A First Look At Communication Theory, 10e (Griffin)
Chapter 20 Communicative Constitution of Organizations
1) Which of the following is NOT one of the four flows of communicative constitution of
organizations theory?
A) membership negotiation
B) self-monitoring
C) activity coordination
D) institutional positioning
2) Communication that shapes the relationships among an organization’s members is referred to
as:
A) membership negotiation.
B) self-structuring.
C) activity coordination.
D) institutional positioning.
3) Communication that regulates the extent to which a person is an organization member is
known as:
A) membership negotiation.
B) self-structuring.
C) activity coordination.
D) institutional positioning.
4) Communication between an organization and external entities is known as:
A) membership negotiation.
B) self-structuring.
C) activity coordination.
D) institutional positioning.
5) Communication that accomplishes an organization’s work toward its goals is referred to as:
A) membership negotiation.
B) self-structuring.
C) activity coordination.
D) institutional positioning.
6) Which of the following is NOT one of the four principles of the four flows of communicative
constitution of organizations theory?
A) All four flows are necessary for organization.
B) Different flows happen in different places.
C) The same message can address multiple flows.
D) Different flows address the same audience.
7) Communication that calls an organization into being is referred to as:
A) sensemaking.
B) constitution.
C) activity coordination.
D) self-structuring.
8) Communication behavior that reduces complexity is called:
A) sensemaking.
B) constitution.
C) activity coordination.
D) closure.
9) A sense of shared understanding that emerges in back-and-forth interaction is known among
communicative constitution of organization theorists as:
A) sensemaking.
B) constitution.
C) activity coordination.
D) closure.
10) Work teams assigned to accomplish a goal are referred to as:
A) cadres.
B) units.
C) breakout groups.
D) cabals.
11) Membership negotiation ends after accepting a job offer.
12) According to Robert McPhee’s communicative constitution of organization theory, it is
everyday conversations that constitute an organization.
13) According to McPhee, an official organizational chart is the final word on structure within an
organization.
14) Institutional positioning addresses specific groups within an organization.
15) Membership negotiation targets new members or those who may be leaving.
16) Communicative constitution of organization theorists believe organizations are like a river—
always changing, always active, and sometimes violent.
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17) Business practices arise from the daily interactions of the organization’s members.
18) Financial reports, product ideas, or contract negotiations are example of co-orientation
among members in an organization.
19) A goal, or defined purpose, separates an organization from a crowd of people.
20) Conditions under which something can occur are called sufficient conditions.
21) The four flows of communicative constitution of organizations theory concern who is a(n)
________ of the organization, how these members ________ their working relationships, how
they ________ their work, and how the organization ________ itself with other people and
organizations.
22) Conditions under which something will occur are called ________.
23) According to James Taylor, conversations organize when members engage in ________, or
communication “wherein two or more actors are entwined in relation to an object.”
24) Define, describe, and illustrate the four flows of communicative constitution of organizations
theory.
25) Identify, describe, and illustrate the four principles of the four flows of communicative
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constitution of organizations theory.
26) Compare and contrast sufficient conditions with necessary conditions as they relate to
organizational communication.
27) What do McPhee and other communicative constitution of organization theorists mean when
they argue that “any company is what it is because communication brings the organization into
existence”?
28) Explain why McPhee thinks that classical management’s claim that “organizations are like
machines and workers are its cogs” is the wrong metaphor for describing an organization.
29) The text’s authors write: “McPhee wouldn’t want you to think of the flows as something an
organization does. Rather, these four flows, functioning together, are what an organization is.”
Why do you suppose they make the distinction between “doing” and “being”?
30) Using an organization to which you belong as an example, explain the claim that “No
organization survives on its own.”
31) McPhee’s approach to communicative constitution of organizations is criticized by others
who hold similar perspectives, such as James Taylor from the University of Toronto. Rather than
subscribing to what he calls McPhee’s top-down approach to organizational constitution, Taylor
favors alternative perspective. Describe Taylor’s approach and then state your own informed
opinion about which of the two is most reasonable to you. Support your claim with evidence.
32) Compare and contrast McPhee’s communicative constitution of organizations theory with
Geertz’s and Pacanowsky’s cultural approach to organizations.
33) Why is institutional positioning necessary for an organization?
34) McPhee unashamedly borrows heavily from Pearce & Cronen’s Coordinated Management of
Meaning (CMM) in order to develop his communicative constitution of organizations theory.
Trace the similarities and identify any differences. What other communication theories seem to
undergird McPhee’s claim that organizations are constituted through communication?