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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
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
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
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
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 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
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
