Signature Assignment MBA 5013 Organizational Communication

Signature Assignment Mba 5013 Organizational Communication Fall 2018 T

This final signature assignment offers you three options (below) for researching and writing on a topic related to organizational communication. Pick the option that interests you the most and that will be most beneficial to your personal and professional goals. All options will require that you provide a thorough review of the literature, adhere to high-quality writing standards, following APA style for grammar, punctuation, in-text citation of sources, reference page, and paper formatting. You must include at least one theory discussed in the text that is relevant to the topic you selected. Attached is a suggested list of focus areas; please note that whatever topic you explore, you must assure that it relates specifically to organizational communication.

Regardless of the option selected, the paper should be at least 10 pages long (including the cover and reference pages), double-spaced, using a 12-point Times Roman font. There should be a minimum of 10 sources, including at last five from scholarly journals, such as Management Communication Quarterly, Applied Communication Research Journal, Communication Monographs, Human Communication Research, Journal of Applied Psychology, Academy of Management Journal, and Administrative Science Quarterly. Recent news articles, particularly those in business publications such as Harvard Business Review, may also be used. Any web-based information should come from a credible and recent source. A grading rubric will be provided in advance.

Option 1 – Critical Literature Review

This option allows you to focus on a specific area of organizational communication. Conduct a complete review of the literature in appropriate journals, books, and current articles (not textbooks, including the one for the class). In your written review of your findings, organize your summary of the studies/articles in some meaningful pattern (make sense of it all). A critical review of the literature on your focus topic requires that you make an argument of some sort, based on your findings. Tell us what the literature says, any limitations of the current literature, and your thoughts on what further research is needed.

The sections of the paper include Introduction, Literature Review (what they say), your proposed Research Agenda (what you say/discuss), and your Conclusion (brief summary).

Option 2 – Research Proposal

If you are pursuing a career in academia and/or are interested in research, this paper will be a proposal for specific research, complete with your questions/hypotheses for research that haven’t been done yet. This is similar to the critical literature review above, except that you will use the literature review to support the need for your proposed study. You won’t carry out your research in this class; you will just learn to develop a proposal for research, using your literature review to back up your research proposal.

A part of the proposal will be suggesting your method of research (e.g., quantitative or qualitative) and describing the type of study you wish to do (such as an ethnography, survey, focus groups, experiment, etc.). Your proposal would include the Introduction (brief information about the subject matter and why it’s important to look at), Literature Review, Proposed Methodology, and Conclusion.

Option 3 – Full Research Project

If you already have a research project in mind, and a place willing to have you conduct research, you can conduct that research during this seven-week class. Please let me know if you are choosing this option as quickly as possible so that I can guide you appropriately. Research methods could include a survey, interviews, experiment, ethnography, etc.

Your paper would need to include an Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results and Analysis, Discussion, and Conclusion.

Suggested Topics for Organizational Communication Papers

• Leadership (focused on specific area, if possible)
• Conflict Management
• Crisis Management
• Sexual Harassment
• Sustainability
• Social Media
• Decision Making
• Organizational Change
• Diverse Workplace
• Great Place to Work/Human Resources
• Ethics/Integrity
• Equal Pay/Equal Work
• Fair Trade (not Free Trade)
• Quality/Safety Performance
• Organizational Culture
• Organizational Climate
• Gender Equity
• Power
• Group/Team Building
• Group/Team
• Remote Communication Strategies
• Other (please clear with me first)

Note that the assignment is due tonight before 12:00 EST. Select one option, choose a relevant topic within organizational communication, and develop a comprehensive, well-structured, academically rigorous paper adhering to the outlined standards.

Paper For Above instruction

Selected Option: Critical Literature Review on Organizational Communication and Leadership

Introduction

Organizational communication plays a crucial role in shaping leadership practices within organizations. Effective communication strategies influence leadership effectiveness, organizational culture, employee engagement, and overall organizational performance. Over the years, scholars have examined various facets of leadership communication, including transformational leadership, ethical leadership, and authentic leadership, among others. This paper provides a comprehensive critical review of existing literature on organizational communication in leadership contexts, identifies gaps, discusses limitations, and proposes a future research agenda. Understanding these dimensions is vital for both scholars and practitioners aiming to foster leadership effectiveness through strategic communication practices.

Literature Review

The literature consistently emphasizes the significance of communication in leadership effectiveness (Bass & Avolio, 1993). Transformational leadership, characterized by inspiring and motivating employees, relies heavily on leaders' communication skills (Burns, 1978; Bass, 1985). Researchers assert that transformational leaders articulate a compelling vision, foster trust, and stimulate engagement through effective verbal and non-verbal communication (Podsakoff et al., 1996). However, limitations exist in understanding how digital communication mediums influence transformational leadership behaviors, a gap that recent studies are beginning to address (Men, 2014).

Ethical leadership, another prominent domain, underscores transparency, integrity, and fairness communicated by leaders (Brown & Treviño, 2006). Literature indicates that ethical communication fosters organizational trust and ethical climate, which in turn enhances employee commitment (Trevino et al., 2003). Nevertheless, most studies are cross-sectional, providing limited insight into how ethical leadership communication evolves over time or across different organizational cultures (Culbertson et al., 2017).

Authentic Leadership has gained traction recently, with scholars emphasizing the importance of self-awareness and transparency (Avolio & Gardner, 2005). Their studies link authentic communication with increased follower trust and job satisfaction. Nonetheless, the majority of research relies on self-report data, which can be susceptible to bias, suggesting the need for more objective measures of authentic communication in leadership (Leroy et al., 2018).

Despite these valuable insights, limitations in the literature arise from a predominance of quantitative studies, limited focus on cross-cultural differences, and reliance on self-reported data. Additionally, rapidly evolving digital communication tools are underrepresented in current research, creating a gap in understanding how modern communication platforms influence leadership effectiveness (Golob & Podnar, 2014).

Proposed Research Agenda

Addressing these gaps requires a multidisciplinary and multi-method approach. Future research should explore the effects of digital communication channels such as social media, instant messaging, and video conferencing on transformational, ethical, and authentic leadership. Longitudinal studies could provide insights into how leaders adapt their communication styles over time and across cultures. Combining quantitative surveys with qualitative methods like interviews or ethnography would enrich understanding of leaders' communication dynamics in diverse organizational contexts (Edmondson, 2019).

Furthermore, developing objective measures of leadership communication, perhaps through speech analysis or behavioral coding, could reduce reliance on self-report data and increase validity. Cross-cultural comparative studies might reveal how cultural norms influence leadership communication strategies and effectiveness, informing global leadership development programs.

Conclusion

The literature underscores the essential role of communication in leadership effectiveness, highlighting various leadership styles and their relational dynamics. However, gaps remain, particularly regarding digital communication influences, evolving leadership models, and cross-cultural considerations. Future research should employ diverse methodologies to address these gaps, thereby advancing theoretical understanding and practical application of organizational communication in leadership. By doing so, organizations can foster more authentic, ethical, and transformational leadership practices suited to the digital age, ultimately enhancing organizational performance and employee well-being.

References

• Avolio, B. J., & Gardner, W. L. (2005). Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 315–338.
• Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1995). MLQ: Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire manual. Mind Garden.
• Brown, M. E., & Treviño, L. K. (2006). Ethical leadership: A review and future directions. Leadership Quarterly, 17(6), 595–616.
• Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. Harper & Row.
• Culbertson, S., Storey, J. D., & Matz, H. (2017). Ethical and authentic leadership: A review of literature. Journal of Business Ethics, 145(4), 725–744.
• Edmondson, A. C. (2019). The fearless organization: Creating psychological safety in the workplace for learning, innovation, and growth. Wiley.
• Golob, U., & Podnar, K. (2014). Integrated corporate communication: A stakeholder approach. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 19(4), 436–455.
• Leroy, H., Palanski, M. E., & Simons, T. (2018). Authentic leadership and behavioral integrity as pathways to positive employee outcomes. Journal of Business Ethics, 153(1), 158–168.
• Men, L. R. (2014). Strategic internal communication: Transformational leadership, communication climate, and employee engagement. International Journal of Business Communication, 51(2), 183–206.
• Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Moorman, R. H., & Fetter, R. (1996). Transformational leader behaviors and their effects on followers’ trust in leader, satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behaviors. Leadership Quarterly, 1(2), 107–142.