Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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1991 Miller and Jablin 93
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b hi
go
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1991 Miller and Jablin 87
Iniormation Sources
chief sources for determining job requirements and consider them more
reliable than co-workers as an information source (Hanser & Muchinsky,
1978).
Co-workers, on the other hand, are identified by recent MBA graduates
as more available as sources than supervisors, and their availability is
linked to newcomers' job satisfaction, retention, and commitment (Louis et
al., 1983). In addition, newcomers repori their daily interaction with peers as
being more helpful than their interaction with supervisors or fellow recruits
with resjDect to mahng the transition into their new jobs (Posner & Powell,
1985). Though these studies that identify supervisors and co-workers as im-
poriant information sources for newcomers are interesting initial explora-
tions, it should be recognized that they fail to measure the content and
frequency of each source's interactions with newcomers. Furihermore,
these investigations also neglect to inquire about the manner in which in-
formation is shared, that is, whether information is sought by newcomers
(they initiate information sharing) or received (others initiate information
shanng) by them.
Other research (Ashford, 1986; Ashford 8f Cummings, 1985) exploring
newcomers' lnformation-seebng behaviors also identified supervisors and
co-workers as imporiant sources, but was rerruss in considenng how new-
comers' information-seeking behaviors may vary among sources. For ex-
ample, Ashford and Cummings (1985) and Ashford (1986) did not examine
whether newcomers prefer ceriain information-seeking tactics with super-
visors and other tactics with co-workers. This omission seems surprising
because newcomers' choice of tactics appears to be based partly on the
perceived social costs of interacting with a pariicular source (Roloff, 1981).
Given differences between supervisors and co-workers in terms of power,
newcomers would seem likely to vary their information-seeking tactics be-
tween sources (Walther, 1978).
Iniormation Content
TABLE 1
Types of Information Sought by Newcomers
Iniormation Categories and Elxamples'
Appraisal
Iniormation Relational
(Degree oi Iniormation
functioning (Nature oi
Reierent Iniormation successfully relationships
(What is required to function on the )ob) on the job) with others)
Job instructions Reason for doing a Performance Extent of fitting into
task feedback social environment
Job rationale Job procedures Potential for Social/affective
advancement support
Orgaruzationai How to get a Appropriateness of Others' personality
procedures promotion or social behaviors characteristics
raise
Organizational New ideas or ways Adequacy of basic Others likes/dislikes
goals to do things skills and abilities
Nuances of rules What work needs Quality of work Managing job
to be done efficiency in pressures and role
accomplishing conflicts
tasks
Iniormal networks How to get ]ob Adequacy of Personal goals
training performance
under pressure
Amount of Interpretations ol Overcoming anxieties
responsibility activities &
events
Job goals Meaning of Confirmation of a
organizational new self-image
symbols
Feelings about
particular
co-workers/
supervisors
* Extrapolated from Ashford & Cummings (1985); Feldman (1977, 1981); Greller & Herold
(1975); Gommereall & Meyers (1966); Herold & Parsons (1985); Katz & Kahn (1978); Penley (1982);
and Staton-Spicer & Darling (1986).
100 Academy of Management Review January
role clarity, newcomers frequently experience role ambiguity and role con-
flict (Feldman, 1976; Graen, 1976; Jablin, 1987). Newcomers may experience
role ambiguity and/or conflict as a result of (1) a lack of clarity and unanimity
in others' expectations concerning newcomers' roles, (2) mixed feedback
about their job performance, (3) not being able to negotiate informal agree-
ments regarding others' influence in defining their roles, and (4) others'
breaking or neglecting to fulfill contracts or negotiated functions (Katz &
Kahn, 1978).
Role ambiguity and role conflict are likely to have a negative impact
upon newcomers' performance ratings and organizational tenure. Results
of meta-analyses in this area (Cotton & Tuttle, 1986; Fisher & Gittelson, 1983;
Jackson 8f Schuler, 1985) indicate that role ambiguity and role conflict are
consistently negatively correlated with job satisfaction and, m particular,
employees' satisfaction with work itself, satisfaction with supervision, and
commitment to and involvement in organizations. Moreover, role ambiguity
and role conflict tend to be negatively correlated with job tenure across most
research studies (Cotton & Tuttle, 1986; Jackson & Schuler, 1985). Therefore,
role ambiguity and role conflict may pose serious problems for organiza-
tional newcomers. However, the levels of role ambiguity/conflict experi-
enced by newcomers may depend on their information-seeking behaviors.
To this point in time, researchers have focused only on the relationship
between the frequency of information-seeking behaviors and levels of role
ambiguity; they have not focused on the particular types of information-
seeking tactics that may be most effective in reducing role ambiguity and
role conflict. For example, although Ashford and Cummings (1985) and
Ashford (1986) reported positive correlations between role clarity and fre-
quency of feedback-seeking behaviors, they did not indicate the forms of
information seeking that seem to be the most effective m reducing role
ambiguity and role conflict. Obviously, such information might be ex-
tremely valuable in developing organizational programs designed to help
newcomers learn to use information-seeking tactics that enhance rather
than diminish their levels of role clarity.
In summary, as a result of entering a new organization and beginning
a new job, newcomers are likely to seek information with a heightened
sense of awareness or mindfulness. In an effort to reduce uncertainty (about
the full meaning of their roles, organizational events, others' expectations,
etc.), newcomers often seek information from their supervisors and co-
workers. Information-seeking activities are also likely to be stimulated by the
reception of role-related information from supervisors, co-workers, and/or
others, which may not provide sufficient clarity about newcomers' roles. In
turn, the manner in which newcomers seek information is likely to be
shaped by their level of uncertainty about organizational events, the social
costs inherent in information seeking, differences among newcomers with
respect to personality and past work experiences, and contextual factors
associated with the organizational setting. It is anticipated that newcomers
who are able to utilize a variety of information-seeking tactics to obtain
102 Academy ot Management Review January
' Examples in this section are based on interviews the authors have conducted with or-
ganizational newcomers as part of a larger program of research explonng the organizational
entry process.
1991 Miller and Jablin 103
(Baxter & Wilmot, 1984; Brown & Levinson, 1978). Information-seeking tactics
range in their overtness and the specificity of the information sought. For
example, some information requests may be consciously identifiable to tar-
gets, whereas in other cases, information targets may be unaware that
newcomers have been eliciting information from them. At times, newcom-
ers seek specific information (e.g., instructions on the use of the fax ma-
chine); at other times newcomers seek more generalized information such
as an incumbent's perception of the department's/organization's mission. In
essence, although incumbents frequently encourage newcomers to atk
questions and openly seek information (Louis, 1980), newcomers, in fact,
utilize a wide repertoire of information-seeking behaviors in order to obtain
information.
Overt Questions
A iirst information-seeking tactic concerns the use of overt means. This
tactic IS likely to be utilized when newcomers are comfortable with soliciting
information from a source (i.e., attempt is conducive in terms of target open-
ness and anticipated social costs) and involves direct interaction with infor-
mation targets. Newcomers may opt for overt tactics because such tactics (1)
are efficient in that specific information can be requested (Berger & Bradac,
1982), (2) provide opportunities to clarify potential ambiguities m messages
received, and (3) may assist in further relational development enabling
easier access to the source in future information requests. In addition, new-
comers have told us that they use overt questions to seek information be-
cause they perceive that their supervisors perceive such behavior as a sign
of doing a "good" job and, in tum, to engender their supervisors' favor. In
contrast, newcomers may be cautious m using overt tactics because (1)
preoccupations with their self-presentation may detract from attention given
to targets' responses (Berger & Bradac, 1982), (2) revelations of their uncer-
tainty may be potentially disadvantageous (e.g., a new hire asking for help
in using a computer system that incumbents have referred to as
"elementary"), and (3) the target may not tolerate repetitive unilateral in-
formation requests (Berger & Bradac, 1982; Goody, 1978).
Research indicates that individuals tend to use overt information-
seeking behaviors to the extent that they feel comfortable in approaching
information sources. In a field study of sixth grade girls, Walther (1978)
reported that interrogative questions were the primary mode of information
acquisition when these girls interacted with their peers. On the other hand,
noninterrogative questions were utilized when the students were seeking
information from their teachers. Subsequent analysis lead Walther (1978) to
conclude that the children felt comfortable asking questions of their peers
but uncomfortable asking questions of their teachers (i.e., higher status
others).
According to Brown and Levinson (1978), individuals may universally
use overt information seebng when there is little chance of "losing face" or
being embarrassed by asking for information. It also appears that overt
104 Academy ot Management Review January
Indirect Questions
A second information-seeking tactic involves the use of indirect ques-
tions (e.g., noninterrogative questions) and is typically used when newcom-
ers are uncomfortable in seeking information from a source. Through indi-
rect questions, newcomers are able to ask questions of incumbents in a way
that neither embarrasses newcomers nor puts incumbents on the spot. For
example, with indirect questions, information targets can avoid responding
to questions, and senders can discount the information-seeking intent of a
message. These "face saving" options (Brown & Levinson, 1978) may pro-
vide viable alternatives for newcomers who wish to avoid potential costs
involved in overt attempts. Conversely, potential disadvantages of this ap-
proach include information targets (1) who are neither cognizant of nor
responsive to indirect questions and (2) who respond unfavorably toward
veiled information-seeking attempts.
Tactics associated with this strategy are noninterrogative questions and
hinting. As mentioned previously, Walther (1978) found that children typi-
cally utilize noninterrogative questioning strategies with higher status
sources. In a similar vein, Buzzanell (1987) reported that supervisors believe
subordinates often ask around questions about career advancement issues
rather than directly ask questions. In addition, hinting is often used as an
indirect means for bnnging topics to targets' attention and as a means for
avoiding a "loss of face" (Baxter & Wilmot, 1984; Brown & Levinson, 1978).
As several newcomers have reported to us, co-workers often won't respond
in a straightforward manner to direct questions about newcomers' job per-
formance.
In general, there seems to be considerable evidence that indirect ques-
tions are universally used as face-saving tactics (Brown & Levinson, 1978;
Goody, 1978). The use of this tactic seems especially likely if newcomers are
intimidated by seeking information directly from a target or if they are seek-
ing information about topics that are awkward to talk about. However,
because noninterrogative questions and hinting rely on targets' responding
to cues and veiled references, newcomers may use these modes when
seeking information of which they are fairly certain and able to interpret if
given an equally veiled respxinse. Consequently, it seems reasonable to
propose:
Proposition 2.1: Indirect tactics are more likely to be used
by newcomers when seeking potentially embarrassing
information such as appraisal and relational information
than when seeking referent information.
Proposition 2.2: Newcomers are more likely to use indirect
tactics when seeking information from supervisors and
high status others as opposed to co-workers.
Third Parties
A third tactic involves third parties as information sources and substi-
tutes a primary source (e.g., supervisor) with a secondary source (e.g..
106 Academy o/Managemen( fieviewr January
co-worker). This tactic is typically used when the primary source is unavail-
able and/or when newcomers feel uncomfortable in seeking information
from a primary source. The use of third parties also provides a mexins by
which individuals may confirm the meanings of primary sources' messages.
In an attempt to avoid potential costs, newcomers are likely to consider the
third person's (1) credibility as a source and (2) potential to tell the primary
source of the information-seeking incident (Berger & Bradac, 1982).
Research indicates that students frequently use third parties as targets
of information-seeking crttempts in order to reduce uncertainty about their
romantic partners' feelings (Baxter & Wilmot, 1984) and to "second guess"
messages from pnmary sources (Hewes et al., 1985). Yet, little is known
about organizational newcomers' use of third parties as information
sources. Rather than obtaining information from their supervisors, Louis
(1980) speculates that newcomers may tum to incumbents who "serve as
sounding boards and guide [newcomers] to important background informa-
tion for assigning meaning to events and surprises" (: 243). Supportive of this
notion, Hewes and his colleagues (1985) found that one-third of a group of
organizational employees they surveyed acquired information about daily
operations from indirect (e.g., secondary) sources rather than pnmary
sources. Farther, newcomers have reported to us that they have sought
information from secondary sources because their supervisors' explanations
were confusing and/'or because their bosses lacked the technical expertise
to answer these questions.
It is probably safe to say that the third-party tactic has widespread use
in both organizational and nonorganizational settings. Indeed, secondary
sources appear to be available and convenient, provide emotional support,
reinforce and/or confirm newcomers' impressions, and serve as informal
socialization agents. However, dangers associated with the exclusive use of
this tactic include receiving incorrect or misleading information and being
lndoctnnated in a manner antithetical to the organization's and/or supservi-
sor's wishes (Lodahl & Mitchell, 1980). As such, newcomers who are overly
dependent upon nonsupervisory members of their role set for information
may have greater difficulty obtaining role clarity. In light of these issues, we
propose:
Proposition 3.1: Newcomers are more likely to use the
third party tactic in seeking appraisal or relational infor-
mation (which has evaluative components) than referent
information (which is usually nonevaluative).
Proposition 3.2: Newcomers are more likely io use the
third party tactic when (I) the primary target is the super-
visor rather than a co-worker and (2) the secondary
source is perceived as credible and confidential.
Testing Linuts
A fourth information-seeking tactic involves testing limits or the creating
of situations to which information targets must respond. Targets' responses
1991 Miller and Jablin 107
Disguising Conversations
responses to such references may provide both factual and attitudinal in-
formation. Berger and Kellerman (1983) found that college students who
were asked to seek high amounts of information from their interaction pxirt-
ners used this mode significantly more often than moderate or low informa-
tion seekers. In addition, information seekers frequently use verbal prompts
along with references to objects in the environment for managing conver-
sations. Verbal prompts encourage speakers to continue talking along the
same line of explanation or reasoning (Berger & Kellerman, 1983). As such,
verbal prompts are usually interpreted as indications of receivers' interest in
a topic as well as a means of conversational management (Duncan, 1975;
Patterson, 1983).
Self-disclosure, in contrast, involves revealing a part of the information
seeker's self in order to solicit information from a target. Using the "norm of
reciprocity" (i.e., others tend to reciprocate information similar in depth and
kind that one is willing to disclose about him- or herself), information seekers
attempt to solicit information from targets (Berger & Bradac, 1982; Cozby,
1973; lourard, 1971; Knapp, 1984; Miller & Steinberg, 1975; Pomerantz, 1988).
As Jablin (1987) suggested, a newcomer may attempt to discover his or her
supervisor's work style by disclosing, in an appropriate conversation, how
he or she "pulls all-nighters" rather than turn in projects late. Should the
supervisor respond m similar depth and topic about managing workloads,
the newcomer will be provided with relevant information about the super-
visor's attitudes regarding meeting deadlines and dedication to work. How-
ever, targets' reciprocations may or may not be connected to the topic of
information seekers' disclosures (Dmdia, 1988). Furthermore, initiators of
self-disclosure tend to be viewed positively by targets only if the behavior is
used m moderation (Gilbert & Hornstein, 1975; Knapp, 1984; Worthy, Gary,
& Kahn, 1969).
In sum, individuals appear to be quite sophisticated in their ability to
solicit information in a manner that cloaks their willful and conscious intent
(Pomerantz, 1988). Although no research has specifically examined organi-
zational members' use of disguising conversation tactics, this tactic may be
best suited for use when anticipating high social costs and/or when seeking
potentially embarrassing information. What this tactic lacks in term of effi-
ciency (as compared to overt questions), disguising conversations makes up
by being a part of naturally occurring conversations and building upon
shared values (Brown &. Levinson, 1978). The likelihood of this tactic's use
increases when newcomers are experiencing high levels of uncertainty
and/or seeking high amounts of information (Berger & Kellerman, 1983). In
turn, as newcomers become more familiar with the work group/
organization they are likely to have a greater opportunity to employ this
tactic given a concomitant increase in knowledge of specific objects about
which to make jokes or references. Thus, we offer:
Proposition 5.1: Newcomers are more likely to use the
disguising conversation tactic when seeking appraisal or
110 Academy of Management Review January
Surveillance
cifically, Ashford and Cummings (1985) and Ashford (1986) present only two
general information-seeking tactics (inquiry and monitoring) when there
apparently are a variety of methods that employees may use. Further, these
researchers do not adequately consider factors that may influence employ-
ees to choose one tactic over another. In particular, their analyses do not
investigate any situational factors such as the employee's level of uncer-
tainty concerning the desired information or the social costs inherent in
obtaining information. These omissions seem particularly troublesome in
light of the work of Spitzberg and Cupach (1984), which states that compe-
tent communicators utilize a vanety of communicative strategies in obtain-
ing iniormation. In other words, the most appropriate information-seeking
tactic for a newcomer in a particular situation will likely depend upon his or
her uncertainty about the information, assessment of the target as an infor-
mation source, and beliefs about potential social costs associated with use
of each tactic.
CONCLUDING COMMENTS
in which they select and combine tactics is related to the responses they
receive from their targets. Thus, theorists might explore how newcomers
alter their information-seeking tactics when their initial acquisition attempts
are foiled. For instance, if an indirect tactic does not gam the needed infor-
mation, do newcomers revert to overt questions or use a secondary source?
In attempting to answer these types of questions, researchers may ulti-
mately be able to identify how newcomers combine information-seeking
tactics to form lnformation-seefang strategies.
In conclusion, it seems clear that research along the lines suggested in
this article is necessary if we are to fully understand how newcomers make
sense of their new work environments. 'The types of interpretive schemes
and cognitive maps newcomers construct in order to understand their new
jobs and orgaruzations are tightly coupled with how, with whom, and about
what they seek (and receive) as information. Along these lines, we hope that
the theoretical model describing factors affecting newcomers' information-
seeking tactics and the related set of research propositions we have sug-
gested concerning tactic usage will stimulate additional study about how
individuals acquire information during organization entry.
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Vemon D. Miller received his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. He is an
assistant professor of communication at Michigan Stale University. Correspondence
concerning this article may be addressed to him at the Department oi Communication.
Michigan State University. Ekist Lansing. MI 48824.
Fradric M. Jablin holds a dual appointment as a professor of speech communication
and management (in the Graduate School of Business) at the University of Texas at
Austin.