COMMUNICATION CHANNELS UTILIZED BY EMIRATI FEMALES TO ENACT LEADERSHIP K. KATHLEEN O‘NEILL A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Ph.D. in Leadership and Change Program of Antioch University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy October, 2011 This is to certify that the dissertation entitled: COMMUNICATION CHANNELS UTILIZED BY EMIRATI FEMALES TO ENACT LEADERSHIP prepared by K. Kathleen O‘Neill is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Leadership & Change. Approved by: ______________________________________________________________________ Elizabeth Holloway, Ph.D., Chair date ______________________________________________________________________ Philomena Essed, Ph.D., Committee Member date ______________________________________________________________________ Ingrid Piller, Ph.D., Committee Member date ______________________________________________________________________ Mark Neal, Ph.D., External Reader date Copyright 2011 K. Kathleen O‘Neill All rights reserved Acknowledgements Thank you to Scott Wynkoop, my partner in this and all else, for teaching me to trust. Harrison, Barent, and Peyton, my inspiration. Chris O‘Neill, for helping me to stay resilient—and, for being an amazing big brother. My Mother and Father for understanding my absence and silence—you have loved, supported, and tolerated me in a way only parents can. Gretchen Bersch, my alma mater, and Jack Pauli, my almo pater, for seeing strengths and talents in me long before I saw them myself. I will always strive to make you proud. Elizabeth Holloway, for her grace, encouragement, and insight. I endeavor to become the woman and scholar you are. Philomena Essed, for her selflessness in breaking the silence and giving me voice. Laurien Alexandre, for allowing me to forge a new path at Antioch. My classmates, for motivating me. Richard Couto, Denny Roberts, Jean Lipman-Blumen, Kenneth Preiss, Mansour Javidan, Katty Marmenout, and Sharon Turnbull, for welcoming me to the community of scholars. Ingrid Piller, for taking interest and staying true. Mark Neal, for inspiring my research path. Emil Thies, for showing me day-in-and-day-out what a leader is, and for knowing better than I did what was in my best interests. My colleagues at Zayed University, your enduring support, encouragement, and good cheer sustained me. Richanne Mankey, for being you. Bex, for remaining curly. My girls in the sand, for standing by me. And lastly, Su—for never leaving my side. i Abstract The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify the communication channels six Emirati females concurrently employed in organizations in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in which they had supervisory responsibilities; formal, legitimate authority; and positional leadership roles recalled using with their direct reports to enact leadership. In particular, the study attempted to ascertain the reasons for the selection of communication channels when engaged in downward communication with organizational subordinates. Data were collected via three interviews with each participant over a four week period. Interviews were conducted both face-to-face and via telephone. Data were analyzed via thematic content analysis to identify themes, patterns, and/or trends in communication channels selected and the reasons for selection of these channels when engaged in downward communication with direct reports. Findings indicated the participants‘ preferred channel of communication when engaged in downward communication with their direct reports was face-to-face. Frequently face-to-face communication was reinforced via written follow-up. Encoding negative messages via written channels was found to be vigorously avoided except in the most extreme cases. Cultural factors were indicated to be influential in the participants‘ selection of communication channel. The findings of this study have workplace preparation and training applications for private sector organizations, government, and state-owned enterprises in Abu Dhabi—in particular, those organizations in which expatriates have supervisory responsibilities; formal, legitimate authority; and positional leadership responsibilities in relation to Emirati direct reports. The electronic version of this dissertation is at OhioLink ETD Center, www.ohiolink.edu.etd. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements i Abstract ii Table of Contents iii Chapter I: Introduction 1 Study Overview 1 Research Context 1 Purpose of the Study 3 Design, Methods, and Analysis 4 Implications for Leadership and Change 5 Dissertation Document Overview 5 Chapter II: Literature Review 6 Leadership 7 Socially-based 7 Culturally-mediated 7 Culture 8 Trust 10 Power-oriented and Status-contingent 11 Influence 14 Strategies and Tactics 15 Gender 19 Resistance 21 Causes 21 Leader Illegitimacy 22 Change 22 Counter-strategies 23 Framing 23 Positive Affect and In-group Affinity 27 Positive Ethos and Image 30 Influence Tactics 33 Systems 33 Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) 34 Social Systems 35 Communication 36 Communication Models 39 Channel Selection 39 Channel Classifications 40 Verbal/Non-verbal 40 Formal/Informal 41 Sensory/Institutionalized 42 Media Richness 42 Social Presence 44 Oral Channels 46 Face-to-face 46 Telephone 47 Voice Mail 47 Written Channels 47 Email 47 iii Theories and Studies 49 Trait Theory 49 Social Influence Theory 50 Selection Studies 51 Selection Factors 52 Message 54 Sender 57 Target 60 Context 65 The United Arab Emirates and Emirati Culture 78 Historical Overview 79 Female Employment 80 Cultural Dimensions 82 Khaleeji Leadership 84 Consultation 85 Protection 86 Female Leadership 88 Chapter Summary 89 Chapter III: Methods 91 Cultural Sensitivity and Methodological Fit 92 Interview-based Methods 95 Summary of Methodological Fit 98 Participants 99 Research Site 101 Design 101 Cultural Considerations 101 Alternatives 102 Data Collection 103 Phases 103 Foregrounding 103 Pre-interview 103 First Data Collection 104 Second Data Collection 104 Member Checking and Final Data Collection 104 Cultural Sensitivity Review 105 Questions 105 Sequence of Questioning 107 Answers 109 Instrumentation 110 Field Notes 110 Interviewer 112 Coding and Analysis 113 Ethical Considerations 116 Chapter IV: Presentation of Data 119 Participants 120 Interview Questions 121 Interview Question 1 122 Face-to-face 122 iv Written Channels 124 Email 125 Spreadsheets 129 Other Channels 130 Channel Multiplicity 130 Summary I1 131 Interview Question 2 132 Written Channels 133 Email 133 Performance Evaluations 134 Letters 134 Oral Channels 135 Face-to-face 135 Telephone 136 Multiple Channel Reinforcement 136 Summary I2 137 Face Saving 138 Threat 138 Additional Data 139 Data Summary 140 Chapter V: Interpretation of Findings 142 Methodology and Data Collection Review 142 Method of Analysis 144 Analysis 144 Theoretical Explanations of Channel Selection 145 Influence Strategies Employed 147 Leadership Orientation 150 Legitimization 153 Limitations and Future Research 156 Implications for Leadership and Change 159 Relational Leadership 160 Leadership Practice 160 Expatriate Professionals 162 Research in the Abu Dhabi Host-culture Environment 166 Epilogue 169 Appendix 171 Appendix A: Institutional Board Approval 172 Application to IRB for Ethics Approval 174 Appendix B: Participant Profiles 175 Appendix C: Participant Team Members 176 References 177 v 1 Chapter I: Introduction Chapter 1 of this dissertation provides an overview of the research context, states the study‘s purpose, introduces the methods of exploration and analysis, identifies the areas to be reviewed from the extant literature, and briefly describes the remaining chapters of this dissertation work. Study Overview This study explored six Emirati female leaders‘ selection of communication channels employed in downward communication situations with direct reports. Findings indicated the participants‘ preferred channel of communication when engaged in downward communication with their direct reports was face-to-face. Frequently face-to-face communication was reinforced via written follow-up. Encoding negative messages via written channels was found to be vigorously avoided except in the most egregious instances of subordinate non-compliance. Cultural factors were indicated to be influential in the participants‘ selection of communication channel. This study adds to the English language literature on Khaleeji Leadership and leadership communication. Research context. Since September 11, 2001 there has been an increased interest in the ‗Islamic‘ and ‗Arab‘ worlds. Researchers seem to have followed this trend by conducting research on the vast geographic region commonly referred to as ‗the Middle East‘ (e.g., Kabasakal & Dastmalchian, 2001) and on the broad cultural group ‗Arab‘ (e.g., Yaseen, 2010). T. Weir (2008) noted the misdirection of such categorization, Before we continue it is important to be aware that there is no such thing as ―one‖ Middle East or Arab World. This region is made up of more than fifteen countries, half a dozen different religions, and countless regional/tribal specific ways of doing things. (p. 5) Some researchers have attempted to correct the confusion in descriptive terminology by focusing their research on the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) (e.g., 2 Kowske & Chaar, 2009); however, this reinforces the illusion of regional homogeneity and creates a false sense of comprehensive generalizability, It is also crucial that organizations