Chapter 17 – Organizational Information Theory
Chapter 17
Organizational Information Theory
Multiple Choice Questions
1. According to Organizational Information Theory, the cycle of communication behaviors
includes three stages. Which of the following correctly lists the stages and the order in which
they occur?
2. All of the following are assumptions of Organizational Information Theory EXCEPT that
3. The stage of reducing equivocality at which an organization makes a note of what worked or
what did not so that it can make good decisions in the future is
4. Because Organizational Information Theory has stimulated a lot of scholarship on various
organizational information issues, it is considered to have _____.
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26. Organizing is viewed as a structural process in Organizational Information Theory.
27. Response refers to a reaction to equivocality.
28. According to Weick, organizations and their environments change so rapidly that it is
unrealistic to show what they are like now, because that’s not the way they’re going to be later.
29. According to Weick, if an organization has few rules to deal with equivocality, a greater
number of cycles will be needed.
30. According to Weick, the fewer cycles that are used to obtain additional information and
make adjustments, the more equivocality is removed.
31. A technical question is highly equivocal to those who are trained in the field of expertise.
Essay Questions
32. Discuss the influence of General Systems Theory and Darwin’s Theory of Evolution on the
development of Organizational Information Theory. What other communication theories could
be applied to explain how organizations reduce the ambiguity of information they receive?
Answers will vary.
33. Describe the four rules that an organization might employ to reduce the equivocality of
information. Provide an example of each.
Answers will vary.
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34. Explain the three stages in the cycle of communication behaviors to reduce the equivocality
of information. Provide an example of each.
Answers will vary.
35. Explain the relationship between the following concepts of Organizational Information
Theory: information environment, information equivocality, rules, and cycles.
Answers will vary.
36. Using the standard criteria for theory evaluation, critique Organizational Information
Theory.
Answers will vary.
37. Look at how uncertainty is viewed in Organizational Information Theory and how it is
viewed in Uncertainty Reduction Theory (Berger & Calabrese). Point out any differences
and/or similarities in the viewpoints.
Answers will vary.
38. You are interested in studying how a news organization deals with equivocal and
sometimes contradictory information about the events it needs to report to the public. How
would you use Organizational Information Theory to study this phenomenon? Develop a
hypothesis or research question, and describe your study.
Answers will vary.
39. Recall a time when you received ambiguous, equivocal, or contradictory information on
which you had to make a decision or act. What concepts from Organizational Information
Theory could be applied to describe what you did (or what you might have done if you’d been
aware of the theory)?
Answers will vary.