Howard E. Sypher

Perceptions of Communication Ability Self-Monitoring in an Organizational Setting

Several researchers have suggested that individual success in organizations can be attributed at least in part to interpersonal and communicative effectiveness. This study examined the relationship between several measures of interpersonal effectiveness and job level in the headquarters of a large international insurance corporation. Participants completed Snyders (1974) self-monitoring instrument and reported on their own communication abilities. Results showed that self-monitoring was related to perceived persuasive ability and to perceived communication effectiveness. However, when the self-monitoring instrument was decomposed into the subscales suggested by Briggs, Cheek, and Buss (1980), the other-directedness subscale was virtually unrelated to any other study variable. Job level in the organization was positively related to self-monitoring and to perceived communication effectiveness.

Do Shared Goals Really Make a Difference

The study of organizations has been dominated since its inception by the conceptualization of organizations as goal-attaining entities. However, the degree to which goals are consensually shared and the manner in which organizational goals are communicated remain largely unexplored. Moreover, the relationship between shared goals and organizational outcomes remains unclear. The purpose of this study was twofold. First, this study examined the relationship between shared goals and the manner in which members learn the organizations goals. Second, the relationship between shared goals and organizational outcomes was examined. The study results suggest that the degree to which goals are shared is independent of any single method of communicating goals. Additionally, although perceptions of shared goals were found to be significantly related to important organizational outcome, the extent to which organization members can articulate the shared goals was not significantly related to the organizational outcomes examined in this study.

Cognitive Differentiation and Communication Behavior: The Role Category Questionnaire

This article explores the validity and reliability of Crocketts (1965) Role Category Questionnaire (RCQ) measure of cognitive differentiation as a predictor of communication ability. The RCQ is a “free response” measure that has been shown in previous research to be a valid indicator of social cognitive and communication abilities. This review concludes that the RCQ may prove especially useful in exploring and predicting individual differences in managerial writing, presentation, and interpersonal communication in organizations.