The article discusses communication in organizations and looks at the effectiveness of contingency theory in analyzing operational research. The author critiques earlier research in this area, specifically by Boehm, Zedeck, and Tushman. She uses data from 90 of 100 subunits of a midwest state Extension Service. Questionnaires were sent out to assess work-related communications and information exchanges between the subunits, environmental conditions within each subunit, and the effectiveness of each office.

The susceptibility to social desirability response bias of four alternative methods of measuring the importance of job and organizational characteristics is examined. Data were collected from 86 graduate management students. Results support the hypothesis that the explicitly stated subjective weight methodologies are more likely to evoke a social desirability response bias than is the inferred objective weight method.