aberdeen university phd thesis

The dynamics of upward communication in organisations.

Tourish, naheed.

Naheed Tourish

Contributors

Professor Rita Marcella [email protected] Supervisor

This study has researched the dynamics of upward communication within organisations through the rubric of ingratiation theory (Jones, 1964) and impression management (Goffman, 1955). Upward communication was explored via in-depth case studies, in a hundred and five semi-structured interviews across four organisations in Scotland. A qualitative, interpretive methodology was used. The interviews probed how upward communication was transmitted and investigated how ingratiation theory and impression management dynamics could impact on it by exploring the story telling (Gabriel, 200) and sense making approaches (Weick, 1995) employed by interviewees. The data was then tabulated on Excel sheets, using the Framework Analysis (Swallow et al., 2002), thus establishing an easily referenced, perfectly structured database. Finally, the data was sifted, perused, distilled and analysed interpretively. It was found that upward communication was shaped by processes such as downsizing, management and leadership styles, the power dynamics of the organisation, issues of publicness, and the perceived physical and psychological distance of the superior from the subordinate. Finally, the components of opinion conformity (a factor common to ingratiation theory and impression management), employee silence (Morrison and Milliken, 2000, Milliken, 2003), and cynicism (Fleming and Spicer, 2002; Naus, 2004, 2007) were identified as the most significant syndromes that impacted on the levels of upward communication within the four organisations. Hence, a Conformity/Silence/Cynicism model of upward communication (the CSC model) was devised as a means of illustrating the significance of the most important stimuli of upward communication that the study revealed. The issues raised in this study are fundamental to the theory and practice of management. Openness in the search for solutions to organisational problems is central to organisational learning. The creation of an organisational environment in which this is possible is therefore vital. This is the dominant context of this research.

TOURISH, N. 2007. The dynamics of upward communication in organisations. Robert Gordon University, PhD thesis.

TOURISH 2007 The dynamics of upward communication (2.6 Mb) PDF

Publisher Licence URL https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Copyright Statement Copyright: the author and Robert Gordon University

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Procedure for the submission of Theses for Examination (PHD, PhDFA, MPhil, LLM (Research)

A pdf copy of this section is available for download: Guidelines For Thesis Submission

The following notes will guide you when completing the form necessary for submission of your thesis for examination by Aberystwyth University. A checklist has been included to assist you with ensuring you have completed all the necessary steps prior to submitting your work.

Included in these notes is the mandatory layout for the declaration and statements page which must be included with your thesis along with the Abstract. The content of this page should be reproduced as is, then completed, signed and included within the electronic thesis.

Following the guidance carefully and fully will allow the University to examine your thesis in a timely manner.

• Student has completed an intention to submit form and submitted it to their department 3 months prior to expected submission of the thesis.
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• One electronic version of the thesis in PDF or Word format. After the title page the Mandatory Statement and Declaration form should be completed and signed. The thesis should also include the Abstract after the Declaration.
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PLEASE NOTE THAT IF ANY OF THE ABOVE ARE OMITTED THERE WILL BE A DELAY IN THE EXAMINATION OF YOUR THESIS

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Length of Thesis

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The text of the MPhil/LLM (Res) or Dag/DProf thesis is a maximum of 60,000 words (excluding appendices and references.

Special provisions relating to Schemes in the Creative Arts.

In the case of candidates following approved research degree schemes which fall within the University's subject area of Creative and Performing Arts, the thesis may take one or more of the following forms: artefacts, score, portfolio of original works, performance or exhibition.

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A copy of the Abstract will be published in the University’s online research repository, even if the thesis is not made available. A form is provided at the end of this booklet for you to complete.

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An abstract is a self-contained summary of 250-300 words of your thesis. This will appear at the front of the thesis and give your examiners a succinct introduction to the thesis. Very significantly, once you have passed, it will be displayed on online research repositories to inform potential readers of the thesis of its contents.

It will contain key terms that may be picked out in searches. So, it is important in enabling readers to find your work and helping them to decide whether it is relevant to their own research. Conference papers, research grants and journal publications will all require an abstract and so it is useful to develop the ability to produce these informative summaries.

The abstract will be written once the thesis has been finalised so that it can cover the whole work. It may take different forms dependent on discipline (check works in your own discipline area for guidance) but usually it will cover:

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Included in these Guidance notes you will find a page titled ‘Mandatory Layout of Declarations and Statements’. The FULL content of these pages should be inserted at the front of the electronic copy of your thesis without change to the wording or content of the Declaration or Statements.

Each Declaration and Statement must be signed and dated.

This form also includes the word count of your thesis, which must be completed.

Presentation of Theses

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Double or one-and-a–half spacing shall be used in the main text, but single spacing shall be used in the abstract and in any indented quotations and footnotes. Drawings and sketches shall be in black ink, unnecessary details should be omitted and the scale should be such that the minimum space between lines is not less than 1mm. All pages should be appropriately numbered.

Candidates may submit other supporting materials where they form a useful addition to, or explanation of, work contained in the written submission and if such material constitutes the most appropriate method of presenting the information concerned. Ideally this will be in digital form but if this is not possible, students should consult their supervisors and Information Services staff for advice at an early stage of their research.

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Theses are submitted electronically via Blackboard for the purpose of examination and final deposit in the University’s online research repository. This also enables checking by software that can indicate whether the work might not be the student’s own.

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The file name of the thesis should appear as “pre_viva_thesis_title_student_name_submission_date” (to a maximum of 255 characters, abbreviations may be required).

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Unsuccessful submissions should be returned to the candidate after completion of the examination process.

Bars on Access

The University expects that research work accepted for a higher degree shall be openly available, and subject to no security classification or restriction of access.

Nevertheless, in cases where there is an overriding need for a restriction of copying or access (for example where sponsored research has resulted in a thesis which contains commercially-sensitive information) the University may, on the special recommendation of a Department, place a bar on photocopying of and/or access to a thesis for a specified period (normally three years in the first instance). It is the responsibility of your supervisor to make an application to the Department for a bar to be sought as soon as is reasonably practicable. Ideally the Department will be able to forward a recommendation that a bar be applied to the University at the outset of your candidature.

Please note that, in the event that a bar on photocopying and/or access is granted by the University, the signed statement to be included with each copy of the thesis submitted should indicate that the thesis may be made openly available after the expiry of the bar on access.

Normally, the title and summary of the thesis will be made available.

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The University of Aberdeen offers a variety of pre-defined PhD research projects. These come in a number of forms such as pieces of research that a research group/School/Centre or Institute wishes to explore and have received funding or made funding available to support researchers (e.g. UKRI, Charity, Industry partner).

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