This exploratory study identified generational preferences for receiving information from management through different communication channels and determined if age predicted productivity for productive and unproductive information received through different communication channels. This is the first study to empirically examine the relationship between age cohorts, communication channel preferences, information categories, and productivity. Sample participants worked as Extension agents at a major land-grant university. The four generations represented in the sample utilized multiple communication channels and were geographically dispersed throughout the state. The survey was administered electronically and completed by 204 (74%) of the eligible 275 employees in the organization. Independent Samples t-tests, General Linear Modeling, ANOVA’s, means analysis and linear regressions were employed to analyze the data to test the hypotheses. Regarding channel preference, the findings determined that face-to-face communication was preferred by both generations for receiving private and confidential information and for training. Media was preferred by both generations for routine and procedural and time-sensitive information. Lastly, the analysis revealed that written documents were the preferred method of both generational cohorts for compensation and benefits. Regarding productivity, the findings determined that age predicted a perceived increase in productivity tasks for production information received face-to-face from management, but did not predict a perceived increase in productivity tasks for the other communication channels. Both generational cohorts perceived productive information received face-to-face from management to increase morale and decrease stress. The cohorts, however, differed on the increase of trust as a result of receiving productive information face-to-face. Both generational cohorts perceived unproductive information received from management through all communication channels to negatively impact productivity tasks. Finally, both cohorts perceived unproductive information received face-to-face from management to negatively impact morale, trust and stress. Empirical examination of generational workforce issues is relatively new to Human Resources and research is needed to further examine generational perceptions. The study begins to open dialogue that the supposed differences inherent in the multigenerational workforce are not as much a factor of the generation as the information. The development of the new instrument in this study provides a new tool to examine organizations preferences and productivity.

Comprendre le mode d’existence de l’organisation est certainement l’un des plus grands défis que se sont donnés les chercheurs qui s’intéressent à ce domaine d’étude. La littérature nous présente ainsi plusieurs images, métaphores et perspectives qui, combinées, dressent un portrait hybride de ce type de collectif. Je propose, dans cette thèse, de reconnaître et exploiter ce caractère hybride de l’organisation en partant d’une réflexion centrée sur l'espace. En m’inspirant particulièrement des travaux de la géographe Doreen Massey (1999, 2005), le concept d'espace auquel je souscris est celui d’un espace ouvert et dynamique (qui incorpore le temps), basé sur une relationalité matérielle et hétérogène, supposant des acteurs humains et non humains en interaction. L'espace peut donc être compris comme la coexistence d’ontologies hétérogènes, ce que Massey (2005) nomme une coexistence de trajectoires comme stories-so-far. Il s’agit ici d’une vision performative de l’espace organisationnel qui est constitué dans la relation de trajectoires distinctes qui coexistent, se rencontrent, s’affectent, entrent en conflit ou coopèrent (Massey, 1999). Je postule que pour assurer une certaine continuité et cohérence dans la coexistence de trajectoires hétérogènes, un travail d’alignement et d’ordonnancement est mis à l’oeuvre, et ce, par le suivi d’une trajectoire principale — ce que je nomme une trajectoire scriptée. Suivre cette trajectoire permet ainsi à l’organisation de s’étendre, de se rendre présente dans le temps et dans l’espace, sans pour autant perdre son identité : to be here and there at the same time, now and then at the same place. À partir de cette définition de l’espace, je propose d’« espacer l’organisation », et plus particulièrement d’« espacer » Explora, un programme d’éducation non formelle du gouvernement du Chili visant la diffusion et la valorisation de la science et de la technologie. Cette proposition est double : elle renvoie aux pratiques d’espacements — des pratiques hybrides, collectives et situées — des agents organisationnels (dans ce cas, aux pratiques des agents d’Explora impliqués dans l’organisation d’un projet, celui de la Semaine de la science 2006),mais aussi à une pratique de recherche. « Espacer l’organisation » veut donc dire déployer ces espaces pleins, déplier l’organisation, accroître la série des simultanéités-successions pour ainsi créer plus d’espace-temps. / To understand the organization’s mode of being is certainly one of the most important challenges faced by researchers who are interested in this field of study. The literature presents several images, metaphors and perspectives which, combined, draw up a hybrid portrait of this type of collective. In this dissertation, I propose to recognize and exploit this hybrid character by starting from a reflection on space. Inspired especially by the work of the geographer Doreen Massey (1999, 2005), the concept of space to which I subscribe is that of an open and dynamic space (which incorporates time), based on a material and heterogeneous relationality, which supposes human and nonhuman actors in interaction. Space can thus be understood as the coexistence of heterogeneous ontologies, what Massey (2005) calls a “coexistence of trajectories as stories-so-far”. It is then a performative vision of organizational space which is constructed through the relation of distinct trajectories that coexist, meet, affect each other, enter in conflict or cooperate (Massey, 1999). I argue that to guarantee a certain form of continuity and coherence in the coexistence of heterogeneous trajectories, a work of alignment and ordering is put at work, and this, by the following-up of a main trajectory — what I call a scripted trajectory. By following this trajectory the organization can then extend itself, making itself present in time and space, without loosing its identity: it can be “here and there at the same time, now and then at the same place.” Starting from this definition of space, I propose to “space the organization,” and more specifically to “space” Explora, a non formal educational program of the Chilean government, which aims to diffuse and promote science and technology. Spacing an organization implies a double proposal: it refers to the spacing practices — hybrid, collective and situated practices — enacted by organizational agents (in this case, Explora’s agents implicated in the organization of a project, that of the Science week 2006), but also to a research practice. “Spacing the organization” consists of deploying these full spaces, unfolding the organization, and increasing the series of simultaneities-successions in order to create more space-time.

L’objet de ce mémoire est de s’interroger sur la co-construction et la négociation de l’identité organisationnelle par la parole dans les interactions quotidiennes. Cette étude a été menée sur une organisation du monde de l’humanitaire, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) et plus précisément sur une mission réalisée dans la région du Nord- Kivu en République Démocratique du Congo. Les données ont été collectées en employant la méthode du vidéo shadowing, encore appelée vidéo filature, une approche consistant à suivre et filmer des acteurs dans leurs interactions du quotidien, et particulièrement, dans notre cas, le chef de mission. La méthodologie utilisée pour analyser les enregistrements vidéo a, par la suite, été inspirée de l’analyse de conversation et de l’ethnométhodologie. Les concepts phares sur lesquels se base cette recherche sont la « ventriloquie » et la « présentification », deux concepts en communication organisationnelle développés par François Cooren de l’École de Montréal. Plus précisément, nous nous sommes attachés à montrer comment les acteurs de MSF cultivent l’identité et l’image de leur organisation à travers des « conversations identitaires». Nous avons ainsi pu observer et analyser comment les acteurs de l’organisation agissent par le biais de la parole pour construire et établir l’identité de leur organisation, et à travers cela, leur propre identité. / The purpose of this thesis is to examine the co-construction and the negotiation of organizational identity through speech in everyday interactions. This study focused on a humanitarian organization, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and more specifically on a mission carried out in the North-Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Data were collected by using shadowing, that is, by filming MSF actors in their daily interactions, particularly in our case, a head of mission. These data were analyzed, in turn, by using conversation analysis. The methodology used to analyze the video recordings was inspired by conversation analysis and ethnomethodology. The key concepts of this research are « ventriloquism » and « presentification », both developed by François Cooren of the Montreal School of Organizational Communication. Specifically, our analyses show how MSF actors cultivate the identity and image of their organization through « identity conversations ». In other words, it is through these conversations that MSF actors construct and establish the identity of their organization, as well as their own identity.

Text in Afrikaans / In hierdie studie word die rol van interpersoonlike komrnunikasie in die funksionering van die algemene inligtingsdiens van die Unisa Biblioteek aan die Universiteit van Suid-Afrika ondersoek. 'n Kwantitatiewe meetinstrument word ontwikkel om gebruikertevredenheid met die hoofkomponente van die algemene inligtingsdiens, naamlik die inligtingsassistent, die inligting wat deur die klient ontvang word en die fisiese omgewing waarin die diens gelewer word, te evalueer. Daar word bevind dat 'n beduidende assosiasie bestaan tussen gebruikertevredenheid met die inligtingsassistent en gebruikertevredenheid met die inligting wat ontvang word. 'n Verkorte vrae lys word ontwerp en aanbevee 1 as 'n meetinstrument waarmee die bestuur gebruikertevredenheid met die algemene inligtingsdiens op 'n gereelde grondslag kan meet. / This study investigates the role of interpersonal communication in the functioning of the general information service provided by the Unisa Library at the University of South Africa. A quantitative measuring instrument is developed to evaluate user satisfaction with the main components of the general information service, that is the information assistant, the information received by the client and the physical surroundings in which the service is provided. It is found that a significant association exists between user satisfaction with the information assistant and user satisfaction with the information received. A shortened questionnaire is designed and recommended as a measuring instrument with which management can on a regular basis measure user satisfaction with the general information service. / Communication Science / M.A. (Communication)

Esta dissertação explora as interfaces e possíveis articulações entre os conceitos de Comunicação, Promoção da Saúde e Espaço Social Alimentar. Por meio de revisão bibliográfica, traça-se a história do conceito da Promoção da Saúde no mundo e no Brasil. Em seguida, debate-se o papel do profissional de Comunicação como possível agente de mobilização social, destacando-se a Comunicação Pública como conceito essencial para o desenvolvimento da cidadania. Pautando-se no pensamento da Escola de Montreal, aborda-se a Comunicação Organizacional e suas interfaces com a Comunicação Pública. Propõe-se os modelos comunicacionais de Haswani e de Jaramillo López, como alicerce teórico para ações de Comunicação Interna. A análise da Política Nacional de Promoção da Saúde (PNPS) e da Política Nacional de Alimentação e Nutrição (PNAN) expõe a importância de práticas alimentares adequadas e saudáveis para a promoção da saúde. Elas são contextualizadas, em relação ao estudo exploratório realizado com os funcionários da Escola de Comunicações e Artes da Universidade de São Paulo (ECA-USP), sobre suas práticas alimentares. A metodologia de Jean Pierre Poulain, da Sociologia da Alimentação, pauta o estudo exploratório. A pesquisa pretende ser o primeiro passo para a estruturação de um banco de dados sistematizado sobre fatores condicionantes e determinantes da saúde dos funcionários desta instituição. Este banco proverá dados essenciais para a elaboração e implementação de políticas e ações que visem a Promoção da Saúde na Escola no futuro. / This dissertation explores the commonalities and possible interactions between the concepts of Communication, Health Promotion and Food Social Space. The literature review retraces the historic evolution of Health Promotion as a concept worldwide and regionally in Brazil. It then correlates that field with the current state of Public Communication research in Brazil, defending the notion that Communication professionals have a role to play as health promoters. Based on the theories of the School of Montreal, this paper connects Organizational Communication and Public Communication concepts, with the goal of establishing a path for action that corroborates the defended thesis of the role of the Communication professional in Health Promotion. Lopez and Haswani\'s Public Communication models are used as the theoretical basis for action. The analysis of two public policies (on \"Health Promotion\" and \"Food and nutrition\") lays the ground for the empirical study developed with the employees of ECA-USP. Jean-Pierre Poulain\'s Sociology of Food methodology is adopted in the study of the food practices of the aforementioned public. This dissertation seeks to be a first step in structuring a database with information that can guide future organizational action and programs aimed towards the promotion of employees\' health.

Cette thèse remet en question la perception négative, dominante dans la littérature et largement répandue dans les organisations, de l'utilisation personnelle d'Internet au travail. Une étude de cas a été réalisée auprès d’environ 80 d’employés et superviseurs dans un bureau d’un département du gouvernement canadien. La thèse confirme que, non seulement ces employés de bureau transgressaient-ils régulièrement des règles explicites conçus pour cadrer l’utilisation des technologies d’information et de communication (TIC), ces comportements étaient largement tolérés au sein du département. L’analyse des pratiques et interactions quotidiennes a révélé une relation entre des gestionnaires et leur personnel basée sur une confiance réciproque, mais pas absolue. Il ressort une moralité située fondée sur la promotion du professionnalisme et le maintien de la productivité. Le relâchement de contraintes organisationnelles autour de l’utilisation de l’Internet à des fins personnelles est utilisé comme outil de gestion par les superviseurs et cette flexibilité accrue est bien accueillie par les employés pour des raisons à la fois pragmatiques et psychologiques. Une sondage, des entretiens approfondis avec un certain nombre d’employés et gestionnaires et l’observation participante ont révélé un désir de paraître professionnel malgré les activités non liées au travail; une perception généralisée de l’utilisation d'Internet comme compensation informelle pour temps et effort; et un sens partagé de confiance entre des salariés et leurs superviseurs, ce qui favorise la satisfaction au travail et productivité. Avec ces observations, on offre des éléments de réponse pour expliquer comment les employés de bureau négocient ce qui est acceptable en termes de leur utilisation d’Internet non liée au travail, et comment les gestionnaires justifient leur application subjective des règles à ce sujet. Finalement, la recherche montre que l'utilisation personnelle d’Internet au travail peut rapporter des bénéfices et ne devrait donc pas toujours être vu comme du "cyber-loafing" ou du "time banditry" comme la littérature l’a principalement représentée depuis que l’Internet est arrivé massivement sur les lieux du travail. La forme et la faisabilité de restrictions organisationnelles sur ces pratiques devront faire objet de réflexion dans le contexte de brouillage accru de frontières entre le travail et la vie personnelle des employés de bureau du 21e siècle. / This case-study investigation challenges the negative perception by organizations and researchers towards the personal use of the Internet in the workplace. While confirming that office employees in the field site were breaking explicit rules governing the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), this thesis provides evidence of informal relations between managers and their staff built on a tacit toleration of rule-violation. Their daily practices and interactions revealed a relationship that was shown to satisfy the conditions of a situated morality in promoting desired occupational identities and relaxing organizational constraints. Survey results, interview responses and observations of about 80 office workers and supervisors in a Canadian government department uncovered a desire to appear professional in spite of the non-work-related activity; Internet use as an informal compensation for time and effort; and a shared sense of trust to foster job satisfaction and productivity. Through these findings, answers are offered to explain how office workers negotiate what is acceptable in terms of non-work-related Internet use, and how supervisors justify their subjective enforcement of rules. Lastly, the research showed that personal Internet use in the workplace can yield positive outcomes and should not always be seen as “cyber-loafing” or “time banditry” as the literature has predominantly portrayed it since the Internet age entered the workplace. Lastly, this thesis raises questions as to the value of employee monitoring and organizational restrictions amid the increasing blurring of work and personal lives of 21st Century office workers.

Dans cette thèse de doctorat, j’explore l’établissement des approches constitutives de la communication (approches CCO) dans le champ d’étude de la communication organisationnelle et d’autres champs d’études. Pour ce faire, je mobilise un cadre théorique tiré des approches néo-institutionnelles. Dans un premier temps, je retrace différents marqueurs discursifs d’institutionnalisation, et ce, afin de comprendre le degré d’établissement du domaine de recherche depuis l’an 2000. Dans un deuxième temps, j’analyse les discours publics de chercheurs pendant une conférence internationale afin de démontrer comment cette institutionnalisation se fait, entre autres, à travers le concept d’ambiguïté pragmatique. De par son approche discursive, cette recherche met donc en évidence le rôle central de la communication dans un processus d’institutionnalisation d’un domaine de recherche. / In this dissertation, I explore the institutionalization of CCO scholarship. Through an analysis of scholars’ published and public discourse, I demonstrate to what extent CCO scholarship, as an area of research, is becoming established within organizational communication studies and related fields. Through an analysis of scholars’ published discourse and via the application of a neo-institutional perspective, I assess the trajectory and establishment of CCO research from 2000 to 2015. By analyzing scholars’ public discourse at one specific international conference, I then explore how pragmatic ambiguity plays into this institutionalization. This research thus shows how communication is at the center of an area of research’s institutionalization processes.

<p>Muslim women’s efforts to attain religious leadership roles have been central, critical, and controversial topics discussed in American mosques and in academia. Women’s lack of access and leadership in religious institutions is due to the patriarchal interpretations of <em>Qurʾānic</em>scripture, the <em>Hadīth</em>, and Islamic laws leading women to engage in collective action to attain their rights while still affirming their religion (Barlas, 2002). When controversial topics challenge religious traditions and norms, such as women’s roles as <em>khateebahs</em>and Friday prayer <em>imāms</em>(women sermon givers and leading Friday prayers), the discussions often are theological and political, but rarely from a communicative perspective in which the trajectory of change and co-oriented action is authored by participants through considerations of text and interaction. Muslim women in America are opening spaces for dialogue and initiating organizations that empower their Muslim sisters to take on religious roles and other positions that adhere to and broaden understandings of what it means to be Muslim.</p> <p>The communicative constitution of organizations (CCO) (Belliger & Krieger, 2016; Brummans, Cooren, Robichaud, & Taylor, 2014; Bruscella & Bisel, 2018) has not yet delved into organizing within Muslim institutions. This study contributes to both CCO and to Muslim women’s organizing by showing how the CCO framework is applicable to a unique context that has not previously been investigated. Specifically, this dissertation explains how women’s authoring of process and structure through communication operates as a productive force constituted through linguistic choices, discursive formations, and materialities, as well as how Muslim women constitute agency within a traditional religious space situated in the United States. Consistent with CCO perspectives and especially the Four Flows model (McPhee, 2015; McPhee & Zaug, 2000, 2008), agency is conceptualized as action through or enactment of rules, resources, and routines in the duality of structure, based on Giddens (1984) structuration theory. In examining The Women’s Mosque of America (WMOA), an in-depth case study approach helped to illuminate how women’s empowerment is constructed and legitimized through women’s interactions, engagement, and advocacy. Studying women’s agency and structuring of empowerment through the constitutive approach of communication in organization (CCO) using McPhee’s four flows (McPhee, 2015; McPhee & Zaug, 2000, 2008) links communication, feminist studies, and Muslim religious organizations.</p> <p>Data for this case study were gathered through site observations and interviews; analyses were conducted through constructivist grounded theory that incorporates personal knowledge about Muslim women to assist interpretation grounded in data (Charmaz, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2017). Throughout the study, attention was paid not only to what the women said but also to their reported and observed social and ritual interactions.</p> <p>In conclusion, this project not only sheds light on a segment of the Muslim American community that is marginalized but shows that McPhee’s four flows can be used to study how organizations are structured along particular Islamic values and interpretations of text, while also affording agency to individuals as actors within each and across all four flows. In the case of The WMOA, the four flows communicative processes help identify relationships between Islam and organizational members, staff, and other institutional stakeholders within the material conditions of religious observances. Studies such as this project provide insight into how diverse members organize paradoxically for both social change and continuation of sacred traditions.</p>

With natural disasters occurring with more frequency and severity, understanding how to facilitate survivors’ resilience and recovery is becoming increasingly important. The Camp Fire in California, which started on November 8, 2018, was one of the most destructive wildfires in recorded history in terms of loss of life and damage to property. Aid from many types of entities (e.g., non-profits, governments, and for-profits) at various levels (e.g., local, state, and federal) was available to survivors, but perhaps the most influential source of support was Disaster Facebook Groups. In the month after the Camp Fire, around 50 Camp Fire Facebook Groups (CFFGs) were created, with over 100 CFFGs existing over the course of recovery. CFFGs are Facebook Groups with the goal of helping Camp Fire survivors. The support exchanged in CFFGs was immense and ranged from financial assistance to emotional support to community building. <br><br>This dissertation offers a mixed-method, event-specific case study of the use and utility of Disaster Facebook Groups after the Camp Fire. I examined how CFFGs offered unique and valuable spaces for connection that allowed members to engage in resilience organizing and disaster response and recovery. To conduct this case study, after engaging in observations of the Groups for over two years, I interviewed 25 administrators of CFFGs and distributed a survey in the Groups that was completed by survivors of the Camp Fire who were members of at least one CFFG during their recovery. I used network perspectives and the Communication Theory of Resilience (Buzzanell, 2010, 2019) as lenses through which administrators’ and survivors’ experiences with CFFGs was understood. I also analyzed the two datasets using multiple and mixed methods but primarily thematic analysis and path modeling. <br><br>The analyses for this case study are presented in four studies. The first two studies provide an understanding of the spaces for connection offered by CFFGs (i.e., characterizing the CFFGs and describing the spaces for connection as both helpful and hurtful), while the last two studies examine the use and utility of CFFGs (i.e., explaining the evolution of activity in CFFGs and investigating the connectivity and social support in CFFGs). <br><br>Across the four studies, I explored three central arguments, which are the primary contributions of this dissertation. First, I advocated for incorporating network thinking into resilience theorizing. With the findings of this dissertation, I extend the Communication Theory of Resilience by offering “managing communication networks” as a refinement of its fourth process of resilience (i.e., using and maintaining communication networks). Managing communication networks addresses the active strategies people use to manage their communication networks, including expanding, contracting, maintaining, and using their communication networks, as they endure and overcome hardship. I also forward the argument that people’s resilience is encompassed by their social networks, meaning their social network can be passively implicated by their resilience or actively involved in their resilience, but can also initiate resilience on their behalf.<br><br>Second, I contended Disaster Facebook Groups offer unique and valuable spaces for connection that facilitate resilience organizing and disaster response for at least five reasons. I argued that Disaster Facebook Groups empower emergent organizing; privilege local knowledge; are convenient; lack anonymity which adds authenticity; and allow for individualization. The findings of this dissertation provide evidence of how these reasons converged in CFFGs to enable members to exchange support that was not, and could not be, available elsewhere.<br><br>Third, I hypothesized that the use of Disaster Facebook Groups would predict the utility of Disaster Facebook Groups, resilience, and recovery for survivors. I tested two models that use different variables to represent the use and utility of CFFGs and recovery from the Camp Fire. The first model investigated how activity in CFFGs influenced the perceived helpfulness of CFFGs and how both the activity in and perceived helpfulness of CFFGs influenced the extent of recovery for survivors. I used retrospective data about five time points across survivors’ first two years of recovery and found the model was most explanative up to one month after the Fire. The second model assessed how various indicators of connectivity in CFFGs impacted received social support (i.e., informational, emotional, and tangible support), resilience, and satisfaction with recovery for survivors. The intensity of survivors’ connections to CFFGs, when they joined their first CFFG, and how many Facebook Friends they gained from their participation in CFFGs were the most predictive indicators of connectivity. From the Groups, survivors reported receiving informational support more than emotional support and emotional support more than tangible support.<br><br>I put the findings of the four studies, as well as the three central arguments, in conversation with each other in the discussion section, focusing on theory, practice, and methodology. Regarding theory, I contribute network thinking to resilience theorizing: I underscore resilience as an inherently networked process; I acknowledge expanding and contracting communication networks as sub-processes of resilience that complement but are distinctly different from using and maintaining communication networks; and I forward “managing communication networks” as a refinement and extension of the Communication Theory of Resilience’s fourth process of resilience (i.e., using and maintaining communication networks). Related to practice, I call for the continuation of conversations around Disaster Facebook Groups as unique and valuable spaces for connection, particularly regarding the five reasons I established. I also give suggestions for practice related to the use and utility of Disaster Facebook Groups for disaster response and recovery. For methodological considerations, I discuss the importance of forming relationships with participants when engaging in research about online communities and natural disasters and call to question the translation of findings about social media across platforms and the role of neoliberalism in resilience and disaster research and practice. Despite its limitations, this dissertation makes meaningful contributions to theory, practice, and methodology, while offering fruitful directions for future research. This mixed-method, event-specific case study brings attention to the influential citizen-driven disaster response in Facebook Groups after the Camp Fire. <br>

En tant que type particulier d'organisation religieuse séculaire, les organisations traditionnelles d'arts martiaux chinois (TCMAO) sont peu étudiées en ce qui concerne la manière dont l'autorité est accomplie de manière communicationnelle et le rôle des pratiques corporelles. Fondée sur une vision performative de l'autorité relationnelle dans la perspective de la constitution communicationnelle des organisations (CCO), cette thèse propose de répondre à cette omission dans la littérature actuelle. Convaincue de la valeur de l'utilisation de théories indigènes pour étudier les pratiques locales, cette thèse s'appuie sur le concept de chaxugeju (ou mode d'association différentiel) du sociologue chinois Xiaotong Fei et développe l'idée d'autorité différentielle, qui décrit le phénomène par lequel l'autorité d'une personne peut être étendue à d'autres territoires et d'autres acteurs par le biais d'associations. Ensemble, les pratiques corporelles et l'autorité différentielle constituent le cadre conceptuel de cette thèse. Cette thèse adopte une approche ethnographique en mobilisant des méthodes qualitatives. En analysant les données ethnographiques recueillies auprès d'une TCMAO située à Zhengzhou (Chine), j’identifie cinq pratiques corporelles principales dans une TCMAO: l'instruction incarnée, la pose de photos, le rituel corporel, la performance mise en scène et le concours situé. Chaque type de pratique corporelle joue un rôle unique dans l'établissement d'associations significatives qui aident les individus et les organisations à revendiquer une autorité différentielle. L'instruction incarnée présente d’une manière très efficace les artistes martiaux comme les vecteurs légitimes d'un art martial particulier, prouvant ainsi l’association authentique entre l'héritier et l'art qu’ils représentent. Ces personnes utilisent également le photo-posing pour développer leurs associations positives avec des figures d'autorité (humaines ou non) afin de revendiquer l'autorité différentielle des individus et des organisations. Parallèlement, ils évitent toute forme d'association négative qui pourrait nuire à leur autorité. Grâce au mécanisme mutuellement bénéfique de l'emprunt de lumière et de l'ajout de gloire, le maître et ses disciples utilisent ces photos comme dispositifs d'auctorialité différentielle de leur association pour établir leur autorité respective par le biais de l'association maître-disciple. De même, les rituels corporels établissent et réaffirment les associations des disciples avec leurs ancêtres, leurs maîtres et les lignées célèbres. Ces rituels sont essentiels pour accomplir l'autorité différentielle de ces disciples et de l'organisation qu'ils représentent. Les performances mises en scène contribuent ainsi à établir leur autorité en associant les artistes martiaux à des étapes importantes investies de prestige et d'influence. Quant aux performances mises en scène au niveau intra-organisationnel, elles permettent de différencier certains membres de l'organisation des autres en affichant publiquement leur statut au sein de l'organisation, ce qui aide ainsi les membres favorisés à accomplir les bases de leur autorité. Enfin, les concours situés établissent l'autorité des artistes martiaux en les différenciant et en les plaçant dans différentes positions dans la hiérarchie de la communauté des arts martiaux. Ces cinq pratiques corporelles se mêlent les unes aux autres et contribuent à l'accomplissement communicatif de l'autorité dans une TCMAO. Cette thèse apporte des contributions significatives à la littérature sur l'intersection entre religion et organisation. Elle étend la recherche en cours sur la dimension matérielle de la communication. Elle fait progresser la discussion sur l'autorité relationnelle dans une perspective communicationnelle, en particulier la discussion du corps et du rôle de la pratique corporelle dans l'accomplissement de l'autorité. / This dissertation aims to address two omissions in current literature. First, current literature has not examined how authority is communicatively accomplished in traditional Chinese martial arts organizations (TCMAOs), which are one special kind of secular religious organization. Second, in the communicative constitution of organizations (CCO) literature, it is unclear what is the role of body practices in the communicative accomplishment of authority. Grounded in the CCO tradition, this dissertation seeks inspirations from Xiaotong Fei’s chaxugeju (or differential mode of association) theory and develops the concept of differential authority, which refers to the phenomenon that authority can be shared and extended to other actors and territories through meaningful associations established in and through communication. Together, body practices and differential authority constitute this dissertation’s conceptual framework to investigate how body practices contribute to the communicative accomplishment of authority in a TCMAO. To answer my research question, this dissertation takes an at-home ethnographic approach to study a TCMAO located in Zhengzhou (China). I developed an organic iterative approach to analyze data collected through participant observation, conducting interviews, and writing a reflective journal. My analysis summarizes five body practices in a TCMAO: embodied instruction, photo-posing, body ritual, staged performance, and contesting. Each body practice plays unique roles in helping individuals and organizations establish meaningful associations with authoritative figures, and thus claim differential authority. They also intermingle and co-act with one another in the communicative accomplishment of authority in a TCMAO. Through embodied instruction, martial artists show themselves as the legitimate vectors of a particular martial art, thus proving their authentic associations between the inheritors and the art. People use photo-posing to develop their positive associations with authoritative figures (human or non-human) to claim the differential authority of individuals and organizations; and they avoid any form of negative associations that might hurt their authority. Through the mutually beneficial mechanism of borrowing light and adding glory, the master and disciples use photos as differential authoring devices of their associations to establish their authority respectively through the master-disciple association. Body rituals establish and reaffirm disciples’ associations with ancestors, masters, and famous lineages. They are critical for accomplishing the differential authority of these disciples and the organizations they represent. Staged performance establishes authority by associating martial artists with important stages invested with prestige and influence. Intraorganizational staged performance differentiates certain organizational members from others by publicly displaying their status within the organization, thus helping the favored members to accomplish authority. Contesting establishes martial artists’ authority by differentiating them and placing them in different positions in the martial arts community hierarchy. This dissertation contributes to the CCO literature by advancing research on the role of body practices in accomplishing authority from a communicative point of view. Besides forwarding ongoing research on the material dimension of communication, it also extends our understanding of relational authority by integrating an indigenous theory of association from China. Furthermore, it expands our understanding of TCMAOs and secular religious organizations at unfamiliar settings.