Relationships Between Organizational Variables and the Inclusive Language Used by Leaders
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Wright State University CORE Scholar Browse all Theses and Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 2011 Relationships between Organizational Variables and the Inclusive Language Used by Leaders Matthew J. Keller Wright State University Follow this and additional works at: https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/etd_all Part of the Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons Repository Citation Keller, Matthew J., "Relationships between Organizational Variables and the Inclusive Language Used by Leaders" (2011). Browse all Theses and Dissertations. 439. https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/etd_all/439 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at CORE Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Browse all Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of CORE Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Relationships between Organizational Variables and the Inclusive Language Used by Leaders A thesis proposal submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science By MATTHEW J. KELLER B. A., The Ohio State University, 2008 2011 Wright State University WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES May 18, 2011 I HEREBY RECOMMEND THAT THE THESIS PREPARED UNDER MY SUPERVISION BY Matthew J. Keller ENTITLED Relationships between Organizational Variables and the Inclusive Language Used by Leaders BE ACCEPTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF Master of Science. _________________________________ Debra Steele-Johnson, Ph.D Thesis Director _________________________________ Scott Watamaniuk, Ph.D Graduate Program Director _________________________________ John Flach, Ph.D. Chair, Department of Psychology Committee on Final Examination _________________________________ Debra Steele-Johnson, Ph.D. _________________________________ Valerie L. Shalin, Ph.D. _________________________________ Corey E. Miller, Ph.D _________________________________ Andrew T. Hsu, Ph.D. Dean, School of Graduate Studies Abstract Keller, Matthew, J. M. S., Human Factors and Industrial/Organizational Psychology Program, Department of Psychology, Wright State University, 2011 I investigated relationships between organizational variables and leadership, as measured by inclusive language use. Specifically, I examined whether organization size and profitability relate to the organization leader’s use of language. I expected language use to be more inclusive in smaller and more profitable organizations, relative to larger and less profitable organizations. In this study, I used a regression approach to test my hypotheses. Results indicated that organization size was positively related to passive voice indicators, in support of Hypothesis 1. However, profitability was negatively related to inclusive pronouns and positively related to passive voice indicators, both of which were opposite the direction predicted in Hypothesis 2. Results from exploratory analyses provided further insight into the relationship between language use and organizational variables. My study contributes to the body of research on leadership and language use and has potential applications for company business models and leadership styles and language styles for managers. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page I. INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................1 Leadership Models and Theory ...............................................................................2 Behavioral Leadership models ...........................................................................2 Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory ........................................................3 Transformational Leadership .............................................................................5 Language and Communication ................................................................................8 Inclusive Language Use .........................................................................................11 Organizational Characteristics and Proposed Research .........................................14 II. METHOD ......................................................................................................................17 Pilot Study ..............................................................................................................17 Main Study Overview ............................................................................................18 Predictors ...............................................................................................................19 Criteria ...................................................................................................................20 Exploratory Predictors ...........................................................................................22 Exploratory Criteria ...............................................................................................23 Procedure ...............................................................................................................25 III. RESULTS ....................................................................................................................26 Sample Characteristics ...........................................................................................26 Tests of Hypotheses ...............................................................................................30 Test of Research Question .....................................................................................36 Exploratory Analyses Using Original Variables ....................................................41 Exploratory Analyses Using Exploratory Variables ..............................................41 IV. DISCUSSION ..............................................................................................................54 iv Measures of Inclusive Leadership .........................................................................55 The Concept of Inclusive Leadership ....................................................................63 Limitations .............................................................................................................64 Future Research .....................................................................................................66 Conclusion .............................................................................................................67 References ..........................................................................................................................68 Appendix A: Pilot Study ....................................................................................................72 Appendix B: Coded Sample CEO Speech .........................................................................81 Appendix C: Complete Pronoun Lists and Proportions .....................................................86 Appendix D: Non-significant Exploratory Regression Analyses ......................................87 v LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Full Descriptive Statistics of Study Variables .............................................................28 2. Descriptive Statistics of Study Variables with Outliers Removed ..............................29 3. Correlations between Organizational Variables and Language Variables ..................30 4. Organization Size and Profitability as Predictors of Inclusive Pronoun Proportions ..............................................................................................32 5. Organization Size and Profitability as Predictors of Non-Inclusive Pronoun Proportions ..............................................................................................33 6. Organization Size and Profitability as Predictors of Definite Article Proportions ......34 7. Organization Size and Profitability as Predictors of Passive Voice Indicator Proportions .............................................................................................35 8. Descriptive Statistics of Inclusive Language Variables grouped by Organization Size and ROR ...................................................................................37 9. Descriptive Statistics of Inclusive Language Variables grouped by Organization Size and ROA ...................................................................................38 10. Descriptive Statistics of Inclusive Language Variables grouped by Organization Size and ROE ...................................................................................39 11. Contrast Comparisons of [HH and HL] Groups to [MM] Group ................................40 12. Full Descriptive Statistics of Exploratory Variables ...................................................43 13. Descriptive Statistics of Exploratory Variables with Outliers Removed .....................44 14. Correlations between Original Organizational Variables and Exploratory Profitability Variables ............................................................................................47 vi 15. Correlations between Original Language Variables and Exploratory Language Variables ...............................................................................................48 16. Correlations between Original Organizational Variables and Exploratory Language Variables ...............................................................................................50 17. Correlations between