The study of how humanbeings use space to communicate is
termed as `proxemics'. In an organizational setting, this
behavior has been found to be culturally conditioned, and
thus may differentially affect the degree of mutual influence
and obligation between superiors and subordinates. The hypothesis
that differential informal interactional levels and dining
arrangements would have different effects on the perceptions
of leader-member exchange quality was tested with a sample
of employees (N=142) from organizations across India. The
results and their implications are also discussed in the
present study.Various physical features of our environment affect our
social behavior. People communicate effectively when they
feel comfortable in a particular setting (Trenholm and Jensen,
1996). The study of "man's use of space, the space
that he maintains between himself and his fellows, and which
he builds around him in his home and office" (Hall,
1966) has been defined as proxemics. Proxemics forms an
integral part of our environmental setting with its elements
of space, distance and territory, thus affecting our behavior.
Space is a primary means by which a culture decides who
is important and who is not. Individuals having high status
are afforded more personal space, access to more desirable
territory, and can adopt postures that occupy more space
as compared to individuals having lower status (Burgoon
et al., 1984). In organizational contexts, power and prestige
are often related to the location of one's office, its size,
etc. Managers often use space in their office to influence
the character of interactions (McCaskey, 1999) and this
behavior is culturally conditioned (Hall, 1959). Since the
employee's perceptions about the understanding and support
that their superiors display affect the quality of their
relationships, it follows that the way in which managers
use space and territory determines the quality of these
relationships.
The organizational ethic of an Indian worker is personalized
rather than contractual (Kanungo, 1990) and personal loyalty
takes priority over organizational efficiency. Moreover,
leadership is personal rather than institutional. The dominant
culture in Indian organizations thus presents a unique area
of research, which has not been explored in the context
of proxemics so far. This study empirically examines the
effects of proxemics on the quality of leader-member exchange
in Indian organizations.
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