Communication & Organisations ~ Key Concepts/Terms/Theorists | Quizlet

Power

The ability to influence people's behaviour and decisions.

Organizational Control

Processes used to direct and regulate employee behaviour.

Direct Control

Managers explicitly tell employees what to do.

Technological Control

Technology is used to monitor and regulate work.

Bureaucratic Control

Behaviour controlled through rules and procedures.

Ideological Control

Employees internalize organizational values and beliefs.

Biocratic Control

Employees' identities become tied to organizational values.

Mumby & Kuhn

Organizations are sites of power and control.

Capitalism

Economic system based on private ownership and profit.

Alienation

Workers become disconnected from their work and themselves.

Surplus Value

Profit created from workers' labour beyond their wages.

Hegemony

Dominance maintained through consent rather than force.

Ideology

A system of beliefs that shapes how people view reality.

Culture Industry

Mass media produces standardized culture for profit.

Critical Theory

Examines power, inequality, and social domination.

Karl Marx

Developed theories of capitalism, alienation, and class conflict.

Antonio Gramsci

Developed the concept of hegemony.

Max Horkheimer

Founder of the Frankfurt School.

Theodor Adorno

Developed the culture industry concept.

Herbert Marcuse

Critical theorist who studied domination in modern society.

Stuart Hall

Developed cultural studies and encoding/decoding.

Roland Barthes

Key theorist in semiotics.

Edward Said

Founder of postcolonial studies.

Scientific Management

Improving efficiency through scientific study of work.

Fordism

Mass production using assembly lines and standardization.

Rationalization

Organizing work for maximum efficiency and predictability.

Iron Cage

Feeling trapped by bureaucratic rules and systems.

Division of Labour

Breaking work into specialized tasks.

Frederick Taylor

Founder of Scientific Management.

Systematic Soldiering

Workers deliberately slowing down productivity.

Therbligs

Basic motions used to analyze work efficiency.

Henry Ford

Developed the assembly-line production system.

Max Weber

Developed theories of bureaucracy and authority.

Traditional Authority

Power based on customs and traditions.

Charismatic Authority

Power based on personal qualities and charisma.

Rational-Legal Authority

Power based on rules and laws.

Hawthorne Effect

People change behaviour because they know they're being observed.

Theory X

Employees are lazy and need close supervision.

Theory Y

Employees are motivated and seek responsibility.

Power-With

Collaborative power created through cooperation.

Power-Over

Power exercised through domination and control.

Elton Mayo

Led the Hawthorne Studies.

Mary Parker Follett

Developed Power-With and Law of the Situation.

Circular Response

People continuously influence each other.

Law of the Situation

Decisions should be based on circumstances, not authority.

Douglas McGregor

Developed Theory X and Theory Y.

Rensis Likert

Developed the Four Systems Approach.

Open System

Exchanges information and resources with its environment.

Closed System

Operates independently from its environment.

Entropy

Tendency toward disorder and decline.

Equifinality

Different paths can lead to the same outcome.

Ventriloquism

Objects and texts can "speak" through people.

Hybrid Agency

Humans and non-humans jointly produce action.

Ludwig von Bertalanffy

Founder of General Systems Theory.

James Taylor

Key figure in the Montréal School.

François Cooren

Developed ventriloquism and hybrid agency.

Organizational Storytelling

Stories communicate organizational values and culture.

Ethnography

Studying culture through observation and participation.

Normative Control

Control through shared norms and values.

Rites and Rituals

Repeated activities that reinforce organizational culture.

Clifford Geertz

Developed thick description and ethnography.

Thick Description

Detailed interpretation of cultural practices.

Edgar Schein

Major theorist of organizational culture.

Karl Weick

Developed sensemaking theory.

Post-Fordism

Flexible production replacing mass production.

Neoliberalism

Emphasizes free markets, competition, and individual responsibility.

Precariat

Workers with insecure and unstable employment.

Venture Labour

Unpaid work done in hopes of future rewards.

Aspirational Labour

Work done to build future opportunities or visibility.

Immaterial Labour

Producing knowledge, emotions, or communication.

Communicative Capitalism

Communication itself becomes a source of profit.

Hardt & Negri

Developed theories of immaterial labour.

Maurizio Lazzarato

Major theorist of immaterial labour.

David Harvey

Major theorist of neoliberalism.

Rosalind Gill

Developed venture labour concept.

Glass Ceiling

Invisible barriers preventing women from advancing.

Glass Cliff

Women promoted into risky leadership positions.

Glass Ladder/Escalator

Men in female-dominated professions advance faster

Tokenism

Symbolic inclusion of underrepresented groups.

Hegemonic Masculinity

Dominant form of masculinity in society.

Intersectionality

Different identities interact to shape experiences of inequality.

Judith Butler

Developed gender performativity and queer theory.

Raewyn Connell

Developed hegemonic masculinity.

Kimberlé Crenshaw

Developed intersectionality.

First Wave of Feminism

Focused on women's legal rights, especially the right to vote (suffrage).

Second Wave of Feminism

Focused on workplace equality, reproductive rights, and challenging patriarchy.

Third Wave of Feminism

Focused on diversity, inclusivity, and intersectionality.

Fourth Wave of Feminism

Focused on digital activism, #MeToo, and combating gender-based violence.

Women's Suffrage

The movement to secure women's right to vote.

Women's Consciousness Raising

Second-wave practice of sharing experiences to reveal systemic gender inequality.

#MeToo Movement

A global movement raising awareness of sexual harassment and gender inequality.

Difference

Social distinctions between groups based on identity categories.

Normalization

Process of making certain behaviours or identities seem "normal."

Queer Theory

Challenges fixed ideas about gender and sexuality.

Microaggression

Subtle actions or comments that communicate prejudice.

Invisible Knapsack

Unseen privileges associated with dominant identities.

Whiteness

Social system that privileges white identities and experiences.

Peggy McIntosh

Developed the invisible knapsack concept.

Michel Foucault

Developed theories of normalization and power.

Brand Citizenship

Employees actively embody and promote a brand's values.