COMM 320

Study Guide

Final Celebration of Knowledge: 

Tuesday, November 26

This Celebration of Knowledge provides you with an opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of and engagement with Chapters 5, 6, 12, 14, as well as Canvas readings (Miller, 2002, Scott, 2013), in-class lectures and related activities. The exam will consist entirely of multiple-choice questions. Please bring a writing utensil with you on the exam day. Gradescope bubble sheets will be provided.

Chapter 5: Communication, Culture, and Organizing 

• Be able to identify examples of each component of Deal and Kennedy’s “Strong Cultures” (PowerPoint) : tamu commercial 

  • Values: stated belief and visions 

  • Heroes: people who exemplify values

  • Rites and rituals (rites of integration, enhancement, and degradation: p. 137)

  • Cultural networks : communication systems through which values are institute and reinforced (aggie park mural, social media, colors that gangs wear) medium through which we come to know how the values are 

• Be able to recognize examples of each phase of socialization: anticipatory socialization, the encounter phase, and metamorphosis (PowerPoint).

  • Anticipatory socialization: learning about an org before joining 

  • Encounter phase: experiencing discrepancies between expectation and reality 

  • Metamorphosis: individualizing role and establishing methods to negotiate tensions 

Miller (2002) Reading and In-Class Lectures: Processes of Emotion in the Workplace

• Be able to explain the difference between surface acting and deep acting (Miller, 2002, p. 586; PowerPoint)

• Surface acting: inauthentically perform certain feeling displays in order to satisfy role expectations ; just put on a mask 

• Deep acting - evoke realistic emotional displays by conjuring up authentic feeling, bridge the disconnection, so we try to truly feel what were supposed to feel (step aside to calm yourself down) 

• Miller: our orgs expect us to act certain ways 

• Be able to distinguish between the types of emotional communication (PowerPoint)

  • Service emotions: in service of a work task target (client); creating calming space in a spa

  • Relational emotions: arising from interaction with co-workers; your co-worker playing loud noises next to your calm space 

  • Emotional boundary-spanning: crossing boundaries between spaces of home, community, or culture and spaces of work; getting a text from michael when you’re on stage, mom getting an email from work during dinner 

  • Emotional effects: consequences of work 

• Be able to distinguish between stress and burnout (PowerPoint)

duration: 

• stress-short term; can be useful

• burnout: feelings of stress for an extended period of time; your body stops seeking that stress response as a motivation and we go into numbness 

• Be able to distinguish between emotional contagion and detached concern (PowerPoint; Miller, 2002, p. 596)

  • emotional contagion: oveserver experiences emotions parallel to those of another person; feeling with, negative connotation 

  • detached concern: feeling for; nurses being calm during an emergency; before 

• Be able to describe the differences between the major functions of social support (PowerPoint)

  • Emotional support : someone giving you a hug; what we normally think of as support; person/feeling based 

  • Informational support: resources that you provide offer knowledge, advice, instructions; ppl that tell you/help you make a to do list; solution based 

  • Instrumental support/practical support (Miller, 2002, p. 574): provision of needed resources, not solving but giving you materials; “mom I’m stressed” > “im doordashing you dinner” 

Scott (2013) Reading and In-Class Lectures: Hidden Organizations 

• Be able to apply Craig Scott’s framework in order to place an organization in the correct region according to a description of its visibility, member identification, and audience (Hidden Orgs PowerPoint; Scott, 2013: see figure on p. 99; explanation of each dimension on p. 85):

Chapter 6: Post-Fordism and Organizational Communication

• Identify key characteristics of the three spirits of capitalism (PowerPoint; p. 150)

1. maybe someday you can be that rich person, but until then we have cool rich ppl that build us cool stuff , gossip girl: Everyone has a chance to be a brand worthy of remark.”

2. more security (fordism): predictable hours, benefits and rights, you can work at that job as long as you keep showing up. 9-5, mom job

3. you don’t have to clock in; hybrid,contract work; work as much as you are willing to put into it. , kylee’s parents 

• Be able to identify the role of government/state power in a neoliberal economic system (pp. 150-151)

  • neoliberalism: govt doesn’t want anything to do with you your own boot straps 

• Be able to explain how the fissured workplace can contribute to precarious and unstable work environments (pp. 162-163)

  • find your niche and stick to it, factor everything else out: were really good at marketing, when we need an hr thing we’ll contract with someone else 

  • wages are lowered and benefits disappear 

  • greater health and safety risks; contract workers are not under the benefits 

• Be able to distinguish between an employee and an independent contractor (PowerPoint)

  • employee: has benefits, a stable wage, and ridgid work

  • independent contractors: work on tier won terms bc they choose the contracts, but only earn what they get and are not protected under any company

• Recognize possible drawbacks to each of the following dimensions of flexibility that characterize the post-Fordist organization (pp. 164-166, PowerPoint):

  • Flexibility in the work process itself (e.g., Just-in-Time management) : 

    • Rather than workers being instructed in the one best way to do their jobs, the flexibility of the production process means that workers are encouraged to continuously look for ways that the work itself can be improved.

    • The JIT system: part of a lean production system in which a company increases efficiency and minimizes waste by maintaining a minimal level of inventory.

  • Flexibility in the labor markets (e.g., subcontracting, part-time, and temporary work)

    • in order to cut costs companies will hire temp workers under a subcontracting firm to deal with the fluctuations of their demands 

  • Greater geographic mobility (e.g., being able to work anywhere with internet access)

    • can make “presence bleed” This problem occurs when the boundaries between one’s professional and personal identities largely disappear and work becomes ever-present, regardless of one’s activity. 

    • use of outsourcing and the moving of production to wherever labor costs are cheapest. Thus, Apple outsources its production of iPhones, iPads, and Macs to a Chinese company called Foxconn

Chapter 12: Information and Communication Technologies at Work

• Recognize examples of algorithmic management (p. 313) and disclosure devices (pp. 325-328)

• algorithmic management: when an algorithm is the one in charge of the employees; AI scanning your resume

• disclosure devices - make people and processes visible, disclosing every detail of what workers do when they’re producing and using knowledge; wearing aft bit hwile you work

• Be able to distinguish between asynchronous and synchronous media (p. 317)

• asynchronous medium: which means that parties to communication participate in an interaction at different times and in different places

• Synchronous media, like videoconferencing, telephone, or instant messaging, come closer to the FtF context because parties to an interaction are exchanging messages at (something close to) the same time but from different locations.

• Be able to explain media richness theory and why people criticize it (pp. 317-318; PowerPoint)

• the more detailed you can be given the medium of communication, the better, 

• people criticize it because sometimes the lean methods are more effective and can get simple tasks one faster; behavior is not based on richness it's based on efficiency 

• Be able to justify use of lean or rich media based on the ambiguity of a task (PowerPoint)

• ambiguous (up for interpretation)- rich 

• unambiguous - lean 

• Be able to critique a prompt for an AI-powered content generation tool based on the key elements that ought to be included (PowerPoint; ELA #9)

  • instruction, context, input data, output indicator 

• instruction: Write an essay discussing the role of artificial intelligence in the workplace.

• context: Explore applications of AI in marketing, focusing on its potential to improve targeted advertising.

• input data: Provide an overview of marketing applications of AI, such as search engine optimization and narrowcasting, Discuss advantages, disadvantages and potential future advancements in this field.

• output indicator: Present your findings in a well-structured essay format, including an introduction, main body paragraphs covering key aspects of AI in the marketing industry, and a conclusion. Aim for approximately 1500 words.

Chapter 14: Communication, Meaningful Work, and Personal Identity

• Be able to identify the six criteria that Cheney et al. (2008) suggest as features of meaningful work (pp. 359-366)

  • enables a sense of urgency

  • enhances belonging and relationships 

  • create opportunities for influence 

  • permits use and development of talents 

  • offers a sense of contribution to a greater good 

  • provides an income adequate for a decent living 

• Recognize examples of the conformist and resistant selves (pp. 373-376)

  • resistant: employees in such organizations respond by engaging with the organizational meaning system that undergirds corporate efforts to control employee identity. In this sense, resistant selves attempt 

  • Conformist selves involve efforts by organization members to portray themselves as valued objects in the eyes of those in authority;  Under such conditions, the goal is very much to subordinate one’s sense of identity to the needs and goals of the organization.

• Be able to define identification and disidentification (PowerPoint)

  • identification: who you are is a combination of overlapping positions you hold ; i am a sister, a student 

    • overlaps 

  • disidentification: identifying with what you’re not 

; for instance, rejecting labels or roles that do not resonate with your self-perception, such as distancing oneself from stereotypes or societal expectations.