Communication audits and the effects of increased information

Owen Hargie, Dennis Tourish, Noel Wilson

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

    37 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Communication audits have now been featured in the literature for 50 years, and many audit approaches have been evaluated. However, follow-up studies designed to chart the actual impact that an audit makes upon communication performance have not been reported. Rather, audits are typically presented as one-shot events, whose impact is not measured. It is as if the audit is an end in itself rather than part of a process of measurement and performance improvement. This paper is therefore timely because it employs a follow-up audit to track the effects of an initial audit upon a major health care organization. The findings do not support the view that the frequently expressed desire of staff for greater communication is a metamyth, and that an increased flow of information simply produces a demand for more. Rather, and consistent with the precepts of Uncertainty Reduction Theory, the provision of information reduced uncertainty and gener ated increased satisfaction with communication processes. The results from this study also illustrate how the audit can play a useful role in an organization's communication strategy.
    LanguageEnglish
    Pages414-436
    JournalJournal of Business Communication
    Volume39
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2002

    Fingerprint

    Audit
    Communication
    Uncertainty
    Communication strategies
    Communication processes
    Staff
    Performance improvement
    Health care organization
    Charts

    Cite this

    Hargie, Owen ; Tourish, Dennis ; Wilson, Noel. / Communication audits and the effects of increased information. In: Journal of Business Communication. 2002 ; Vol. 39, No. 4. pp. 414-436.
    @article{fc11d0f31fc34305ba1d7298fd47b354,
    title = "Communication audits and the effects of increased information",
    abstract = "Communication audits have now been featured in the literature for 50 years, and many audit approaches have been evaluated. However, follow-up studies designed to chart the actual impact that an audit makes upon communication performance have not been reported. Rather, audits are typically presented as one-shot events, whose impact is not measured. It is as if the audit is an end in itself rather than part of a process of measurement and performance improvement. This paper is therefore timely because it employs a follow-up audit to track the effects of an initial audit upon a major health care organization. The findings do not support the view that the frequently expressed desire of staff for greater communication is a metamyth, and that an increased flow of information simply produces a demand for more. Rather, and consistent with the precepts of Uncertainty Reduction Theory, the provision of information reduced uncertainty and gener ated increased satisfaction with communication processes. The results from this study also illustrate how the audit can play a useful role in an organization's communication strategy.",
    author = "Owen Hargie and Dennis Tourish and Noel Wilson",
    year = "2002",
    doi = "10.1177/002194360203900402",
    language = "English",
    volume = "39",
    pages = "414--436",
    journal = "Journal of Business Communication",
    issn = "0021-9436",
    number = "4",

    }

    Hargie, O, Tourish, D & Wilson, N 2002, 'Communication audits and the effects of increased information', Journal of Business Communication, vol. 39, no. 4, pp. 414-436. https://doi.org/10.1177/002194360203900402

    Communication audits and the effects of increased information. / Hargie, Owen; Tourish, Dennis; Wilson, Noel.

    In: Journal of Business Communication, Vol. 39, No. 4, 2002, p. 414-436.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

    TY - JOUR

    T1 - Communication audits and the effects of increased information

    AU - Hargie, Owen

    AU - Tourish, Dennis

    AU - Wilson, Noel

    PY - 2002

    Y1 - 2002

    N2 - Communication audits have now been featured in the literature for 50 years, and many audit approaches have been evaluated. However, follow-up studies designed to chart the actual impact that an audit makes upon communication performance have not been reported. Rather, audits are typically presented as one-shot events, whose impact is not measured. It is as if the audit is an end in itself rather than part of a process of measurement and performance improvement. This paper is therefore timely because it employs a follow-up audit to track the effects of an initial audit upon a major health care organization. The findings do not support the view that the frequently expressed desire of staff for greater communication is a metamyth, and that an increased flow of information simply produces a demand for more. Rather, and consistent with the precepts of Uncertainty Reduction Theory, the provision of information reduced uncertainty and gener ated increased satisfaction with communication processes. The results from this study also illustrate how the audit can play a useful role in an organization's communication strategy.

    AB - Communication audits have now been featured in the literature for 50 years, and many audit approaches have been evaluated. However, follow-up studies designed to chart the actual impact that an audit makes upon communication performance have not been reported. Rather, audits are typically presented as one-shot events, whose impact is not measured. It is as if the audit is an end in itself rather than part of a process of measurement and performance improvement. This paper is therefore timely because it employs a follow-up audit to track the effects of an initial audit upon a major health care organization. The findings do not support the view that the frequently expressed desire of staff for greater communication is a metamyth, and that an increased flow of information simply produces a demand for more. Rather, and consistent with the precepts of Uncertainty Reduction Theory, the provision of information reduced uncertainty and gener ated increased satisfaction with communication processes. The results from this study also illustrate how the audit can play a useful role in an organization's communication strategy.

    U2 - 10.1177/002194360203900402

    DO - 10.1177/002194360203900402

    M3 - Article

    VL - 39

    SP - 414

    EP - 436

    JO - Journal of Business Communication

    T2 - Journal of Business Communication

    JF - Journal of Business Communication

    SN - 0021-9436

    IS - 4

    ER -

    Hargie O, Tourish D, Wilson N. Communication audits and the effects of increased information. Journal of Business Communication. 2002;39(4):414-436. https://doi.org/10.1177/002194360203900402

    Access to Document