Effective

Organizational Communication

– An Overview

Lecturer:QueenAnnie Gill
 Communication is the very essence of a social system or
organization -- Katz and Khan
Learning objectives:
• Define the following terms: communication, organization and
organizational communication
• Explain the usefulness of understanding of organizational
communication
• Explore career possibilities
• Discuss three major perspectives
 What do we mean by “Communication”?
❖ Communication is how we socially interact at a number of
levels through messages.

❖Communication is a process that is transactional – it involves

two or more people interacting in an environment

❖Communication is a process that is symbolic ---that is, it stands

for something, [ e.g. a manifestation of community]
 What do we mean by “Organization”?
An organization involves:
• A group of people – what scholars define as “social
collectivity”
• Coordinated group activities that achieve individual and
collective goals
• A structure where individuals relate to each other and to a
larger organizational environment.
 What is Organizational Communication?
• The communication processes which govern human
organizations.
Why is organizational communication important?
• Essential to personal effectiveness
• Core to managerial and leadership positions within
organizations
• Communication effectiveness creates Organizational
effectiveness
 How did this field develop?
Critics felt this area of study to be fuzzy and unclear

Borrowed ideas from social and behavioral sciences

Theories/perspectives emerged on how communication works

within organization

Theories brought both eclecticism and clarity to the field.

 Career Development
• There is now a full time job category called Corporate
Communications Manager. - Applied communication skills

• Competence in organizational communication will generate

success in your organizational role as a team player and a team
leader.
• Eward Bernays and Ivy Lee – stressed the importance of
corporate identity and communication.
 Public Relations
• “The management function that establishes and maintains
mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the
publics on whom its success or failure depends.”
• Who are the Publics?
Any group of people who share a common set of interests and
goals.
• Internal publics - People within the organization
• External publics - People outside of the organization
• Media relations- Two-way interactions with members of the press
 The Traditional Perspective
The tenets:
• The organization is an object that can be studied
• Organizational communication can be measured, labeled,
classified and made to relate to other organizational processes.
Traditionalists ask :
What is the relationship between communication processes and
organizational effectiveness?
 The Traditionalist Approach
The answer lies in the study of:
• Information flow
• Message distortion
• Breakdown in communication channels
• Communication strategies deployed by management
• Group dynamics re problem solving/ decision making
 The Traditionalist Approach
• Early traditionalists saw the organization as a machine that the
manager designs, engineers and control
• Today’s traditionalists see the organization as a living organism
that can grow and change.

• Traditionalism has been criticized for being managerially-

biased.
 The Interpretive Perspective
• Understanding the organization’s culture: their way of doing
business.

• “Organizational culture is not just another piece of the puzzle;

it is the puzzle. From our point of view, culture is not
something an organization has; a culture is something an
organization is.” (Geertz & Pacanowsky)
 Points of difference
• The organization is subjective

• The organization is unique

• All members of the organization are valuable

• The organization is the product of negotiated order -- product

of collective discourse and transactions
 The Critical Perspective
• Organizations are seen as instruments of oppression
• Marginalization on the basis of race ethnicity, class and gender.
• [Ways of talking about those groups influence ways of thinking
about and acting towards those groups]
• Concerned with the relationship between structure and
symbolic processes.
• Criticizes distortions in organizational communication and the
oppression that ensues.
 Critical Perspective - summary
• Oppression resides in power structures that do not give equal
access to the marginal group.

• These power structures can be socially defined

• Power structures are manifested and maintained through

symbols
 Point of difference
• When traditionalists talk about communication distortion they
refer to inaccuracies or errors in information that lead to
inefficiency and ineffectiveness.

• When critical scholars speak about distortion they see it as a

deliberate and systematic process that advances the interest
of the ‘oppressor’.
 Review : What do we mean by communication ?
Communication is:

o how we socially interact at different levels

o a transactional process – 2 or more persons within an

environment

o a symbolic process – represents other things [ a manifestation

of community]
 Review:
What do we mean by organization?
An organization involves:
o A group of people -- what scholars refer to as social collectivity
o Coordinated activities in order to achieve individual and
collective goals.
o Activities create structures which in turn connect to other
organizations , thereby creating an organizational
environment.
Communication Theory – An
Introduction
 Defining theory
• A theory is :
• –a proposed description, explanation, or model of the manner
of interaction of a set of natural phenomena.
• – capable of predicting future occurrences or observations of
the same kind
• – capable of being tested through experiment or otherwise
falsified through empirical observation.
• • "theory" and "fact" do not necessarily stand in opposition.
 Why theory?
•The importance of theory

–theory is a systematic and formalized expression of all previous

observations

–theory helps to explain and predict

–theory provides an approach to an issue/ idea/concept

 Defining Communication Theory
•“An umbrella term for all careful, systematic and self conscious
discussion and analysis of communication phenomena” Ernest
Bormann
•Theory: How do we conceptualize communication practices
/problems
•There are TWO approaches to Communication theory:
•Objective
•Interpretive
• The following traditions fall within those two approaches.
 The Seven Traditions in the Field of
Communication theory
•The Socio-psychological Tradition •The Socio-Cultural Tradition

•The Cybernetic Tradition •The Critical Tradition

•The Rhetoric Tradition •The Phenomenological Tradition

•The Semiotic Tradition

 The Socio-psychological tradition
scientific or objective perspective that can be measured by
systematic observation

• Communication as a cause/effect relationship

–Who says what to whom and with what effect

–Credibility matters
Expertness
Character
 Cybernetic tradition
communication as information processing
•Communication is a link connecting separate parts of a system.

•How do we make sure this system is bug-free?

• –Noise reduction
• –Repetition
• –restatement
The Cybernetic tradition

Shannon and Weaver’s Model of Communication

(Adapted from Shannon and Weaver, The
Mathematical Theory of Communication)
 “Our biggest problem around here is lack of
information. Of course, I have nothing to base that on.”
 Rhetorical Tradition
• Communication as the art of persuasive public address:

• Strong emphasis on oratory.

-Deliberate manipulation of the power and beauty of

language
–One-way communication
 The Semiotic Tradition
• Communication is a process of sharing meaning through signs
• Semiotics is the study of signs – a sign is anything that can stand for something else

• Words are signs /symbols. Whereas most signs have a connection to the things they
describes, symbols do not.

• Words are arbitrary symbols— they take on meaning in the context in which they are
being used.

• Meaning does not reside in the word, instead meaning resides in people

• Signs can create or prevent misunderstanding.

 The Semiotic Tradition
Richards’ Semantic Triangle
(Adapted from Ogden and Richards, The Meaning of Meaning.)
 The Socio-Cultural Tradition
• Culture is produced and reproduced when people talk to each
other
• The structure of language shape what people think and do
• Language structures our perception of reality
• Through the process of communication persons in
conversation co-construct their social worlds.
• When perceptual worlds collide socio-cultural communication
bridges gaps between “us” and them”.
 Critical Tradition
• Reflective challenge to unjust discourse
• Its main tenets are:
• –Language perpetuates power imbalance
• –The mass media is a vehicle for repression of the masses
• –Scientific methods and empirical findings only “bless the
mess”
• •This theory advocates liberation, transformation and
consciousness-raising
 Phenomenological tradition
• He who feels it, knows it”
• Places emphasis on the perception and interpretation of one’s
subjective reality.
• The individual’s story is important, and communication
provides the context for story-sharing
• Dialogue establishes and sustains human relationships
• This theory is core to interpersonal communication
 Summary
Objective theories Interpretative theories

• Explanation of data • Understanding people

• Prediction of the future • Clarification of values

• Practical utility • Reform of society

 Discussion/ Activity
• The previous slides represent the seven traditions in the field
of communication theory.
• – In which region do you feel most at home?
• –Why ?