College of Arts & Humanities

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    Putting Out Fires: How Communication Professionals Understand and Practice Conflict Resolution
    (2014) Allen, Susan D.; Toth, Elizabeth L; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    ABSTRACT Do communication professionals fill the role of negotiators and conflict resolvers within their organizations? Some scholars (Dozier, Grunig, & Grunig, 1995; Plowman, 2007) have claimed this role theoretically, but little research evidence has verified the negotiator role in practice. To gather empirical evidence, I conducted a qualitative research study (Corbin & Strauss, 2008; Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña, 2014) using in-depth interviews and critical incident technique with thirty-one public relations professionals who had an average of 18 years of experience in a variety of organizations across the United States and overseas. Data analysis included open and axial coding and integration with prior research. Validity and reliability were enhanced through member checking, triangulation of data, and peer review of findings. Researcher bias was minimized through bracketing and audit trails. Findings showed that practitioners experienced most conflict within teams and other internal audiences, practiced conflict avoidance rather than conflict engagement, understood individual level factors as major contributors to conflict, and avoided digital channels in conflict resolution. A model of practitioners as transformers of organizational conflict is proposed. This exploratory study leaves an important question unanswered: Can communication practitioners play a recognized role in transforming organizational conflicts rather than negotiating solutions? A quantitative survey with random sampling could be a next step in verifying the extent of conflict resolution in communication practice and how practitioners can engage workplace conflict more effectively. However, communication practitioners in my sample strongly recommended conflict training and activism to promote conflict transformation as an official role for public relations professionals. Keywords: negotiation, public relations, communication professionals, conflict management, conflict transformation, grounded theory, digital conflict resolution
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    The Influence of Power on Negotiation Processes
    (2013) Chai, Sabine; Cai, Deborah A; Fink, Edward L; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The focus of this dissertation is on communication processes in negotiations with unequal power distribution between parties. A model is tested proposing that culturally influenced power-distance values and power differences based on resource distribution both influence negotiators' perceptions of the difference in power between parties. This perception influences the choice of negotiation tactics. If the power gap is perceived to be small, both parties will employ more power tactics than if the gap is perceived to be large. An experiment was conducted to test the model. Participants (294) were randomly assigned to one of two roles (manager versus subordinate) and one of two conditions (high resource-power-difference versus low resource-power-difference). Participants formed 147 dyads, completed questionnaires and role-played negotiations, which were recorded and coded for the use of power tactics. The analysis used a structural equation model to test the study's hypotheses; the model had acceptable fit. Power distance and resource distribution were found to influence negotiators' perception of reward power and overall power difference between the parties. Negotiators varied their behavior depending on condition, lending support to power distance reduction theory (Mulder, 1973). However, perception of overall power difference did not directly predict use of power tactics. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.