The Effect of the Communication Climate Resulting From Privatization, on the Communication Relationship Between PASAR Corporation’s Top Managers, as they Play the Roles of Both Superiors and Subordinates

Abstract

The focal point of the study is the description of the communication relationship between PASAR Corporation’s top managers and their immediate subordinates as influenced by privatization. In order to establish such a study, the basic assumption that the communication climate is influenced by environmental factors such as radical organizational change, which in this case was privatization, was taken into consideration. The kind of communication climate that ensued out of it was further assumed to form a specific communication relationship between superiors and subordinates. Through two forms of adapted surveys conducted on 31 employees, the Communication Climate Survey (from Pace and Faules’ Communication Climate Inventory) and the Communication Relationship Value Sample (from the International Communication Association’s questionnaire on identifying communication relationships), the following hypotheses were proven: 1. Investigations, forced resignations, hiring of new employees the presence of “consultants”, and restructuring affect the nature of the communication relationship between top management and their immediate subordinates. 2. There is a climate of low levels of trust, participative decision making, supportiveness, downward listening, upward communication, and concern for high performance goals in the presence of investigations, forced resignations, hiring of new employees, of “consultants”, and restructuring. 3. The communication climate determines the level of trust, respect, and confidence of superiors and subordinates have for each other in the higher part of the hierarchy. 4. The levels of openness, listening, supportiveness, sincerity, honesty and tolerance for differences in opinions affect the levels of subordinate trust, respect and confidence for their immediate superiors in their communication relationship. The information gathered from the interviews of five selected top managers revealed that they try to cope with anxiety over the consequences of privatization by fostering a positive communication climate. However, through the analyses of findings, it was found out that the top managers as subordinates felt that the communication climate was still lacking in trust, participative decision making, supportiveness, downward listening, upward communication, and concern for high performance goals. The communication relationship that was present in effect was characterized by low levels of trust, respect and confidence. The study thus concludes that top managers as superiors show more trust, respect and confidence towards their immediate subordinates in their communication relationship. On the other hand, as the subordinates, they need a more positive communication climate in the face of the consequences of privatization to foster on their part a communication relationship filled with trust, respect and confidence for their superiors. The study further recommends the following: 1. To study the element of time or working history together as a factor influencing the nature of communication relationships. 2. To study the influence of the kind of communication relationship between top managers on the rest of the communication relationships in the organization. 3. To Identify the contributions of the organizational communication relationship or climate on the communication relationship in the top hierarchy.