COMM 144-Organizational Communication

last day to blog

2009-07-04T07:11:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day of Week 5, the final day to blog as well as take Quiz 5. So declare your independence by finishing up your work for the week early and then relaxing and enjoying the fireworks tonight. Or if you're a dog owner like I am, closing all the windows and turning up the music so your pup won't be terrified by all the loud booms, pops, and bangs.

~ Professor Cyborg

emotion and democracy

2009-07-02T06:33:00.000-07:00

In the web lecture on democracy and dialogue I discuss various approaches to democracy and how they apply to organizational communication. As with organizational life in general, scholars and organization members think of democracy as rational, logical, and systematic. Yet the recent events in Iran (millions of people demonstrating and protesting the presidential election process) reveal the emotional side of democracy. That's why I find dialogic democracy appealing--it recognizes the passion underlying democratic processes.

One of the negative influences of classical theories of organization has been the removal of emotion from organizational life. Some displays of emotion are allowed in limited quantities. For example, it's okay to show happiness (but not too much) and displeasure (but again, not too much). In a previous entry, I talked about emotion labor, the idea that organization members must manage their emotions in specific ways. Dialogic democracy allows for a more authentic or honest expression of emotion. That doesn't mean you should blurt out whatever you're feeling at the time. Part of coordinating your behaviors with others involves a degree of self monitoring. That is, just because you think or feel something doesn't mean you have to tell others about it (consider the case of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, whose admissions about an affair have been referred to as streams of consciousness and other members of the GOP saying they wish he would "just shut up").

Dialogic democracy recognizes the importance of emotion as part of the human condition and encourages organization members to recognize the role emotion plays in organizational communication and decision making. This approach to emotion presents a clear distinction from other views of democracy as well as more traditional theories of organizing.

~ Professor Cyborg

new logics of organizing

2009-07-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning, as all of you did, to newspaper headlines around the state highlighting the our elected leaders' failure to pass a budget. Frantic Budget Talks Fall Short in the San Jose Mercury News, 11th-Hour Votes on State Budget Fail in the LA Times, Governor, Lawmakers Blow Deadline as Budget Hole Deepens in the Sacramento Bee, No Deal as State Budget Deadline Nears in the San Francisco Chronicle, and California State Senate Fails to Break Budget Deadlock in the San Diego Union-Tribune. How can this happen? What have you learned in this class over the past 4+ weeks that could help out the politicians in Sacramento?

In Chapter 11 Eisenberg et al. discuss new logics of organizing, such as management as poetry and communication as discourse, voice, and performance. The authors argue "the 'old' logic of organizational communication rested solidly on a seemingly bedrock principle that assumed hierarchies of all kinds were 'givens'" (p. 347). They go on to predict that current forms of organization and ways of organizing will change, especially with the use of new media. Yet the current state of California's government suggests that little has changed in this giant bureaucracy. California found itself in a similar situation in the early 1990s and the state seems to be repeating history. State politicians have to find new ways of communicating and managing the government; the old ways just aren't working. In the meantime, people who depend on the state--those who are the most fragile and at risk, such as children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities--will be receiving IOUs. IOUs don't pay the rent or buy groceries.

~ Professor Cyborg

let the blogging begin Week 5

2009-06-30T06:18:00.000-07:00

It's the 5th week of the summer session and the final blogging week. Quite a few class members have gotten an early start:

akaFlash
cjlynch
Esther
G
GSackman8
ilikecake
Kimber
Miss Potato
Molly McMuffin
Msensei
TM

The holiday weekend is coming up. Blog early and often so you're not spending the 4th in front of your computer screen!

~ Professor Cyborg

org com and the future

2009-06-29T10:53:00.000-07:00

In Chapter 10, Eisenberg et al. discuss larger issues in organizational communication and organizing, focusing on strategic positioning and alignment. The primary message is flexibility and adaptability in a turbulent environment.

The cover story of the May 25, 2009, issue of TIME is on the future of work, providing a more updated version of what's covered in Chapter 10. In a series of short articles, the magazine outlines how work has changed and trends that suggest new work paths in the coming months and years. Topics include types of jobs, management training, benefits, career trajectories, retirement, women in the workplace, green jobs, Gen X in the workplace, manufacturing, and the office. Plenty of intriguing tidbits of information. For me, the most interesting trend is telecommuting. Already it's estimated that 28% of the U.S. workforce telecommutes either full or part time. Seth Godin, the author of the article, "The Last Days of Cubicle Life," argues:

More and more, though, the need to actually show up at an office that consists of an anonymous hallway and a farm of cubicles or closed doors is just going to fade away . . . I'd rather send you a file at the end of my day . . . and have the information returned to my desktop when I wake up tomorrow.

Many companies are already working this way. I've found the best faculty meetings are those in which we've already done much of the work online and the only work left is what we need to talk about in person.

If you get the change, read the entire cover story. Lots of interesting ideas to think about and discuss.

~ Professor Cyborg

leadership at the bottom

2009-06-28T18:43:00.000-07:00

Leadership in organizations is typically associated with those at the top, such as CEOs, COOs, CFOs, CIOs, and the like, or those in middle-management supervisory roles. And in some companies, the people at the top truly are crucial to the organization's well-being. Consider the case of Apple and Steve Jobs. With Jobs at the helm, Apple flourished. When he left in the early 1990s, Apple quickly lost its way and its ability to make money. Jobs came back and Apple's innovative ideas soared. Still, without creative and smart people around him, even Steve Jobs wouldn't be able to keep Apple on the cutting edge of new communication technology.

In Chapter 9, Eisenberg et al. fall into this leaders-at-or-near-the-top trap as well, drawing a distinction between leaders/managers/supervisors and employees (aren't managers, supervisors, Presidents, etc., employees of the organization, too?). I suspect that leadership in the bottom levels of the organization may be as important (or even more important) than leadership at the top. At SJSU, for instance, the university went through several years of interim and temporary presidents and managed to muddle along just fine. But what would happen without department chairs? The university would come to a standstill. Even worse would be no office managers (administrative staff). It's not just the tasks department chairs and office staff complete, it's also the support they provide, goals they set, and ways they motivate others to complete their tasks.

Maybe it's time to take a closer look at leadership communication outside the upper echelons of organizations and study how those taking care of the day-to-day organizing tasks lead the way.

~ Professor Cyborg

gangs as organizations

2009-06-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

Near the end of Chapter 8, Eisenberg et al. mention that "terrorist organizations have turned to online communication as a means of recruiting and staying connected with new members" (p. 267). I'm not sure if local gangs are doing the same, but they certainly use cell phones and other new media to organize and accomplish their goals.

I bring up gangs today because the Merc ran an article on increased gang violence in Santa Cruz county. Although the article focused on Watsonville, there's evidence that gang activity is on the rise in other parts of the county. For example, in my neighborhood of Pleasure Point, we're seeing more graffiti and tagging. Within the past year a neighborhood park was tagged (Brommer Park at Brommer and 30th) along with a house next to Moran Lake on East Cliff Drive. And then there's the regular tagging of signing, sidewalks, fences, and benches. Just like companies mark their territory with advertisements, gangs mark their territory with graffiti.

~ Professor Cyborg

networked university case

2009-06-25T10:40:00.000-07:00

At the end of Chapter 8, Eisenberg et al. pose the case of the networked university. The authors note that many universities have established campuses far from their primary sites, sometimes in other countries. Then the authors refer to the University of Phoenix, a for-profit institution, and similar organizations that "offer highly flexible degree programs that require very little in the way of physical presence in a classroom."

Partly because the textbook was published two years ago, the case and discussion seem rather quaint. As institutions of higher education, all colleges and universities should be examining ways to integrate new media into the classroom and learning experience. For traditional place-oriented schools, developing innovative ways to structure classes will be essential for survival. The U of Louisville, for instance, offers a bachelor's degree in communication that's completely online. Enrolling in online classes costs more than in person classes, but students are willing to pay for the flexibility online classes offer.

~ Professor Cyborg

collaboration and knowledge building

2009-06-24T12:09:00.000-07:00

Monday's Mercury News had an interesting column by Larry Magid in the Business section. In the article (titled "Cheating is cheating, but tech offers chance to teach critical thinking" in the online version and "Technology could aid student learning" in the paper version), Magid argues that while students cheating on tests and papers is wrong, maybe what teachers should be doing is rethinking what they're evaluating and how they're evaluating it. As Magid points out:

In the work force, what's important in most situations is not so much the facts you can pull out of your head but your ability to acquire information when you need it and — most importantly — your ability to make sense of it.

Team papers and tests provide opportunities for students to work together on assignments and better understand the collaborative nature of knowledge development. Academe still tends to cling to the notion of the lone researcher toiling away in the laboratory during the wee hours of the morning. But consider the recent breakthroughs in science such as the human genome project and face transplant. These involve multiple groups coordinating their efforts to test theories, gather data, interpret results, and strike out on new scientific paths.

As Eisenberg et al. point out, teams are not without their drawbacks. Team members must have the expertise for the task, must have training in how to work together, must have a task that requires teamwork, and must figure out a way to match team member expertise with assigned work.

Certainly in the educational setting we need to do a better job of teaching students how to collaborate as they learn about and explore new topics. The notion that learning is an individual effort isolates students from each other. One reason I have students blog in my online classes and comment on each others' blogs is that students learn from each other. On my teaching evaluations, students often comment that reading others' blogs helps them better understand the class material and bring to their attention concepts and ideas they overlooked.

~ Professor Cyborg

let the blogging begin Week 4

2009-06-23T07:12:00.000-07:00

It's the morning of Day 2, Week 4, and the blogging has already begun. Earlier bloggers this week include:

akaFlash
Esther
G
GSackman
Kimber
Miss Potato
Molly McMuffin
Tina
TM

The early bloggers get the early comments! And they have less stress later in the week as the Saturday midnight deadline approaches. Don't be the blogger posting at 11:59pm on Saturday night--Blog early and blog often!

~ Professor Cyborg

new media and organizations

2009-06-22T07:38:00.001-07:00

One of the weaknesses of the Eisenberg et al. text is the lack of integration of new media in discussions of organizations and organizing today. The internet and mobile communication have fundamentally changed how people organize and how organizations function.

For example, distance education has been around for decades if not centuries. My father taught correspondence courses (essentially independent studies in which he mailed students course requirements and they mailed back their assignments), tv courses (lectures broadcast on campus or public access tv), and off-site courses (he went to where the students were, as with a military base). But with the exception of the off-site courses, distance ed used to mean little interaction among students. Now, online courses offer the possibility of greater interaction than what occurs in on campus classes. With online classes that use some sort of asynchronous discussion format, all students have the opportunity to participate because the usual time constraints are absent. With in person classes, there's just so much time, and unless the class size is quite small, never enough for everyone to contribute.

Eisenberg et al. tend to treat new media as something added on to organizational communication rather than something integral to organizing. That's why I included the tech and teams lecture in which I discuss the notion of a pervasive communication environment. That lecture is drawn from a small group communication book my spouse (Ted) and I are working on for McGraw-Hill. I must give him credit for the PCE model, which he presented at a conference three years ago. If you're interested in reading more about the pervasive communication environment, he recently published an essay on the model in First Monday, an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed online journal.

~ Professor Cyborg

identities and organizations

2009-06-21T16:10:00.000-07:00

There's no doubt that a large part of our identity is tied up with the organizations in which we're enmeshed. One organizational practice that regulates and controls members' identities is giving members an explicit set of guiding values and morals. You can get a sense of SJSU's values from its mission statement, strategic planning, organization charts (where are the faculty and students on these charts?), and other formal documents, which provide both explicit and implicit value statements.

Intersecting identities refers to the idea that social categories such as gender, race, class, age, dis/ability, sexuality, and others combine in complex, fluid, and sometimes contradictory ways. For example, my father is from a working class family and was the first in his family to go to college, much less earn a Ph.D. His background was very different from the students at Cornell University, where he got his first teaching job, but very similar to the students at Delta College, his last teaching job. For him, teaching at Delta was easier and more rewarding than Cornell because he could relate better with the Delta students. Now a retired professor, some aspects of his identity put him in a privileged class (male, highly educated, white, straight), but his age and disability (inoperable esophageal cancer) make him nearly invisible when he goes to the grocery store or the bank.

We all bring multiple identities to our organizational lives. The authors of your text suggest that one strategy for negotiating these multiple identities is to be mindful. Consider the various aspects of your self that you bring to your organizations and how those organizations influence your identities.

~ Professor Cyborg

this week's concepts

2009-06-19T08:30:00.000-07:00

A broad range of concepts and topics covered this week in the class blogs. Cultural elements, feedback, workplace surveillance, resistance, ideology, metaphors, concertive control, practical view of organizational culture, socialization, assimilation, power--just to name a few. Many useful insights, practical applications, and intriguing stories.

Tomorrow is the last day of Week 3. If you haven't yet blogged this week, you need to get to it! Three people have taken Quiz 3, which ends midnight, Saturday as well.

~ Professor Cyborg

technology and the value of work

2009-06-18T07:32:00.000-07:00

Although new communication technologies have had important positive changes on organizing and work (such as online classes), there are negative impacts as well. In Chapter 6 Eisenberg et al. discuss the technological panopticon, or the level of surveillance of organizational members now possible (note that the highest levels of surveillance are reserved for the lowest levels of the organization hierarchy; those at the top are rarely surveilled, yet can do the most damage to the organization). If you're interested in my research on organizational surveillance, I discuss it in my BUS/COMM 244 blog.

Technology in organizations has another dark side in addition to increased surveillance. TIME recently reviewed Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work. The author, Matthew B. Crawford, argues that "Globalization and technology are doing to white collar jobs of the 21st century what the assembly line did to the trades in the 20th--turning them into repetitive, menial, dissatisfying tasks." I haven't yet gotten the book, but it's on my summer reading list.

If you're interested in Crawford's ideas, an earlier and briefer version of his work was published in 2006 in The New Atlantic. Toward the end of that article, Crawford states, "White collar professions, too, are subject to routinization and degradation, proceeding by the same process as befell manual fabrication a hundred years ago: the cognitive elements of the job are appropriated from professionals, instantiated in a system or process, and then handed back to a new class of workers—clerks—who replace the professionals." That's precisely the fear of professors who teach online--we'll develop the course and then the university will hire part-time contract employees to teach the class. That hasn't happened yet, at least not at SJSU, but the possibility is there.

~ Professor Cyborg

LUV and Southwest Airlines

2009-06-17T07:55:00.000-07:00

In Chapter 6 Eisenberg et al. note that ideology exists in the practices of everyday life. In the organizational context, ideology supports the power of elites by denying system contradictions, such as living in a democracy but not implementing those ideals in the business sector. The authors go on to discuss the hidden power of culture, particularly in myths, stories, and metaphors.

I found the discussion of Southwest Airlines' LUV story interesting because I fly that airline so often. Eisenberg et al. critique the LUV story, concluding that "employees generally accept these [managerial] controls as part of the 'story' that distinguishes the organization and its culture" (p. 175). Although like any large organization Southwest has its flaws, it consistently receives high ratings from outside agencies, customers, and employees. For example, TIME rated the airline the friendliest in 2008. Three-quarters of the employees belong to a union. It's consistently ranked at the top of airline customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction. Yet the company has had problems with airline safety. In March, Southwest was fined over $10 million dollars for violating FAA regulations on airplane inspections. Yet the company receives high marks for social responsibility, innovation, and management.

In my experiences with Southwest, I've found that employees are empowered to make decisions and handle common problems to keep people moving and planes running on time. Like companies such as Apple and Google, employees seem to enjoy working for Southwest. Maybe that's why the company received nearly 200,000 résumés last year. So while the Eisenberg et al. suggest that employees are simply buying into a hegemonic story that encourages them to participate in their own oppression, it just might be that Southwest is a great company to work for because employees do actively participate in structuring their own work life.

~ Professor Cyborg

let the blogging begin Week 3

2009-06-16T07:10:00.000-07:00

It's the morning of day 3 of week 3 and several people already have blogged about concepts in Chapters 5 and 6 and the web lecture. So if you're looking for blogs to comment on, visit these:

Filbert's Pink Heart
GSackman8
Miss Potato
Molly McMuffin
SquEarl
Tina

Recall that you need to comment on the blogs of 4 different people in the class by the end of the week. Keep track of the URLs to avoid commenting 2 or 3 times on the same person's blog.

If you haven't completed a blog entry yet this week, don't wait much longer! Saturday has a way of sneaking up on you faster than you might expect.

~ Professor Cyborg

socialization and new tech

2009-06-15T14:48:00.000-07:00

Near the end of Chapter 5 the authors of your text discuss new communication technologies and organizational socialization. Discussing new media separately seems a bit old-fashioned considering the pervasive communication environment in which organizations and organization members function. But at least the authors acknowledge that socialization doesn't just involve in person interaction.

The section did get me thinking about the new faculty who will be joining the department in the fall. Their experience is much different from mine nearly 20 years ago. Then, I had to rely on a microfiche reader to go through the SJSU Catalog so I could get an idea of the department and university. I talked with a few of the faculty members on the phone. But for the most part, socialization occurred in person. Now, job candidates review university and department websites as they write up their letters of application and prepare for the interview. To help integrate the two faculty, I've added their bios and photos to the website. They've exchanged emails with several current faculty. They have access to the department wiki, which includes minutes from faculty and committee meetings, course syllabi, and other useful information. These new colleagues simply know a lot more about the department before the first faculty meeting than I ever did. Still, there's a great deal of informal knowledge that they won't know, but will learn over time.

~ Professor Cyborg

first day Week 3

2009-06-14T14:24:00.001-07:00

I just finished reviewing all the blogs and comments from last week and posting those grades. I've taught this course online many, many times (this is the 21st time, to be exact), and each class is different due to different students with different interests and changing times.

Discussions of organizational culture, however, continue to remain one of the most popular. When I first started teaching at SJSU in 1990, I asked students to describe the various elements of the university's culture (such as rituals, metaphors, vocabulary, stories, and the like), giving me some insight into the educational institution I'd recently joined.

As a large bureaucratic organization within two other large bureaucratic organizations (the CSU and State of California), SJSU's culture tends to remain fairly stable. However, outside forces have impinged on the organization, leading to some changes. For example, the CSU was sued over lack of accessibility. As a result, CSU schools are implementing practices that focus on making all aspects of university life--especially informational technologies--accessible for all students. The Communication Studies Department was one of the first departmental websites to convert to a completely accessible platform.

Organizational culture can change, but it often takes some major event, outside force, or new personnel to start the change process. In addition, cultural change doesn't always lead to positive results. Finally, changes in organizational culture may go unnoticed as the organization slowly evolves over time, with old members leaving and new members entering--with new ideas and new ways of doing things.

~ Professor Cyborg

last day Week 2

2009-06-13T08:18:00.000-07:00

Week 2 ends today. You must post all your blog entries and comments by midnight tonight and complete Quiz 2. Many excellent insights into Chapters 3 and 4.

~ Professor Cyborg

company layoffs and executive pay

2009-06-12T06:24:00.000-07:00

I'm back in California and reading the Mercury News. Last week I missed the paper's annual survey on What the Boss Makes, so I'm reading it online this morning. Not surprisingly, in spite of the current awful economic times, executives in Silicon Valley still make plenty: "The median pay package the valley's boards of directors awarded their chief executives dropped 5.6 percent, to $2.2 million." Okay, it's less, but still a lot.

What I found more interesting, however, was columnist Mike Cassidy's comments on layoffs. He argues that we no longer think of layoffs as the tragedy they really are; we've forgotten that it's real people losing their jobs and their livelihoods. Of course, if you're someone who's experiencing this situation--"in transition" as C & B has learned it's called--you fully understand the implications of not having a job.

Viewing layoffs as a part of doing business in this economy versus viewing layoffs as having far-reaching effects on communities highlights the differences between the machine and organism metaphors for organization. The former leads to what Cassidy observes as "a certain detachment in news reports of the latest company cutting payroll to increase profits 'going forward.'" Contrast that perspective with the one Cassidy suggests we should take:

But that doesn't mean we can ignore the way massive job losses, including from profitable companies with extravagantly paid executives, are choking the life out of our economy and our communities. People who don't work don't buy things or keep current on their mortgages. Stores close. Homes go vacant. Neighborhoods and commercial districts shrivel up.

Company layoffs are particularly troubling when the businesses are profitable, as with HP and Cisco Systems. As you'll read in later chapters, a critical approach to organizational communication will provide additional insights into issues such as executive pay and employee layoffs.

~ Professor Cyborg

sensemaking and learning

2009-06-11T10:30:00.000-07:00

A few of you (Esther and Kimber) have already blogged about learning organizations and Weick's theory of sensemaking. According to Peter Senge, the learning organization exhibits flexible mental models. From Weick's perspective, decision making in organization is for the most part retrospective, organizations are viewed as communities, and managers are symbol manipulators.

One of my colleagues from graduate school and I have just started working on a business and professional speaking book that uses these two approaches to organizations as the theoretical foundation of the text. In the book's proposal, we argued, "Conceptualizing organizations—and communicators—as continually learning underscores the importance of effectively gathering and analyzing information, applying that knowledge in practical ways, evaluating the outcome, and updating knowledge pools and skill sets. In this fast-paced, always on, always connected information age, students must develop flexible learning styles to make sense of and adapt to an ever-changing environment." The concepts of sensemaking and learning apply not only to organizations, but also to how we plan to present the information in the book.

We recently signed a contract for Communicating for Business and the Professions: Knowledge and Skills with Cengage and hope to start writing soon!

~ Professor Cyborg

let the blogging begin Week 2

2009-06-09T06:05:00.000-07:00

It's early Tuesday morning and several people have already blogged about Chapters 3 and 4. If you're looking for blogs to comment on, go to these class blogs:

Cynthia Y
Esther
GSackman8
Kimber
Molly McMuffin
Msensei
Sassy Scholar

Thanks to these class members for getting the week started. If you're not on this list--get blogging! Saturday will be here before you know it.

~ Professor Cyborg

organizations as systems

2009-06-08T07:02:00.000-07:00

Although systems theory has its drawbacks (such as dehumanizing organizational members and communication is equated with information), it provides an important way of thinking about organizations. For example, recognizing that SJSU is part of a larger system--the California State University--helps you make sense of SJSU's bureaucracy. As an employee of SJSU and the CSU, I'm an employee of the State of California, so my checks come from Sacramento rather than SJSU.

Because SJSU is part of the CSU, that impacts the programs each campus might offer. For example, if the Communication Studies Department wanted to change it's focus to new media studies, the faculty would need to consider not only what's offered by other departments at SJSU, but also other communication departments in the CSU.

Consider how the organizations you're a part of are systems and the ways in which systems theory helps explain why those organizations function as they do.

~ Professor Cyborg

theory and organizational communication

2009-06-07T11:41:00.000-07:00

You've probably heard someone say, "Oh, that's just a theory," as if theories aren't all that important or useful. Yet theories are essential for functioning in every day life as they help you explain why things are the way they are and why people behave as they do.

Eisenberg et al. argue that all theories are metaphorical and historical. That is, a theory of organizational communication provides a metaphor of organization, explaining what is not known in terms of what is known. (I discuss the nature of metaphor in greater detail in the Metaphors and Culture web lecture.) Theories are also historical because they're grounded in the time they were developed and the theories that came before them. For example, human relations arose out of dissatisfaction with classical theories of organization and human resources provided a further extension of human relations.

Theories also provide narratives of organization in that they present goal-oriented stories. Theories frame how you think about organizations. No matter how perfect a theory may seem, it will always be partial (doesn't provide a full account of organizational communication), partisan (organizational events may be assigned multiple possible meanings), and problematic (inviting dialogue and questions about organizational communication).

So Chapters 3 and 4 introduce you to early theories of organization that provide important foundations for later thinking about organizational communication. As you read about these theories, consider the historical context in which they arose. Also reflect on the ways they still influence organizing today.

~ Professor Cyborg

organizing and human civilization

2009-06-05T19:10:00.000-07:00

The authors of your text argue that the history of human civilization is a history of organizing. In analyzing the current turbulence in the global economy, the centrality of organizing to human existence is quite apparent. Because I'm in Michigan, I've been following the saga of GM's bankruptcy, downsizing, and reorganization. As parts of GM go to other companies (e.g., Saturn to Penske and Hummer possibly to a Chinese company), there are possibilities for new ways of organizing that might prove better for all stakeholders and increase the likelihood of innovation--moving more toward the creativity side of Eisenberg et al.'s model.

As a reminder, Saturday June 6 is the last day to take the first quiz and complete the process tasks. The 6-week summer sessions goes by quickly!

~ Professor Cyborg

let the blogging begin

2009-06-03T18:05:00.000-07:00

It's Day 3 of Week 1 and several class members have already set up their blogs, introduced themselves, and posted their work stories. Check out these blogs:

aimee5466
COMM 144 Student
Cynthia Y
Esther
Filbert's Pink Heart
GSackman8
Hallie
i like cake
Molly McMuffin
Msensei
SquEarlBlog
TM
Wilki

If you haven't posted yet, be sure to introduce yourself and tell us about your work story this week. You're not graded on your blog entries and comments this week, but blogging now will help prepare you for next week--and you'll get to meet the others in the class and they'll get to meet you.

~ Professor Cyborg

work story

2009-06-02T10:31:00.000-07:00

Although blogging isn't required for this week, posting your work story to your blog will get you used to blogging as well as thinking about organizational communication.

My work story includes all sorts of jobs to pay the bills while I was in school, such as food co-op manager and unit clerk on a hospital burn unit. My first job (outside of babysitting) was stuffing envelopes and other clerical work for a small psychology journal. I've waited tables (2 weeks) and sold Avon products (2 months). I knew in 8th grade that I wanted to be a professor (my father is a retired psychology professor and my stepmother is a retired business communication professor, so teaching runs in the family), I just wasn't sure about the "of what" part.

When I started my bachelor's at Western Michigan U, I majored in psychology (too many experiments and surveys), switched to interior design (I didn't have a "vision" sense), and briefly considered majoring in English (my poetry was really awful). Finally, my junior year I took a class in interpersonal communication and another in sociology, and I was hooked, majoring in the former and minoring in the latter. I taught my first university class, public speaking, in 1980 as a teaching assistant working on my master's in communication at the U of Massachusetts.

In my present life as a professor, I teach, conduct research, write textbooks and journal articles, and engage in professional and community service. Many of you know me as one of the primary advisors in the department (and if you're a COMM major or minor and haven't met with an advisor to plan your fall schedule, plan to attend a drop in advising session this month). I'm also the advising liaison for the College of Social Sciences and the faculty advisor for the COMM Club.

I'm looking forward to learning about your work stories.

~ Professor Cyborg

Day 1 Week 1 in 144

2009-06-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

The Summer 2009 session started today. Several students have already set up their blogs and most have signed up for the class listserv (google groups). So we're off to a good start. If you haven't already, you'll want to complete the Process Tasks in the next few days. Although you don't have to blog this week, you may want to post an introductory message to get used to how Blogger works.

eCampus has uploaded the class roster, so you can access Blackboard now. All quizzes are available; you must complete the first one by midnight this Saturday.

The GM saga continues. I've been following it closely; it's difficult not to in Michigan. It's a new world order for organizations and organizing. What you'll be learning about during the summer session will help you better analyze and understand the tremendous changes U.S. organizations and others world wide are experiencing.

~ Professor Cyborg

when an industry defines a state

2009-05-31T13:41:00.000-07:00

My family moved to Michigan shortly before my junior year of high school. I didn't know much about the state, except that the U.S. automakers were there. Like horse racing is to Kentucky, automobiles are to Michigan. The decline of the auto industry has decimated the Michigan economy. So many jobs are directly linked to the auto manufacturers and every job is affected by the fate of the Big 3 automakers.

I was reading the Detroit Free Press this morning, the paper my brothers delivered when we lived in Mt. Pleasant, a small college town in the center of the state. The cover story on GM highlighted the key roles the company has played in Michigan as well as U.S. history. It's a fascinating article, particularly the insights into the power of GM to shape U.S. politics and policy. For example:

In 1953, Eisenhower named Charles Erwin Wilson, then-GM president, as secretary of defense. Asked during Senate hearings if the defense secretary could make a decision against the interests of General Motors, Wilson answered yes, but famously added he could not imagine such a case, "because for years, I thought what was good for the country was good for General Motors and vice versa."

But even in Michigan, some question whether the U.S. government should try to save the company. Should the taxpayers pay for executives' bad decisions? A recent poll suggests that taxpayers aren't too keen on this idea. Or is GM simply a victim of the country's recent economic near-collapse?

As an organizational communication scholar, I hope that Michigan's government officials learn their lesson and make a concerted effort to diversify the state's economy. For too long the U.S. automakers have held hostage the state's economy and for too long the politicians representing Michigan have listened to the automakers and ignored the pleas of other industries.

Whatever happens with GM, the case will provide important insight into how people should organize--or not--in the 21st century.

~ Professor Cyborg

organizations and the new economy

2009-05-29T15:43:00.000-07:00

This morning I sent out the welcome message to the students enrolled in COMM 144 for the summer. Although the class doesn't officially start until Monday, getting an early start tends to reduce some of the ambiguity and anxiety students new to online classes often feel.

I'm in Michigan for the first 10 days of the summer session visiting my folks. The effects of the world-wide economic collapse are evident here with so many houses for sale, boarded up businesses, and less traffic on the roads. The headlines of the Detroit Free Press are all about GM's impending bankruptcy. For me, the saddest part is the impact on people's daily lives, especially those who retired from GM with promised benefits and pensions. That deferred compensation now may never reach the workers who depend on it, or at least the amount will be reduced. GM breaking its promise with retired employees provides support for Eisenberg et al.'s observation that there's a new social contract between employers and employees in which employers are not loyal to their employees, and employees are not loyal to their employers.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, the turbulent economic climate will provide many examples of how organizations cope, change, survive--or don't.

~ Professor Cyborg

ending/begining

2009-05-21T15:25:00.000-07:00

The department graduation is tomorrow evening and will mark the end of the semester for me. What began with about 40 graduates and 250 audience members is now 85 graduates and 750 audience members. It's become an important ritual for the department, although I'm wondering if we shouldn't scale it back next year. Go with the trend of living more simply and reducing our carbon footprint.

Graduation marks the beginning for the students as they leave the university and launch off on their career paths--which may involve additional time in school, traveling, or turning an internship into a full-time job. These are difficult economic times; I hope the university has given students what they need to succeed.

The end of the spring term also means I need to turn my attention to the summer session. So I'll start checking my class email regularly and post a few time to this blog before the session begins.

I didn't teach any classes at SJSU in the spring, so I'm looking forward to getting back in the classroom.

~ Professor Cyborg

144 Summer 2009

2009-04-18T15:59:00.000-07:00

Summer registration started this past Monday, so I decided I better get my class launched over the weekend. The main website is up, although I may make a few changes between now and the start of the summer term.

With the current global financial crisis--which is really an organizational crisis--there will much for everyone in the class to blog about. No one has been immune from the impact of the economic crunch. Certainly students, faculty, and staff at SJSU are facing the reality of the California budget cuts. What can we learn about organizations from what has happened? That will be the important take away.

~ Professor Cyborg

mindfulness and metaphors

2009-01-15T06:55:00.000-08:00

Chapter 11 is sort of a catch all for the topics the authors haven't addressed earlier in the text, a chance to revisit some concepts, and a look to the future of organizational communication. The authors again discuss dialogue, linking it with mindfulness when they note that thinking is the essence of authentic dialogue. Communication research suggests that organization members interact mindlessly most of the time. Mindless communication can be useful because the brain reserves energy for more challenging interactions. But being mindful is nonetheless an important aspect of competent organizational communication, requiring communicators to adapt messages to their listeners.

The most interesting part of this chapter for me is the section on new logics of organizing. While the dominant metaphor is organizations as machines, it's often not the best way to organize. Viewing management as poetry suggests that managerial tasks are motivated by story and metaphor. For example, I've learned a lot about how to chair a department from the stories that others have told. In addition, viewing management as poetry recognizes that organizational behavior is seldom rational; people do the things they do and say the things they say for all sorts of reasons and motivations.

New metaphors for organizing include organizational communication as discourse, which focuses attention on organizations as texts. Organizational communication as voice highlights who is allowed to speak in an organization and who isn't. For example, reflect on how much say CSU students get in fee increases, courses offered, and graduation requirements. Organizational communication as performance suggests that organizational life is best understood as a drama--some aspects are fairly scripted, but others are more like improv.

~ Professor Cyborg

organizing and technology

2009-01-14T08:01:00.000-08:00

The most interesting aspects of Chapter 10 for me are those focusing on organizations and new communication technologies. I don't think the authors fully grasp the degree to which the internet, cell phones, the like have impacted organizational communication, organizations, and organizing. For example, internet communication researchers have rejected media richness theory and embraced notion of a communication imperative, which I discuss in the Technology & Teams web lecture.

This imperative is related to Mouritsen and Bjorn-Andersen's argument that one concern in analyzing communication technology is humans are agents, which means that humans are able to work around the prescribed system. Consider the kinds of strategies employees will use to avoid surveillance technology. In identifying concerns in analyzing communication technology, Mouritsen and Bjorn-Andersen argue that technology is politically ambiguous, which means that technology can be used to both promote and constrain dialogue. Another concern in analyzing communication technology according to Mouritsen and Bjorn-Andersen is understanding is partial, which means that organization members' behaviors may lead to unintended consequences.

Eisenberg et al. observe that many social relationships within and between organizations involve mediated interpersonal communication, or the use of email, fax, telephones, and other forms of new communication technologies. I find this terminology rather quaint. What work relationships doesn't involve some sort of mediated communication? The telephone is a mediated form of communication and organization members have used phones to communication for over 100 years. As I discuss in the Technology & Teams web lecture, there's no virtual vs. real world--it's all real. Organization members use whatever forms of communication are available to meet their communicative goals.

~ Professor Cyborg

leading and organizing

2009-01-13T10:46:00.000-08:00

Leadership has never been one of my interests as an organizational communication scholar. I've always felt it should be, but I tend to be more interested in the view from the bottom of the hierarchy. Nonetheless, leadership does function at all levels in an organization. Rather than looking to "a" leader, organizations generally work better when leadership and leading are more distributed.

In Chapter 9, the authors of your text discuss various approaches to leadership. The trait approach to leadership provides the insight that physical attractiveness is a key component of effective leadership. An early version of the leadership approach to leadership posited autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire leaders. From the situational approach to leadership, leaders’ behaviors can be categorized as delegating, participating, selling, or telling. The transformational approach to leadership stresses the importance of leaders communicating a vision that resonates with followers.

After serving as acting chair of the department for six months last year, I could relate to the section in the chapter on effective leadership habits. Habits of mind essential for effective leaders include sensing, presencing and realizing. Habits of character include accessibility, decisiveness, and valuing individuals. Habits of authentic and compelling communicative performance include creating a vision for the future and developing a credible life story. In leading the department, I found the habits of character to be the most important in securing faculty enthusiasm and productivity. For example, faculty could easily contact me via email, phone, or in person. There are some decisions I made myself, such as setting up a faculty wiki. And I made sure to thank and acknowledge faculty members for their efforts in completing essential departmental tasks.

~ Professor Cyborg

teams and organizations

2009-01-12T09:00:00.000-08:00

Chapter 8 focuses on teams and networks. Much of my research has examined teams, with special attention to interdisciplinary health care teams. I've blogged about this research in my graduate seminar in organizational communication (democracy and health care teams, organizational communication patterns, emotions in organizations, organizing and hospice care teams).

Today, though, I'm going to talk about why I'm currently in Long Beach attending the California Web Accessibility Conference (CalWAC4). As the authors of your text note, team-based organizations view all employees as able to decide how to manage their work. A project team in an organization is typically assigned to address a specific issue or problem. A work team in an organization is responsible for an entire work process that delivers a product or service to a customer. A quality improvement team in an organization is typically concerned with work-related issues such as customer satisfaction and reducing costs. I'm currently part of a project team that's been set up to help faculty make all their instructional materials fully accessible to all students. This includes, for example, having all syllabi and handouts in screen-readable digital format, close-captioning for video, and accessible digital slides.

Class websites have to be accessible as well (that's why CSU schools will be using blackboard only through the next academic year--it's not fully accessible). I'm in Long Beach attending the conference to learn more about how to make web instructional materials more accessible. Today, I'm taking three courses: how to test websites for accessibility, how to mentor others in accessibility, and accessibility issues in online learning. A few others on my team are attending as well, but have enrolled in different courses. At my team's first meeting in the spring semester, we'll report back on what we learned. Participating in CalWAC4 provides an example of Senge's notion of team learning as balancing inquiry and advocacy. When we report back to the other team members, we'll be practicing dialogue as the free flow of meaning.

~ Professor Cyborg

identity and organizations

2009-01-11T06:40:00.000-08:00

Chapter 7 discusses identity and diversity in organizations with a special focus on gender. The authors note that liberal feminists advocate changes to government and company policies to create greater equity in the workplace for women. In contrast, radical feminists are interested in replacing traditional organizational structures with nonhierarchical ones.

A good portion of the chapter is devoted to discussing Ashcraft's four frames of identity associated with the workplace. The gender differences at work frame proposes that the communication styles of women and men stem from their gendered socialization. The gender identity as organizational performance frame posits that gender is performed, or something individuals do rather than something they are. The gendered organizations frame portrays organizations as agents that produce and are products of gendered discourse. The gender narratives in popular culture frame underscores the notion that how we understand organization stems from the media we consume, such as movies, books, and magazines.

For me the most interesting section in the chapter is on emotion labor, or the idea that organization members must enact certain emotions and refrain from enacting other emotions. Flight attendants, servers, sales clerks, and other service workers are not allowed to have a bad day--they must be upbeat and happy if they want to keep their jobs. This requirement always to be cheerful and positive no matter what can be quite stressful, especially when customers, supervisors, and others don't have to follow the same rules. Maybe that's why my waiting tables career lasted only two weeks.

~ Professor Cyborg

hegemony in organizations

2009-01-10T07:13:00.000-08:00

A primary criticism of early work in organizational culture was the lack of attention to power in the organization. That is, while all organization members participate in the creation of organizational culture, some have greater influence in the process than others. In addition, cultural norms typically reinforce the status quo and cultural artifacts, such as stories and practices, convey values in implicit ways that are difficult to critique. As I mentioned in my entry yesterday, much of my work in organizational communication has focused on culture. My early research took an interpretive approach, but later work took a critical approach.

As the authors of your text point out in Chapter 6, he roots of critical theory are in the writings of Karl Marx and the scholars associated with the Frankfurt School. Critical approaches advocate for working people. A social trend in the U.S. that has contributed to increased interest in critical approaches to organizations is more resources being given to larger corporations. A recent example is the banking industry bailout in which billions of dollars were given to financial institutions with essentially no strings attached or oversight, while people directly affected by the collapse of the real estate market and mortgage system were for the most part left to fend for themselves.

Hegemony occurs when organizational rules developed by top management are adopted and enforced by those at lower levels of the hierarchy. Reification occurs when organization members view organizational reality as objective and fixed. Concertive control occurs when employees create and enforce their own rules. For example, SJSU administration requires that faculty give a final examination (of some sort) during finals week. As a learning and assessment tool, finals do a poor job, especially concentrated in just a few days. But SJSU has always had finals week (at least since anyone I know here can remember). It's viewed as something that can't be changed. Faculty have developed their own rules associated with finals week and enforce those rules. Some of us have questioned the rationale beyond finals week, but the questions are ignored.

According to Stan Deetz, a noted critical organizational communication scholar, critical research is a way of life that involves being filled with care, which means trying to understand others on their own terms. He also argues that critical researchers should be filled with thought, which means identifying the political implications of personal stories. Finally, being filled with humor for the critical researcher means accepting uncertainty and recognizing life's ironies.

~ Professor Cyborg

organizational culture

2009-01-09T07:33:00.000-08:00

When I was working on my doctorate in communication at the University of Kentucky, I took a course in organizational culture. There were only four people in the class (that produced some interesting dynamics). The topic of organizational culture was fairly new--the authors of your text note that the first known reference to organizational culture appeared in a journal in 1979. The class greatly influenced my thinking about organizations and since then much of my research in organizational communication has focused on culture.

There are many definitions of organizational culture, as the authors of your text note in Chapter 5. Ouchi defined culture as national standards of organizational performance. From an interpretive perspective, culture is what an organization is and organizations are viewed as storytelling systems. Researchers from the integration perspective on culture generally attend to the stories of those in power and neglect marginalized groups in the organization. The differentiation perspective on organizational culture views organizational cultures as domains that are politically contested. Eisenberg et al. argue that culture is like a religion and that culture involves common recognition or intelligibility among a group of people. Examining organizational culture begins with recognizing the centrality of language in shaping organization members' perceptions.

In past semesters when I've taught this course, I've asked students to identify the different indicators of SJSU culture. Although some communication scholars argue these indicators only get at the surface of organizational culture, they nonetheless provide a useful starting point for examining what's often taken for granted. In identifying metaphors associated with SJSU, students have used the terms zoo, maze, and family. Examples of rituals at SJSU include spring graduation and convocation for first-year students. The MLK Library and statue of SJSU alumni protesting at the Olympics are examples of artifacts. By themselves they don't mean much, but examining several cultural artifacts can reveal organizational values and norms.

~ Professor Cyborg

systems and organizing

2009-01-08T08:15:00.000-08:00

The systems perspective provided a radical shift from earlier thinking about organizations and organizing. With roots in biology, the systems perspective views organizations a organisms. Einstein's theory of relativity was a major influence on the development of systems theory. McLuhan's concept of a global information society where perceptions are no longer mediated by static ideas of time and space and Prigogine's work in chemistry suggesting that disorder is a natural part of environmental change and renewal have their roots in systems theory.

I find Karl Weick's application of systems theory to organization the most compelling of all the ways in which this theory has been applied. From Weick's sense-making perspective, decision making in organizations is largely retrospective. That is, organization members make decisions and then come up with reasons for making them. Managers are symbol manipulators who encourage employees to make sense of their work lives.

In identity construction, one property of Weick's notion of sense making, how and what organization members think indicates who they are. Plausibility, another sense-making property, means that sufficiency and probability are more important than accuracy. Continuation suggests that what organization members say competes for attention with other ongoing projects.

Weick argues that organizations are communities that provides sites for socializing and storytelling. I'm especially interested in organizational storytelling and what stories reveal about organizational culture. Listening to the stories faculty told when I first arrived at SJSU helped be better understand the practices and norms in the department and the university.

Systems theory and Weick's sense-making approach encourage organizational communication scholars to examine how members interact in creating organizational life, quite a contrast from earlier views of organization.

~ Professor Cyborg

theory and organizing

2009-01-07T08:43:00.000-08:00

Theory is often depicted as dry, boring, and useless, as with "that's just a theory." Yet theory provides a way for understanding and interpreting the world. In Chapter 3, Eisenberg et al. discuss the notion of theory and organization as well as early theoretical approaches to organization and communication.

The authors note that theories are metaphorical and historical as well as goal-oriented stories. For example, the authors use the empire metaphor to describe how organizations in the U.S. functioned from the 1700s to the early 1900s. Because theories are partial, they can never completely explain organizational communication. Theories are partisan in that events in organizations may be interpreted in multiple ways. The problematic nature of theories invites dialogue and questions about organizational communication.

Theories, then, are narratives of organization--theories provide a way of telling the story of organization and organizing. As you read Chapter 3, you'll note that theories focus primarily on management and telling the story of how to get people to do their work. So concern was (and still for the most part is) with theories that will help top management figure out the best way to facilitate employee productivity.

I'm particularly interested in narratives of organization. For example, domination narratives came out of the top-down flow of information in hierarchies found in classical management approaches. Narratives of resistance are told by the less powerful and the powerless who ordinarily have little or no voice in organizations. These narratives are a type of hidden transcript--information known to those who are oppressed but kept from those in power due to fear of reprisal.

The idea of narratives of resistance suggests that much of what is known about organizations comes from the top and little is known about the daily work done by the typical member of an organization. Consider all the information produced by organizations: press releases, quarterly reports, year-end financial statements. For me, the most interesting research in organizational communication focuses on revealing the overlooked stories of organizational life.

~ Professor Cyborg

dialogue in organizations

2009-01-06T08:30:00.000-08:00

In Chapter 2, the authors discuss the notion of dialogue in organizations. I'm particularly interested in this concept as it provides a foundational basis for a small group text I'm writing. In this entry, I provide a brief summary of the main points associated with dialogue outlined in the chapter.

In the model of communication as a balance of creativity and constraint (depicted on p. 42), communication suggests the possibility of dialogue. The model also suggests that creativity informs new ways of organizing tasks and understanding relationships. The foundations of dialogue frame a large part of working as the interpretation of contexts. Eisenberg et al. identify several approaches to dialogue. In dialogue as equitable transaction all participants are able to voice their opinions and perspectives. Voice is the ability of an individual or group to participate in organizational dialogue. The suppression of employee voice in organizations can result in sabotage and violence.

Dialogue as empathic conversation involves collective mindfulness. Dialogue as real meeting is also called authentic dialogue. One advantage of promoting dialogue in organizations is greater innovation. One disadvantage is that organization members may feel that no right answer can be identified for a problem. The authors of your text observe that dialogue in organizations is rare.

Creating spaces for dialogue can prove challenging, particularly in times of scarce resources. However, organizations ignore dialogue to their detriment. Dialogue is essential for innovation and for encouraging collaboration. If organization members feel they don't have a voice, they will find alternative ways to express themselves, as Eisenberg et al. note.

~ Professor Cyborg

the changing world of work

2009-01-05T07:56:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the first official day of class! If you haven't already, complete the Process Tasks so you can keep up to date on what's going on in the class as well as start your own blogging.

The Eisenberg et al. text was published in 2007, which means the authors likely finished writing it in 2006. I'm not sure they could have anticipated all the changes in the changing world of work, but they did identify several directions for workplace trajectories, particularly in terms of the global economy.

In Chapter 1, the authors note the problems with a market economy largely free from government regulation. Although the authors gave the International Monetary Fund (IMF) policies as an example of "an unreasonably optimistic belief in the self-regulating power of a market economy," (p. 8), the current state of the global financial system provides a current weakness with this line of thinking and action. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) lists failed banks and those needing emergency assistance dating back to 1991. The list is long for 2008 and includes IndyMac, Washington Mutual, and Downey Savings and Loan Association. Moreover, because economies world wide are interdependent, the problems have spread to Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and other places around the globe.

The authors conclude the chapter by observing that "traditional ways of doing business--and communicating--are no longer effective" (p. 24). The problems organizations are facing today suggest they haven't quite yet figured out what the news ways should be.

~ Professor Cyborg

turbulent times for organizations

2009-01-01T14:11:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the New Year! 2008 was certainly a year in which organizations made front page news and that's probably going to be the case in 2009 as well.

The Eisenberg et al. book begins with the line, "The are strange times for organizational communication" (p. v). The authors go on to note in the same paragraph, "The horrific ethical missteps by corporations such as Enron continue to haunt the current business environment, as a series of denials and plea deals made by key executives in these cases makes the potential for real change unlikely" (p. v). The lack of any sort of ethical code has certainly pervaded the financial industry, where top executives made a lot money while their organizations collapsed and U.S. taxpayer dollars were used for executive bonuses. The continued unethical--and even illegal--behavior of a few have led to turbulent and dark times for many.

The main headline in the Mercury News Business section, "A Loss of Faith in Stock Markets," reflects the lack of confidence people have in organizational decision-makers. Who wants to invest money in companies when leading financial advisors such as Bernard Madoff admit to defrauding clients out of $50 billion? As the authors of the text point out, balancing individual and group goals is essential to effective organizing. It seems that today the balance has tipped in the direction of the individual (at least a few individuals) to the detriment of the many.

So why even bother to take a class in organizational communication? Becoming a more knowledgeable organizational member can help you make smarter professional choices and improve your communication competency across all the organizations in which you're embedded. Taking an organizational communication class may not prevent scandals such as Enron and the recent subprime mortgage debacle, but if more people had such a class, the likelihood of such events might decrease.

~ Professor Cyborg

welcome message sent

2008-12-29T16:04:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-29T08:08:00.000-08:00

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

2008-07-04T09:39:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-02T20:03:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-01T18:44:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-29T15:27:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-27T12:25:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-25T06:48:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-23T20:01:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-22T15:52:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-20T17:08:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-19T16:08:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-18T20:04:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-17T16:59:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-13T16:08:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-12T15:06:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-11T07:47:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-09T13:33:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-07T07:18:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-06T20:28:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-04T17:55:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-02T18:15:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-01T13:37:00.001-07:00

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

2008-05-31T13:29:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-11T17:04:00.000-07:00

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

2008-01-18T08:28:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-17T07:55:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-16T08:52:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-15T18:11:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-13T18:34:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-12T15:16:00.000-08:00

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 . . . .

2008-01-10T07:45:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-09T07:56:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-01-07T19:03:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-05T17:13:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-03T17:36:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-01T15:39:00.001-08:00

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

organizing and history

2007-12-27T08:32:00.000-08:00

In Chapter 1, Eisenberg, Goodall, and Trethewey (2007) observe, "The history of human civilization is fundamentally a history of organizing" (p. 4). And the internet (like the telephone over 100 years ago) has changed how individuals go about organizing. For example, although multinational organizations (MNOs) date back to at least 2000 B.C.E. (Moore & Lewis, 1998), the advent of computers and the internet greatly hastened the increased development of organizations that span the globe. Extensive use of the internet and related technologies for internal and external communication has become a key characteristic of MNOs. In the past, MNOs may have been able to function without computer mediated communication (CMC), but today, new media technologies provide the central mechanisms for integrating resources, connecting organization members, and enmeshing organizations in their environments.

And not just MNOs rely on the internet and other new communication technologies to function. It's difficult to think of an organization that doesn't integrate internet communication into organizational processes. Yet such organizations do exist in places without internet access. Still, even that is changing with the merging of mobile phones and internet connectivity. As Digital Divide.org notes, "A decade of talking didn’t solve the Digital Divide. But today's stampede to connect billions of cell phone users to the Internet changes everything." The organization's Nine Digital Divide Truths and Seven Digital Divide Fallacies get to the heart of how the internet plays a central role in human organizing.

This class provides an example of the internet's impact on how we organize as we move from a class that meets in a physical location at specific times to one where participants meet asynchronously online. Further, in leaving the Blackboard's confines for the larger internet, the organizing mechanisms are more loosely-coupled. There's no one place to log in for the class. Instead, COMM 144 "resides" in three primary places: the main class website on my own server, Google (the COMM 144 Google Group, gmail accounts, class-related blogs), and blackboard. The class is a distributed network, reflecting the internet's infrastructure, much as when I first taught online.

How will this "new" way of organizing influence the class, how students learn, how learning objectives are met, and participants' overall class experiences? As we study organizational communication this winter session, we'll study ourselves as well.

References

Eisenberg, E. M., Goodall, H. L., Jr., & Trethewey, A. (2007). Organizational communication: Balancing creativity and constraint, 5th ed. New York: Bedford St. Martin's.

Moore, K., & Lewis, D. (1998). The first multinationals: Assyria circa 2000 B.C. Management International Review, 38, 95-107.

class pre-launch

2007-12-21T18:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I messaged all COMM 144 students via mySJSU and several responded. So the class launch process has started! A few have signed up for the class listserv (Google Groups) and one student has already created her blog. I feel like we're off to a good start on this exploration out Blackboard's confines and into the wilds of the internet.

Thus far seven students have expressed an interest in adding the class. Having the nearly all the class website accessible makes it much easier for these students to preview the class. eCampus set up a few guest accounts, but this way students don't have to hassle with logging into blackboard using those accounts and then changing to a new one once they register for the class.

Although the message I got from eCampus was that the roster wouldn't be uploaded to blackboard until December 31, I checked today and students are already in the gradebook. Early is good. I think I've set up the blackboard part of the class so students
may access it immediately.

Looking forward to the winter session! And to some time off next week.

--Prof. Cyborg

enrollment update

2007-12-20T11:43:00.000-08:00

Pre-registration ended December 7. Then students have a set amount of time to pay their fees. 6 didn't pay, so now I have 22 students. That's still a good number for the winter session and I'm sure I'll get several students adding the first day of classes.

I've signed up for a workshop through SJSU's Center for Faculty Development January 2-4 on how to use several new communication technologies in the classroom. The title, "Technology Innovations in Education: Wikis, Blogs, Podcasts, Elluminate, Social Networking Tools, Web 2.0 , and more!!," suggests a fairly comprehensive approach to the topic.

Although I've been teaching online since 1999, I'm not as sophisticated in my use of technology as instructors who teach in Second Life or have been using blogs for years. So I'm hoping I pick up some new ideas and strategies for using technology in productive ways in online and in person classes.

I'm expecially looking forward to learning more about how to integrate blogging into the classes I teach while I'm blogging about a class I'm teaching--and requiring my students to blog as well.

--Prof. Cyborg

accessing blackboard

2007-12-15T17:19:00.000-08:00

Here's the latest update from eCampus on how students will access the Blackboard class website:

"Students will be enrolled approximately two days before the term begins. We will be sending out an email via advanced messaging in MySJSU on how to log in to the course and get started. We'll also have CE6 tutorials available on our site for them to review and explore the new interface."

It's not really an email that goes out on the university messaging system. Students can't reply--they can only receive messages. Students may opt for notifications to be sent to their regular email address, although the message simply says, "check mySJSU for a message." This one-way communication system is so symbolic of SJSU's bureaucratic organizational model. Still, I'll find out when eCampus is contacting students.

I am concerned about tech support in the days before the term starts--SJSU is closed December 24-January 1. In the move to Blackboard, coordination has to happen among the staff for CMS (the CSU uses PeopleSoft, which is incredibly complex, non-intuitive, and cumbersome), Blackboard CE6, and eCampus. So far, that coordination appears minimal. For example, eCampus had no knowledge of many of CE6's new features, such as not allowing multiple windows in the same browser.

According to eCampus, winter session is the "pilot test" for this new system, which of course doesn't inspire me with great confidence. Only reinforces my decision to move most of my class out of Blackboard and onto the open internet. Access issues should be minimal and they're ones I'll be able to solve (said with great assurance!).

Typically, several students add during open enrollment the first couple days of class. With WebCT, I could simply add them to the class website. I'm not allowed to do that with Blackboard. Instead (from eCampus):

"To add students, you go ahead and give them an add code and they can register via MySJSU. The students will be uploaded several times a day, each day, depending on when they register. If you need students to get started right away, we are working out a process to have guest accounts available that you can add into your course. They can use the account until they are fully registered. Once your student has registered and are added to your course, you can direct the student to login as themselves and you can deny access for the guest account."

The guest reg process adds way to much complexity to the process. And if a student takes an exam under that account, the exam and the score go away.

What if I want to allow someone access to the site to check out the class? There's no way for me to add them to the site. I have to go through eCampus. It's all about control. The longer I teach online, the less control I'm allowed over my classes--if I use the university's learning management system. Hence, I've blasted off to use my own server and Google. Teaching my class using Google is another issue. Eisenberg et al. (2007) argue in Chapter 1 that "turbulence is the order of the day" (p. 18). Blackboard functions on a classical teaching model. Google allows me to respond to the environmental turbulence in which SJSU is embedded.

--Prof. Cyborg

enrollment

2007-12-08T13:04:00.000-08:00

Registration for winter session ended yesterday. 28 students, so 3 over the usual cap of 25. For the online classes, more students (up to a point) is better; creates more buzz in the class. A few students I recognize from previous classes, but mostly new students (although may not be new to taking online classes).

Still no word from eCampus on how Blackboard log in instructions will be sent, when students will be added to the class, or how to add students to the class website if they haven't pre-registered.

Chapter 1 in the class text discusses how the power base in organizations has shifted from tangible assets to information: "By the second half of the twentieth century, information resources replace tangible resources as a measure of power" (p. 20). I've been especially aware of this when using PeopleSoft. Often, staff know more than adminstrators and faculty about how to access information (such as student enrollments) because the PS system is nonintuitive and has its own vocabulary. Another example is the switch from WebCT 4.1 to Blackboard CE 6. In this case, Blackboard developers, with their specialized knowledge of the system, have more power than those who use the system.

-Prof. Cyborg

the notion of cyborg

2007-12-02T15:23:00.000-08:00

Cyborg typically conjures of images of computerized humans or human-like computers, as with the borg on Star Trek: Next Generation or the cylons of Battlestar Galactica. The term was first used nearly 50 years ago in a application of systems theory to space exploration.

In my recent work with several colleagues on global teams in multinational organizations, I've become interested in how cyborg theory might help us understand how these teams work. With its roots in actor-network theory and Haraway's (1990) seminal work on technology and socialist feminist theory, cyborg theory links new communication technologies to the sociocultural, political, communicative, and physical experiences of those who use them (Franklin, 2002). Although often applied as a literal metaphor for the online representation of mechanized human bodies (e.g., DeVoss, 2000), Petersen’s (2007) research in the everyday use of the internet suggests a more abstract interpretation of the human cyborg--one in which the physicality of internet use has become deeply engrained in our daily routines. The result of the internet’s ubiquity is "the computer-internet-human actor becomes involved in coagency with these mundane artefacts and thereby bends space and restructures our physical setting" (Petersen, 2007, p. 88).

This view of how individuals use the internet has important implications for all aspects of communication, and certainly for organizational communication as computers and the internet become central to organizational functioning. Removing the novelty or newness typically associated with new communication technologies illuminates the taken-for-grantedness of internet communication in organizations and our everyday lives.

Consider the ways in which using internet communication, and other new communication technologies, has become routinized in your daily life. Do you ever turn off your cell phone? How often do you check for voice mail, text, and email messages? When you want to find directions to a location, do you consult a paper map or MapQuest? How have you made room for these technologies in your living and working space? Do you have a dedicated desk for your computer? A backpack to carry your laptop? How has the physical space of your local or campus library changed with the addition of computers and use of online databases?

Cyborg theory helps us examine how the "artificial" becomes part of the "natural" and the implications of integrating communication technologies into who we are and what we do.

-Prof. Cyborg

References

DeVoss, D. (2000). Rereading cyborg(?) women: The visual rhetoric of images of cyborg (and cyber) bodies on the world wide web. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 3, 835-845.

Franklin, M. I. (2002). Reading Walter Benjamin and Donna Haraway in the age of digital reproduction. Information, Communication & Society, 5, 591-624.

Haraway, D. (1990). A manifesto for cyborgs: Science, technology, and socialist feminism in the 1980s. In L. Nicholson (Ed.), Feminism/postmodernism (pp. 190-233). New York: Routledge.

Petersen, S. M. (2007). Mundane cyborg practice: Material aspects of broadband internet use. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 13, 79-91.

using Blackboard

2007-11-25T08:23:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I set up the Blackboard site for COMM 144 Winter 2008. I kept the features to a minimum with just the quizzes and grade tools available. Added one announcement to direct students to the class website. Found it frustrating that I couldn't link the grades and announcements options to the main page; can only list them on the navigation bar. Having multiple pathways to reach an endpoint is a key feature of internet communication. Blackboard seems to work to subvert that principle.

Working with Blackboard CE6 reinforced my decision to move the class out of the learning management system to a freely accessible website supported by Google's groups and blogging functions. Using a commercial site such as Google does have drawbacks (e.g., driving students to a commercial site using proprietary software), Blackboard's limitations outweigh any concerns I have about Google.

In a recent paper presented at the National Communication Association convention in Chicago, I concluded:

Blackboard does provide mechanisms for students to interact directly with each other and the instructor. But the Blackboard platforms have yet to move beyond extremely basic communication features; the structure of the Blackboard Inc. online classroom seems stuck in the 1990s. What has changed is the instructor's increased ability to track students' use of the class website: number of messages posted, number of messages read, and how many times various pages or sections are accessed. But this type of information provides no insight into how students engage each other or the class. For Blackboard, teaching remains textualized (static) rather than performative (dynamic).

This term, my goal is to create a more performative learning experience for my students and for me as we blog about the class and organizational communication--outside the constraints of a traditional learning management system.

-Prof. Cyborg

A new approach to COMM 144

2007-11-23T10:39:00.000-08:00

After attending several sessions at the Association of Internet Researchers conference on online pedagogy and talking with several instructors who teach online, I decided to make some major changes in how I teach COMM 144 online. The other impetus for these changes is my recent research on Blackboard. So this term we'll minimize our use of Blackboard and maximize our use of other pedagogical tools readily available online--such as blogging.

More info to come as I develop this new version of COMM 144.

-Prof. Cyborg