Psychological Determinants of Competent Communication Behaviour of Union and Management Representatives in Negotiation Situations
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Date
2022
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Redeemer’s University Journal of Management and Social Sciences
Abstract
Communication competence has been widely conceptualised as the perception of effectiveness
and appropriateness of communication content. This paper examined the joint and relative
interaction of cognitive complexity-ability for communication effectiveness and self-monitoring motivation for communication appropriateness on competent communication behaviour of union
and management representatives in negotiation situations. Dual-process theories of
communication ability and motivation were adopted as framework, while the survey design was
employed. Convenience sampling technique was used to select seven agriculture/forestry related
research organizations in Ibadan, Nigeria. A three-scale questionnaire was administered to 257
purposively selected union (184) and management (73) representatives, who actively
participated in various negotiations between 2001 and 2014. Hierarchical multiple regression
analysis was used to test the research hypothesis for joint and independent prediction, while a
2x2 ANOVA was used for interaction effect of cognitive complexity and self-monitoring on
communication competence of representatives. A significant interaction effect and joint
prediction of cognitive complexity and self-monitoring (F(2, 254)=5.189, R
2=0.039, p<.05) on
communication competence was obtained. Meanwhile, only self-monitoring (=0.20; t=3.186,
p<.05) independently predicted communication competence. Inspite of the joint prediction of
communication competence by cognitive complexity and self-monitoring, training programme
designed for union and management representatives should place more emphasis on self monitoring of appropriate negotiation behaviour than communication effectiveness associated
with cognitive complexity.