This study examines effective supervisor/employee communication in a not-for-profit and a for-profit organization using qualitative research methods. Several studies have researched effective supervisor/employee communication at the quantitative level, but there is little qualitative research on this topic or on the four specific factors of effective communication: trust, listening, feedback and emotional intelligence and the impact on a group. The responses to in-depth interviews of supervisors and employees from a not-for-profit and a for-profit organization identified the overall impact the four factors had on supervisor/employee communication and the organizational communication system as a whole. The study found that three of the four key factors of effective supervisor/employee communication in the workplace were consistently ranked very high: trust, listening, and feedback. The fourth factor, emotional intelligence, did not rank high in awareness or importance.
Five major findings emerged from the study. First, the three of the four factors, trust, listening, and feedback, rated high in both organizations. Second, effective supervisor/employee communication impacted organizational communication and climate significantly; hence, an organization, no matter what the purpose or structure, must create a positive organizational climate to maintain and retain employee relationships. Third, the organizational structures of not-for-profit and for-profit are undergoing a transformation, morphing into a new and unidentified organizational model that has yet to be clearly studied or identified, which incorporates traits from both. Fourth, the last factor, emotional intelligence, rated low with limited awareness of the term. Fifth, the study uncovers uncertain internal communication climates in both organizations, but exposes a hyper-focus on external and customer satisfaction communication.
","abstract_html":"<p>This study examines effective supervisor/employee communication in a not-for-profit and a for-profit organization using qualitative research methods. Several studies have researched effective supervisor/employee communication at the quantitative level, but there is little qualitative research on this topic or on the four specific factors of effective communication: trust, listening, feedback and emotional intelligence and the impact on a group. The responses to in-depth interviews of supervisors and employees from a not-for-profit and a for-profit organization identified the overall impact the four factors had on supervisor/employee communication and the organizational communication system as a whole. The study found that three of the four key factors of effective supervisor/employee communication in the workplace were consistently ranked very high: trust, listening, and feedback. The fourth factor, emotional intelligence, did not rank high in awareness or importance.</p> <p>Five major findings emerged from the study. First, the three of the four factors, trust, listening, and feedback, rated high in both organizations. Second, effective supervisor/employee communication impacted organizational communication and climate significantly; hence, an organization, no matter what the purpose or structure, must create a positive organizational climate to maintain and retain employee relationships. Third, the organizational structures of not-for-profit and for-profit are undergoing a transformation, morphing into a new and unidentified organizational model that has yet to be clearly studied or identified, which incorporates traits from both. Fourth, the last factor, emotional intelligence, rated low with limited awareness of the term. Fifth, the study uncovers uncertain internal communication climates in both organizations, but exposes a hyper-focus on external and customer satisfaction communication.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Armagnac, Wendy Bowers"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (M.A.)","degree_level":"Thesis - Pacific Access Restricted","degree_discipline":"Communication","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Qingwen Dong"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2006,"date_issued":"2006-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2006-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:36:35Z","subjects":["Communication","Personnel management","Job satisfaction","Employee morale","Business","Business Administration, Management, and Operations","Business and Corporate Communications","Human Resources Management","Organizational Communication","Social and Behavioral Sciences"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/630","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Qingwen Dong"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Armagnac, Wendy Bowers"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-06-29T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Communication"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - Pacific Access Restricted"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (M.A.)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Communication","Personnel management","Job satisfaction","Employee morale","Business","Business Administration, Management, and Operations","Business and Corporate Communications","Human Resources Management","Organizational Communication","Social and Behavioral Sciences"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/630"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This study examines effective supervisor/employee communication in a not-for-profit and a for-profit organization using qualitative research methods. Several studies have researched effective supervisor/employee communication at the quantitative level, but there is little qualitative research on this topic or on the four specific factors of effective communication: trust, listening, feedback and emotional intelligence and the impact on a group. The responses to in-depth interviews of supervisors and employees from a not-for-profit and a for-profit organization identified the overall impact the four factors had on supervisor/employee communication and the organizational communication system as a whole. The study found that three of the four key factors of effective supervisor/employee communication in the workplace were consistently ranked very high: trust, listening, and feedback. The fourth factor, emotional intelligence, did not rank high in awareness or importance.
Five major findings emerged from the study. First, the three of the four factors, trust, listening, and feedback, rated high in both organizations. Second, effective supervisor/employee communication impacted organizational communication and climate significantly; hence, an organization, no matter what the purpose or structure, must create a positive organizational climate to maintain and retain employee relationships. Third, the organizational structures of not-for-profit and for-profit are undergoing a transformation, morphing into a new and unidentified organizational model that has yet to be clearly studied or identified, which incorporates traits from both. Fourth, the last factor, emotional intelligence, rated low with limited awareness of the term. Fifth, the study uncovers uncertain internal communication climates in both organizations, but exposes a hyper-focus on external and customer satisfaction communication.
"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["111"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A study of effective supervisor/employee communication in a not-for-profit and a for-profit organization"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Qingwen Dong"],"dc:creator":["Armagnac, Wendy Bowers"],"dc:date.available":["2018-06-29T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This study examines effective supervisor/employee communication in a not-for-profit and a for-profit organization using qualitative research methods. Several studies have researched effective supervisor/employee communication at the quantitative level, but there is little qualitative research on this topic or on the four specific factors of effective communication: trust, listening, feedback and emotional intelligence and the impact on a group. The responses to in-depth interviews of supervisors and employees from a not-for-profit and a for-profit organization identified the overall impact the four factors had on supervisor/employee communication and the organizational communication system as a whole. The study found that three of the four key factors of effective supervisor/employee communication in the workplace were consistently ranked very high: trust, listening, and feedback. The fourth factor, emotional intelligence, did not rank high in awareness or importance.
Five major findings emerged from the study. First, the three of the four factors, trust, listening, and feedback, rated high in both organizations. Second, effective supervisor/employee communication impacted organizational communication and climate significantly; hence, an organization, no matter what the purpose or structure, must create a positive organizational climate to maintain and retain employee relationships. Third, the organizational structures of not-for-profit and for-profit are undergoing a transformation, morphing into a new and unidentified organizational model that has yet to be clearly studied or identified, which incorporates traits from both. Fourth, the last factor, emotional intelligence, rated low with limited awareness of the term. Fifth, the study uncovers uncertain internal communication climates in both organizations, but exposes a hyper-focus on external and customer satisfaction communication.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/630"],"dc:rights":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:source":["111"],"dc:subject":["Communication","Personnel management","Job satisfaction","Employee morale","Business","Business Administration, Management, and Operations","Business and Corporate Communications","Human Resources Management","Organizational Communication","Social and Behavioral Sciences"],"dc:title":["A study of effective supervisor/employee communication in a not-for-profit and a for-profit organization"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Communication"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - Pacific Access Restricted"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (M.A.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:36:35Z"}