Working from a communication theory paradigm and from previous literature, the purpose of this study was to empirically examine significant receiver correlates which predict adoption behavior of Sigma Nu Fraternity on three campuses. Drawing from past research, the present study utilized a unique combination of social and communication variables as predictors of fraternity membership. A stepwise multiple discriminant analysis using five factors derived from the thirteen independent variables yielded a highly significant three factor discriminant function (p < .001) which explained 46.65 percent of the common variance in adoption/non-adoption behavior of Sigma Nu. The significant factors were labeled peer group behavior, parental economic support, and social attitudes. Based on intuitive interpretation features of the data, the researcher suspects that adopters are more socially oriented, have a wider variety o: friends, are less dependent on parental economic support, and exhibit higher scores on measures such as self-esteem, liberalism, conservatism, and the need for identification with groups.

The study purpose is to advance implementation of sustainable development at colleges, and to contribute to organizational change research using social network analysis. The researcher conducted document analysis using 2012-2016 sustainability reports of 16 purposefully selected two-year colleges under a common framework. Interpreting and coding resulted in ranking sustainable development activities as well as grouping colleges using cluster analysis. A survey and interviews were employed by the researcher to determine major themes as challenges to sustainability implementation, and personal network themes using social network analysis measures and sociograms. Challenges to sustainability implementation identified as study themes were: (1) college leadership transition; (2) communication networks; and (3) sustainability funding and resources. Personal network themes based on network analysis were: (1) sustainability leadership typologies; (2) network communication bridges and cliques; and (3) social capital for sustainability funding and resources. The research found personal egocentric network techniques an effective methodology in identifying attributes of communication links to inform transformational leaders implementing innovation. Study implications are that sustainability leaders within informal networks of staff, administrators, and faculty influence and actively participate in innovation diffusion. Faculty and staff work on specific projects and activities advancing sustainability such as community gardens or working with environmental groups, and administrator support provides social capital in terms of funding and resources. Striking the right balance among types and communication ties is a challenge for transformational leaders. Personal network techniques help leaders recognize organic network cliques and bridges during implementation stages, allowing for informed support and advancement of college sustainability. From this study, sustainability practitioners may be interested in using sustainability activity frequencies for planning and sharing with other colleges, as well as using personal network techniques to develop sociograms identifying important network positions, cliques, and bridges for sustainability implementation.

This report outlines the methodology and findings used to create the book Selling Disbelief: A 20 Step Guide to Grow and Promote Atheist and Secular Groups (Appendix A). The book Selling Disbelief outlines a six-month marketing plan and best practices for groups that are part of the growing Secular Movement. This project is the first systematic academic study of marketing methods in regards to promoting Secular movements. A need for this research has been identified due to a lack of research in this particular field and the continued marginalization facing the non-religious. The objectives of this project were twofold: The first objective was to identify the themes and methods that are most effective in promoting Secular groups and organizations to the general public and to Atheist, Agnostic, and Secular individuals, and to identify those areas where knowledge or methods were lacking or ineffective. The second objective was to conduct an extensive literature review of existing marketing best practices, and using the information from objective one as a guide, to adapt existing marketing information for use by Secular groups. For objective one, the project used ten in-depth interviews with experts in the marketing and organizing of Secular groups. These experts were selected based on years of experience, visibility, and availability. The data was analyzed through Thematic Analysis to find themes on methods, messages, and tactics that have lead to successful marketing and promotion. For objective two, this project used a review of existing marketing and promotion literature of best practices for community groups of a similar nature to Secular groups. By triangulating the existing marketing literature with themes from the interviews, best practices pertinent to Secular groups were identified. The interview and research findings of this project were compiled into a handbook titled “Selling Disbelief: A Guide to Organizing and Promoting Secular Organizations” with recommendations and best practices for Secular and Atheist groups to market and promote their organizations.

<p>Electronic mail has become the medium of choice in most organizations because of some of its special features. E-mail, like all computer-mediated communication, changes the way we interact and has therefore an impact on working conditions, sometimes in a negative direction. Research findings so far show divergent opinions about how e-mail has influenced work. </p><p>The main purpose of this thesis is to understand and explain if and why there are possible negative outcomes of e-mail usage in organizations, and to use the findings to develop a guiding model for organizational e-mail use. In order to meet the goals set, earlier research in the area Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) that focus on the effects on the social system was used. This research is mainly based on theories of media choice and communication theories, which offer a valuable contribution for understanding why e-mail might be used in improper ways in organizations. Empirical data was collected in several steps using different techniques. The target group was managers in different kinds of organizations, but also administrative staff and teachers. The result shows that there are several reasons why e-mail usage might be a problem in organizations like expectations of fast feedback and being constantly updated, post absence backlog, too much information in e-mail, too many incoming e-mails, irrelevant information, decreased personal contact, a more sedentary work environment and e-mail splitting the respondents' time.</p><p>The contribution of this thesis is that possible negative aspects of e-mail use in organizations are due to a combination of factors. To overcome any organizational disadvantages of e-mail it is vital to consider the e-mail users' behaviors, feelings and attitudes in a specific organizational context in combination with e-mail's special features. A number of guidelines are presented to help organizations and individuals make e-mail use more efficient and satisfying.</p>

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.

Electronic mail has become the medium of choice in most organizations because of some of its special features. E-mail, like all computer-mediated communication, changes the way we interact and has therefore an impact on working conditions, sometimes in a negative direction. Research findings so far show divergent opinions about how e-mail has influenced work. The main purpose of this thesis is to understand and explain if and why there are possible negative outcomes of e-mail usage in organizations, and to use the findings to develop a guiding model for organizational e-mail use. In order to meet the goals set, earlier research in the area Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) that focus on the effects on the social system was used. This research is mainly based on theories of media choice and communication theories, which offer a valuable contribution for understanding why e-mail might be used in improper ways in organizations. Empirical data was collected in several steps using different techniques. The target group was managers in different kinds of organizations, but also administrative staff and teachers. The result shows that there are several reasons why e-mail usage might be a problem in organizations like expectations of fast feedback and being constantly updated, post absence backlog, too much information in e-mail, too many incoming e-mails, irrelevant information, decreased personal contact, a more sedentary work environment and e-mail splitting the respondents' time. The contribution of this thesis is that possible negative aspects of e-mail use in organizations are due to a combination of factors. To overcome any organizational disadvantages of e-mail it is vital to consider the e-mail users' behaviors, feelings and attitudes in a specific organizational context in combination with e-mail's special features. A number of guidelines are presented to help organizations and individuals make e-mail use more efficient and satisfying.

Förmågan att kunna kommunicera är av yttersta vikt för att en organisation ska vara fungerande. Det är också nödvändigt för en organisation att kunna förändra sig för att förbli effektiv. Motivation är det som sätter tankar i handling och därför bör det vara en viktig aspekt när det kommer till internkommunikation i stora organisationer som genomgår förändringar.      Uppsatsen baseras på en fallstudie av en organisationsförändring vid Karlstads universitet som genomfördes 1 januari 2013, där kvalitativa intervjuer använts som metod. Undersökningen gjordes under november och december 2012 då förändringsprocessen var i sitt slutskede. Intervjuer utfördes med både informanter och respondenter anställda vid Karlstads universitet.   Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka internkommunikationens betydelse för hur medarbetare motiveras till en organisationsförändring. Utifrån syftet har tre frågeställningar formulerats: (1) Hur önskar medarbetare vid Karlstads universitet att information kommuniceras internt vid en organisationsförändring? (2) Överensstämmer medarbetares och implementeringsgruppen vid Karlstads universitets uppfattningar om hur information om en organisationsförändring bör kommuniceras? (3) Hur anser medarbetare vid Karlstads universitet att motivation skapas inför en organisationsförändring genom internkommunikation?   Resultatet från de intervjuer som genomförts har analyserats utifrån teorier som till exempel transmissionsmodellen, goal setting teorin och McLuhans teori om kanalval.  Denna undersökning visar att den närmsta chefen ses som den viktigaste informationskanalen. Det kommer även fram att medarbetarna tycker det är viktigt att organisationen använder sig av många olika kanaler när de kommunicerar och att muntlig kommunikation ses som en nödvändighet. Resultatet visar även att intern- och externkommunikation bör ses som lika betydelsefulla för en organisation och därför borde lika mycket energi och resurser läggas på de två. Uppsatsen presenterar utifrån dessa resultat en tankemodell på hur organisationer kan se på kommunikationsprocessen kring en organisationsförändring. / The ability to communicate is of utmost importance for an organization to be functional. It is also important for an organization to be able to change in order to stay effective. Motivation is what puts thoughts in to actions and should therefore be an important part of the internal communication in large organizations going through changes.   This paper is based on a case study of an organizational change at Karlstad University that took place the 1st of January 2013. The method used in this case study was qualitative interviews. The study took place during November and December 2012 when the process of change was coming to an end. The interviews was conducted with both informants and respondents employed at Karlstad University.   The aim of this study is to examine internal communications importance in motivating employees during an organizational change. There is also three questions of issue that has been examined further: (1) How do employees at Karlstad University wish that information gets communicated internaly in the organization during an organizational change? (2) Do employees and managers at Karlstad University share ideas of how information about the change at hand should be communicated during an organizational change? (3) How do employees at Karlstad University consider that motivation gets created through internal communication facing an organizational change?   The result from the interviews was analyzed through theories such as the transmission model, McLuhan’s theory about mediums and the goal setting theory. This study shows that the immediate supervisor is the most important channel for communication. It also shows that employees considers it important that the organization communicates through a variety of channels and that oral communication is a necessity. The result also shows that internal and external communication should be seen as equally important for the organization. And equal amounts of energy and money should be spent on both internal and external communication. The paper presents a conceptual model of how organizations should look at the communication process surrounding an organizational change. The model is based on the results of the study.

Inom organisationer arbetar man ofta mot uppsatta mål som kommuniceras i form av visioner. För att förverkliga en organisations vision gäller det att alla inom organisationen arbetar tillsammans för att uppnå målen. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur en offentlig organisation arbetar med att skapa engagemang och delaktighet hos sina anställda genom internkommunikation. Uppsatsen innehåller en fallstudie av Karlskoga kommun som kommer att analyseras med utgångspunkt i teorier om organisationskommunikation &amp; internkommunikation. I uppsatsen har två olika metoder ställts mot varandra i en så kallad triangulering. Trianguleringen innehåller fyra kvalitativa samtalsintervjuer med chefer på olika nivåer i organisationen, samt en kvantitativ enkätundersökning. Enkätundersökningen distribuerades både digitalt och som postenkät till ca 400 anställda vid tre olika förvaltningar inom Karlskoga Kommun. Det visade sig i undersökningen att den övergipande visionen som kommunen har inte är särskilt etablerad hos de anställda ute i organisationen. Istället har de olika förvaltningarna själva skapat visioner och mål som de anställda i de flesta fall känner sig engagerade i. Dessa visioner och mål går i linje med den utarbetade huvudvisionen enligt informanterna, men den är i dagsläget inte är helt kommunicerbar. När det kommer till kanaler har cheferna och respondenterna en relativt delad syn på vilka kanaler som fungerar bäst. Det största problemet är kommunens intranät som används flitigt av en del anställda men inte alls av andra. Hur man då ser till att samma information når alla är ett problem som uppdagades. Medarbetarna på kommunen har störst tillit till kanaler där personlig kontakt förekommer. Genom en välfungerande internkommunikation, rätt val av kanal och en öppenhet på arbetsplatsen skapar man delaktighet i en organisation. Om man specifikt ser på hur man skapar engagemang och delaktighet via internkommunikation är begreppet dialog något centralt. Att ha en tvåvägskommunikation där cheferna till lika stor del lyssnar som talar är något som cheferna menade var viktigt och som de arbetade för att uppnå i en del förvaltningar. Ett problem inom organisationen och det resultat som vi valt att basera vår fråga om vidare forskning på handlar om mängden information. Att vara välinformerad handlar inte om att man vet allt, utan att veta tillräckligt. / Within organizations, set goals are often communicated in the form of a vision. In order to reach an organization's vision, it is important for everyone in the organization to work together to achieve the goals. This study aims to examine how a public organization works to create commitment and participation among its employees through internal communication. The paper provides a case study of Karlskoga municipality which will be analyzed on the basis of theories in organizational communication and internal communication. In the paper two different methods were set against each other in a so-called triangulation. The triangulation includes four qualitative interviews with managers at various levels of the organization, and a quantitative survey. The survey was distributed both digitally and on paper to about 400 employees at three different departments at Karlskoga Municipality. The study shows that the main vision in the municipality is not very established among the employees in the organization. Instead, the various departments themselves have created their own visions and goals that employees in most cases feel engaged in. These visions and goals are in line with the main vision according to the informants, but it is in the current state not entirely communicable. When it comes to channels, managers and respondents has a relatively shared vision of what channels works the best. The biggest problem when it comes to communication channels is the municipality's intranet, which is used by some employees but not by others. One reason for this is that not all employees have access to computers and hence the intranet. How you then can make sure that information reaches all employees and to the same extent is a problem that was discovered. The staff of the municipality has the greatest confidence in the channels where personal contact is included. It is through a well-functioning internal communication, the right choice of channel and openness at the workplace that one can create involvement and participation in an organization. If we specifically look at how to create engagement and participation through internal communication the concept of dialogue is crucial. To have a two-way communication with equal listening and speaking is something that managers believe is important and something that they claim they work to achieve.

Exemplified by fire crews, SWAT teams, and emergency surgical units, critical teams are a subset of action teams whose work is marked by finality, pressure, and potentially fatal outcomes (Ishak & Ballard, 2012). Using communicative and temporal lenses, this study investigates how organizations prime and prepare their embedded critical teams to deal with improvisation. This study explicates how organizations both encourage and discourage improvisation for their embedded critical teams. Throughout the training process, organizations implement a structured yet flexible “roadmap”-type approach to critical team work, an approach that is encapsulated through three training goals. The first goal is to make events routine to members. The second goal is to help members deal with non-routine events. The third goal is to help members understand how to differentiate between what is routine and non-routine. The grounded theory analysis in this study also surfaced three tools that are used within the parameters of the roadmap approach: experience, communicative decision making, and sensemaking. Using Dewey’s (1939, 1958) theory of experience, I introduce a middle-range adapted theory of critical team experience. In this theory, experience and sensemaking are synthesized through communicative decision making to produce decisions, actions, and outcomes in time-limited, specialized, stressful environments. Critical teams have unique temporal patterns that must be considered in any study of their work. Partially based on the nested phase model (Ishak & Ballard, 2012), I also identify three phases of critical team process as critical-interactive, meaning that they are specific to action/critical teams, and they are engaged in by critical teams for the expressed purpose of interaction. These phases are simulation, adaptation, and debriefing. These tools and phases are then placed in the Critical-Action-Response Training Outcomes Grid (CARTOG) to create nine interactions that are useful in implementing a structured yet flexible approach to improvisation in the work of critical teams. Data collection consisted of field observations, semi-structured interviews, and impromptu interviews at work sites. In total, I engaged in 55 hours of field observations at 10 sites. I conducted 31 semi-structured interviews with members of wildland and urban fire crews; emergency medical teams; and tactical teams, including SWAT teams and a bomb squad. I also offer practical implications and future directions for research on the temporal and communicative aspects of critical teams, their parent organizations, and considerations of improvisation in their work. / text

This study explores the use of Facebook as a tool to build relationships at work among employees of global technology company Serena Software. Email interviews with 13 Serena Software employees demonstrated that the social network site is in fact building relationships among them. Participants attributed information sharing as the element that most helped them to build relationships with each other. The interviews revealed evidence of the characteristics of relationship quality: trust, commitment and satisfaction. However, participants expressed a different definition of the fourth characteristic - control mutuality - in their Facebook relationships. The results showed that participants did not define their Facebook relationships with colleagues as either communal or exchange. Research on social media is emerging because social media are relatively new compared to traditional media. This study is significant to organizational and public relations literature because it examines how social media can support internal organizational and public relations functions such as building relationships. Public relations research on employee-employee relationships is limited, so this study builds knowledge in that area. Furthermore, there appears to be no research on the use of Facebook to build employee relationships, making this study original.