Chapter 11: Organizational Communication

Why study organizational communication?

• Your life is shaped by organizations everyday like governments, legislative

bodies, educational institutions, religious groups, corporations

• We’ll define organizations and explain their communication functions and

structures.

• We’ll explain types of communication that occur among coworkers and explain

their functions.

• Lots more in the reading

Production

A function of organizational communication in

which activity is coordinated toward accomplishing tasks.

Maintenance

A function of organizational communication in

which the stability of existing systems is preserved.

Innovation

A function of organizational communication by

means of which systems are changed

Hierarchy

– power structure in which some members exercise authority over

others.

– chain of command, who reports to whom

Upward communication

communication with superiors.

Downward communication

communication with subordinates (job duties, explanations, info, feedback)

Horizontal communication

communication with peers

What is organizational culture?

A pattern of shared beliefs, values,

and behaviors.

What’s the formal structure?

Officially designated channels of

communication, reflecting explicit or desired patterns of interaction.

What’s the informal structure?

Unspoken but understood channels of

communication, reflecting patterns that develop spontaneously (more

like the grapevine).

• Artifacts, languages, rites and rituals, ceremonies, stories, beliefs, and

habits enacted by group members

• Not static, changes over time

What’s the organizational climate?

How organizational members feel about, or experience, the organization’s culture.

Assimilation

The communicative, behavioral, and cognitive

processes that influence individuals to join, identify with, become

integrated into, and (occasionally) exit an organization.

Organizational identification

The stage of assimilation that occurs when

an employee’s values overlap with the organization’s values.

Supervisor–Subordinate Communication

semantic-information distance - Describes the gap in information and

understanding between supervisors and subordinates on specific issues.

upward distortion - Occurs when subordinates present information to

superiors in a more positive light than is warranted.

Emotion Labor

process of managing feelings and expressions to

fulfill the emotional requirements of a job. More specifically,

workers are expected to regulate their emotions during

interactions with customers, co-workers and superiors.

Burnout

A chronic condition that results from the accumulation of

daily stress, which manifests itself in a specific set of characteristics,

including exhaustion, cynicism, and ineffectiveness.

Work–life conflict

Difficulty balancing job and home

responsibilities.

New social contract

employers value profit over people, decisions

made to benefit shareholders over employees, job holders are more

fearful of changing jobs, , increase in contingent employees (a non-

permanent worker hired on a temporary, project-basis, or contract

basis rather than as a full-time employee)

Competitiveness and urgent organizations in society

responding to new demands (Zoom vs Skype vs Teams in 2020)

Bullying

Repeated, hostile behaviors intended to do harm that occur over an extended

period, 30% of workers have been bullied (next clip)

Sexual Harassment

– Unwanted sexual attention that interferes w/ ability to do one’s job

– Primarily a communicative behavior, quid pro quo, inappropriate displays,

touching, names, date requests, displays w/ sexual content

Employee Privacy & Monitoring

– Also includes drug testing, message and location monitoring, keystroke logging

– Personality & psychological testing

– Monitoring can decrease morale & increase worker stress