Organizational communication

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Information society: environmnet in which more jobs create, process, or distribut information than directly produce goods. The environment is characterized by mass production of information, which requires the constant learning of new activities and processes
Convergence: with computing, wireless technologies , and more taditional media such as television converging into integrated tools for work, school, family, and leisure entertainment
organizational excellence: ability of people to work together and utilize technology for the creative solving of increasingly complex problems
Communication competency: composed of knowldege, sensitivity, skills and values. Competnece arises from interaction of theory, practice, and analysis
Knowledge competency: ability to understand the organizational communication environmnet. developed through exploration of interactive, process nature of human communication
sentivity competency: ability to sense organizational meanings and feelings accurately. developed through the examination of our personal "theories in use" about communication and organizations
skills competency: ability to analyze organizational situations accurately and to initiate ad consume organizational messages effectively. develoepd through analysis and practice oppurtunities
values competency: importance of taking responsibilty for effective communication, thereby contributing to organizational excellence. developed through discussion of personal responsibilty for participation in organizational communication
human communication process: attempts to construct shared realities through social interaction
source/reciever: individuals send messages as sources and recieve messages as recievers. The process is often so rapid as to appear simultaneous
encoding/decoding: message encoding is the process of formulating messages, choosing conent and symbols to convey meaning. message decoding is the process of assigning meaning in the role of reciever to message symbols generated by the message source
message: symbolic attempt to transfer meaning; the signal that serves as a stimulus for a reciever
channel: medium through which the message is transmitted
noise: distortion or interference that contibutes to discrepancies between the meaning intended by the source of a message and the meaning assigned by the reciever
field of experience: set of specific experiences or background that all parties in communication bring to bear on the interaction
communication context: environment for the communication interaction. it is both culturally and physically influenced
effect: result, consequence, or outcome of communication exchanges
shared realities: meanings resulting frmo the communication process; attempts to have others understand our world as we do or as we intend for it to be understood and our efforts to comprehend the world of those around us
organization: results of the process of prganizaing; dynamic system in which individuals engage in collective efforts for goal accomplishment
organizational communication: process through whoch organizations are created and in turn create and shape events. the process can be understood as a combination of process, people, mesages, meaning and purpose
functional approach: way of understanding organizational communication by describing what messages do and how the move through organizations
organizational commnication system: number of related units and processes that operate togehter with the organization and with its environment to create and shape organizational event. information procesing is the primary function of the communiaction system
communication inputs: information in the external environment that may influence the decision making of the organization
communication throughput: transforming ad changing of input information for internal organizational use and the generation and transmission of internal information throughout the organization
communication output: messages to the external environment from within the organization
open systems: organizations that continually take in new information, transform that information, and give information back to the environment
closed systems: organization that lack input communication, making it difficult to make good decisions and stay current with the needs of the environment
equifinality: potential for the use of a variety of approaches to reach system goals (there is no one best way to do things)
message functions: what communicatio does or how it contributes to the overall functioning of the organization- in functional model: organizing functions, relationship functions, and change functions
organizing functions: messages that establish the rules and regulations of a particular environment
relationship functions: communication that helps individuals define their roles and assess the compatibilty of individual and organizational goals
change functions: messages that help organizations adapt to what they do and how they do it; viewed as essential to an open system
functional approach and organizing messages: rules and regulations, organizational policies, task definition, task instruction and task evaluation
functional approach and relationship messages: individual role definition, individual/organizational goals, status symbols, and intergration among supervisor/subordinates, peers
functional approach and change messages: decision making, market analysis, new idea processing, environmental inputs, employee suggestions, and problem solving
message structure: movement of organizing, relationship and change messages, throughout they organization and between the organization and its external environment
networks: formal and informal patterns of communication that link organizational members together
channels: means for the transmission of messages. common means are face-to-face interaction, group meetings, memos, letters, cmoputer-mediated exchanges, web sites, presentations, and teleconferencing
direction: description of the movement of messages in organizations based on authority or position levels of message senders and recievers; tpically described as downward, upward, and horizontal communication
load: number of messages moving though the communication system; commonly referred to as load, overload and underload
distortion: anything that contributes to alterations in meaning as mesages move through the organization
meaning-centered approach: way of understanding organizational communication by discovering how organizational reality is generated through human interaction. the approach describes organizational communication as the process for generating shared realities that become organizing, decision making, sensemaking, influence, and culture
organizing: bringing order out of chaos with organizations as the products of the organizing process; described as almost synonymous with the communication process
decision making: process of choosing from among several alternatives
influence: organizational and individual attempts to persuade; freuently sen in organizational identification, socialization, communicarion rules and power
identity: relatively stable characteristics, including core beliefs, values, attitudes, prefernces, decisional premises, and more that make up the self
indentification: dynamic social process by which identities are constructed; includes perceptions of a snese of belonging. usually associated with the belief that individual and organizational goals are compatible
socialization: active organizational attempts to help members learn appropriate behaviors, norms, and values
anticipatory socialization: pre-entry information about the organization and anticipated work role
encounter socialization: early organizational experiences reducing uncertainty about all aspects of organizational life
metamorphosis socialization: initial mastery of basic skills and information and adjustments to organizational life
communication rules: general prescriptions about appropraite behaviors in particular settings. thematic rules are general prescriptions of behvior reflecting the values and beliefs of the organization, wheras tactical rules prescribe specific behaviors as related to more general themes
structuration: production and reproduction of social systems via the aplication of generative rule and resources in interaction
power: attempts to influence another person's behavior to prodce desired outcomes. the proces occurs through communication and is related to resources, dependencies, and alternatives
culture: unique sense of the place that organizations generate through ways of doing and ways of communicating aout the organization; reflects that shared realities and shared practices in the organization and how they create and shape organizational events
communication climate: reaction to the organizations culture; consists of collective beleifs, expectations, and values regarding communication that are generated as organizational members continually evaluate their interactions with others
constitutive process: communication seen as a process of meaning development and social production of perceptions, identities, social structures, and affective responses
postmodernism: theoretical perspectives representing an alienation from the past, skepticism about authority structures, ambiguity of meanings and mass culture
deconstruction: refers to the examination of taken-for-granted assumptions, the examination of the myths we use to explain how things are the way they are, and the uncovering of the interests involved in socially constructed meaning. method of postmodern analysis
critical theory: focuses attention on studies of power and abuses of power through communication and organization
hegemony: process of control based on a dominant group leading others to believe that their subordination is the norm
feminist theory: focuses on the marginalization and domination of women in the workplace and the valuing of women's voices in all organizational processes
scientific management perspective: theoretical approach to organizations that empahsizes organizational design, worker training for efficiency, chains of command, and division of labor. the perspective rests on the assumptions that work and oranizations can be rationall or "scientifically" designed and developed
time and motion: technique for determining the efficiency of prduction through work observation and time measurements; used to develop work standards that can be measured for efficiency
fayol's bridge: horizontal communication between peers
bureacracy: organizations based in formalized rules, regulations, and procedures, which make authority rational as opposed to charismatic or traditionl
chain of command: formal authority and reporting structure of an organization
human behavior perspective: theories of organizations that emphasize the interactions of individuals, their motivations, and their influence on organizational events
hawthorne effect: group norms that influence productivity apart from the physical production environment
theory x-theory y: mcgregors description of management assumptions about worker. theory x characterizes assumptions underlying scientific manageent theory and theory y is associated with assumptions common to Human behavior perspectived. theory x managers assume that workers dislike work and will avoid responsible labor. thoery y managers believe that workers can be self-directed and self-controlled
participative management: likerts theory of employee-centered management based on effectively functioning groups linked togehter structurally through-out the organization
integrated perspectives: theories that attempt to explain how people, technologies, and environments integrate to influence goal-directed behavior
desicion-making approach: simon's concept that organizational behavior is a complex network of decisions, with decision making processes influencing the behavior of the entire organization
bounded rationality: asumption that people intend to be rational, but with limited information-processing capacity, human decision making is based on selective perception and therfore exhibits "limited" rationality
sociotechnical integration: theoretical attempts to balance human social-psychological needs with organizational goals; an assumption that organizational production is optimized through optimizing social and technical systems
satisficing: making decisions with partial information in the hope the decision will be good enough, if not the best
contingency theory: approach that rejects the "one best way" to organize in favor of the view that no specific set of prescriptions is appropriate for all organizations. as such, organizations must adapt to changing circumstances and the needs of individuals and the environment in which the organization operates
systems theory: describes organizations as made up of subsystems that take in materials and human resources, and yield a finished product to the larger environment
autopoiesis: process describing each element in a system simultaneously combining the maintanance of itself with the maintanence of the other elements of the system
dissipative structures: descriptions of structures when a loss of energy and form contributes to disequilibrium, which in turn contributes to growth and new structures and forms
self-organizing or self-renewing systems: processes occuring when disturbances amplify stimulating reconfigurations to deal with new information
chaos theory: description of systems disturbed from stable states to states of unpredictability
learning organizations: organizations gaining knowledge from continuous processes of information exchange between the organization and its environment
cultural approaches: theoris that describe how organizational members collectively interpret the organizational world around them to define the importance of organizational happenings. approaches to theory that explain prganizational behavior in terms of the influence of cultures that exist both internally and externally to the organization
intrapersonal experience: composed of our personal needs, predispositions for behavior, communication competencies,a nd expectations
motivation: term to describe intrapersonal eperiences that infleucne behavior
hierarchy of needs: maslwas description of human behavior based on an ascending order of physiological, safety and security, love and social belonging, esteem and prestige, and self-actualization needs
motivation-hygiene theory: hexbergs description of human behavior based on the influence of both internal and external factors. the theory proposses that satisfaction and dissatisfaction are not polar opposites and that what produces dissatisfaction with work when corrected will not necessarily produce motivation
rewards: positive feedbacl or tangible reinforcment for organizational behavior
social information processing theory: proposes that a persons needs and attitudes are determined by the information available at any given time
communication aprehension: predispositions for behavior descirbed as an individuals level of fear or anxiety associated with either real or anticipate communicaiton with others
interpersonal experiences: descriptions of important one-on-one organizational relationships such as supervisors and subordinates and peers to peer
workforce diversity: description of workers that emphasizes differences in age, gender, race, ethnicity and values
descriptive messages: messages characterized by ownership of perceptions and conclusions and language that presents facts, events, and circumstances all parties in communication are likey to observe or experience personally
message ownership: attempts to communicate verbally individual perceptions and feelings without attempting to establish blame or find unessary corroboration
primary work teams: group to which an individual is assigned on organizational entry
long-standig team: relatively permanent groups of individuals, organized for task accomplishment
project teams: work groups established for the duration of a specific assignment
prefab group: work group designed and structured for frequent replacement of memebers, prefab groups have detailed individual assignments requiring limited experience to produce specified products
self-managing teams: a small number of people with complementary skills who are comitted to a common purpose, have a defined set of performance goals, and execute an approach for which the hold themselves accountable
directional groups: groups formally charged and structured to provide overall direction and oversight of the organization
quality teams: groups charged with responding to quality or quantity problems and to issues raised by management
task force groups: groups of individuals with diverse specialties and group membership who are charged with accomplishing a specifically designed task or project
steering committees: groups of individuals with diverse specialties and group memberships who are charged with implementing organizational plans, processes, or change
team based organization: organizational structures with fewer managers and networks of self-managing teams
workplace democracy: principles and practices that emphasize employee goals, feelings, and participation
group stages: conecpt that groups progress though sequences such as formation, production, resolution, and dissolution; frequently described as forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning
group norms: unwritten behavior rules, ways of doing things, that groups develop over time. norms reflect what groups deam desirable and can be said to be cultural beliefs about effetiveness or appropriateness
group communication roles: task, maintanence, and sefl-centered categories for description of behaviors hat individuals exhibit in groups
task roles: communication roles that help groups accomplish goals
maintenance roles: communicaiton roles that promote social support among group members
self-centered roles: communication roles that support individuals goals and may or may not be compatible with overall group goals and relationships
problem solving: multistage process for moving an issue, situation, or state from an undesirable to a more desirable condition
leader-made decision: leader of a group makes a decision and announces the decision to the group
majority-rule decision: when more than 50 peretn of a group agree, a decision has been reached
powerful-minority decision: process for decision making occuring when group membership is characterized by unequal distribution of power among members. Thos members who have the most power (although in the numerical minority) are in a position to assume desicion-making responsibilty
consensus: method for decision making that results in all members agreeing on what is best and supporting the group decision
standard agenda: process for decision making, based on refelctive thinking, beginning with undersntading the charge, and followed by understanding and phrasing the question, fact finding, setting criteria and limitations, discovering and selcting solutions, and preparing and presenting the final report
brainstorming: technique for generating ideas for problem solving based on methods that break away from linear and controlled processes. the process encourages maximum idea generation in a short period of time
delphi technique: process of group problem solving conducted through written reponse and critique of situations and the responses to those situations; designed to balance the influence of strong personalities
nominal group process: problem-solving process combining individual and group idea generation. individuals contribute first in writing, and then the group discusses and decides
experientally based process: processes reflecting bounded rationality contributing to satisfycing, or the generation of decisions that are good enough if no the best. processes use a variety of past experiences, emotional reactions, and knowledge and beliefs in producing decisions often not possible with more strictly rational approaches.
interaction process skills: skills based on an undersanding of the communication proces; an awareness of individual predispositions, strategies, and tactics in a variety of circumstances; and knowledge and sensitivity for decision making and problem solving
fact finding and evaluation skills: skills that assist in the discovery and critism of information used in problem solving and decision making

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