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This study examines the current status of the introductory business communication course at colleges and universities across the United States. Using data collected during the spring of 2008 from a national sample of 505 instructors, this study reveals a number of pedagogical and programmatic insights about (1) major course sponsors; (2) academic levels at which the course is taught; (3) instructors’ ideal and actual class sizes; (4) use of distance learning; (5) content coverage; and (6) required learning assignments. Findings from this study are compared with results from previous audits. Future research ideas as well as implications for business communication education are presented.

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This work introduces two broad, conceptual frameworks, programmatic and participatory, for classifying experiential change implementation methods. Grounded in scholarly and empirical research, several benefits and limitations of each theoretical change implementation framework are proposed. In addition, six propositions for testing the validity and utility of the programmatic and participatory frameworks are advanced. This article concludes with a discussion of implications for organizational change practitioners.

Purpose -This study aims to explore whether McGregor's theory X/Y assumptions are determinants of managers' propensity for participative decision making (PDM). Design/methodology/approach -Surveys measuring theory X/Y assumptions and propensity for PDM were administered to 144 full-time managers from divergent industries across the USA. The hypotheses were tested using linear regressions. Findings -Results generally support McGregor's assertion that managers' theory X/Y assumptions are linked to PDM. Findings suggest that theory X managers perceive that PDM negatively impacts their power while theory Y managers perceive a positive consequence of soliciting employee participation on their supervisory power and organizational effectiveness. Research limitations/implications -Although respondents represented diverse industries and organizations, the use of convenience sampling may temper generalizability of the findings. Also, the use of self-reports may have elicited socially desirable responses. Greater attention is needed from researchers and practitioners to understand how managers' assumptions influence the adoption or avoidance of PDM. Practical implications -Findings suggest that managers' predisposition for PDM is predicted to a large extent by their theory X/Y assumptions. These results provide a compelling case for managers to continuously question their assumptions about employees and critically examine whether their biases influence their decision-making practices. Originality/value -This study expands the landscape of PDM literature, adding further evidence that individual-difference variables, in this case theory X/Y assumptions, greatly influence supervisors' biases about employee participation.

Scholars have documented many benefits of participatory processes during change including minimizing participants' resistance, increasing their satisfaction, and strengthening their perceptions of control. Ironically, evidence also suggests that participative communication approaches are underused. This study explores implementers' solicitation and use of stakeholder input during change processes. Twenty-six implementers from different organizations were interviewed and their responses were transcribed and thematically analyzed. Four general approaches to soliciting and using input were groundedly developed from these data. Findings suggest that the interviewees in this study tend to favor the "restricted" and "advisory" approaches to input solicitation and use. In the restricted model, implementers were highly selective about who was asked for input and aimed to disregard negative feedback. In the "advisory" approach, implementers solicited input more widely however were mixed in the degree to which negative feedback was used to make modest improvement in the change initiative.

This study elucidates pedagogical differences and similarities between the ways in which instructors from business and communication disciplines teach the introductory business communication course. During the spring of 2008, the authors surveyed 444 instructors teaching this course at colleges and universities across the United States. Their findings highlight several cross-disciplinary commonalities and disparities. The article discusses potential implications for the complementary and contradictory instructional approaches and call for more cross-disciplinary uniformity in contemporary business communication education.

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