Assessment of organizational communication culture of selected private and public media institutions in Ethiopia: a comparative perspective.
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Date
2024-05
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
In today's dynamic media landscape, understanding the nuances of communication cultureswithin organizations is crucial. The primary objective of the study was to analyze and compareorganizational communication cultures between private and government media institutions. Toachieve this objective, the study employed a mixed research method; and a comparative researchdesign. 336 sample respondents randomly selected from Private and government mediaorganizations in Ethiopia. Data was collected using questionnaires and interviews, with analysistechniques including descriptive statistics and independent sample t-tests. Therefore, the findingsrevealed significant differences between private and government media institutions across sixdimensions of organizational communication culture. Thus, private media organizationsexhibited significantly higher acceptance of hierarchical structures compared to governmententities (p = 0.002), indicating potential variations in leadership styles and decision-makingprocesses. Additionally, government organizations placed a greater emphasis on collectivismcompared to private ones (p = 0.006), prioritizing collective goals over individual interests. Interms of uncertainty avoidance, private media organizations showed a stronger tendency toavoid uncertainty compared to government-owned institutions (p = 0.011), implying differencesin risk-taking behaviors. However, no significant difference was observed in gender-relatedorganizational communication culture (p = 0.164) or short-term vs. long-term orientation (p =0.527) between private and government organizations. Furthermore, government mediaorganizations prioritized restraint and self-discipline over indulgence compared to their privatecounterparts (p = 0.007), showing variations in approaches to gratification and self-control.These findings underscore the importance of recognizing and understanding these differences forfostering effective collaboration and performance improvement within Ethiopia's media sector. The study concluded that understanding these variations is very much for fostering effectivecollaboration and performance improvement within Ethiopia's media sector. Both private andgovernment media organizations prioritize collaboration, adaptability, and gender equality,contributing to organizational effectiveness and resilience.
Key words: Organizational Communication culture, private media, government media, Power Distance
Index, Collectivism vs. Individualism, Uncertainty Avoidance Index, Femininity vs. Masculinity, Short-
Term vs. Long-Term Orientation and Restraint vs. Indulgen
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Keywords
Communication culture