The Taken-for-Granted Labor of Communication: Seeing beyond Words

Abstract

This article is the first to discuss how the complementary and practical natures of emotional labor (EL) (Guy, Newman, & Mastracci, 2006), and communication accommodation theory (CAT) (Giles, Coupland, & Coupland, 1991; Giles, et al., 2005) can help shape the field of public and nonprofit administration by translating communication breakdowns into opportunities. This is achieved by presenting these concepts and processes through the Seeing Beyond Words exercise that links EL with CAT. The exercise proposes that, if individuals acquire the necessary communication skills to determine how (a) to express or suppress emotions in career roles, and (b) to counteract these dilemmas, then they will more often attain organizational goals (Kimoto, 2006a, 2006b, 2007, 2008; Kimoto, Frasco, Mulder, & Juta, 2009).

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Notes on contributors

Diane M. Kimoto

Diane M. Kimoto is an Assistant Professor in Grand Valley State University’s School of Public and Nonprofit Administration. Dr. Kimoto earned her Ph.D. from the University of Southern California, with emphases in interpersonal and organizational communications. Her research and publishing interests combine communication and pedagogic theory, and apply them toward identifying the underlying approaches that guide the cooperative experience between teachers and students in promoting learning excellence. She currently is the program chair for the annual American Society for Public Administration-sponsored Teaching Public Administration Conference.