Enhancing Organizational Communication Through Appreciative Inquiry

314 Pages·2017·2.27 MB·English

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Nyameino, Catherine Kwamboka (2016) Enhancing Organizational Communication Through
Appreciative Inquiry: The Case of East African Union of the Seventh-day Adventist. PhD thesis,
Middlesex University. [Thesis]
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Enhancing Organizational Communication Through Appreciative
Inquiry: The Case of East African Union of the Seventh-day Adventist
Church Kenya
Catherine Kwamboka Nyameino
OCMS, Ph.D

ABSTRACT

Internal communication is a vital component of organizational communication and
plays a major role in the realization of an organization’s mission because it influences
organization members’ interpersonal relationships. However, most of the literature on
organizational communication understates factors that may impede adequate internal
communication practices in complex organizations such as East African Union (EAU).
Hence factors such as the organization’s culture, or organization members’ cultural and
educational backgrounds, and gender relations are understated. Furthermore, the
literature understates how complex organizational structures such as those of the EAU
can hinder or facilitate effective internal communication or the relationships between
communication partners. Also, most studies on organizational communication have
tended to study organizations from a problem-centric approach, making them more
problematic and complex. This study provides an alternative lens for studying
organizations by advocating for a positive approach. The study sought to identify
existing positive internal communication practices in EAU, and strategies to improve
them. Using structuration theory to frame the research questions and 3 phases of
appreciative inquiry (AI) cycle, this study established that trust, leader-follower
confidence, freedom of creativity and positive gender relations influence the
organization’s internal communication practices. Enhanced communication in turn
improves trust, leader-follower confidence, creativity, and positive gender relations.
Study participants identified and proposed strategies, actions and practices to enhance
the respective communication drivers. The study found that variables such as the
organization’s culture, diverse organizational members, organizational leadership, and
appreciative inquiry mediate the effect of internal communication in the organization,
making the improvement of internal communication in EAU through appreciative
inquiry a dynamic, tentative and fluid process. The study showed that structuration
theory facilitated organizational learning and change of the organization’s
communication culture demonstrating therefore that the organization was open to
learning. This study contributes to organizational communication studies by
demonstrating that enhanced trust, enhanced leader-follower confidence, enhanced
creativity, and positive gender relations influence the quality and quantity of internal
communication and vice versa. The study also contributes to appreciative inquiry
studies by extending it to Christian organizations and also demonstrates that AI can be
used flexibly according to a researcher’s needs.

Enhancing Organizational Communication through
Appreciative Inquiry: The Case of East African Union of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church Kenya
By

Catherine Kwamboka Nyameino
M.A. (OCMS/University of Leeds)

Organizational Communication Studies
Main Supervisor: Graham Mytton
Second Supervisor: Steven Beebe
House Tutor: Bill Prevette

A Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
in the University of Middlesex

April, 2016
Oxford Centre for Mission Studies

Dedication

I dedicate this thesis to several people: first to my father, Reuben Nyameino and my late
mother Biliah Nyaboke for teaching me the value of knowing and loving God, and
trusting Him in all things. To my husband, Edward Ontita for his love, and spiritual,
moral and financial support and for taking care of our children while I was away and to
our children Kevin and Ray Ontita for your love and prayers. Thank you also for
believing in me and encouraging me to pursue my dreams.

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Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I am eternally grateful to God who in his wisdom created me and
has been very gracious throughout my life. He provided everything that I needed in His
own time and therefore made my study experiences wonderful.
I am also indebted to so many people who have contributed to my educational
journey and to the completion of this thesis. My late mother was my first teacher who
would take me out in the early evenings and show me the stars and the moon and during
the day would show me various plants, animals, and other creatures to remind me of the
place of God in my life. Those early lessons opened my eyes to the world. My father
Reuben Nyameino ceaselessly prayed for me and supported me in my career. My
brother Charles and my sister in-law Veronica Nyameino made many sacrifices
including their personal comfort in order to put me through school. My brother John
Nyameino was my second teacher and literally taught me everything he learnt in school.
He made my work easier when I joined school and on reflection, I see this foundation as
the one that influenced my promotion from class two to class four; and to my former
head teacher Mr. Joseph Nyandika for moving me from lower to upper primary when I
least expected it.
My husband Edward Ontita who has seen me through my Bachelors, Postgraduate
Diploma, Masters, and now Ph.D. Ed, your great love, spiritual, moral and, financial
and academic support have been invaluable. Thanks for defying the odds of the Gusii
culture to take care of our children in order for me to have the time to study, may the
Lord bless you. And to our children Kevin and Ray, thanks for your patience and your
understanding. I know you missed my visits to your schools, but I don’t remember
hearing you complain. Thanks also for excelling in your studies even in the absence of
my physical support during your national examinations. And to my other siblings,
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Isabella, Joan, Gideon Beuter and my niece Maureen Nyambega thanks for your
support.
I would like to thank my maternal uncles and aunts in whose homes I found
refuge after the death of my mother and who in one way or the other contributed to my
education; and the support of my late grandparents Pastor Nathan Omambia and Mrs.
Bathsheba Omambia. I would like to thank all the EAU leaders who allowed me to
conduct my research in the organization and all EAU colleagues who participated in
interviews and focus group discussions. Without your generous participation and
insights, I would not have written this thesis. I would also like to thank my OCMS
friends such as Carole, Ralph, Blanche, Jessica, Rachel, Irim, Nicky whose words of
encouragement and timely help made the process easier; and to Wonsuk Ma, and all the
faculty and Board members of OCMS for their generosity in advice and providing
funding respectively. And to my supervisors Dr. Graham Mytton and Professor. Steven
Beebe I say thank you very much for your invaluable comments which shaped the study
and for believing that I could make it despite my own hesitancy. Thanks to my dear
friends, Jan, Jarmila, Annette, and Jane Rabusic, in whose home I stayed during all my
annual residence periods for seven years. Special thanks also to Oxford Seventh-day
Adventist church members and particularly to Pr. James Cuthell who paid my first
tuition and accommodation fees and to Don Stroud for his encouragement and well
wishes and Allan Hudson and family for your prayers and well wishes. May the Lord
richly bless you for your kindness, generosity, love and prayers. May the Lord richly
bless you all.
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