Vertical and Lateral Information Processing: The Effects of Gender, Employee Classification Level, and Media Richness on Communication and Work Outcomes

Data from 666 employees of a large midwesterntelephone company were analyzed to identifycommunication pattern differences between: (a) males andfemales; (b) exempt and nonexempt employees; and (c)employees using rich and lean communication media. MANOVAand discriminant function analyses results indicatedfemales sent less information to supervisors andexperienced less information overload than males. Exempt employees interacted more with department headsand sent less information to peers than nonexemptemployees. Those using the richest media communicatedmore with supervisors while those using the leanest media received most of their information fromdepartment heads. Additionally, interaction effects weredetected. Discussion is advanced on how these findingsmight be used to improve intraorganizational communication.