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Journal Article 1: Hodson, R., Roscigno, V. J., & Lopez, S. H. (2006). Chaos and the abuse of power: Workplace bullying in organizational and interactional context. Work and Occupations, 33, 382-416.

Abstract: Bullying is a significant workplace problem--a fact highlighted by a growing body of social science literature. Its causes, however, have received little systematic attention beyond analyses of the personality attributes of bullies. This article explores the roles of relational power and organizational chaos in the emergence of workplace bullying. The analysis of content-coded organizational ethnographies integrates quantitative and qualitative techniques and draws heavily from the ethnographies themselves. Results suggest that the interplay of relational powerlessness and organizational chaos gives rise to bullying. In contrast, where there is a disjuncture between organizational and relational factors, the extent of bullying is determined by underlying, context-specific aspects of power. These results suggest a need for organizations not only to protect the weak, but also to eliminate chaos--chaos that creates openings for the abuse of power.

Journal Article 2: Reinsch, N. L., Jr., & Lewis, P. V. (1984). Communication apprehension as a determinant of channel preferences. International Journal of Business Communication, 21, 53-61.

Abstract: The effects of communication apprehension on channel (face-to-face, telephone, written) choices were investigated in a population of 68 educators. Results indicated that various measures of communication apprehension, telephone apprehension, and writing apprehension, can account for a small, significant percentage of the variance in channel preferences. Results were interpreted as suggesting that personal fears (apprehensions) have the potential to reduce organizational efficiency and interfere with the achievement of personal goals.

Journal Article 3: Pettit, J. D., Vaught, B., & Pulley, K. J. (1990). The role of communication in organizations: Ethical considerations. International Journal of Business Communication, 27, 233-249.

Abstract: Communication plays a distinct role in the ethical behavior of managers. This paper proposes a theoretical framework of ethics, power, and communication in the workplace. First, a model of conceptual ethics is developed to provide a backdrop for viewing ethical decisions. Second, ethics in the workplace is discussed by showing how managers are often caught in a dilemma between the pressures of the job and their own personal code of ethics. And last, communication is proposed as the means to foster more ethical behavior in organizations. Although communication safeguards such as a code of ethics can and should be established, it is the managers themselves through more receptive communication who establish the norms of ethical conduct.