COM217 Exam 3 Study Guide

Individual and Organizational Transitions for Volunteers

1. volunteer transitions a. promotion to supervise other volunteers b. transfers are uncommon c. mergers happen in similar ways to for-profits d. no layoffs but may have fewer opportunities to serve

Ideology

1. framework for understanding reality that provides individuals in the social system with an identity and set of criteria for evaluating what is right or wrong, good or bad 2. power and influence in organizations serve to create and reinforce these values usually in ways that benefit some organizations members more than others

Functional and Dysfunctional Conflict

1. functional conflict - facilitates organizational goal achievement a. positive effects i. learning to manage conflict increases maturity ii. innovation iii. progress iv. productivity v. prevents stagnation vi. fosters internal cohesiveness 2. dysfunctional conflict - inhibits organizational productivity, stability or adaptability a. negative effects i. tension ii. emotional strain iii. harmed emotional well-being iv. lowered productivity

Definition of Prescriptive Model of Decision Making

prescribed reflective thinking - model rational and logical

Reaction to Change Perspectives

1. diffusion of innovation principles - Rogers, 1995 a. innovation - idea, practice, or object perceived to be new or different b. communication channels - innovation must be communicated through channels so others can learn or the innovation and its potential for change i. face to face, mass media, etc. c. time - diffusion begins with one adopter and continues until system saturation d. social system - diffusion/innovation occurs within a subsystem (system, suprasystems) facilitated by opinion leaders or change agents who influence others e. pattern of adoption categories i. innovators - adventurous individuals looking for the new, readily accept change risks ii. early adopters - situated within organizations and respected by colleagues for their careful consideration, opinion leaders iii. early majority - interact and are influenced by early adopters to innovate iv. late majority - adopt after the majority because of increased social pressure economic necessity v. laggards/luddites - maintain the old ways longer f. Rogers elaborates on diffusion complexities in his book 2. change and emotion - organizational change alters the culture in small or large ways a. change leaves employees confused, insecure, and often angry - Deal and Kennedy, 1982 b. stages of grieving i. denial and isolation - refusal to accept reality ii. anger - reaction to change implications iii. bargaining - attempt to mitigate change with alternatives iv. depression - emotional exhaustion at unresolved anger v. acceptance - perhaps embracing the change c. not everyone experiences strong emotion or grief with change 3. resistance - attempts to hinder implementation of changes a. range of resistance behaviors - Lewis, 2011 i. ambivalence toward change - reluctance to embrace due to uncertainty or fear of effects ii. peer-focused dissent (venting) - sharing reactions with coworkers iii. upward dissent - positive resistance involves discussion and negotiation iv. sabotage - actively working to make change fail v. overt forms - activism (organizing resistance), refusal and exit

Deep Structure Power

1. embedded in the organizational structure as assumptions about the way organizations "should" work a. example - 40 hour work week, college grads earning higher salaries, "white" only drinking fountain 2. often provides basis for creating disadvantages for some members and advantages for others 3. characteristics a. communication represents sectional interests as universal - making it appear that benefits for a particular group is equally good for everyone b. communication denies or transmutes contradictions - refute or fail to address a contradiction c. communication naturalizes and reifies the present - repeated communication can establish or reinforce a practice to make it seem like the only plausible or rational behavior d. power is the systematic distortion of communication - individuals failing to recognize that they are deceiving themselves through their communication e. hegemonic participation - ideas of those in charge are so readily accepted by others that they willingly participate in their own oppression and consent to their role recognizing the oppression involved

Ineffective or Faculty Decision Making - problems that may lead to poor decisions

1. groupthink a. occurs when highly cohesive groups short-circuit and make poor decisions due to errors in their solving process - ideas are not really examined b. limited discussion to only a few alternatives c. no consideration of values in the choices or objectives to achieve d. no reexamination of initially favored actions for risks and drawbacks e. failure to consider potential problems f. little or no attempt to consult experts outside the group g. demonstrate selection bias h. little deliberation about decision i. no back-up plan 2. street (1997) groupthink antecedents conditions a. high cohesion among group members - necessary b. Structural faults - group isolation from others c. external threat/proactive situational context - imposed deadline 3. street (1997) groupthink symptoms a. illusion of invulnerability and sense of group morality - think cannot fail b. close-mindedness to other ideas and stereotyping of outgroup members - demonize those who oppose them c. high levels of pressure to conform - illusion of unanimity and self-censorship, no dissention voiced 4. ways to prevent - devils advocate role a. invite dissention, secret voting, explicitly list risks 5. decision making in volunteer organizations a. may be more prone to satisficing b. may use garbage can model more United ideologies may lead to groupthink c. more ambiguity 6. other characteristics - faculty decisions caused by influences a. cognitive - questionable beliefs and reasoning i. example - believing incorrect information b. psychological - perceived pressure to agree or presumptive shift, changing criteria unexpectedly c. social - ineffective persuasion and ambiguous language

Promotion Selection Context

1. heir apparent successions 2. contender successions 3. outsider successions

Power and Resistance in Nonprofits and Volunteers

1. less resource dependency on organization 2. surface and deep-level power 3. resistance communication

Selection Process for Promotions

1. technical skills 2. human skills 3. conceptual skills

Reductions in Force (RIF) or Layoffs

1. RIF phases a. pre-announcement phase - employees observe signs of potential RIFs b. announcement phase i. general announcement ii. individual announcement c. post layoff phase - survivor guilt

Prescriptive Model of Decision Making - Dewey, 1910

1. also called the reflective thinking model or the rational decision making model 2. intended to be linear and each step should be done in this order 3. steps a. define and limit problem - narrow and specific, understood b. establish criteria for evaluating a solution - important characteristics or requirements c. suggest and consider alternative solutions - as many as possible using brainstorming or NGT d. consider advantages and disadvantages of solutions - using criteria in b e. implement best solution - often requires seeking approval from sponsors

Communication and International Job Transfers

1. before - transferees need cross-cultural training 2. during - mentoring from host-country nationals 3. after - provide career advancement 4. up to 40% of expatriates return home prior to completing their assignment

Change and Nonprofit Organizations and Volunteers

1. changes in funding and collaboration 2. changing volunteers 3. culturally diverse understandings of volunteers 4. globalization and volunteers

Cultural Diversity and Communication

1. collectivism vs. individualism 2. masculinity vs. femininity 3. hierarchical vs. flexible power distance 4. uncertainty avoidance vs. acceptance

Globalization

1. communication convergence 2. communication divergence - time use, monochronic vs. polychronic 3. gradual integration of ideas, practices, products, and other aspects of culture across national boundaries

Communication and Change

1. communication strategies - Lewis, 2011 a. disseminate information and solicit feedback early in the process - potentially create adjustments that provide a sense on involvement b. two-sided persuasive messages - acknowledge and address concerns c. gain/loss frames i. gains emphasize the advantages ii. loss frames emphasize the disadvantages of the CURRENT approach d. use blanketed/targeted messages i. blanketed go to everyone affected ii. targeted to concerns of particular subsets of individuals e. use discrepancy/efficacy messages i. discrepancy emphasize urgency and detrimental effects of resisting ii. efficacy emphasizes goals accomplished by change 2. change implementation strategies - Deal, 1985 a. acknowledge emotional difficulties from personal change b. provide symbolic recognition of old practices through a ceremony to give closure and assist moving forward

Conflict

1. conflict must include a. two people or parties that interact b. interdependent relationship c. perceive other party interferes with goal achievement

Descriptive Models of Decision Making - Phase Models

1. definition - focused on phases groups encounter in making decisions (Fisher, 1970) 2. orientation - members introduce themselves a. begin creating social relationships b. clarified the goal of the group to ensure working on same problem 3. conflict - address the task using less ambiguity and more forcefully voiced opinions a. begin to form alliances b. intensifies as cliques become defined 4. emergence - group starts finding areas of agreement and reducing to fewer options a. fewer disagreements - subgroups begin to dissipate 5. reinforcement - reach consensus on a decision a. maybe worked out implementation details b. celebrating accomplishments

Power

1. exercised through a dynamic process in which relationships of interdependence exist between actors in organizational settings 2. produced and reproduced by the system - structuration process

Conflict Styles - widely researched topic, how people manage or respond to conflict

1. general styles a. avoiding - little regard for how task is completed and relationships b. accommodating - little regard for how task is completed, very concerned with maintaining relationships c. competing - forcing high concern for task completion, little for relationships d. compromise - equally concerned with task completion and maintaining relationships e. collaborating - high concerns for task and relationship, requires looking for creative solutions that meet everyone's needs and interests 2. points about general styles a. collaborating isn't necessarily the preferred strategy - table 10.1, 4/16 lecture b. people adapt depending on conflict resolution progress

Organizational Support for Career Stagnation

1. have employees act as mentors 2. have employees serve on special or high-profile projects 3. provide development opportunities

Bargaining and Negotiating in Conflict - Conflict Resolution

1. integrative strategies (cooperative strategies) - work to bring the parties together and reach mutually satisfying resolutions to the conflict a. inviting proposals, focusing on problem-solving, making concessions, exhibiting positive emotion 2. distributive strategies (competitive strategies) - focus on gaining an advantage and achieving personal goals at the expense of the other parties a. rejecting proposals, withholding information, delaying, dominating, making threats 3. unethical bargaining a. competitive bargaining - setting demands significantly higher or lower than expected outcomes b. attack opponent's network - threats to influence their position in their organization negatively c. making false promises - knowing they will not be kept d. misrepresenting information to gain advantage e. inappropriate information gathering using secretive methods

Typologies of Conflict

1. levels of conflict a. intrapersonal conflict - based on expectations we have for ourselves i. intrarole conflict - conflicts within a role or many roles we expect ourselves to fill ii. role overload - conflict caused by too many roles or time expectations b. interpersonal conflict - between people, most common i. interpersonal role conflict - two or more people vying for the same role ii. intersender role conflict - multiple supervisors with competing expectations iii. role ambiguity - unclear who has what responsibilities c. intergroup conflict - disputes about budget, personnel allotments, and space allocations d. inter-organizational conflict - organizations compete for the same resources i. examples - supplies, personnel, and customers 2. content of conflicts or nature of the conflict a. task conflict - differences of opinions and ideas on how to address problems, decisions or goals b. relational conflict - factors that affect the ability to maintain positive personal relationships i. personality differences ii. communication incompetence c. process conflict - issues of time management, scheduling, and contribution to the group effort 3. visibility of conflicts a. latent conflict - potential for conflict, may be perceived and felt when one or more individuals recognize the conflict exists (may not even recognize the conflict exists) b. manifest conflict - when the conflict becomes public and visible, thus communicated

Changing Communication Technology - pace of adoption of communication and information technology (CIT) is rapid

1. media richness theory (Daft and Lengel, 1984 and 1986) - how various communication channels affect organizational a. different media vary in how rich or lean along four dimensions i. ability to convey multiple cues such as verbal, nonverbal, visual, and audio ii. capacity for timely feedback - from immediate to slow iii. level of personalization - very personal to impersonal iv. variety of possible language used - from complex informal language to simple numeric based language b. dimensions describes rich or lean information carrying capacity of each channel c. media differ in their symbol carrying capacity - our cultures attribute socioemotional value to particular media (these assumptions may be changing) i. example - face to face, warmth and friendliness 2. social media changes in how meaning is established a. increases visibility - communicate with additional organizational members b. provides more persistent or permanent records - internet never forgets c. allows time to carefully craft message, edit images d. creates and reminds org members of connections and practices such as liking, tagging, etc. 3. communication technology may affect expectations a. conciseness, accuracy, speed, access 4. changing decision-making expectations - not quality of outcomes a. group decision support systems (GDSS) vs. non-mediated meetings b. geographically dispersed groups vs. one location 5. changing interpersonal communication interactions a. media devices in meetings - "blackberry nod" b. time wasters - excessive play, system maintenance, inhibit listening c. leaky pipe - information going where it wasn't intended d. echo chamber - like minded people insulating themselves and avoiding outside issues e. social lubricant - getting to know people somewhat f. working from home - telecommunicating has positive and negative effects g. organizational surveillance - information available to your organizations

Managing Conflict through Third Parties

1. mediator - facilitates discussion, no stake in outcome 2. arbitrator - holds decision-making power 3. ombudsperson - mediators who are free from hierarchical oversight

Cultural Diversity in the Workplace

1. monolithic organizations 2. plural organizations 3. multicultural organizations

Influence of Diversity on Group and Organizational Effectiveness

1. no difference in communication performance 2. greater creativity and satisfaction 3. more task conflict not relational conflict 4. less social integration or unity

Systems Theory - developed by biologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy, 1968

1. organizations are open systems that interact with their environment to survive 2. change model a. organizations import energy and resources from the environment - input b. transform those resources - throughput c. export the transformed resources into the environment - output 3. characteristics of organizations from a systems theory perspective related to change - Kast and Rosenzweig, 1972 a. positive and negative feedback from the environment - needs for change or innovation i. failure to adapt results in decline or death b. hierarchy of systems i. organizations are made up of subsystems (systems embedded within it) and are part of suprasystems (systems larger than it) c. equifinality - multiple ways of adapting to the environment

Defining Change - Only Constant is Change

1. perspective - organizations have periods of relative stability with minor undecipherable changes and periods when the system is significantly modified 2. dimensions of change a. small or large - modified reports vs. merger with another organization b. material or discursive - materials are physical changes i. example - office furniture, discursive includes changing language or revising organizational documents c. planned or unplanned - moving to a new location vs. reacting to newly enacted laws

Reasons for Power Relationships

1. power as resource dependency - person with power has control over resource wanted by others 2. power as social exchange - basis of power is a dynamic social exchange process, thus both parties have resources, albeit not necessarily distributed evenly 3. power and personal characteristics - as resources that individuals possess a. predisposition for power - some people have high need to be influential and exercise power b. personal abilities - self-confidence, higher levels of cognitive differentiation c. previous experience in power - previous success in use of power d. machiavellianism - successful manipulators, resistant to attitude change, tendency to give more orders and directives

Process for job Transfers

1. pre-move or loosening phase 2. transition phase 3. tightening or adjustment phase

Promotion Process

1. pre-promotion phase - application, interview, selection 2. shifting phase - officially assumes new role 3. adjustment or stabilization - everyone has made sense of new routine

Communication and Domestic Job Transfers

1. purposes of domestic job transfers a. vacant position to be filled b. promotions c. skill development d. more desirable location

Alternative Decision Making Processes

1. rational models assume people are committed, experienced, have adequate time, and free of human failings 2. satisficing (Connolly 1980, Simon 1972) - decision makers are profoundly disadvantages by bounded rationality, faced by overwhelming amounts of information or not particularly motivated to find the optimum solution a. method of dealing with data overload b. search for options and then settle on sufficient or satisfying solutions - "a good enough" solution, not necessarily the best c. saves time d. monitor and evaluate outcome and make adjustments to improve decision 3. garbage can model - tries to be honest about how some decisions are made a. decision making disregards rational processes and premises, describes almost random or chaotic practices b. streams of choices, attention, problems, solutions and participants accidentally come together/people paying attention connect solutions with problems 4. retrospective nationality a. society values rational decision making b. decision makers go backwards after a decision has been made effective and create a rational description of decision making process c. impression management strategy

Communication and Career Plateaus

1. reasons for career plateaus a. lack of skills b. lack of motivation c. systemic discrimination

Surface Level Power

1. reward power - ability to provide various incentives or rewards for behaving or thinking in a desired manner 2. coercive power - threatening to impose negative consequences unless certain behaviors or attitudes occur 3. legitimate power - power related to a particular role or position a. example - authority to make certain decisions in an organization is associated with a position 4. expert power - based on knowledge rather than position 5. referent power - based on one individual identifying strongly with or liking another person or group a. reward, coercive, and legitimate power - positional power connected to authority or status b. expert and referent power - attributed to individual/person

Two Aspects of the Communication Process of Sensemaking

1. sensebreaking - communication that challenges current understandings of a situation as incorrect, thus forcing people to let go or break with their current understanding and open to new ones 2. sensegiving - communication that fills the void formed by sensemaking communication that tries to influence others to accept a certain interpretation of the situation a. typically provides information in support of a particular explanation - persuasive

Sensemaking Theory

1. sensemaking - interpretive process we utilize to understand or make sense of a discrepancy in our routine way of doing thigs 2. caused by equivocality - possibility of many different meanings of the discrepancy 3. results in attempts to assign meaning to the unusual events - "what's the story?" and "now what should I do?" 4. general principles of sensemaking a. retrospective - attempt to make sense of what has already happened b. enactive of sensible environments - information environment constrains possible meanings and actions c. social - we must interact with others to reach agreement on meanings of our experiences, generally cannot be done individually d. ongoing - discrepancies occur on a regular basis, we attempt to understand what is occurring e. based on extracted cues (subset of all possible inputs for interpretation) - we focus on a few cues and generalize from them f. driven by plausibility rather than accuracy - when we make sense of a situation it must seem reasonable but doesn't need to be correct g. involves identity - when we select and interpretation, we select an identity for ourselves and our future actions

Descriptive Models of Decision Making - Alternative Descriptive Models

1. spiral model - Scheidel and Crowell, 1964 a. groups often do not progress smoothly through phases b. similar to phase model but groups move back and forth between phases c. more likely when there is a series of small decisions d. spiral towards reinforcement/conclusion rather than linear 2. multiple sequence model - Poole, 1981+ a. decision making groups don't follow anything resembling the traditional phase models b. three activity tracks related to managing its task i. task process activities related to managing its task ii. relational activities related to managing relationships among group members iii. topical focus activities related to issues or arguments at a particular point in time c. through a series of breakpoints - group moves toward a decision, cause shifts in track i. topic shifts ii. holding patterns while difficult topics are discussed iii. disruptions or failures 3. vigilant interaction theory - Hirokawa and Rost, 1992 a. differs from Dewey's reflective thinking model - step order isn't important i. each step needs to be completed b. effective decision making addresses four important communication activities i. what problem or issue needs to be addressed? ii. what do you want to achieve or accomplish in addressing the problem? iii. what choices are available? iv. what are the positive and negative aspects of each choice?

Resistance to Power

1. types a. deliberate non-compliance - resist the change b. "malicious compliance" - following rules obsessively to create a problem c. overt resistance - labor strike d. covert resistance - in forms that those in power are not aware e. "decaf resistance" - resistance in ways that don't lead to change 2. voice and resistance a. expresses disagreement or contrary opinions about workplace policies and practices in an effort to change how power is exercised in the organization b. strategies i. solution presentation - providing strategies to address dissent-triggering issues ii. direct factual appeal - supporting one's dissent claim with factual information iii. repetition - reminding others about one's dissent claim iv. circumvention - dissenting to someone higher in hierarchical authority v. threatening resignation - giving an ultimatum that the dissent-triggering issue should be correction or the dissenter will exit the organization 3. whistleblowing - voicing the dissent publicly outside the organization 4. boat-rocking

Mergers and Acquisitions

1. vertical Integration 2. horizontal Integration 3. conglomerate Strategy 4. 75% of M&As fail to accomplish their intended goals 5. poor communication is a primary explanation for the failure of M&As 6. process a. pre-merger phase - secretive talks b. in-play phase - time between official announcement and merger c. transition phase - organizations begin to integrate d. stabilization phase - "business-as-usual"

Conflict in Nonprofit/Volunteer Settings

1. volunteers often quit when experiencing role overload 2. easier to leave volunteer role if conflict occurs - particularly intense ones 3. definitions of "acceptable behavior" differ in volunteer settings a. example - "flirting" in a community theater group

Communication and Conflict with Abusive Coworkers - Harassment

1. workplace bullying - repeated and persistent negative acts which involve a perceived power imbalance and create a hostile work environment a. intensity - severity of bullying acts b. repetition - frequency of bullying c. duration - how long of time over which the bullying occurs d. power disparity - target feels unable to stop or prevent continuation of bullying e. types of behaviors i. general physical aggression ii. self-confidence attacks iii. manipulation of the workplace iv. ostracizing or isolating v. threats 2. sexual harassment - particular type of social-sexual behavior a. negative personal communication that is sexual in nature, unwelcomed by the target, severe, repetitive, and contributes to a hostile work environment b. excludes non-harassing social-sexual behaviors - initiating dating c. behaviors i. clearly defined ii. quid pro quo - demands in exchange for certain benefits (promotion) iii. use of graphic, crude language iv. displaying pornographic pictures or videos d. ambiguous complication - interpretations in mixed gender discussions i. example - crossing the line, between flirting and harassment

Influence

action or communication that causes someone else to act or think in a certain way that they wouldn't have otherwise done

Definition of Communication and Change

effective leadership communication change can reduce resistance and soften strong emotions

Definition of Conflict

interaction of interdependent people who perceived opposition of goals, aims, and values, and who see the other party as potentially interfering with the realization of those goals - Putnam and Poole, 1987

Empowerment

making individuals aware of their own ability to exercise power or influence by recognizing their own resources and role in producing and reproducing the system

Dominance

resources perceived as so unevenly distributed that one individual accepts the influence of another all or nearly all the time

Power is not something that a person has but something...

that is attributed to them by others willing to follow