Organizational Communication: Balancing Creativity and Constraint

by Eisenberg; Goodall; Trethewey

• ISBN13: 9780312442392
• ISBN10: 0312442394
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-12-08
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's

Summary

Written by a premier author team, now including Angela Trethewey,Organizational Communication: Balancing Creativity and Constraintdraws on contemporary research to provide a lively discussion of today's organizational issues (including such topics as identity, employee health, gender and cultural difference, and the work/life balance) while helping students to see how these theories and concepts are relevant in everyday life.

Author Biography

ERIC M. EISENBERG is professor and chair of the department of communication at the University of South Florida. Dr. Eisenberg twice received the National Communication Association Award for the outstanding research publication in organizational communication, as well as the Burlington Foundation Award for excellence in teaching. He is also the recipient of the 2000 Ohio University Elizabeth Andersch Award for significant contributions to the field of communication. He is the author of over 60 articles, chapters, and books on the subjects of organizational communication and communication theory. He is an internationally recognized researcher, teacher, and consultant and has worked closely with executives and employees from a wide range of organizations, including Hughes Aircraft, McDonnell Douglas, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, State Farm Insurance, and Baystate Health.

H.L. (BUD) GOODALL, JR. is professor and director of the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State University. He is the author or coauthor of 19 books and more than 100 articles, papers, and chapters on communication, organizations, and culture. Primarily known for his pioneering work in the new ethnography of organizations and communities, he is the author of the scholarly trilogy Casing the Promised Land, Living in the Rock ‘n Roll Mystery, and Divine Signs: Connecting Spirit to Community, as well as the best selling textbook, Writing the New Ethnography.

ANGELA TRETHEWEY is associate professor in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State University. Her award-winning research exploring the relationships among organizational communication, power, and gendered identities has been published in flagship journals in the field, including Journal of Applied Communication Research, Management Communication Quarterly, and Communication Monographs. She has also edited special issues on topics such as translating scholarship into practice and living with organizational contradictions. Recently, she received the Master Teacher Award from the Western States Communication Association.

Table of Contents

Preface	v
About the Authors	xxiii
PART I APPROACHING ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION
Communication and the Changing World of Work	3	(25)
Perspective	3	(2)
The Changing World of Work	5	(23)
Questions, Not Answers	5	(1)
New Developments in the World of Work	6	(1)
Beyond Space: The Global Economy	7	(2)
Questionable Labor Practices	9	(1)
Everyday Organizational Communication Globalization and You!	10	(2)
Multicultural Management	12	(2)
Communication Technology	14	(1)
What Would You Do? Religious Differences in the Classroom	15	(2)
Beyond Time: Competition and the Urgent Organization	17	(2)
Beyond Loyalty: The New Social Contract	19	(1)
Shifting Power Bases	20	(1)
New Values and Priorities	21	(1)
The Meaning of Work	22	(1)
What Would You Do? Organizational Structure and Employee Well-Being	23	(1)
Who Can Afford to Prioritize?	24	(1)
Summary	24	(1)
Questions for Review and Discussion	24	(1)
Key Terms	25	(1)
Case Study: The Case of the Corporate Peacemakers	26	(2)
Defining Organizational Communication	28	(33)
Approaches to Organizational Communication	28	(11)
Communication as Information Transfer	29	(1)
Communication as Transactional Process	30	(2)
Communication as Strategic Control	32	(2)
What Would You Do? Sudden Flags: Organizational Ambiguity in Action	34	(1)
Communication as a Balance of Creativity and Constraint	34	(3)
Everyday Organizational Communication On-line Networking Profiles: Balancing Creativity and Constraint	37	(2)
Organizations as Dialogues	39	(9)
Foundations of Dialogue: Self, Other, and Context	43	(2)
Dialogue and the Situated Individual	45	(3)
Definitions of Dialogue	48	(13)
Dialogue as Equitable Transaction	48	(1)
Dialogue as Empathic Conversation	49	(1)
Dialogue as Real Meeting	50	(3)
Summary	53	(1)
Questions for Review and Discussion	53	(1)
Key Terms	54	(1)
Case Study: The Many Robert Smiths	55	(6)
PART II THEORIES OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION
Three Early Perspectives on Organizations and Communication	61	(39)
Why Theory?	61	(1)
Organizational Communication Theories as Historical Narratives: The Three P's	62	(2)
Theories Are Partial	63	(1)
Theories Are Partisan	63	(1)
Theories Are Problematic	64	(1)
Classical Management Approaches	64	(14)
From Empire to Hierarchy	65	(1)
From Resistance to Domination	66	(5)
The Industrial Revolution	71	(1)
Scientific Management	72	(2)
Everyday Organizational Communication Scientific Management at the Gym	74	(1)
Fayol's Classical Management	75	(1)
Bureaucracy	76	(2)
Implications for Organizational Communication	78	(1)
The Human Relations Approach	78	(9)
Historical and Cultural Background	78	(1)
What Would You Do? Rank Has Its Privileges: Influences of the Bureaucratic Organization on Home and Family Life	79	(3)
What Is Human Relations?	82	(1)
The Hawthorne Studies	83	(1)
Reflections on Human Relations	84	(3)
The Human Resources Approach	87	(13)
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs	87	(2)
McGregor's Theory Y Management	89	(1)
Likert's Principle of Supportive Relationships	90	(1)
What Would You Do? The Politics of Middle Management	91	(1)
Summary	92	(2)
Questions for Review and Discussion	94	(1)
Key Terms	95	(1)
Case Study: Riverside State Hospital	96	(4)
The Systems Perspective on Organizations and Communication	100	(26)
The Systems Perspective	100	(6)
The Origins of Systems Theory in the Sciences	101	(1)
Biology and General Systems Theory	102	(2)
From Biology to Organizational Communication	104	(2)
What Is a System?	106	(5)
Environment and Open Systems	106	(1)
Interdependence	107	(1)
Goals	108	(1)
Processes and Feedback	109	(1)
Openness, Order, and Contingency	110	(1)
The Appeal of Systems Theory for Organizational Communication	111	(15)
Peter Senge's Learning Organization	112	(1)
Karl Weick's Sense-Making Model	113	(2)
Retrospective Sense Making	115	(1)
Loose Coupling	116	(1)
Everyday Organizational Communication Making Sense of Your Equivocal Past	117	(1)
Partial Inclusion	118	(1)
What Would You Do? Surviving Hurricane Katrina	119	(1)
Summary	120	(2)
Questions for Review and Discussion	122	(1)
Key Terms	123	(1)
Case Study: Crisis in the Zion Emergency Room	124	(2)
Cultural Studies of Organizations and Communication	126	(37)
The Cultural Approach	126	(4)
Cultures as Symbolic Constructions	127	(1)
Cultural Elements	128	(2)
Historical and Cultural Background	130	(7)
Competitive Pressures	130	(1)
Interpretive Methodology	131	(3)
Social Trends	134	(2)
What Would You Do? The Politics of Interpreting Culture	136	(1)
Three Views of Organizational Culture	137	(9)
A Practical View	137	(4)
An Interpretive View	141	(2)
Critical and Postmodern Views	143	(1)
Integration	144	(1)
Differentiation	144	(1)
Fragmentation	145	(1)
Recent Trends in Organizational Culture Research	146	(9)
Socialization: Integrating New Members into Organizational Cultures	146	(1)
Anticipatory Socialization	147	(1)
Organizational Assimilation	147	(2)
Organizational Turning Points	149	(1)
Socialization and High Reliability Organizations	149	(1)
Socialization and Technology	150	(2)
Everyday Organizational Communication Socialization, Technology, and University Students	152	(1)
The Material Consequences of Organizational Cultures	153	(2)
A Communication Perspective on Organizational Culture	155	(8)
Summary	155	(2)
Questions for Review and Discussion	157	(1)
Key Terms	157	(1)
Case Study I: The New Dojo	158	(2)
Case Study II: Studying the Culture of Meetings	160	(2)
Case Study III: Cultural Constructions of Gender and Sexuality in College Fraternities and Sororities	162	(1)
Critical Approaches to Organizations and Communication	163	(36)
Critical Theory	163	(6)
Historical and Cultural Background	163	(1)
The Rise of Critical Theorizing in the United States	164	(3)
What Would You Do? From ``The Ethicist'' by Randy Cohen	167	(1)
The Centrality of Power	168	(1)
Power and Ideology	169	(9)
Everyday Organizational Communication Gender, Ideology, and Power in Career Paths	172	(1)
The Hidden Power of Culture: Myths, Stories, and Metaphors	173	(2)
What Would You Do? Metaphors Can Suspend Critical Thinking	175	(1)
The Hidden Power of Legitimation: Manufactured Consent and Concertive Control	176	(2)
Discourse and Discipline	178	(3)
The Hidden Power of Knowledge: Surveillance, the Panopticon, and Disciplinary Power	178	(1)
The Technological Panopticon	179	(2)
Recent Trends in Critical Organizational Communication Scholarship: Organizing Healthy Organizations	181	(18)
Resistance: Challenging Organizational Power and Control	184	(4)
The Role of the Critical Researcher	188	(2)
Summary	190	(1)
Questions for Review and Discussion	191	(1)
Key Terms	192	(1)
Case Study I: Risky Business: Consent, Safety, and Firefighter Culture	193	(2)
Case Study II: The Brilliant Engineer	195	(4)
PART III CONTEXTS FOR ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION
Identity and Difference in Organizational Life	199	(31)
The History of Identity in Organizational Communication	200	(1)
Organizing Difference in Organizations	201	(19)
Frame 1: Gender Difference at Work	204	(2)
Gender Differences in Work/Life	206	(1)
Frame 2: Gender Identity as Organizational Performance	207	(3)
Performing Gender in Work/Life	210	(1)
Frame 3: Gendered Organizations	211	(2)
Gendered Organizations and Work/Life	213	(1)
Frame 4: Gendered Narratives in Popular Culture	214	(2)
Gendered Narratives of Work/Life	216	(3)
Everyday Organizational Communication ``Framing'' Your Identity in College	219	(1)
Beyond Gender: Intersecting Identities in Organizations	220	(10)
Negotiating Multiple Identities	221	(1)
Communicating Multiple Identities	222	(2)
What Would You Do? The Secret Identity of an English Professor	224	(1)
Summary	225	(1)
Questions for Review and Discussion	226	(1)
Key Terms	227	(1)
Case Study: Rx for Sales: Recruit Cheerleaders!	228	(2)
Teams and Networks: Collaboration in the Workplace	230	(43)
Paradoxes of Participation	230	(3)
Democracy in the Workplace	233	(2)
Communicating in Teams	235	(21)
What Is a Team-Based Organization?	235	(1)
Types of Teams	236	(1)
Project Teams	236	(1)
Work Teams	237	(3)
What Would You Do? The Dilemmas of Participative Management at a University	240	(1)
Quality-Improvement Teams	241	(1)
Virtual Teams	241	(1)
Communicative Dimensions of Teamwork	242	(1)
Roles	242	(2)
Norms	244	(1)
Decision-Making Processes	245	(3)
Management of Conflict and Consensus	248	(1)
Cultural Diversity in Teams	249	(2)
Team Learning	251	(3)
A Retreat from Teams?	254	(2)
Communicating in Networks	256	(11)
Types of Communication Networks	256	(1)
Small-Group Communication Networks	256	(2)
Emergent Communication Networks	258	(1)
Analyzing Communication Networks	259	(1)
Patterns of Interaction	259	(2)
Everyday Organizational Communication Networking on Campus: Communication, Identity, and Empowerment	261	(1)
Communication Network Roles	262	(2)
Content of Communication Networks	264	(1)
Interorganizational Communication Networks	265	(2)
The Networked Society	267	(1)
Creativity and Constraint in Teams and Networks	267	(6)
Summary	268	(1)
Questions for Review and Discussion	269	(1)
Key Terms	270	(1)
Case Study I: The Networked University	271	(1)
Case Study II: The Networked Community	272	(1)
Communicating Leadership	273	(36)
Laying the Foundation: Useful Insights from Prior Theoretical Frames	274	(7)
Trait Leadership	274	(1)
Leadership Style	275	(3)
Situational Leadership	278	(1)
Transformational Leadership	279	(2)
Leadership Reconsidered: Effective Leadership Habits	281	(5)
Habits of Mind	281	(2)
Habits of Character	283	(1)
Habits of Authentic Communicative Performance	284	(2)
Leading the Organization: Communicating with Employees	286	(10)
Openness	287	(1)
Supportiveness	288	(1)
Motivation	289	(1)
Goal-Setting Theory	289	(2)
Expectancy Theory	291	(1)
Equity Theory	292	(1)
Compliance-Gaining Theory	292	(1)
Empowerment	292	(2)
Everyday Organizational Communication Zen and the Art of Basketball Leadership	294	(2)
The Hidden Side of Leadership: Bullying and Harassment	296	(13)
Bullying in the Workplace	297	(1)
Harassment and Sexual Harassment	298	(1)
What Would You Do? Effective Responses to Bullies, Harassers, and Bosses Who Mistreat Subordinates	299	(5)
Summary	304	(1)
Questions for Review and Discussion	305	(1)
Key Terms	306	(1)
Case Study: The Stymied CEO	307	(2)
Organizational Alignment: Managing the Total Enterprise	309	(34)
Positioning the Organization	310	(5)
Competitive Strategy	310	(2)
Types of Business Strategies	312	(2)
Strategy and the Business Life Cycle	314	(1)
Strategic Alignment	315	(4)
Human Resources	319	(7)
Talent	320	(1)
Targeted Selection	321	(1)
Performance Management	321	(1)
Training and Development	322	(1)
Organizational Development	323	(1)
Everyday Organizational Communication Human Relations in the Greek System	324	(2)
Organizational Learning	326	(4)
Learning Basic Skills	326	(2)
Learning New Technologies	328	(2)
Effects of Communication Technology	330	(13)
What Would You Do? Blogaholics	332	(1)
Synchronicity and Media Richness	333	(2)
Secrecy and Privacy	335	(1)
Mediated Interpersonal Communication	335	(1)
Summary	336	(1)
Questions for Review and Discussion	337	(1)
Key Terms	338	(1)
Case Study I: Advertising and the American Way of Life	339	(1)
Case Study II: Hacked Off	340	(3)
PART IV APPLICATIONS
Working with Integrity: Organizational Communication as Disciplined Practice	343	(18)
Conscious Communication and Mindful Communication Practices	344	(2)
Mindful and Mindless Communication	344	(1)
Becoming More Mindful	345	(1)
Conscious Integrity	346	(1)
New Logics of Organizing	347	(2)
Management as Poetry	347	(1)
Communication as Discourse, Voice, and Performance	348	(1)
Mindfulness, Integrity, and the Experience of Work	349	(1)
Cultivating Interpersonal Integrity and Relational Mindfulness	350	(3)
Thinking Together: Mindful Dialogue	353	(1)
Applying What You've Learned	354	(7)
King Dick	354	(1)
Miss Elizabeth	355	(1)
Phone Rage	356	(2)
Whistle While You Work?	358	(1)
Summary	358	(1)
Questions for Review and Discussion	359	(1)
Key Terms	359	(2)
Appendix A Field Guide to Studying Organizational Communication	361	(1)
Finding an Organization to Study	362	(1)
Framing Your Study	363	(1)
Ten Assumptions About Doing Field Research	364	(2)
How to Study Naturalistic Communication in an Organization: A Basic Process Outline with Commentary	366	(3)
Typical Organization of a Paper Based on Field Study Methods	369	(2)
References	371	(37)
Author Index	408	(5)
Subject Index	413