The purpose of this study was to determine if gender and level differences would occur in the oral communication patterns of 55 bank managers. The self-recording method was used, and 2,774 oral communication episodes were collected, classified, and inter preted. Results showed that significant differences exist among lower-, middle-, and upper-level managers as well as between male and female managers. These findings have several theoretical implications.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Argyle, M., Mansur, L., & Cook, M. (1968). The effects of visibility on interaction in a dyad. Human Relations, 21, 3-17.
2.
Bacharach, S., & Aiken, M. (1977). Communication in administrative bureaucracies . Academy of Management Journal, 20, 365-377.
3.
Baird, J., & Bradley, P. (1979). Styles of management and communication: A comparative study of men and women. Communication Monographs, 46, 101-111.
4.
Bernard, H., & Kilworth, P. (1976). Informant accuracy in social network data. Human Organization, 35, 269-386.
5.
Bryant, B. (1985). The neighborhood walk: Sources of support in middle childhood. Monographs of the Society for Research Development , 50, 11985.
6.
Burns, T. (1954). The direction of activity and communication in a department executive group. Human Relations, 11(1), 73-97.
7.
Carroll, S., & Gillen, D. (1987). Are the classical management functions useful in describing managerial work?Academy of Management Review , 12, 38-51.
8.
Case, R. (1969). An analysis of the communication structure of a university administrative and instructional unit. Unpublished doctoral dissertation , University of Illinois.
9.
Daft, R., & Lengel, R. (1986). Organizational information requirements, media richness and structural design. Management Science, 32, 554-571.
10.
Davis, K. (1953). Management communication and the grapevine. Harvard Business Review, 31, 43-49.
11.
Davis, K. (1968). Success of chain-of-command oral communication in a manufacturing management group. Academy of Management Journal, 11, 379-387.
12.
Dubin, R., & Spray, S. (1964). Executive behavior and interaction. Industrial Relations, 3, 99-108.
13.
Goldhaber, G., Porter, D., Yates, M., & Lesniak, R. (1978). Organizational communication. Human Communication Research, 5, 76-96.
14.
Guest, R. (1956). Of time and the foreman. Personnel , 32, 478-486.
15.
Hannaway, J. (1985). Managerial behavior, uncertainty and hierarchy: A prelude to a synthesis. Human Relations, 38, 1085-1100.
16.
Hart, R. (1979). Children's experience of place. New York: Irvington Publishing, Inc.
17.
Hawkins, B., & Preston, P. (1981). Managerial communication. Santa Monica, California: Goodyear Publishing Company .
18.
Hinrichs, J. (1964). Communications activity of industrial research personnel. Personnel Psychology, 17, 193-204.
19.
Hunt, G., & Ebeling, R. (1983). The impact of a communication intervention on work unit productivity and employee satisfaction. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 11, 57-68.
20.
Irvine, J. (1985, July-August). Teacher communication patterns as related to the race and sex of the student. Journal of Educational Research, pp. 338-345.
21.
Jablin, F. (1987). Formal organization structure. In F. Jablin, L. Putnam, K. Roberts, & L. Porter (Eds.), Handbook of organizational communication (pp. 389-419). Newbury Park, California: Sage.
22.
Jasinski, E. (1956). Foremen relationships outside the work group. Personnel, 33,130-136.
23.
Karp, D., & Yoels, W. (1976). The college classroom: Some observations on the meanings of student participation. Sociology and Social Research , 60, 421-439.
24.
Kaufman, M. (1977). A study of grapevine communication patterns in sales oriented organizations. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Georgia State University.
25.
Kjerulff, K., & Blood, M. (1973). A comparison of communication patterns of male and female graduate students. Journal of Higher Education , 44, 623-632.
26.
Lee, J. ( 1971). An episodic study of communication networks within the management group of a geographically decentralized bank. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Arizona State University.
27.
Lever, J. (1976). Sex differences in the games children play. Social Problems, 23, 479-487.
28.
Luthans, F., Rosenkrantz, S., & Hennessey, H. (1985). What do successful managers really do? An observation study of managerial activities. Journal of Management Studies , 4, 282-299.
29.
MacLeod, L. (1991). A descriptive and comparative analysis of the verbal communication patterns of bank managers. Unpublished doctoral dissertation , Northern Illinois University.
30.
March, J., & Simons, H. (1958). Organizations. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
31.
Marples, D. (1967, October). Studies of managers-Afresh start?The Journal of Management Studies, pp. 282-299.
32.
Marrett, C., Hage, J., & Aiken, M. (1975). Communication and satisfaction in organizations . Human Relations, 28, 611-626.
33.
Marting, B. (1977).A study ofgrapevine communication patterns in a manufacturing organization. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Georgia State University.
34.
Martinko, M., & Gardner, W. (1985). Beyond structured observation: Methodological issues and new directions. Academy of Management Review, 10, 676-695.
35.
McCall, M., Morrison, A., & Hannan, R. (1978). Studies of managerial work: Results and methods. Technical Report 9Greensboro, NC: Center for Creative Leadership.
36.
Medrich, E., Roizen, J., Rubin, J., & Buckley, S. (1982). The serious business of growing up. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
37.
Miller, J., Labovitz, S., & Fry, L. (1975). Inequities in the organizational experience of women and men. Social Forces, 54, 365-381.
38.
Mintzberg, H. (1973). The nature of managerial work. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers.
39.
Peters, T., & Waterman, R. (1982). In search of excellence. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers.
40.
Piersol, D. (1955). A case study of oral communication practices of foremen and assistant foremen in a midwestern corporation. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Purdue University.
41.
Pincus, J. (1986). Communication: The key contributor to effectiveness. Journal of NursingAdministration, 16, 19-25.
42.
Planty, E., & Machaver, W. (1952). Upward communication: A project in executive development . Personnel, 28, 304-318.
43.
Ponder, Q. (1959). Supervisory practices of effective and ineffective foremen. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, ColumbiaUniversity .
44.
Rice, R., & Shook, D. (1990). Relationships of job categories and organizational levels to use of communication channels, including electronic mail: A meta-analysis and extension. Journal of Management Studies, 27, 195-229.
45.
Rosenberg, K. (1985, May). What employees think of communication: 1984 update. Communication World, pp. 46-50.
46.
Savin-Williams, R. (1980). Dominance hierarchies in groups of middle to late adolescent males. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 9, 75-85.
47.
Schorr, M. (1972). Inter- and intra-communication patterns in four university departments. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Texas A & M University.
48.
Siegerdt, G. (1978). An exploratory study ofcommunication profiles based upon sex differences across organizations. Unpublished doctoral dissertation , Ohio State University.
49.
Simpson, R. (1959). Vertical and horizontal communication in formal organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly,4, 188-96.
50.
Stewart, R. (1967). Managers and their jobs. London : MacMillan and Company, LTD.
51.
Stewart, R. (1982). Choices for the manager. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
52.
Sussman, L., Pickett, T., Berzinski, I., & Pearce, F. (1980). Sex and sychophancy: Communication strategies for ascendance in same-sex and mixed-sex superior-subordinate dyads. Sex Roles, 6, 113-127.
53.
Volard, S., & Davies, M. (1982). Communication patterns of managers. The Journal of Business Communication, 19(1), 41-54.
54.
Whitely, W. (1984). An exploratory study of managers'reactions to properties of verbal communication. Personnel Psychology, 37, 41-59.
55.
Young, J. (1978). The subordinate's exposure of organizational vulnerability to the superior: Sex and organizational effects. Academy of Management Journal, 21, 113-122.
56.
Zajonc, R., & Wolfe, D. (1963). Cognitive consequences of a person's position in a formal organization. Technical Report No. 23, University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research Center for Group Dynamics, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
