The chief aim of this style manual is to promote clarity and consistency in writing for publication. The chapters are intended to help writers understand the publication process that begins with a need to communicate with a particular audience and ends with the distribution of the finished product. The first chapter on planning and producing a…

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…

This book is designed as a basic guide to the development of effective school public relations programs. The author provides guidelines for setting up effective communication strategies and presents ideas for spreading good news as well as for dealing with problems. One chapter focuses specifically on the difficult communication problems presented…

Chester Barnard (1886-1961) was an executive and an early organizational theorist. His theory of organizational behavior and executive functions, set forth primarily in "The Functions of the Executive" (1938), comprises both structural concepts, related to how an organization is structured, and dynamic concepts, related to individuals'…

To help public schools improve their relations with the community, the author offers specific suggestions regarding six areas of communication. In the first area, communication with the general public, he advocates open communication, encouragement of all types of questions, and accountability to the public. Next he points out the potentially…

Recent reviews of the literature demonstrate that there is little research providing insight into the nature of hospital communication. Using the model of the sociology of communication, five specific research questions can be generated about hospital communication: (1) How is information processed? (2) What communication is satisfying? (3) What…

The fifth in a series of annual volumes published by the International Communication Association, this yearbook provides reviews, overviews, and syntheses of developments in the evolution of the science of communication. The 40 articles in the volume are categorized as follows: (1) communication reviews and commentaries, including issues in…

The communication activities and problems of 383 business and professional people in Hawaii were surveyed. The respondents reported spending the bulk of a typical work week engaged in giving instructions and making assignments, listening, talking face-to-face with employees, and conferring with clients. These interpersonal activities were related…

Chapter 8 in a volume on school leadership, this chapter is a revised version of "Communications in the Open Organization." It offers suggestions from a number of authorities for administrators who want to learn how to communicate more effectively with a variety of groups within and outside the school. It begins by explaining the human…

A study was conducted to examine the ways individuals in organizations interpreted and responded to ambiguous messages. Using Karl Weick's model of organizing, investigators measured the number of rules (criteria for taking action), the number of people, and the frequencies of message categories generated in two simulated organizations comprised…

In the face of declining enrollments, the small rural community college can no longer afford not to include a full-time public information officer on the administrative staff. An investment in a public information office, with an expert officer supported by a full- or part-time secretary, can build a valuable cadre of college advocates in the…

This preliminary case study of inter-organizational dissemination arrangements presents a conceptual framework for conducting large-scale investigations of state dissemination activities and its application in the organization and analysis of information dealing with such arrangements in Wisconsin and Utah. When the findings of the Wisconsin case…

Defining organizational socialization as the process by which people learn the values, norms, and required behaviors that permit them to participate as members of an organization, this paper offers a review of representative, relevant literature on the role of communication in the process. The studies are organized according to six general…

Interorganizational structures may have elements that promote or reduce stress and conflict among participants. This study identified such elements in an interorganizational structure that was classified as a loosely coupled system. The interorganizational structure examined was the Internships, Certification, Equity-Leadership, and Support (ICES)…

This paper describes the design of a project to evaluate the impact of computer conferencing on the productivity-related work patterns of scientists, and to determine whether they will use the network this technology makes available to them. Literature relevant to this research problem is reviewed, drawing primarily from small group research on…