Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jul 1994

Impacts of Diversity on Communication Effectiveness: A Proposed Typology

WILLIE E. HOPKINS ; SHIRLEY A. HOPKINS

Abstract

What impact will a greater increase in the diversity level of an organization's work force have on its productivity? Practicing managers' desire to have this question answered has been the stimulus for much of the diversity-related research currently in print. However, the narrow focus on providing an answer to this particular question appears to have diverted researchers' attention away from a number of perhaps more fundamental issues. A major issue that has been neglected in previous research studies is the impact that greater increases in work-force diversity might have on communication processes within organizations—specifically, communication processes that are associated with organizational productivity. As a contribution toward helping to fill in this research gap, this article proposes a typology of impacts that greater increases in work-force diversity might have on communication effectiveness in organizations.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
1994-07-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651994008003005
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
race and writing
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References (9)

  1. Buonocore, Anthony J. (1992)
    Management Review
  2. Conrad, Charles
    Strategic Organizational Communication: Cultures, Situations, and Adaptation
  3. Cox, Taylor H., Jr. (1991)
    Academy of Management Executives
  4. Cox, Taylor H. Jr. (1991)
    Academy of Management Executives
  5. Garvin, David (1993)
    Harvard Business Review
Show all 9 →
  1. Guetzkow, Harold
    Handbook of Organizations
  2. Jewell, Linda
    Group Effectiveness in Organizations
  3. Johnston, William B.
    Workforce 2000: Work and Workers for the 21st Century
  4. Fortune
CrossRef global citation count: 5 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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