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Managing
Organizational Uncertainty:
Conceptualization and Measurement
Phillip
G. Clampitt
University of Wisconsin -- Green Bay
TH 331 UWGB Green Bay, WI 54311
Phone: 920.465.2324 Fax: 920.465.2890
email: Clampitt@itol.com
M.
Lee Williams
Southwest Texas State University
Department of Speech Communication|
San Marcos, TX 78666
Phone: 512.245.2165 Fax: 512.245.3138
email: MW02@swt.edu
Abstract
Uncertainty is
the inherent state of nature, pervading organizational life
and communication. The purpose of this research project was
to develop measures to assess how both organizations and employees
manage uncertainty. Three studies were conducted. In Study
1, we developed scale items and a tentative factor structure.
In Study 2, we refined the instruments and assessed the psychometric
qualities of the scales by testing them on another sample
of subjects. In Study 3, we created the Uncertainty Management
Matrix by merging the individual employee measure of uncertainty
management and the organizational measure. The matrix suggests
that four different uncertainty climates can be found in an
organization. The matrix also implies that communication plays
a different role in the uncertainty management process on
the individual and organizational levels. Finally, we examined
the implications of the research for organizational communication
scholars.
Anything significant
is inherently uncertain and therefore all judgments are probabilistic.
--Robert
Rubin
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