978-1457601927 Chapter 10 Part 3

CASE STUDY

One result of the move has been a drop-off in the frequency of informal and

formal contact among employees from different business units. Another result has

been a kind of “silo” thinking about the individual business units, as if each unit

were in competition with the others for resources and rewards. Yet another result has

been a kind of separation of management (management, personnel, and marketing

employees) from staff (software engineers and documentation specialists) based on

the fact that management has offices on the second floor, whereas staff has offices on

the ground floor. Recently, some valued employees left the company, complaining

that “things aren’t like they were.”

You have been retained as an organizational communication consultant to improve

the operation of GS in its new building. What recommendations would you make?

APPX22

CASE STUDY

Interviewing Others about Their Experience of Work

Working alone or in a small group or team, develop a list of the top ten jobs you plan to

consider following your graduation from college. Keeping in mind what you have

learned about “anticipatory socialization,” write down what you expect your

experiences of work to be like for each of the jobs listed in your top three. Take into

account factors such as the length of your workday; the amount of time you will devote

to self-improvement and skill development; salary; advancement opportunities; sources

of identification with the job, company, or field; and sources of potential stress and

burnout.

Then locate two to three people in your community who are doing the work you

plan to do in each of the job categories you have listed. Make an appointment to

interview them about their lives and their experiences of work in that job category or

field. Using the material from the lists you’ve generated, gather information from them

about those items. Make sure you allow a little extra time at the end of the interview to

ask each interviewee, “What haven’t we talked about that you feel is important to your

experience of work?”

Compare what you gather from the interviews with what is on your original lists.

What does this research experience teach you about the relationship of anticipatory

socialization practices and the experiences of work you learned about in this chapter?

CASE STUDY

The Dilemma of the Empowered Dancer

Robin Reed is a twenty-two-year-old single mother and graduating senior at the

University of Nevada. In addition to being an excellent student and loving mother,

Robin is proud of the fact that she has worked hard to support herself and her

threeyear-old son and to put herself through school. She hopes to attend law school

and someday to become a public defender.

Robin does have a problem, however. Since entering college, she has worked part

time as an exotic dancer at Sparky’s, a popular gentlemen’s club in Las Vegas, and she

doesn’t always feel comfortable telling people about her work. The few times she

has

disclosed her employer—once when a classmate recognized her at the club—she has

found people to be very judgmental about what she does. And each time she

talks to the people who care about her the most—her mother and her son—she feels

forced to lie about what she does for a living.

For her part, Robin feels that stripping is a just a means to an end, no more

degrading (and much more lucrative) than a dead–end job in retail or food service.

She has read a good deal of feminist theory in her classes and feels torn between

what these writers seem to want her to think—that she is complicit in the continuing

oppression of women—and how she feels, which is powerful, resourceful, and

strong.

Even so, the lying is starting to get to her, and she is increasingly anxious. She

feels as if she is being forced to compartmentalize her life in order to survive. Robin

feels comfortable in all of her worlds—at home, at school, and at the club. But

problems occur when these worlds collide.

APPX24

ASSIGNMENT CASE STUDY

1. How would you characterize Robin’s emotional state at this time? What are

some of the possible reasons she feels as she does? What might she do, if

anything, about these feelings?

2. What moral or ethical questions is Robin facing? How would you counsel her if

you were her friend? Her mother? Her fiancé?

3. What do you think of her analysis of power and oppression in the work she does?

Is work of this sort always exploitative regardless of the worker’s reported

experience?

4. How does Robin’s dilemma compare to other work situations people her age

face? What, if anything, should she do about the growing feeling of

compartmentalization in her life?

CASE STUDY

The Case of the Corporate Peacemakers

Darshan Rao is an assistant professor of management who specializes in management

communication, corporate ethics, and global economics. Born in New Delhi, India, he

came to the United States for college and never left. He became a U.S. citizen in 1995

and three years later took a faculty position at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

In 2001, Professor Rao was visiting family in New Delhi when India and

Pakistan’s long-standing conflict over the Kashmir region flared up. He was never

physically in danger, but war rhetoric from both sides brought back terrible

memories; his father had fought in two wars with Pakistan over the same issue, and

he was angry that peace seemed so elusive. The fact that both countries had nuclear

weapons only added to his anxiety, and, for a time, they seemed on the brink of using

them. Darshan thought about changing his plane ticket so that he could be with his

parents in case things got any worse. Then, in June 2001, the saber rattling suddenly

stopped. Parties on both sides were surprised and confused about what had led to the

sudden de–escalation. Further investigation by Darshan turned up some amazing

information.

He knew, of course, that Indian companies provided critical support to some of the

world’s biggest companies, including Dell, Reebok, VF, Avis, Sony, and American

Express. He also discovered that General Electric’s largest research center is in

Bangalore, a city with over 1,700 engineers and scientists. When the U.S. State

Department had advised Americans to leave India because war prospects with Pakistan

had risen to serious levels, information technology ministers from every Indian state

approached the government and warned them about the economic chaos that would be

caused by a disruption of this magnitude. One American journalist even concluded:

“The cease-fire is brought to you by GE—and all its friends here in Bangalore”

(Friedman, 2002, p. 8A).

Professor Rao has mixed feelings about this situation. As one of his best students,

you hope to understand his thoughts and feelings and perhaps provide some counsel.

APPX26

ASSIGNMENT CASE STUDY

1. What are the social, political, and economic conditions that made this scenario

possible?

2. Why is Professor Rao feeling conflicted over corporate influence in

government matters?

3. What aspects of globalization are highlighted by this case, and how might they be

applied to other situations?

4. What should be the relationship, if any, between multinational corporations and

nation-states?

Explain your answer.

APPX27

CASE STUDY

The New Dojo

The sport of judo has been good to Hank Tagawa. A sixth-degree black belt in the

sport, Hank was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1965. He competed for years at the highest

international level and won both a world championship and a silver medal in the

1992 Olympics. Eventually he settled in Pensacola, Florida, where he met and

married an Anglo woman and began to put down roots in the community.

A shy, focused, but highly likeable man, Hank had been encouraged for years to

consider opening his own judo school (dojo). About a year ago, Hank got the money

together and did so. At first, the new dojo, at which Hank was the head teacher

(sensei), had few students, but he was not interested in advertising, which he felt

would appear too pushy. After a few months, however, there was an explosion of

interest, both from parents bringing their small children for lessons and from men

and women from a nearby military base who had heard of Hank’s history and

sought out the new dojo as a solid place to train. He set up classes for both children

and adults and enjoyed both the cash flow and the camaraderie. He recruited a

number of his former Olympic teammates from Osaka to visit for extended periods

and to help out as instructors in the new dojo.

Hank’s foremost concern is his desire to teach judo the “right” way—the way he was

taught at the Kodokan Judo Dojo in Japan. This includes enforcing strict rules

for the

cleanliness and appearance of mats and uniforms as well as rules for the

respectful address of people of more senior ranks. Students are taught to bow to their

teachers and superiors, speak some Japanese, and carry themselves with a quiet

dignity both in and outside of the dojo.

After a year in operation, however, the dojo’s attendance is starting to drop off.

Sensei Tagawa has not deviated in his commitment to “doing things the right way,”

but many students have been unwilling or unable to tolerate his discipline.

Furthermore, students from the military base resent his characterization of them as

too aggressive, and parents are concerned about the visiting instructors, who force

their children to do push-ups for bad behavior or, worse yet, to exercise to the point of

APPX28

CASE STUDY

exhaustion as a way of building endurance.

Sensei Tagawa has come to you for advice about saving his dojo. He’s ready to

conclude that he is just not cut out for teaching, but you suspect that there is more to

the story.

ASSIGNMENT

Given what you know about organizational communication and culture, answer the

following questions:

1. Describe the organizational culture of the dojo. What is the origin of these beliefs,

assumptions, attitudes, and practices?

2. Would you characterize the dojo culture as strong or homogeneous? Why, or why

not? Are there subcultures? Kinds of resistance?

3. How would you describe the interaction among different cultural perspectives at the dojo?

4. How do you feel about the sensei’s desire to ensure that his school teaches the “right”

way? What are the pros and cons of his taking this approach?

5. At this point in the story, what advice would you give Sensei Tagawa about future

actions? Can the dojo be saved, and if so, how?

6. How is this case similar to challenges faced by other organizations? How

might we apply lessons from the dojo to a start-up plan for another, similar

organization?

APPX29

CASE STUDY

The Networked University

Like most social institutions, for most of their history universities have been associated

with specific towns or locations, and it would be hard to conceive of them otherwise

(e.g., how about moving the University of Southern California to Nevada, where the

property taxes are lower?). At the same time, schools wishing to compete in a global

marketplace have gradually expanded their offerings worldwide, establishing campuses

in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere. And they offer a significant number of degrees online

through distance education.

Still, most of these institutions continue to retain an attachment to a particular

locale. Recently, private institutions like the University of Phoenix have emerged on the

higher-education scene without these preconceptions. They set up shop wherever

potential customers (students) congregate, and they offer highly flexible degree

programs that require very little in the way of physical presence in a classroom.

ASSIGNMENT

Imagine that you are the education reporter for the New York Times, and you are

writing a feature article on the changing landscape of higher education in America.

1. Knowing what you do about organizational communication, what would you say

are the main reasons for the emergence of these types of schools at this time in

history?

2. What will be the main advantages and challenges of building a corporate network of

schools like the University of Phoenix?

3. Finally, what should be the reaction of more traditional, place-oriented schools?

CASE STUDY

Advertising and the American Way of Life

According to one study (Jhally, 1998), the average North American is exposed to

more than 3,500 advertisements a day. Consider the number of commercial messages

that you are bombarded with—everything from media images, Internet “banner ads,”

billboards, radio jingles, and print ads to designer labels on clothing. One effect of

living in a media-rich environment is the increasing lack of public space available

for noncommercial messages. Think about important public health information

campaigns, antidrug messages, or open expressions of disagreement (or agreement)

with public policies or governmental actions. Another effect is the increasingly

visceral nature of the images and content of the advertisements themselves—more

naked bodies, louder volumes, more “in your face” messages. According to Sut

Jhally and his associates at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, these two

effects combine to squeeze out public dialogue about important issues related to

global problems, such as the demise of the ecosystem.

Let’s assume that you are director of Greenpeace, whose mission is to “use

nonviolent, creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems, and to

force the solutions which are essential to a green and peaceful future” and whose

goal is to “ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its diversity”

<http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/about/faq>. Your challenge is to

develop a strategy for promoting public understanding and action regarding the

relationship of unmonitored global capitalism and the rapid demise of the South

American rainforests.

APPX31

ASSIGNMENT CASE STUDY

Using what you have read in this chapter about strategy, human resources, and

technologies, as well as your experiences and knowledge of persuasive

communication, answer these questions:

1. Describe what your strategy would be and how that strategy can help you align

your resources and technologies to develop a successful campaign.

2. Think about how you would manage such an enterprise. What important

questions and issues should you raise about the implementation of your

business strategy? What human resources issues can you think of? What

technology issues?

3. Using your strategy as a framework, develop ideas that can be translated into

vivid images and powerful messages about the environment and that are capable

of gaining the attention of audiences already overexposed to mediated messages.

Come up with an advertising campaign capable of maximizing your strategy,

resources, and technologies.

CASE STUDY

The Brilliant Engineer

Carl McKnight is an electrical engineer with twenty–seven years of experience at a

major aerospace firm in California. During his long career, Carl has played many

pivotal roles in the company, particularly in its contributions to the space program. He

is

well respected by his peers and has received a number of awards from both the

company and government agencies for his work. Other than reading scientific journals and

attending an occasional conference, Carl does not need to do much else to stay

current in his field. He came to it as an electrical engineering genius. Even in college, he

did not have to work as hard as other students to succeed.

Recently, however, Carl has sensed that his technical expertise seems to carry less

weight. In the past, his colleagues regarded his role in designing a new satellite or

spacecraft component as crucial. Now, however, his comments are often met with

groans. Carl is not sure what to make of this change, but he suspects that it may be

related to changes in what customers are looking for in electrical and aerospace design.

Carl feels that the customers are too willing to forgo cutting-edge design in exchange for

lower cost. He is offended because his expertise, in a sense, has become irrelevant.

ASSIGNMENT

Apply what you have learned in this chapter about critical theory and related concepts to

envision a future for Carl McKnight. When responding to the following questions, be sure

to address the connections among sources of expertise, sources of overt and hidden power,

and processes of overt and covert communication.

1. From his manager’s point of view, what plans should be made for Carl’s future?

How can he best be made a part of the changing situation?

CASE STUDY

2. From his peers’ perspective, what is the best possible future for

CCarl?

3. From Carl’s point of view, what has happened, and what should

happen next?

APPX34

CASE STUDY

Hacked Off

Computer hackers pose threats to Internet users as well as to commercial, public, and

governmental computer files and systems. By “hacking into” company or

government files or by inserting computer viruses into these systems, hackers can do

major harm in a very short period of time. One particularly noxious hacking venture

involved the creation of “zombie” computers that flooded Internet sites with junk

messages, effectively shutting them down for business for three days. Losses were

estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars.

One of the outcomes of computer hacking has been an increased need for security

from such attacks. Some companies forbid employees from removing company

computers or software from the premises, thus reducing the ability of some

employees to work offsite or at home. In an unprecedented case in 1999, a former

director of the Central Intelligence Agency was called on the carpet for taking his

laptop home because it contained some secret and top-secret files. Clearly, the rapid

expansion of—and now dependence on—computer technologies in business and

government has created unprecedented challenges to the management of

organizations.

Balancing the legitimate needs of users with the legitimate rights of an

organization to protect itself is a delicate activity. Based on your reading in this

chapter as well as your own experiences, how would you go about establishing a fair

and equitable policy about the use of technology in the workplace?

ASSIGNMENT

1. How should a business strategy be used to guide the development of a

technology policy?

CASE STUDY

2. Would the 7-S model be useful in helping you develop such a

policy? How?

3. What input should you seek in developing the particulars of such

a policy?

4. How important do you think the language of the policy will be to its successful

implementation?

5. What steps should you take to ensure the successful implementation of

the policy?

6. How would you assess the effectiveness of the policy?