Access Type
Open Access Dissertation
Date of Award
January 2016
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Department
Communication
First Advisor
Loraleigh Keashly
Abstract
The primary focus of this research was to critique and reconceptualize Oetzel’s (2005) Effective Intercultural Workgroup Communication Theory (EIWCT). The research explored the foundational research concepts in Oetzel’s theory: situational features (history of unresolved conflicts, equal/unequal status, and ingroup/outgroup), self-construals, face-concerns, interaction climate, and task and relational group effectiveness and satisfaction. The central critique of Oetzel’s theory was the operationalization of group diversity through self-construals, face concerns and ethnic identification. The current study proposed that relational models and horizontal/vertical individualism/collectivism may more completely and accurately capture diversity dimensions because they are considered deep-level diversity features (Fiske, 2004; Triandis & Gelfand, 1998). Even though not all hypotheses were supported, several variables were significantly correlated with the tested outcomes, i.e. interaction climate, group satisfaction and group effectiveness. Specifically, the relational model of market pricing, and the cultural dimensions of vertical collectivism and vertical individualism were significantly related to some outcomes variables.
Recommended Citation
Kolodziej-Smih, Renata, "A Preliminary Study Of Workgroup Dynamics: A Critique And Reconceptualization Of Oetzel's Effective Intercultural Workgroup Communication Theory" (2016). Wayne State University Dissertations. 1647.
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/1647