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Friday, November 11
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PP 492
Managerial Feedback as a Contextual Phenomenon
I. Roos-Cabrera
1
1
University of Jyväskylä, Department of Communication, Jyväskylä, Finland
Providing feedback to employees is considered one of the core tasks of managers. In managerial literature, feedback is often seen as an essential tool in
performance management and managers are encouraged to give ongoing feedback to employees. Previous research has studied feedback in traditional
organizational settings using mostly quantitative survey methods. There is lack of qualitative research investigating the meanings given to managerial
feedback in complex global organizational settings. Previous research on feedback has paid little attention to the many changes occurred in working life
such as the increase in knowledge intensive work, virtual teams and technologically mediated communication. The objective of this paper is to describe
and understand managers' and employees' experiences and interpretations of managerial feedback by discussing the results of a qualitative investigation.
The paper aims to build an understanding of managerial feedback as a contextual phenomenon and describe its different forms, manifestations, dimensions
and meanings in virtual (i.e. remote) manager-employee relationship in distributes organizational settings. The data was collected interviewing (N=28)
employees and managers working in global business companies. The participants work in demanding expert and leadership positions and represent six
different nationalities. The interviews were recorded and the transcribed, and analyzed qualitatively. The results suggest feedback is a contextual and
multifaceted communication phenomenon. Contextual factors such as the operating environment and organizational structure, the nature of work, and
the quality of the manager-employee relationship are interrelated with the interpretations and meanings given to managerial feedback.The paper discuss‑
es the ambiguity inherent in the feedback concept and analyses feedback as a complex communication phenomenon. The detailed results and implications
for organizational development are discussed in the full paper.
PP 493
Excessive and Inappropriate Self-Disclosure in Finnish Professional Relationhips
S. Herkama
1
, S. Poutiainen
2
1
University of Turku, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, University of Turku, Finland
2
University of Helsinki, Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland
Meaningful professional relationships – as interpersonal relationships by definition when compared to random encounters – assume continuity, reciprocal
exchange of personal information, and a feeling of deeper connection (e.g. Gerlander 2003; Sias 2009; Tardy & Dindia 2006). As Social Penetration Theory
posits, disclosing private information reciprocally in depth and breadth may bring the participants closer to each other (Altman & Taylor 1973). In practice
this could happen through self-disclosure, understood as sharing private thoughts, emotions, and/or information in interaction (Derlega, Metts, Petronio
& Margulis 1993). Although self-disclosure is widely studied, less in known about it in professional relationships, and even less about the excessive or inap‑
propriate forms of self-disclosure in professional contexts. In the presentation we will ask, 1) what are the questions and concerns put out for the theoretical
concept of self-disclosure, when examined its excessiveness in professional relationships, and 2) what are the theoretical constructs that help us to under‑
stand excessive or inappropriate self-disclosure. Our theoretical examination is grounded in practice through the examples of Finnish hairdresser-client and
advisor-advisee relationships. Both relationships can be long-term, perceived as close, and include patterns of friendship-like communication, including
self-disclosure. In hairdresser-client relationship, it is common for the client to disclose, while the hairdresser seldom discloses his or her private life (Gimlin
1996). Yet, some Finnish hairdressers recognize, report on, and need to cope with their clients’occasional excessive self-disclosure. In the university context,
asymmetry is a fundamental feature of the Finnish advisor-advisee relationship (e.g. Author 2009). However, an advisor and an advisee, respectively,
may not be willing to disclose nor receive private information although it could deepen the mentoring quality of the relationship. Most recently, social
networking sites have set new questions on self-disclosure, it’s excessiveness, and ethical considerations. Choices of sharing private information in Facebook
are potential manifestations of excessive or inappropriate self-disclosure in advisor-advisee relationships. The existing theoretical tools to understand ex‑
cessive or inappropriate self-disclosure in professional relationships are such as Expectancy Violation Theory (EVT, Burgoon 1993), Communication Privacy
Management Theory (CPMT, Petronio 2002), and Relational Dialectics (RD, Baxter & Montgomery 1996). The EVT and CPMT, for example, offer explanations
for how, when, and possibly why the interpretation of excessive or inappropriate self-disclosure arises. However, these theories may not be able to pro‑
vide an understanding of the possible consequences or further developments of the relationship. The strength of RD relies on its capacity to understand
excessive self-disclosure as a natural part of a dialectical construction. Yet, the tensions seem to vary considerably, for example, when comparing Finnish
hairdresser-client and advisor-advisee relationships. Earlier studies on self-disclosure suggest that the forms and functions of self-disclosure may depend
on the relationship type, be it in the private or professional context. As a conclusion we suggest that this should also be considered when excessive or
inappropriate self-disclosure is being studied. Furthermore, several theories do offer standpoints to explore excessive or inappropriate self-disclosure in
professional relationships, yet they all have their limitations.