THESIS PROPOSAL
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN COMMUNICATION
SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION
2008
I propose to the Major Professor and to the Committee Members a study of the following topic to be conducted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Communication: COMMUNICATION IN ORGANIZATION: MICROSTUDIES OF THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS BETWEEN SUPERVISORS AND SUBORDINATES.
Summary
This is a Doctoral thesis proposal outlining an investigation into specific communication behaviors that encourage a smooth and effective conversation between superiors and their subordinates. Further, it sheds light on some of the elements that discourage such conversation. The Act-Based Paradigm will be used to generate a theory for superior-subordinate communication to explain why it fails or succeeds. Conducting such research is important because in the long run, these communication behaviors will affect future conversation experiences between superiors and subordinates as well as their impact their relationship, either positively or negatively. Ultimately, organizational performance will also be affected.
When people communicate, they send out verbal and nonverbal messages to the receivers. In my research, I will study and analyze verbal communication behaviors in terms of volume, tone, word of choice, turn-taking frequency and length of spoken time per turn. Nonverbal communication behaviors to be examined will be in the areas of facial expression, gestures and gesture-switching frequency. By focusing on these items, it will become easier to identify what, when and how these serve as catalysts, or possibly as repellants in superior-subordinate conversations. An extensive literature search on superior-subordinate communication will serve as an important part of my thesis. To compare the findings from the literature, I will conduct in-depth observations and interviews with real organizations; as well, I will draw upon my own working experience in different organizations. With this research, I hope to be able to identify the communication behaviors one should encourage or avoid in order to maintain a smooth and effective conversation between superiors and subordinates.
Background
This study seeks to generate a theory for superior-subordinate communication and explain why such communication fails or succeeds. This will be carried out by investigating the different influences and effects, positive or negative, of verbal and nonverbal communication behaviors employed during superior-subordinate communication. The term communication “has as its central interest those behavioral situations in which a source transmits a message to a receiver(s) with conscious intent to affect the latter’s behavior” (Berelson & Steiner, 1964, p. 527). I believe there are certain communication behaviors that encourage or discourage the flow of conversation. As Berelson and Steiner mentioned, messages transmitted by the senders will affect the respondents’ subsequent behavior; thus, there is no doubt that the conversation between superior and subordinate will be affected if either party sends out negative messages (verbally or nonverbally). Therefore, the quality of that communication depends primarily on every act that transpires during the conversation between superior and subordinate.
Communication behaviors in my proposed study refer to verbal and nonverbal codes. When scholars analyze one’s verbal communication, they often examine four basic identifiable patterns: phonology (the way sounds are combined to form words), syntax (the way words are combined into sentences), semantics (the meanings of words based on their relationship to one another and to elements in the environment) and pragmatics (the way in which language is used in practice) (Ruben & Stewart, 1998). For the media, nonverbal communication can be categorized into four main types: kinesic behavior, proxemics, paralanguage and object language. Kinesic behavior is communication conducted through body movements including facial expressions and oculesics or eye behavior. A communication that is being influenced by space and proximity is referred to as proxemics. Paralanguage and object language refer to how something is said and how we communicate through material artifacts, respectively (Deresky, 2005).
Communication happens constantly and in all places. Inevitably, there are many superior-subordinate communication aspects within an organization and face-to-face communication tends to be the most preferred and common form of communication inside organizations (Janasz, Dowd & Schneider, 2002). The products of these communications include, for example, sharing ideas and information, inviting opinions, summarizing ideas and information, suggesting action, offering praise, helping each other to relax (Reid & Hammersley, 2000). Therefore, it is necessary to investigate why superior-subordinate communication sometimes fails or succeeds.
However, misperceptions and misinterpretations may emerge during the conversation process, especially due to certain verbal and nonverbal communication behaviors, regardless of which communication style or approach has been adopted. These may influence the flow of the entire conversation, or worse, the relationship between superior and subordinate. I believe these subtle communication behaviors will ultimately affect overall organization performance. As Reid and Hammersley commented, “poor communication is indeed a big waste of time, but effective communication saves time” (Reid & Hammersley, 2000, p. 11).
I chose to investigate this issue because communication behaviors may have a strong impact on the superior and subordinate communication and by extension, the relationship between the two. Recent research indicates that “both superiors and subordinates felt the need to maintain their relationships through effective communication” (Lee & Jablin, 1995, p. 220). There is a need to identify these critical communication behaviors. However, while there is an urge to identify and understand these critical behaviors and the subsequent effects of superior-subordinate communication, more studies about superior-subordinate communication are focused on the bigger picture. For example, one general topic is selection of the appropriate communication style or approach adopted by a superior or subordinate. This is distinguished from the types of communication behaviors that encourage or discourage the flow of superior-subordinate conversation. Even these specific communication behaviors are minor or subtle; indeed, people should not underestimate or ignore their impact.
General Statement of Problem Area
The problem to be examined involves specific communication behaviors that encourage a smooth and effective conversation between superiors and their subordinates, while at the same time, discovers what types of communication behaviors discourage the flow of conversation. By accomplishing this study, I hope ultimately to improve the effectiveness of superior-subordinate communication while simultaneously enhancing their relationship as well as improving overall organizational performance.
Research Purpose
The primary purpose of this research paper is to study the face-to-face communication behaviors used between supervisors and subordinates in an organization. I will assess the different types of communication behaviors and learn when these behaviors will produce an effect on the superior-subordinate communication process. The secondary purpose is to determine how to maintain positive communication behaviors and avoid negative ones, thus improving the communication process between supervisors and their subordinates. The results of this study will help both supervisors and subordinates to obtain a better understanding of the nature of communications in a working environment and to improve their face-to-face communication skills in the workplace, thus allowing them to deal more effectively with problems and crises.
Significance of Study
The study is significant for three reasons. First, since supervisors and subordinates spend a great deal of time together, the quality of their organizational conversations is crucial. Second, the study will address the effects brought about by different communication behaviors and the ways positive communication behaviors can be maintained while avoiding negative behaviors. This will consequently improve the conversation between supervisors and subordinates, which in turn, will enhance the organization’s performance and productivity. Third, the study offers positive implications for organizational communication, interpersonal communication and other communication disciplines.
Theoretical Perspective
The theoretical perspective for my proposed study is most commonly referred to as the Act-Based Paradigm. The Act-Based Paradigm is a newly developed approach “for building the conceptual foundations for theory development in the humanities and social sciences” (Powers, 2006). It is certainly useful in examining the communication exchange between supervisors and subordinates. The Act-Based Paradigm proposes that all organic acts (a four-phase structure called the act form) have formal structure; the act form itself and the five main principles are important for the social sciences because “the theory claims that the act form and the five primary principles appear at any and every level of observation we might choose to focus on” (Powers, 2006). This includes a broad spectrum of acts ranging from the tiniest ones, such as a cell’s activity, to the most observable acts, such as conversation between human beings. This is why I chose to adopt the Act-Based Paradigm in studying superior-subordinate communication.
As Langer (1967) claimed, “every act… has an initial phase, a phase of acceleration and sometimes increasing complexity, a turning point, or consummation, and a closing phase, or cadence” (p. 291). While the whole process of a single superior-subordinate communication exchange is a type of act, there are a great many smaller acts that take place simultaneously within one single communication exchange. By implementing the principle of the Act-Based Paradigm into my research study, the act form reflects the type of communication behavior(s) that may tend to accelerate an act or trigger another. This reveals what kinds of communication behavior(s) may decelerate an act or completely discontinue one. In a sense, I will use the Act-Based Paradigm to generate a theory of superior-subordinate communication and investigate why it fails or succeeds based on the explanatory principles provided in the Act Theory.
Research Questions and Objectives
Question #1: What are the perceived verbal communication behaviors that accelerate and decelerate the conversation between superiors and their subordinates?
Question #2: What are the perceived nonverbal communication behaviors that accelerate and decelerate the conversation between superiors and their subordinates?
Question #3: What kind(s) of verbal communication behaviors actually encourage or accelerate the conversation between superiors and their subordinates?
Question #4: What kind(s) of nonverbal communication behaviors actually discourage or decelerate the conversation between superiors and their subordinates?
Question #5: How will a conversation between superiors and subordinates fail or succeed in view of the communication behaviors each exhibits or the time in which they carry out those behaviors?
Question #6: Do the communication behaviors that have been investigated have the same effect if they happen in different phases (in terms of an act form) of a single communication process between superiors and subordinates?
Objective #1: To investigate how verbal communication behavior plays an important role during the conversation process of superiors and their subordinates.
Objective #2: To investigate how nonverbal communication behavior plays an important role during the conversation process of superiors and their subordinates.
Objective #3: To acquire a general knowledge of how both verbal and nonverbal communication behaviors affect the conversation process between superiors and their subordinates.
Objective #4: To identify the specific influences of the communication behaviors in the conversation process of superiors and their subordinates in terms of the four-phase act form.
Objective #5: To propose a theory of superior-subordinate communication that leads to smooth and effective communication flow between superiors and their subordinates.
Methods, Design and Instrumentation
The research will be based on a variety of information. First, there is research literature in organizational, interpersonal, and verbal and nonverbal communication that looks at how supervisors and subordinates interact in an organization. This literature often presents the results of experiments that manipulate the selected targets’ behaviors and conversations to see what will happen. Some of these findings have actually been implemented in real workplaces. Second, there is a pool of literature related to management and organizational psychology, in which there are descriptions of how people in an organization interact and guidance for how they should communicate. Third, I will draw upon my own work experience in several organizations and my extensive observations and interviews of real organizations. It is my hope that drawing upon my own experiences and observations will bring supplementary information to the academic material.
Data Analysis
The data analysis for this research will be conducted by using the qualitative data analysis method. My goal is to acquire an in-depth understanding of supervisors’ and subordinates’ communication behaviors. I will use four methods for gathering information for analysis i.e., participation in real-life settings, direct observation, in-depth interviews, and analysis of the academic literature and other related documents.
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