<p> The author evaluated employee involvement in decision making at an organization where employee turnover is high and employee morale is low. The goal was to persuade senior management to implement ISO 10018:2012, Quality Management &ndash; Guidelines on People Involvement and Competence. A voluntary survey was utilized to obtain information from employees throughout the organization. Results from data analysis supported the need for implementation of ISO 10018:2012. The author learned that, while some employee involvement was already in place, the organization would benefit from employee involvement programs. The author recommended that the organization continue to improve collaborative communication, employee involvement in decision making, and leadership. </p><p> The author contributed to employee involvement in decision-making literature by addressing 1) what employee involvement, empowering, and engagement are for employees in a large organization, 2) how the level of employee involvement can be assessed, and 3) employee involvement benefits for employees and the organization.</p>

<p> Do communication professionals fill the role of negotiators and conflict resolvers within their organizations? Some scholars (Dozier, Grunig, &amp; Grunig, 1995; Plowman, 2007) have claimed this role theoretically, but little research evidence has verified the negotiator role in practice. To gather empirical evidence, I conducted a qualitative research study (Corbin &amp; Strauss, 2008; Miles, Huberman, &amp; Salda&ntilde;a, 2014) using in-depth interviews and critical incident technique with thirty-one public relations professionals who had an average of 18 years of experience in a variety of organizations across the United States and overseas. Data analysis included open and axial coding and integration with prior research. Validity and reliability were enhanced through member checking, triangulation of data, and peer review of findings. Researcher bias was minimized through bracketing and audit trails. Findings showed that practitioners experienced most conflict within teams and other internal audiences, practiced conflict avoidance rather than conflict engagement, understood individual level factors as major contributors to conflict, and avoided digital channels in conflict resolution. A model of practitioners as transformers of organizational conflict is proposed. This exploratory study leaves an important question unanswered: Can communication practitioners play a recognized role in transforming organizational conflicts rather than negotiating solutions? A quantitative survey with random sampling could be a next step in verifying the extent of conflict resolution in communication practice and how practitioners can engage workplace conflict more effectively. However, communication practitioners in my sample strongly recommended conflict training and activism to promote conflict transformation as an official role for public relations professionals. </p><p> <i>Keywords:</i> negotiation, public relations, communication professionals, conflict management, conflict transformation, grounded theory, digital conflict resolution</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-11, Section: A, page: 4550. Adviser: Noshir Contractor. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 147-160) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-11, Section: A, page: 4545. Adviser: Noshir S. Contractor. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 138-160) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Dept. of Political Science and Dept. of History. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2003. / "A dissertation in political science and history." Advisor: Max J. Skidmore. Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 241-262).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Colorado at Boulder, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-07, Section: A, page: 2523. Adviser: Bryan C. Taylor.

Thesis (M.A.)--Villanova University, 2009. / Communication Dept. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Washington State University, May 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 39-42).

The aim of this diploma thesis is to identify a key competencies for a leader in global corporation respecting the regional differencies. In the theoretical part we define leader, point out the differences between leader and manager and analyze the required competencies of a modern leader. In the practical part, he analyzes the leadership settings in the selected company and compares the acquired knowledge with the theoretical definitions. On the basis of the results obtained, it suggests specific ways of developing selected personality traits while accepting regional differences.

The importance of enhancing internal communication and its content during organisational change appears to be neglected by many organisations. Although change management literature agrees generally about the role that communication plays in facilitating change, there is still a dearth of empirical studies that focus on improving internal communication during organisational change phases. The evolution of communication technology has provided some new tools that can enhance internal communication within an organisation. This study explores the role of using of one of these new communication technologies in communicating organisational change through the development of a novel conceptual model. The developed model covers the communication needs in each phase of a planned change, and combines the benefits of communicating organisational change with the benefits of using Enterprise Social Networks (ESN), as found in the literature. The aim is to investigate empirically how ESN as a new internal communication technology can be employed to communicate organisational change effectively in order to facilitate that change. To do so, the researcher in this study has applied a qualitative approach through a case study strategy in order to validate the conceptual model being proposed. The researcher conducted 32 interviews and analysed all of them qualitatively using Nvivo software. The findings of the conducted study revealed that using ESN had many positive impacts on employees, such as increasing their awareness, engagement and participation, which helped to facilitate the overall change projects. Moreover, the study proved the suitability of the validated novel model to contribute in facilitating organisational change through ESN, which can guide leaders, managers, change agents and academics on how ESN can be used to communicate planned change effectively in order to facilitate it.