Nonverbal immediacy and communication satisfaction in supervisor-subordinate relationships

Recently, one group of scholars has begun to study the nonverbal immediacy variable in contexts other than the classroom, and their results have indicated similar positive results to those found in the classroom context (CorUee, Olvera, & Vagkn, 1993). In addition, research in the classroom has pointed out that teachers who use nonverbal immediacy behavior are perceived more positively by their students; teachers may even be more successful in compliance gaining when nonverbal immediacy behavior is present during kiteractions (Kearney, Plax, Smith & Sorensen, 1988). Due in part to these findings, one might reason that supervisors who use nonverbal immediacy behaviors may be perceived more positively by their subordinates and may be more successful at gaining compliance for assigned tasks. The similarity of findings between these contexts leads one to believe that nonverbal immediacy behaviors do yield positive outcomes in more than one setting. It does seem likely that similar results to those found in the clasroom will be found in any communication context in which interpersonal communication takes place on a regular basis. Teacher nonverbal immediacy is important because they are in consistent one to one and one to group interaction with their students. Thoefore, it stands to reason that nonverbal immediacy will be similarly important in any context where one-to-one and one-to-group interaction takes place regularly. After ail, the job of a supervisor is fundamentally similar to the job of a teacher. Where the chemistry teacher shows students how to work formulas which will be critical to their grade in the class, the supervisor tells employees how tasks should be done. If the employee can not learn how to properly handle the task, they will lose their job. Similarly, if the chemistry student fails to leam how to handle problems on the test, they will fail out of the class. While these comparisons between teachers and supervisors seem intuitive, more research must be done with nonvobal immediacy in other contexts before the scope of applicability for the variable will not be known.

The current study will take a step in that direction by applying the nonverbal immediacy variable in a new context: the organization. Organizations may range from law firms to Without this information, employees begin to lose satisfaction with thek employer as well as hospitals or any work place where multilevel communication and superior/subordinate interactions take place. Organizations seem to provide a suitable context for the study of nonverbal immediacy due to the abundance of interpersonal communication that occurs between supervisors and subordinates. Supervisors must inform their employees of information critical to tiiek jobs as well as current happenings withm the organization. their job (DiFonzo & Bordia, 1998).