Chapter 5 Montreal My Summary Organizational Communication

Social Constructionism

Theory that suggests reality is not an objective thing but is, instead, an intersubjective construction created through communication

Structuration Theory

Idea that suggests the social world is generated through the agency of active participants.

Agency

The possibility that people can act otherwise in a situation.

Structures

Rules and resources that individuals draw on while they interact in the social world that can also be changed during the course of interaction.

Duality of Structure

The process of producing and reproducing the structures that enable and constrain our behavior.

Conversation

Ongoing interaction among individuals facilitated by spoken and gestural language.

Text

Substance or meaning of interaction that can take various forms, such as a memo and a mission statement.

co-orientation

processes involved in the interplay between text and conversation are the core of The Montreal School’s approach to CCO

distanciation

the meaning created in the relationship between text and conversation can be codified (e.g., in physical books or computer software) and thus make a difference in situations beyond the initial interaction.

Degrees of Separation

The process through which the original intent of a speaker is embedded in conversation and then distanced from that conversation through its transformation into text.

First Degree of Separation

The intent of the speaker is embedded in conversation. (Patrick, a worker at an urban nonprofit, suggests a new way to connect unhoused individuals with job opportunities.)

Second Degree of Separation

The conversation is given a narrative representation. (Heather tells others about the ideas Patrick shared with her.)

Third Degree of Separation

The text is transcribed into a more permanent form. (A written plan is developed based on Patrick’s ideas.)

Fourth Degree of Separation

A specialized language is developed that is used in subsequent texts and conversations. (Specific terminology is created for components of Patrick’s plans so others in the city center can share in the planning.)

Fifth Degree of Separation

The texts and conversations are transformed into material and physical frames. (Procedure manuals are created and kiosks are built in strategic locations.)

Sixth Degree of Separation

The standardized form is disseminated to a broader public. (The new system is shared with nonprofits in other urban areas.)

scaling up process

How conversations become textualized and taken up into organizations and institutions, opening up the possibility that texts can have agency apart from the humans who have created them through conversation.