European Journal of Scientific Research ISSN 1450-216X Vol.80 No.4 (2012), pp.494-498 EuroJournals Publishing, Inc. 2012 http://www.europeanjournalofscientificresearch.

com

Staffs Opinion on the Organisational Communication Pattern for Becoming an Autonomous University: The Case of Thaksin University
Chetsada Noknoi Thaksin University, Thailand Abstract The purpose of this research is to study the opinions of Thaksin University staffs on the organizational communication pattern for changing to autonomous university. Questionnaires were used for data collection by multi-stage random sampling and equally distributed to 276 samples. The collected data was analyzed by using the descriptive statistics; frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and factor analysis. t-test and ANOVA techniques were used to test hypothesizes. The research indicated that while the respondents agree with the communication pattern of executives and organizational communication pattern, they disagree with the block of their opinion and strongly disagree with the idea that the responsibility regarding the transition is for senior executives only. The hypothesis testing showed that the staffs opinion on the organizational communication pattern to make the understanding for changing to autonomous university varies according to age, education, salary, department, and whether line or staff.

Significance of the Research Problem

Education is an important for making quality people to be a major force in developing country (Teerakul, 2004). The reform of the Thai education system, especially in higher education, has caused a widespread and endless debate. The Thai government has tried to solve this problem by offering universities a short cut with which to get out of the system, known as becoming an autonomous university. As the previous rules of the Thai government may not suitable for the current context of universitys missions, therefore, the main purpose of autonomous universities is to allow universities to manage themselves in a more flexible way (Veerathaworn, 2006). However, the results produced by an autonomous university depend on how it is managed. If the university is well-managed, it will produce better results, but if not, it will produce worse results (Panich, 2006). This is the leading reason why the relevant people are for or against autonomous universities. Universities are the important institutions with regard to driving and contributing to society. They also act as vehicles for the delivery of ideas, values, culture and knowledge from the community to the outside. Within the context of globalisation, universities are the intermediaries which can help communities to maintain their identity and connect to the globalised world (Akesitthipong, 2007). During the process through which Thaksin University has become an autonomous university, organisational communication has proven to be very important and necessary for all members of staff who are directly affected by the change. Bernard (1983) mentioned that the most important task for top executives is to develop and maintain a system for communication, as in this way, the members of the organisation can receive information which will affect their perceptions and sensibilities. Without communication, executives cannot help the organisation to achieve its goals. More than 70% of organisations spend time working on their communication (Robbins, 1994). Therefore, communication

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is very important and is necessary for organisations. All managers should realise that communication is an important part of management (Naveekarn, 1984). Organisational communication will help to generate knowledge, understanding and realisation in members of staff in preparation for the acceptance of changes to structures and operations, both inside and outside of the university.

Research Objective
To study the opinions of Thaksin Universitys staff regarding patterns of organisational communication in terms of becoming an autonomous university.

Research Hypotheses
The staffs opinion on organisational communication patterns designed to aid their understanding of the changes involved in being an autonomous university will vary according to their gender, age, education, salary, period of work, department, personnel type and job title.

Literature Review
The basic concept of this research is derived from the concepts of the autonomous university, organisational communication, communication for the purpose of persuasion, organisational change and the relevant research. The framework which was devised for this study is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Research framework

Independent variables Gender Age Education Salary Period of work Department Personnel type Job title

Dependent variables The staffs opinion on the organisational communication pattern designed to improve their understanding of the changes involved in being a autonomous university

Research Methodology
Data Collection Method This research focuses on the case of Thaksin University. The population in this study consisted of 877 members of staff from Thaksin University. The sample size was calculated using the table devised by Krejcie and Morgan (1970), which shows that the ideal sample size for a population of 900 is 269. The questionnaires were distributed evenly across a sample of 276 participants. A multi-stage random sampling method was employed in our study, by selecting a sample from every group of personnel types (this method is called quota sampling) and then using simple random sampling in order to select the respondents for this study.

496 Analysis

Chetsada Noknoi

The analysis included the following elements: 1. General information about the demographic characteristics of the participants, including their sex, age, education, salary, period of work, department, personnel type and job title were analysed using frequency distributions, percentages, mean values and standard deviations; 2. The staffs opinions on the organisational communication pattern designed to improve their understanding of the change involved in becoming an autonomous university (e.g. the substance and direction of the communication) were analysed using frequency distributions, percentages, means and standard deviations. Factor analysis was used in order to group the variables; 3. For hypothesis testing, the t-test was used in order to compare the mean values of two groups, and a one-way analysis of variance, ANOVA, was used in order to compare the means of three or more variables. If the results show a difference between the mean values at the 0.05 level of significance, then the Scheffe post-hoc test will be used to test all of the pairs for differences between the mean values.

Results
1. The staffs opinion on the organisational communication pattern designed to improve their understanding of the changes involved in becoming an autonomous university was as follows: Using factor analysis, all of the variables which were relevant to the staffs opinions were grouped into four groups, which were: the communication pattern of executives; the organisational communication pattern; the staffs opinion and responsibility for the transition. With regard to their opinion on the executives communication patterns, the majority of the respondents agreed that the executives should provide clear information, improve public relations with the media and declare any problems involved in the transition to all members of staff. With regard to their opinion on the organisational communication pattern, most of the respondents strongly agreed that the supervisors in each department should hold discussions about the transition in order to increase the confidence of the workers. A conference should be held and announced to everyone. This should include brainstorming at the operational level. While the majority agreed that colleagues should discuss the transition in order to exchange ideas, they disagreed with the idea that expressing employees ideas may cause problems with the administration. In addition, they strongly disagreed with the notion that operational staff should not have the right to express their opinions to executives, and they also disagreed that the transition is solely the responsibility of top executives, and should not involve brainstorming with anybody else. The means and standard deviations of the staffs opinion on the organisational communication pattern designed to improve their understanding of the changes involved in becoming an autonomous university indicated that the sample strongly agreed with all of the issues relating to the communication patterns of executives and the organisational communication pattern, except the exchange of ideas among colleagues. The respondents disagreed not only with the idea that if the staff express their opinions, this may cause problems, but also strongly disagreed with all of the statements regarding the responsibility for the transition. 2. Hypothesis testing The results showed that the difference in opinion on the pattern of communication within the organisation which was designed to improve the understanding of Thaksin Universitys staff depended on their demographic characteristics including age, education, salary, department and job title;

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Discussion of Results
The staffs opinion on the organisational communication pattern designed to improve their understanding of the changes involved in becoming an autonomous university was as follows: The majority of the respondents agreed that the executives should provide clear information, improve public relations through the media and declare any problems regarding the transition to all members of staff. With regard to the opinion of the respondents concerning the organisational communication pattern, most of the respondents strongly agreed that the supervisors in each department should discuss the transition in order to increase the employees confidence. A conference should be set up and announced to everyone. Brainstorming should occur at the operational level. The results from this study are consistent with the results found by Siripanitch in 1994. Siripanitch (1994) found that most members of staff would like to communicate with their supervisors. Information should be distributed systematically and speedily across the organisation (Timpattanapong, 1994). As communication is an effective tool for motivating employees to go along with organisational change, communication should not be a one-off, but must be continuous (Beer, 2003). Moreover, the majority of the respondents agreed that colleagues should discuss the transition between them in order to share their ideas. However, they disagreed with the idea that if staff express their ideas, this may cause problems for the administration. In addition, they strongly disagreed with the idea that operational staff should not have the right to express their opinions to executives and that the transition is the duty of the top executives only, and should not involve brainstorming with anybody else. Suppabunyanupharb (2005) reflected that a significant problem with communication within organisations is that employees feel uncomfortable when expressing their opinions to the executives, thus restricting their freedom of expression. This suggests that the organisation is not considering the importance of bottom-up communication. Boonleur (1988) has noted that the success of bottom-up communication depends on the level of freedom in communication, the executives responsibilities and the importance of information obtained from subordinates. Litthiroj (2006) found that intra-organisation communication designed to create an understanding of the transformation of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand is officially top-down communication along the chain of command. Most of this communication is one-way communication via memos, announcements and other documents. However, Leavitt (1964) noted that one-way communication frustrates subordinates more than two-way communication. Two-way communication can help to resolve administrative problems better than one-way communication. In accordance with the findings of Siripanitch (1994), two-way communication can create cooperation between supervisors and subordinates. However, the communication in modern organisations always has a complex structure. Therefore, executives should use both forms of communications in operating and commanding. One-way communication should be used to control or command employees, while two-way communication should be used for reporting. The means and standard deviation values of the staffs opinion on the organisational communication pattern designed to improve the understanding of the changes involved in becoming an autonomous university indicate that the majority of respondents strongly agreed with all aspects of the communication patterns of the executives and the communication patterns within their departments. However, the samples only agree with the exchange of opinions among colleagues, as communication among colleagues at the same level is normal, due to their intimate familiarity, and this can effect individual behaviour (Boonleur, 1988; Bernard, 1983). Most of the samples disagreed that the expression of opinions would lead to problems occurring. They also disagreed with all of the statements regarding the rights and responsibility for the transition.

Acknowledgement
This research was financially supported by the Research and Development Institute Thaksin University

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Chetsada Noknoi Akesitthipong, S. (2007). From government university to autonomous university: Cause and effect. Bangkok: Prachathai. Beer, M. (2003). Managing change and transition. Cambridge: Harvard Business School Publishing. Bernard, C. I. (1983). The function of the executive. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Boonleur, T. (1988). Organization and management. Nonthaburee: Sukhothai Thammathirat University. Chalernpol, C. (1995). A study of communication patterns. Environmental perception and job satisfaction of employees in the Port Authority of Thailand: An organization in the privatization stage. Unpublished masters thesis, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. Gibson, J. W., & Hodgetts, R. M. (1991). Organizational communication: A managerial perspective (2nd ed.). New York: Harper Collins Publishers. Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W. (1970). Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30, 607-610. Kumnerdpetch, S. (1996). Communication patterns, attitude and behavior of employees towards the reengineering of banks for agriculture and agricultural cooperatives. Unpublished masters thesis, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. Leavitt, H. J. (1964). The human organization: Its management and value. New York: McGraw-Hill. Lewin, K. (1952). Group decision and social change. New York: Holt & Rinehatr. Litthiroj, A. (2006). Opinion towards organizational communication for changing of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand to a public limited company. Unpublished masters thesis, National Institute of Development Administration, Bangkok, Thailand. Naveekarn, S. (1984). Organizational communication. Bangkok: Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy, Thammasat University. Panich, W. (2006). Autonomous university. Retrieved from http://gotoknow.org/blog/ council/65062 Pongsai, P. (1990). Modern management. Bangkok: Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy, Chulalongkorn University. Robbins, S. P. (1994). Essentials of organizational behavior (4th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Siripanitch, J. (1994). Communication behavior of operational staff: The case study of alternative high schools. Unpublished masters thesis, Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand. Suppabunyanupharb, P. (2005). Organization communication problems and work satisfaction. Unpublished masters dissertation, National Institute of Development Administration, Bangkok, Thailand. Teerakul, S. (2004). Factors that are Inductive to Success in Thesis Writing of Thaksin University Graduate Students. Thaksin University Journal, 7(2): 97-108. Timpattanapong, C. (1994). Organizational communication: Case study of the office of the Board of Investment (BOI). Unpublished masters thesis, Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand. Tiyouw, S. (1995). Organization communication (3rd ed.). Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Press. Veerathaworn, T. (2006). Autonomous university: Philosophy, principle, and policy. Matichon, 7(2). Wijitjamree, N. (2010). Organization communication. Bangkok: Kasetsart University Press

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