Connie Bullis

Socialization turning points: An examination of change in organizational identification

This report identifies a gap between theory and research which plagues two areas of organizational inquiry, describes a method through which these concerns may be addressed, and describes a study which employed this method. Specifically, recent conceptualizations of organizational socialization and organizational identification view individuals as active participants in their relationships with organizations. Yet, research in both areas has over‐emphasized the organizations perspective and under‐emphasized the individuals. Turning point analysis is a method through which researchers may nisten” to participants’ points of view. It was used in a study reported here in order to help round out the relevant bodies of research. Retrospective interviewing was used to reconstruct the history and process of individuals’ socialization experiences over an eight‐month period. Fifteen types of turning points were identified. The results derived from turning point analysis are compared with conceptualizations of soci...

The forest ranger revisited: A study of control practices and identification

This study was conducted for the purposes of: (1) describing current control practices in the U.S. Forest Service, an organization frequently cited as an excellent organization due to a dated but classic study, and (2) field testing three claims made in Tompkins and Cheneys theory of unobtrusive control, including: (a) unobtrusive control practices are associated with organizational identification, (b) members who report higher organizational identification use organizational premises in their decision making, (c) members who report higher organizational identification consider the organization as they consider the consequences of decisions. Findings indicated that: (1) control practices have changed from more unobtrusive to more obtrusive, and (2) theoretical claims were supported. Several implications are discussed. The value of the method employed to generating longitudinal research is discussed. The study illustrates the pragmatic relevance of organizational identification. Drawing on the experience ...

Are Mentor Relationships Helping Organizations? An Exploration of Developing Mentee-Mentor-Organizational Identifications Using Turning Point Analysis.

This study employed turning point analysis to examine developing mentor relationships and the association between mentor relationships and individual‐organizational relationships. Graduate students from three communication departments reported turning points which they experienced during the early development of their mentor relationships. Findings indicated that many turning points occurred of which have previously been assumed to occur in later stages of relationship development. Some types of turning points were associated with greater changes in identification with the mentors. Others were associated with greater changes in identification with the departments. Results call broad phase models of mentor relational development into question. Secondly, results indicate that mentor relationships are not necessarily associated with individual‐organizational relationships. Mentor relationships, then, should not be assumed to benefit organizations.

An Explication and Test of Communication Network Content and Multiplexity as Predictors of Organizational Identification.

Communication network research has been criticized for being based on an atheoretical method with little explanatory power. Research on organizational identification (OI), although theoretically rich, has been criticized for the paucity of research which examines the relationship between identification and communication. This research used OI as a theoretical framework from which to study communication networks. Incoming graduate students from three communication departments specified the content and patterns of their communication with members of their respective departments and indicated their organizational identification at three points in time during their first academic year. Results indicate that (a) multiplex communication relationships are positively associated with OI; (b) these respondents specified an array of ten content topics rather than the three traditionally used by network researchers; and (c) OI is related to specific conversational content. Academic talk during initial interactions wa...

The Role of Rituals and Fantasy Themes in Teachers' Bargaining.

This study treats collective bargaining as a social construction of reality. Adopting the framework of symbolic convergence theory, this investigation examines the rituals and fantasy themes of bargainers and team members collected through observations of teachers’ negotiations and interviews with participants. Fantasy theme analysis reveals that both school districts develop symbolic convergence on common enemies and past negotiations. This convergence instills similar values and motives for the negotiation process. However, the two districts and the labor‐management teams differ in the meanings that they hold for the bargaining rite.

Bureaucratic Discourse and the Goddess: Towards an Ecofeminist Critique and Rearticulation

Describes and positions ecofeminism as a critical voice in postmodern organizational theory. Ecofeminism, because of its connections with spirituality, feminism, and ecology, provides an alternative critique of modernist organizational discourse. Specifically, positions ecofeminism as an antagonistic discourse which should help to define and display limits of bureaucratic discourse. Provides some ecofeminist change strategies.

Get a little closer: Further examination of nonverbal comforting strategies

A set of nonverbal comforting strategies and their relationships with affective orientation and gender reported in previous research were tested for their generalizability to a broader sample. With one exception, emotional distancing, the strategy types were confirmed and five additional types were observed, resulting in an expanded set of strategies. Previous results relating affective orientation to diversity and number of comforting strategies were not supported. Gender differences in affective orientation, diversity and number of strategies, and use of specific strategies were supported. Females were found to be more affectively oriented and to use a greater number and diversity of strategies.

Business Communication and the Natural Environment: Using Traditional and Contemporary Perspectives to Understand the Connections.

Although organizational practices are clearly the strongest contributor to environmental problems humans face, business communication scholarship has not attended to the natural environment. One reason for this omission may be that theories of communication are grounded in Western cultural assumptions. Communication theorizing assumes that human symbol use differentiates humans from nature. Nature is defined as hierarchically beneath human symbol use and therefore ignored. Organizational scholarship has theorized business as it relates to the natural environment but has not thoroughly understood how communication functions in this relationship. Because organizational practice cannot ignore the natural environment, and business communication focuses on business problems, business communication is situated to fill this gap by draw ing on past approaches to business communication and by adopting a Gaian perspective from which to consider alternative business and organizational arrangements.

At Least It Is a Start

(1993). At Least It Is a Start. Annals of the International Communication Association: Vol. 16, Communication Yearbook 16, pp. 144-154.

Structuring Health in Colorectal Cancer Screening Conversations: An Analysis of Intersecting Activity Systems

This study used structurating activity theory to analyze 21 conversations between genetic counselors and individuals at increased risk for familial colorectal cancer. The qualitative analysis revealed ways elements of family, primary health care, cancer prevention and treatment, and other systems emerged in intervention conversations as shaping colorectal cancer screening attitudes and behaviors. Results indicate that family stories, norms, and roles are resources for enacting health practices in families and that the authority of health care providers is a resource for making screening decisions. Conclusions include practical implications for using findings in clinical applications as well as future research directions to build on this exploratory study.