In the face of rising juvenile violent crime rates and media talk of waste, abuse, fraud, and ineffectiveness within the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services (HRS), the state recommended the adoption of a family-focused approach in client intervention strategy. The Florida Atlantic University Professional Development Centre…

Information technologies such as computer mediated communication (CMC), virtual reality, and telepresence can provide the communication flow required by high-speed management techniques that high-technology industries have adopted in response to changes in the climate of competition. Intra-corporate CMC might be used for a variety of purposes…

Indepth studies of micropolitics at the school level are presented in this book, which includes nine qualitative studies of school politics conducted by different researchers. Chapters 2 through 10 examine the formal and informal processes and structures that constitute everyday political life in the schools. The studies explore how individuals…

A study examined the relationship among attitudes toward women in general, attitudes toward women as managers, and perceptions of the communication competencies of women managers. Subjects, 178 employees from various types of organizations, completed the Positive Regard Scale (PRS), the Women as Managers Scale (WAMS), and the Communication…

A review of the literature indicates that while organizational climate has received much attention in the field of organizational communication, it has been studied largely as a worker's perception of his or her work environment as assessed by self-report measures. Reliance upon those perceptual measures has created controversy as to whether (1)…

Interviews with six managers trained to teach the Interpersonal Managing Skills (IMS) program at the Lockheed Missiles and Space Company provided insights into three aspects of communication training programs: training skills, the trainer role, and methods of training the trainer. A highly structured, packaged program, IMS teaches five…

This study focuses on the local school board as an example of a small decision-making group involved in political decision-making. School boards in Kentucky (n=57) were included in the sample. Examined in particular the concepts of conflict and cohesion between school board members. (Author/EJT)

This booklet provides a variety of ideas for preschool and kindergarten teachers and administrators interested in working cooperatively to establish linkages and ease the transition between educational settings for young children and their families. Benefits of facilitating transition for children, parents, and teachers and keys to successful…

A study was conducted to answer the following research questions: (1) to what extent is there consensus in the organizational culture on basic rules for an effective performance; (2) to what extent are there variations in rule consensus for an effective performance appraisal interview among groups within the organization; and (3) to what extent do…

Quality circles have proliferated in organizations throughout the 1980s, but their success depends on careful planning and monitoring, and on an awareness of social psychology and group dynamics. This presentation accordingly evaluates some of the assumptions of the literature on quality circles and suggests ways in which social psychology…

The 47 references, dating mostly from 1976 to 1990, in this annotated bibliography provide information about the effect of humor in written and spoken messages and its role in interpersonal relationships, especially within the context of small groups and organizational environments. The materials in the bibliography are cited according to academic…

Teachers often call upon students to think independently, but may focus on student abilities at the expense of student willingness. The "situational leadership" model of management can successfully develop student independence in organizational communication courses. P. Hersey and K. H. Blanchard, who developed the model, call this…

Upon the breakup of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company in 1984, one of its component parts, Pacific Bell, utilized a number of organizational and communication strategies in responding to the change. The company formed the Telesis Management Institute in 1985 with the mandate to provide educational directions and navigate the changes in…

Focusing on perceived sex differences in organizational settings, a study examined mutual evaluations of communicative competence in superior-subordinate relationships. Subjects, 86 superior-subordinate pairs from 23 organizations, completed the Communication Competency Assessment Instrument measuring competencies in communication codes, oral…

Adding to the benefits of using metaphors as tools, "analoguing" (a method of analysis that focuses on metaphors for meanings in use and meanings of metaphors in use) helps avoid excessive categorization and separation by looking for unities and patterns in phenomena rather than for divisions. Six months of observation of patterns of…