Com 335 Key Terms

Boundary Scanning

- Act of awareness and minding of the boundaries of an organization Related to "Boundary Spanning" -Bringing information into an organization and diffusing it throughout -Public Relations, Marketing, Sales, Advertising, and Personnel, among others -*The goal is to become aware of changes in the environment or in public attitude that may have an effect on the organization*

Groups

- Group Decision Making--decision making by teams is usually more productive than decision making by individuals. - "Risky Shift Phenomenon": A team that may tend to make decisions that involve more risks than decisions made by individuals because of the perceived safety in numbers -Groupthink occurs when team members go along with, rather than evaluate, the group's proposals or ideas (e.g., The Bay of Pigs incident).

Group Development

- Groups go through predictable phases and stages. - Orientation Stage (forming)--get to know and trust one another; -Conflict Stage--express and debate different ideas, perspective, positions, styles, and worldviews, forming alliances and coalitions; -Emergence-- coalitions give way to a working consensus as a delicate balance of compromise and negotiation is worked out--- moving toward action, determine how to implement the decision; -Reinforcement--- marked by a strong spirit of cooperation and accomplishment.

Cybernetics

- The study of the communication processes in biological, electronic, and mechanical systems, in particular the comparison of the process of biological communication as compared to that of artificial systems -Also known as "morphostasis" -Correcting or deviation-counteracting feedback system

Homeostasis

- a relatively stable state of equilibrium or a tendency toward such a state between the different but interdependent elements or groups of elements of an organism, population, or group. - Dynamic balance made possible by effective feedback loops

Communication Climate

-"Communication that contributes to 'the spirit or philosophy' responsible for organizational relationships (Koehler, Anatol & Applbaum 1981)" -CC is influenced by five factors: supportiveness; participative decision making; trust, confidence and credibility; openness and candor; and, high performance goals.

Task

-A certain amount of labor imposed by an authority to be completed by a worker in a set period of time

Downward Communication

-A formal, precise, and work-related way of communicating with employees -Messages travel from superior to subordinate down the levels of the organization -Five types of messages are typical: job instructions (what to do), job rationales (why you are doing it), procedures and practices (how to do it), feedback (assessment of what's been done), and indoctrination (what the work and the organization mean)

Message

-A means of communication passed or sent by speech, in writing, by signals, etc. also a formal, official communication, which can be inspired by a chief idea or theme that a person (employee) seeks to communicate

Environment

-A place where organizations exist that provides inputs to the organization and receives outputs in the form of products and services from the organization -The environment provides the pressures that organizations must negotiate to survive

Rule

-A prescribed guide for conduct or action

Rumor

-A widely disseminated belief with no discernible foundation; usually travels through informal communication networks

Circles

-Alex Bavelas - Small-group communication networks were studied and divided into circle, wheel, chain, and all-channel networks. -"The circle is a decentralized network, which is better for less routine tasks, where adaptation and innovative thinking are required" -Shaw concluded that the circle was associated with member satisfaction and was less likely to have a leader emerge in the group

Input

-Any information in the external environment that can potentially influence the decision making of the suprasystem (organization) -This information is necessary in order to adapt to change.

Stakeholder

-Anyone who has significant interest in the fate of a company -This category may include neighbors, suppliers, employees or others influenced by the actions of the firm

Network

-Channels of communication that are interconnected - Messages pass from one network to another through nodes of intersection (where gatekeepers can sit) -There are many different structures of network (i.e., chain, circle, etc.)

Human Relations

-Chester Barnard and Elton Mayo - Interpersonal relationships are important in organizations as people want to be led but also feel that they are a part of the bigger picture. -Cooperation is crucial and communicative and persuasive management can make a great difference. -Treatment of the employee greatly affects output

Horizontal (or lateral) Communication

-Communication in which information is passed from one person to another on the same hierarchical level -Can be achieved through the internet, the phone, and personal interactions -As opposed to Vertical communication, where the information is conveyed through the media

Organizational communication

-Communication processes that characterize human organizations. -It is concerned with the content and structure of human interaction in organizations' day-to-day activity

Upward Communication

-Communication that flows from employees on the lower rungs of the organization to those at the head of the organization -Three main types of UC: special expert information, feedback, and warnings about job-related problems - Upward information can be distorted due to intimidation or subordinates' desires to send up only happy news.

Informal (interactions)

-Corman -Non-work interactions that serve to lighten the atmosphere -These interactions are constrained by the appropriateness of both time and theme - According to Barnard this allows information to flow in ways not prescribed by the organizational hierarchy

Blake and Mouton

-Created style theory "Blake and Mouton Managerial Grid" in 1964 -Leadership styles or approaches are based on three central dimensions: a concern for relationships with people, a concern for task production, and motivation -According to the model, there are five different leadership styles: 1. Impoverished Management 2. Organizational Management 3. Country Club 4. Authority - Obedience 5. Team Management

Suboptimizing

-Doing an acceptable job but less than one's best -This practice is also known as "satisficing," doing well enough under the conditions by satisfying minimal search criteria

McGregor

-Douglas -Argued that classical approaches are based in part on an assumption that the average employee dislikes work and avoids responsibility in the absence of external control. This control oriented and bureaucratic style of management he termed "Theory X" - Introduced "Theory Y" where h builds on the best of the human relations approach, fundamentally different views of employees and management

Theory Y

-Douglas McGregor's theory -1). Physical and mental effort in work comes as naturally as work or play. 2) Threatening people is not the only way to reach compliance; rather people will comply based on their own ambitions. 3) Commitment to objectives. 4) People learn to accept and also seek responsibility. 5) Exercise high levels of imagination, ingenuity, and creativity when solving organizational problems is widely distributed. 6) The intellectual potential of average people is only used.... this theory offers different views of how employees deal with management...manager treats employee as a valuable member unlike in Theory X.

Theory X

-Douglas McGregor's theory (A control oriented style of management) 1). The view that the average person hates work and will avoid it if he or she can 2). Due to their hatred of work, people must be threatened in order to achieve their goal 3). The average person wants to avoid responsibility, and wants security

Kanter

-Dr. Rosabeth Moss Kanter -Harvard Business School -Her specialization is the business strategy -She sees innovation and the management organizational change as two main components of a successful business

Environmental Uncertainty

-Duncan - "the totality of physical and social factors that are taken into account in the decision making behaviors of individuals in the system." "Uncertainty is the difference between information available and information needed." -This sometimes occurs with too much information

Human Resources

-Eisenberg -This approach incorporates most of the assumptions of human relations, but is more concerned with the total organizational climate as well as how and organization can encourage employee participation and dialogue

Culture

-Eisenberg and Goodall -Is the culmination of actions, stories, practices, and artifacts that create and characterize a specific organization -Study of culture can be called the study or interpretation of symbols

Output

-Every system takes in resources, or inputs, from its environment, processes these inputs, and exports products/services, or outputs, to its environment -Whatever the primary reason for the organization's existence, it will be reflected in its environmental outputs

Mayo

-Examined the employee-manager relationship -Work provided a foundation for a human relations approach as well as a precursor of contemporary thinking about management -Stressed the limits of individual rationality and the importance of interpersonal relations

Conversation

-Exchange of thoughts, opinions, and feelings -Meaning can include an informal discussion of a specific matter by representatives of governments, institutions, or organizations

Lesniak

-Found that subordinates with close vertical communication relationships with their superiors enjoyed significant and tangible benefits -Insiders were also more content

Scientific Management

-Frederick Taylor -Method of management that equates human beings to machines. - With proper time/motion measurements, the most efficient technique of working would be discovered and productivity would greatly increase. -Also known as Taylorism, the idea is criticized as dehumanization.

Filtering

-Generally, a process by which a communicator's attitudes, perceptions, and cognition affect not only what information is attended to, conveyed and interpreted, but also how this information is processed. - Term for the process of sorting out information given to a supervisor -Filtering relates to another term called upward distortion

Muddling Through

-Generally, to progress or perform adequately, especially in difficult circumstances -Coined by Lindblom in his analysis of the incrementalist approach - When a problem arises requiring a change in policy, policy makers tend to consider a narrow range of options that differ only in small degree from existing policy. Usually a step is taken in one direction and then its effects are assessed before a second step is taken.

Charisma

-Goldhaber -"leadership by virtue of personality" -Elements that make up charisma: appearance, sexuality, message similarity, action, and imagery -Three types of charismatic personality types: the hero, the anti-hero, and the mystic

Extrinsic (conflict)

-Haiman -"Conflicts over personal needs, defensiveness, feelings and intentions." - Nielson conflict also over: different personal characteristics, different interpretations of the amount of reward or status to be distributed throughout the organization, different perceptions and experiences, and competition for scarce resources

Hawthorne studies

-Hawthorne plant of Western Electric in Cicero, Illinois -Tested production level of 2 groups -Group A (test group) had the intensity of the light in the room increased. Group B (control) experienced no change in the lighting -Production level increased in both groups -Increased attention raises productivity

Fayol's Bridge

-Henri Fayol (1841-1925) - "The line of authority is the route followed-via every link in the chain-by all communications which start from or go to the ultimate authority." - The bridge is a mechanism for carrying messages in vertical directions -"Gang plank"-where peers communicate directly without regard to the scalar chain

Hygiene

-Herzberg -Factors around the work that make it tolerable - Absence of these factors will lead to dissatisfaction but their presence is no assurance of worker satisfaction -Hygiene factors may be such things as policy, administration, and benefits

Motivator

-Herzberg's two-factor theory of employee satisfaction - Motivators are factors whose presence in the workplace leads the employee striving (e.g., the work itself, the possibility for growth, recognition, status).

Weick

-His research interests center on managing the uncertain though improvisation -Weick is a social psychologist who have introduced many new concepts into organizational communication such as enactment, small wins, retrospective sensemaking and loose coupling, to name a few -His emphasis is on the inevitably active process of organizing versus the static view or organizations

Isolates

-Individuals with little or no communication links throughout the organization -These people are often apprehensive about communication and deliberately avoid interactions -Few organization members are complete isolates

Overload

-Information overload refers to the crowding of too much information at one time into one channel -The receiver is unable to make productive use of the information -Quantity, rate and complexity can all be overloading factors

Organizational climate

-Is the internal emotional tone of the organization based on how comfortable members feel with one another and with the organization - It develops out of behaviors of organization administration and the specific communication behaviors of the organizations members -The five managerial strategies that lead to an ideal climate are support, participation in decision-making, trust, confidence, credibility, and emphasis on high performance goals

Organizational Culture

-It describes the powerful interpretive nature of organizational life and illustrates the influence of shared significant symbols on organizational processes

Contingency Leadership Models

-Jay Galbraith summary of principles of contingency: - 1.) There is no one best way to organize. 2.) All ways of organizing are not equally effective Organizations in turbulent environments require different forms of leadership, interpersonal communication, decision making, and organizational structure than those in relatively predictable environments

Hired Hands

-Lesniak -Term for those who occupy the outer circle in an organizational setting -May be at same level as members of the "cadre" but not perceived as being "on the team" and have less satisfaction with their work

Classical School

-Long-standing approach to understanding organizational processes represented by the work of Fayol, Weber and Barnard -Four components to this theoretical position: division of labor, scalar and functional processes, structure and span of control - Divide job duties among various groups. Recognize line and staff functions and establish an organizational shape (5-15 is the ideal number reporting to one manager)

Follett

-Mary Parker-organizational theorist who helped bridge classical and human relations theory -She pointed out the need to work with one's manager rather than under him/her -Establish face-to-face personal contact with workers, seek their feedback, and elicit their cooperation

Transactional Communication

-Means that when people communicate, they have a mutual impact on each other -The focus is placed on the relationship, not on the individual participants

Cadre

-Members of an organization who have closer communication relationship with their superiors -Richard Lesniak (1981) -Cadre members are better informed and more involved in decisions -The comunicative exchange process seems to build a feeling of employee commitment, which leads to higher motivation and performance

Likert

-Model of four systems of management -Trusting versus distrusting management perspectives about workers - Continuum of: 1)Exploitative Authority: orkers are strictly directed by the leaders 2)Benevolent Authority: leaders allow complaints and opinions, but maintain strict decision making authority 3)Consultative: leaders actively seek feedback and use that feedback to direct organizational activities 4)Participative: workers are encouraged to participate fully in decision making and organizational goal setting -The latter approach stresses peer loyalty, confidence and trust

Throughput

-One of the ten characteristics of an open system in which the energy that is available to them is transformed - Organizations create a new product, processes materials, or trains people. - These are all examples of work getting done within the system or in other words, reorganization of input.

Fantasy

-One of three methods people use to study organizational culture that rely on analysis of organizational culture -"Fantasy Theme Analysis"-Ernest Bormann believes that we all try to make sense of and give meaning to our world - Each persons frame of reference is a private symbolic world and Symbolic convergence occurs when a group shares a fantasy -Group fantasies reinforce beliefs, goals, values and wishes of the group

Matrix Organizations

-Organizations that are designed to increase opportunities for interaction among organization members from different parts of the organization for accomplishing specialized tasks -This works better in small organizations, which allow for more informality

Loose Coupling

-Organizations that either have few common ties among departments or groups or the ties are very weak - The durability of successful organizations is attributed to loose coupling because it allows for localized adaptation. -If one aspect or department in the organization fails it does not effect or lead to the downfall of the organization as a whole

Domination

-Organizing and managing labor in ways that mirror dominant social and political views -Power of authority held by the upper tiers of an organizational hierarchy -Management will do the thinking and workers should just do the work

Grapevine

-Persistent informal network in an organization (i.e., the "rumor mill") -Research has shown that informal communication of the grapevine is as a rule more efficient and accurate than the formal dissemination of information

Gatekeepers

-Positioned throughout the networks of people and serve to control the flow of information -Receive information and determine whether to transfer that information through the next links in the chain

Co-orientation

-Refers to the degree of alignment of perceptions of key ideas of the individuals involved -This theory includes: (1) agreement, (2) accuracy, and (3) perceived agreement

Stakeholders

-Stanley Deetz: "multiple stake holder model" -A stakeholder is every person within and outside of a corporation that is affected by the corporation's business decisions Stakeholders include consumers, workers, investors, suppliers, host communities, etc.

Path-goal theory (of motivation):

-Stresses that it is the responsibility of effective leadership to motivate organization members by increasing personal rewards - People are satisfied with a job if they think it leads to things that are highly valued, and they work hard if they believe that effort leads to things highly valued.

Open/closed systems

-Term refers to the degree to which organizations are responsive to their environments - It is not advisable to be either too open or too closed, and the system should adjust and adapt to a given situation. - No system is totally closed or open -Closed systems are also characterized as addictive organizational systems. In these environments, individuals are encouraged to focus exclusively on the system and to shut out other influences. Cults are often cited as illustrations of this approach.

Role

-The behavior expected of an individual who occupies a given social position or status -A role is a comprehensive pattern of behavior that is socially recognized, providing a means of identifying and placing an individual in a society

Information

-The communication or reception of knowledge or intelligence; knowledge obtained from investigation, study, or instruction

Feedback

-The part of the communication process that allows the course to monitor the effects of his message in order to know what to say or do next -Helps employees see how they are doing in respect to their goals for the company

Perception

-The process by which people become aware of internal and external messages and interpret these messages into meaning

Whistleblowing

-The process of an organization member's going public with concerns about the organization's actions. - Usually this step is taken only after internal reporting processes have been tried and the employee rebuffed and essentially told to sit down and shut up. -This treatment tends to lead to a backlash of moral outrage in which the employee goes public to purify the organization and protect the public - If they comply when told to sit down they are known as whistle-swallowers.

Interdependence

-The quality or state of depending upon one another, being unable to exist, sustain oneself or act suitable or normally without the assistance or direction of another or others

Norms

-The rules of a social group that guide the behavior of its members. -Informal rules that "designate the boundaries of acceptable behavior in a group" (Kreps, 1991, p. 170)

Leaking

-The strategic communication of information that has not been confirmed or made official

Proxemics

-The study of the nature, degree, and effect of the spatial separation individuals naturally maintain (as in various social and interpersonal situations) and of how this separation relates to environmental and cultural factors

Systems Theory

-The survival of an organization depends upon the interdependencies throughout the organization and the maintenance of these interdependencies through communication

Scalar Curtain

-The term for the impact on communication of the hierarchical barriers in an organization - The problem is exacerbated by the fact that those on top cannot conceive of impediments to communication that those below them confront every day. -This term represents one more way of being out of touch and having a dysfunctional communication system

Uncertainty

-This is the level of ambiguity that employees have about organizational issues or events -Difference between the amount of information needed and the amount provided - In communication processes we have certain uncertainties that exist because we are unsure of our position with others

Public Relations

-This is the term for the aspect of communication involving the relations between an entity subject to or seeking public attention and the various publics that are or may be interested in it

Tight Coupling

-Tightly coupled organizations are less likely to be influenced by the external environment because these organizations have strong internal relationships

Fredrick Herzberg

-Two-factor Theory of Job Satisfaction -Herzberg says the people have two independent sets of needs 1. to avoid pain 2. to grow psychologically - Management strategies must meet both needs -Reducing "pain" does not increase job satisfaction but does decrease dissatisfaction. -Promoting psychological growth increases satisfaction but may have no effect on dissatisfaction.

Bridges

-Type of communication role in a network -Bridges are people within an organization who connect inter-organizational groups together -Henri Fayol proposed bridges as a means of communication between two persons in an organization with the same level of authority.

Uncertainty Absorption

-Uncertainty absorption involves accepting that in certain situations it is too costly or impossible to gather the information necessary in order to reduce uncertainty - n these situations what is passed along the hierarchy is inference rather than information.

Entropy

-Universal laws of nature in which all forms of organization move toward disorganization or death -Represents the degree of inherent disorder in any system

Pacanowsky

-Works with ideas of culture by applying them to organizational life -Believes it is important to understand ideas of culture, and how they came into being - For Pacanowsky, communication is the most powerful skill. It helps to identify cultural organization through symbols, stories, and icons.

Taylor

-Wrote "The Principles of Scientific Management" -Was a pioneer in time and motion studies through a clock... The time it took for a worker to complete a finished product could now be measured... transforming the nature of work and management was his goal.... scientific management created more conflict because of reinforced hierarchical distinctions between the worker and his boss -By the end of his life he was considered "the enemy of the working man"

Barnard

Chester, author of The Function of the Executive (1938) - Authority's 3 aspects include: legitimacy, credibility, and position - Command is legitimate if it stems from a proper position in an organizational hierarchy. (Position can be abused and thus authority loses credibility) -Chester, chief executive at Bell Telephone in New Jersey and author of The Functions of the Executive (1938) -*The purpose of an executive was to establish and maintain a system of communication*

Liaison

Individuals within organizations that connect two or more cliques or departments within that organization without themselves belonging to either one -Liaisons help share relevant information between the different departments or groups

Bank Wiring Room

Series of studies between 1927-1932 in Western Electric's Hawthorne plant in Chicago -*Employee satisfaction or dissatisfaction* -The "Hawthorne effect": management attention, not physical surroundings of work can increase output Terms: (Slacker and Rate buster)