Communicating in the 21st Century Workplace: A Theory of Communication Nexus

Source Publication (e.g., journal title)

Current Topics in Management

Authors

Kenneth Levine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Suzie Allard, University of Tennessee - Knoxville
Carol Tenopir, University of Tennessee - Knoxville

Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

2012

Abstract

The workplace is evolving into the communication nexus; a central connection point for messages among workers. Naturalistic observations of 69 workers in four U.S. high-tech firms identified three themes: (1) frequency of communication, (2) availability and use of multiple communication channels, and (3) need for instantaneous communication. A new theory of the organizational workplace as a communication nexus is presented here to explain new organizational communication phenomena and predict organizational communication in the contemporary workplace.

Recommended Citation

Kenneth Levine, Suzie Allard, and Carol Tenopir. “Communicating in the 21st Century Workplace: A Theory of Communication Nexus,” pp. 121-140 in Current Topics in Management vol. 16, M.A. Rahim, Ed. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2012.