Journal of Business Communication recent issues

Performing Sustainable Development Through Eco-Collaboration: The Ricelands Habitat Partnership

Livesey, S. M., Hartman, C. L., Stafford, E. R., Shearer, M. — 2009-09-14

"Performativity" theory offers a useful framework for illuminating the role that organizational discourse plays in engendering new social imaginaries. In this article, the authors demonstrate this point through a genealogy and textual analysis of the Ricelands Habitat Partnership (RHP), an eco-collaboration between the rice industry and environmental advocates in California’s Sacramento Valley. Articulated here as a story of enemies becoming friends, the RHP gives life to a vision of more (if not perfectly) sustainable agriculture, where sustaining business and the natural environment can go hand in hand. The authors argue that sustainable development (like democracy or other abstract concepts) becomes "real" for businesses and for society at large through local enactment. That is, new understandings and practices of sustainability are brought into being and institutionalized through the stories that they generate. Attention to the performative effects of language points to the ethical dimensions of our own research and writing. It suggests the need to consider the potentially world-changing effects of stories that we choose to tell.

The Role of Leader Motivating Language in Employee Absenteeism

Mayfield, J., Mayfield, M. — 2009-09-14

This study investigates the relationship between strategic leader language (as embodied in Motivating Language Theory) and employee absenteeism. With a structural equation model, two perspectives were measured for the impact of leader spoken language: employee attitudes toward absenteeism and actual attendance. Results suggest that leader language does in fact have a positive, significant relationship with work attendance through the mediation effect of worker attendance attitude.

Obfuscating the Obvious: Miscommunication Issues in the Interpretation of Common Terms

Brewer, E. C., Holmes, T. L. — 2009-09-14

We communicate via many forms every day. When what we say or write is misunderstood, the fault may lie with either party. One source of miscommunication is the different meaning people place on commonly used words and phrases. In this article, the authors report preliminary results from a study on such miscommunication and lay out an agenda for research on improving business communication based on the Integrative Model of Levels of Analysis of "Miscommunication," developed by Coupland, Wiemann, and Giles.

Papers By the 2008 Kitty O. Locker Outstanding Researcher Recipient and Respondent: Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Business Communication, October 30, 2008

Ryan, C. — 2009-09-14

Economic Crises and Financial Disasters: The Role of Business Communication

Jameson, D. A. — 2009-09-14

Making a Difference with Business Communication: A Response to Daphne Jameson's ORA Address

Rentz, K. — 2009-09-14

The Central Role of Communication in Developing Trust and Its Effect On Employee Involvement

Thomas, G. F., Zolin, R., Hartman, J. L. — 2009-06-05

Communication plays an important role in the development of trust within an organization. While a number of researchers have studied the relationship of trust and communication, little is known about the specific linkages among quality of information, quantity of information, openness, trust, and outcomes such as employee involvement. This study tests these relationships using communication audit data from 218 employees in the oil industry. Using mediation analysis and structural equation modeling, we found that quality of information predicted trust of one's coworkers and supervisors while adequacy of information predicted one's trust of top management. Trust of coworkers, supervisors, and top management influenced perceptions of organizational openness, which in turn influenced employees' ratings of their own level of involvement in the organization's goals. This study suggests that the relationship between communication and trust is complex, and that simple strategies focusing on either quality or quantity of information may be ineffective for dealing with all members in an organization.

Breaking the Chain of Command: Making Sense of Employee Circumvention

Kassing, J. W. — 2009-06-05

This study explores how employees accounted for their engagement in circumvention (i.e., dissenting by going around or above one's supervisor). Employees completed a survey instrument in which they provided a dissent account detailing a time when they chose to practice circumvention. Results indicated that employees accounted for circumvention through supervisor inaction, supervisor performance, and supervisor indiscretion. In addition, findings revealed how employees framed circumvention in ways that enhanced the severity and principled nature of the issues about which they chose to dissent.

CEOs' Hybrid Speeches: Business Communication Staples

Thro, A. B. — 2009-06-05

Closely examining a number of contemporary speeches given by CEOs, this study highlights differentiating features of two business speech genres that together account for a large number of corporate speeches. These genres, which are exemplified by speeches given at events such as industry conferences or company ceremonies, are unlike other business speech genres in that they pursue two main communication ends at once. They take on an assignment set by the speaking occasion while simultaneously pursuing the speaker's commercial objective. CEO speakers construct the hybrid speeches of these two genres by drawing on and modifying single-purpose speech types regularly used today both in business and in other sectors. Recognizing the dual communication purpose of hybrid speeches is critical for understanding their unusual structures and for developing appropriate standards to evaluate them.

A Content Analysis Investigating Relationships Between Communication and Business Continuity Planning

Adkins, G. L., Thornton, T. J., Blake, K. — 2009-06-05

This study provides an exploratory content analysis of business continuity planning (BCP) literature. The researchers systematically sampled multiple databases and codified artifacts using a set of variables developed by the research team. Based on the analysis, arguments are presented concerning the nature of BCP, the state of the BCP literature, and the nature of the conversations taking place in regard to BCP among academics, government/legal institutions, the media, and trade industries. Finally, the researchers demonstrate gaps in the current knowledge on BCP and suggest future directions for applied and theoretical research.

The Importance of "Niche" Journals To New Business-Communication Academics-- and To All of Us

Rentz, K. — 2009-06-05

This commentary, extending one published in 2007, reports on a study of publishing advice being given to new academics in business communication. The findings suggest that "niche" journals such as the Journal of Business Communication are very important to these academics' professional advancement and are, in general, well regarded in the respondents' host departments. Such journals are essential to the scholarly conversation in specialty areas that are not well served by bigger, mainstream journals.

Book Review: Structuring the Information Age: Life Insurance and Technology in the Twentieth Century, by JoAnne Yates. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005. 368 pp

Graham, M. B. — 2009-06-05

Announcement

Walker, R. C. — 2009-06-05

Submission Guidelines

Walker, R. C., Knight, M. — 2009-06-05

Time to Socialize: Organizational Socialization Structures and Temporality

Gomez, L. F. — 2009-03-04

Organizational socialization is a communicative practice that affects and is affected by organizational temporality. The relationship between organizational socialization practices and organizational temporality is empirically explored through a questionnaire focusing on Ballard and Seibold's temporality dimensions and measures emphasizing structural dimensions of socialization tactics. Findings indicate that the perception of time as scarce is related to organizational members' development of formal structures that promote socialization of newcomers. Further, findings suggest that organizational members holding a future temporal focus may engage in the development of formal socialization structures that provide social support for newcomers and help newcomers predict their career path within the organization.

A Descriptive Account of the Investor Relations Profession: A National Study

Laskin, A. V. — 2009-03-04

Despite being a practice of vital importance for corporations, investor relations commands little attention in scholarly research. The studies of investor relations from a strategic communication standpoint are almost nonexistent in the United States. At the same time, investor relations today is undergoing a major shift from financial reporting to building and maintaining relationships with shareholders. The article reviews literature to define the current body of knowledge and state of research in investor relations. Then, the article reports on a survey of Fortune 500 companies to identify major investor relations practices at corporations: investor relations activities, their target audiences, their place in organizational structure, the education of investor relations officers, and what problems investor relations officers face.

Exit, Voice, and Sensemaking Following Psychological Contract Violations: Women's Responses to Career Advancement Barriers

Hamel, S. A. — 2009-03-04

Much of the theory guiding career development research is grounded in studies of men's careers in professional positions. In addition to largely ignoring the career experiences of women, the career literature pays little attention to overcoming barriers to career advancement in organizations—a challenge many women and men both face over the course of their career development. Using survey data, analyses of in-depth interviews, and a focus group discussion with female executives in the high-tech industry, this study finds variations of three responses: exit, voice, and rationalizing to remain are used by women in response to career barriers. These responses form the foundation of a career barrier sensemaking and response framework presented in the study. Findings indicate that perceived organizational sanctioning of career barriers and the organization's commitment to the career advancement of other women also influence participants' responses to barriers and their strategies for sensemaking, respectively.

Who We Are and What We Do, 2008

Cyphert, D. — 2009-03-04

A recent survey of some Association for Business Communication members highlights changes in the organization's focus over the past 40 years. Members continue to highly value pedagogical relevance, but the Association for Business Communication clearly attracts research-active academics, suggesting potential directions for the organization.

Book Review: Writing the Economy: Activity, Genre and Technology in the World of Banking, by Graham Smart. Oakville, CT: Equinox Publishing Ltd., 2006. 266 pp., index

Andrews, D. C. — 2009-03-04

A Special Issue of the Journal of Business Communication Language Matters: Corporate Language in International Business Operations

2009-03-04

Upcoming Abc Conferences

2009-03-04

Meeting Talk: An Introduction

Asmuss, B., Svennevig, J. — 2008-12-03

Interpretative Management in Business Meetings: Understanding Managers' Interactional Strategies through Conversation Analysis

Nielsen, M. F. — 2008-12-03

Middle managers interpret experiences and observations of employees and relate them to organizational contexts, practices, and strategies. By analyzing authentic verbal communication between middle managers and employees, this article will draw five conclusions about how interpretational work support organizational goals and values: 1. Middle managers and employees collaborate in interpreting tasks in relation to organizational context; 2. This interpretative work is based on language acquisition: learning the vocabulary of the organization; 3. The managers articulate the process, explicitly defining reality and influencing language use; 4. Employees show expectation of having their experiences interpreted by managers; 5. Employees may challenge managers with competing interpretations. This article will contribute to the study of leadership communication by combining organization communication theory and conversation analytic methodology. The article shows important ways in which middle managers "do leadership": by contextualizing employee actions and bringing employee perceptions in accordance with executive-level perceptions of organizational practices.

Beyond Taxonomies of Influence: "Doing" Influence and Making Decisions in Management Team Meetings

Clifton, J. — 2008-12-03

Studies of influence in organizational settings have tended to concentrate on defining categories of influence based on self-reports and questionnaires. This has tended to decontextualize and generalize the findings and therefore overlooks the inevitably temporally and locally situated nature of all social activity. Using conversation analysis as a methodology and videotaped data of naturally occurring talk, this article seeks to go beyond such taxonomies of influence. More specifically, this article seeks to provide a fine-grained analysis of how subordinates, as well as superiors, can influence decision-making episodes of talk. It is also argued that the results of such research can be fed back into practice and ultimately can be of help in allowing better decision-making practices.

Staging a Team Performance: A Linguistic Ethnographic Analysis of Weekly Meetings at a British Embassy

Van Praet, E. — 2008-12-03

Drawing on insights from Goffman's dramaturgical approach to interaction, this article demonstrates how meetings are team performances routinely concerned with sustaining or challenging interpretations of power relations. The data for this article were collected at a British embassy, relying on participant observation, audio recordings of weekly gatherings of Heads of Section, and interviews with the people that attended the meeting. The analysis focuses on the double role behavior of the Ambassador as the director and central player of a team performance and the conflicting ideologies these shifting roles entail.

Emotions in Organizations: Joint Laughter in Workplace Meetings

Kangasharju, H., Nikko, T. — 2008-12-03

Humor and laughter are emotion-involving activities that can be jointly constructed in interaction. This article analyzes instances of joint laughter in leader-member meetings where laughter may or may not be associated with humor. The method applied is conversation analysis in which the focus lies on laughter's role in the microlevel organization of interaction. The results show that the instances of laughter do not occur in accidental locations but are clearly connected to specific activities. First, humor and laughter can be strategically used by team leaders to create collegiality and a good working atmosphere in their teams. Second, laughing together is connected to closing down a topic or a phase in a meeting in a way that displays mutual understanding. Third, shared laughter initiated by team members appears to be a resource that can be used to reduce tension in challenging situations such as the accomplishment of difficult tasks or the treatment of delicate topics. Finally, laughing together can be used to do remedial work in problematic or conflicting situations. Ultimately, joint laughter appears to be a resource that can be used to improve the task performance and, through this, the achievement of the goals of the organization.

Same Token, Different Actions: A Conversation Analytic Study of Social Roles, Embodied Actions, and ok in German Business Meetings

Barske, T. — 2008-12-03

Using a conversation analytic approach, this article presents a systematic analysis of the interactional use of the particle ok in the institutional setting of German business meetings. Through an examination of talk-in-interaction with a thorough description of relevant embodied actions, the author analyzes how meeting participants co-construct social roles by employing different uses of free-standing ok. More specifically, the author focuses on two different uses of free-standing ok in business meetings: ok with averted eye gaze and ok with maintained eye gaze. The author addresses the question of how the chairperson uses free-standing ok to accomplish different actions and to perform "doing-being-facilitator." By describing where the chairperson looks while producing ok, I also discuss how the chair manages both the coordination of face-to-face interaction and the practical task of facilitating the progress of a meeting.

"So What Shall We Talk About": Openings and Closings in Chat-Based Virtual Meetings

Markman, K. M. — 2008-12-03

Using the framework of conversation analysis, the author examines the structure of interaction in computer-mediated team meetings, focusing on the openings and closings of the team's four virtual meetings. The author describes how the medium, quasisynchronous chat (QSC), disrupts the temporal flow of conversation and makes beginning and ending these informally structured meetings difficult. The author finds that the team, as a result, evolved a two-stage process for both opening and closing the meetings, which allowed them to make consistent use of certain linguistic and conversational devices to mark possible transition points for openings and closings. The author discusses how these virtual meetings compare to face-to-face interactions and some possible implications for the use of QSC for virtual team meetings.