Howard H. Greenbaum

Organizational Communication An Examination of Four Instruments

This chapter looks at interpersonal and group communication, especially as they relate to professional settings. Interpersonal communication refers to one-on-one or small group interactions. Research generally suggests that this type of communication is influential in changing opinions, dealing with resistance and apathy to issues, and generally maintaining harmony in social situations – more so than its opposite, mass communication. The main features of interpersonal media are:

The Audit of Organizational Communication

A conceptual and methodological structure is presented for examination of communication processes in organizations. Components of the communication system are identified, a taxonomical table of act...

Organizational Structure and Communication Processes: A Study of Change

The objective of this research was to examine the influence of a change in organizational structure on the functional communication processes and goals of an organization. The change in structure involved a modification of commun ication activities in an industrial organization by the institution of a work- group meeting program pursuant to six specific objectives of management. The functional communication processes were identified asfour major communica tion subsystems: (1) the regulative-task network, (2) the adaptive-innovative network, (3) the integrative-maintenance network, and (4) the informative- instructive network. As a study of workgroups in natural settings, this article represents a report on a change process, with data secured via attitudinal and behavioral instruments.

Evaluation of Problem-Solving Groups The Case of Quality Circle Programs

This article states the case for evaluating the effectiveness of problem-solving groups, develops a model of group problem-solving behavior, and applies the resulting conceptual framework to 16 actual evaluations of quality circle programs published between 1981 and 1986. It recommends that problem-solving groups be evaluated to improve their effectiveness, that evaluations be comprehensive- attending to feedback variables and to input and process variables, as well as to the commonly measured output variables, and that self-report data-collection pro cedures be supplemented by more objective measures.

Organizational Group Measurement Instruments: An Integrated Survey

This article advocates the use of a systems model to analyze and classify measures of group behavior. It applies the model to 19 reliable group measurement instruments, which are supported by factor analysis, thereby creating a guide to instruments for the diagnosis and evaluation of work groups.

Management and Organizational Communication Measurement A Call for Review and Evaluation

This article is a discussion of the Research Instrument Section of McQ. It traces the history of instrumentation within the organizational communication literature and includes a guide for the preparation of manuscripts. While this article reflects an organizational communication perspective, the editors of McQ intend for the Research Instrument Section to become a forum for discussion of instruments related to managerial writing, managerial presentations, interpersonal communication in organizations, organizational communication, or external communication.