welcome message sent

This morning I sent out the welcome message to the COMM 144 students. Winter session starts in a week, but it's quite short, so I wanted to get students involved with the class early. Several students have already contacted me and I've added two student blogs to the class blog roll.

There should be plenty of material for all of us to blog about. Much of the business section of the newspaper has moved to the front page: the meltdown of the U.S. (and now global) financial institutions, the precarious position of the Detroit automakers, the VP as Fry's who defrauded vendors, the massive layoffs in nearly all sectors of the U.S. workforce, and the continued offshoring of U.S. jobs. And of course all colleges and universities are facing budget cuts, layoffs, and higher tuitions as enrollments soar. These are grim times, yet current events stress the applicability of and need for a course in organizational communication.

I look forward to our blogging conversations about organizational communication concepts and theories. I'll likely post a few entries this week, but graded blogging doesn't start until January 5.

~ Professor Cyborg

class website launched

I launched the class website for Winter 2009 this morning. I wanted to get the site up early as the session is just two weeks this year. This will be the eighth time I've taught COMM 144 in the Winter session. It can seem daunting to students (and me), but the class really does work well in an abbreviated format. I still have to set up the Blackboard site with the quizzes; I'll do that when I return to Santa Cruz from Thanksgiving break in Massachusetts.

The class is full, although I'll likely accept a number of adds. Find more information about the class and how to add on the class website.

~ Professor Cyborg

competitive strategy

Last week SJSU unveiled its new logo. Why the change? SJSU's Public Affairs states:

Every once in a while you have to clean house. With so many colleges, departments, auxiliaries and administrative offices creating communications in their own style, we have been presenting quite a fractured face to the rest of the world. This creates an impression of disunity on- and off-campus, which SJSU hardly deserves.

Public Affairs is trying to develop a representation of SJSU's competitive strategy, "a clear statement of why customers should choose a company's products or services over those of competing companies" (p. 310). The office has created a 60-page document on "identity standards" detailing how to use the new logo and providing instructions for brochures, digital slides, and other public communications. What's most interesting about this document is Eunice Ockerman, University Designer and Brand Coordinator, offers no information on how the new logo was developed and no empirical evidence to support the rationale for the change. For example, she states:

The updated logo is more unified, open and authoritative. The old rendering of bricks and
tiles has given way to clean geometric shapes, which will be able to carry meanings that are
more symbolic. The logotype uses one font in the signature instead of two. We've removed
the rule and we’ve given the elements more breathing room.

What makes the logo more unified, open and authoritative? Can an organization be open and authoritative at the same time? I thought the old rendering of bricks and tiles gave SJSU some texture and suggested diversity and complexity. I wonder what additional meanings and symbols the geometric shapes will be able carry. The metaphor is clearly the container or conduit metaphor for communication, which others have critiqued as I discuss in the metaphors and culture web lecture.

The development of the new SJSU logo provides a useful contrast to how the communication studies department developed its new logo. First, as a group, the faculty created a tagline based on student submissions and our own ideas. Then one of our GTAs who had been a graphic designer in a previous life created various drafts of a logo. We went through three rounds of viewing and commenting on the logo (two in person as a group and one via email) until we identified one we all found appealing. Developing the tagline and logo brought us together as a group. The statement--our competitive strategy--was a group effort. The differences between the university and department processes reveal the different metaphors for organization within which the two operate.

Several of you discussed the notion of competitive strategy in your blogs this week. aloha 123 applied the concept to the Marriott. MJ noted the importance of branding in developing a competitive strategy. Athina of Greece pointed out Walmart's and Jack in the Box's competitive strategies, and included a great cartoon related to the topic. In blogging about competitive strategy and strategic alignment, Gaber blogged about the importance of making more than superficial changes--a catchy tagline isn't sufficient for real organization change. Interestingly, in the communication studies department, the new tagline and logo were part of completely re-envisioning the undergraduate and graduate programs--far more than a surface change.

Will SJSU's new logo make it more competitive? Against what other universities is SJSU competing? Will students choose SJSU over SFSU or CSUEB because of the new logo? I wonder.

--Professor Cyborg

business as harmony

In Chapter 10 the authors of your text observe, "Whereas in the past enormous capital expenditures went into buildings and materials, today the two most critical parts of any successful business are people and technology" (p. 319). The July 7 issue of TIME reports on two organizations that take what Deetz calls a stakeholders' (as opposed to a shareholders') perspective. According to the article, the CEOs of Whole Foods and The Container Store believe the organizations have a commitment to multiple groups--employees, the communities in which they exist, and the customers they serve.

The two use a business as harmony metaphor, quite different from a business as winning or business as dominating metaphor. By empowering employees, the CEOs argue that the organization runs more smoothly and the shareholders still get good returns on their investments. From the description of the organizations in the article, it seems that the CEOs put into practice many of the principles of dialogic democracy I discuss in the web lecture. As Roy Hobbs wrote, such an approach can result in greater collaboration among employees--as well as chaos if participants aren't prepared to engage in this type of communication. Kim Mai also blogged about the advantages of dialogic democracy, but noted that individuals may still feel disenfranchised if their ideas aren't part of the final decision. Fabió also blogged about dialogic democracy, wondering about the opposite time point--the beginning. Who starts the conversation? And how does the reality of the organizational hierarchy impact the dialogic process?

sp1028 follows a different thread related to business as harmony--training and development in organizations. Although in tough economic times this is the first line of an organization's budget to get cut, investing in employees has many indirect and even direct returns. Providing training for employees also demonstrates a commitment to them.

The Container Store and Whole Foods likely aren't perfect organizations. But having CEOs who seem committed to a stakeholder model and an investment in employees certainly is an improvement over CEOs who put shareholder (or the CEO's own) gains as the organization's top priority. Yes, businesses must make money to survive. But making money must be balanced with other concerns, such as the impact on the community, environment, and employees. What if all organizations took a business as harmony approach?

--Professor Cyborg

leadership in practice

I took a leadership class when I was an undergraduate at Western Michigan University. I put myself through my bachelor's program, so I was working full time and going to school full time (which I'm sure nearly all my students can relate to). Communication and management scholars hadn't found transformational leadership yet; "best" leadership practices tended to focus on situational leadership. Trait and leadership style approaches were pretty much discounted. Nonetheless I found the class frustrating because it seemed to have little link to my experiences working as a unit clerk in one of Kalamazoo's hospitals. Maybe due to the highly bureaucratic nature of hospitals leaders and managers were constrained to behave in primarily one way (generally telling) and subordinates had little power in trying to change leaders' behaviors. This speaks to Gaber's comment that flexibility is essential for a good leadership. Yet organizational forces can prevent such flexibility. To make matters more complex in the hospital, although physicians were not hired directly by the hospital and technically were not part of the hierarchy, a doctor could get an employee fired. In studying leadership theories, it seemed to me the realities of organizational life were left out and situations were never as clearly defined as those theories suggested.

Transformational leadership certainly presents a compelling approach because it focuses on bringing out the best in followers. jdmINT blogged about the appeal of this approach. The habits of effective leaders discussed in the text also takes an optimistic perspective, but I wonder about the degree to which those habits are put into practice. Sensing and realizing (habits of mind), balancing humility and self-promotion (modesty), accessibility, decisiveness, and valuing individuals (character), and creating a vision and telling a credible life story (authentic and compelling communicative performance) provide the ideal that would resonate with organization members. Rabbit Tale did observe these habits put into practice.

But maybe we expect too much of leaders--developing the habits of effective leaders seems close to achieving perfection. Where are the followers in all this? That's the part that really interests me.

--Professor Cyborg

empowerment

It's our last week of blogging and the conversation has already started. Roy Hobbs wrote about empowerment and its utility in motivating employees. As Hobbs pointed out, allowing employees to make their own decisions and actively participate in the decision making process gives them a greater sense of responsibility and accomplishment. With true empowerment, the micromanaging Hobbs mentions should not occur.

A few years ago I published a book chapter titled, "Communicating Disability: Metaphors of Oppression, Metaphors of Empowerment," in Communication Yearbook 27. In the chapter I discussed the ways in which language and specific metaphors oppressed and/or empowered persons with disabilities. For example, disability as medical problem largely oppresses persons with disabilities because it suggests that such persons are broken and need to be repaired. In contrast, disability as culture highlights the empowering potential of disability as a cultural identity.

In much the same way, different metaphors of organization can lead to varying levels of oppression and empowerment. Organizations as machines and instruments of domination clearly oppress organization members. Organizations as cultures suggests organization members can exert power in creating organizational values and norms, but cultural artifacts may also serve to reinforce the status quo and oppressive power relationships.

Empowerment is a favorite management term, but it's also a contested term. Is empowerment truly possible in organizations? What if employees don't want to be empowered? Can empowerment result in having to do more work for the same pay? And wouldn't that be a form of oppression? As an optimistic person, facilitating organization member participation in organizational life and decision making seems like a positive move for everyone. But there certainly is a dark side to so-called empowerment initiatives in organizations.

--Professor Cyborg

participation and democracy

One of my brothers is a line supervisor for Ford, working at a plant that produces the Ford F150 (along with several other models). The plant is fairly new both in the line's design and in work design. He went through weeks of training to learn about the new system and new ways to manage the new approach to tasks. His job went from directly supervising about 40 people to directly supervising 3-4 team leaders. Now, although he still interacts with all 40 employees, much of the micro-level managing is left up to the team leaders--empowering more organization members. Along with this switch to team leaders came the idea of job rotation. No longer would someone working the line do the same task for 8-10 hours at a time day after day.

Initially morale was high as workers learned all the jobs in their unit and were able to rotate tasks. But recently, upper management decided that this system made it difficult to hold workers accountable because it wasn't clear who worked at a particular task at a particular time. However, those making the decision failed to ask supervisors (much less those working on the line) how to address this issue. My brother has all his employees keep track of when they're working at a specific station so each task can be linked to a specific person. Encouraging employee participation would have solved this problem in a way that wouldn't hurt morale and would keep productivity up.

In this case, involving employees (at least line supervisors) would have benefited the organization. But as jdmINT points out, participation can be viewed as a burden. Endless meetings, reading memos, doing research--all this in addition to the employee's job. SantaCruz also notes the positives and negatives of team-based organizations. Some tasks simply require a team--one person can't do it alone. Still, coordination can prove difficult and sometimes teams (and team leaders) can work at cross-purposes.

sp1028 blogged about the importance of diversity in teams. Including people on a team who have a variety of experiences and perspectives can be useful for complex problems and decisions. However, the potential for conflict is also greater. Yet if team members can keep focused on the larger objective, the richness of perspectives and bring about creative solutions to the problem.

Although workplace democracy seems ideal, it's not without dialectical tensions as organization members put democratic principles into action. Next week we'll talk about different approaches to democracy and how they might be implemented in organizations.

--Professor Cyborg

emotion, balance, tech

Like MJ and others, I find emotion labor one of the more interesting concepts in organizational communication. In a culture where "the customer is always right," front line organization members (such as flight attendants, servers, and grocery clerks) are expected to be cheerful and happy even when customers are not. The must-be-happy organizational norm can negatively impact the organization member (in the form of stress) and the organization (important information may not make its way up the hierarchy due to the "always happy" mandate). That doesn't mean organization members should emote at will. Self-monitoring and politeness are still critical for effective organizational (and societal) functioning.

NuNu blogged about work/life balance, another topic discussed in this week's readings. For NuNu, it was a work/life/school balance, which finally meant taking a break from the work part (although school is definitely work). I enjoy my work and generally work 7 days/week. But I also try to make sure I get a 1-2 hour walk in with River (our dog) every day. And I try not to work after dinner (not always successful there). But as I mentioned in an earlier post (and others have mentioned as well), new communication technologies have blurred the line between home and work, with work in many respects invading the home.

Fábio mentioned an organization that used the internet for a team's work tasks as well as social networks. Several years ago I met a VP in Motorola who said that his global team conducted all the work with new media (cell, web chat, net meetings, and the like) but would meet twice a year just for socializing. In person time was all about building relationships; online time was (mostly) work (still some interpersonal communication, but primarily task oriented). That is the direction many organizations are going. Global teams coordinate using new media; in person meetings are for tasks that can only be done face-to-face and for the social aspects of teamwork.

I'm working on a small group communication textbook that grew out of my frustration with current texts that treat new media as an add on for groups. So there are chapters such as "Technology and Groups" and "Virtual Groups." Blogging about the web lecture for this week, MPA Student said, "Looking at how technology influences our lives is hard to even see, since it has become such an accepted daily occurrence to use cell phones, email, facebook, myspace, ipods, etc." The use of new media is seamless--just like the landline telephone, organization members don't think twice about IMing, emailing, and net conferencing. MPA does express concern about the lack of nonverbal communication, referring to a professor who mentioned that the majority of communication is nonverbal. Actually, that professor is wrong--no empirical evidence to support that. There is some research suggesting the majority of emotional communication is nonverbal. But verbal communication still dominates our interactions. In addition, we typically "translate" nonverbal messages into verbal ones. For example, when someone smiles, you might think, "She's happy," or "He likes me."

Plenty of concepts and theories to blog about this week--and we're just halfway through!

--Professor Cyborg

new posts for this week

Bejeweled blogged about the pervasive communication environment discussed in this week's web lecture. The idea may seem obvious, but being able to send and receive messages nearly anytime from anyplace with anyone and being able to access information 24/7 have greatly impacted how people communicate and how organizations function. SantaCruz noted several of the downsides to information and communication accessibility. For example, the line between work and home has become blurred (I'm blogging from my home in Santa Cruz at 8p after spending the entire day on campus in meetings and advising). So the cell phone, the internet, fax machines, and other communication technologies have changed work expectations. For most jobs, organization members are expected to be linked to the organization at all times. Athina of Greece brought up the issue of real v. virtual in the web lecture. The conclusion is that it's all real--online communication can have the same influences as offline communication. The more interesting questions are about how people use different ways of communicating to achieve their goals and objectives.

Roy Hobbs notes that workplace democracy doesn't always functions productively. Management strategies such as total quality management tried to foster workplace democracy, but ignored the reality of organizational hierarchy. In organizations, some voices do count more than others because of power associated with particular position. Roy Hobbs also talked about gender issues in organizational communication. Although more of a political communication issue, consider the negative comments made about Hillary Clinton (hair, clothing, showing emotion) versus Barack Obama in the recent presidential primary race. In the U.S. (and most other countries) there are different leadership expectations for women and men.

The blogging is off to a good start this week--blog early and blog often!

--Professor Cyborg

technology & organizations

I mentioned in a previous post that I find organizational culture one of the most interesting areas of organizational communication scholarship. Although that's true, I'm also quite interested in how new communication technologies, especially the internet and cell phones, have so radically changed organizational life.

I do tend to regularly critique SJSU's crushing bureaucracy because there are just so many examples of bureaucracy run amok. And SJSU has been so slow to adopt new organizing tools that sometimes it's difficult to believe it's an institution of higher education. But this class demonstrates that SJSU has the potential to enter the 21st century and leverage new communication technologies to improve ways of organizing. Such changes do seem to be happening on a small scale at the university. For example, in re-envisioning the COMM department's major and graduate programs, the faculty made excellent use of a wiki to share ideas, research, documents, and resources. Without the wiki, we would not be ready to implement the changes in fall 2009.

The San Jose Mercury News today had an article on Twitter, which allows individuals to exchange very short text messages--a micro version of Facebook. One of my colleagues in RTVF uses Twitter to remind students of assignments. That's the kind of innovative thinking that makes teaching (and organizing) interesting, dynamic, and even fun.

--Professor Cyborg

orienting to SJSU

Yesterday I participated in summer orientation, staffing a booth for the College of Social Sciences. Talked with many first-year students and their parents as well as a few transfer students. SJSU can seem overwhelming at first, with so many colleges, schools and departments. Although the campus is fairly compact, the layout can seem confusing for those new to the campus. I didn't attend orientation when I first started my undergraduate degree; yesterday gave me a sense of what I was missing. Students learn important information about how to navigate the complexities of the SJSU bureaucracy as well as what's expected of them as members of the campus community.

Friday is a major blogging day in this class, so there were many posts for me to read through, but one in particular caught my eye because it's something I've really noticed as acting chair for the department. In blogging about Jamba Juice, Bams noted that the counter people at the bottom rung are the most important because they're the contact point with customers. If servers are rude and unpleasant, customers likely won't go back. At SJSU, the staff are a key contact point for students, especially when students first arrive. In the COMM department, our office staff are known for being friendly and efficient, which gives students (and faculty) a more positive view of the department. At orientation yesterday, I noticed how helpful the staff were, answering questions about CoSS and other aspects of the university that I could not have answered. Those brief interactions can have a lasting impact on how students (and parents) view SJSU.

--Professor Cyborg

socialization, culture, metaphor

MJ blogged about the socialization process when entering an organization. Newcomers to an organization highlight cultural practices, values, beliefs, and the like that oldtimers take for granted--and don't even notice. Because SJSU is the older public institution of higher education in California, I've often heard the phrase, "We've always done it that way." With such an "old" culture, SJSU can be slow to change.

NuNu mentioned that the integration approach to culture may not be very pragmatic. Can organization members come together and agree on cultural beliefs and values? Smaller co-cultures likely can do this, but it's less probable with larger groups. ad_pe_144 talked about rituals in a sorority. Rituals provide an important venue for reinforcing cultural values and for socializing organization members. The regular meetings of a sorority and script for the event let members know the kinds of things the organization identifies as important. For example, if everyone has a turn to speak, that suggests the organization values member participation and voice.

JMcAvoy reflected on metaphors in everyday life. Although the original version of Lakoff and Johnson's Metaphors We Live By was published nearly 30 years ago, their thesis resonates with people today. Examining metaphors brings to the forefront the ways in which language structures how individuals interpret and act on their world. Athina of Greece (who continues to include intriguing images with the blog posts) notes the problem with the conduit metaphor in organization.

Although some organizational scholars consider the cultural approach dated, it helps researchers, students, and organization members examine more closely that which is typically unnoticed.

--Professor Cyborg

more on organizational culture

When I teach COMM 144 in person one activity I have students do is examine different aspects of SJSU culture, such as metaphors, language/jargon, rituals and rites, stories, artifacts, and practices. Students work in small groups and although there's some overlap, there are always differences. Some can be attributed to not noticing the more taken-for-granted aspects of culture. Other differences are due to co-cultures at the university based on role (faculty, student, staff, administrator), major or discipline, membership in student organizations, and similar groups. Analyzing the culture of an organization in which you're deeply embedded can bring to light cultural beliefs, values, and practices that you hadn't really paid attention to before.

Bejeweled alludes to this idea that we're often not aware of cultural norms until we examine them, as evident when reflecting back on a sushi restaurant where Bejeweled used to work in. Power dynamics can also be revealed in a cultural analysis. For example, what does the family metaphor reveal about power in an organization? Do children (employees) have the same power as parents (top management)? sp1028 also blogged about cultural indicators, in this case, applied to Macys. The organization's dress code provided a way to differentiate between who's in the organization and who is not.

Fábio blogged about Schein's approach to organizational culture. I read his book (first edition), Organizational Culture and Leadership, in the organizational culture course I took as a doctoral student (mentioned yesterday). I also read his very early work, Process Consultation: Its Role in Organizational Development, which foreshadows his thinking about organizational culture. Schein's work does suggest that culture can be changed, generally from the top down. As I asked, yesterday, Can management change organizational culture? Fábio says he avoids organizations with a "fabricated culture." Who does the fabricating? How do we know?

Just a few more things to think about this week as you work through Chapters 5, 6, and the web lecture.

--Professor Cyborg

organizational culture

Chapter 5 on organizational culture is one of my favorite in the text. My first introduction to organizational communication was a communication audit course in my doctoral program. Although the course took a process view of organizations, the interviews, focus groups, and survey items didn't directly address culture. Then I took a course in organizational culture and found it provided a very different way of thinking about organizations. At the time, the practical and interpretive views of organizational culture were quite popular. The practical view considers culture a variable that can be manipulated in an organization, as with managers telling stories that will influence employees' values. The interpretive view is concerned with organizational sensemaking. For me, the major contribution of this approach is recognizing that there's more going on in organizations than just getting the work done. Organization members know that, but researchers were slow to examine the more intangible aspects of organizational life.

The critical perspective highlights the ways in which organizations reinforce the status quo and current power relationships, framing organizations as instruments of domination. This approach to organizational culture leads organization members and scholars to question ways of organizing and examine how organizational practices may disenfranchise and exclude individuals and groups. I was watching the PGA U.S. Open Championship with friends over the weekend and one person commented that many of the courses Tiger Woods plays on now he couldn't have played on 30 years ago due to golf course use and country club membership restrictions based on race. That type of institutional structure is an example of organizations as instruments of domination.

The web lecture on metaphors and culture discusses how metaphors influence our thinking about organizations. In spite of the many new metaphors that have been applied to organizations in recent years, most organizations still embody the organizations as machines metaphor--which has negative implications for the people in those organizations.

Plenty of interesting concepts to blog about this week!

--Professor Cyborg

more historical perspectives

Human relations and human resources are appealing perspectives because of their focus on the human aspects of organization. Lloydentoigen blogs, "I work harder, better and faster when I feel respected and feel like my supervisor/boss/professor has earned my respect instead of demanding it." JMcAvoy echoed these sentiments, stressing the importance of managers letting employees know they're doing good work. Ideally, this type of positive, respectful communication climate is what should be cultivated in all organizations. When applied ethically, human resources in particular should create such a respectful workplace. Human relations arose out of the lack of humanity embedded in the classical approaches. Athina of Greece provides us with a clever bureaucracy cartoon underscoring that point. Kcee reminds us that the idea of bureaucracy isn't bad, but how it's implemented and who does the implementing.

Not much more time to blog this week--Week 2 ends at midnight tomorrow, so keep on writing! I'll be busy reading all your blogs--entries and comments-- tomorrow and Sunday, so might not have a chance to blog myself. But I will be online.

--Professor Cyborg

history and organizational communication

One aspect of the textbook for this class that I like is the attention to the historical aspects of organizational. As Considering how scholars and researchers have viewed organizations over time gives insight into current thinking about organizations, organizational communication, and organizing. And as Andres notes, understanding the time in which a perspective emerged gives us insight into why the perspective was adopted and why it might persist--or not--today.

NuNu blogs that history is partisan--written from a particular viewpoint, with others' viewpoints left out. For example, when I was sitting in Spartan Stadium for the graduation ceremony a few weeks ago, I noticed that all the names painted on the upper part of the stadium are male. Women's accomplishments in sports are typically absent from university stories.

Fábio noted that management theories build on or are a reaction to management theories in the past. Although scientific management has been highly criticized, at the time, it did serve to focus on exactly how work is accomplished. Kcee, I emphasize with you losing an entry. What I often do is compose in notepad or word and then paste into my blog. Kcee gives an excellent example of the division of labor in the VA. Aloha123 brought up the notion of resistance to domination. History tells us that people who are oppressed will find a way to fight back. In my research on organizational surveillance, when employees feel the surveillance is unreasonable, they'll figure out ways to subvert the system.

Great comments so far this week! Keep up the blogging!!!

--Professor Cyborg

learning organizations and bureaucracies

Chapter 4 includes a discussion of Senge's notion of learning organizations. I find this approach appealing because it suggests organizations can change--they don't have to keep making the same mistakes. One key aspect of learning organizations is a shared vision. SJSU is trying to do this with Vision 2010. Initially, there was quite a bit of buzz about Vision 2010, especially linked to SJSU's 150th anniversary. But lately, the project seems to have lost steam, as evidenced by the 2-year old update page on the strategic plan associated with the initiative. Still, with a new president coming in, many of us are hopeful that SJSU will change its bureaucratic ways.

Aloha123 talked about one of the advantages of bureaucracies--differentiation. That is, all organization members have specific jobs they're supposed to do to keep the organization going. Then the organization's structure serves to integrate these different tasks into a unified whole. Lotusblossum noted that scientific management is used in the consulting she does, with her company identifying exactly how long it takes to complete a task and the best way to do it. This can be a useful way to make organizations more efficient. But are people machines? What happens when we leave out the human factor? SantaCruz linked scientific management with the division between blue collar and white collar work. Interestingly, scientific management principles are applied to both types. For example, consider the importance of lawyers to have billable hours. ad_pe_comm144 also discussed the division of labor and its positive contributions to organizations, such as dividing tasks within and between teams. Paula discussed the strategies she uses to appear to be working, as with quickly bringing up a work screen on her computer to hide that she'd been IMing. Of course, employees have been trying to appear like they were working long before computers came on the workplace scene. This is the human side that scientific management often ignores.

The blogging continues . . .

--Professor Cyborg

week 2 day 2

I think everyone is up to speed and online. We've got a long blog roll for the class; a few people have already starting blogging about this week's readings. Last week I tried to comment on everyone's introduction. Now that the graded part of blogging has started, I'll generally only comment about student blog entries on my blog.

Roy Hobbs talks about scientific management in his first entry this week, observing that while this approach may seem appealing, it fails to take into account the human elements of organizing. Hobbs says, "I have found that while there is a time and place for managers to be the ultimate decision-makers, communication in an organization is more effective when all employees feel as though they have been made part of the solution." Research supports this view of decision making. When organization members feel they've participated in the decision making process, they're more apt to willingly participate in implementing the final decision, even if they didn't agree with it.

Kim Mai also blogged about scientific management, applying the perspective to emergency operations and services. Although as she points out this would seem like a good fit, the approach doesn't allow for creativity and innovation when encountering crises in the future.

Thanks to Roy and Kim Mai getting us off to a good start this week. As you read through Chapters 3 and 4 you'll likely think of many examples from your own experiences that fit in to classical perspectives and the systems approach to organizational communication.

--Professor Cyborg

SJSU-my favorite bureaucracy

You may have read in the San Jose Mercury News this week that SJSU had decided to withdraw invitations to 1100 admitted students. The next day the Merc reported the university made an about face and canceled the uninvites, citing a "communication breakdown" as the source of the original decision. This case provides an excellent example of a classical approach to organizational communication in which organizations are viewed as machines, organization members are replaceable parts in the machine, and communication is a conduit for thoughts. In the Metaphors & Culture lecture, I discuss the conduit metaphor for communication and its implications for understanding organizational communication.

In the case of SJSU's most-recent PR gaffe, no one takes responsibility for the poor decision-making process applied in the original action to withdraw the invitations. Instead, the problem is framed as a breakdown in communication. Rather than examining the actions, interactions, and perspectives that went into the decision, the problem is glossed over--to be repeated at a later time. SJSU is well known for its classical approach to communication, with an emphasis on top-down communication, rules and regulations, and crushing paperwork. The uninvited students followed part of the rules--indicating their initial acceptance and sending in their money (and SJSU cashed the checks). But they failed to complete the other two steps, registering for orientation and placement tests. This experience should provide an important lesson for these students in navigating the massive bureaucracy that is SJSU.

Can SJSU alter its approach to organizing? Is it possible for the university to adopt a different metaphor for organization? As part of larger bureaucratic systems--the CSU and the State of California--changing the metaphor will prove challenging. Can SJSU survive without changing? Consider this from the first article about the uninvites:

SJSU got a whopping 24,500 applications from high school seniors hoping to enroll this fall. Harris credits this record-breaking popularity to its Silicon Valley location. But unlike most other CSU campuses, SJSU is confined by its urban geography - so it can't grow.

A traditional approach to higher education would suggest that SJSU is bounded by San Fernando, Fourth, Tenth, and San Salvador Streets. But is a university just its physical location. What about online learning? How might SJSU grow in other ways that don't involve constructing new buildings? For example, the School of Library and Information Sciences uses Second Life to teach some classes. Is it possible for a bureaucracy to promote creativity and innovation? How has SLIS managed to do that at SJSU?

Just a few questions to consider near the end of this first week in COMM 144.

--Professor Cyborg

assignments reminder

This afternoon I sent out a reminder message via the class listserv (google groups) about the assignments due this week. The week ends on Saturday at midnight. If you haven't already, you'll want to complete Quiz 1 and the Process Tasks.

Tomorrow I'll read through your introductory blogs and write a bit about SJSU.

--Professor Cyborg

getting started

I've checked the class blackboard (aka blackweb) site and nearly everyone has logged on. If you're having any problems accessing blackboard, please email me. There's more information on how to log on to blackboard on the eCampus website. Fortunately, eCampus recently updated the log in information (which initially left out the part that passwords were not reset this term).

I hope you're all enjoying the first few chapters of the text. They provide the foundation for the remainder of the text so are quite important. One point the authors make in the first chapter is that the study of organizational communication is more about asking questions than providing answers. That doesn't mean you can't search for answers. But it does mean as the environment changes, those answers change as well. What worked for organizations 10 years ago may not work today. That's certainly true of higher education. For example, online learning was in its infancy in 1998 (I took an online class that year in how to teach online and taught my first online class in 1999). Now students can get a bachelor's degree online--and not just from Phoenix U. The U of Louisville offers both a B.A. and B.S. in communication completely online.

So studying organizational communication means learning how to ask good questions. What questions do you have about organizational communication?

--Professor Cyborg

first day of class

Today is the official first day of the summer session. I've been busy answering student email messages, approving listserv subscriptions, and adding student blogs to the class blog roll.

As I mentioned in my blog for the COMM 110 class, managing all the blogs for the class is easier if you add your classmates' blogs to your own blog (go to your blog's Dashboard, then Add a Page Element, then add a links list) and sign up for Google Reader. Google Reader is an RSS feed that automatically tells you when a new post is added to a blog. Reader also compiles all the blogs you've added to your Reader, so you can view the text for the blogs all on a single page. Use the help function for Blogger and Reader to help you set up these useful features.

Blogging isn't required for this week, but it's useful to post a few entries and comment on others' so you get in the habit. Blogging (at least for this class) is more about writing short messages often than writing lengthy messages once in awhile (although in the winter session nearly all students wrote well over the required minimum number of words).

I'll write more about the course content later this week. Meanwhile, complete all your Process Tasks, try out blogging, and take the first quiz. Email the listserv (google groups) or me with any questions you have.

--Professor Cyborg

blackboard available

The class rosters have been uploaded to the blackboard site so students can now access that part of the class. We'll only use blackboard for quizzes and grades. If you've never used the SJSU version of blackboard, you'll want to go through the practice questions on the blackboard site to become familiar with the quiz function.

Class officially begins tomorrow. I'll be on campus as well as online. I'm looking forward to a great summer session!

--Professor Cyborg

class launched, students notified

I'm beginning to figure out why things might get a bit complex blogging in two classes. I know what I've written in each class, but most of my students won't know (unless they're in both classes or take the time to read both blogs). So my COMM 110 students know my latest complaint about blackboard and eCampus, but not my 144 students. If you're interested, go to the 110 blog to find out.

Although mySJSU was supposed to be offline until tomorrow at noon, I check it today and was able to access my classes. I sent the welcome message via mySJSU and the notifier function for each class roster. This will give students a few days to prepare for the class, review the website, purchase the text, and the like.

A great organizational communication Pardon My Planet comic today. Check it out at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer website and select today's date. The boss says to the subordinate, "The whole company is like family, my boy. So we'll expect to see you here on Thanksgiving and Christmas." Many companies like to promote the family metaphor as a way to suggest that everyone is happy and productive, yet there are many negative aspects of this metaphor. What might be some of the downsides of an organization that's like a family?

Looking forward to the start of the summer session on Monday morning.

--Professor Cyborg

Preparing for Summer 08

I've been preparing for the summer session for some time, but in bits and pieces. I made a few updates today, enough that I'm ready to upload pages to the class website. A few odds and ends left, but generally ready for prime time.

I thought about creating a new blog for this session, but I thought might be interested in what I blogged about during the winter. I did remove the blog roll for my winter class, though, to avoid confusion.

The summer class is full with 11 students on the waiting list. Unfortunately, I won't be able to allow everyone in the class who wants to take it.

With the current economic situation, and continuing turbulent climate, COMM 144 is a particularly interesting class to teach and useful class for students to take. I'm looking forward to many engaging conversations over the session's six weeks.

--Professor Cyborg

last day of class

While I was participating in the universal design for learning workshop you all were busy blogging about organizational communication. I'll make a few more comments today. Apologies in advance if I don't comment on everyone's blog.

Victoria Beckham focused on training and development, which I found especially relevant this week as I've been involved in two training sessions this winter term, one on technology in the classroom and the other on universal design. Victoria provided a great example the impact training can have from a trainer's perspective.

Spartan Girl does an excellent job applying the notion of deliberative democracy to blogging in this class, noting how blogging encourages us to express ourselves while at the same time consider others' perspectives in meaningful ways.

Who me?, CGH, Phil, and others talked about balancing work and family life. This resonated with me as I've recently taken over the duties of acting chair, in addition to teaching this class, serving as the COMM Club advisor, and working on a student success project involving the development of two workshops on communication and disability. Those commitments don't leave much time for my life in Santa Cruz, especially now that the internet, wireless access, my laptop, and cell phone keep me in constant contact with SJSU.

Wally Oxenfree discussed report and rapport talk. My only concern with this section of the chapter is that people view gender differences in deterministic ways. Research strongly suggests that gender differences are culturally based. In addition, there are greater communication differences within groups (among women and among men) than between the two groups. Even dividing individuals into two gender groups takes a binary approach to gender that's not especially useful.

Scaphoidfracture, Tiger, and others highlighted instructions for life in the new millennium that are especially relevant in today's fast-paced and complex world. These instructions provide a hopeful counterbalance to critical views of organization and organizing.

SJSUgirl suggested that instant messaging with people you don't know isn't real. Yet doesn't all communication influence us in some way? That makes mediated communication quite real.

Shona commented on the idea of thinking together in our individualistic society. How might we overcome our fear of interacting with others to think together? This is particularly difficult in the academic setting when students (and professors) are typically evaluated individually.

San Jose Org Commer wrote twice about democracy and makes a key point: "The most powerful members of the organization establish the criteria." Workplace democracy does equal egalitarianism. Even (or especially) in academe, where there's much emphasis on democratic processes, a clear (although often implicit) hierarchy exists based on an individual's rank in the university or college and the profession.

Kaeli blogged about sexual harassment in the workplace, saying, "Now that I know more about harassment, I can keep my eye out for it and not let it happen to me, and help any friends who may be in a hostile workplace." Sexual harassment often is difficult to combat due to power issues (the more powerful harassing the less powerful) and those who are targeting feeling that they're someone to blame or even feeling shame.

Shitentenemusu and others talked about Deetz's notions of workplace democracy and enlarging the definition of organizational stakeholders. Shitentenemusu provides an astute observation: "at first glance what seem to be quite simple steps to follow, they are actually fairly difficult actions to follow up on."

Longevity provided a nice link between the web lecture on dialogic democracy and the discussion of dialogue in Chapter 2 of the text with the emphasis on "a balance between expressing ourselves and understanding the perspectives that others bring to an issue." B Strong noted that the importance of dialogue extends to our everyday lives as we interact with people from a wide range of backgrounds.

KFinneran's discussion of the pervasive communication environment reminds us of how accustomed we are to mediated communication, and our sometimes out of proportion reaction when the technology fails.

JennB156 blogged about consumption and our drive to buy, buy, buy. Our intensely mediated world has only increased the pressure to consume.

Another week of excellent and insightful entries! I'm sorry I won't get to comment on them all. Keep up the great blogging!

-Prof. Cyborg

more on the universal design workshop

The second day of the workshop on Universal Design for Learning was more action-based than the first day. We watched a video of an interview with a CSU student with learning disabilities. Provided insight into how students with disabilities and their instructors can work together to provide a more productive learning environment that benefits everyone. We also got some background on universal design, which was originally applied to architecture, such as designing barrier-free buildings. And then we discussed how that metaphor applies to learning. Had an interesting presentation on digital textbooks, although in a previous session we'd learned that those textbooks often use proprietary software. The other issue is students generally have access to the textbooks for only 180 days, making it difficult to go back and review a section that might be applicable in a later class.

For me, the most useful part of yesterday's session was on developing accessible documents in word-processing software such as MS Word as well as Adobe Acrobat. We applied an accessibility rubric to a current syllabus, which clearly demonstrated to me that mine was lacking in several areas. We had some time yesterday, and more scheduled today, to get our syllabi up to standards. This is important information I'll take back to the faculty in my department.

This type of training is essential to any organization. Learning new ways of working may not directly impact the bottom line. That's why in tough fiscal times, organizations often cut their training and development programs. Yet these cuts are short-sighted, as in the long run, better trained employees benefit the organization with greater productivity and creativity, as well as generally being more engaged with the organization. The two workshops I've taken this winter session will make be a better teacher and colleague. They'll certainly help me adapt to the pervasive communication environment in which I'm enmeshed.

I'll comment on your blogs again before class ends tomorrow. . . .

--Prof Cyborg

a few notes on week 3 blogs

Just a few short notes before I go to the second day of the workshop on accessibility. . .

Victoria Beckham and Spartan girld blogged about emotion labor. This is such an important topic, and one that tends to be ignored in organizations. Certainly in most workplaces, it's only okay to show "happy" emotions, although this varies with one's status in the hierarchy. So okay for a supervisor to display anger toward subordinates, but not the reverse. Both bloggers give a useful examples of having to put on a "happy face" for customers.

Yu provides good insight into collectivist v. individualist cultures and wonders how those in individualist cultures decide whether or not to agree with a speaker. Is it based on respect? Or only on what the person has to say? I know that I can respect someone, yet still disagree with that person.

José gives us a thoughtful analysis of feminist perspectives in the workplace, tying that discussion in well with the notion of partisan viewpoints introduced in chapter 3. José makes a key point that feminist perspectives on organizational communication aren't just about women, but identify the ways in which the status quo mutes the voices of many groups in the workplace.

Goofy and B Strong commented on the democracy and dialogue web lecture, which is based on work I've done in small group communication. The intersections of democracy and dialogue also form a foundation of the Communication Studies Department's mission that the faculty have recently articulated, "to educate people in competent and ethical communication for meaningful participation in local and global communities." Sashak also wrote about the web lecture, making useful links to our larger culture and to corporate culture as well.

Bravogirl1 commented on the technology and teams web lecture. I agree that online and in person communication are not the same. The communication imperative, though, reminds us that we shape technology to meet our needs. In addition, if we recognize that reality is socially constructed in our communication with others, then we can consider how we construct that reality in person and online.

That's it for now. More later . . .

--Prof. Cyborg

universal design workshop

Plenty of blogging activity yesterday and today, likely due to our shortened week. I was busy today in the first of a three-day workshop on universal design for the classroom. The workshop focuses on making course accessible for all students. Often, adapting course materials for students with dis/abilities benefits others in the class. For example, workshop facilitators recommended putting syllabi and other handouts online for students using screen readers to download. Having such materials readily available online is a great help to all students.

I was really interested in Kurzweil 3000, a software program that helps students view and take notes on class readings. One feature allows students to highlight different parts of the text--such as main points and vocabulary terms--in different colors and then download that highlighted material in a separate document. This is a great study tool for all students.

Chapter 11 in the text underscores the importance of integrity in organizations. SJSU is at the forefront of the CSU Accessible Technology Initiative designed to "to ensure that each CSU campus follows state and federal laws mandating access to technology as well as to ensure a culture of inclusive learning." What's important about this statement is the last part--inclusive learning. ATI isn't about following the rules; it's about developing a learning environment that includes all students. ATI provides a good example of working with integrity and mindful communication (which several of you have blogged about this week).

More about your blogs soon . . . .

--Prof. Cyborg

the start of week 3

Week 3 begins today!

Sashak and B Strong have already gotten the blogging started with both discussing the web lecture on Technology and Teams. Sashak noted the positive and negative aspects of the pervasive communication environment in which we live. Organizational communication scholars in the early 1990s championed the idea of using new communication technologies to blur the boundaries of work and home. Working at home is great! But as Sashak points out, it can also mean we can't get away from work. B Strong commented on the communication imperative. This is an important concept because it reminds us that technology doesn't determine how we communicate. Instead, we figure out ways to make technology work for us to achieve our communicative goals.

Looking forward to more blog entries and comments this week! I'll also be reporting on the 3-day workshop (Tu-Th) I'm taking on universal design in the classroom.

--Prof. Cyborg

a few final notes for Week 2

a few notes

The last day of Week 2 . . .

In discussing Chapter 5, CGH said this about the anticipatory stage of assimilation, "I did a lot of research to find out exactly what the company did so that I could better understand my job position." Excellent advice for anyone starting a new job. And now so much easier with company websites. Interviewing those who already work in the organization is a good idea, too.

Like CurlySue, I had an experience with a "cult like" culture. I didn't stay in the organization very long. I found the pressure to conform stifling.

Goofy provides some examples of underlying metaphors for "busy," that help us reflect on the meaning of that simply word. Kat Finn also noted how metaphors can lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations.

JennB156 remarked that rites and rituals in organizational culture "sounds more like a fraternity or sorority" yet consider the important rituals associated with SJSU, such as first-year orientation and graduation. Rituals help convey organizational values and provide sensemaking mechanisms for organization members.

JRosene discussed retrospective sensemaking, which I think frequently occurs in organizations, especially at the management level.

José offers an extended critique of Chapter 3 that the blogger might want to forward on to the authors of the text. Also, good insights to sections on Weick's notion of organizing and concepts associated with organizational culture in C. 5. I agree that organizational culture is particularly appealing because it illuminates what we often take for granted.

Kaeli's comments on surveillance suggest that when we know we're being watched at work we tend to be more productive. But I wonder about situations in which we know we're being watched all the time--will we find ways to subvert the system?

Longevity reminded us that "it’s not always good to have open honest communication with everyone." In the 1970s there was in emphasis in the communication discipline on being open, which turned in to saying whatever was on your mind. But that ignores the impact our communication can have on others.

Mariposa makes a good point that particularism exists today, but is more covert than in the past.

Phil's entry about goals reminded me of research some of my colleagues did about 10 years ago in which they found that the perception of shared goals was more important in organizational productivity than being able to articulate the same goals.

Sashak's discussion of systems theory reminds us that all approaches to organizational communication have their strengths and weaknesses, just as all metaphors shadow or hide at the same time as they illuminate.

Scaphoidfracture makes a good point about how difficult it can be for organization members to interpret feedback.

Shitentenemusu notes that critical approaches to organization can be negative or depressing. Some researchers and scholars go beyond a critical analysis and identify ways to move an organization in more a positive direction based on the initial critical analysis.

SJSUGirl reported that a friend said, "that for many employees Disneyland once used to be the happiest place on earth, but after being treated so poorly they no longer see it is as the happiest place on earth." Some researchers have examined Disney's corporate practices:

• Tracy, J. F. (1999). Whistle while you work: the Disney company and the global division of labor. Journal of Communication, 23, 374-389.
  
  
• Boje, D. (1995). Stories of the storytelling organization: A postmodern analysis of Disney as "Tamara-Land." Academy of Management Journal, 38, 997-1035.

Spartan Girl provides a good application of hegemony to the family.

Tiger noted that "Reddy either has no idea what communication is all about, or maybe, he just had a little bit of trouble communicating his ideas." What Reddy was trying to do was show how much management texts reinforce the conduit metaphor; it's not a metaphor that Reddy agrees with.

Victoria Beckham writes about concertive control in a law firm.

Wally Oxenfree commented on Senge's learning organization. This approach to organization seems like a must in the turbulent environment we're experiencing as well as the develop pace of new communication technologies.

Who me? gives us much to think on about women in the workpace.

Great entries and comments! Just a few more hours left to post your thoughts on Week 2's reading.

--Prof. Cyborg

The blogging continues . . . .

I'm reviewing the blogs in reverse alphabetical order today. Yu discussed ACITs (also called ICTs for information and communication technologies) in small group work and the frustration members can feel due to inexperience with these technologies. In the workshop I took last week, I found that I like the idea of using something like Elluminate (which is essentially NetMeeting), but some sometimes it seemed slow and ponderous.

Who me? and CGH Talked about McGregor's theories X and Y. Ouchi adds Theory Z organizations, or those which simultaneously promote individual achievement and a sense of community (Chapter 5). Although McGregor provided a useful base for examining the link between management attitudes and behaviors, Ouchi gives a more nuanced view of what motivates organization members.

Victoria Beckham blogged about distributed intelligence and turning points. I especially like the application of turning points to the transition from high school to college. And I'm glad Victoria chose SJSU over Ohio State. Nothing against OSU, but just consider the weather in California v. the weather in Ohio (I taught at Ohio U for a year--I've experienced the difference!). More seriously, my parents were disappointed when I didn't attend their alma mater, but like Victoria, I had to find a place that was the best fit for me.

Tiger's discussion of interdependence illuminates the ways in which the family is a system and an organization. In discussing the human relations approach, Tiger said, "As always, there are exceptions, but a happy worker does not make a productive worker, nor are groups and teams of employees always more productive or better problem solvers than people working individually." And the research supports this. Good insights here, Tiger.

Spartan Girl talked about Maslow's hieararchy of needs, the learning organization, and socialization. Socialization is especially important for the newcomer as well as the organization. What organizations sometimes forget is the impact newcomers have on an organization. My department is hiring two new faculty members and they'll likely influence the department's culture.

SJSUGirl blogged about the web lecture on metaphors and culture. I first learned about organizational culture in graduate school when I took a class on the topic. I still find the idea of culture and the influence of metaphor fascinating.

Shona also blogged about the web lecture, expressing concern about the use of IM and other new media in relationship development, maintenance , and disengagement. Although Shona suggests that such communication isn't "real" consider the impact an IM message might have. And while this class meets online, it's just as "real" as one that meets in person.

Shitentenemusu discussed power and the classical approach to organization, pointing out that "how businesses and organizations are run may not change as much as we think." Although there are many metaphors for organizing, the machine metaphor is still the one used the most often, even if the application is implicit rather than explicit.

San jose org commer made an important point about the role of trainers in socializing organization members into the organization, observing, "espoused values must be intentionally flexible/vague enough to appeal to the greatest number of employees." In developing our department's mission statement, we used language that's intentionally ambiguous, allowing members to develop their own interpretations that they could embrace.

Phil applied particularism to what happens to young people who have a juvenile crime record. It's very difficult for them to get beyond their past because employers are hesitant to hire them.

Mariposa applied the six features of organizational culture to several organizations. Interrogating an organization's culture can help us better understand why we're comfortable in some organizations and not in others. Identifying the values embedded in organizational stories uncovers basic assumptions and sensemaking practices that members take for granted.

Longevity discussed the idea that knowledge is partisan. That is, what we know is always influenced by who we are and who gets to define what constitutes knowledge. Each theory has underlying metatheoretical assumptions that often go unnoticed but must be identified so we can examine the viewpoint from which the theory was developed.

Kaeli blogged about organizational culture and Weick's sensemaking model. I've always like Weick's work; his writing tends to be poetic and innovative. For example, he's compared organizing to jazz in that how we go about organizing if often improvisational, yet some organizing is also highly predictable and scripted.

B Strong gave us some good insights into organizational surveillance. Still, consider who can do the most damage to an organization--lower-level employees (who generally are highly surveilled) or top management, who typically enjoy little or no surveillance. Think of Enron, WorldCom, Adelphis, Xerox, and Tyco to name a few.

That's it for today! Excellent posts on this week's readings!

--Professor Cyborg

complexity & social networks theories

Chapter 4 in the text discusses systems theory, which most students find intuitively interesting because of the focus on interconnectedness. For this post, rather than comment on what you've been blogging about, I want to briefly introduce two theories with roots in systems theory that focus on the intersection between new media and organizational communication. You won't be tested on this information, but I thought you might find these theories interesting. The theories also suggest how organizational scholars and practitioners might apply systems theory in more pragmatic ways.

Complexity or chaos theory provides a useful twist on traditional systems theory and Castell's (1996-8) idea of a global network society. Complexity theory makes two crucial moves that take researchers beyond the notion of a single unified world system. First, as you've learned in Chapter 4, a system's beginnings influence its end conditions, but do not determine it. For example the internet's history plays a part in current outcomes, but because that history is complex, all the key factors cannot be known. Similarly, an organization's endpoint cannot be predicted from its beginnings. Even with all the hearings and litigation associated with Enron, all the events leading to its collapse will never be fully known.

Second, complexity theory suggests "our modern global society is not one huge network, but consists of an enormous number of loosely coupled networks" (Qvortrup, 2006, p. 347). Recall in Chapter 4, Weick introduced organizational scholars to the notion of loosely-coupled systems. In this way, people are connected via multiple local and global networks, rather than a single network. Although these networks may affect each other, their connection is often indirect.

The internet functions as multiple loosely coupled networks. Originally created as a highly decentralized network to maximize the system's ability to work around any service disruptions, the internet links computers together via multiple paths. Thus, a disruption in one part of the system may influence another part, but those unaffected parts will still continue to function. Multinational organizations provide a useful example of loosely-coupled systems as well. Even when highly centralized, MNOs still exhibit the qualities of loosely coupled networks, with units located in different countries often functioning in different ways. In differentiating MNOs from other types of organizations, Peterson and Thomas (2007) observe that MNOs have

high levels of organizational complexity and a distinctive set of structures that are used to manage a pool of common resources and to transfer complex knowledge over distance. MNOs are often large and require numerous linkages to diverse external environments. The distinctive structures that they use to handle these demands include roles such as expatriates and unique categories of managers, as well as coordinating mechanisms such as international virtual teams (p. 263, 265).

Complexity theory serves to illuminate at a macro-level the intricate ways in which internet and organizational communication intersect.

Complexity theory focuses on the larger or more macro issues associated with new media and organizational communication. Social networks theory narrows the focus by identifying specific types of networks within and between organizations. Connectivity forms the central notion of social network theory. While the application of traditional systems theory in organizational communication simply examined who talked to whom, social networks theory "emphasizes the importance of exchanges that support both work and social processes" (Haythornthwaite, 2005, p. 127). Researchers examine the complexity of interactions within a social network, such as the content, frequency, level of intimacy, and relationship among participants. Although Granovetter (1973) popularized social networks theory long before the internet's emergence, the theory provides important insights into how internet communication plays a central role in developing and structuring social networks in organizations.

In applying social networks theory to internet and organizational communication, Haythornthwaite (2005) found that "online-only ties are characterized by the same kinds of interactions the literature tells us are found for offline ties" (p. 135). In addition, the researcher found the internet provided the mechanism for establishing new relationships where none had existed before. Moreover, "like other new infrastructures before it, the more 'traffic' flows on the Internet, the more those without the means to access it are excluded from its information" (p. 140). In nearly all organizations, internet access and access to relevant organization information are essential for effective functioning at the individual and unit levels.

--Prof. Cyborg

References

Castells, Manuel (1996–8) The information age: Economy, society, culture, Vols 1–3. Oxford: Blackwell.

Granovetter, M. S. (1973) The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78, 1360–1380.

Haythornthwaite, C. (2005). Social networks and internet connectivity effects. Information, Communication & Society 8, 125-147.

Peterson, M. F., & Thomas, D. C. (2007). Organizational behavior in multinational organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 28, 261-279.

Qvortrup, L. (2006). Understanding new digital media: Medium theory or complexity theory? European Journal of Communication, 21, 345-356.

Start your blogs!

Start your blogs!

Class blogging has already started, with B Strong commenting on classical management and systems theory. I like how B Strong noted that from a systems perspective, there is no one best way to organize, but some approaches may work better than others. Systems theory recognizes that the beginning point doesn't determine the end point--or what happens in the middle.

CGH commented on my metaphors and culture web lecture--thank you! Both are topics I've been interested in since my graduate work at U of Kentucky.

CurlySue blogged about Theory Y and distributed intelligence. I'm really intrigued by the latter. The internet has greatly increased the ability of organizations to coordinate the distribution of organizational intelligence throughout the system.

Kat Finn and Kaeli focused on human relations, which had a tremendous impact on how we think about organizations and organizational life. Human relations moves us from viewing organizations (and people) as machines to viewing organizations as organisms. Human relations essentially put the "people" back in organizing. Kat Finn also provides a good example of applying feedback to taking quizzes in the class.

San Jose Org Commer provided a good link between open systems and the notion of a global village. I hadn't heard of virtual surgery, but I do know that the internet has had a tremendous impact on telemedicine.

In contrast to CurlySue, Shona discussed Theory X and how it doesn't seem like a very useful way to think about employees. Shona also made a good point about the importance of instructors paying attention to feedback from students (and I'll be interested in what students in this class have to say about my new approach).

Yu talked about both Theory X and Y and applied the concepts to a manufacturing company. I wonder if employee attitudes would be different at a another type of company or one where work is structured in more person-friendly ways.

That's it for today. I want to post this before the electricity goes out again. Thanks to everyone who started blogging early in the week!

--Prof. Cyborg

new tech & teaching workshop 2

The last day of the new technology and teaching workshop was busy as we learned about Elluminate, which is much like Microsoft's Netmeeting. Participants are able to IM, work on documents together, and interact via video and audio (although that seems to work best with one person presenting to others). I'd like to use it for podcasting. At the end of the day, we shared our plans for incorporating new technology into the classroom. I talked about this class and my experiment with blogging as well as the wikis I've set up for the department.

I didn't keep track, but it seemed like most of the workshop participants plan to use wikis in their classes, although at least two others mentioned blogs. Wikis provide a great way to organize. As one of the workshop facilitators said, wikis mean fewer meetings, and who isn't for that?

Nearly all the COMM 144 class members have set up their blogs, so we've got a lengthy blog roll. I'm looking forward to the blogs next week (which starts tomorrow) when students blog about their favorite concepts from chapters 3-6 and the metaphors web lecture. Although there may be some common themes, I suspect we'll get a lot of variation in the concepts class members find most meaningful.

--Prof. Cyborg

new tech & teaching workshop

Finished day 2 of the technology workshop I'm taking. Yesterday we spent the morning reviewing the Horizon Report produced by the New Media Consortium and the Educause Learning Initiative. The report identifies current and upcoming applications of new communication technologies to the classroom. In the afternoon we learned about using wikis and blogs in the classroom. I'm also interested in applying wikis in other ways. For example, I set up public wiki we can use to promote the department and develop as a resource for students. I also set up a wiki just for faculty to serve as an organizing tool and repository of institutional memory.

Today we had a presentation on Second Life. I've attended panel sessions on Second Life at the Association of Internet Researchers conference and attended a half-day workshop on teaching in Second Life. I'm sold on the idea, but need the time to learn how to use it and teach my students how to use it as well. What I liked is the presenter referred to SL as a synthetic world rather than a virtual one. So SL is real like email, IM, chat, and other online activities are real and meaningful.

We spent the afternoon learning about podcasting and developing our own podcast. The process seems a bit complex at first, but has many applications, such as podcasts of workshops, short courses, and student presentations. Looking forward to tomorrow when we find out about Elluminate.

--Prof. Cyborg

a new year & a new comm 144

Welcome to the New Year! The class blog roll continues to increase as students get an early start on winter session. With only 17 days to cover a semester's worth of course material, taking care of some class assignments before the beginning of the term reduces the stress of taking a class in a compressed time frame.

In reviewing the first two chapters of the text for the class, the section on the meaning of work caught my attention. The authors note, "Some of the values being espoused today about work signal not a retreat from it but a transformation of its meaning--from drudgery to a source of personal significance and fulfillment. Employees want to feel that the work they do is worthwhile, not just a way to draw a paycheck. This trend is increasingly pervasive" (p. 22). The paragraph goes on the same vein, but not a single citation. So I wonder if there's empirical research to support the authors' assertions. Is work either drudgery or a source of personal fulfillment? Can work be a mix of both at the same time? Sometimes the work I do is a joy, other times it's tedious, and sometime the same task is a bit of both. And I wonder if there is a trend that's increasingly pervasive in which people want to self-actualize at work. I know many people who work to live and many who live to work.

Just a few thoughts as I prepare for the winter session to start tomorrow. Going into school early to take care of any chair-related duties. Then I'll be participating in workshop I mentioned in a previous post on how to integrate new media into the classroom rest of the day, so likely won't get a chance to post to this blog.

Looking forward to COMM 144, which I always enjoy teaching, and the new format I designed for winter session.

--Prof. Cyborg