Organizational assimilation and communication technology use

Studies of organizational members' assimilation information seeking have focused on traditional channels for uncertainty reduction (e.g., face‐to‐face communication and traditional technologies like employee handbooks) and on the experiences of newcomers. This investigation extends organizational assimilation research by examining a variety of socialization experiences (not just those of newcomers) and by considering Advanced Communication and Information Technologies (ACITs) as an additional channel for obtaining assimilation‐related information. Data from 405 employees of four organizations were utilized to explore the relationship between three channels for information seeking (face‐to‐face communication, traditional media, and ACIT) and perceived socialization effectiveness. Predictors of employee selection and use of ACITs also were examined, including perceptions of media richness and social presence, and user responses to their experiences using ACITs for assimilation. Results indicate that face‐to‐face communication is the most important predictor of assimilation effectiveness, followed by ACIT use. Least important are traditional technologies. Media characteristics, as elucidated in two prominent theories of organizational communication technology use, predicted individuals' selection and use of ACITs. Finally, a typology of members' behavioral responses to feedback regarding their ACIT use was derived, which revealed that users respond by continuing current practices, supplementing the channel, discontinuing use, expanding use, learning new uses, or by implementing a variety of these strategies.     

E‐mail communication in workplace romantic relationships

This study examined workplace romantic relationship partners’ e‐mail practices and perceptions. Results suggest that the relationship may play an integral role in determining participants' uses and perceptions of e‐mail Workplace romantic couples used e‐mail as frequently as face‐to‐face communication to interact with romantic partners and rated it as both rich and important Participants used e‐mail for both work‐related and social tasks. In addition, participants used business e‐mail addresses for communicating with relational partners and perceived that few organizational policies existed regarding its use. Theoretically, these findings suggest the importance of studying the relationship as a factor that affects e‐mail practices and perceptions. Practically, results indicated that e‐mail may present an additional channel for enhancing communication and connectedness in workplace romantic relationships, and that organizations may need to reflect more carefully about policies concerning e‐mail use in the workplace.     

“Talking things through”; and “putting it in writing”;: Two codes of communication in an academic institution

This study is an interpretive ethnography based on participant observation over a two‐year period of time as members of one academic institution responded to a Board of Trustees’ mandate to revise the system of governance. Two communication codes were identified in faculty and administration subcultures of this institution. The code of “collegiality,”; used by members of the faculty subculture, valued “talking things through,”; because this channel of communication best affirmed the individual self and facilitated personal and egalitarian relations among organizational members. The code of “professional management,”; used by members of the administration subculture, privileged “putting it in writing,”; because written codification best insured the rights and responsibilities of organizational members.     

Management view,power use,and affinity‐seeking: Effects on college student employee identification

This study investigated the effects of management view, power use, and affinity‐seeking on employee organizational identification in organizations that hire part‐time college students. Most managers were identified as manifesting a Theory Y view of management. Manager coercive and expert power were significantly related to employee organizational identification. Results indicated that manager view and affinity‐seeking were significantly related to employee organizational identification. Significant differences in affinity‐seeking and in employee organizational identification were found for Theory X and Theory Y managers.     

The effects of comprehension loss on persuasion

Traditional definitions of the glass ceiling perpetuate gender‐biased organizational practices and quick‐fix solutions. By creating an illusion of opportunity for women, they prevent critical assessment of contemporary organizational practices and of gendered communication. This article engages in feminist research as praxis first by discussing how current organizational practices fail to alter power imbalances. To create awareness of unjust organizing processes, these ways we ordinarily “do gender” are juxtaposed against contrastive contexts: alternative settings (organizational forms), processes (community‐as‐dialectic), and organization members (women). These alternatives enable us to visualize how language creates and sustains gender divisions that emerge in glass ceiling processes and effects. The second stage in research as praxis calls for action. I discuss implications for research and for change that challenge the gendered motif of organizational life.     

Information seeking among organizational members

Investigation of information seeking has focused on initial organizational entry hut there is evidence information seeking strategies continue to develop throughout organizational careers. This study begins an investigation of information seeking as a day‐to‐day component of organizational life. Individual characteristics of organizational members and situational variables were investigated to determine their relationship with information seeking behavior. Respondent age was found to influence selection of information seeking strategy. The situational variables of employment classification and length of employment also significantly influenced information seeking strategy. Taken together the differences suggest that information seeking strategies change in predictable ways throughout organizational careers.     

Rating competition and the patterns of South Korean public television programming, 1990–95

This research note presents an analysis of TV programming in south Korea over a period of five years. The paper is concerned with the changing face of public service broadcasting due to the effects of the new commercial situation. It includes a brief summary of Korea's TV history and a comparison of the programming strategies employed by the public broadcasting network and its commercial rivals. The author concludes by suggesting that Korean public broadcasting needs to reappraise its current response to the multi‐channel environment, and to develop a service aimed at promoting a sense of national community.     

大学跨学科研究组织的知识创业研究

面对新的知识生产模式,大学跨学科研究组织在进行知识生产的同时还要开展知识创业。大学跨学科研 究组织进行知识创业需要5 类能力：问题解决能力、组织领导能力、项目申请与履约能力、资源获取与配置能力、知 识转化为生产力的能力。当5 类能力得到满足时,大学跨学科研究组织走向知识创业需要合适的创新路径：明确组织目 标,规划知识创业愿景;优化组织结构,构建知识创业团队;有效配置资源,加强资源整合;发挥集成与转化功能, 实现知识创业。     

Examining the association of job tenure,employment history,and organizational status with employee dissent

The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between temporal and structural components of organizational life (i.e., job tenure, employment history, and organizational history) and employee dissent. This was accomplished by comparing respondents’ reports about their tendencies to use varying strategies for dissent to their reports about present job tenure, number of full‐time employers, total years work experience, and organizational status. Structural equation models were used to examine the association between temporal measures (job tenure, number of full‐time employers, total years work experience), structural measures (organizational status) and dissent constructs. Findings indicated that articulated dissent use was associated with management status, whereas latent dissent use was associated with nonmanagement status, increases in present job tenure and decreases in number of full‐time employers and total years work experience.     

Collaborative digital government in Mexico: Some lessons from federal Web-based interorganizational information integration initiatives

The use of information and communication technologies in government has been characterized as one powerful strategy for administrative reform. From recent experiences around the world, it seems clear that in order to enjoy some of the greatest benefits of digital government, the integration of information across organizational boundaries is necessary. However, these digital government initiatives face additional challenges, since the required level of interorganizational collaboration and trust is often not supported by existing institutional arrangements, organizational structures, and managerial processes. In fact, many institutions and administrative structures found in government contexts offer incentives for single-agency work only, which produces stove-pipe systems. Based on an extensive case study in the Mexican federal government, this paper explores how certain institutional arrangements and organizational structures can enable or hinder cross-agency collaboration and consequently, interorganizational information integration.     

Humor in middle management: women negotiating the paradoxes of organizational life

Women in middle management continue to face multiple paradoxes arising from their structural and gendered locations that add to the uncertainty of negotiating organizational life. Investigating the lived experiences of women middle managers can illuminate the constraints and paradoxes endemic to organizing, for such experiences foreground tensions at the intersection of structure, identity, agency, and power. Specifically, this contextual investigation of conversational humor explores links between organizational status, gender, and paradox. In so doing, it demonstrates how women can use humor to negotiate managerial identities and to navigate organizational life. This study uncovers nuanced and important communication tactics of middle management women. This study also reveals the value of investigating the complex convergence of humor, gender, and organizational communication theory.     

Information adequacy,job satisfaction and organizational culture in a dispersed‐network organization

This investigation examined the relationship of information adequacy to job satisfaction and organizational culture in a healthcare organization with both office and field personnel. Information adequacy was assessed in four areas: personal performance, organizational policies, organizational performance, and organizational objectives. Comparisons of field and office personnel indicated that they did not differ on information adequacy or job satisfaction; they did, however, differ on several dimensions of organizational culture. Also, the relationship of information inadequacy to job satisfaction and organizational culture differed for employees depending on whether they worked primarily in the field or primarily in the office. Implications of the findings are drawn for organizations with a dispersed‐network structure.     

The Rate and Delay in Overload: An Investigation of Communication Overload and Channel Synchronicity on Identification and Job Satisfaction

This study investigates the relationship between communication overload and uses of diverse communication channels in terms of their level of synchronicity. Emphasis on the synchronicity of any given channel reveals how temporal elements (i.e., rate and processing time) play an important role in perceptions of communication load. Additionally, this study examines the association between communication overload, organizational identification and job satisfaction. Findings reveal: (a) both high and low synchronous channels are associated with increased reports of communication overload; (b) a mediating effect of organizational identification on the relationship between communication overload and job satisfaction; and (c) a moderating effect of communication overload on the relationship between low synchronous channels and organizational identification.     

Exploring the relationship between workplace freedom of speech,organizational identification,and employee dissent

The purpose of this study was to examine how subordinates' perceptions of workplace freedom of speech related to their levels of organizational identification and their strategies for expressing dissent. Full‐time working adults from various organizations in the Southwest completed self‐report survey instruments. Results indicated that organizational identification as well as the expression of articulated dissent and latent dissent varied as a function of workplace freedom of speech.     

On the various and changing meanings of organizational membership: A field study of organizational identification

The primary aim of this study was to analyze and interpret some aspects of the process of organizational identification in a corporate field setting. Specifically, the study focused on how an individual's identification (or identifying) with an employing organization influences on‐the‐job decision making. Past research efforts have been limited by their treatment of organizational identification as a product or state, rather than as a process. The wider perspective on identification is well represented by Herbert A. Simon and Kenneth Burke, whose writings were integrated to provide a theoretical framework for this study. While this study neither examined the phenomenon of identification over time nor placed it in a clearly‐defined causal chain, it explicitly recognized identification as a continuing development involving many changes. The study employed two methodologies for the examination of identification in a corporate field setting: moderately‐scheduled interviews that produced largely qualitative data and a questionnaire instrument that yielded quantitative data. The methods were “triangulated” so as to provide a more detailed “snapshot” of the identification process than either would offer alone; moreover, the “accounts” elicited in employee interviews yielded retrospectives on individual‐organization relationships. The results suggest the soundness of the theoretical framework advanced at the outset. Most employees who were interviewed saw organizational interests as directly relevant to work‐related decisions. Their comments as well as their questionnaire responses indicated that they also identified with the organization, thus offering support for the link between organizational identification and decision making.     

A strategic approach to developing e-learning capability for healthcare

Objectives: This article examines a strategic approach to developing e‐learning capability to enhance learning opportunities for the workforce of a healthcare organization. Emphasis is given to the procurement of a bespoke Managed Learning Environment (MLE). Strategic organizational issues impacting on future e‐learning developments are considered. Methods: The 2‐year implementation plan was evaluated through a two phase external research project. The first phase focused on the effectiveness of a training programme designed to build capacity for e‐learning within the Northern area and also included a virtual learning environment usability study which informed the MLE specification. The second phase evaluation is ongoing during 2005 and interim findings are presented. Results: The MLE has been piloted and on‐line learning packages have been acquired. There has been a phased take‐up of e‐learning opportunities and e‐tutor training. Some virtual Communities of Practice have been established. Key organizational issues have been identified and ongoing findings are informing strategic planning. Conclusions: The healthcare MLE is offering enhanced learning opportunities and assisting area healthcare providers in training their dispersed workforces. Blended learning strategies are most successful. The need for protected time for e‐learning is a key issue, financial savings are available. Progress has been slowed by identified organizational constraints—the MLE's benefits are widely recognized.     

如何有效运行图书馆质量管理体系

许多图书馆都建立了质量管理体系,如何使建立起来的质量管理体系有效运行,是图书馆面临的重要问题.本文从质量管理体系文件,质量方针和目标,组织结构及资源管理等七个方面进行了分析,以帮助正在寻求质量管理体系有效运行的图书馆予以启示.