Abstract:
Human communication is examined from several standpoints and an
'Exchange' perspective is preferred because its of greater explanatory
power in reconciling Communication and Organisational theory, when the
latter is concetualised as Open Systems theory. This synthesis provides
a rationale for analysing exchanges between the members of organsiations
involved in both Prescribed networks, comprising information, goods and
decision transactions; and Emergent networks which also include Friendship
transactions. An inductive methodology is used to analyse networks
of perceived and received communication links so that dyadic, clique
and system measures of Connectedness can be calculated. Replicated
communication surveys and labour turnover analyses are described for two
hotels, after the various jobs undertaken were grouped under six Job
Classifications, according to the individual roles in internal and
external communication networks, so that network analysis could be
completed at progressively more complex levels of generality and the
relationships between Connectedness and Labour Turnover, and the
analysis of the hotels under a 'Grid/Group' taxonomy, could be
investigated. Five main hypotheses are tested which postulate that
Connectedness is related posively to length of employment, higher job
status, and negatively to labour turnover.
Subject to the mediating influence of age, pay, and length of full-time
education and company training, strong correlations occurred between the
Connectedness of isolated, lower-status individuals and Labour Turnover.
Members of the higher-status Job Classifications were more common in the
longer-employed dominant cliques at the Coastal hotel, where the 'Grid/
Group' characteristics of 'Insulated Subordination' were reinforced by
kinship ties and friendship links established away from work or in
previous employment. The characteristics of 'Collaborative and
Competitive Alliances' predominated at the London hotel, where most
higher-status members were excluded from dominant cliques which
typically consisted of supervisors and long-serving members of the three
main ethnic minority groups.
