Studies the conference as a strategic communication tool used to facilitate complex interorganizational business relationships. Develops and tests a model of the necessary prior conditions for conference success, conference process variables, conference outcomes, and the long-term consequences of effective integration for an organization. (SR)

Studies 35 organizational meetings (each from a different organization) to examine the development and use of five primary tools for planning and managing meetings (agendas, support documents, announcements, meeting minutes, and evaluations). Analyzes the relationships of these tools to meeting processes, and looks at control of these tools by…

Examines the concept of strategic ambiguity in communication, and addresses the ethics of strategic ambiguity from an intrapersonal perspective that considers the congruity of communicators' espoused-ethics, ethics-in-use, and behavior, where ethical judgements are based on the congruity between espoused-ethics and actual behavior. Poses questions…

Explores effects of differential quality of leader-member exchange on cooperative communication among work group members. Suggests that the nature of an individual's exchange with his/her leader and his/her leader's upward leader-member exchange significantly impact perceived use of coworker cooperative communication. Provides evidence of linkage…

States that current guidance for organizational spokespersons lacks a clear theoretical and empirical foundation. Describes a study designed to rank preferences for five previously identified rhetorical strategies for responding to hostile questions in environmental meetings based on speech act theory. Finds responses based on the timing strategy…

Considers pluses and minuses of establishing a corporate style guide. Surveys articles and conference presentations (published between 1985 and 1995) on style guides. Analyzes significance and contribution of each. Suggests areas for further research, specifically quantitative analysis of the value of style guides. (PA)

Tests empirically a model of the relationships between social accounts, appraisal of actions (perceptions of fairness and attributions of responsibility) and two reactions to untoward actions (anger and approval). Suggests that the influence of social accounts on employees' anger and disapproval is mediated by perceived fairness and…

Examines how to create organizational processes that allow communication professionals with a variety of expertise to support each other through coordination and integration. Studies eight of America's leading total quality management corporations, including AT&T, Federal Express, Saturn, and Xerox. Explores how various total quality…

Analyzes as to style 200 samples of electronic mail memorandums gathered from 4 organizations. Counts systematically textual features such as sentence and paragraph length, grammatical sentence types, sentence openers, and diction to examine patterns of rhetorical choice common to electronic mail. Finds that writers combined elements of…

Determines the extent to which communication support contributes to career success. Supports a hierarchical model which accounted for 72% of the variance in career success. Finds that, in conjunction with facilitative home support, career success can be enhanced when employees utilize both formal and informal relationships, receive abundant job…

Examines a critical function of organizations by investigating the stakeholder communication of 66 nonprofit organizations undergoing change. Indicates that implementers generally follow a quid pro quo "matching rule" wherein stakeholders' resource importance serves as the basis on which they are awarded communicative attention. (SG)

Examines the role and perceived value of public relations in institutional ethics initiatives. Surveys ethics officers in North American institutions. Finds that public relations professionals are not playing key roles in the institutionalization of ethics, and that public relations remains a relatively untapped resource in ethics programs. (PA)

Uses a case study based on interviews and documents to apply narrative theory and methods to "garbage can" decision theory. States that narrative approaches to organizational action offer insight into how decisions occur in organizations and that organizational decision making may be understood as the interweaving of multiple, ongoing,…

Explores superiors' evaluations of leadership skills of their managers to determine if sex differences exist. Rates middle and upper level male and female managers on "Benchmarks," a multirater feedback instrument. Detects no sex differences except that females rated higher in putting people at ease. (PA)

A survey of members of the University Aviation Association (235 responses) revealed concerns about equity, less than positive feelings about the organizational culture, and no clear sense of members' awareness of the fiscal health and visibility of the association. (JOW)