While not presuming to present a model of organizational socialization that is complete and totally accurate, this paper examines organizational socialization in a new way through the lenses of symbolic interactionism and culture theory. The first section of the paper describes the basic tenets of symbolic interactionism and how these have been…

This paper investigates routine "opening turns" in telephone conversations, examining their variety and adaptability, and extending E. A. Schegloff's model to account for them. Following a review of previous research on telephone openings, the paper describes the notion of "reduction" as offered by M. R. Whalen and D. H.…

The communication discipline has advanced the belief that arguing (high argumentativeness) is a constructive communication activity. Recent research efforts have attempted the integration of principles from argumentation, interpersonal communication, and conflict management, and several benefits of high motivation to argue and skill in informal…

In an effort to establish the domain of organizational communication (OC), this paper defines variables, presents models of their relationships, explains the three dominant approaches to OC, and proposes ways to test their competing claims. Having defined characteristic, causal, and result variables, the paper stresses the importance of…

A study suggests a new approach for evaluating debate techniques. Previously used paradigms all have some disadvantages. Application of the policy-making paradigm, which involves isolating a problem, having one side propose a solution, then having the opponent point out the solution's disadvantages, is difficult because the paradigm does not…

A study examined the impact of structure and organizational ideology on organizational communication and the efficacy of that communication behavior with reporters. To do this, a model was formulated and tested. A random sample of articles focusing on non-elective organizations was drawn from seven Maryland, Delaware, and District of Columbia…

Cross examination has become a standard and important feature of contemporary debate and a great deal has been written concerning its tactical aspects. Very little, however, has been written about the fundamental strategic problem which is created by the three-minute time limit--specifically, how to use that limited period of time to its best…

In applying Ernest Becker's work on self-esteem to Erving Goffman's theory of interpersonal society, this paper suggests that Goffman's views about the politeness structure of face-to-face society might be viewed as largely grounded in a basic motivation for individuals to avoid anxiety due to loss of self-esteem. The paper uses this application…

A study examined the decision making climate of organizations that are using issues management and what type of model of issues management is followed--theorists have been attempting to define issues management since it began appearing 20 year ago. Subjects, 112 males and 30 females who were professionals working in the area of issues management…

A study identified and categorized different types of internal communication systems and developed an applied model of internal communication in adaptive organizational systems. Twenty-one large organizations were selected for their varied missions and diverse approaches to managing internal communication. Individual face-to-face or telephone…

This paper presents a research prospectus on using uncertainty reduction theory in intercultural communication. After a comprehensive review of the literature on uncertainty reduction, it is found that although information exchange is an important process in uncertainty reduction, it has long been neglected in previous studies. In the paper, after…

A study reported on two experiments which addressed the question of whether debate judges do as they say they will with regard to the advent of judge philosophy statements. The larger goal of the combined experiments was to discover whether: (1) judging paradigms operate meaningfully in Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) debate and (2)…

This paper focuses on the organizational group, noting the lack of an integrated theoretical base, describing the nature of group behavior theories, and suggesting the employment of a metatheory framework to improve both the theoretical integration and the practical application of group behavior research. The paper first considers four general…

A study combined direct observation with self-report measures in examining both communication characteristics and functional activities of managers to identify how managers really communicate. Subjects were 120 supervisors from a financial institution, a state agency, a medium-sized manufacturing plant, a campus police department, and the Navy and…

Recent models of metadiscourse proposed by Joseph M. Williams and William J. Vande Kopple are collections of disparate structures instead of principled systems--they do not contain rules to explain the interdependencies of their categories. Metadiscourse should be redefined as a category within the larger context of speech act theory.…