Sally O. Hastings

Expressions of Dissent in Email Qualitative Insights Into Uses and Meanings of Organizational Dissent

This study explores the role of email in organizational dissent expression and employees’ perceptions of the rules for using this medium. Twenty-one interviews were conducted with employees who commonly used email in their job to learn about some of the ways email was seen as playing a role in organizational dissent by those who commonly use the technology. Thematic analysis of data produced two rules employees cited for email usage: be careful what is committed to writing (because of loss of message control and fear of being monitored) and maintain an appropriate, professional communication style (free of emotion, sent only to the appropriate people, and used for topics not needing face-to-face interaction). Three additional strategic roles of email in organizational dissent include emails as a means of promoting strategic self-presentation; email as a means of inviting dissent; and email as a means of documenting/archiving potentially problematic interactions. The implications of this study for existing and future studies of dissent are explored.

Black and White Interracial Couples: Managing Relational Disapproval Through Facework

This study examined the types of responses Black and White interracial couples used when anticipating or after experiencing a face threat due to racism or prejudice and their facework strategies used in alleviating those threats. Thirty-eight interviews were conducted with 19 Black and White interracial couples involved in a romantic relationship. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Data analysis indicated that interracial couples believed they had to respond to racism or prejudice they encountered. To mitigate face threats, couples used preventive and corrective facework strategies. By the types of preventive and corrective facework used, the authors conclude that interracial couples believe they are helping to bridge the racial divide in the United States.

“In My Heart for Eternity”: Normalizing Messages to the Deceased

Despite an historical tendency among psychologists to pathologize continuing attachment to the deceased, scholars of grief have come to appreciate that maintaining a connection to the deceased can be a healthypart of bereavement. Using Fishers perspective on narrative, data from The Compassionate Friends bulletin board were analyzed, both quantitatively and qualitatively, to unravel how messages to the deceased contribute to a healing story of bereavement. It is argued here that messages to the deceased can be healthy due to cathartic emotion expression and maintenance of a relationship that brings solace and meaning to the bereaved.

Investigating the Celebration of Black Friday as a Communication Ritual

This study proposes a culturally based method for achieving greater customer-centricity in marketing by examining Black Friday as a communication ritual. It enables more effective marketing strategies because it explores the meaning of participating in ritual for the consumers. A total of 65 interviews were conducted over a two year period. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis (Owen 1984) and were broken into theory-driven categories adhering to Philipsen’s (1987) definition of ritual. Data analysis revealed that shoppers engaged in a sequential set of symbolic acts: looking for deals; deciding where to shop; mapping out stores; developing in-store action plans; and assigning roles to perform. Furthermore, Black Friday shoppers celebrated four sacred objects: materialism; relational bonding; Christmas; and tradition. The findings are interrogated for their potential implications for more effective marketing strategies for these shoppers.

Facing our Heuristic Limits: Expanding the Terminology for Types of Positive Face

This article adds to Lim and Bowers’ (1991) framework featuring two types of positive face: competence and fellowship face. We propose the addition of three types of positive face: character, social, and status face. We differentiate between each new type of face by examining: (a) protective strategies adopted, (b) types of face threats, (c) corrective strategies, and (d) pejorative labels threatening/attacking each type of face. The heuristic value for the positive face terms proposed is also explored through re-visiting a scholarly article in which positive face is analyzed. Data presented in that article are examined through the lens of the three proposed positive face terms. Finally, broader implications of theorizing are discussed, particularly with respect to politeness.

E-Priming the Listener: Sensitizing Students to Listening for Verbal Aggression

This paper argues that the concept of E-Prime (E′) holds practical benefits to effective listening for students of interpersonal communication. In advancing this argument, the paper includes a concise review of relevant literature on E-Prime, defensiveness, and conflict, with particular emphasis on verbal aggression. The literature demonstrates that traditional imperatives to reduce listener defensiveness need careful consideration. In fact, offering unqualified assertions for listeners to reduce defensiveness may place students at undue risk for harm. This paper reviews pedagogical uses of E-Prime in interpersonal communication courses.

Editorial Board Membership as Scholarly Productivity: An Analysis of Selected ICA and NCA Journals 1997–2006

This study extends research into information that can be used for the purposes of academic hiring, promotion, and/or tenure. It examines conventions of editorial board membership as a scholarly activity using a sample of three International Communication Association (ICA) and five National Communication Association (NCA) journals from 1997 to 2006. Among these elite editorial boards sponsored by ICA and NCA, the norms of productivity include 5.64 years (visibility) across 1.68 different journals (breadth) for members employed in doctoral programs, 4.2 years (visibility) across 1.38 different journals (breadth) for members employed in masters level programs, and 3.21 years (visibility) across 1.13 different journals (breadth) for members employed in bachelors level programs. Also, in terms of the number of different people who represent on institution on these boards (diversity), the norms are 7.73 for doctoral programs, 2.63 for masters-level programs, and 1.30 for bachelors-level programs. The study found that the gender gap in editorial board productivity is decreasing overall, although the trend varies with journal. Results do not support eschewing institutional rankings based on editorial board representation for those based on publication rankings, as suggested by scholars in other disciplines.

Managing Millennials: looking beyond generational stereotypes

The purpose of this paper is to examine what managers perceive Millennial employees as doing in organizations to find generalizations rather than relying upon stereotypes.,In total, 25 interviews were conducted with managers in the hospitality industry. The transcribed data were analyzed to learn about identified category-bound activities described.,Three prominent findings are elaborated. First, Millennials express a desire for learning and training, because they see this as fostering advancement. Second, there were mixed evaluations of Millennials effectiveness in teamwork. Specific teamwork problems managers identified involved cliquish behavior. Finally, managers stated that Millennials desire feedback. In order for the Millennial employee to feel satisfied with the feedback, however, it needs to be ample, positive and personal.,The ability to generalize findings is limited because the objective of qualitative research is not to predict. The study does offer some patterned observations by managers that may be useful to future employees and other managers.,The analysis revealed that some practical problems managers may face when leading Millennial employees; however, these employees bring their own solution to the workplace: a desire for training.,Existing research on Millennials has not acknowledged the desire for training by Millennials. This is an important finding due to its implications for effective management.

Managers Making Sense of Millennials: Perceptions of a Generational Cohort

The study of generational cohorts has seen an increase in popularity in scholarly and popular literature. Millennials comprise the newest cohort to enter the workplace. This study explores how managers use social categorization to make sense of their Millennial-generation employees. Data were collected through interviews conducted with managers in order to learn how they viewed and described Millennials. Twenty-five managers in the hospitality industry were interviewed. Data were analyzed by searching for membership categorization devices (MCDs), then patterns in usage and meaning of the devices were explored. Three patterns were identified in using MCDs to reference Millennials: “kids”, “age group,” and “Millennials”/variations of the term. These findings are examined in reference to how they may inform managerial behavior as well as guide further study of generational cohorts.

A comparison of college students’ perceptions of older and younger tattooed women

ABSTRACT A randomly assigned sample of 376 college students responded to a survey involving a between-subjects 2 × 3 experiment designed to assess the impact of age (older versus younger) and tattoo status (i.e., no tattoo, feminine tattoo, or masculine tattoo) on three dependent measures: credibility, attractiveness, and promiscuity. Older and younger women are perceived differently depending on tattoo status. Not wearing a tattoo may lead to a more favorable perception of older women than wearing one, but wearing a feminine tattoo may engender a more favorable impression of older women than having a masculine tattoo. But not having a tattoo may not be as helpful for the perception of younger women as it is for older women. Also, while younger women may be rewarded for gender role transgression with respect to tattoo status, this is not so for older women.