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Browsing by Author "Williams, Elizabeth, advisor"

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    Corporate communication and intra-organizational legitimacy
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017) Hooper, Alissa, author; Williams, Elizabeth, advisor; Khrebtan-Hörhager, Julia, committee member; Christen, Cindy, committee member
    This exploratory study investigates the ways in which corporate communication professionals struggle to attain legitimacy within their respective organizations and what tools and strategies are used to navigate an illegitimate, intra-organizational state. This thesis works to connect the gap between the literature written about the field of corporate communication at its inception and the reality now lived by the thousands of individuals who declare corporate communication as their profession nationally. Using the constant comparative method to analyze interviews of corporate communication professionals, the researcher will share a broad interpretation about which areas the sample stated corporate communication professionals are currently struggling for legitimacy and what tools and strategies can be used to effectively navigate this tension.
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    Job hunting in the digital age: how socialization messages are communicated to information seekers through corporate websites
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) White, Hillary, author; Williams, Elizabeth, advisor; Aoki, Eric, committee member; Sarason, Yolanda, committee member
    This thesis examines organizational socialization. It seeks to understand how socialization messages about performance proficiency, people, organizational politics, language, goals and values, and history are communicated on corporate websites. Specifically, this study uses Chao and colleagues' (1994) typology to explore how messages about job performance, people, politics, language, organizational goals and values, and history are communicated on organization's websites. Through a grounded theory analysis of 10 of the 2013 "Best Corporate Websites" several similarities are identified in the way socialization messages are communicated to potential employees through websites. Organizations use similar language and format in order to present information relevant to job and information seekers. This research has implications for both individuals who seek information online about organizations and organizations that want to encourage organizational socialization of employees prior to entry into the organization. Using similar strategies may help organizations clearly and convincingly communicate messages to the desired audience.
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    Leadership, resilience, and sensemaking at Colorado State University during the COVID-19 pandemic
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Letteney, Juliet SooGin, author; Williams, Elizabeth, advisor; Burgchardt, Carl, committee member; Anderson, Ashley, committee member
    This study examines the crisis communication qualities of crisis leadership, communicative resilience, and enacted sensemaking in the case of Colorado State University's response to COVID-19 in the spring of 2020. The focus for university response is based in correspondence emailed from University President McConnell to the students. As groundwork for the study, I review crisis communication literature in general and focused studies in crisis leadership, Buzzanell's theory of constructed resilience, and Weick's enacted sensemaking. This foundation of literature informs a mixed method study comprising of a textual analysis of McConnell's correspondence and interviews with students enrolled at the time of the crisis. This methodology was used with the intention of addressing four research questions. RQ1: In what ways did President McConnell exhibit a leadership mindset in her response to the COVID-19 pandemic?, RQ2: In what ways did President McConnell's messages help construct a sense of resilience for CSU students?, RQ3A: In what ways did students make sense of the COVID-19 health crisis in the context of their student lives?, and RQ3B: What role did messages from President McConnell play in their sensemaking? These questions led to a wealth of insights about McConnell's communication in response to the pandemic and moving to virtual learning Spring 2020. Three major takeaways discussed are that the leadership role is particularly delicate in crisis situations, the practice of normalizing challenges in crisis should be paired with adjusting expectations, and that the reflex to strive for a business-as-usual approach should be cautiously balanced with an acceptance of the new normal a crisis requires.
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    "POTS equals uncertainty": exploring uncertainty and privacy management of people with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Slattery, Erin C., author; Williams, Elizabeth, advisor; Faw, Meara, committee member; Sivakumar, Gaya, committee member
    Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) is a rare, incurable, and invisible disability. POTS is an understudied illness in the medical field and even more so in academia. The importance of studying the experiences of people with POTS is to improve the way these individuals, and others with invisible disabilities, negotiate privacy and uncertainty. Privacy and uncertainty are particularly worthy of investigation in studying POTS because people with POTS have to negotiate large amounts of uncertainty and disclosures. This study sought to use the lens of uncertainty and privacy management along with emergent themes. Twenty-four in-depth interviews were conducted. Participants hailed from North America and Europe. Findings of this study revealed complex and dynamic negotiations of privacy and the management of uncertainty. Participants explained they attempt to disclose only vague explanations of their illness to most people because people do not understand. There was deep and profound uncertainty surrounding pre-diagnosis, prognosis, treatment options, and symptoms. Participants also had a hard time deciding when and how to disclose their POTS. Uncertainty about reactions and understandings to disclosure played a role in complicating decisions on whether and how to disclose. Invisible disabilities pose distinct and specific challenges that can build theory to include unconsidered voices and experiences that complicate previous scholarship. This study revealed more avenues to be explored going forward.
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    School nursing in COVID-19: the role of professional organizations in identity management
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Potter, Lydia M., author; Williams, Elizabeth, advisor; Long, Ziyu, committee member; Long, Marilee, committee member
    Identity conflict can leave one feeling frustrated, sad, confused, and breathless with anger. As a school nurse, the fact that a pandemic-inducing respiratory illness led me to feel symptomatic with the weight of my job is not lost on me. My personal experience led me to investigate how a professional association uses communication strategies to navigate and (re)construct profession identity for members in crisis. To accomplish this, I conducted a mixed methods study that relied on my personal narratives and textual analysis using an iterative paradigm. Forty weekly email issues from the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) to school nurse members were analyzed from the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020 to the end of the first semester that schools returned to learning in December 2020. As a school nurse, I included my own personal narratives to compare my experience during this time and add depth, breadth, and reflexivity to the research as a mode of inquiry. Three milestones emerged in the data: the onset of COVID-19 and schools closing for the end of the 19/20 school year; the preparation and return to school for the 20/21 school year; and the attempt at a return to normal and the close of the first semester with COVID-19 in the school setting. Results from the study expand the understanding of: a) how a crisis progresses over time; b) professional identities being salient and contested; c) conflict spurring professionals to further narrow their professional identity; d) and that professional organizations may address conflict in a way that increases conflict in members.
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    When work is worship: studying identification and faith in church workers
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Neal, Autumn (Buzzetta), author; Williams, Elizabeth, advisor; Faw, Meara, committee member; Dik, Bryan, committee member
    This thesis assesses the relationship between faith, organizational identification (OI), spiritual labor, and burnout in ex-church workers. The impetus for my study came from media (Cosper, 2021; Barr, 2021; Du Mez, 2021) and research (Chappell et al., 2022; Garner & Peterson, 2018; McNamee, 2011) that critically addresses destructive practices in church work. Using a qualitative, phenomenological methodology, I conducted thirteen semi-structured interviews of those who have left their positions in the church. I analyzed the data using Tracy's (2020) phronetic-iterative coding approach and Saldaña's (2021) coding recommendations. My findings revealed five key themes: identities in tension, faith as expectation, forced separation, balancing authenticity, and learned solutions. Ultimately, I contribute to research on organizational identification by problematizing enmeshment and over-identification. I conceptualize the faithful face as a balance of authenticity and boundaries in church work. Additionally, I offer contributions to discourses of spiritual labor and implications for studying faith-based organizations. Finally, I address practical implications, limitations, and future directions.
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    Workplace transitions: the role of social media and boundary management
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Hecht, Emeline, author; Williams, Elizabeth, advisor; Faw, Meara, committee member; Long, Ziyu, committee member; Humphrey, Michael, committee member
    Previous literature has examined the workplace transition and its implications for the organization and its members. However, minimal studies have been conducted on how social media may influence the increasingly common occurrence of workplace transitions. This study explores the boundaries that individuals create and negotiate when using social media in the process of organizational transitions. Through twenty-five interviews with individuals who recently changed workplaces, this project highlights experiences of social media boundary management practices as participants navigated their assimilation to and from workplaces. This research project asked what strategies of boundary management employees utilize on social media across multiple assimilation phases. Eight boundary management strategies emerged from the data. The findings of this study expand knowledge of the assimilation process during a job transition and how privacy is managed during the multiple phases, providing insight into the implications of rule violations on organizational membership and the way that privacy rules are communicated between organizational members.