists"; (4) "Historical Roots of Religion and…

The bargaining simulation unit is a useful educational tool in the introductory organizational communication course. It provides students with the opportunity to apply concepts such as communication, authority, and decision making already taught in the course, and teaches responsibility in analyzing, enacting, and discussing the bargaining case.…

With the federal role in education changing rapidly, regional education agencies are best suited to engage in school improvement efforts by designing cooperative arrangements among other educational organizations. Although planning such a collaborative interorganizational relationship (IOR) seems to require both appropriate structures among member…