Uncertainty and satisfaction: The importance of information in hospital communication

Salem, Philip J.; Williams, M. Lee

doi:10.1080/00909888409365250

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Uncertainty is an inability to describe, predict, or explain (Salem and Williams, 1984), and complaints of inadequate information are common in organizations (Daniels and Spiker, 1983). However, information is not part of artifacts such as memos, reports, or websites.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The seven communication reasons organizations do not change

Salem

2008

Corporate Communications: An International Journal

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The seven communication reasons organizations do not changeAbstract Purpose -Management attempts to transform organizations seldom succeed. This paper aims to describe seven common communication behaviors accompanying those failures. Design/methodology/approach -This paper integrates material from three recent communication and organizational change studies, recent change theory, and complexity theory to model communication and change processes. All the studies employed traditional ethnographic methods, but one study employed quantitative methods as well as part of a mixed methods design. Findings -Data describe six common communication behaviors during failed organizational change efforts. The combination of these behaviors suggests a seventh pattern. Communication during failed efforts seldom involves enough communication opportunities, lacks any sense of emerging identification, engenders distrust, and lacks productive humor. These problems are compounded by conflict avoidance and a lack of interpersonal communication skills. Members decouple the system, sheltering the existing culture until it is safe for it to reemerge later.Research limitations/implications -The integration of data from three studies with theory improves transferability, but more studies would improve the veracity of the results. Only one study employed quantitative data along with qualitative data. Organizational change research may need to employ mixed methods and augment results through simulations to understand time-dependent processes. Practical implications -Results point to the limitations of management and impersonal communication. Change is a messy business, and transformational change will not happen unless management is willing to tolerate the ambiguity and the sense that emerges in communication. Results also point to the importance of communication skills in hiring practices. Originality/value -Few essays integrate results from several studies. This paper challenges accepted management practices and extends the growing understanding of the limits of individuals to control social change; it also adds to the literature on and application of complexity theory.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The seven communication reasons organizations do not change

Salem

2008

Corporate Communications: An International Journal

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“…Eighteen items loaded cleanly onto three factors (i.e., types of uncertainty) and were examined for reliability (see Table 2). Two of the three factors mirrored, rather consistently, the types of uncertainty suggested by Salem and Williams (1984): work uncertainty contained four items from Salem and Williams’ task uncertainty, while personal uncertainty contained four of their human uncertainty items. Work uncertainty is related to concerns specifically about the individual’s job and their day-to-day work.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…The three types of uncertainty mentioned previously (i.e., strategic, structural, and job-related) were measured using eight items provided by Bordia et al (2004). In addition, 18 items from Salem and Williams’ (1984) three-construct measure of message uncertainty were included to address task-related, human/personal, and maintenance/organization-wide uncertainties. Responses were reported on a five-point Likert-type scale where, after reversal, the scores ranged from 1-Much More Certain to 5-Much Less Certain , meaning higher numbers equal greater uncertainty.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Examining the Experiences of Remaining Employees after a Coworker Dismissal: Initial Message Characteristics, Information Seeking, Uncertainty, and Perceived Social Costs

Benedict

2020

Management Communication Quarterly

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Organizational exit can be turbulent. This study examines the communication surrounding coworker dismissal, including how remaining employees learn about a coworker’s dismissal and what predicts remaining employees’ information seeking, uncertainty, and perceptions of social costs related to information seeking. Statistical and content analyses were conducted on survey data gathered from 220 participants. Remaining employees most often learned about their coworker’s dismissal from another coworker or the remaining employees’ immediate supervisor; via individual, face-to-face meetings; with moderate formality; at some point within a day of the dismissal; with varying content. Age predicted uncertainty and perceived social costs of information seeking. Message characteristics predicted uncertainty, while interaction frequency predicted the perceived social costs of information seeking. Uncertainty did not predict information-seeking strategy use. Greater perceived social costs predicted less overt questioning and greater observing and testing. This study extends uncertainty reduction and management theories and offers managers advice about communicating coworker terminations.

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“…In other words, to the same extent, which makes difficult to judge on the likelihood of various actions (Ford, Babrow & Stohl, 1996). As a result, the uncertainty depends on an inability to predict or explain the economic reality on the ground (Salem & Williams, 1984). At the same time, the uncertainty relates to various aspects of the information, their perception regarding internal or external sides (Brashers, 2001), the absent or distorted information, its quality and its structure; its potential for interpretations and associations (Babrow, 2001); a subjective and objective information value, which produces the uncertainty in a choice of an alternative with other criteria besides probabilistic ones (Brashers, 2001).…”

Section: Review Of Literature: Uncertainty Meaningmentioning

confidence: 99%