Unlock document.
This document is partially blurred.
Unlock all pages and 1 million more documents.
Get Access
Chapter 8: Organizational and Small-Group Communication
Chapter Objectives and Integrator Guide
After reading and thinking about this chapter, students should be able to:
Objective
Resources
1. Define organizational culture
and discuss proper methods
for assessing the culture of
an organization.
Key Terms: Organizational
culture, hierarchy, differentiation
and specialization, strategic
ambiguity, formalization, formal
communication, downward
communication, upward
communication, horizontal
communication, and informal
communication.
In the Text:
Page Reference: pages 153-160
Table 8.1: Questions for Investigating an Organization’s Culture
Table 8.2: Using Findings to Understand an Organization
Skill Builder: Analyze Organizational Culture (p. 156)
Figure 8.1: Example of an Organizational Chart
Challenge Yourself: What can I learn about workplace
communication, so that I can attract an employer’s attention,
interview well, and keep a good job? (p. 136)
Study Question 1 (p. 180)
IM Resources:
Discussion Starter 1: Investigating Organizational Culture
Activity 8.1: Understanding Anticipatory Socialization
Activity 8.2: Reinventing Cybertech
Activity 8.3: An Organizational Big Mac
2. Explain how small groups
and teams function within
organizations and the role
communication plays.
Key Terms: Small group
communication, interdependent,
assigned groups, emergent
groups, task-oriented groups,
relationally-oriented groups,
norms, roles, formal or positional
functions, self-centered functions,
group climate, trust, cohesiveness,
groupthink, and criteria.
In the Text:
Page Reference: pages 160-169
Table 8.3: Types of Task, Maintenance, and Self-Centered
Functions
Table 8.4: Defensive and Supportive Behaviors and Statements
Communicating Globally: Working Cohesively in Diverse
Groups (p. 146)
Study Question 2 (p. 180)
IM Resources:
Discussion Starter 2: Norms, Roles, and Small-Group
Communication
Activity 8.7: Group Problem Solving
IM – 8 | 2
3. Describe leadership as a
process of communication.
Key Terms: Leadership,
management, designated leader,
emergent leader, power, reward
power, punishment power,
coercion, referent power, expert
power, legitimate power,
democratic leader, laissez-faire
leaders, and autocratic leaders.
In the Text:
Page Reference: pages 169-172
Figure 8.2: Leadership versus Management
Connecting Globally: Mediated Communication, Privacy, and
Global Business (p. 172)
Study Question 3 (p. 180)
IM Resources:
Discussion Starter 3: Management and Leadership
Activity 8.8: Leadership Characteristics
Activity 8.9: Leadership Styles
Activity 8.10: Leadership Awareness
Activity 8.11: Leading a Task
Activity 8.12: Influential Leaders
4. Name and explain strategies
for cultivating positive
relationships in
organizations.
Key Terms: Immediacy,
supportive communication,
interaction management, conflict,
avoidance, competition,
compromise, accommodation,
collaboration, verbal
aggressiveness, abusive
supervision, bullying, incivility,
social undermining, and sexual
harassment.
In the Text:
Page Reference: pages 173-179
Table 8.5: A Variety of Techniques for Managing Conflict
Table 8.6: Conflict Management and Communication Tips
Study Question 4 (p. 180)
IM Resources:
Discussion Starter 4: Effective Small Group Interaction
Activity 8.13: Group Observation
Activity 8.14: Sexual Harassment in the Courts
Activity 8.15: Preventing Sexual Harassment
IM – 8 | 3
Chapter Outline
I. What is Organizational Culture?
Organizational culture refers to the attitudes, values, and beliefs that are
common among and that characterize the interactions of organizational members
and the way they work and behave.
A. Investigating organizational culture
i. Organizations communicate their culture in three ways:
1. The ways that employees use language and the stories they
tell
3. The symbols and artifacts on display in the environment.
ii. All three areas are critical to understanding organizational culture.
iii. Employees will not always directly communicate aspects of their
culture.
iv. Be cautious in putting too much interpretation into any single
marker of organizational culture – you should be looking for themes
B. Understanding organizational structure
i. Hierarchy comprises the levels of responsibility and relationships
within an organization.
1. Hierarchical organizations lay out clear procedures for whom
employees report to up the chain of command.
2. The military is an example of a strongly hierarchical
organization.
ii. Differentiation and specialization refers to the division of labor in an
organization and the degree to which each individual has a unique
role and responsibility.
2. The emergency room of a hospital is an example of an
3. Strategic ambiguity refers to intentional uncertainty and
vagueness.
iii. Formalization refers to the rules, procedures, and norms that exist
for carrying out work practices.
C. Analyzing organizational communication practices
i. Formal communication consists of messages that follow prescribed
channels of communication throughout the organization.
1. Downward communication occurs whenever superiors
2. Upward communication occurs when messages flow from
3. Horizontal communication is interaction that flows between
people who are at the same level of the organizational
hierarchy.
ii. Informal communication is any interaction that emerges out of
social interactions among organization members rather than
following the rules of the formal chain of command.
II. Communicating in Small Groups and Teams
Small-group communication is the interaction among three to nine people who
are working together to achieve an interdependent goal.
Interdependent means that group members cannot achieve their goals without
the help of one another.
A. Types of small groups
i. Assigned groups are when individuals are appointed to be
members.
B. Norms and roles in small groups
i. Norms are the beliefs about how individual members should
ii. Roles reflect consistent patterns of interaction or behavior exhibited
over time.
1. Formal role (or positional role) is a role that is assigned
based on an individual’s position or title within a group.
2. Informal role (or behavioral role) is a role that develops
naturally or spontaneously within a group
iii. Functions in groups
1. Task functions are behaviors that directly relate to the
2. Maintenance functions are behaviors that focus on the
3. Self-centered functions are behaviors that serve the needs
of the individual at the expense of the group.
C. Group climate and cohesion
i. Group climate is the emotional tone or atmosphere members create
within the group. Group climate is dependent upon trust,
supportiveness, and cohesion.
1. Trust refers to the belief that members can rely on each
other.
2. Supportiveness refers to an atmosphere of openness in
which members care about each other.
3. Cohesiveness is the attachment members feel toward each
other and the group.
a. Groupthink is a phenomenon that occurs when the
desire for cohesion and agreement takes precedence
over critical analysis and discussion.
b. Some observable signs of groupthink include an
illusion of invulnerability; unquestioned belief in the
mortality of the group; censorship of alternative
viewpoints; and a shared illusion that all members
think the same thing.
D. Decision-making and problem solving
Effective problem solving for groups involved five critical steps:
i. Discussing criteria for an acceptable solution:
1. Criteria are the standards by which a group must judge
potential solutions to a problem.
3. Important criteria are those that should be met, but the group
have some flexibility about them.
ii. Brainstorming and identifying alternatives: When brainstorming,
group members should identify multiple succinct ideas and defer
iii. Evaluating each alternative: in this stage members of the group try
iv. Implementing the plan: in this stage the group tests outs ideas and
fully implements them.
v. Evaluating the outcomes based on the original criteria: at the end of
a project a group should reconvene to evaluate how the outcomes
compared with expected outcomes and goals.
III. Organizational Leadership
A. Communication skills for leaders
i. Leadership
1. The process of using communication to influence the
behaviors and attitudes of others.
ii. Management
1. The process of using communication to maintain structure,
2. Managers maintain the status quo and monitor the
organization in order to remove obstacles that prevent the
execution of established organizational priorities.
B. Types of power and leadership
i. Designated leader is someone who has been appointed or elected
to a leadership position.
ii. Emergent leader is someone who exerts influence toward the
achievement of a group’s goal but who does not hold the formal
position or role or a leader.
iii. Power is the ability to influence others.
2. Punishment power
a. Is based on the ability to withhold from followers what
3. Expert power is based on knowledge or expertise.
4. Legitimate power is given to a person because of a title,
IM – 8 | 7
2. Laissez-Faire leaders take almost no initiative in structuring
group discussions or actions.
3. Autocratic leaders maintain strict control over their group,
including making assignments and giving orders.
IV. Cultivating Positive Relationships in Small Groups
A. Effective small group interactions
i. Relate your statements to preceding remarks
B. Achieving communication competence
i. Immediacy is when people engage in communication behaviors
intended to create perceptions of psychological closeness to
others.
ii. Supportive communication is when people listen with empathy,
acknowledge the feelings of others, and engage in dialogue to help
others maintain a sense of personal control.
2. Validate feelings
4. Be confidential
iii. Interaction management is an approach to communication that
allows a clear flow between topics and idea and in which people
C. Managing conflict
i. Conflict occurs anytime two or more people have goals they
perceive to be incompatible.
ii. Approaches and techniques for managing conflict:
1. Avoidance is denying the existence of conflict or working
around it.
2. Competition involves viewing conflict as a battle and an
3. Compromise includes a willingness to negotiate away some
5. Collaboration is relying on thoughtful negotiation and
reasoned compromise whereby both parties agree that the
IM – 8 | 8
negotiated outcome is the best possible alternative under the
circumstances.
D. Preparing for ethical dilemmas
i. Verbal aggressiveness is communication that attacks the self-
concept of other people in order to inflict psychological pain.
iii. Incivility is when a person demonstrates frequent rude behavior that
may or may not have intent of being harmful.
iv. Social undermining is any action meant to socially isolate another
person from a larger group.
v. Sexual harassment is a form of workplace aggression defined by
an unwelcomed, unsolicited, and repeated behavior of a sexual
nature.
IM – 8 | 9
Discussion Starters
1. Investigating Organizational Culture: Consider the place where you currently
work. Think about how people use language what kinds of stories are told, the
established rituals and routines that are followed, and prominent cultural markers
within the organization. What do you think these things reveal about the
organizational culture and possible communication within the organization? Discuss
2. Norms, Roles, and Small-Group Communication: Think about a group that you
have been a part of where you really feel like the team worked well together. Recall
another time when you felt like a group that you worked with did not function well
together at all. How did the two experiences differ in terms of the norms guiding
3. Management and Leadership: Leaders and managers use communication in very
different ways. Consider someone who you would consider as an effective
manager. How did they interact in their role that enabled the group or organization
to function more efficiently and effectively? Consider someone who you would
4. Effective Small Group Interaction: Have you ever been a part of a group where a
member seems to advance ideas that did not clearly relate to what others in the
group were talking about? Have you ever felt like your contributions were not valued
IM – 8 | 10
Activities
ACTIVITY 8.1 UNDERSTANDING ANTICIPATORY SOCIALIZATION
Purpose: Students should be able to identify various institutions that influence our
anticipatory socialization experiences.
Procedure: Have students identify jobs they currently have, or jobs they have had in
the past: full-time, part-time, long-term, short-term, for large corporations, for small
firms, even volunteer work. Ask them: What did they already know that enabled them to
Have students identify how they learned the skills, information, and other data identified
in the exercise. Who taught them? Did they learn by reading instructions? By observing
Debriefing: This activity introduces students to the various socializing agents that
influence the development of role identities.
IM – 8 | 11
ACTIVITY 8.2 REINVENTING CYBERTECH
Purpose: Students should be able to critically analyze various methods of organizing.
Procedure: Ask students to consider themselves members of Cybertech Inc. Sarah is
the newly appointed president of the company. Sarah wants to make all employees
more conscious of the importance of Cybertech’s customers. She asks, “How can I
change the organization chart to symbolize the importance of the customer?” Each
Discuss the range of charts presented. How are the various internal and external
stakeholders positioned by the various charts? How do the charts highlight and neglect
various aspects of organizational relationships? What do the charts suggest about
communication among various organizational stakeholders?
Debriefing: This activity emphasizes the importance of organizational structure and
highlights both internal and external dimensions of organizational communication.
IM – 8 | 12
ACTIVITY 8.3 AN ORGANIZATIONAL BIG MAC
Purpose: Students should be able to understand how concepts discussed in the
chapter play a role in typical organizations like a fast-food restaurant.
Procedure: Have students go to McDonald’s or another fast food restaurant and
conduct a mini-ethnography of the environment, paying particular attention to the
interactions among co-workers, superiors and subordinates, and employees and
customers. In class, have students in groups of three to four identify key characteristics
of the relationships observed.
Debriefing: In addition to illustrating key concepts from the chapter (e.g., upward and
downward communication, customer service interactions), this exercise can lead to
class discussion about cultural forces (e.g., consumer movement) that may help explain
IM – 8 | 13
ACTIVITY 8.4 GROUP PERVASIVENESS
Purpose: Students should be able to individually realize the pervasiveness of small-
group communication in American culture.
Procedure: Students should be divided into small groups of five to seven members and
should determine how small-group communication has functioned in their lives.
Student interaction should center on the amount of time that we spend in small-group
communication and the different ways small groups serve our individual purposes. For
instance, in what types of groups do college students usually participate? Are there
differences between men and women in the types of small groups to which they
belong? Student comments should address issues such as these.
