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Tone of Communication and Climate Perceptions

Arizona State University

Neil H. Schwartz

Arizona State University

Participants read a standard orienting statement describing the founding, current business, and policies of a fictitious corporation. Half of the read ers studied the original statement, which was written in terms of a "flexi ble" approach to organizational structure. The remaining half of the sample read a modified version in which three percent of the original words had been changed toward a "strict" tone of communication. After reading, both groups rated the organization in terms of how they perceived its atti tude toward social responsibility, labor relations, and personal values. The three-percent wording change toward the strict climate significantly influ enced the amount of negative ratings, with people in the strict wording group consistently seeing the organization's climate as less pleasant and more restrictive. These results indicate that management should take great care in structuring even the most general communications since very small changes in wording can lead to substantial shifts in attitude about the organization.

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