Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jul 1994

The Effects of Gender and Employee Classification Level on Communication-Related Outcomes: A Test of Structuralist and Socialization Hypotheses

RODGER W. GRIFFETH ; KERRY DAVID CARSON ; PAULA PHILLIPS CARSON ; JAMES RAGAN ; VERONICA WAN-HUGGINS

Abstract

We surveyed 1,152 employees of a midwestern telephone company to test the effects of gender and employee classification level on work outcomes. To determine whether gender differences in this organization were stable or context dependent, competing hypotheses were established from both structural and socialization perspectives. Significant main effects of gender and employee classification level were predicted and found by structuralist theory. Women reported lower job satisfaction and interaction as less desirable than men, whereas hourly workers reported lower supervisory support, teamwork, communication satisfaction, and accuracy of information than salaried workers. Structuralist theory also predicted and found significant interaction effects for satisfaction with communication, supervisory support, teamwork, and desire for interaction. However, both theories operated for employees' perceptions of information accuracy.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
1994-07-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651994008003003
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Dave (2015)
    Categories as Rhetorical Barriers and the Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Thompson (2004)
    Sex Differences in Technical Communication: A Perspective from Social Role Theory
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Longo (1998)
    An approach for applying cultural study theory to technical writing research
    Technical Communication Quarterly

References (53)

  1. 10.1037/0021-9010.62.3.335
     ↗
  2. Allen, M. W.
    “Gender Differences in Perceptions of Work in a Mass Media Organization: Limited Access t…
  3. 10.5465/amr.1978.4289287
     ↗
  4. Beer, M.
    Human Resource Management: A General Manager's Perspective
  5. 10.1016/0001-8791(86)90037-0
     ↗
Show all 53 →
  1. 10.1037/0021-9010.63.6.689
     ↗
  2. Brief, A. P.
    Managing Job Stress
  3. Buchholz, S.
    Creating the High-Performance Team
  4. Cooley, W.W.
    Multivariate Data Analysis
  5. Daft, R. L. , and R.H. Lengel. “Information Richness: A New Approach to Managerial Behavior and Organ…
     ↗
  6. 10.1287/mnsc.32.5.554
     ↗
  7. 10.1037/0033-295X.94.3.369
     ↗
  8. Fairhurst, G. T.
    Communication Yearbook
  9. Forsyth, D. R.
    Social Psychology
  10. 10.1177/014920638801400206
     ↗
  11. 10.1037/0021-9010.65.1.123
     ↗
  12. Gilligan, C.
    In a Different Voice
  13. 10.5465/amr.1985.4277352
     ↗
  14. Hair, J. F., Jr.
    Multivariate Data Analysis
  15. Halstrom, H. H.
    The Two Career Family
  16. Henning, M.
    The Managerial Woman
  17. 10.1037/0033-2909.84.4.712
     ↗
  18. Hoppock, R.
    Job Satisfaction
  19. 10.1016/0749-5978(85)90020-2
     ↗
  20. 10.5465/amr.1985.4278947
     ↗
  21. Kanter, R. M.
    Men and Women of the Corporation
  22. Kreitner, R.
    Management
  23. 10.1016/0007-6813(82)90125-2
     ↗
  24. Lawler, E. E., III.
    Pay and Organization Development
  25. Litwin, G. H.
    Motivation and Organizational Climate
  26. 10.2307/2392967
     ↗
  27. 10.2307/255878
     ↗
  28. 10.2307/352467
     ↗
  29. 10.2307/255715
     ↗
  30. Morrison, A. M.
    Breaking the Glass Ceiling
  31. 10.1177/001872678603900405
     ↗
  32. 10.5465/amr.1988.4306784
     ↗
  33. 10.1037/0003-066X.32.12.1026
     ↗
  34. Nunnally, J. C.
    Psychometric Theory
  35. Platt, J. R. (1964)
    10.1126/science.146.3642.347
    Science  ↗
  36. Pleck, J. H. (1980)
    Monthly Labor Review
  37. 10.1037/0033-2909.105.1.51
     ↗
  38. 10.1037/0003-066X.35.10.902
     ↗
  39. 10.1037/h0036660
     ↗
  40. 10.1111/j.1744-6570.1978.tb00461.x
     ↗
  41. Schwartz, F. N. (1989)
    Harvard Business Review
  42. Shapiro, J. (1975)
    Personnel Journal
  43. 10.1111/j.1744-6570.1975.tb00388.x
     ↗
  44. Smith, P.
    The Measurement of Satisfaction in Work and Retirement
  45. 10.1037/h0026143
     ↗
  46. 10.1007/BF00288069
     ↗
  47. 10.2307/255982
     ↗
  48. Weiner, L.
    Federal Wage and Hour Law
CrossRef global citation count: 6 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related articles

  1. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Sep 2026
    Gender Differences in Nonverbals of Business Undergraduates: Self-Assessment Insights of Perceived Credibility ↗
    Daisy Tan
    assessment professional writing literacy studies gender and writing
  2. Assessing Writing Jul 2026
    From keystrokes to scores: Toward a multidimensional predictive model of writing evaluation by humans and large language models across linguistic, cognitive, and social dimensions ↗
    Qiao Gan; Benjamin Adams
    assessment artificial intelligence grammar and mechanics race and writing gender and writing
  3. Composition Forum 2026
    Embodying Class Participation: An Intersectional Self-Study of How and Why Students Participate ↗
    Mathew Gomes
    assessment race and writing gender and writing disability studies
  4. Assessing Writing Oct 2025
    Which gender provides more specific peer feedback? Gender and assessment training’s effects on peer feedback specificity and intrapersonal factors ↗
    José Carlos G. Ocampo; Ernesto Panadero; David Zamorano; Iván Sánchez-Iglesias
    assessment gender and writing affect and writing
  5. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Apr 2025
    Gendered Persuasive Language in Business Negotiations: A Case Study of Shark Tank US ↗
    Nguyen Thi Hoang Bau; Thai Le Thuy Trang
    classical rhetoric composition theory argument qualitative research gender and writing