Business Commons^™

Family Business, Jeffrey Gilbert

Communication Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Cross-Cultural Differences In Concrete And Abstract Corporate Social Responsibility (Csr) Campaigns: Perceived Message Clarity And Perceived Csr As Mediators, Soojung Kim, Jiyang Bae

Communication Faculty Publications

Guided by Hofstede’s (Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations, 2001) cultural value of uncertainty avoidance, this study tests whether the effect of concrete vs. abstract CSR campaign messages on attitude toward the company and purchase intention varies by cultural difference in uncertainty avoidance and whether such effect is mediated by the perceived clarity of the message and perceived CSR. Lab experiments were performed in the U.S. and South Korea with American and Korean college students. Two-way ANOVA results revealed the relative advantage of concrete message on attitude toward the company and purchase intention among Koreans (vs. …

Keep Relationships Positive Or Do Things Right: Bridging Women Leaders’ Conflict Management Strategies In Non-Profit Organizations In Taiwan And The Us, Chin-Chung Chao, Dexin Tian

Communication Faculty Publications

Purpose – The present study aims at contributing to the knowledge of organizational communication and cross-cultural female leadership by examining the conflict management strategies between Taiwanese female presidents and their American counterparts in Rotary Clubs.

Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected through field observations and 25 in-depth interviews with 14 Taiwanese female presidents and 11 American female presidents in Rotary Clubs. Theme analysis of the interpretive method was used in this research.

Findings – This study revealed that the female presidents in both cultures applied obliging and integrating strategies to handle management conflicts. Yet, due to the interference of past presidents, …

Climbing The Himalayas: A Cross-Cultural Analysis Of Female Leadership And Glass Ceiling Effects In Non-Profit Organizations, Chin-Chung Chao

Communication Faculty Publications

Purpose – The present study aims at contributing to the knowledge of organizational communication and cross-cultural leadership by examining the relationship between cultural values and expected female leadership styles in non-profit organizations in Taiwan and the US. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 307 Rotarians in Taiwan and the US completed a survey meant to reveal their cultural values and expected female leadership styles. In addition, the method of semi-structured interviews was used to raise the participants’ consciousness of and critical reflections upon social practices regarding female leadership.

Findings – The research results are threefold. First, among the three major leadership styles, …

Culturally Universal Or Culturally Specific: A Comparative Study Of The Anticipated Female Leadership Styles In Taiwan And The United States, Chin-Chung Chao, Dexin Tian

Communication Faculty Publications

Guided by Bass and Avolio’s leadership frameworks and Hofstede’s modified cultural dimensions, the present cross-cultural study aims to compare and explore the relationships between cultural values and anticipated female leadership styles in non-profit organizations in Taiwan and the US. Regression and t-test analyses of 307 participants in 138 Rotary Clubs in the two societies reveal two research findings. First, Rotary Club members in Taiwan have higher scores in all the cultural dimensions of collectivism, masculinity, and life-long relationships than their US counterparts. Second, transformational leadership proves to be the most anticipated leadership style among Rotary Club members in both cultures. …

Unpacking Unintended Consequences In Planned Organizationalchanges: A Process Model, Guowei Jian

Communication Faculty Publications

The author develops a process model of the unintended consequences in planned organizational change that draws on the structuration, organizational change, and organizational tension literatures. The model depicts the communicative actions of both senior management and employees and reveals the dynamic through which unintended consequences unfold. The model extends theoretical understandings of planned organizational change and discusses how future research can build a dialectic and dialogic model of planned change focused on employee participation. The author illustrates the model with a case study of organizational change and its unintended consequences. The article concludes with insights on change management for practitioners …

Baby Boomers’ Attitudes Towards Product Placements, Nichole M. Schmoll, John Hafer, Michael L. Hilt, Hugh J. Reilly

Communication Faculty Publications

Including branded products within mass media programming is becoming common. Previous research has focused almost entirely on college-age students' attitudes about placements in movies and television. This research focuses on Baby Boomers and is the first to include questions about multiple media in forming attitudes towards product placements. Six hypotheses were tested. Attitude toward product placement is related to media consumption. Males appear more positive than females. Interactions effects of media consumption x gender and media consumption x age appear insignificant. Analytical results, graphs, tables and managerial implications and representative comments from respondents are presented.

Turning Points In Relationships With Disliked Co-Workers, Jon A. Hess, Becky Lynn Omdahl, Janie M. Harden Fritz

Communication Faculty Publications

Although most people begin their employment with the education and on-the-job training to handle the tasks their jobs entail, few long-term employees boast that they feel competent in dealing with all the difficult people they encounter in the workplace. Unpleasant coworkers range from annoying nuisances to major sources of job frustration and career roadblocks. Given that periodic preoccupation with unlovable coworkers is nearly a universal feature of organizational life, it is not surprising that such relationships are given due attention in the media and popular press (e.g., Bramson, 1989; Topchik, 2000). What is surprising is how little scholarly attention has …

Utopia And Hope: A Response To "Jacques Ellul And Technological Utopia", J. Wesley Baker

Communication Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

There Is Nothing More Diverse Than "New", Frederick A. Miller, Roger Gans

Communication Faculty Publications

In the organizational competition for talent, successful retention of newly recruited workers is at least as important as the initial hire. Still, many organizations fail to establish a sense of inclusion for new people in much the same way they often fail to create a sense of inclusion for people of color, women, people with foreign accents, or anyone with obvious differences from the “traditional group.” In most organizations, even those that have embarked on “diversity initiatives,” newly hired people often do not feel welcomed. Consequently, turnover rates in the first two years of employment are seven times greater than …

Local Television Journalism: Developing Ethics Through Discussion, Chris W. Allen, Jeremy Harris Lipschultz, Michael L. Hilt

Communication Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to examine the views of local television news producers about ethical policies and situations they face. A majority of respondents agreed that it was important for a television newsroom to have a code of ethics or discussion of ethics in the newsroom. Most often producers perceived that their newsrooms were involved in discussions of fairness, balance, and objectivity; allocating air-time to opposing interest groups or political candidates; and, providing right of reply to criticism. Producers support a written code of ethics, or occasional discussion of ethics in the television newsroom, but see the competitive …

Business As Usual: Ethics As Mundane Behavior, And The Case Of Target Corporation, Jon A. Hess

Communication Faculty Publications

Ethics are in vogue in the 1990s America. Concerns for ethical behavior pervade almost every aspect of our lives and work. This trend has not been unnoticed by the American business community. In fact, many businesses have taken current ethical concerns and tried to put them into action. In some cases, the action has been out of necessity or self-interest, as in the case of companies hurt by an unethical reputation or companies forced to implement ethics programs because of legal indictments. But some companies are taking a proactive stance toward ethics without external pressure.

As these businesses strive to …