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