Examines how consumers, corporate bodies, and employees communicate about quality. Presents eight summary statements about quality based on descriptions, derived definitions, and interpretations given by consumers, corporate histories, and personnel employed in a variety of corporate settings. (MM)

Examines city government managers' metaphorical language, documenting differences in number, type, intensity, and imagery of metaphors used. Identifies several organizational metaphor categories. Suggests that members of an organization share metaphorical meanings, and that there is an association between managers' metaphor use and subordinates'…

Explores the links between social identity, language use, and retention in organizational mergers and acquisitions. Finds that (1) change in culture does not happen gradually across the whole organization, but either quickly or not at all; (2) change happens by subgroups; and (3) conflict in mergers and acquisitions was between individuals rather…

Presents results of a survey examining women's reported styles of interpersonal communication, including use of tentative language, interruption, and collaboration. Reveals that, in the technical/scientific field, women's and men's perceptions of their own communication seem to be moving toward and androgenous language pattern. (SR)

A study was conducted to determine whether there was a linguistic correlation between a financially good year and a bad year as expressed in the annual reports of company presidents to their shareholders. Specifically the study tested the "Pollyanna Principle," which states (1) that regardless of whether the year was financially good or bad, the…

Examines some examples of discourse practices among managers and employees in the customer service department of a large manufacturing firm. Shows how knowledge of the ways that language can both include and exclude people from cultural groups in the worksite can help professional communicators facilitate more effective and responsible…

Noting that one way to tap into organizational life involves examining the symbolic discourse occurring in the context, a study examined stories and metaphors, forms of symbolic discourse, in two Christian denominations in Southern Appalachia. Transcriptions from audiotapes of sermons and lay talks (e.g., Sunday School lessons) from Church of God…

Reviews organizational communication studies since 1955: (1) explores problems with the use of language in these studies; (2) reviews specifically the literature on organizational hierarchies; (3) discusses promising areas of emerging research, and (4) recommends ways research can be productively conducted and reported. Includes an extensive…

Examines 620 metaphorical conflict expressions generated by 169 participants, employed or with work experience. Indicates that participants predominately used "conflict is impotence" schemas. Finds no sex differences in either schemas or linguistic analyses of metaphorical expressions. Reports greater frequency and intensity of conflicts in family…

Describes briefly the author's research (contributing to scholarship on successful language practices in organizations) examining the conflicts, and specifically the discursive methods of solving these conflicts, faced by individuals within an organization as they negotiate competing demands. Offers a new tool (called Bracketing, Ranking, and…

A study examined the way argumentation in collective bargaining shapes outcomes. Specifically, it explored the types of claims and reasoning processes that characterize bargaining interaction on different subissues of a proposal and tracked the development of arguments through sequential sessions and caucus meetings by examining similarities and…

Argues against overemphasizing clarity in the research and teaching of organizational communication because clarity and openness are neither the norm nor sensible standards to gauge communication competence or organizational effectiveness. Defines strategic ambiguity and explores its use in organizations to accomplish goals. Presents suggestions…

Noting that language is a powerful symbolic activity in need of attention in the organizational research realm, this paper examines language research in organizational settings across three nonfunctionalist paradigms: the interpretive, the radical humanist, and the radical structuralist. Within each paradigm, the paper discusses theoretical…

Twenty-two interviews were conducted with the owner, managers, employees, suppliers, customers, and competitors of an auto dealership employing 91 people in order to examine the oral traditions of that company. The interviews provided data on management styles, dynamics of the managers' interaction, general language usage, paralanguage, favorable…

Urges a "re-inventing" of corporate communications in today's organizations, and provides information about how corporations can change in new and positive ways during the current "information age." Discusses specific public relations and organizational communication concepts essential for a comprehensive understanding of…