Abstract
A study examined the relationship between organizational communication systems and organizational culture and between culture and two human relations-based outcomes--satisfaction and commitment. Subjects were 26 college students who were assigned positions in one of two simulated, bureaucratic organizations that functioned for four class periods. Each organization consisted of upper management, production, and supply and delivery personnel. The goal of the organizations was to make profits from the sale of a product. Each subject completed a number of questionnaires and scales to measure the various aspects of organizational culture (image, coorientation, and coordination), organizational communication, and satisfaction and commitment. General findings indicated a clear communication-culture relationship such that communication created culture. Less clear was the impact of the communication-created culture on member satisfaction and commitment. The results also suggested that communication and culture affected member satisfaction in general and direct ways, and that satisfaction served to induce member commitment to the organization. (Copies of the scales and questionnaires used in the study, along with extensive tables of data are appended.) (FL)