Com 101 Exam 2
What is Perrow's explanation why breakdown occur in organizations?
(1986): failures are not the fault of the bureaucracy, breakdowns occur because of outside influence, trouble adapting to non-routine occurrences, and humans are fallible
Articulate critical cultural theory perspective on the reality of social world
Those in power cater to the status quo at the expense of ordinary people Deals with the relationship between structure (rules, norms, beliefs)and agency (how we act and interact in the world)
Differentiate between masculine and feminine cultures
Masculine: clearly defined sex roles, encourage "male" characteristics, assertiveness, competitiveness, wealth, hierarchy, ambition, "me" and "I" talk, open expression of material comfort, greater amonts of conversational challenge Feminine: nurturing, empathetic, compassionate, "we" and "you" talk, affection and interest, flexible gender roles
Understand Social Responsibility theory
Media industries and professionals must serve the public if they are to be free of government control Normative theory: it sets standards (norms) to guide media conduct that are based on society's ideal values, and it is against those standards that the public should judge the media's performance Eight basic assumptions (Denis McQuail 1987): Media have obligations to society that they must fulfill They should meet them by setting high or professional standards of informativeness, truth, accuracy, objectivity, and balance Because they accept this duty, media should be self-regulating within the framework of law and established institutions Media should avoid whatever might lead to crime, violence, or civil disorder or give offense to minority groups The media should reflect the diversity of their society, giving access to various points of view and to rights of reply The People have a right to expect high standards of performance, and if not met, official intervention can be justified to secure the public good Media professionals should be accountable to society as well as to the financial bottom line
Identify the characteristics of media consumers
Platform agnostic: neutrality in choice of content-delivery technology Media multitaskers: Texting while watching TV Susceptible to media addiction Leads to problems with reduced attention span, aliteracy, memory and focus
Be able to articulate the problem with tolerance
We should not just "tolerate" someone, we should celebrate and respect their difference, tolerance is demeaning by definition
What is the need for self-presentation?
the continuous process of impression management We know ourselves through interaction with others, so if others of important to us are online, that's where we must be to present ourselves
Explain how Neo-Marxism differs from traditional Marxist theory
Traditional Marxist: elites control the public through ownership of the means of production Neo-Marxist: elites exert influence by their control of the superstructure or culture
Relate media literacy and meaning making
Being critical of media content requires us to make meaning from that content Media-literate people are better able to discern the meanings built into media texts because they do not passively absorb the content. They consume it in a critical fashion, asking questions that reach beyond the information provided, looking at motives, interpretations, and credibility The result is a deeper, more critical understanding
Be able to explain why advertising to children is particularly harmful
We develop most of our identity in childhood and adolescence so ads aimed toward children can be especially detrimental Kids are not as cognitively developed as adults, do not have the same level of critical thinking skills, and cannot always distinguish fantasy from reality.
Explain theories of bureaucracy. What are Weber's and Scott's principles?
Weber (1946): to maximize productivity, bureaucracy serves well-functioning system through three principles: authority (hierarchy and leadership), specializations (division of labor and roels), and rules (governing performance and decision-making) W. Richard Scott (1981): equal treatment of all employees and employment as a career
Explain why thinking about the new digital technologies revolved around the assumption that face-to-face communication was superior to computer-mediated communication
FtF: immediate and direct, mutual knowledge, synchronous, media richness, CMC: mediated or filtered, no mutual knowledge, asynchronous, not media rich, leads to social isolation, shy/popular users, facebook envy, and self-disclosure/relational development issues CMC isn't bad, it just depends on how people use it Developed it around the idea that it would never be as good as FtF but made it possible for people to develop relationships and interact similarly to how you would in person, if they so choose to
Differentiate various positive and negative organizational communication traits
Positive: empowerment, assertiveness, supportiveness, motivation Negative: intimidation, aggressiveness, secrecy, superiority
What is the Goldilocks effect?
we expect more of technology than we do of people; we love to engage in CMC only if we can control the distance between us and those with whom we are communicating. Not too close, not too far, just right
What does It mean to be media literate? What are the skills necessary to practice media literacy?
Awareness and skills that allow a person to evaluate media content in terms of what is realistic and useful Paying close attention to media messages and being able to separate valued content from noise Setting high standards when it comes to media content and expecting media producers to live up to those standards Having the ability to always ask questions even when the source is seemingly credible Being knowledgeable about the terms (or language) of media industries so messages can be both deconstructed and constructed effectively and accurately
What is cues-filtered-out theory?
Kiesler, Siegel and McGuire FtF is better because it shares a common, context-providing physical space. CMC offers little contextual information and few social cues
What is polysemic media content?
Media content that is legitimately open to different interpretations
Explain the ways messages can move within an organization
Upward: formal, flow from lower ranks to higher ups Downward: formal, from boss to subordinate Horizontal: informal, between people of same rank
Identify the warning signs of Internet addiction, depression, and distraction
Addiction: spending 40-80 hours per week on internet, with [individual] sessions that could last up to 20 hours Depression: FOMO and anhedonia Distraction: inability to focus on important information and educational tasks for long periods of time, exhibit impatience and distraction in the real world
Describe Petter Brandtzæg's five types of social network site users
Advanced users: on all the time Debaters: highly active in discussions and debating, heaviest users Socializers: engage primarily in socializing with friends Lurkers: use primarily to kill time, look at photos, find information about friends, passive consumers Sporadics: almost nonusers, only use occasionally to see if somebody tried contacting them
Explain Social Cognitive theory and two types of modeling
Albert Bandura 1960s People model behaviors in media: Observational learning Bobo doll study Imitation: direct replication Identification: copying behavior but not replicating it
Explain the roles, rules, ranks, and responses in the organizational system
Bureaucracy
What are organizational climate and culture?
Climate: the product of interactions, influenced by leadership and structure, communicated down Culture: the pattern of shared basic assumptions, influenced by stories, myths, traditions, and everyday experiences/behaviors, culture sets norms, values, and beliefs
Identify the characteristics of media industries
Concentration of ownership: ownership of many different media companies by an increasingly small number of conglomerates Hyper-commercialism: clutter, product placement, brand entertainment (develop content around brand, polar bears), ambient advertising (real life), synergy (companies team up) Fragmentation: when audiences become more segmented (less "mass") content is increasingly specialized Globalization: cultural imperialism Convergence: less distinctions in media
List several theories associated with mass communication
Cultivation Theory, Social Cognitive Theory, Social Responsibility Theory, Critical culture theory
Articulate an informed opinion in the debate over face-to-face communication versus computer mediated communication
FtF: allows social cues, immediate and direct (synchronous), fast but could say the wrong thing and can't take it back, more mutual knowledge (less miscommunication), natural language, personal focus CMC: also allows social cues in emoticons, pictures, etc., can't hear tone (miscommunication), asynchronous (slower but messages are better controlled, altered, or considered)
What is the difference between generalizing and stereotyping?
Generalizing is finding similarities in a group of people Stereotyping is hurtful, locking people into groups and limiting them Generalizing describes, stereotyping judges
Know cultivation theory. What is the relationship between television, cultivation theory, and the Mean World Syndrome?
George Gerbner 1970s TV/media has long-term effects that are gradual but significant TV is our window to the world, it cultivates realities Violence is the main concern: MWS Mean World Syndrome: the more media people consume, the meaner they think the world to be Resonance - when events in the real world support those shown on television, then the Cultivation Effect is magnified
What is the difference between grapevine and water cooler communication?
Grapevine: messages and rumors that make their way around, in the end bearing little resemblance to the original message Water Cooler: when employees engage in conversation (not necessarily work related) while on breaks or during pauses in the workday
Differentiate between high- and low-context cultures. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
High: require less detailed explanation, make meaning implicitly from a given setting or situation and don't need to rely on verbal information Low: direct and to-the-point in communication
What are the idealized virtual identity hypothesis and the extended real-life hypothesis?
Idealized virtual identity: tendency for creators of social network site profiles to display idealized characteristics not reflective of their actual personalities Extended real-life hypothesis: tendency or social networking site users to communicate their real personalities (symbolic interaction and looking glass)
Explain the cultural impact and importance of media literacy
If we are going to embrace the saturation of media technologies and content in our culture, we have a social and cultural responsibility to understand our condition by becoming media literate Only by being critical consumers can we flourish in developing our identities, weaning out harmful effects, and advancing our democratic principles
Differentiate between individualistic and collective cultures
Individualistic: value the strong individual who is independent and stands apart. Communication open, forceful, direct, focus on what "I" want to say, not what you want to hear, when a person loses face they suffer the consequences alone Collective: the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, emphasis placed on structure and collaboration, how you say something is more important than what you say, when people lose face it brings insult and dishonor to the entire group
Explain the relationship between depression and internet addiction
Internet addiction leads teens and preteens to spend a great deal of time on social media and then they begin to exhibit signs of depression
Describe the differences between interpersonal and mass communication
Interpersonal: involves 2 or a few people, immediate and direct feedback, flexible/alterable messages, personal Mass: involves millions of people, inferential (delayed, indirect) feedback, unalterable messages, impersonal and formulaic
What is cultural pluralism?
Maintaining the practices and identities of one's bounded culture raises the question of assimilation melting pot and salad bowl metaphors
Identify the assumptions of media literacy
Mass media has the potential to exert a wide range of negative effects on individuals and a range of positive effects Media literacy protects people from negative effects by giving them greater control over the influence Media literacy must be developed, you're not born with it Media literacy is multi-dimensional. Media constantly influences people cognitively, attitudinally, emotionally, physiologically, behaviorally, both directly and indirectly through other people, institutions, and culture
Identify the key concepts of media literacy
Media messages are manufactured Commercial media are businesses All media content expresses value messages; that is, it reflects or expresses the values of the content producer
Explain the importance of media literacy in identity formation
Media messages help us construct ideas of what's beautiful and what's handsome Those who fail to look critically at these media constructions of identity are less likely to form their own identities based on real rather than ideal values
Understand the relationship between culture, communication, and mass media
Media saturated culture: important we understand the pervasiveness and impact of media Influence our lives: Violence, Sexual socialization, Childhood obesity, Cheapening of democratic discourse, Stereotyping of gender and race Shape our cultural values Shape how we relate to others Influence self-identities Media industries sell to advertisers not audiences, ruining culture
Identify the elements of media literacy
Media-literate people develop critical thinking skills enabling them to make independent choices about which media content to select and how to interpret the information they receive through the media Media-literate people understand the process of mass communication Media-literate people are aware of the impact of the media on both the individual (micro-level) and society (macro-level) Media-literate people develop their own strategies for analyzing and discussing media messages Media-literate individuals have an awareness of media content as "text" that provides insight into our contemporary culture and ourselves Media practitioners have a responsibility in their construction of messages, just as consumers have a responsibility to be thoughtful in their choice of messages Media-literate individuals promote the cultivation of enhanced enjoyment, understanding, and appreciation of media content Media communicators have a responsibility to produce effective and responsible media messages
Distinguish between micro-level and macro-level media effects
Micro: impact of media on the individual level Macro: impact of media on the cultural (societal) level
What are policies and protocols?
Policies: how the organization operates, its goals, and outcomes Protocols: the detailed methods in achieving those outcomes
Define and distinguish between preferred reading and negotiated reading
Preferred: the producer-intended meaning of a piece of content Negotiated: audience members' personally meaningful interpretation of a piece of media content
What is the Poor-Get-Richer hypothesis?
Rich get Richer (social enhancement) and Poor get Richer (social compensation) Popular people on SNS get popular online as well Shy people on SNS get popular online because they are more comfortable than in real life
Describe potential relationships between social media and social isolation, popularity, and self-disclosure
Social media can either increase isolation or increase number of confidantes (like a car, you can drive to pick up friends or drive alone) Rich get Richer, Poor get Richer Just like real life, the more you self disclose, the more relational development occurs
Describe how people are socialized into an organization's culture within its climate
Socialization and Assimilation Socialization: task (info about job), workgroup (specifics about one's work group), and organizational (organization's values, beliefs, goals, rules, etc.) Assimilation: anticipatory socialization stage (learning through family, friends, experiences), organizational entry and assimilation stage (begins first day until fully assimilated), disengagement and exit stage (disengage from relationships)
What are the obstacles to intercultural communication?
Stereotypes (categorizing), Labeling (labels, like nerd), Prejudice (negative attitude), Discrimination (overt action), Chauvinism (to be superior), Ethnocentrism (Ethno=ethnicity, Centrism=center, belief your culture is best)
What Is media literacy?
The ability to read, interpret, critically assess, and productively use media texts
Be able to define intercultural communication competency and explain its four levels? What type of thinking does intercultural communication require?
The degree of successful meaning making with communicators from different backgrounds 1. unconscious incompetence: "I'm just being me" 2. conscious incompetence: conscious of your failings, but not knowing why 3. conscious competence: being aware of what it takes to be an effective intercultural communicator 4. unconscious competence: effective intercultural communication is happening without thought Requires holistic (intuitive, gut-level knowledge of what is and should be) and analytical (conscious reflection on what is and what should be) thinking
What is a third person effect?
The third-person effect hypothesis predicts that people tend to perceive that mass media messages have a greater effect on others than on themselves, based on personal biases
What is kinderculture?
a world of adultified and commodified children, a culture in which corporations construct our childhood. Encompasses the idea that our modern media constantly present children with messages that disregard childhood altogether
What is work identity?
an individual's persona (as presented or perceived) in the workplace, established through traits
Identity Negotiation Theory
another theory of culture and identity identities are the product of negotiating our self-identification with others' self-identification (Ting-Toomey 2005) Begins in childhood, as we work to establish personal identities cultural identities By stepping out of our comfort zones we can transform into who we are and negotiate who we truly are
Explain the social information processing theory
argues that social cues exist: Emoticons, text symbols, or pictographs, used to express emotions Choice of technology Silence and chronemics
Identify the six major companies that own the majority of today's media
comcast, news corp, disney, viacom, time warner, and CBS
What are media texts?
content coming from communication technologies
What are accelerators of Intercultural communication?
cultural relativism, understanding others' cultural values, cultural pluralism, and cultural participation
Be able to define discrimination. Know how it is different from prejudice.
discrimination: Overtly excluding, avoiding, or distancing oneself from another group Prejudice is a negative attitude toward a certain group, discrimination is a negative action toward a certain group, usually a result of prolonged prejudice
Be able to explain strong cultures and their elements
effectively socializes and assimilates its members, increased productivity, employee and customer satisfaction, customer trust Elements: history, stories, heroic figures, values and beliefs, rituals and ceremonies, cultural network (like grapevine)
What is phantom-vibration syndrome?
feeling a phone vibration when none exists
Explain why and how people use social networking sites for identity construction and maintenance and for relational communication
fulfills two social needs: need to belong and need for self-presentation can increase self esteem and feelings of acceptability used to communicate your personality, online version of symbolic interaction and looking glass self (just like relational development in real life) More self disclosure online will develop relationships better, just like offline
Understand how cultural values shape communication
gauges for determining right from wrong, guides for behavior, accelerates effective communication if you understand and respect them
What is fear of missing out?
inability to disengage from social networking for fear of missing something
What is mutual knowledge in interaction?
information communicators share and know they share, miscommunication in CMC occurs due to less mutual knowledge
What Is Intercultural Communication?
interaction between people whose cultural perceptions and symbol systems differ enough to influence the communication event
Describe the foundations of organizational communication
interactions between people and the relationships they form, communicate electronically, verbally, and nonverbally
Social Identity Theory
one theory of culture and identity the idea that a person does not have one self, but rather several selves that correspond to her or his different group memberships (Tajfel and Turner, 1979) Argues group membership creates a self-identification that will favor the in-group at the expense of the out-group shifts how we see ourselves and others
Explain organizations as systems
open systems: components interact continuously, not only with one another, but also with the environment outside the system, share overall goal
What is a Don Quixote effect?
reflection on media content can close the gap between identifying with fictional characters and emulating them in real life
What is a digital native?
someone born during or after the 1980s who has never lived in a world without internet
What is cultural relativism?
the belief that people vary in their behaviors, feelings, traditions, and values depending on culture Different is not better or worse practice and you become more culturally inclusive
what is agenda setting theory?
the idea that media may not always tell us what to think, but definitely tells us what to think about
What is bureaucracy? Why is it necessary for functioning systems?
the roles, rules, ranks, and controls that make up the organization, complicated organizations need leadership and guidelines
Explain media richness theory
views communication media as falling along a continuum of lean to rich based on contribution to the quality of meaning making. Judged by: Presence of instant feedback Use of multiple cues Use of natural language A personal focus
Explain the "Naturalness" of Prejudice
we naturally prefer our in-group (those with whom we identify) than an out-group (a group other than your own) causing a natural prejudice
