The impact of national cultures and interpersonal factors on managerial communication

This study was undertaken for two primary purposes. The first was to discover whether or not two of the four cultural dimensions depicted by Hof-stede (1980), namely Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance, could be repeated using samples from seven organizations operating in three distinct cultural settings. The second was to assess the degree to which these dimensions affect superior-subordinate communication across the culturally-different groups. Also, the impact of the three interpersonal factors: Trust in Superior, Upward Influence and Mobility Aspirations was investigated cross-culturally. Participants were 291 managers from seven organizations; four Sudanese, two white British and an organization in Britain run by a group of British citizens of Pakistani extraction. It was hypothesized that the Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance of the three groups would replicate Hof-stede's. Specific implications of these dimensions for organizational communication and in particular for superior-subordinate communication were also hypothesized. Multiple regression analyses were performed with items of the two cultural dimensions and the three interpersonal factors (each in turn) forming the independent variables, while the organizational communication aspects formed the dependent variables. T-tests between means were also used to compare and contrast issues such as directionality of information flow across organizations operating in these settings. Work-related values of each of the three cultural groups provided support for Hofstede's model. However, only tentative support was given to the hypothesized relationships between the cultural dimensions and organizational communication. Similarly, weak associations were found between the three interpersonal factors and superior-subordinate communication behaviour. Some practical and theoretical implications are offered. An evaluation of the study and recommendation for further research are also given.

Trust me, I'm your boss: Trust and power in supervisor-supervisee communication

This study examined employees' perceptions of trust, power and mentoring in manager-employee relationships in a variety of sectors, including health care, education, hospitality and retail. The main theoretical frameworks used were communication accommodation theory and social identity theory, in examining the manager-employee relationships from an in-group/out-group perspective. Computer-aided content analyses revealed a number of emergent communication and relationship themes that impact upon the level of 'in-groupness' and therefore trust in supervisor-supervisee relationships. While it may be illusory to believe that any organization can enjoy complete trust among its workforce, it is clear that certain communication characteristics can result in greater trust in manager-employee relationships, even within the context of organizational constraints. It is argued that the results of the study could be used to inform human resource management academics of key aspects of managerial communication that should be further researched, and also provide insights into the main communication skills that managers should focus upon to improve trust in the workplace.

Communicative and Anticipatory Decision-making Supported by Bayesian Networks

The purpose of this research is to draw up a clear construction of an anticipatory communicative decision-making process and a successful implementation of a Bayesian application that can be used as an anticipatory communicative decision-making support system. This study is a decision-oriented and constructive research project, and it includes examples of simulated situations. As a basis for further methodological discussion about different approaches to management research, in this research, a decision-oriented approach is used, which is based on mathematics and logic, and it is intended to develop problem solving methods. The approach is theoretical and characteristic of normative management science research. Also, the approach of this study is constructive. An essential part of the constructive approach is to tie the problem to its solution with theoretical knowledge. Firstly, the basic definitions and behaviours of an anticipatory management and managerial communication are provided. These descriptions include discussions of the research environment and formed management processes. These issues define and explain the background to further research. Secondly, it is processed to managerial communication and anticipatory decision-making based on preparation, problem solution, and solution search, which are also related to risk management analysis. After that, a solution to the decision-making support application is formed, using four different Bayesian methods, as follows: the Bayesian network, the influence diagram, the qualitative probabilistic network, and the time critical dynamic network. The purpose of the discussion is not to discuss different theories but to explain the theories which are being implemented. Finally, an application of Bayesian networks to the research problem is presented. The usefulness of the prepared model in examining a problem and the represented results of research is shown. The theoretical contribution includes definitions and a model of anticipatory decision-making. The main theoretical contribution of this study has been to develop a process for anticipatory decision-making that includes management with communication, problem-solving, and the improvement of knowledge. The practical contribution includes a Bayesian Decision Support Model, which is based on Bayesian influenced diagrams. The main contributions of this research are two developed processes, one for anticipatory decision-making, and the other to produce a model of a Bayesian network for anticipatory decision-making. In summary, this research contributes to decision-making support by being one of the few publicly available academic descriptions of the anticipatory decision support system, by representing a Bayesian model that is grounded on firm theoretical discussion, by publishing algorithms suitable for decision-making support, and by defining the idea of anticipatory decision-making for a parallel version. Finally, according to the results of research, an analysis of anticipatory management for planned decision-making is presented, which is based on observation of environment, analysis of weak signals, and alternatives to creative problem solving and communication.

Comunicação interna em empreendimento hoteleiro: um enfoque gerencial

Globalization, which increased the market to a position of competition and change never before experienced, also imposed a series of changes that have transformed the social systems, organizations increasingly complex. In this scenario, communication has received attention from modern managers. Research indicates that some sectors of activity, more than others, rely on communication as a tool for achieving their goals. The tourism sector, located in the service segment is configured as one of these activities, which the hotel is part of the composite product. With the intention to acknowledge these aspects in this study sought to analyze the characteristics of internal communication in a hotel project in the managerial perspective. To try to answer this purpose we constructed a framework based on authors that discuss organizational communication, internal communication and hotel businesses. For the purpose of research was chosen a unit of study to assess the views of managers regarding the issue. In the unit studied was sought to apprehend these meanings through interviews with a group of managers in the organization and analysis of documents. Data were analyzed through content analysis of Bardin (1977), with the technique of categorical analysis, as it sought to capture aspects that allow the description of the contents of the messages. The results pointed to an organizational reality based heavily on orality, who lives constantly with noise and using communication to regulate behavior. With little or no reflection on managerial communication inferred that subordinates should not absorb the message completely, a phenomenon that can not be responsible for the complete fulfillment thereof. Moreover, it was realized that the organization studied did not plan your communication, since, yet the views as a strategic tool to achieve your goals

A UNIVERSIDADE CORPORATIVA E O TREINAMENTO INDUSTRIAL A DISTÂNCIA PARA PROFISSIONAIS DE MANUTENÇÃO

Este trabalho trata dos principais aspectos envolvidos na avaliação e características conceituais acerca dos fundamentos e práticas do ensino a distância enfocando o treinamento industrial a distância para profissionais de manutenção, utilizando a internet como principal ferramenta e o desafio de relacionar a tecnologia com a metodologia voltada para o profissional técnico operacional. A internet é uma ferramenta que pode ser utilizada para o ensino em geral, ela permite acesso fácil a uma infinidade de material informativo autêntico e atualizado, além de exemplos concretos e interativos na perspectiva de transformar a informação recebida por meios eletrônicos em conhecimento sólido adquirido. Diante disso, a análise do trabalho recai, num primeiro momento, sobre os pressupostos que criaram o treinamento industrial, o treinamento na área de manutenção industrial e, os aspectos da estrutura que cria o treinamento industrial a distância, em seguida, aprofundamos-nos no conhecimento acerca das técnicas que envolvem o treinamento para profissionais da área de manutenção industrial a distância. Também é apresentada a experiência dos cursos profissionalizantes a distância através de vários meios e a experiências dos portais de educação a distância voltados para área de manutenção industrial.

A UNIVERSIDADE CORPORATIVA E O TREINAMENTO INDUSTRIAL A DISTÂNCIA PARA PROFISSIONAIS DE MANUTENÇÃO

Este trabalho trata dos principais aspectos envolvidos na avaliação e características conceituais acerca dos fundamentos e práticas do ensino a distância enfocando o treinamento industrial a distância para profissionais de manutenção, utilizando a internet como principal ferramenta e o desafio de relacionar a tecnologia com a metodologia voltada para o profissional técnico operacional. A internet é uma ferramenta que pode ser utilizada para o ensino em geral, ela permite acesso fácil a uma infinidade de material informativo autêntico e atualizado, além de exemplos concretos e interativos na perspectiva de transformar a informação recebida por meios eletrônicos em conhecimento sólido adquirido. Diante disso, a análise do trabalho recai, num primeiro momento, sobre os pressupostos que criaram o treinamento industrial, o treinamento na área de manutenção industrial e, os aspectos da estrutura que cria o treinamento industrial a distância, em seguida, aprofundamos-nos no conhecimento acerca das técnicas que envolvem o treinamento para profissionais da área de manutenção industrial a distância. Também é apresentada a experiência dos cursos profissionalizantes a distância através de vários meios e a experiências dos portais de educação a distância voltados para área de manutenção industrial.

A UNIVERSIDADE CORPORATIVA E O TREINAMENTO INDUSTRIAL A DISTÂNCIA PARA PROFISSIONAIS DE MANUTENÇÃO

Este trabalho trata dos principais aspectos envolvidos na avaliação e características conceituais acerca dos fundamentos e práticas do ensino a distância enfocando o treinamento industrial a distância para profissionais de manutenção, utilizando a internet como principal ferramenta e o desafio de relacionar a tecnologia com a metodologia voltada para o profissional técnico operacional. A internet é uma ferramenta que pode ser utilizada para o ensino em geral, ela permite acesso fácil a uma infinidade de material informativo autêntico e atualizado, além de exemplos concretos e interativos na perspectiva de transformar a informação recebida por meios eletrônicos em conhecimento sólido adquirido. Diante disso, a análise do trabalho recai, num primeiro momento, sobre os pressupostos que criaram o treinamento industrial, o treinamento na área de manutenção industrial e, os aspectos da estrutura que cria o treinamento industrial a distância, em seguida, aprofundamos-nos no conhecimento acerca das técnicas que envolvem o treinamento para profissionais da área de manutenção industrial a distância. Também é apresentada a experiência dos cursos profissionalizantes a distância através de vários meios e a experiências dos portais de educação a distância voltados para área de manutenção industrial.

Comunicação interna em empreendimento hoteleiro: um enfoque gerencial

Globalization, which increased the market to a position of competition and change never before experienced, also imposed a series of changes that have transformed the social systems, organizations increasingly complex. In this scenario, communication has received attention from modern managers. Research indicates that some sectors of activity, more than others, rely on communication as a tool for achieving their goals. The tourism sector, located in the service segment is configured as one of these activities, which the hotel is part of the composite product. With the intention to acknowledge these aspects in this study sought to analyze the characteristics of internal communication in a hotel project in the managerial perspective. To try to answer this purpose we constructed a framework based on authors that discuss organizational communication, internal communication and hotel businesses. For the purpose of research was chosen a unit of study to assess the views of managers regarding the issue. In the unit studied was sought to apprehend these meanings through interviews with a group of managers in the organization and analysis of documents. Data were analyzed through content analysis of Bardin (1977), with the technique of categorical analysis, as it sought to capture aspects that allow the description of the contents of the messages. The results pointed to an organizational reality based heavily on orality, who lives constantly with noise and using communication to regulate behavior. With little or no reflection on managerial communication inferred that subordinates should not absorb the message completely, a phenomenon that can not be responsible for the complete fulfillment thereof. Moreover, it was realized that the organization studied did not plan your communication, since, yet the views as a strategic tool to achieve your goals

Comunicação interna em empreendimento hoteleiro: um enfoque gerencial

Globalization, which increased the market to a position of competition and change never before experienced, also imposed a series of changes that have transformed the social systems, organizations increasingly complex. In this scenario, communication has received attention from modern managers. Research indicates that some sectors of activity, more than others, rely on communication as a tool for achieving their goals. The tourism sector, located in the service segment is configured as one of these activities, which the hotel is part of the composite product. With the intention to acknowledge these aspects in this study sought to analyze the characteristics of internal communication in a hotel project in the managerial perspective. To try to answer this purpose we constructed a framework based on authors that discuss organizational communication, internal communication and hotel businesses. For the purpose of research was chosen a unit of study to assess the views of managers regarding the issue. In the unit studied was sought to apprehend these meanings through interviews with a group of managers in the organization and analysis of documents. Data were analyzed through content analysis of Bardin (1977), with the technique of categorical analysis, as it sought to capture aspects that allow the description of the contents of the messages. The results pointed to an organizational reality based heavily on orality, who lives constantly with noise and using communication to regulate behavior. With little or no reflection on managerial communication inferred that subordinates should not absorb the message completely, a phenomenon that can not be responsible for the complete fulfillment thereof. Moreover, it was realized that the organization studied did not plan your communication, since, yet the views as a strategic tool to achieve your goals

Managerial cognition and reputation : does communication about firms’ intangibles affect performance?

Corporate reputation is viewed as fundamental to firm performance, growth and survival and the maintenance and enhancement of that reputation is a key responsibility of senior executives. However, relatively little is known about the main dimensions of corporate reputation and the amount of attention given to them by senior executives. Based on the corporate reputation and intangible resources literatures, thirteen reputational elements were identified and the amount of attention given to those elements in a large, longitudinal sample of annual reports from Australian firms was measured using computer aided text analysis. This identified five, main reputational dimensions that were both stable over time and related to firms’ future financial performance.

Silent Communication - A Challenge to Established Marketing Communication Practice

Purpose The paper examines the concept of silent communication and its implications in marketing communication. It defines silent communication and proposes an analytic framework enabling an expanded view of marketing communication. Design/methodology/approach By explicitly adopting a customer-oriented perspective, combined with insights from service marketing and relationship communication, the paper extends current models of marketing communication. Findings The paper identifies different types of silent communication and presents new perspectives on marketing communication. The authors outline a framework for understanding how the company can/cannot control different forms of marketing communication and discuss the implications of this. Research implications/limitations The paper concentrates on a conceptual analysis, offering a number of empirical illustrations. The conceptual development creates new research issues that should lead to a deeper understanding of customers’ meaning creation, actions and reactions. Practical implications Silent communication constitutes a managerial challenge as it is often invisible to the management. The paper points to the need to develop methods to reveal the effects of silent communication as well as create guidelines for managerially handling silent communication. Originality/value The customer-based perspective and the focus on silent communication provide a completely new approach to analysing and understanding marketing communication. The paper contributes to service marketing and marketing communication research by introducing conceptualisations of silent communication that have an interest for both academic research and practitioners.

Towards a Dynamic Communication Model: A Useful Tool in Relationship Communication

In order to bring insight into the emerging concept of relationship communication, concepts from two research traditions will be combined in this paper. Based on those concepts a new model, the dynamic relationship communication model, will be presented. Instead of a company perspective focusing on the integration of outgoing messages such as advertising, public relations and sales activities, it is suggested that the focus should be on factors integrated by the receiver. Such factors can be historical, future, external and internal factors. Thus, the model put a strong focus on the receiver in the communication process. The dynamic communication model is illustrated empirically using it as a tool on 78 short stories about communication. The empirical findings show that relationship communication occurs in some cases; in some cases it does not occur. The model is a useful tool in displaying relationship communication and how it differs from other communication. The importance of the time dimension, historical and future factors, in relationship communications is discussed. The possibility of reducing communications costs by the notion of relationship communication is discussed in managerial implications.

Communicating culture: strategic communication management of the contemporary art museums in the XXIth century, in Portugal: case studies: Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea: Lisboa; Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Serralves, no Porto; Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Elvas

Throughout the year and half of research developed during the times of crisis or economic crisis in Portugal due to the austerity measures, this thesis focuses on the cultural communication and museology in the area of cultural management in Portugal. With an ever growing number of research being developed over the world, this study is unique as it studies managerial diversity and organisational structures of Contemporary Art Museums that exist in Portugal but more importantly how they communicate their organizations within and beyond the Museum walls such as online or other technological media. As the communication management of the museums is one of aspects of culture in which cultural management intends to intervene. The research study that I proposed to analyse has at the forefront the intention to understand how the Contemporary Art Museums in Portugal manage their communication and respective organizations, whether they be a Public-Private/Foundation, State or Council run organizations but also understand if a strategic plan is designed and implemented in times of crisis, to withstand disruptive economic scenarios projected on a daily basis. The following Museums were selected due to the fact of being Contemporary Art Museums but also their respective diverse territorial distribution, one in the city capital of Portugal, Lisbon: MNAC – Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea, a stately run organisation; the second, in the north of Portugal: MACS – Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Serralves, a public/private organisation under the Foundation organics and the third Museum in interior central region of Portugal, Alentejo: MACE – Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Elvas, managed by the Elvas City Council.

Enhancing knowledge sharing with information and communication technology.

Numerous empirical studies on knowledge management have examined the relative effectiveness of various enablers, such as organizational structure, technology, culture, managerial system and strategy on knowledge sharing in organizations. These enablers are mostly related to organizational infrastructure that promotes knowledge sharing in organizations. This paper focuses on the critical role of information and communication technology (ICT) in facilitating the process of knowledge sharing in organizations. The results indicate that ICT support significantly impacted knowledge sharing, which in turn positively affected firm performance.

Enhancing Knowledge Sharing with Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

The acceleration of technological change and trade liberalization in the 1990s have significantly intensified market competition and transformed the world economic infrastructure from a resource- and manufacturing-based economy to one in which knowledge and services are the key drivers of economic growth. In order for an organization to capitalize on its knowledge and truly become a learning organization, it must begin to systematically manage and leverage knowledge existing internally and externally to create and sustain its competitive advantage. Numerous empirical studies on knowledge management have examined the relative effectiveness of various enablers, such as organizational structure, technology, culture, managerial system and strategy on knowledge creation and sharing in organizations. The enablers examined earlier are mostly related to organizational infrastructure that promotes knowledge sharing in organizations. This paper examines specifically the critical role of information and communication technology (ICT) in facilitating and enhancing knowledge sharing and organizational performance. This study adopted a process oriented approach by using Nonaka’s (1994) knowledge sharing model. The results indicate that significant positive effects of ICT support on knowledge sharing and all dimensions of knowledge sharing are significant predictors of organizational performance.