A National Study of Middle Managers'Assessment of Organization Communication Quality

• Published in: The Journal of business communication (1973) 1991-09, Vol.28 (4), p.348-365
• Main Authors: Harcourt, Jules, Richerson, Virginia, Wattier, Mark J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0021-9436; 1552-4582
• DOI: 10.1177/002194369102800404

The primary goal of this study was to determine the quality of communication in or ganizations as assessed by a national sample of middle managers. A secondary goal was to compare one company's communication quality assessment data to the national survey findings. A questionnaire was mailed to 3,602 middle managers across the United States and to 36 managers in a small marketing organization. Frequency dis tributions, crosstabulations, and Chi-square tests were used to analyze the national data and to make comparisons with company data. The national sample of middle managers assessed the quality of communication in their organizations as quite poor. Over 62 percent of the respondents disagreed with the statement that the quality of the information they receive is good. In addition, the middle managers' best source of information was not the formal line organization hierarchy—both network communication and the grapevine were frequently ranked as better sources of information than was formal communication.