| To test hypotheses about Intra- and intergenerational communication perceptions, individuals in two nations (Thailand and USA) self-assessed their communication beliefs on the Global Perceptions of Intergenerational Communication (GPIC) scale. Using communication accommodation theory (CAT) as a theoretical backdrop, two studies were conducted; Study 1 utilized university students with work experience (N = 277) from the USA and Thailand, and Study 2 sampled non-managerial bankers from these same two cultures (N = 348).; Results from Study 1 confirmed the age-based hypotheses that, irrespective of culture, young workers perceive that they are communicated with differently by older than by young workers, and young workers perceive they communicate differently toward older than other young workers. Cross-cultural differences also emerged, as young American workers reported receiving greater accommodation from workers, in general, than did Thais. Respondents from both cultures were more respectfully avoidant in their communication toward older than young workers.; In Study 2, hypotheses and research questions were set forth that tested how age and rank interacted in their influence on workplace communication, while also accounting for national culture. Target age, management level, and nation affected the three communication factor scores and the combined factor scores. For target age, older bankers were seen as more nonaccommodative (e.g., more negative, more ordering) than young bankers, though young bankers still felt more obligation to be respectfully avoidant (e.g., hold back opinions, speak in a respectful manner) in their communication with older bankers than to their peer age group. Cross-culturally, young American bankers answered in a positive manner when queried about others' communication behaviors, reporting more accommodation and less nonaccommodation from others, in general, than young Thai bankers. Lastly, young bankers across cultures surveyed perceived their communicative interactions with managers as more difficult than their interactions with other non-managers. Specifically, managers were seen as more nonaccommodative than non-managers, though young bankers still felt a greater need to be respectfully avoidant in their communication to managers, as opposed to those of a similar rank. Research literatures on social identity, cultural convergence and divergence, pessimism, modernity, and workplace homogenization were invoked to explain the above findings. |
