Destructive Organizational Communication: Processes, Consequences, and Constructive Ways of Organizing / Edition 1

by Pamela Lutgen-Sandvik, Beverly Davenport Sypher

Overview

This volume provides an in-depth consideration of destructive communication in organizations -- including workplace bullying, racism, stress, and harassment. It brings together communication scholars from theoretical and applied perspectives to assess current understandings, explore ways to integrate theory and practice, identify areas for change, and outline a research agenda for the coming decade. Each chapter examines a specific aspect of destructive organizational communication, reviews existing theory and research about that communicative form or ideology, suggests fruitful possibilities for application, and suggests key areas for further study. As such, the book opens a dialogue among communication scholars that explores destructive communication in organizations and addresses the following key components:

• the central issues and concerns regarding destructive organizational communication,
• current scholarly contributions to both applied and theoretical understanding of these issues,
• approaches to integrate applied/experienced and theoretical/conceptual perspectives in ways that inform one another and improve organizational considerations for varied stakeholders, and
• suggestions for a future research agenda for those interested in ameliorating the destructive side of organizational communication.

Overall, the collection provides a basic understanding of the different types of destructive communication in organizations, the processes through which these interactions occur, the consequences to individuals and organizations, and the potential for organizing in more constructive, civil ways. This volume will be an excellent resource for scholars and researcher studying organizational communication, and graduate and advanced undergraduate students in organizational communication. It will also resonate with managers dealing with hostile workplaces, and organizational members trying to understand their current experiences. The book will serve as an excellent textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in organizational communication.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415989947
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/19/2009
Series:	Routledge Communication Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	424
Sales rank:	715,015
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Pamela Lutgen-Sandvik, Ph.D. (Arizona State University) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at the University of New Mexico. Her research centers on workplace bullying, employee emotional abuse, and positive organizational communication. Prior to academia, she worked as an administrator in substance abuse treatment and women's advocacy.

Beverly Davenport Sypher, Ph.D. (University of Michigan) is the Susan Bulkeley Butler Chair for Leadership Excellence and associate provost at Purdue University where she is a professor in the Department of Communication. Her research focuses on civil discourse in the workplace and outcomes associated with employees' communication abilities and choices.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors x

Preface xv

Introduction Pamela Lutgen-Sandvik Beverly Davenport Sypher 1

Part I Various Forms of Destructive Organizational Communication 7

1 Emotional Tyranny at Work: Suppressing the Moral Emotions Vincent Waldron 9

2 Workplace Bullying: Causes, Consequences, and Corrections Pamela Lutgen-Sandvik Gary Namie Ruth Namie 27

3 Workplace Incivility and Organizational Trust Matthew J. Gill Beverly Davenport Sypher 53

Part II Cultural and Organizational Pressures 75

4 Managing Burnout and Moving Toward Employee Engagement: Reinvigorating the Study of Stress at Work Sarah J. Tracy 77

5 Excessive Careerism and Destructive Life Stresses: The Role of Entrepreneurialism in Colonizing Identities Stacey M. B. Wieland Janell C. Bauer Stanley Deetz 99

6 The Construction of Civility in Multicultural Organizations Lorraine C. Kisselburgh Mohan J. Dutta 121

Part III Difference and Discrimination 143

7 Social Ostracism, Cliques, and Outcasts Patricia M. Sias 145

8 Racial Harassment in the Workplace Brenda J. Allen 164

9 Destructive Organizational Communication and LGBT Workers' Experiences Andrea P. Lewis 184

10 Sexual Harassment as Destructive Organizational Process Debbie S. Dougherty 203

Part IV Technology and Teams 227

11 The Destructive Potential of Electronic Communication Technologies in Organizations Andrew J. Flanagin Katy Pearce Beverly A. Bondad-Brown 229

12 Virtual Groups: (Mis)Attribution of Blame in Distributed Work Natalya N. Bazarova Joseph B. Walther 252

13 Communication That Damages Teamwork: The Dark Side of Teams David R. Seibold Paul Kang Bernadette M. Gailliard Jody Jahn 267

PART V Perspectives for Constructive Communication 291

14 Responses to Destructive Organizational Contexts: Intersubjectively Creating Resilience to Foster Human Dignity and Hope Patrice M. Buzzanell Suchitra Shenoy Robyn V. Remke Kristen Lucas 293

15 The Strange Case of the Farting Professor: Humor and the Deconstruction of Destructive Communication Dennis K. Mumby 316

16 Building a Constructive Communication Climate: The Workplace Stress and Aggression Project Loraleigh Keashly Joel H. Neuman 339

17 Working Alone: What Ever Happened to the Idea of Organizations as Communities? Jeffrey Pfeffer 363

Glossary 389

Index 400

Editorial Reviews

"Sound in scholarship and practical in focus, this compendium of articles on destructive organizational communication updates the dialogue in a comprehensive way." -CHOICE

From the Publisher