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Masters Theses Graduate School

8-2011

Effective Change Communication in the Workplace

Amy Lynn Harp
aharp1@utk.edu

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To the Graduate Council:

I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Amy Lynn Harp entitled "Effective Change
Communication in the Workplace." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for
form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Master of Science, with a major in Communication and Information.

John W. Haas, Major Professor

We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance:

Virginia W. Kupritz, Joan Rentsch

Accepted for the Council:

Carolyn R. Hodges

Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School

(Original signatures are on file with official student records.)

Effective Change Communication in the Workplace

A Thesis
Presented for the
Master of Science Degree
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Amy Lynn Harp

August 2011
 ii

Copyright © 2011 by Amy Lynn Harp

All rights reserved.
 iii

Dedication

This thesis is dedicated to the memory of my father, Gary Harp. Through his unyielding love and

constant support for my education, he made a master’s degree possible even after his death. Dad,

I miss you every day.

 iv

Acknowledgements

Thank you, thank you, thank you John Haas. Your encouragement and support

throughout the last six years during my undergraduate and graduate careers have been

remarkable. Thank you for having faith in me when I did not, for providing opportunities for me

to learn both in school and in life, and for affording me occasions where I could shine. You have

truly made a difference in my life.

I would also like to thank Virginia Kupritz for her service on my committee. Your

thoughtful insights, warm nature, and constant encouragement were life savers in the storm of

my thesis. Joan Rentsch, thank you for truly completing my thesis committee. You pushed me

to perform and to understand my work at the highest possible level.

Last, I would like to say thank you to my family and friends. Mom and Lloyd, you are

amazing. I could not have accomplished this without you. Alison, I am blessed to have you as

my sister. Chance, thank you for always listening and always telling me I could do it. To my

other family and friends, thank you for constant vote of confidence and uplifting words

throughout this process. I am truly blessed.

 v

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate effective change communication in the

workplace by utilizing goal setting theory. Due to potential validity issues with previous

organizational communication audit research, a multi-methods study was devised to investigate

and construct a new measure for effective change communication in the workplace. Preliminary

interviews along with previous research were utilized to construct a survey questionnaire

gauging effective change communication in the workplace. Over 1,000 employees at a large,

health-services companies participated in the study. The results from the study yield a framework

for evaluating effective change communication on individual (i.e. behavior, trait, and

knowledge) and organizational (i.e. accuracy, clarity, and availability) levels. Also, the data was

divided between males and females, communication sources, and the perceptions of effective

supervisory communication. The study’s practical implications, addition to goal setting theory,

limitations, and future research are noted.

Keywords: change communication, goal setting theory, communication sources, supervisory

communication, effective communication

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................1

Chapter 2 Literature Review ....................................................................................4

Goal Setting Theory .............................................................................................4

Communication Audit..........................................................................................7

Communication Audit and Validity .................................................................8

Satisfaction versus Effectiveness ...................................................................10

Previous Research on Gender and Management Roles .....................................10

Change Communication.....................................................................................12

Rationale ............................................................................................................16

Chapter 3 Methods .................................................................................................18

Participants.........................................................................................................18

Measure ..............................................................................................................18

Interviews .......................................................................................................18

Survey Questionnaire ....................................................................................20

Procedure ...........................................................................................................20

Data Analysis .....................................................................................................21

Chapter 4 Results .................................................................................................22

Research Question One ....................................................................................22

Individual Level of Analysis ........................................................................22

Organizational Level of Analysis ................................................................26

Research Question Two ...................................................................................30

Research Question Three .................................................................................30

Research Question Four ...................................................................................32

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Research Question Five ....................................................................................35

Chapter 5 Discussion ...........................................................................................38

Limitations and Future Research .....................................................................44

Conclusions ......................................................................................................45

References ............................................................................................................46

Appendices ...........................................................................................................60

Vita .......................................................................................................................68
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List of Tables

Table 4.1: Examples of Responses Coded for Behavior ................................... 23

Table 4.2: Examples of Responses Coded for Traits ........................................ 24

Table 4.3: Examples of Responses Coded for Knowledge ................................26

Table 4.4: Examples of Responses Coded for Accuracy ..................................27

Table 4.5: Examples of Responses Coded for Availability ..............................29

Table 4.6: Examples of Responses Coded for Clarity ......................................30

Table 4.7: Frequency Counts for Interview Data ..............................................32

Table 4.8: Bivariate Correlations Results for Supervisor and

Change Communication ...................................................................35

Table 4.9: Independent Samples T-Test for Gender and Change

Communication Sources ....................................................................37

Table 4.10: Mean Scores for Gender and Sources of Chance Communication....38

Table 4.11: Bivariate Correlations for Supervisory and Chance

Communication Sources .................................................................. 39

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List of Figure

Figure 4.1: Scatter Plot for Supervisor and Chance Communication .................. 34
 1

Chapter 1

Introduction

Communication is central to the success of most all organizations. And when change is

occurring in an organization, communication is even more essential to implement that change

effectively (Bennebroek-Gravenhorst, Elving, & Werkman, 2006; DiFonzo & Bordia, 1998;

Elving, 2005; Elving & Hansma, 2008; Lewis, 1999; Schweiger & Denisi, 1991). However, one

problem for many modern organizations is that change is not always communicated effectively

(Burke, 2008; Cummings & Worley, 2009; Fernandez & Rainey, 2006; Hargie & Tourish, 2000).

Ineffective communication during organizational change is reported to negatively impact the

way an organization functions. For example, ineffective change communication can lead to

resistance to the change, rumors, and promote exaggeration of the negative aspects associated

with the change (DiFonzo, Bordia, & Rosnow, 1994; Smelzer & Zener, 1992) as well as to act as

an overall negative influence on corporate culture (Keyton, 2005). The purpose of this study is

to investigate effective change communication in the workplace.

Despite the importance of communication to successful organizational change, how

scholars and practitioners conceptualize effective change communication has received limited

attention in the literature. Moreover, since the communication process influences most all

aspects of change ranging from the vision that is communicated to the communication practices

associated with new job duties, previous attempts to deal with effective change communication

have tended to focus on some aspect of change. For example, change communication has been

described in regards to themes (Lewis, Stephens, Schmisseur, & Weir, 2003), pervasiveness

upon corporate culture (Keyton, 2005), expectations and competencies (Clampitt, 2001; Elving
 2

& Hansma, 2008; Frahm & Brown, 2005; Heracleous, 2002), characteristics or dimensions of the

change process (Bennebroek-Gravenhorst, Elving, & Werkman, 2006; Cushman & King, 1995;

Dawson, 2003; Salem, 1999), and how to manage the change process (Elving, 2005; Fernandez

& Rainey, 2006). Some would argue that effective change communication occurs when

employees successfully adopt the proposed change or changes (Robertson, Roberts, & Porras,

1993). Others would be inclined to evaluate effective change communication as the level of

readiness employees feel regarding the change (Elving, 2005). While competing

conceptualizations of what constitutes effective change communication exist, the framework for

this project is based on Locke’s work regarding goal setting. The notion of goal setting suggests

that organizations do not haphazardly operate (Locke, 1996; Locke & Latham, 2002; Locke &

Latham, 2006). Rather, organizations have a multitude of goals both stated and unstated that

navigate operations especially when undergoing change. The purpose of these goals is to direct

action towards desired outcomes. If an organization strives to bring about identifiable changes

and uses communication to that end, then effective change communication would be defined as

the attainment of the desired outcomes. Communication is the vehicle that organizational

members use to achieve the desired outcomes.

Exploring change communication has both applied value and theoretical significance in

regards to our understanding of organizational communication. In regards to the practical

application, this research seeks to create an instrument that organizations may employ to evaluate

communication when change is occurring. This is important because of the pressure managers

are under to provide concrete results in a climate of scarce resources (Garnett & Kouzmin,

2000). In a theoretical sense, three areas will be advanced. First, goal setting theory will be
 3

extended beyond its traditional focus on the process of goal-setting as a method to enhance

performance. Second, previous measures of effective communication in the workplace have

some validity issues. This project’s goal is to provide a measure that overcomes previous

difficulties. Third, this project will aid in our understanding of how communication works

during times of change in organizations. As suggested by Elving (2005), communication in the

organizational change process has had limited empirical attention from communication

researchers. A more detailed discussion of these issues follows. This paper is organized around

a review of the relevant literature, a rationale for inquiry, the methods for the study, the results,

and a discussion of the findings.

 4

Chapter 2

Literature Review

Goal Setting Theory

The theoretical framework for this research, goal setting theory, was originally

constructed to examine motivation through the relationship of conscious goals and level of task

performance in primarily industrial and organizational settings. “A goal is the object or aim of

an action, for example, to attain a specific standard of proficiency, usually within a specified

time limit” (Locke & Latham, 2002, p. 705). The purpose of goal setting theory is to predict,

explain, and manipulate performance on organizational tasks (Lock & Latham, 2002).

Goal setting and goal setting theory have been researched for more than 30 years, and

goals and their relationship to performance have developed many theoretical constructs. These

constructs include the core of the goal in terms of specificity and difficulty. For instance, the

most difficult goals produce the highest levels of performance as long as the individual’s ability

was not exceeded and commitment to the goal did not change. Also, specific and difficult goals

lead to a higher level of performance than vague goals like “do your best” (Locke, 1996; Locke

& Latham, 2002; Locke & Latham, 2006). More components of goal setting theory include

moderators like the level of goal commitment (Hollenbeck & Klein, 1987; Klein, Wesson,

Hollenbeck, & Alge, 1999), the assessment of self-efficacy (Podsakoft & Farh, 1989;

Zimmerman, Bandura, & Martinez-Pons, 1992), the amount of feedback (Kim, 1984; Kim &

Hamner, 1976; Vigoda-Gadot & Angert, 2007), the degree of task complexity (Wood, Mento, &

Locke, 1987), the importance of the supervisor (Latham & Locke, 1979; Latham & Saari, 1979)
 5

and mechanisms of goals like their directive function (Locke & Bryan, 1969; Rothkopf &

Billington, 1979), energizing function (Bandura & Cervone, 1983; Bryan & Locke, 1967; Sales,

1970), and their relationship to selecting strategies for performance (Latham & Baldes, 1975;

Locke, 1996).

Consistent with the work of Locke and his colleagues (see Locke, 1996; Locke &

Latham, 2002; Locke & Latham, 2006) that examined goals and goal setting in organizational

settings, this project proposes to explore how communication is used to support the goal of

organizational change. Thus, this study seeks to extend our understanding of goals and goal

setting to wider organizational outcomes. Goal setting theory has been explored utilizing various

organizational samples including truck drivers, logging crews, office workers, garment workers,

managers and supervisors, superior-subordinate pairs, professors, manufacturing work groups,

and vending machine servicemen. Also with these various samples have been various researched

goals including self rated performance improvement, goal attainment, output quantity, sales,

productivity, superiors’ ratings of subordinate performance, and absenteeism (Latham & Yukl,

1975).

Specific research examples utilizing goal setting theory in organizations abound. For

instance, Barrick, Mount, and Strauss (1993) conducted research with 91 sales representatives at

an appliance manufacturing organization. As conscientiousness was another factor examined in

this study, those sales representatives who were high on conscientiousness were more likely to

set goals and be more committed to those goals which yielded a greater sales volume and higher

supervisory ratings. Latham and Kinne (1974) conducted a research experiment where they

provided training in goal setting for one group of laborers, pulpwood-loggers, with a control

group of loggers who received no training in goal setting. After 12-weeks of data collection, the
 6

researchers found that goal setting lead to a decrease in absenteeism and an increase in

production. Rodgers and Hunter (1991) examined top management of various companies who

utilize a management strategy known as management by objectives or MBO. One of the findings

from this research was when top management commitment was high to the MBO program, there

was a 56% average gain in productivity versus when commitment was low and only a 6% gain in

productivity. Another example of goal setting research is the work by Baum, Locke, and Smith

(2001) which attempted to bridge multiple areas of research including goal setting in the light of

venture growth of organizations. Three hundred and seven companies participated in this study,

and it was found that a CEO’s motivation or goal setting, summed up in the study as vision,

growth goals, and self-efficacy, was a direct predictor of venture growth.

One important motivation for utilizing the theory of goal setting for this research is due to

the generalizability of this particular theory. Support for the theory has stemmed from over 400

laboratory and field studies which utilized over 40,000 research participants ranging from

children to research scientists in eight different countries. Multiple research designs including

experimental, quasi-experimental, and correlational have been implemented to test the theory.

Also, numerous tasks, levels of analysis (i.e. individual, group, organizational units, entire

organizations), and time spans (i.e. one minute to 25 years) have supported goal setting theory

(Locke, 1996; Locke & Latham, 2002; Locke & Latham, 2006). Although there have been

failures of implementation of goal setting, Locke and Latham (2002) argue that is due to error on

behalf of the implementer. That error could include issues like not gaining goal commitment, not

providing feedback, or not incorporating enough variety in the goal difficulty level.

Another important factor of goal setting theory that makes it useful to this particular

study is the propagation of this theory as an open theory, or one “that new elements are added as
 7

new discoveries are made” (Locke & Latham, 2006, p. 266). This is important because of a gap

in the research this study focusing on organizations in times of change is hoping to fill. The vast

majority of goal setting literature looks at the goal, the outcome (or performance), and the factors

of the goal or other influences that affect that performance. But how do individuals get from

goals to performance? And more importantly for this study, how do organizations accomplish

their desired outcomes (i.e. performance) especially in times of change? They do that through

communication. Communication is the vehicle that organization members use to achieve those

desired outcomes. This is an understandable oversight to this point as goal setting theory was

developed in industrial and organizational psychology with the focus on motivation not

communicative behavior (Locke & Latham, 2006). However, it is time for the important

component of communication to be explored employing the theory to increase its generalizability

and utility.

Communication Audit

Perhaps the most widely used method of assessing communication during times of

change is the organizational communication audit. Auditing or gauging communication

effectiveness in organizations can be traced back to the 1950’s (Odiorne, 1954), but this

methodology for examining communication grew quickly in the 1970s with the development of

the organizational communication audit (e.g., Brooks, Callicoat, & Siegerdt, 1979; Goldhaber &

Krivonos, 1977; Goldhaber, Yates, Porter, & Lesniak, 1978; Greenbaum & White, 1976; Roberts

& O’Reilly, 1974; Sincoff & Goyer, 1977). While there have been numerous studies involving

the audit in various countries over the last 40 years, the results reported uniformly point to a

desire for more information by organization members concerning most all organization issues

including change (e.g., Brooks, Callicoat, & Siegerdt, 1979; Goldhaber et al., 1978; Gray, 2000;
 8

Hargie, Tourish, & Wilson, 2002; Hogard, Ellis, Ellis, & Barker, 2005; Opyt, Stewart, & Soy,

2001; Quinn & Hargie, 2004; Robson & Tourish, 2005; Scott, Connaughton, Diaz-Saenz,

Maguire, Ramirez, Richardson, Shaw, & Morgan, 1999; Tourish & Mulholland 1997;

Zimmerman, Sypher, & Haas, 1996).

The organizational communication audit was developed by the Organizational

Communication Division of the International Communication Association (ICA) in 1971 to

measure organizational communication using five measures: a questionnaire survey, interviews,

network analysis, communication experiences, and communication diaries (Goldhaber &

Krivonos, 1977). Throughout the years, the survey has become the foremost tool used out of the

five for “its ease of development, administration, and interpretation—both for clients and

research publication” (Goldhaber, 2002, p. 451). During the 1970’s, this measurement package

was propagated by many scholars (e.g., Brooks, Callicoat, & Siegerdt, 1979; Goldhaber et al.,

1978; Goldhaber & Krivonos, 1977; Greenbaum & White, 1976; Roberts & O’Reilly, 1974;

Sincoff & Goyer, 1977) to assess the “health” or the effectiveness of organizational

communication along an array of dimensions including message sources, receivers, topics,

channels, attitudes, behaviors, and more (Goldhaber & Krivonos, 1977).

Communication Audit and Validity

Many scholars (e.g. Clampitt, 2005; Downs & Adrian, 2004; Tourish & Hargie, 2009)

continue to believe that the audit is a useful tool for capturing effective organizational

communication. This tool has been available and has been utilized for close to 40 years. Yet,

there is a vast body of research spanning many years and multiple countries (e.g., Brooks,
 9

Callicoat, & Seigerdt, 1979; Goldhaber et al., 1978; Gray, 2000; Hargie, Tourish, & Wilson

2002; Hogard et al., 2005; Opyt, Stewart, & Soy, 2001; Quinn & Hargie, 2004; Robson &

Tourish, 2005; Scott, et al., 1999; Tourish & Mulholland 1997; Zimmerman, Sypher, & Haas,

1996) that purports organizational members nearly always want more information than they

currently receive. The question raised from this research is that of the validity of the

organizational communication audit. Is the audit really measuring effective organizational

communication, or is it tapping into a consistent belief system regarding a communication

“metamyth” in the organization?

Zimmerman, Sypher, and Haas (1996) first publicized the idea of a communication

“metamyth” in “that more communication is better” in regards to an organizational context (p.

186). Moreover, this deep-seated metamyth is adopted without question by organizational

members. This metamyth ideal is rooted in two related belief systems: the established notion of

the importance of communication in organizations and the conduit or “pipeline” metaphor. The

established notion of the importance of communication comes from an extended period of

research (e.g. Barnard, 1938; Batemen & Miller, 1981; Blanchard, 1991; Bush & Frohman,

1991; Chen, Miller, Jiang, & Klein, 2005; Czarniawska-Joerges, 1992; Guetzkow, 1965; Katz &

Kahn, 1978; Leonard, Graham, & Bonacum, 2004; March & Simon, 1958; McLaurin & Bell,

1991; Postmes, 2003; Scott, 1981; Stringham, 1992; Weick, 1987) that propagates the

significance of communication for organizations in formation, progression, and the continued

life of organizations. The second belief system, or the conduit metaphor, stresses that

communication can be viewed as a pipeline that conveys information from the sender to receiver.

There is a body of literature (e.g. Axley, 1984; Barnard, 1938; Costa, de Matos, & Cunha, 2003;

Hargie & Tourish, 2004; Jenner, 1994; Katz & Kahn, 1978; Krovi, Chandra, & Rajagopalan,
 10

2003; Smith & Grimm, 1991; Sy & Cote, 2004; Walsh & Birkin, 1980; Weick, 1987) that

supports this notion (Haas, 2007).

Satisfaction versus Effectiveness

Along with the idea of the communication metamyth, previous measures like the

Organizational Communication Development (OCD) Audit Questionnaire or the ICA

Organizational Communication Audit (Rubin, Palmgreen, & Sypher, 2004) tap into and measure

satisfaction with communication. Being satisfied with communication within the organization is

not the same as communication being effective within the organization. This research endeavor

focuses solely on gauging effectiveness with change communication and does not attempt to

gauge satisfaction with that communication. This is also an important distinction between

satisfaction and effectiveness for practitioners to make when evaluating their company’s

communication.

Previous Research on Gender and Management Roles

Regarding managers and non-managers in the workplace, there are studies that denote

differences between those who occupy managerial positions and those who do not. For instance,

the types of communication are different for superiors and subordinates. Superiors when

communicating tend to discuss aspects like job instruction, organizational policy and procedures,

and feedback directed to the subordinate. Subordinates tend to discuss features like information

about coworkers and information about the task at hand (Katz & Kahn, 1966). But there are also

differences between managers and non-managers in terms of conflict management styles (Felts

& Jorgensen, 2008), perceptions of openness in superior-subordinate communication (Jablin,

1982), enactment of maintenance communication (Lee & Jablin, 1995), and constraints on
 11

communication depending upon the structure of the organizational network in terms of direction

(i.e. upward, downward, and horizontal) and formality (Zaremba, 2003).

In addition to explicit differences, it is also important to note subordinates’ perceptions of

supervisory communication. For instance, Berman and Hellweg (1989) found that supervisors

who participated in quality circles were viewed as more competent communicators and garner

more satisfaction from his or her employees. Porter, Wrench, and Hoskinson (2007) found a

supervisor’s temperament did affect a subordinate’s perception of a supervisor’s communicative

behavior. For instance, there was a positive relationship between a supervisor’s extraversion and

a subordinate’s perception of supervisor responsiveness. Also, Johnson (1992) found that

supervisors were perceived as more competent communicators by subordinates when the

utilization of a prosocial compliance-gaining tactic (liking) was used over an antisocial

compliance-gaining tactic (negative altercasting). Furthermore, it is important to note the general

importance of the role of a supervisor plays (Gilbreath & Benson, 2004; Hall, 2007; Hui, Chiu,

Yu, Cheng, & Tse, 2007; Jablin, 1979: van Vuuren, de Jong, & Seydel, 2007).

In regards to gender and communication in the workplace, Wilkins and Andersen (1991)

conducted a meta-analysis of twenty five studies conducted over a fifteen year period that all

looked at gender differences and similarities in management communication. What was found

was there were minimal differences between male and female managers and those few

differences were of little social importance. But there are differences between males and females

in regards to communication styles in informal conversation (Holmes, 1986; Spangler, 1995) and

communication strategies in business (Edelsky, 1981; Holmes, 1992). There are also differences

in business issues between males and females in regards to negotiations (Walters, Stuhlmacher,

& Meyer, 1998), use and attitude towards email (Seeley & Hargreaves, 2003), and placement in
 12

task and social organizational communication networks (Dallinger, 1987). With this varied

information about biological sex and supervisory perceptions, it is worthwhile to investigate in

the present study if there are differences between males and females and how if at all do

perceptions of supervisors play a role in regards to effective change communication.

Change Communication

Communication researchers (e.g., Cushman & King, 1995; Dawson, 2003; Salem, 1999)

suggest that several dimensions or characteristics are associated with change communication.

First, change involves differences in two or more points over time. Second, change is normative.

Third, change has different orders in regards to importance and context. Fourth, there can be

internal or external enablers or ‘triggers’ of change (Salem, 1999). External triggers include

“government law and regulations, globalization of markets and the internationalization of

business, major political and social events, advances in technology, organizational growth and

expansion, and fluctuations in business cycles” (Dawson, 2003, p. 15). Internal triggers may

involve advancement in internal technology, people, administrative structures, or shifts in a

primary task (Dawson, 2003). Fifth, the configuration of the system is altered based on change.

Sixth, change occurs in fluctuating phases between novelty and variety. Last, change has

multiple levels including emergence, divergence, transformation, and convergence. Also,

change communication can come from three dichotomous dimensions: Internal/External,

Formal/Informal, and/or Verbal/Nonverbal (Salem, 1999).

In regards to change communication within an organization, one area is the role of

supervisors or management in disseminating information concerning change. Elving and

Hansma (2008) conducted interview research between management and employees during
 13

organizational change. The most important conclusion from this work was that the success of

the dissemination and adaptation of organization change significantly depended upon

communicative and informative skills of managers at all levels. In addition, it is important that

managers act as role models for the change (Heracleous, 2002). Although leaders seem to be

aware of rapid change within his or her organization (Bolden & Gosling, 2006), communicating

that change is significantly challenging (Lewis, 2000). Bennebroek-Gravenhorst, Elving, and

Werkman (2006) found that not only did the role of management play a huge factor on the

contribution of the workforce to the impending change but also the dissemination of information

and authentic communication about the necessity of the change and the objectives and course of

the change were vital.

In regards to the elements of change communication, Frahm and Brown (2005) found that

organizational members have differing expectations and competencies regarding change

communication. For instance, transformational or large scale change requires or expects a

dialogic approach (i.e. increased, authentic communication) from a skilled communicator

(competency). For change communication to be effective, these expectations and competencies

need to be congruent. In addition, the change communication can come from three different

sources: a management orientation, an employee orientation, or an integrative orientation. Last,

change is on a continuum from routine to non-routine for both the receiver of the change and the

initiator of the change. Preferably, management should attempt to view changes from a

perceiver perspective and alter communication to that perspective (Clampitt, 2001).

Organizational change can also alter an organization’s culture, and organizational culture

can impinge on how well the organizational change is implemented or understood. Elements
 14

like hierarchical structure, cohesiveness of the organization, and interaction of new members in

regards to existing workers all can modify organizational change. As an example, a company

hires new employees to staff a previously nonexistent third shift. These new employees have

great potential to alter the organizational culture and acceptance of the organizational change

(Keyton, 2005).

Lewis (2000) propagated the need for case studies to truly understand change

communication. Four different types of companies (University Services, Outreach Education,

VA hospital, and Messaging Technology) who were implementing quality improvement

programs were studied through participant observation, archival data, formal interviews, and

survey questionnaires.

Creating vision, maintaining buy-in to mission, sense-making and feedback, establishing

legitimacy, and communicating goal achievement have been seen to be keys [themes] to

maintaining commitment to these change programs. In some of the cases (University

Services, Outreach Education) a lack of organization and planning appeared to contribute

to difficulty in maintaining a clear picture, in the minds of employees, of the program

goals and a belief that they were being achieved. At others (VA Hospital, Messaging

Technology) extensive initial planning was present, but little was done to reinvigorate

interest and value of the program as time went on. Failures in communication

contributed to these stalled and/or failed programs of change. (p. 151)

Another case study was performed on a European based pharmaceutical company who

had established a new self-managed team within its organizational structure. Before this new
 15

team, the sales, marketing, and production departments handled all issues separately. During a

climate of change for this company in the early 1980s, its products were being viewed as

obsolete. To try to combat this, the pharmaceutical company decided to implement the self-

managed team made up of middle level workers from all three departments to handle issues

concerning their pharmaceuticals. This team was able to increase the effectiveness, the

timeliness, and the appropriate handling of issues and changes internal and external of the

company (Knowles, 1995).

Lewis, Stephens, Schmisseur, and Weir (2003) preformed a thematic content analysis on

the top 100 best selling “organizational change” books indicated by Amazon.com. From this

analysis, five major themes were garnered about organizational change. The first was a

byproduct of modern life. This category synthesized that change occurs because of the nature of

the world like globalization. Second, ubiquitous or inevitable was categorized to exemplify that

change would always happen. Third, the theme of necessary survival mechanism flourished.

This literally meant that change would have to happen for companies to endure. Fourth, the

theme of mysterious or dangerous was cited to categorize organizational change as scary and

intimidating. The last theme was decision or that companies purposely choose to change to ward

off something happening to the company.

Elving (2005) proposed a conceptual framework to study communication in organizations

undergoing change. Six propositions were developed that all simultaneously influence readiness

for change. The level of readiness in this framework is the indicator of how effective the change

will be. The first proposition stating that low levels of resistance to change or high levels of

readiness for the change is an indicator for effective organizational change. The second
 16

proposition states that communication needs to inform the organizational members about the

change and how that change will alter the individual’s work. The third proposition advocates that

communication should be used to create a community which will increase commitment, trust,

and identification with the organization and management. The fourth proposition looks at

uncertainty in that high levels of uncertainty will have a negative effect on readiness to change.

The fifth proposition focuses on the impact of downsizing in that the loss of jobs and the feelings

of job insecurity will have a large effect on readiness to change. The last proposition which is

related to the fourth and fifth propositions states that communication will have an effect on

feelings of uncertainty and job insecurity. Fernandez and Rainey (2006) give a similar eight

factor rubric on how to manage organizational change in the public sector including the

following steps: ensure the need for change, provide a plan, build internal support for change and

overcome resistance, ensure top-management supports and commitment, build external support

(i.e. political overseers), provide resources, institutionalize the change, and pursue a

comprehensive change to the entire organizational structure.

Rationale

While much has been written about the importance of communication during

organizational change, communicating change effectively remains an elusive goal and

determining the best vantage point from which to understand and measure change

communication has yet to be determined. This project is the first in a series of studies that

tackles the issues of effective organizational communication focusing specifically on change in

the workplace. This project also represents an attempt to take a research area that has been

dominated by problem-driven research and establish a theoretical base of goal setting theory.
 17

Last, it is a first effort to construct and to test a reliable and valid measure of effective change

communication in the workplace. Based on this rationale and review of previous research, the

following research questions are proposed:

1. How do organization members conceptualize effective change communication?

2. Are there differences between males and females in their evaluations of change

communication?

3. Is there a relationship between the perception of effective supervisory communication

and the overall perception of effective change communication?

4. Are there differences between males and females perceptions of change communication

from communication sources?

5. Is there a relationship between the perception of effective supervisory communication

and the overall perception of the effectiveness of change communication from

communication sources?
 18

Chapter 3

Methods

The purpose of this study is to investigate effective change communication in the

workplace. Data collection involved two phases: interviews and a survey questionnaire. This

study and data collection was part of a larger study that looks at effective communication in the

workplace. The discussion of the study methodology is organized around a review of the study

participants, a review of the preliminary participant interviews, a review of the survey

questionnaire, a review of the procedures for data collection, and a review of the data analysis.

Participants

The participants for this study were employees at a large, not-for-profit health services

company with approximately 4,000 employees who service over 2 million clients. The

organization provides services state-wide and maintains a headquarters unit and branch offices

throughout the state. This organization is facing internal change (i.e. layoffs, move to a new

facility) and external change (i.e. government intervention). Organization members vary in

several demographic respects including age, gender, educational background, and length of

service with the company.

Measures

Interviews. Because of the validity issues of previous effective communication in the

workplace research which is outlined in the literature review, it was important to engage in

interviews with the study participants to see what he or she concluded to be effective
 19

communication in the workplace. A randomized list of employees was provided to the researcher

via the human resources department. The human resources department contacted the employees

to alert them of the project and contact from the researcher. The participants were contacted by

phone and/or email to set up a time to discuss this topic. All 19 interviews were held in

conference rooms during business hours on the organization’s campus. The interviews averaged

approximately 20 minutes. The basic purpose of the interviews was to gather information and

narratives from current employees about effective communication. Data redundancy for the

interviews occurred around the twelfth interview. The interview guide is available as Appendix

A. Along with information gleaned from the published literature, the interview data were used to

construct the survey questionnaire for this study.

The results for this research question focus primarily on the responses from the

preliminary participant interviews. The coding scheme for the free response data

concerning RQ1 was based on previous research concerning cognitive representation of beliefs

(see Cantor and Mischel, 1979; Pavitt, 1981; Pavitt and Haight, 1986). This line of research

suggests that individuals structure their beliefs about others in particular ways. Specifically, the

coding system distinguishes between what a person is, what a person does, and what a person

knows. Consistent with the procedures outlined by Pavitt and Haight (1985, 1986), participant’s

responses were coded to reflect these categories at the individual level and organizational level.

When using the average proportion of coding agreements to the total number of decisions, an

average Scott’s pi of .812 resulted.

 20

Survey Questionnaire. The measure of change communication was included in a larger

survey questionnaire that focused on effective communication in the workplace. The change

communication measure was constructed for this project by themes that emerged in the

preliminary participant interviews and from previous research centering on organizational

change. The measure included 17 initial items addressing change communication and an

additional item addressed how effective change communication is from six sources which were

supervisors, fellow employees, intranet, unit to unit, top management, and the grapevine. Unit to

unit denotes communication between departments (i.e. sales to marketing). The Cronbach’s

Alpha for the 18 items addressing change communication was .91. In addition, nine items

addressing the effectiveness of supervisory communication were included in the measure. The

Cronbach’s Alpha for these items was .97. All items were rated on a seven-point scale from

“strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.” Also, a basic demographic question concerning the

participant’s sex was included. The total number of participants who took this questionnaire

were 1,114. That is a response rate of approximately 35%. See Appendix B for a copy of the

change communication measure.

Procedures

Data collection occurred via electronic distribution. The organization distributed the

entire survey questionnaire for the larger project to all employees. The distribution was handled

by the organization’s information technology department. Once the survey was sent out, the

participants had over a week to complete the measure. Once the participation deadline lapsed,

the information technology department forwarded a raw data file to the researcher for data

analysis.
 21

Data Analysis

A content analysis of the interview data revealed how organization members

conceptualize effective change communication. Utilizing statistical software, basic descriptive

statistics, independent samples t-tests, and bivariate correlations were utilized to analyze data

from the survey questionnaire.

 22

Chapter 4

Results

The purpose of this study is to investigate effective change communication in the

workplace. The results of this study could assist researchers in understanding the modern

employee’s conceptualization of effective change communication, illuminate the relationship

between supervisory communication and effective change communication, and clarify any

differences between men and women in regards to effective change communication. These

results can also be very beneficial to organizations in providing clear tools to assist in providing

its employees with effective communication regarding change.

Research Question One

The first research question asks how employees conceptualize effective change

communication. The results yielded two levels of analysis: an individual level and an

organizational level.

Individual Level of Analysis. On the individual level, respondents conceptualized

effective communication as a behavior, trait, or a level of knowledge. Consistent with the work

of Pavitt and Haight (1986), a behavior was conceptualized as what a person was doing.

Behaviors were observable and concrete. A trait was characterized as a long term and enduring

characteristic; what a person “is.” Knowledge focused on an individual who knows what to say.

Those responses tended to make explicit use of the word knowledge or its root know.
 23

Table 4.1 provides verbatim examples of interview responses when conceptualizing

behavior of an individual as making an individual an effective communicator.

Table 4.1 Examples of Responses Coded for Behavior

Effective Communicator Ineffective Communicator

He’s visible They get ahead of themselves

He’s really willing to put himself out there as He is not visible

the head or the face of something. He’s really
willing for the feedback that comes as a result
of that
Encourages people to ask questions She never got all the details on anything

He’s thing is tell them what you are going to Communication is demanding
tell them, get them told while they are
listening, and then wrap it up
He makes it a point to communicate frequently You know they sound intelligent and um
and casually superior. But that really alienates others
First, she will call you on the phone and Non response to emails or phone calls.
explain. And then as a follow up she will do a Voicemails left and things like that; just typical
face to face meeting and ask, “Did you non response
understand this? Did you understand that?”
He is always present in the community You call me into a meeting and all I hear is
what is in your head. You don’t want to hear
what is in my head.
 24

Table 4.2 provides verbatim examples of interview responses when conceptualizing a

trait of an individual that makes him or her an effective communicator.

Table 4.2 Examples of Responses Coded for Traits

Effective Communicator Ineffective Communicator

Good sense of humor Irrational

Personable He’s sort of aloof

Easy to talk to Very professional demeanor all the time

You just trusted him Very pompous

They listen Tend not to listen to people

Just be themselves Not very friendly

Top notch personality Very closed and guarded

 25

Table 4.3 provides verbatim examples of interview responses when conceptualizing

knowledge of an individual that makes him or her an effective communicator.

Table 4.3 Examples of Responses Coded for Knowledge

Effective Communicator Ineffective Communicator

Because I know they (upper level Like they were questioning what they were
management) know they are responsible for so saying/questioning the answer they were
much so there not going to just go talking to giving me
the wind and say whatever. You know they are
going to think about it.
You better make sure it’s a technical audience Definitely not complete
because otherwise you’re not going to keep
them long
He knows the data People not being sure of themselves

He can go answer their questions directly, right Lack of confidence

then
Because he knew your name. He knew who he The research wasn’t done/ it was obvious the
was talking to research, the time that it really needed to be
spent to present something or to share
something was not put into that for whatever
reason
She knew what she was talking about but made Just not I feel like not putting in the time
it to where it was understandable to listen to investment to stop and formulate their thoughts
her about what it is they want to do in the direction
they want to be heading.
Just her talking, there is this knowledge that When I ask questions you say, “Ok I answer
oozes out of her that later” and you never get to answer it. So
you know things are not going to come out
right because I didn’t understand what you
were saying, of what you needed from me.
 26

Organizational Level of Analysis. On the organizational level of analysis, respondents

conceptualized effective communication in terms of accuracy, availability, and clarity. Accuracy

dealt with information that was correct. Availability dealt with information that was readily

accessible. Clarity deals with information that is presented in an understandable form.

Table 4.4 provides verbatim examples of interview responses when conceptualizing

accuracy as an organizational component of effective communication.

Table 4.4 Examples of Responses Coded for Accuracy

I like to see when things are factually stated Just be honest with people

I know that I am not going to go out there and read We’re on quality. So if I distribute the
something completely off the wall and completely wrong answer to them (customers) or even
bogus. I’m going to go out there and that is where say the wrong thing of course our
I am going to get my most solid information of conversations are recorded.
what is current and what is going on
Everyone is getting the exact same information When the job gets done and it gets done
instead of broken pieces correctly.
When I feel like I can go out there and do the job “I think I know the answer to this but I just
they need done in the manner they want the job want to make sure.” And then they
done. (subordinates) give me the right answer, I
know that I have communicated to them
exactly what I needed to.
 27

Table 4.5 provides verbatim examples of interview responses when conceptualizing

availability as an organizational component of effective communication.

Table 4.5 Examples of Responses Coded for Availability

We have our intranet, and we can go view Again, team meetings, one on one
information that way that’s being shared to sessions. We have one on one sessions
everyone in the whole company with our team lead just to touch base on
where exactly we are standing or how far
we are from our yearly goals. That’s
where I would say communication is really
effective. And the frequency in which
they organize those meetings.
Having them (facts) made visible Whether it be via (our intranet) obviously
there is certain things you don’t want to do
mass. You want to call folks in or tell each
area of a company. But it needs to be
passed on to the managers to go ahead to
make sure they tell their employees.
If they (subordinates) have a question they come I think having like the intranet we have
back to me for clarification. that core place they also send out corporate
emails that will be a full blanket to cover
everyone so no one gets left out of the
loop/ It keeps you completely informed as
a whole rather than I’ve been stressing
leaving people out.
I always leave the door open “Hey, so and so probably interested in this.
Let’s bring them in, ask them if they want
to bring anyone along, and involving other
people in the company.” So
communication amongst other people who
could have an interest in, who could be a
stakeholder.
 28

Table 4.6 provides verbatim examples of interview responses when conceptualizing

clarity as an organizational component of effective communication.

Table 4.6 Examples of Responses Coded for Clarity

Having things plainly stated. Writing can be clearly understood.

“Do it this way, this way, this way.” Clarification, Details. If the detailing is direct, then you
the person who is doing the communicating needs know exactly what that person wants. You
to be open for clarification. know what they expect from you. And
they know what I need from them.
Um, like me dealing with customers if I feel like They go into detail and tell you everything
they’ve been answered everything that they needed you need to know so there won’t be any
to know. That they could actually walk away from mistake about.
the conversation with me with all their answers that
they needed rather than one question leading to
another where I feel like I’ve not answered their
question completely.
You know if all my employees know what they are I cannot do my job because they are not
supposed to do, know how to do it, then I have less giving me the information that I need or
emails and less people coming tome saying, “What they communicating the help that I need.
do I for this?”
 29

Table 4.7 provides a frequency count for all the interview responses coded on the

individual and organizational levels.

Table 4.7 Frequency Counts for Interview Data

Trait Behavior Knowledge

Name Number Name Number Name Number
1. Understanding
1. Personable 15 1. Skilled Delivery 25 25
the Situation
2. Nonverbal 12 2. Visible 18 2. Responsibility 12
3. Appropriate
3. Confidence 10 3. Preparedness 12 9
Timing
4. Listening 8 4. Feedback 11
5. Friendly 7 5. Rate 7
6. Trust 5
7. Being Laid-Back 5
8. Humor 3
9. Being Direct 2

Availability Accuracy Clarity

Name Number Name Number Name Number
1. Congruent
1. Accessible by All 13 11 1. Full Explanation 9
Understanding
2. Access to Specific
People and 13 2. Facts 10 2. Plainly Stated 6
Information
3. End Result 3. Clarification of
3. Open for Questions 6 5 6
Correct Message
 30

Research Question Two

The second research question asks if there are any differences between males and females

in their evaluations of change communication. An independent samples t-test was used to

compute the components of this research question. From the t-test, it was concluded that there

were no statistically significant differences between males and females in their evaluations of

change communication (t = 1.829, df = 316.711, p < .05, two-tailed). Overall, evaluations of

effective change communication for males (mean = 90.6) and females (mean = 93.4) show a

slight agreement that change communication is effective. Although no statistically significant

differences, both groups assign the investigated company a fair assessment regarding effective

change communication.

Research Question Three

The third research question asks if there is a relationship between the perception of

effective supervisory communication and the overall perception of effective change

communication. To view this relationship, a bivariate correlation was implemented between an

overall score for the effectiveness of supervisory communication (items 19-27 on the survey

questionnaire in Appendix B) and an overall score for the effectiveness of change

communication (items 1-18 on the survey questionnaire in Appendix B). Figure 4.1 shows a

scatter plot of the results and table 4.8 shows the results from the bivariate correlation.
 31

Figure 4.1 Scatter Plot for Supervisor and Change Communication

 32

Table 4.8 Bivariate Correlation Results for Supervisor and Change Communication

Correlations
Change
Supervisor Comm
Supervisor Pearson 1 .536**
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 1074 995
**
Change Pearson .536 1
Comm Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 995 1024
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

From the bivariate correlation, the data suggests a moderate positive correlation between

the evaluation of the effectiveness of supervisory communication and the evaluation of the

overall effectiveness of change communication. That suggests that as the perception of effective

supervisory communication increases so does the evaluation of effective change communication

and vice verse. This result indicates a relationship between the variables.

Research Question Four

The fourth research question asks if there are any differences between males and females

in their perceptions of change communication from different sources. Six sources (supervisors,

fellow employees, the intranet, unit to unit, senior management, and the grapevine) where

analyzed for this research question. A series of independent samples t-tests were utilized to
 33

search for any differences between the sexes regarding these six sources. Table 4.9 provides a

list of the results.

Table 4.9 Independent Samples T-Test for Gender and Change Communication Sources

t df Sig. (2-tailed)

Supervisor* .795 969 .427

Fellow Employees* .467 971 .641

Intranet* 1.542 971 .123

Unit to Unit* 1.712 965 .087

Senior Management* 2.353 969 .019

The Grapevine* .466 971 .641

* Equal variances assumed

 34

From the series of t-tests, only the source of senior management held statistically

significant differences for males (mean = 4.4) and females (mean = 4.7) in evaluations of change

communication. Although statistically significant, both groups place the evaluation of change

communication from senior management in the neutral or I Don’t Know assessment of

effectiveness. However, females are closer to agreeing that communication regarding change

from senior management is effective. Table 4.10 provides the mean scores for each sources of

change communication.
 35

Table 4.10 Mean Scores for Gender and Sources of Change Communication

Group Statistics
Gender N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
Supervisors Females 754 5.1870 1.45797 .05310
Males 217 5.0968 1.52899 .10379
Fellow Females 756 5.1151 1.26543 .04602
Employees Males 217 5.0691 1.32281 .08980
Intranet Females 756 5.2844 1.20146 .04370
Males 217 5.1382 1.32611 .09002
Unit to Unit Females 752 4.3005 1.49124 .05438
Males 215 4.1023 1.51588 .10338
Senior Females 755 4.6675 1.53022 .05569
Management Males 216 4.3843 1.66091 .11301
Grapevine Females 756 4.6587 1.65099 .06005
Males 217 4.5991 1.69438 .11502

Males and females slightly agreed that supervisors, fellow employees, and the intranet

were effective at communicating change. Unit to unit, senior management, and the grapevine

were placed in the neutral or I Don’t Know evaluation of effective change communication.

Overall, these results suggest that employees categorize some sources as undecided while others

are seen as slightly effective.

Research Question Five

The fifth research question asks if there is a relationship between the perception of

effective supervisory communication and the overall perception of the effectiveness of change

communication from communication sources. A series of bivariate correlations were executed to

see if any relationships did exist. Table 4.11 provides the results of the series of bivariate

correlations.
 36

Table 4.11 Bivariate Correlations for Supervisory and Change Communication Sources

Correlations
Superv Fellow Senior
Supervi isor- Employ Unit to Managem Grapevi
sor Source ees Intranet Unit ent ne
** ** ** ** **
Supervis Pearson 1 .751 .240 .417 .352 .452 .014
or Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .657
N 1074 1067 1069 1069 1064 1067 1069
** ** ** ** **
Supervis Pearson .751 1 .338 .509 .429 .554 -.001
or - Correlation
Source Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .970
N 1067 1105 1105 1105 1099 1102 1103
** ** ** ** **
Fellow Pearson .240 .338 1 .354 .439 .264 .464**
Employe Correlation
es Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000
N 1069 1105 1107 1107 1101 1104 1105
** ** ** ** **
Intranet Pearson .417 .509 .354 1 .551 .658 .041
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .172
N 1069 1105 1107 1107 1101 1104 1105
** ** ** ** **
Unit to Pearson .352 .429 .439 .551 1 .635 .168**
Unit Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000
N 1064 1099 1101 1101 1101 1098 1099
** ** ** ** **
Senior Pearson .452 .554 .264 .658 .635 1 -.039
Manage Correlation
ment Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .194
N 1067 1102 1104 1104 1098 1105 1103
** **
Grapevin Pearson .014 -.001 .464 .041 .168 -.039 1
e Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) .657 .970 .000 .172 .000 .194
N 1069 1103 1105 1105 1099 1103 1107
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
 37

Table 4.11 highlights the relationship between the six sources of change communication

(supervisors, fellow employees, intranet, unit to unit, senior management, and the grapevine) and

the overall assessment of the effectiveness of supervisory communication. There is a very strong,

positive relationship between the effectiveness of supervisory communication and the source of a

supervisor for change communication (r = .751). There is a moderate, positive relationship

between the effectiveness of supervisory communication and the source of the intranet (r = .417),

unit to unit (r = .352), and senior management (r = .452) for change communication. There is a

weak, positive relationship between the effectiveness of supervisory communication and the

source of fellow employees (r = .240) for change communication. There is virtually no

correlation between the effectiveness of supervisory communication and the source of the

grapevine (r = .014) for change communication. These results suggest that there is a relationship

between five of the communication sources and the overall assessment of effective supervisory

communication. As the perception of the effectiveness of supervisory communication increases,

then also does the perception of the effectiveness of change communication in congruence with

the strength of the correlation.

 38

Chapter 5

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to investigate effective change communication in the

workplace. In total, the first research question was designed to provide an employee’s

conceptualization for what constitutes effective change communication. Research questions two

through five were constructed to provide an additional metric of effective change

communication. The discussion of the study results is organized around each research question

including implications from the study and ideas for future research.

The first research question explored how employees conceptualize effective change

communication. It was determined that employees evaluate on both an individual and

organizational level. That is, employees use separate sets of criteria for individual and

organizational assessments of effective change communication. On the individual level,

employees evaluated effective change communication through a behavior, trait, and/or

knowledge. On the organizational level, accuracy, availability, and clarity are how effective

change communication is appraised.

This framework is significant in a variety of ways. First, this framework gives

organizations a practical tool to evaluate and construct effective change communication

messages. On an organizational level, messages can be checked for accuracy (Is all the

information true?), availability (Is the message accessible in the appropriate venue(s) or through

the appropriate person/people?), and clarity (Is the message written/spoken in the appropriate

style and comprehension level for the employees?). Although availability will change given the
 39

situation and organization, accuracy and clarity will be constant through all situations where

effective change communication is the objective. Also, the individual level of analysis is

important for organizations. For change communication distributors (i.e. direct supervisors), it

will be important for them to be aware how their effectiveness will be evaluated. Although a

trait is enduring and harder to alter for an individual, behavior and knowledge are two areas that

organizations can provide additional assistance and training for those individuals who are

responsible for the effectiveness of change communication messages.

The second aspect of significance from these findings is the further utilization of goal

setting theory. If an organization strives to bring about identifiable changes and uses

communication to that end, then effective change communication would be the attainment of the

desired outcomes. Communication is the vehicle that organizational members use to achieve the

desired outcomes. From this study, communication now has identifiable characteristics on both

the individual and organizational levels that will assist in the realization of the desired outcomes.

What's more, this study helps increase the generalizability and utility of goal setting theory.

Being developed and mainly studied in the field of industrial and organizational psychology

(Locke & Latham, 2006), this research endeavor highlights the component of communication

that was overlooked or underestimated in previous studies.

The last aspect of significance that is associated with research question one’s results is

the conceptualization of a framework that eliminates previous validity issues. The organizational

communication audit possibly was tapping into the idea that more communication is better or the

communication “metamyth” propagated by Zimmerman, Sypher, and Haas (1996). This

research endeavor intentionally excluded any investigation into amounts of information to ward
 40

off the same issue. Also, the focus of this project was on effectiveness not satisfaction because a

vast body of literature spanning multiple decades (Brooks, Callicoat, & Seigerdt, 1979;

Goldhaber et al., 1978; Gray, 2000; Hargie, Tourish, & Wilson 2002; Hogard et al., 2005; Opyt,

Stewart, & Soy, 2001; Quinn & Hargie, 2004; Robson & Tourish, 2005; Scott, et al., 1999;

Tourish & Mulholland 1997; Zimmerman, Sypher, & Haas, 1996) continuously supported the

notion that employees were slightly dissatisfied with organizational communication. Rather than

employing the measurement tool of satisfaction that seemed to be unchanging, it was important

to develop a fresh measure of effectiveness to shed a new light on the current state of

organizational communication. In addition, it was important to develop another measurement

option for organizations that truly strived to measure communication effectiveness not

satisfaction.

The second research question asked if there were any differences between males and

females in their evaluations of effective change communication. It was found that there were no

statistically significant differences between males and females in their overall assessment of

effective change communication. Both groups slightly agreed that change communication was

effective. This finding would be congruent with some previous research that finds no significant

differences between the sexes. For instance, Wilkins and Andersen’s (1991) meta-analysis of

management communication and Rucker and Gendrin’s (2007) evaluation of self-construals and

direct communication style would both be examples of studies that found little to no significant

differences between the sexes. Overall, both sexes (males = 90.6 and females = 93.4) slightly

agreed that change communication is effective. This finding is encouraging for the company at

hand but still leaves room for improvement. With the strategic implementation of the framework
 41

from research question one, hopefully this evaluation can continue to increase and be seen as

more effective from the employees.

The third research question asks if there is a relationship between the perception of

effective supervisory communication and the overall perception of effective change

communication. From the bivariate correlation between an overall assessment of the

effectiveness of supervisory communication and change communication, a moderate, positive

correlation (r = .536) was detected. This suggests that the more positive the evaluation of

effectiveness an employee has in regards to supervisory communication the more positive his or

her evaluation of effectiveness for change communication and vice versa. This finding further

illuminates and upholds previous notions of the importance of the supervisor relationship in

general (Gilbreath & Benson, 2004; Hall, 2007; Hui, Chiu, Yu, Cheng, & Tse, 2007; Jablin,

1979: van Vuuren, de Jong, & Seydel, 2007), in goal setting theory (Latham & Locke, 1979;

Latham & Saari, 1979), and in times of change (Bennebroek-Gravenhorst, Elving, & Werkman,

2006; Elving & Hansma, 2008; Fernandez & Rainey, 2006; Heracleous, 2002).

The fourth research question focuses on differences between males and females in their

perceptions of effective change communication from six sources (supervisors, fellow employees,

the intranet, unit to unit, senior management, and the grapevine). The category of senior

management was the only category to be statistically significant (t = 2.353, df = 969, p < .05,

two-tailed). Although significant, both groups placed senior management, unit to unit, and the

grapevine in the neutral or I Don’t Know category of effectiveness of communication.

Supervisors, fellow employees, and the intranet were slightly agreed upon to be effective sources

of change communication. All six source categories have room for improvement for the
 42

investigated company. Through the implementation of the framework that was developed in

research question one these sources have the potential to increase in effectiveness for both

gender groups. Also, companies can implement aspects of change management plans to improve

the effectiveness of these sources. For instance, Fernandez and Rainey’s (2006) change

management plan has a component of building internal support for change. This component that

focuses on participation by all in the change process might allow for increased effectiveness in

regards to unit to unit, the grapevine, supervisors, intranet, and fellow employees. This increased

participation could lead to a higher level of knowledge (i.e. component for individual level of

assessment for effectiveness) for employees to utilize when communicating about the change by

the water cooler (i.e. the grapevine), when discussing the change at a meeting (i.e. fellow

employees), posting questions and comments on the forum about the change online (i.e. the

intranet), and when a supervisor is letting his or her team know about an update on the situation.

Another concept of Fernandez and Rainey’s (2006) change management plan is ensuring top-

management support and commitment. This idea is congruent to the individual level assessment

for effectiveness of behavior. This concept simply encourages senior management to adopt the

change and make that adoption visible to employees. Additionally, Elving (2005) has a similar

change management plan.

Research question five also focusing on these six sources for change communication but

in conjunction with the perception of effective supervisory communication. A series of bivariate

correlations showed a very strong, positive relationship between the effectiveness of supervisory

communication and the source of a supervisor for change communication (r = .751), a moderate,

positive relationship between the effectiveness of supervisory communication and the sources of
 43

the intranet (r = .417), unit to unit (r = .352), and senior management (r = .452), and a weak,

positive relationship between the effectiveness of supervisory communication and the source of

fellow employees (r = .240) for change communication. There is virtually no correlation between

the effectiveness of supervisory communication and the source of the grapevine (r = .014) for

change communication. The strong, positive correlation between effective supervisory

communication and the effectiveness of a supervisor as a source of change communication is not

a surprising correlation. However, the other sources support the notion of a relationship between

those individuals who perceive supervisory communication as effective also view other sources

sans the grapevine as effective. This question further supports the notion of the importance of

the role of the supervisor.

Research questions two through five strive to provide information to the researched

company about their current standing in regards to effective change communication. With this

knowledge, the organization can construct more accurate goals to assist in the prediction,

explaination, and manipulation of performance on organizational tasks which is the purpose of

goal setting theory (Lock & Latham, 2002). This information can also help in selecting specific

and difficult goals which lead to a higher level of performance than vague goals (Locke, 1996;

Locke & Latham, 2002; Locke & Latham, 2006). Now the company has concrete steps to

implement (framework from research question one) and benchmarks garnered from research

questions two through five to develop these specific and difficult goals versus “let’s

communicate more effectively.” The information from research questions two through five can

also help in establishing the degree of task complexity (Wood, Mento, & Locke, 1987) and assist

in the directive function (Locke & Bryan, 1969; Rothkopf & Billington, 1979) and energizing
 44

function (Bandura & Cervone, 1983; Bryan & Locke, 1967; Sales, 1970) that goals provide for

an organization.

Limitations and Future Research

A drawback to this research endeavor was its absorption in a much larger project

focusing on the overarching concept of effective communication in the workplace. For instance,

the preliminary participant interviews which drew the framework for the individual and

organizational evaluations of effective change communication focused on the broader concept of

effective organizational communication than effective change communication. Seeing that this

was the first endeavor to conceptualize effective organizational communication outside of the

realm of the organizational communication audit and the use of satisfaction as the measure, it

was a judicious decision to utilize the same overarching framework for the smaller section of

change communication. In addition, the company was undergoing major changes including

layoffs, government intervention, and moving to a new facility. Nevertheless, it would be

beneficial for future research to re-examine the framework specifically for effective change

communication to ensure that the extrapolation holds true.

Another major drawback was a restriction that was placed by the researched company.

Just as the data was split between males and females, it was also supposed to be split between

managers (someone who supervised the activities of at least one person) and non-managers.

However, the company did not adhere to this request. Therefore, the data was examined based

on the perception of effective supervisory communication. Future research should include the

breakdown of the data between managers and non-managers to see if any statistically significant
 45

differences are present between these two groups. Previous research (Felts & Jorgensen, 2008;

Jablin, 1979; Jablin, 1982; Katz & Kahn, 1966; Lee & Jablin, 1995; Zaremba, 2003) supports the

notion that there would be differences between managers and non-managers in terms of effective

change communication.

Being that this is the first attempt to gauge effective change communication with the

current survey questionnaire, there are no validity scores to report at this time. Further research is

needed to test and capture this component for the survey questionnaire.

Conclusions

Overall, this study attempted to investigate effective change communication in the

workplace. This attempt strived to provide organizations and researchers with a pragmatic and

useful tool to evaluate effective change communication free of validity issues that have plagued

audit research and utilizing theory based research (i.e. goal setting theory) in an otherwise

atheoretical and problem-driven research area. Although not free of flaws and with many more

questions left to answer, this project is the spring board into an area of research that has the

potential to assist organizations in a very literal and measureable way.

As such, researchers, practitioners, and organizational members now have the ability to

conceptualize this elusive “cloud-like” concept of effective change communication to further

research and provide a service to the modern organization and its employees’ experiences with

change communication.
 46

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 60

Appendix A

Communication Effectiveness in Organizations

Interview Guide
1. Describe your duties and responsibilities.
2. Tell me what it’s like to work here.
3. Describe how communication takes place in your office.
Transition – I would like to talk with you for a few minutes about communication
4. What makes communication effective in your company?
-What makes communication ineffective?
5. Tell me about the kinds of work situations people experience here that require
communication.
6. I am not interested in names but I am interested in a time when you witnessed effective
communication within your organization. Describe for me that situation in which
communication worked well.
7. I am not interested in names but I am interested in a time when you witnessed ineffective
communication within your organization. Describe for me that situation in which
communication worked poorly.
Transition – I would like to talk with you for a few minutes about communication in particular
situations
8. Describe how people communicate when in meetings or working in teams.
What makes communication effective during meetings? – Ineffective?
When people work in groups? – Ineffective?
9. Describe how supervisors communicate with subordinates.
What makes communication effective between supervisors and subordinates?
What makes communication ineffective between supervisors and subordinates?
Transition – I would like to talk with you for a few minutes about communication and
individuals.
10. Are people born to be effective communicators or can effective communication skills be
learned?
 61

11. How people communicate with you when you started working here? How do they
communicate with you now?
12. I am not interested in names but I am interested in you describing for me a person in your
organization who is an effective communicator. What is it about this person that makes him/her
an effective communicator?
13. I am not interested in names but I am interested in you describing for me a person in your
organization who is an ineffective communicator. What is it about this person that makes
him/her an ineffective communicator?
Transition -- I would like to talk with you for a few minutes about how you determine when
communication is effective.
14. How can you tell when communication is effective in an organization?
15. Companies measure many things such as turnover or employee performance. How can a
company measure the effectiveness of communication?
16. How does your company measure the effectiveness of communication?
Is there anything else that you would like to tell me about communication in your organization?
 62

Appendix B
Communication Survey

Dear Employee:

This questionnaire is designed to find out how you feel about communication and related
issues at X Organization. This study is being conducted by Dr. John Haas and Amy Harp from
the University of Tennessee, in cooperation with XX. If our study is to be useful, it is important
that you answer each question as thoughtfully and frankly as possible.

Your answers to these questions will be kept completely confidential. All questionnaires
will be taken to the University of Tennessee for data analysis. No one from X Organization will
have access to individual answers.

Please return the completed survey to the specially marked box_________

Thank you for your cooperation and assistance. We hope you find this questionnaire
interesting and thought provoking.

General Instructions

Most of the questions ask you to circle a number on a scale that appears to the right of the
item. Choose the answer that best matches how you feel about the statement. Then circle the
number on the scale that best matches how you feel about the statement. For example, if you
were asked how much you agree with the statement,

I enjoy the weather in this area

and you strongly agree, you would circle the number under “Strongly Agree” like this:
Strongly Disagree

Slightly Disagree

Strongly Agree
Slightly Agree
I Don't Know
Disagree

Agree

12) I enjoy the weather in this areas 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Notice that the scale descriptions may be different in parts of the questionnaire. For example, we
may ask whether you agree or disagree, whether you are satisfied or dissatisfied, or whether you think
something is likely or not to happen, etc. So, be sure to read the special instructions that appear in italics
at the beginning of each section. Also be sure to read the scale descriptions before choosing your answers.
 63

Communicating Change
Below are 17 items addressing communicating change at X Organization. Please tell us how much you
agree or disagree with each of these statements as a description of how things are at X Organization.

Strongly Disagree

Slightly Disagree

Strongly Agree
Slightly Agree
I Don't Know
Disagree

Agree
1. Changes at X Org are communicated 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
effectively.

2. When change occurs at X Org, I am 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

the last to know about it.

3. Changes that are caused by internal

forces (e.g., personnel changes) are 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
communicated well.

4. I feel that information about change is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

purposefully kept from me.

5. Decisions about change are freely 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

shared with all employees.

6. Changes that are caused by external

forces (e.g., the economy, government 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
regulations, etc.) are communicated well.

7. I would be best described as someone

who tends to wait for information about 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
change to reach me.

8. I feel that information about change is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

shared with me at the appropriate time.
 64

I Don't Know
Disagree

Disagree

Disagree
Strongly

Strongly
Slightly

Slightly
Agree

Agree

Agree
9. Policy or procedure changes that
impact my job are communicated 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
effectively.

10. Communicating changes about

policies or procedures is not done 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
effectively.

11. When there is a change to my duties

and responsibilities, X Organization 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
communicates that change well.

12. People do not share information at

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
X Organization.

13. Change at X Org is not

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
communicated effectively.

14. Change is not communicated to me

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
in a timely fashion.

15. When there is a change to my

duties and responsibilities, X Org does
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
not communicate that change
effectively.

16. People share information at X

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Organization.

17. I would be best described as

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
someone who seeks out information
about change at X Organization.
 65

Sources of Information about Change

Below are seven potential sources of information about change at X Organization. Please tell us
how much you agree or disagree with each of these statements as a description of how things are
at X Organization.

Strongly Disagree

Slightly Disagree

Strongly Agree
Slightly Agree
I Don't Know
Disagree

Agree
18. Change is communicated effectively
by:

a. Supervisors 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

b. Fellow Employees 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

c. Intranet 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

d. Unit to Unit 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

e. Senior Management 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

f. The Grapevine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
 66

Supervisory Communication
Below are nine questions addressing supervisory communication at X Organization. Please tell
us how much you agree or disagree with each of these statements as a description of how things
are at X Organization.

I Don't Know
Disagree

Disagree

Disagree
Strongly

Strongly
Slightly

Slightly
Agree

Agree

Agree
19. My supervisor is a willing, receptive 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
listener.

20. My supervisor effectively

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
communicates work expectations.

21. My supervisor is skilled at 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

negotiating conflicts with employees.

22. My supervisor makes clear the goals

of X Organization. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23. My supervisor is willing to share

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
information.

24. My supervisor communicates 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

effectively with upper management.

25. My supervisor knows what he/she is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

talking about.

26. My supervisor is skilled at building 7

1 2 3 4 5 6
effective workplace relationships.

27. My supervisor communicates that 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

he/she is interested in my career
development.
 67

Background Information: Finally, we should like to have some background information for
statistical purposes. The questions are very general and the answers will not identify you. We
do not want your name:

28. What is your sex?

___ Male
___ Female
 68

Vita

Amy Lynn Harp was born in Knoxville, Tennessee on September 18, 1986. She was

raised in Jellico, Tennessee where she graduated from Jellico High School as valedictorian of the

class of 2005. After completing high school, Amy attended the University of Tennessee,

Knoxville and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication in 2009. During her

undergraduate career, Amy studied abroad in France and Belgium and participated as president

of the Communication Studies Club among various other activities and affiliations.

After the completion of her bachelor’s degree, Amy continued her education in the

School of Communication Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville to receive a

Master’s of Science in Communication and Information in August 2011. During her time in the

graduate program, Amy was a teaching assistant who taught public speaking, facilitated the

internship program for undergraduate students, and produced alumni publications.