Download COMM 3170: Introduction to Organizational Communication

COMM 3170:
Introduction to
Organizational Communication
Summer 2005
Dan Lair
[email protected]
Questions from Chapter 4
Roots of Organizational Culture
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Late 1970s -- response to
rational/statistical bias
In organizational studies generally
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(Ouichi and Wilkins, 1985)
Anthropology
Sociology
In communication particularly
(Eisenberg and Riley, 2001)
Three Views of the Nature of
Organizational Culture
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Culture is something that an organization
“has”: The variable approach
Culture is something that an organization
“is”: The root metaphor approach
Culture is something that an organization
is “in”: The contextual approach
Culture as Something an
Organization “Has”
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Culture as a variable
Two key 1982 management books:
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Deal & Kennedy’s Corporate Cultures
Peters & Waterman’s In Search of Excellence
Focus on developing “strong” vs. “weak”
organizational cultures.
Functionalist perspective on organizational
culture
Culture as Something an
Organization “Has”: The Work of
Edgar Schein
Three Levels of Culture Three Functions of Culture
 Artifacts
 Demarcation
 Values and Beliefs
 Identification
 Assumptions
 Control
 Culture primarily
flows from bottom up
 Levels can affect each
other
Culture as Something an
Organization “Is”
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Symbolist perspective on organizational culture.
“More things are going on in organizations than getting
the job done. People do get the job done, true (though
probably not with the singleminded task-orientation that
organizational communication texts would have us
believe); but people in organizations also gossip, joke,
knife one another, initiate romantic involvements, cue
new employees to ways of doing the least amount of
work that still avoids hassles from a supervisor, talk
sports, arrange picnics” (Pacanowsky and O’DonnellTrujillo, 1982)
Organizational culture cannot be intentionally
manipulated by managers
Culture as Something an
Organization is “In”
Modernist Perspective
 Geert Hofstede and
“national culture”
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Power distance
Uncertainty avoidance
Individualism
Masculinity
Postmodern Perspective
 Influence of Cultural
Studies (Taylor)
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“Host” cultures
Effect of broad culture
on organizational life
“Cultural
communication about
organization”
Culture as Something and
Organization “Is”: Discussion
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What is anticipatory socialization?
What cultural messages have shaped –
and continue to shape – your
understandings and expectations of
organizational life?
Clair and the colloquialism, “A Real Job”
Three Lenses to “Look” at an
Organizational Culture
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Joanne Martin (1992)
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Integration Perspective: unity and consensus
Differentiation Perspective: inconsistency,
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Fragmentation Perspective: complexity,
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subcultures
multiplicity
These perspectives describe the
researcher/consultant’s viewpoint, not the
culture itself!!!
W. Charles Redding’s Ideal
Managerial Climate (or Culture)
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Trust
Openness
Supportiveness
Participative Decision Making
Emphasis on High-performance Goals
What view of culture does Redding’s IMC
adopt?