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A model for training and evaluating company spokespersons
R e s e a r c h In B r i e f questionnaire responses and to determine technical differences between foreign correspondence received and sent. Sixty-six percent of the questionnaires were returned. Sixty-eight letters were analyzed. Information elicited from the questionnaires was grouped into the following three categories: language, writing sytle and skills needed by foreign correspondents. Letter samples were examined for format, writing style and technical differences. Curricular implications were identified from the analysis of the questionnaire data.
Retha H. Kilpatrick is on the faculty of Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, N.C. Paper presented at IABC Conference, Montreal, Canada, June 1984. Its"
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C o m m u n i c a t i o n C o m p e t e n c e : T w o A p p l i e d S t u d i e s in Australian Organizational Settings Within Australian contexts, and within a dialogic, constructivist framework, this paper reports the development of an instrument (COMCOMP) designed to measure perceptions of communication competence among others at the interpersonal-organizational interface. Additionally, this paper discusses the use of COMCOMP to identify personal characteristics and skills associated with communication competence as relevant goals for training. The paper also reports on an associated study which examined the relationship between self-perceptions of communication competence and selected social psychological and communication variables, namely cognitive complexity, social perspective taking ability, and communication sensitivity. The principal finding of the studies was that although the personal characteristics and skills associated with communication competence in others are clearly related to the broad skills areas of empathy and sensitivity, these broad skills areas are only weakly related to attribution of communication competence in the self. The implications of these findings for business educators are analyzed.
Harry Irwin is acting head of the School of Financial and Administrative Studies, Kuring-gai College of Advanced Education, Lindfield, Sydney, Australia. Paper presented at IABC Conference, Montreal, Canada, June 1984. Patrlcla Comstock Van De Voort anti Marion C. Gilllland
A M o d e l f o r T r a i n i n g and Evaluating Company Spokespersons As communication and public relations practitioners have become more accountable, the need for evaluating organizational communication activities has increased. The ability to speak effectively for employee and public groups has become a vital management skill.
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Public Relations Review This paper presents source credibility and speech evaluation research to develop a model to train and evaluate company spokespersons. While this model does not provide any guarantees of speaker effectiveness, it identifies the critical factors involved in insuring that messages are favorably perceived by the audiences.
Tile authors are on tile faculty of Franklin University, Columbus, Ohio. Paper presented at IABC Conference, Montreal, Canada, June 1984. J o n V~qfite and Oliver Ross The Search for Practical Methodologies for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication Activites This paper reports on the application of concepts and approaches derived from decision analysis to problems encountered in public relations practice. A number of cases drawn from practice are examined to show the relevance of decision analysis to public relations and to problems for which solutions are sought in changes in organizational communication. The cases were studied in joint collaboration between the two authors, or by the first named author. The paper argues that concern for measurement and evaluation of communication activities must be preceded by a concern for the definition of the problem to be solved. The paper shows that such problems are, in decision-analytic terms, ill-structured, and that their definition is social and requisite rather than objective and precise. Without precise definition of problems, later measurement of communication activities becomes more problematic, and available methodologies for measurement and evaluation less satisfactory. In fact, psychological and subjective (rather than statistical and objective) indications of the effectiveness of communication may be more appropriate in the measurement of communication activities.
]on White is the coordinator of tlle public relations degree program, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Oliver Ross is with Burson-Marsteller Ltd., London, England. Paper presented at IABC Conference, Montreal, Canada, June 1984. C. J a m c s Riggs T h e A c t i v e n e s s D i m e n s i o n in O r g a n i z a t i o n a l C o n f l i c t : E f f e c t s o f C o m m u n i c a t i o n S t y l e On I n v o l v e m e n t i n C o n f l i c t Interaction Recent efforts to define underlying dimensions of behavior in conflict interaction have focused on activeness of disputants' involvement with the conflict issues. The intent of this work is to create general schemes to more accurately analyze interactional data from conflict episodes in work settings. The research reported here investigates effects of different conflict-handling 66
Retha H. Kilpatrick is on the faculty of Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, N.C. Paper presented at IABC Conference, Montreal, Canada, June 1984. Its"
I~vhl
C o m m u n i c a t i o n C o m p e t e n c e : T w o A p p l i e d S t u d i e s in Australian Organizational Settings Within Australian contexts, and within a dialogic, constructivist framework, this paper reports the development of an instrument (COMCOMP) designed to measure perceptions of communication competence among others at the interpersonal-organizational interface. Additionally, this paper discusses the use of COMCOMP to identify personal characteristics and skills associated with communication competence as relevant goals for training. The paper also reports on an associated study which examined the relationship between self-perceptions of communication competence and selected social psychological and communication variables, namely cognitive complexity, social perspective taking ability, and communication sensitivity. The principal finding of the studies was that although the personal characteristics and skills associated with communication competence in others are clearly related to the broad skills areas of empathy and sensitivity, these broad skills areas are only weakly related to attribution of communication competence in the self. The implications of these findings for business educators are analyzed.
Harry Irwin is acting head of the School of Financial and Administrative Studies, Kuring-gai College of Advanced Education, Lindfield, Sydney, Australia. Paper presented at IABC Conference, Montreal, Canada, June 1984. Patrlcla Comstock Van De Voort anti Marion C. Gilllland
A M o d e l f o r T r a i n i n g and Evaluating Company Spokespersons As communication and public relations practitioners have become more accountable, the need for evaluating organizational communication activities has increased. The ability to speak effectively for employee and public groups has become a vital management skill.
65
Public Relations Review This paper presents source credibility and speech evaluation research to develop a model to train and evaluate company spokespersons. While this model does not provide any guarantees of speaker effectiveness, it identifies the critical factors involved in insuring that messages are favorably perceived by the audiences.
Tile authors are on tile faculty of Franklin University, Columbus, Ohio. Paper presented at IABC Conference, Montreal, Canada, June 1984. J o n V~qfite and Oliver Ross The Search for Practical Methodologies for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication Activites This paper reports on the application of concepts and approaches derived from decision analysis to problems encountered in public relations practice. A number of cases drawn from practice are examined to show the relevance of decision analysis to public relations and to problems for which solutions are sought in changes in organizational communication. The cases were studied in joint collaboration between the two authors, or by the first named author. The paper argues that concern for measurement and evaluation of communication activities must be preceded by a concern for the definition of the problem to be solved. The paper shows that such problems are, in decision-analytic terms, ill-structured, and that their definition is social and requisite rather than objective and precise. Without precise definition of problems, later measurement of communication activities becomes more problematic, and available methodologies for measurement and evaluation less satisfactory. In fact, psychological and subjective (rather than statistical and objective) indications of the effectiveness of communication may be more appropriate in the measurement of communication activities.
]on White is the coordinator of tlle public relations degree program, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Oliver Ross is with Burson-Marsteller Ltd., London, England. Paper presented at IABC Conference, Montreal, Canada, June 1984. C. J a m c s Riggs T h e A c t i v e n e s s D i m e n s i o n in O r g a n i z a t i o n a l C o n f l i c t : E f f e c t s o f C o m m u n i c a t i o n S t y l e On I n v o l v e m e n t i n C o n f l i c t Interaction Recent efforts to define underlying dimensions of behavior in conflict interaction have focused on activeness of disputants' involvement with the conflict issues. The intent of this work is to create general schemes to more accurately analyze interactional data from conflict episodes in work settings. The research reported here investigates effects of different conflict-handling 66