978-1319052348 Chapter 2

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CHAPTER%2%

Defining Organizational Communication

CHAPTER SUMMARY

Chapter 2 begins by introducing the four most prevalent definitions of organizational communication:

(1) communication as information transfer, (2) communication as transactional process, (3) communication as

strategic control, and (4) a balance of creativity and constraint. Information regarding each theory includes defi-

nitions, assumptions, advantages, and limitations. The chronological list of perspectives closes with the authors’

view of organizations as dialogues. The chapter places emphasis on four features of dialogue that reveal respect

for different worldviews: (1) dialogue as mindful communication, (2) dialogue as equitable transaction, (3) dia-

logue as empathic conversation, and (4) dialogue as real meeting. The chapter concludes by examining the role

of dialogue in working with integrity and ethics.

TEACHING GOALS

• Emphasize the importance of definitions.

• List the prevalent approaches of communication.

• Provide the basic history and assumptions that guide each of the preliminary theories: information

transfer, transactional process, strategic control, and a balance of creativity and constraint.

• Discuss the benefits and critiques of each model.

• Identify the contributions of communication scholars such as Buber, Berlo, Berger and Luckmann,

Giddens, Wentworth, and Mead.

• Explain the situated–individual model of organizational communication.

• Define dialogue, and describe the four basic levels of collaboration that are possible through this pro-

cess.

• Explain what it means to work with integrity and speak ethically as well as the relevance of these con-

cepts to organizational communication.

TEACHING CHALLENGES

This chapter introduces new material to instructors who have never taught organizational communication. Stu-

dents who are not communication majors might find the new concepts confusing. Students taking their first

communication class may find the theories hard to keep straight. Table 2.1 is a useful summation of the prelim-

inary theories of organizational communication. Working with the whole class, guide students to create a chart

summarizing the theories in their own words. Discover concrete examples to illustrate these theoretical premis-

es. It is important to emphasize that even as new theories emerge, they rarely replace older ones. New ideas are

often built on previous work with fresh perspectives and questions. These new ideas expose and explain previ-

ous theoretical limitations.

CLASSROOM EXERCISES AND ASSIGNMENTS

Exercise 1

Have students work with the concept of situated individuals by making a list of the multiple contexts or organi-

zations that they have encountered in the past or are currently a part of. These organizations could include al-

most any situation that requires working or interacting with a group of people. After completing the lists, have

students reflect on the following questions:

1. How many of the contexts have similar norms about communication and behaviors and how many have

conflicting ideas?

2. Do the multiple contexts and varying expectations lead to any complexities or conflicts in your life?

How do you manage these situations?

Exercise 2

Have students imagine that their lives are organizations in which each person is part of the business. For exam-

ple, their parents are the finance department, their professors are the research and development department, their

friends are the human resources department, and they are the CEO. Have each student create a unique theory of

organizational communication for their organization by extracting features from each of the models discussed in

the chapter. Have them name the theory and then provide a brief description of why certain features and as-

sumptions were included and how they enhance this unique organizational atmosphere. Is it possible to run the

entire organization by using only one theory? What advantages do multiple theories have when trying to man-

age diverse groups and departments?

Exercise 3

As an individual writing exercise, ask students to compile a list of elements that constitute an ethical speaker.

Likewise, have students compile a similar list of elements that make up an unethical speaker. Then, in small

groups, ask students to share stories of ethical and unethical speakers that they have encountered. How do your

students really “know” that these individuals are ethical or are not? As an alternative, show students a clip from

Netflix’s House of Cards (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvGL42rywPM) and discuss the ethics of Frank

Underwood. See other clips in Classroom Media Resources.

Exercise 4

The What Would You Do? box in Chapter 2 provides a timely example of how strategic ambiguity can lead to

problems with organizational policy. The story focuses on a meteorologist who was fired from her position at a

Louisiana news station for responding to comments about her hair on the station’s Facebook page. Have stu-

dents consider how they would have responded if they were the meteorologist. Then, take the discussion a step

further and ask students how they would have responded if they were the meteorologist’s boss. Also, ask them

to make connections between the strategic control perspective and the increased need for dialogue in communi-

cation contexts.

Exercise 5

The Everyday Organizational Communication box in Chapter 2 offers a nice way to connect issues of organiz-

ing, structuration theory, and the management of self with a set of cultural artifacts that many of your students

might be familiar with—Facebook, Hulu, Snapchat, Pinterest, and Twitter. Be prepared to give a brief overview

of online meeting places. Encourage students to share the newest social media venues, and ask students to talk

about their experiences with these websites. Encourage your students to make connections between these web-

sites and the practices of dialogue discussed in this chapter. Help them consider how Facebook and Twitter ac-

complish some similar but mostly different goals when it comes to dialogue. For example, Facebook tends

toward social networking and building relationships, while Twitter has been identified as a power news aggre-

gator. Finally, ask them to identify the challenges of balancing creativity and constraint when it comes to con-

structing an online profile.

Exercise 6

Table 2.1 arranges the main points of organizational communication theory. Divide students into working teams

to create a visual representation of this chart. Students may use infographics, slide decks, Prezi, or any instruc-

tional tool to help other students visualize communication as information transfer, transactional process, strate-

gic control, and a balance of creativity and constraint.

Exercise 7

Place students in research teams and allow them time in class to find examples of organizations that use the bal-

ance of creativity and constraint as part of the company’s culture. Leave time for students to report findings.

Taking exercises online: Many of these suggested exercises can be made digital for those teaching hybrid or

online classes. Simply conduct discussions on your online forum, discussion boards, or course management

systems. In particular, Exercises 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7 lend themselves to this conversion.

CLASSROOM MEDIA RESOURCES

The Big Short (2015, 130 minutes, Rated R). This is the true story, or three separate but parallel stories, of the

U.S mortgage housing crisis of 2005. The movie’s complicated plot is threaded with banking language. Exam-

ine the communication and banking language used in the movie. According to the textbook, “[D]efinitions are

shorthand terms for situations.” Students can make a list of words they do not understand. Consider how these

organizations depend on this language to communicate with efficiency.

Chopped (2009, Season 1, Episode 1, 42 minutes, Not Rated). This reality show offers an excellent example of

balancing creativity and constraint in professional settings. Four trained chefs must compete through three

rounds of cooking. During each round, contestants are given a mystery basket of ingredients. They are given a

set time to construct a tasty dish, which is reviewed by a panel of judges. After each round, one chef is eliminat-

ed. The show illustrates how the chefs work in creative and innovative ways, based on the wacky ingredients

found in their mystery baskets. This particular episode features octopus, duck, and animal crackers as key in-

gredients.

Food Stamped (2010, 60 minutes, Not Rated). If you did not show Food Stamped as part of Chapter 1, the doc-

umentary provides an excellent illustration of balancing creativity and constraint. This documentary follows a

nutritionist and her filmmaker husband as they attempt to eat on a budget allotted to recipients of the Supple-

mental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly and still popularly known as the Food Stamp program). The

film shows how individuals who eat on a food–stamp budget are bound by certain rules and limitations of the

program and how the filmmakers were forced to get creative in constructing healthy meals.

House of Cards (2016, Season 4, Mashup, 12:17 minutes, Not Rated). Observe the dialogue in these Season 4

clips. Frank Underwood has used unethical dialogues throughout his career to get him to the presidency.

Iconoclasts (2006, Season 2, Episode 6, 47 minutes, Rated TV–14). This television series features iconic indi-

viduals interviewing each other in an effort to “break down” their iconic status and engage in real meeting. Alt-

hough any of the episodes are great examples of dialogue at different levels, the conversation between Dr. Maya

Angelou and Dave Chappelle in this episode from Season 2 does a particularly good job of illustrating points

about dialogue and social construction.

Scandal (2013, Season 2, Episode 16, 43 minutes, Rated TV–14). This fictional television series focuses on the

work of Olivia Pope, a crisis communication expert. In this particular episode, Olivia and her team work to

manage a crisis surrounding the CEO of a corporation, her extramarital affair, and its relevance to the corpora-

tion’s morality clause. The episode opens up a conversation about working with integrity, moral policy, and the

line between our workplace and personal lives.

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013, 240 minutes, Rated R). Leonardo DiCaprio plays real–life stockbroker Jordan

Belfort who spent twenty–two months in prison for defrauding investors. Consider the role ethics and integrity

played in the organization Belfort built.

ONLINE RESOURCES

Dialogos (http://www.dialogos.com). This is a site for a business that was started by William Isaacs, one of the

founders of the Center for Organizational Learning at MIT and director of the MIT Dialogue Project. Have stu-

dents navigate the site to gauge how it defines dialogue and its importance to organizational communication.

Harvard Business Review (http://www.hbr.org). Harvard Business Review, published by Harvard Business Pub-

lishing (a wholly owned subsidiary of Harvard University), provides professionals around the world with rigor-

ous insights and best practices to lead themselves and their organizations more effectively. Ask your students to

look up concepts such as organizational communication and dialogue to examine how this high–profile periodi-

cal addresses these issues.

Inter–American Dialogue (http://www.thedialogue.org). The Inter–American Dialogue, founded in 1982, is an

organization that brings together 100 of the most influential citizens from throughout the Americas to discuss

important political, business, academic, and community issues in Western Hemisphere affairs. The site focuses

on some of their conversations.

LunchBox (http://www.voicenet.asia/category/lunch–box). This website provides readers with a series of case

studies regarding how individuals and organizations are challenged to act ethically and with integrity. They fo-

cus on issues of voice and dialogue as part of the process.

Markkula Center for Applied Ethics: Business Ethics (https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus–areas/business–ethics/).

Santa Clara University hosts the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. According to their website, the mission

statement for the Ethics Center includes helping individuals make ethical choices that serve others and shape

character. In addition, the Center offers a framework of practical and ethical questions.

National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (http://www.ncdd.org). This website offers unique resources

for individuals and organizations as they attempt to promote changes within society. Have your student examine

how this website advocates conversation as a method of social change.

Siegel Institute for Leadership, Ethics and Character (SILEC) (http://siegelinstitute.kennesaw.edu/index.php).

The Siegel Institute exists to promote study, research, reflection, and understanding of ethics and leadership

through workshops, teaching, events, and scholarly teaching. SILEC was formed in 2000 by Kennesaw State

University president emeritus Dr. Betty Siegel.

ESSAY/DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• Discuss the model of communication as information transfer. Provide a brief definition, basic assump-

tions, potential problems, and criticisms.

• Why is leadership an important arena for the transactional–process model?

• Explain the concept of strategic ambiguity. Provide an example from an organizational setting in which

this strategy could be beneficial and an example in which it might be problematic.

• Explain the dichotomy of balancing creativity and constraint in organizations.

• What is meant by the term situated individual? Why is this concept important to our understanding of

organizational communication? What role can the situated individual play in constructing organization-

al reality?

• Define what dialogue is, and outline the four levels of increasing collaboration associated with this

concept. Explain the advantages or disadvantages of each level when considering organizations as dia-

logues.

• Explain the difference between mindless and mindful forms of dialogue. Offer some examples of each

form.

• Discuss the importance of dialogue as equitable transaction. To what extent should this perspective of

dialogue be encouraged within a business organization?

• What makes dialogue as real meeting so difficult to achieve? What practical limitations keep us from

developing authentic relationships and dialogues with others?

• What does it mean to work with integrity and speak ethically as we engage in organizational communi-

cation practices?

KEY TERMS

information–transfer approach Defines communication as “the exchange of information and the

transmission of meaning” and views communication as a metaphoric

pipeline through which information flows from one person to another.

transactional–process model A model of communication that does not differentiate between the

roles of message sender and receiver, but instead asserts that people

play both roles simultaneously.

strategic–control perspective An approach that regards communication as a tool for influencing and

shaping the environment in which a competent communicator may

have multiple goals and therefore must choose effective strategies to

achieve the desired outcome.

strategic ambiguity Part of the strategic–control perspective of communication that de-

scribes the ways in which people may communicate unclearly but

still accomplish their goals.

balance of creativity and constraint A definition of organizational communication that recognizes the

tension between thinking and acting innovatively, while working un-

der the constraints of social realities, rules, and norms.

duality of structure Focuses on the creative and constraining features of the rules, norms,

and expectations that we face as we act on a daily basis. These rules

and norms can be reproduced or transcended and changed.

theory of structuration A theory that sees human behavior as an unresolvable, productive

tension between creativity and constraint.

self A term to describe who we think we are, our self–concept, formed in

part from the social relationships we have with others and from oth-

ers’ responses to what we say and do.

situated individual Recognizes that all individuals are situated in multiple contexts. The

situated individual is a person constructing and maintaining the social

realities in which he or she lives.

mindless Communication without conscious intent or purpose.

mindful Communication that is purposeful and strategic and occurs on both

mental and relational levels.

equitable transaction A communication perspective in which all participants have the abil-

ity to voice their opinions and perspectives.

voice The ability of an individual or group to participate in the ongoing

organizational dialogue.

empathic conversation Dialogue in which the communicators have the ability to understand

or imagine the world as another person understands or imagines it.

real meeting A genuine communion that is made possible through communication

in which people transcend their differences in role or perspective and

find a common ground.

integrity A mindful state of acting and communicating purposefully to fulfill

the promises and commitments you make to others.

ethics The systems of rules, duties, and morality that we use to guide our

everyday practices and behaviors.

LECTURE NOTES

Open the discussion by emphasizing that whereas most groups have a practical interest in organizational

communication, the definitions and assumptions that they ascribe ought to remain diverse.

• This is in part due to the varying needs and functions of communication in different situations.

Ask students to consider how different organizations might use different languages. For example, busi-

nesses rely on things like accounts payable (sometimes called AP) and accounts receivable (known as

AR), but other organizations might have different phrases and jargon that they rely on. Why is it im-

portant to know this language?

• When you work with an organization, you are expected to know the language.

Ask students to reflect on why we need an assortment of approaches to organizational communication.

How might the communication needs of an advertising firm differ from those of a church? How would

the definition of organizational communication vary for these groups?

• An advertising firm might require strategies put forth by the information–transfer approach in the way

Provide a summary of the information–transfer model. Include a basic definition, assumptions, potential

problems, and critiques.

• The information–transfer approach typically defines communication as “the exchange of information and

Discuss the overall principles of the transactional–process model.

• The transactional–process model does not make clear distinctions between the sender and receiver of

• Experts often criticize the transactional–process view of communication for the emphasis that it places on

Provide a summary of the strategic–control perspective of communication, and emphasize the role of

strategic ambiguity within organizational communication.

• The strategic–control model regards communication as a tool for influencing and shaping the environ-

Discuss the view of communication as a balance of creativity and constraint.

• This perspective sees organizational communication as a dichotomy between how employees communi-

How do these preliminary theories of organizational communication have an impact on our approach

today?

• By using the best concepts from each of the four main perspectives, we can develop a new model of or-

Describe how the self operates as a primary element of communication relationships and provides a

foundation for dialogue.

• The self is who we think we are.

Summarize the situated–individual model of organizational communication. Explain the connection be-

tween this model and the idea of multiple contexts.

• With regard to dialogue, the self is also related to the concept of the situated individual.

o This concept refers to the notion that individuals are situated in multiple contexts, and the situated

Discuss the concept of dialogue. Address the differences between mindless and mindful forms of commu-

nication as well as the styles of dialogue.

• Within the model of communication as a balance of creativity and constraint, dialogue is balanced com-

Address the roles that working with integrity and ethical communication play in organizational commu-

nication.

• Working with integrity is a mindful state of acting and communicating purposefully to fulfill the promis-

• Speaking ethically refers to dialoguing according to the systems of rules, duties, and morality that we use

Summarize the relationship between dialogue, integrity, and ethics, especially as they relate to our partic-

ipation in modern organizational communication practices.