<p> Dialogue is a useful organizational strategy that supports a shared understanding that is useful in the solving complex problems. A community hospital challenged with publicly transparent quality metrics and the associated financial and reputation penalties developed a culture supportive of dialogue and participation and was the setting for this research. </p><p> The purpose of the research was to explore the decisions and messages an executive leadership team implemented that support the practice of dialogue and facilitated a culture of participation. This retrospective, qualitative study reviewed documents and artifacts over a seven-year time span from 2007-2014. two sources, 1) the Operation Committee meetings and 2) The all- employee forums provided by the senior leadership were reviewed. These source were coded utilizing a predetermined coding scheme based upon information from 3 theories, 1) Isaac&rsquo;s dimensions of dialogue, 2) Isaac&rsquo;s action theory of dialogue and 3) Fischer&rsquo;s levels of participation. These three theories when integrated provide a three dimensional perspective that supports the practice of dialogue. </p><p> The conclusions of this study are that 1) A single theory of dialogue is not sufficient. 2. An effective model for communication must include, at a minimum, contain an aspect of action theory, a dimension of dialogue, and a level of participation. 3. Delaying decision-making in order to obtain feedback allows for the prolongation of deliberation and for the emergence of dialogue and deliberation and 4. Expansion of the deliberation time is a mechanism that helps the group to suspend assumptions and is a methodology supportive of dialogue. This research recommends a three step, <i>how to</i> approach to supporting dialogue and a culture of participation. The recommended pattern is to 1) ask for feedback thus 2) delaying the decision, and 3) listening to the feedback.</p>

<p> This dissertation advances a novel approach that I refer to as the structure of strategic communication. Leveraging theory on how people naturally structure their arguments, this approach contends that organizational actors deploy arguments to influence others at two structurally distinct levels&mdash;<i> within</i> the rules of the game or <i>about</i> the rules of the game. This dissertation&rsquo;s primary claim is that talking more about the rules of the game, which exposes the assumptions underlying our social institutions to direct examination, may have profound implications. I build evidence for this claim in two ways. First, I develop a new measurement called the <i>argument structure ratio</i> (<i>ASR</i>) that conceptually and empirically captures how explicit a speaker makes these assumptions in their communication. I outline a three-step methodology for measuring the ASR of any collection of written texts. Second, I theorize and empirically demonstrate how the ASR impacts an audience&rsquo;s reaction. Using all public speeches made by the Chairperson of the United States Federal Reserve from 1998 to 2014, I show that the more they expose the assumptions underlying the Federal Reserve System, the more their speeches produce market uncertainty. I argue that these findings fundamentally change how we think about the role of strategic communication in market contexts. More generally, this work provides a new way to conceptualize and study strategic communication that extends well beyond financial markets to a variety of different organizational contexts and across multiple levels of analysis. Taken together, this dissertation provides a theoretical and methodological foundation upon which to conduct research on the structure of strategic communication.</p><p>

<p> The recent surge in religious studies coupled with the strict decline in religion creates the backdrop for the need for this paper. In this study, I use a fantasy theme analysis approach to analyzing data from 23 semi-structured interviews with Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) pastors. I utilize Institutional Work Theory, Symbolic Convergence Theory, and Bona Fide Group Perspective to understand how the dominant coalitions within the PCA interact to affect change in the institution. My findings highlight the difficulties associated with embedded agency and new contributions to each of the aforementioned theoretical perspectives. My project offers a perspective on the uniqueness and value of studying religious denominations as institutions.</p><p>

<p> Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) has the potential to strengthen an organization in the long term by effectively leveraging the organization&rsquo;s human resources to achieve the organization&rsquo;s strategic goals. The problem this dissertation focuses upon is the extent to which SHRM has been implemented in oil and natural gas companies in Western Pennsylvania and whether the information needed to support SHRM is being communicated into and within these oil and natural gas companies. This included examining how HR leaders and staff are viewed in the company relative to its strategic efforts. Using Jacobson, Sowa, and Lambright&rsquo;s (2014) models of SHRM implementation, three cases were examined to identify the degree to which SHRM has been implemented in the organizations. In addition, the communication of SHRM information was explored with regards to what information has been communicated, how is this information communicated, and who communicates such information. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 10 participants from three companies, including seven HR managers and employees and three non-HR managers. The interviews led the researcher to conclude that there is further opportunity for the strategic use of the HR departments and HR functions in the sampled companies. Additionally, there was an apparent lack of communication between the HR departments and the rest of the organization regarding strategic HR issues. The organizations with more traditional models of HR, with limited SHRM, demonstrated a weak focus on communicating SHRM information, as well as minimal information processing capabilities to support SHRM implementation.</p>

<p> This study seeks to explore the historical influence of quilting within the African-American community, its development as a form of non-verbal communication, through the evolution of an organizational culture originating from the period of Reconstruction, and its relevance as a continued communication medium among quilters of today. The study will trace the influence of cultural traditions from Africa, through the period of Reconstruction to the 21st century. The goal of the research is to identify the development of cultural and organizational behaviors that influenced a sustainable form of non-verbal communication that is generational, as well as cultural, particularly among African-American women. The study will further explore the use of quilting as a new medium of non-verbal communication for social issues, giving voice many life experiences that may be overlooked. It will also explore ways in which quilting can be used to further educate others as it assumes the identity of a new and important art form. </p><p> The research will use a qualitative analysis approach, conducting interviews with generational quilters from Baltimore, MD, Charleston, Florence, Georgetown, and Beaufort, SC, who are believed to have first-hand experience of the art form due to the predominance of quilting within those specific African &ndash;American communities. In addition, a review of peer research will be assessed to evaluate the correlation between present day first-hand accounts quilting and the relevance of prior research in determining if quilting is still a culturally motivated skill. Theories founded in research studies from the science of anthropology, will describe how organizational culture is instrumental in developing specific behaviors and patterns of assimilation within a community. It will further define how values, norms and traditions provide the framework of quilting as a non-verbal means of expression within a community or culture. It is believed that the research will show that quilting has been influenced by the life experiences contained within specific cultural structures. It is also the goal of this study to prove that quilting is an art form that has been limited in its past assessment as an influential form of non-verbal communication, and personal expression, and that the craft is communicated through generations, in an historical context which has contained a predominant cultural influence among African-American women.</p><p>