Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Specialization

Communication and Leadership

School or Department

School of Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Michael Hazel

Second Advisor

Dr. Heather Crandall

Abstract

In today’s American society, effective upward and downward communication between supervisors and subordinates is lacking now more than ever before. The importance of effective downward communication from organizational leaders receives ongoing attention, but more attention needs to be given to the importance of open reception to upward communication. It is critical that leaders in organizations build trust and encourage upward communication from employees in order to maintain organizational wellbeing and to avoid employee dissatisfaction. To help close the gap in this area of communication, this study focused on and collected data utilizing on-line surveys and employee interviews in order to examine the link between company culture and employee engagement with regards to upward and downward communication in large organizations. Deetz’s (2012) Critical Theory of Communication in Organizations, and Harriman’s (1974) Theory of Up-and-Down Communications were used to frame this study. The findings confirmed that strong downward communication is important to employees, but also that the encouragement of and reception to upward communication from subordinates plays a critical role in building trust and a strong company culture.

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