Organizational Communication Climate and Conflict Management: Communications Management in an Oil and Gas Company

Communication climate is of paramount importance in an organization as it contributes to the effectiveness and success of an organization. The communication climate of an organization may influence the atmosphere in the organization which either encourages or hinders horizontal, upward or downward communication among the employees. In organizations with defensive climates, employees have the tendency to abstain from communicating their needs, as they become very cautious in making statements, and may have low level of motivation. On the other hand, organizations with supportive environments encourage active participation, healthy exchange of information and constructive conflict resolution. Instilling collaborative communication climate in an organization however requires effective management of conflicts. This paper reports a study conducted in a high risk work environment of an oil and gas company, in which the personnel have to work with volatile chemicals and heavy machines. The communicative behaviors in such hazardous environments are not to be taken lightly as communication errors could lead to fatal incidences. The study thus investigates the impact of communication conflict strategies used by the personnel on the overall organizational communication climate in a high-risk workplace environment. A set of questionnaires were administered to employees at all levels in the organization working at the administrative office and at the gas plant. One hundred and twenty five employees responded to the questionnaire, which attributed to more than fifty percent of the total population. The findings discuss the impact of various communicative strategies used in conflict management on the organizational communication climate. The overall findings suggest that conflicts management is related to the roles the personnel play in the organization. In assuming the leadership role, the top management's approach to conflicts include confrontational and compromise, instead of non-confrontation and control, which have a degree of impact on the communication supportive climate. The executives, technical staff, non-technical staff have different approaches in conflict management strategies. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer review under responsibility of Organizing Committee of BEM 2013.