A Comparison of Two Measures of Communication and the Communication Style of University Students

Abstract

In the current study the structure of two models of communication questionnaires, the Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory (ROCI-II) and the Focus of Communication Questionnaire (FOCQ) were compared. Secondly, the scales of the two questionnaires were analysed using gender and cultural differences as the independent variables using responses from 187 tertiary students. Analyses showed that the ROCI-II and the FOCQ had satisfactory structure as defined by confirmatory factor analysis. Further analysis showed that the circularity of the factors of the ROCI-II was very poor and did not reflect the order expected from the theoretical explanation of the relationship of the factors. By contrast, the FOCQ did form a circumplex structure which reflected the previously reported relationship of factors. Analysis of the differences between Australian and Asian students’ communication styles showed that the FOCQ was the more discriminating of the two measures with male students in comparison to female students indicating they were more confusion, task, and success focused. Australian students were less confusion and more success focused compared to Asian students. Keyword s: Communication Factors; Conflict in Communication; FOCQ; ROCI-II; Culture and communication