In June 2014, I conducted an ethnographic research project to study the role of affect on member experience, perception and commitment. I wrote a critical paper entitled, Paradise Church: An Ethnographic Study of the Affects of Organizational Crisis on Member Experience, Perception and Commitment, for a course in Qualitative Research Methods at Regent University in Summer 2014.

Abstract

Crisis affects all organizations at one time or another. Crisis communication, strategies for crisis response, and crisis management programs form the basis for significant scholarship in the field of organizational communication. Researchers attempting to explore and to understand communication and its role within organizations have focused on crises and how the crisis itself forms the foundation for communication patterns. They seek to know how to interpret warning signs, how to create awareness of potential crisis, and how to effectively managed crisis once it has occurred. However, little research exists to explore how crisis affects members directly, how their experience is shaped, and how crisis leadership communication influences member perception and directly relates to commitment levels. Areas for future research are also addressed.

KEYWORDS Communication, crisis response, intragroup conflict, member experience