Organizational Communication
The interaction of a group to reach a common goal; the messages we create and adapt to reach internal and external stakeholders
Worldviews
Habitual ways of seeing the world that are unique to individuals; as our sense of self develops, our worldviews are created
Organizational Environment Types
Turbulent & Placid
Turbulent Environment
complex, hard to predict, fear of unexpected
Placid Environment
accurate forecasts, calm and predictable atmosphere
The Baldrige Award Criteria
leadership, strategy, customers, workforce, measurement, operations, results
Culture of negotiation
organizing is not easy because we live in a time of negotiation and interpretation where groups are not easily defined
Loyalty - New Work Contracts
loyalty is hard to find; there is continuous company recruiting and companies must provide opportunities for employees to hone skills
Communication as ___ & ____
situated and perishable
Situated Communication
context or situationally based
Perishable Communication
what makes sense in the moment might not make sense in the next
Knowledge workers
high level employee that applies theoretical and analytical knowledge to perform complex and unpredictable work
boundary spanners
people who connect one network to another within the company or even across organizations
dialectics theory
a perspective built around the idea that relationships are never completely stable but are constantly changing as people manage seemingly contradictory tensions
stakeholders
have interest or concern in the organization
Factors impacting organizations today...
globalization
terrorism
climate change
changing demographics
Features of Organizations
social collectivity
organizational and individual GOALS
coordinating activity
organizational structure
embedding of the organization within an environment of other organizations
Info-transfer approach
Communication pipeline"
-possible to transfer thoughts and feelings with language
-assumption made on how you're feeling, receivers are passive, everyone interprets the message the same, nonverbal communication
multiple stakeholder model
concerned with interests of many individuals; balancing the profitability needs of the organization with society's need for well-adjusted citizens
marginalization
certain groups are left out of the equation to focus on a specific group's needs
"dedicated worker story
What is the role of myths, metaphors, and stories?
narratives or legends that reveal and perpetuate the values or beliefs of a group - the "rightness" of the power structure
The role of manufactured content?
Capitalist societies exist based on social legitimacy, employees adopt and enforce the "legitimate" power of the system
hidden power of cultures
-assumptions of superiority (my culture is better based on other differences)
-ethnocentrism
-universality - we are all alike and differences don't matter
covert power
ideas that form the basis of political or economic theory
-NOT NEUTRAL
"the healthcare model
French & raven kinds of power?
OVERT or COVERT?
social = ability to influence
reward = who controls rewards
coercive = deceiving
legitimate = true leader based on status
referent = given to the person
expert = based on knowledge
informational = based on info and factual resources
-OVERT
what does the critical approach focus on?
tensions between power imbalances
Shein's levels of culture?
-artifacts "visual symbols"
-espoused values "what should happen"
-basic assumptions "believed by all members of a group
Main concepts in Shein's definition of power?
group based; basic assumptions; emergent and developmental process; socialization
Cultural approach?
MEANING - symbol-driven
Katz & Kahn
organizations are OPEN systems
how do learning orgs differ from traditional?
place more emphasis on mastery of systems, mental models, team learning
Karl Weick's Theory of Organizing
Organizations exist in an environment
-retrospective sense-making; looking back on past decisions
Martha Wheatley's magic mantra
nothing exists, CHAOS = order; people desire MEANING
Senge
learning organization
-adaptive learning: survival
-generative learning: enhances creative capacity
Systems approach?
organism - must interact with their environment to survive
a complex set of relationships among interdependent parts
Explain systems approach properties and such?
open, interdependent, goal driven
-input-throughput-output processes of exchange and feedback
-the company has holism, there is no one best way, the system must be as complex as its environment or it is unlikely to thrive
-there should be ordering, one co
Likert's System IV:
1: expoitative-authoritative - exploitative and everything based about classical
2. benevolent - same just not exploting
3. consultative.- decisions made at the top but take into account opinions
4. participative - all taken into account (HR org)
Blake & mouton's managerial grid
team management - high concern for production and people
HR Approach:
content: task, social, innovative
direction: all - team-based
mode: all
style: both but especially informal
human relations
content: task, social
direction: vertical, horizontal
mode: face to face
style: informal
Levels of dialogue
speaking and hearing in balance
-equitable transaction
-empathetic conversation
- real meeting
equitable transaction
all employees have a chance to voice opinions and perspectives
empathetic conversation
putting yourself in others shoes; multiple viewpoints
real meeting
entering a conversation without any preconceptions
strategic ambiguity
communication goals are accomplished without communication clearly (ambiguous language) - used to promote unified diversity or establish a collective direction, facilitates change
transactional process approach
receivers and senders continuously send verbal and nonverbal messages; meaning is in people and miscommunication is the norm
-problem: overemphasis o shared meaning; fails to account for ambiguity, motive, and interpretations
strategic control approach
controlling environment, adapt to multiple goals
-strategic ambiguity
-problem: role of ethics is minimized
balance of creativity and constraint approach
dialectics: behavior is an unresolvable tension between creativity and constraint
problem: constraining
organization as dialogues
structuration theory: communication is how people organize