Deviance in organizational communication: A case from Nigeria

Abstract

Deviant behaviours are aimed at expressing needs by some workers. The relationship between deviance and communication gaps is examined as a means of identifying bottlenecks in improving workers' productivity. Forty senior and sixty junior staff of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria were interviewed. Results show, among others, that the greatest causes of disobedience to rules in the organization were wrong information and lack of relevant information. There was significant difference in the rates at which information materials were received by workers, thus creating a gap in communication. One of the recommendations is for the organization to give out relevant information early to workers as a means of attaining a greater degree of compliance to rules by workers.