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Full-Text Articles in Communication

Identity And Technology: Organizational Control Of Knowledge-Intensive Work, Guowei Jian Mar 2016

Identity And Technology: Organizational Control Of Knowledge-Intensive Work, Guowei Jian

Guowei Jian

Much has been written about the functioning of managerial ideologies in identity-based organizational control. However, less attention has been given to the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and identity defined by a technological discourse in regulating knowledge-intensive work. The purpose of this research is to examine the roles of identity and ICTs in the control of knowledge-intensive work. A case study of a technology service organization reveals that the construction and consumption of a technologist identity operate as organizational control, and that ICTs enable the functioning of a dialectic of technological control. This study also demonstrates the paradoxical …


Talk Matters At Work: The Effects Of Leader Member Conversational Quality And Communication Frequency On Work Role Stressors, Guowei Jian, Francis Dalisay Mar 2016

Talk Matters At Work: The Effects Of Leader Member Conversational Quality And Communication Frequency On Work Role Stressors, Guowei Jian, Francis Dalisay

Guowei Jian

Although it is clear that leadership plays a significant role in followers’ psychological health, the specific mechanisms by which leadership effects may take place await further theorizing and investigation. We argue that communication practices may constitute such specific mechanisms. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine how leader-member conversational quality (LMCQ) and communication frequency are associated with members’ perception of work role stressors. Through an online survey, the study found that LMCQ has a significant predictive effect on work role ambiguity and role overload. However, LMCQ interacts with communication frequency in their effects on role conflict. These findings …


Voicing Complaints In The Public Arena, Leo Jeffres, Guowei Jian, David Atkin Mar 2016

Voicing Complaints In The Public Arena, Leo Jeffres, Guowei Jian, David Atkin

Guowei Jian

This study draws on several literatures--the Tichenor et al. (1980) pluralism model stressing community constraints, the spiral of silence literature stressing the importance of the climate of communication, and the currently popular emphasis on democratic discussion in the "public sphere." In the Tichenor et al. (1980) model, media stress consensus and avoid conflict in more homogeneous communities. Here we extend the issue to question whether community characteristics affect perceptions of the climate of communication and one's comfort in voicing complaints in public. The results present some support for existing theory as well as some contradictions.