Paper on Organizational communication perspectives

In your own words define,

1. Organizational communication perspectives. (1/2 to 1 page)

2. Give examples of how an organization in tourism/hospitality industries would apply traditional, interpretive, critical, postmodern, and feminist perspectives to their communication processes. (See Chapter 2) (3 pages)

3. A variety of theories covered in the text. A list will be provided for you.

4. Provide one hospitality/travel/tourism industry example of how each theory could be applied. A list of theories will be provided for you. (1 page per theory)

5. This paper should be a minimum of 15 pages, typed, double space, one inch all around margins, and minimum of eight valid references (related to hospitality industry, news from the New York Time/ Skift or other academic journal or case study or experience from work). Follow APA [6th edition] guidelines.

 

NO DIRECT QUOTATION FROM ANY REFERENCE PLEASE

 

Following are draft & notes form PPT (more information regarding all theories are include in the PPT)

1. Organizational communication perspectives.

 

Notes:

What is Organizational Control?

“the dynamic communication process through which organizational stakeholders struggle to maximize their stake in an organization” (p. 4).

“Organization implies control…

Control processes help circumscribe idiosyncratic behaviors and keep them conformant to the rational plan of organization.

The co-ordination and order created out of the diverse interests and potentially diffuse behaviors of members is largely a function of control.” –Tannenbaum (1968, p. 3)

 

· Lots of problems managing people (especially large numbers of people)

· History of management theory is a history of struggle

In short…Capitalism

· Control is dialectical

· Not linear/cause-and-effect

· Complex and ambiguous

 

Defining Organizational Communication

· W. Charles Redding – regarded as founder of OC field in 1988

· All complex organizations have:

· Interdependence

· Differentiation of tasks and functions

· Goal orientation

· Control

· [Communication processes]

Control

· Direct (superior/subordinate)

· Technological (assembly line, menu placement, airport check-in, surveillance)

· Bureaucratic (rules, structures, “red tape”)

· Ideological (“fits culture”, indoctrination, then requires little supervision, can be oppressive)

· Disciplinary (individual is both subject and object of knowledge)

 

· The five forms are not mutually exclusive

· Are normally used in combination with each other

· Some are more coercive than others

 

· Communication constitutes organization

· Without communication, organization will cease to function

· Organization as “family” or “machine”? It’s all about how you communicate

 

“The dynamic, ongoing process of creating and negotiating meanings through interactional symbolic (verbal and nonverbal) practices, including conversation, metaphors, rituals, stories, dress, and space.” (p. 14)

 

 

Draft:

Communication constitute the culture and form within an organization. An energetic culture will invent a better environment, the form and rules will be constantly improving while the communication. There are mutual influence between all factors of an organization, it is an unending process involves with all interaction patterns.

 

2. Give examples of how an organization in tourism/hospitality industries would apply traditional, interpretive, critical, postmodern, and feminist perspectives to their communication processes. (See Chapter 2)

 

Notes:

Functionalism—Representation

· Progress & emancipation through discovery

· Dominant in social sciences

· Very ‘macro’ view

· Internal ideas externalized through communication

· Absolute truth exists through scientific principles

· Does not address ambiguity, unintentional meanings, role of receiver/listener, need for redundancy

· Generally use quantitative research methods

 

Interpretivism—French Polynesia

· Direct relationship between who we are as individuals and communication

· Communication isn’t only a way to express ideas, it is what the world is made of

· Can not separate person and communication

· No objective truth – it is constructed as we communicate and interact

· Communication & social reality are closely related concepts

· Organizations are communication – study stories, rituals, workplace humor, symbols, etc.

· Qualitative and quantitative research methods

 

Critical Theory—Suspicion

· Similar to Interpretivism – reality is communication of people

· Focuses on role of power/control

· Different groups have different power

· “Discourse of suspicion”

· Must examine org’s political structure to understand it

· Example: Company Christmas parties

· Qualitative and quantitative research methods

 

Postmodernism—Vulnerability

· Questions what we know & how we know what we know

· Close opposite of Functionalism

· Beliefs are vulnerable to other ideas

· Rationality and science do not necessarily lead to progress and emancipation

· Recognizes dominance and over-emphasis over Western white males as a negative – “it isn’t the only way” Orgs are not as stable as they seem – they are propped up by dominant worldview

 

Feminism—Empowerment

· Questions “voice”

· Claims orgs have been blind to gender

· Women systematically excluded

· Multiple types of feminism (see Ch. 9)

· Research explores relationship between gender, power, and organization

· Moved from only women to more broad identities related to power and voice

 

3. A variety of theories covered in the text. A list will be provided for you.

 

 

 

4. Provide one hospitality/travel/tourism industry example of how each theory could be applied. A list of theories will be provided for you.

 

Notes:

a. Marx

i. Karl Marx was the most influential person in the development of the critical approach “Theory of Society”

ii. Two main schools of thought that are influenced by Marx’s work:

· The Institute for Social Research (Frankfurt School)

· Cultural Studies

iii. Karl Marx

Lived from 1818-1883

Saw the rise of capitalism in Europe

Criticized how capitalism exploited working people

Growth and production was not great…all of the wealth ended up in the hands of few

Capitalism as a system of domination and exploitation

Alternative: Socialism – emancipation and freedom through enlightenment

 

 

b. Frankfurt School

The Institute for Social Research

· Reinterpreted Marx’s ideas after 20th century changes in capitalism

· Rejected economic determinism (economics = society)

· Developed dialectical theory (economics + culture/ideology = society)

· Media functions as control mechanism for capitalism – the culture industry Critique – people aren’t that dumb & media isn’t that simple

 

 

c. Cultural Studies

· Meaning of these aspects/signs/elements depends on rules & relationships to other signs

· Meaning arises out of difference

· Semiology: Study of systems of representation

· These systems are social in nature

· Meaning can change over time

· Companies do this through advertising

d. Taylor’s Scientific Management

· Problem: Systematic Soldiering

· Workers restrict output so that managers do not know they could be faster

· If managers did know, the expectation would be raised

· Old System: Ordinary Management

· Arbitrary “rules of thumb”

· Workers select jobs

4 Principles

i. Scientific job design

ii. Scientific selection & training of individual workers – managers pick the people best suited for the job

iii. Cooperation between management and workers – managers provide support and sense of achievement

iv. Equal division of work between management and workers (managers plan and workers labor)

First, buy-in from managers & workers, then…

· Raises income of workers

· Increases productivity

· Cheapens cost of goods

· Standard of living increases through higher population income

Connection between science, rationality, efficiency, moral virtue & social harmony

(Max the profitability buy increase productivity, find a way to controlling the emotion of workers, to attain the highest maximum output per dollar spent on wages; due to the development of capitalism; exploitation; interpret the development of capitalism)

Criticisms of Scientific Management

· Division between conception of work and execution of work keeps power in the hands of management

· Does not treat workers as humans

· The focal point of organizational control should not be the human body

· Does not address social dimension of work (Taylor felt communication between workers decreased efficiency…and that communication is a mechanical process)

· Only considers workers to be motivated by economic incentives

 

· Still widely accepted & taken-for-granted in certain companies/sectors

· Technology has increased our ability to be efficient and measure efficiency

· The concept has increasingly been applied to our everyday lives outside of work

 

e. Weber’s Bureaucratic Theory

Industry revolution

· Sociologist

· Theorized about Capitalism

· Used religion as basis for analysis

· Attempted to develop truth…using facts

· Society = Economics+politics+law+religion

 

Weber’s types of authority

· Distinction between power & authority

· Power: Ability to exercise your will despite resistance; also includes domination

· Authority: Society’s development of rules, norms, and things that people adhere to

· Leaders exercise authority, others are expected to obey

· Weber was interested in authority, not power

· Weber created three types of authority which correspond to three forms of social order

· Not mutually exclusive

1) Traditional authority

· Inherited right

· Adherence to tradition; not due to special powers

· Examples: kings & queens, family-owned businesses, gender & racial stereotypes that fit the value system

2) Charismatic authority

· Gift of grace / special powers

· No brute force or coercion needed

· “Magical abilities”

· Blind trust in a charismatic authority figure

· High chance of disruption (likely from another charismatic person)

· Tendency toward instability and social chaos

3) Rational-Legal authority

· Foundation of Western democracy

· People owe allegiance to set of legal rules

· Weber argues this is superior to other forms of authority

· Everyone is treated equally and impersonally

· Maximizes efficiency due to clear rules

 

Features of bureaucracy

1. Hierarchical chain of command

2. Clearly defined system of rules for office holders

3. Written regulations that describe rights & duties

4. Clear division of labor + specialization of tasks

5. Employees/people behave & make decisions according to rules, not personal ties

6. Written documentation to store information on which to make decisions (fact-based decisions)

 

Weber’s critiques

· Although Weber created these ideas, he was skeptical of the future of a bureaucratic society

· Rationalization process: All aspects of the world subject to planning, calculation, & efficiency

· Rationalization important for modernity, but…

· Narrows human vision and consideration of alternatives

· Rationalized world is not fulfilling – “iron cage of bureaucracy”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Compare Taylor’s scientific management with Weber’s Bureaucratic Theory

 

f. Human Relations Theory

All about the social dimensions of an organization

 

· Psychological & social elements of the workplace

· What are workers thinking & feeling?

· Management creates conflict-free worker-manager relations

· Compared to last week, this idea deals with informal communication

 

· Around the turn of the 20th century, massive strikes occurred. https :// www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpg_v5F6qSY

· Industrial democrats – participation by workers in industrial decision-making

· Realist democrats – Only administrative elite are qualified to engage in decision-making

 

Elton Mayo & Other Scholars

· Workplace as medium for creation of human identity

· Industrialization alienated people from social world

· Social world could only be reconstructed through work reform

· Administrative elites could develop cooperative principles

· Change the attitude toward ‘work’

 

Hawthorne Studies

· Investigated importance of physical, economic, and social variables on employee behavior and attitudes

· First: Illumination Studies (lighting conditions)

· More light = more productivity

· Second: Relay Assembly Test Room

· Friendly & personal supervision increased productivity

· Opposite of Taylor – intrinsic benefits of work (human socialization/thinking/feeling) effect output

· Third: Interview Program

· Workers appreciate being recognized as individuals

· Fourth: Bank Wiring Observation Room Study

· Systematic soldering / group norms / social groups

· Discovered creation of informal work groups, informal communication, the Hawthorne Effect

· Showed need for leadership research, focus on systematic approach, use of qualitative methods

 

Critiques of Hawthorne Studies

 

· Potential issues in conclusions / data

· Idea that there is no role for conflict in the workplace

· What if worker resistance is due to competing interests?

· The idea that management is rational and workers are irrational is false (too paternalistic)

· Studies used only women or only men (gender bias)

 

g. Follett’s Bridge Theory

 

· Very unconventional

· Pragmatic approach – truth is uncertain

· Way to change things was through groups that each individual belonged to

· Flat, non-hierarchical groups with empowerment

· Circular response – process of relating

· Constant shifts of relationships

 

Follett – Ways to Address Conflict

1. Domination – interests & goals of one are asserted over another

2. Compromise – both parties give something up

3. Integration – finding a solution where neither party gives something up

· Preferred way, but cannot always happen

· Use circular response to try integration first

 

· Power over vs. power with

· Law of the situation: Authority arises out of the needs of the situation

· Organization acts as a place for creative thought and community problem solving

· Much of Follett’s work ‘disappeared’ – likely because she was a woman and/or politics

 

 

 

h. Human Resource Management (HRM)

 

Why?

· Unionization meant that coercion or threat of firing was no longer effective motivation of workers

· HRM states that workers can be motivated by management recognizing their value to the organization

· Managers have little influence over motivation & productivity of workers

· Work was a job and a paycheck; friends & family fulfilled them

 

HRM – Theory X

· From McGregor in 1960

· The average human inherently dislikes work

· People must be coerced to work and to put in effort to reach organizational objectives

· The average human prefers to be directed and does not want responsibility…only security

· Theory X does not realize full potential of workers as humans

 

HRM –Theory Y

· Expenditure of energy in work is same as in play

· People will be committed if there are rewards

· Under proper conditions, people will accept and seek responsibility

· People are much more imaginative, innovative, and creative than we think

· We are not using the full potential of people under industrial life

 

HRM – Likert’s Four Systems Approach

· Exploitive-authoritative

· Motivation occurs through fear & threats

· Benevolent-authoritative

· Motivation occurs through both threats & rewards

· Consultative

· Motivation occurs through rewards & low-level participation

· Participative

· Motivation occurs through rewards & constant participation at all levels

 

HRM – Summary

· Tap into need for self-actualization

· Both formal & informal communication important

· Managerial & individual objectives should come together

· Create supportive environment to allow workers to reach full potential

· Does not work in certain industries/job types

 

 

i. General Systems Theory

 

· Shift from psychological to systematic and dynamic way of explaining organizations

· Organizations are not stable – they are non-rational and made up of complex communication processes

· Meaning of communication is important

 

· Shift from psychological to systematic and dynamic way of explaining organizations

· Organizations are not stable – they are non-rational and made up of complex communication processes

· Meaning of communication is important

 

Systems

· We are open systems – we exchange information and energy within our (work) environments

· Open systems maintain equilibrium through homeostasis

· Homeostasis: Process of correcting a deviation

· All open systems eventually move toward entropy and die

· Entropy: degree of disorder within a system

 

· Have equifinality & multifinality

· Equifinality: System can start from different points and reach the same final point

· Multifinality: System can start at the same point and reach multiple goals

Individual behavior only matters when compared to wider behavior/processes

 

The Systems Approach to Communication

From Watzlawick, Beavin, and Jackson (1967)

· All behavior is communication

· Intent is not necessary to communicate

· Meaning of communication depends on relations and context

· Punctuation helps make sense of things

· Organizations are groups of people trying to make sense of things (from Weick)

 

Critiques

· Hard to capture this data

· Looks only at regulation and adaptation – “survival of the fittest”

· Very complex / confusing

 

 

j. Pragmatist Approach

 

· Organizational culture is a variable

· Research can examine how culture affects the larger organization

· Culture seen as a feature an organization has…just like technology, structure, environment, etc.

· Culture is a key element to increase employee commitment and performance -> productivity and profitability

 

· Since culture is a variable, it can be manipulated and changed

· “Change the culture” http:// www.inc.com/mark-cuban/growco14-to-turn-around-a-team-change-culture.html

· Managers should make/change culture to meet corporate goals

· All employees buy into a single company culture

 

 

Culture’s Functions in an Organization

· Create a shared identity among members

· Generate employee commitment to organization

· Enhance organizational stability

· Act as norms to “make sense of things”

 

 

 

k. Purist Approach

 

· Culture is not one of many variables, it is the root/only variable in understanding organizations

· An organization is a culture

· Organizations can only be understood by looking through a culture lens

· Cultures can’t be manipulated to meet organizational goals

 

Why?

· Culture evolves spontaneously

· Organizational culture is too complex to look at cause and effect

· Organizations do not have one single culture

· Managing culture unethically manipulates employee feelings and emotions

 

Research Methods

· Ethnography – lived experience

· Participant-observation

· Relevant constructs of symbols, talk, artifacts

· Organizational storytelling

http://ethnographymatters.net/blog/2015/06/29/sensory-postcards-using-mobile-media-for-digital-ethnographies /

 

 

5. This paper should be a minimum of 15 pages, typed, double space, one inch all around margins, and minimum of eight valid references. Follow APA [6th edition] guidelines.

6. Brief (5 minute) oral presentation of your paper. Focus on #2 & #4.