Organizational Communication: Theory, Research, and Practice

Jason S. Wrench (Ed.D., West Virginia University) is an associate professor in the Communication and Media department at the State University of New York at New Paltz. Dr. Wrench specializes in workplace learning and performance, or the intersection of instructional communication and organizational communication. His varied research interests include communibiology, computer-mediated communication, empirical research methods, humor, risk/crisis communication, and supervisor-subordinate interactions. Dr. Wrench regularly consults with individuals and organizations on workplace communication and as a professional speech coach for senior executives. Dr. Wrench has published five previous books: Intercultural Communication: Power in Context, Communication, Affect, and Learning in the Classroom (2000, Tapestry Press), Principles of Public Speaking (2003, The College Network), Human Communication in Everyday Life: Explanations and Applications (2008, Allyn & Bacon), Quantitative Research Methods for Communication: A Hands-On Approach (2008, Oxford University Press), and The Directory of Communication Related Mental Measures (Summer 2010, National Communication Association), among others. Dr. Wrench was the editor of the Ohio Communication Journal from 2005– 2007, and has served as an associate editor for Communication Research Reports from 2007– 2010. Furthermore, Dr. Wrench has published over 30 research articles that have appeared in various journals: Communication Quarterly, Communication Research Reports, Education, Human Communication, Journal of Homosexuality, Journal of Intercultural Communication, Southern Communication Journal, The Source: A Journal of Education, and The NACADA Journal (National Association of Campus Advising). Many of his writings are available on his website at http://www.JasonSWrench.com.

Narissra Maria Punyanunt-Carter (Ph.D., Kent State University, 2002) is an associate professor in the department of communication studies at Texas Tech University. Narissra teaches interpersonal communication, gender, nonverbal, and romantic relationships. Dr. Punyanunt-Carter's research interests include romantic relationships, computer-mediated communication, father-daughter communication, and mass media portrayals of romance. She has published many articles, which have been featured in Southern Communication Journal, Howard Journal of Communication, Communication Research Reports, and Communication Quarterly.

Mark Ward Sr. (Ph.D., Clemson University) is an assistant professor of communication at the University of Houston-Victoria in Victoria, Texas, where he teaches organizational and business communication, public relations, leadership, conflict management, intercultural communication, and communication theory. His recent book, Deadly Documents (2014, Baywood Publishing), examines the organizational culture of the Holocaust through analyses of everyday Nazi bureaucratic documents, and his work on the subject has appeared in the Journal of Business and Technical Communication, Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, and Holocaust Studies. Dr. Ward’s research interests include ethnography of religious organizations and intersections of religion and media. He serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Communication and Religion and Executive Council of the Religious Communication Association, which named his ethnography of religious media its 2014 Article of the Year. His work on religious organizations and media has been published in Intercultural Communication Studies, Journal of Communication and Religion, International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations, Journal of Media and Religion, Journal of Radio and Audio Media, and other venues. Author of two books on the history of religious broadcasting, he is editor of the multi-volume series, The Electronic Church in the Digital Age: Cultural Impacts of Evangelical Mass Media (in press, Praeger). Before entering academe, Dr. Ward was communications director and journal editor for several national and international nonprofits and industry trade associations. He continues to write regularly as an independent business journalist.