Seminar: Organizational Communication (C & J 544) Spring 2003

Professor: John Oetzel

Office: 227 C & J Build.

Office Phone: 277-1941

Office Hours: M 2-4, W 3-4 or by appointment

E-mail: joetzel@unm.edu

Course Objectives:

This course is a survey of organizational communication concepts and theories emphasizing “internal” organizational communication. We will cover the main stands of theory development in the field of organizational communication as well as some developing theories. We will also discuss traditional and contemporary organizational communication processes. Some of the specific topics include:

(1) Traditional theories of organizing such as organization culture, bureaucracy, and human relations

(2) Contemporary theories of organizing such as critical theory, postmodern appoaches, workplace democracy, and organizational politics

(3) Traditional processes such as conflict, leadership, and interpersonal networks

(4) Recent developments to organizations such as cultural diversity, organizational ethics, empowerment, and communication technology.

Some of the specific objectives of the course are:

(1) Identify the key trends in organizational communication scholarship

(2) Identify the key metatheoretical perspectives of organizational communication and understand how these frameworks help us to see certain processes and limit our focus on other processes

(3) Apply organizational communication theories and processes to teaching and training situations

I recognize that all of you bring diverse interests and perspectives to the class. I encourage you to discuss these perspectives with the class. Additionally, I designed this course to be relevant to those of you who want to teach communication, research about communication, and practice communication in organizational contexts. Hopefully, we’ll find a balance in teaching, researching, and practicing that meets your needs and supports your decision to take this class.

Required Texts:

Corman, S. R., & Poole, M.S. (Eds.) (2000). Perspectives on organizational communication:

Finding common ground. New York: Guilford Press.

Reading Packet available at the College of Education copy center

Grading:

Schema Paper or Survey of Org. Communication 35%

Book Review and Presentation 15%

Final Project 40%

Participation 10%

Grading Scale:

93-100% A 87-89% B+ 70-79% C

90-92% A- 83-86% B 60-69% D

80-82% B- below 60% F

Grading Criteria for Projects:

1) Originality—This point focuses on the degree to which you are moving beyond basic classroom discussion and prior research. For example, a research project should make an original contribution to the literature.

2) Organization—The essay should flow well. I can see the progression of ideas and understanding why they are laid out as they are. There is an introduction, body, and conclusion—for example, an intro, lit review, methods, results, and discussion for an article-length project.

3) Grammar, spelling

4) Accuracy/appropriateness of data analysis—quality analysis and conclusions.

5) Depth of critical thinking—quality of arguments (i.e., using evidence to support opinions). You should have at least 20 sources (in most cases) for a well-researched paper. The sources should mostly be original (i.e., limit use of basic textbooks).

6) Following directions--a necessary but not sufficient criterion for a good paper. I will provide instructions for the assignment. However, they are not a laundry list of what you need to do get an A. Doing excellent work is not simply about following directions; it’s about challenging yourself, thinking in original ways, and writing well.

7) Risk taking. I reward people who take chances. However, it is not chance just for chance sake. I expect the output to be of high quality. I recognize that the easiest road isn’t always the most rewarding or important. You can do research on a straightforward topic copying others’ approaches. This is fine, but sometimes you need to “push the boundaries” to get high quality research.

Course Assignments:

A description of each assignment is listed below. I am not planning to give more information about the assignments in writing than what is listed below. I am trying to provide some structure to the assignment, while balancing a need for independent thought and figuring out the how to create structure from ambiguity. Of course, you may ask questions about the assignments and we’ll spend some time during class talking about each assignment to help figure out some of the details. I am very big on teamwork and collaborative learning so that you are welcome to collaborate on the assignments (except on the book review). If you choose to work in teams (to a max of three people) I strongly recommend that you do not just divide the labor, but rather do all of the reading/work individually and integrate/synthesize ideas from that point. Collaborators will receive the same grade on the assignment.

Participation/Attendance. Since this is a seminar class, participation is crucial. Attendance is required and absences will hurt your score (a fraction lower in your total grade for every absence over one). To assist in sharing the discussion, I will ask each of you to develop discussion questions for the class (exact number to be determined based on number of students). The discussion questions should ask us to move beyond a direct summary of the reading (i.e., it is not your responsibility to summarize an article—assume that we have read it). You can ask questions applying the reading to a specific situation, critiquing the article, extending research on the topic, etc. Otherwise, I expect you to complete reading prior to class and participate in class discussions. I realize that some of you prefer to listen and some prefer to talk to learn. I will ask that you balance these perspectives—I want to make sure that we each have the opportunity to learn from each other. I will provide you with feedback on your participation.

Schema Paper or Survey of the Field. The purpose of this assignment is to identify the key themes in recent organizational communication research and thus become acquainted with the field. To complete the project, you will need to review (in a cursory manner—that is, skim each article do not read it thoroughly), articles published in the last 2 ½ years in three journals that publish organizational communication research. Here are some of these journals:

Management Communication Quarterly (key one in organizational communication)

Journal of Business Communication

Academy of Management Journal

Academy of Management Review

Administrative Science Quarterly

Management Science

Humans Relations

Journal of Management

Organizational Dynamics

Group and Organization Management

Organization Science

Journal of Organizational Behavior

Journal of International Business

Business Communication Quarterly

Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication

Each journal has a different take and thus reviewing one will give you a different perspective than another. Make sure to focus on communication aspects—only two or three focus solely on communication, while the others focus on general business/management issues. The library doesn’t carry Management Communication Quarterly, but I have the last 7 or 8 years in my office. I’ll make these available for your review, but we’ll have to share.

Your task is to create a “schema” or category system for organizing the research review. You can consider methods, theoretical approaches, topics, etc. The key is to make sense of the field in your review. I do not want you to provide a detailed review of every article, but rather identify the key themes. You also do not need to cite every article you review nor do you need to include a bibliography. The paper should have an introduction (which should include the methods you used to create the schema), an overview of your category scheme, a brief explanation of how the articles fit into the category scheme (with an exemplar or two to illustrate the scheme), and some concluding thoughts (e.g., what are the most common topics?, where should the field go? Critical comments, etc. ). The final paper should be 10-15 pages and is due March 5. If you’d like to see examples of schema papers, consult Deetz and Putnam & Cheney articles on January 29. Deetz also references several other schema papers in his chapter.

Book Review. For this assignment, your task is to review and summarize a book on a specific aspect of organizational communication. Specifically, you’ll need to complete, in about 5 pages, a summary of the book and offer a critique (both strengths and weaknesses of the book). Do not try to get everything about the book into the paper—center on the key issues. Make the summary and critique at least half of the paper although you can include more critique (but not more summary). Additionally, I will ask you to deliver a 20-minute presentation to the class. Include both summary and critique in the presentation. We’ll allow some time for questions from the class (about 10 minutes). The presentation will occur during the class period that most closely deals with your topic. Every student will review a different book. These summaries will allow all of us to get a diverse viewpoint about organizational communication without having to read all of the books this semester. Obviously, if you want to get a detailed understanding of the topic, you’ll want to read the books yourself, but the reviews will help you choose which are most important. I may require you to complete a presentation in teams if we have a large class (at press time, we only had 9 students). The dates for the book review are listed below. You can find examples of book reviews in Management Communication Quarterly as well as most journals.

You need to select a book you haven’t previously read for another class (it’ll be first come first serve on days and books). Here are some books (and dates of presentation) you can review, but you can suggest one not on the list (please get my approval as we need to figure out where to place it; best to select a similar kind of book—that is, substitute an org. tech. book for the one I list):

Barker, J. R. (1999). The discipline of teamwork: Participation and concertive control. Thousand

Oaks, CA: Sage. (Feb 19)

Buzzanell, P. M. (Ed.) (2000). Rethinking organizational and managerial communication from

feminist perspectives. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. (Feb 26)

Cox, T. (1994). Cultural diversity in organizations: Theory, research, and practice. San

Francisco: Berrett-Koehler. (March 5)

Cushman, D. P., & King, S. S. (1995). Communication and high-speed management. Albany,

NY: SUNY Press. (March 12)

Deetz, S. (1995). Transforming communication, transforming business: Building responsive and

responsible workplaces. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton. (April 30)

Deetz, S., Tracy, S. J., & Simpson, J. L. (2000). Leading organizations through transition:

Communication and cultural change. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. (April 9)

Ferguson, S. (1999). Communication planning: An integrated approach. Thousand Oaks, CA:

Sage. (April 2)

Lipnack, J., & Stamps, J. (2000). Virtual teams: People working across boundaries with

technology (2^nd ed.) New York: John Wiley. (March 26)

Martin, J. (1992). Cultures in organizations: Three perspectives. New York: Oxford University

Press. (February 12)

Morgan, G. (1997). Images of organization (2^nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. (April 16)

Nicotera, A. M. (Ed.). Conflict in organizations: Communicative process. Albany, NY: SUNY

Press. (April 23)

Northouse, P. G. (2001). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. (April 9)

Weick, K. E. (1995). Sensemaking in organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. (February 5)

Final Project. This project is the capstone of the course. It is your chance to apply theories/concepts in a manner consistent with your objectives. The final project should be approximately 20 pages (but no more than 25 text). It is due May 7 with presentations on May 14. I believe that you have a good idea about what kinds of project best fit your needs and interests at this point in time in your life. I also think there are many types of projects that can be relevant to demonstrate competency in the subject. Thus, I am going to provide you with a list of possible projects and you should choose the one that best fit your interests/needs (I also like having choices). Please notice that there is an other category. If you have another idea about an appropriate topic, please talk with me about it.

(1) Critical Literature Review. This option will provide you the opportunity to gain expertise in a specific aspect about organizational communication. You are required to review a line of research on a specific aspect of org. communication. For example, you could look at leadership, org. climate, motivation, voice/empowerment, critical theory, etc. There are a great number of topics you could look at. For this assignment, you will need to complete a thorough review of the literature in relevant journals, books, and edited books on the topic (not textbooks—completing a literature via a textbook is superficial). Then, you will need to provide a summary of each of the studies in the line of research. You will need to organize the research in some meaningful pattern. In a critical review, you are making an argument about what is there, the limitations of the line, and suggestions for overcoming the limitations (i.e., offering a research agenda). The research agenda should offer some concrete suggestions for what research in needed next. I can point you in the direction of specific critical reviews if you are interested. The report should have an introduction, literature review (divided in relevant sections), and a research agenda. Select this option if you are interested in research or if you want to get a start on the literature review for you thesis. This paper can be presented at a conference and an extended/revised review could be published.

(2) Research Proposal. This option is similar to option 1. There are two differences. First, the literature review in a proposal is very focused. Rather than critiquing the literature, you use the literature to advance research questions/hypotheses that you wish to study (i.e., questions/hypotheses that haven’t been addressed yet). Second, instead of offering a research agenda, you’ll offer a specific methodological proposal. That is, you’ll propose a specific study designed to answer your research questions and/or test your hypotheses. You will have to design an actual study (but not carry it out). You will need to explain the specific methods that you would use to gather data to answer your research questions. Essentially you’ll need to describe the type of study (ethnography, survey, experiment, etc.), the participants/organization of study, the way you would collect data and the type of data you plan to collect (e.g., instruments in a survey), and how you would analyze the data. The topic for this assignment is open so long as it focuses on some type of org. comm. The report should include an introduction, literature review, and methods proposed. Select this option if you want to pursue a specific research topic and plan on carrying out the study (perhaps via an independent study with me). This proposal should lead to a conference paper and publication and could help you set up your research agenda. This option is for those of you pursuing a career in academia or wanting to prepare for your thesis/dissertation.

(3) Research Project. You may have a specific project in mind right now and would like to carry it out this semester. This paper can be about any topic on org. comm. and can use any specific research method (e.g., survey, interviews, experimental design, ethnography, etc.). For this project, you’ll need to include an introduction, literature review, methods, results, and discussion. Select this option if you are pursuing a career in academia. The final result can lead to a conference paper and/or publication.

(4) Org. Communication Assessment and Training. This option is to complete an org. communication assessment, write up a report on your findings, and/or design a training to address the findings (but not necessarily carry out the training). If you select the assessment, you’ll need to diagnose the health of a system’s (e.g., the organization you work at, a family system, community, etc.) org. communication behavior and offer suggestions of how to address the problems (if there are some). The assessment should be based on theories and concepts from class and your readings. Based on the theory and what the system wants to know, you design methods (e.g., survey and interviews) that will help you asses the communication. The literature review and methods are truncated in comparison to the proposal or an article-length study. Then, you’ll need to analyze the data to draw conclusions. Finally, you should offer recommendations for addressing problems (including specific training ideas). You’ll need to choose a system on your own. The report includes a literature review, methods, results, and discussion. I can let you see some sample assessments/training manuals if you wish. Select this option if you are interested in training and consulting or if you want to work as a communication specialist in human resources or organizational development. You may also focus on the training portion rather than the assessment. This would involve the development of a training manual as the focus of the assignment.

(5) Theory construction. As you review the theories we cover, you may be thinking to yourself that the theories don’t quite cover everything you think they should. Or you may be thinking that there is a key aspect about org. comm. that hasn’t been adequately covered. Thus, you may want to develop your own theory about a particular aspect of org. communication. You can choose a variety of ways to develop the theory—grounded theory approach, verification model (the traditional scientific method of identifying assumptions and propositions to be tested), personal standpoints, or critical theory. I can point you in the direction of exemplars of each of these approaches (and we will discuss them briefly during class). This option is probably the hardest of all. However, with risk comes great reward (and I certainly will take into account the difficulty as I grade). Select this option if theory fascinates you or if you want to become an academician and researcher.

(6) Case Study. Perhaps there is a specific org. comm. situation that is of interest. You may want to learn more about the history of the org. situation, why it has occurred, or what can be done. You can research about this project and write it up as a case study. The research can be library (articles) or empirical (interviewing people). The situation can be something local, national, or international. The situation should have a broad appeal regardless (i.e., the lessons learned are important for a lot of people). I can share with you some sample case studies (or you can copy the format of one you’ve seen before) and some tips for writing case studies. Select this option if you like in-depth research about a single topic. There are both practical and theoretical benefits to case studies.

(7) Design a communication system. This option is to design a communication system for a hypothetical organization. The idea behind this project is to develop a communication philosophy for an organization, as well as some of the routine communication functions (e.g., newsletters, web site, etc.). I don’t want you to design a specific newsletter, but rather talk about what information you’d put in a newsletter, what should go on the web, what is the method of feedback, etc. To complete this project, you’ll need to select an organization or make one up. Then, you’ll need to review relevant literature and incorporate it into the paper as justification/foundation for your communication system. Further, you’ll describe all of the elements to the communication system (i.e., a plan). I don’t expect you to cover every element of organizational communication (e.g., informal talk), but rather “big picture” issues. Organize this paper by including a review of literature, a description of the organization, the communication system, and concluding comments. Select this option if you are interested in training and consulting or if you want to work as a communication specialist in human resources or organizational development.

(8) Other. If you can think of a project not listed here that would be beneficial to you, let me know. We’ll talk about it and determine if it is a reasonable substitute.

Course Polices:

1) Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. You need to do original work and properly cite sources. Be aware of plagiarism--directly copying more than 3 or 4 words from another author without quoting (not just citing) the author is plagiarism.

2) I will accept late papers for one week after deadlines with a letter grade deduction in grade.

3) I expect you to take an active role in your learning. Please come and see me if you are having problems. Also, please feel free to ask questions during class.

4) Qualified students with disabilities needing appropriate academic adjustments should contact me as soon as possible to ensure your needs are met in a timely manner. Handouts are available in alternative accessible formats upon request.

Tentative Course Outline:

The first part of the course will be an overview of metatheoretical approaches for organizational communication. We then focus on specific topics of organizational communication. We start off with 4 weeks on context and structure of organizations. Then, we have 5 weeks of org. comm. processes. Any changes to the schedule will be announced in class and e-mail. Readings are listed by Ch # (if in the book) or by author (if in packet).

Date Topic/Readings/Assignments

Jan. 22 INTRODUCTION TO COURSE. We’ll go over the requirements of the course, etc.

METATHEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES OF ORG. COMM.

Jan. 29 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION. We spend some time introducing the field of organizational communication and some of the basic concepts and trends of the field. We’ll overview the past, present, and future of the field and identify four metatheoretical approaches to org. comm.

Readings: Putnam & Cheney; Deetz

Optional Reading: Poole et al. (in packet)

Feb. 5 TRADITIONAL APPROACHES. We’ll discuss the traditional, normative or post-positivist approach to org. comm. We’ll discuss these in context of the other metatheoretical persepctives (i.e., is there common ground?). If you have not been exposed to org. comm. theories as an undergrad, I recommend that you read an undergrad text (I can recommend 3-4) on the bureaucratic, humanistic, and systems theories. This information will provide you a good foundation for this discussion. I will also provide an overview of these theories and well as those in following weeks.

Readings: Chs. 3, 5, 9, 13-15

Optional Readings: Littlejohns’s Theory of Human Communication (org. comm. chapter); see pp. 225-227 of Corman and Poole for other recommended readings.

Feb. 12 INTERPRETIVE APPROACHES. We’ll discuss organizational culture and the general approach of interpretivism. Like the previous week, I recommend reading some introductory material on interpretivism if you haven’t been exposed to it already.

Readings: Chs. 2, 6, 8, 11, 12, 17

Optional Readings: Littlejohn’s chapter on interpretivism; Chapters in undergrad org. comm. texts on org. culture and interpretivism; see pp. 225-227 of Corman and Poole for other recommended readings.

Feb. 19 CRITICAL APPROACHES. This approach introduces the role of power and office politics and examines organizational communication from workers’, as opposed to the managers’ perspective. We’ll discuss the ways that these issues are incorporated into various theories. Like the previous week, I recommend reading some introductory material on critical theory if you haven’t been exposed to it already.

Readings: Chs. 4, 7, 10, 16, 18, 19

Optional Readings: Chapters in undergrad text or Littlejohn’s chapter on critical theory. see pp. 225-227 of Corman and Poole for other recommended readings.

Feb. 26 POSTMODERN & FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES. A final approach is the postmodern approach. We’ll also include feminist perspectives because of the underlying postmodern approach to much of this research.

Readings: Trethewey; Mumby

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT AND STRUCTURE

March 5 CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND GLOBALIZATION. The world is getting smaller and more diverse. We’ll examine the impact of these demographic changes for organizational communication.

Readings: Allen; Cox; Oetzel et al.

Assignment: SCHEMA PAPER DUE

March 12 STRUCTURE/NETWORKS. We’ll look at two somewhat related topics. The first is interpersonal networks. The second is organizational structure. We’ll look at the flow of communication and the importance of informal networks for making changes.

Readings: Rogers & Argawala-Rogers; Jablin

March 19 SPRING BREAK!!!

March 26 VIRTUAL ORGANIZATIONS. More on communication technology since it is so big. We’ll focus on the virtual organization today.

Readings: Wiesenfeld et al.; Cascio; Jarvenpaa & Leidner

April 2 COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY. One of the major factors that is changing the way organizations work is technology. We’ll take a look at some of the theories of guiding research on communication technology and discuss some of the practical aspects about using these technologies.

Readings: Rice et al.; Fulk et al.; Contractor & Eisenburg

ORG. COMM. PROCESSES

April 9 LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE. The role of leaders and managers for communication is critical for organizations. It is especially critical during periods of flux and transformation that characterizes many organizations today.

Readings: Barge; Gardner & Cleavenger; Zorn et al.

April 16 ORGANIZATIONAL IDENTIFICATION AND SOCIALIZATION. These topics examine the degree of fit between and individual and an organization. We’ll talk about how to “better” integrate employees, while also using a critical eye about how this fit can be manipulated by organizations.

Readings: Scott et al.; Kramer, Miller, Bullis, Clair, & Turner debate

April 23 CONFLICT, HARASSMENT, AND DISSENT. These three topics relate in that they focus on processes most of us do not enjoy.

Readings: Nicotera et al.; Keyton & Rhodes; Kassing

April 30 VOICE, PARTICIPATION, AND EMPOWERMENT. We’ll now look at more positive processes of involving all people in the organization.

Readings: Meares et al.; Cheney; Chiles & Zorn

May 7 ORGANIZATIONAL ETHICS AND IMAGE. Given all of the corporate scandals in the past year, this topic becomes especially critical. We’ll examine what ethical considerations corporations have and the images they present.

Readings: McCrickerd; Trevino et al.; Mattson & Stage

Assignment: FINAL PROJECT DUE

May 14 PROJECT PRESENTATIONS. I’ll ask each of you to prepare and present a 10 minute (approximately) summary of your final project.