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Utara Management JournalRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SUPERVISOR-

SUBORDINATE COMMUNICATIOK AND WORK INGRELATIONSHIP

Hassan Abu BakarBahtiar M ohamadFaculty of Communication and M od em Language

U n ve rsi ti U a ra Malaysia

AbstractThis study examined the relationship between supervisor-subordinate communication beh av-iors and working relationship. Result of this stud)) reveals that there is a significant positiverelationship between supervisor-subordinate communicatiori and working relationship. M u l -tiple regressions show that job-relev ant co mmu nication and nega tive commun ication rela-tionship is the major pred ictor of working relationship.

IntroductionIn daily operations of an organization, the members involved cannot avoid from communicat-ing. Through communication, members of the organization exchange information for progressof their task and to achieve organizational goals. Without conimunication, organization cannotsurvive and continue their operation (Hickson, Stacks & Greely, 1998). One of the importantelements in organizational communication research is the study on supervisor-subordinatecommunication, which is also known as supervisory communication. Various researches haveshown that effective supervisory communication can help clrganization members to achievejob satisfaction and to fully commit to their organization. Communication scholars believethat an effective superior-subordinate communication in organization can also contribute to itseffectiveness (Lee & Jablin, 1995).

The supervisor-subordinate communication is a social system that works within thelarger system of work group and is a form of dyadic communication. This type of communica-tion focuses on how supervisors communicate with their subordinates in order to maintaintheir relationship. A majority of scholars agrees that supervisor-subordinate communicationcould provide an overall picture of communication pattern in the organization (Jablin, 1987;Lee & Jablin, 1995). Schanke, Dumler, Cocharan and Barneet (1990) maintain and emphasizethe importance of supervisor-subordinate communication with research that indicates 50%-90% of supervisor time in office is used to communicate with their subordinates. Jablin (1979)defines supervisor subordinate communication as an exchange of information and influencebetween organizational members, at least one who has formal authority to direct and evaluatethe activities of other organizational members. Clampitt and Downs (1 994) expanded thisdefinition with the concept of upward and downward communication, where the supervisor is

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