How Can We Make Our Research More Relevant? Bridging the Gap between Workplace Changes and Business Communication Research

The article of record as published may be located at http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0021943607302193Some management scholars argue that academic literature is becoming less and less relevant to practicing managers. Thomas posits that the same will be true for business communication if scholars do not venture into the field and connect with those who “do” business communication. As organizations shift from manufacturing to service jobs, expand their operations overseas, manage “talent” more strategically, and alter traditional bureaucratic structures, business communication is becoming increasingly intercultural, virtual, horizontal, strategic, and change focused. Yet it is not clear that the business communication literature is keeping pace. Examples of Thomas’s work in interagency collaboration, electronic mail overload, and strategic communication demonstrate possibilities for gaining access and studying communication dilemmas that face practicing managers. Bridging the academic-practitioner gap is a way to build face validity in the business world as well as help academics to develop better theories about workplace communication

Managers as Writers A Metanalysis of Research in Context

Management scholars are quick to recognize the importance of communication in the manager's role. Barnard is frequently quoted as he defined "the function of the executive" as "first, to provide the system of communication ... " (7). More recently, Drucker posited communication as one of the five basic management operations, stating that communication in management has become a central concern to students and practitioners in all institutions. A good indication of the importance given to communication by management scholars is that every management textbook has a chapter dedicated to the topic. In addition, over 90% of organizations with 50 or more employees provide communication training (Lee)

A diagnostic approach to building collaborative capacity in an interagency context

Federal Acquisition Reform has consistently called for more and better collaboration among participating organizations. Experience shows, however, that inter-organizational collaboration can be difficult at best. Our research focuses on imperatives of successful collaboration and aims to assist organizations in diagnosing their collaborative capacity. Based on prior research with homeland security organizations, we offer a model of inter-organizational collaborative capacity grounded in a systems perspective. We then identify enablers and barriers that contribute to collaborative capacity. A diagnostic process based on the established practices of organization development is offered to guide the design of tailored assessments of collaborative capacity. We present a comprehensive set of both interview and survey questions, based on our model, which can be used in creating a collaborative capacity audit. The ability to diagnose collaborative capacity encourages literacy around collaboration and assists leaders in determining mechanisms for developing their organization's collaborative capacity. Finally, we describe the future plans for validating these assessment tools.-- p. iv.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

The Relationship Between Planning and Information Source/Media Used by Small Firms

The objective of this study was to examine information sources/media used by small business managers and their relationships to the planning process, entrepreneurial intensity and firm performance. A significant positive relationship between information source/media used and planning process sophistication was found among 165 small business managers by means of semi-structured , in-depth interviews. In addition, high-performing companies revealed different information sources/media than low-performing companies. Finally, no relationship was found between entrepreneurial intensity and information sources/media used.  Implications for future  research and small business managers are presented

Interorganizational collaborative capacity: development of a database to refine instrumentation and explore patterns

Interorganizational collaborative capacity (ICC) is the capability of organizations (or a set of organizations) to enter into, develop, and sustain interorganizational systems in pursuit of collective outcomes. The objectives of the ICC research program are (1) to understand the success factors that lead to and the barriers that interfere with ICC; (2) to construct diagnostic methods and tools to assess these factors; and (3) to develop methods that contribute to the development of ICC in and among agencies and organizations. The research literature indicates that a major barrier blocking progress in understanding ICC is the absence of reliable, valid measures for the construct. This study addresses this problem. It presents the results of ICC scale development using samples of public sector, defense and security professionals from two areas: Homeland Defense and Security and Defense Acquisition and Contracting. The research presents scales that have very good to excellent internal consistency reliability and convergent validity. The report then applies the survey to create a profile and do a summary assessment of a major DoD Acquisition and Contracting organization's ICC. The survey factors are integrated into our ICC open systems model. The value of survey results in developing an organization's (or an organizational set's) current ICC is discussed, as are future research directions.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Erratum to: Methods for evaluating medical tests and biomarkers

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s41512-016-0001-y.]

Evidence synthesis to inform model-based cost-effectiveness evaluations of diagnostic tests: a methodological systematic review of health technology assessments

Background: Evaluations of diagnostic tests are challenging because of the indirect nature of their impact on patient outcomes. Model-based health economic evaluations of tests allow different types of evidence from various sources to be incorporated and enable cost-effectiveness estimates to be made beyond the duration of available study data. To parameterize a health-economic model fully, all the ways a test impacts on patient health must be quantified, including but not limited to diagnostic test accuracy. Methods: We assessed all UK NIHR HTA reports published May 2009-July 2015. Reports were included if they evaluated a diagnostic test, included a model-based health economic evaluation and included a systematic review and meta-analysis of test accuracy. From each eligible report we extracted information on the following topics: 1) what evidence aside from test accuracy was searched for and synthesised, 2) which methods were used to synthesise test accuracy evidence and how did the results inform the economic model, 3) how/whether threshold effects were explored, 4) how the potential dependency between multiple tests in a pathway was accounted for, and 5) for evaluations of tests targeted at the primary care setting, how evidence from differing healthcare settings was incorporated. Results: The bivariate or HSROC model was implemented in 20/22 reports that met all inclusion criteria. Test accuracy data for health economic modelling was obtained from meta-analyses completely in four reports, partially in fourteen reports and not at all in four reports. Only 2/7 reports that used a quantitative test gave clear threshold recommendations. All 22 reports explored the effect of uncertainty in accuracy parameters but most of those that used multiple tests did not allow for dependence between test results. 7/22 tests were potentially suitable for primary care but the majority found limited evidence on test accuracy in primary care settings. Conclusions: The uptake of appropriate meta-analysis methods for synthesising evidence on diagnostic test accuracy in UK NIHR HTAs has improved in recent years. Future research should focus on other evidence requirements for cost-effectiveness assessment, threshold effects for quantitative tests and the impact of multiple diagnostic tests

Erratum to: Methods for evaluating medical tests and biomarkers

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s41512-016-0001-y.]

Innovation in organizations: a discursive perspective

Extant literature primarily treats communication as it relates to innovation as a linear, mechanistic process. This article reconceptualizes innovation as a process that occurs within communication. Using Fairclough's three dimensional view of discourse, I demonstrate the linkages of text, discourse, and social practice in an organization where distance learning evolves discursively and becomes embedded in the language system. .Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited