To begin, this weekly Instructor Coaching Blog is a forum where I will present ideas, and discuss with you topics related to the course's focus on organizational communication and teams.
The format is conversation, with the purpose being to build a working rapport in a virtual environment, just as is needed in the workplace.
BUS 5475 will be an adventurous course, weaving together concepts and themes that are central to JFKU's MBA program--systems thinking, organizational behavior and culture, information and communication systems, managing human resources, and leadership. Yes, this an interdisciplinary course with a sociotechnical--people and technology--perspective of organizational communication and team dynamics.
Organizations are a dynamic adaptive "system of systems" that form an ever evolving intelligent "network of networks." Communication give "face" or a discernable surface or image to an organization. Organizations are both "an entity" that is something and "a process that is always in the state of flux," "a dynamic conversation" that is occurring.
Different images reveal different aspects of the nature and function of organizations. As Gareth Morgan (1997) points out, organizations can be "seen" or understood as machines, organisms, brains, cultures, and political systems. C. W. Choo (2006) understands the enterprise as a "knowing organization" (also the title of his book) that is intelligent.
With organizations being broken up--distributed--all over the world, and with team members not being co-located, the business enterprise of the past is gone forever. Plus, face-to-face (F2F) is becoming a rare experience. Information and communication systems (ICS) and the various technologies they use are a fundamental component of any organization's infrastructure.
Further, organizations are driven by information, and employees have become knowledge workers. No longer is it enough to "push information out to employees." Work is achieved by participating in dialogical conversations and interacting via electronic collaborative networks.
So, with that in mind, what is organizational communication? How do organizations "know what they know," share their practical wisdom and understandings, and make decisions?
What do you think?
So, let's get the conversation rolling.
Chuck Piazza
9 comments:
Organizational communication takes place because of the workers that are employed. Especially with the new influx of technology-savvy employees, this has really raised the bar on success and further pushing companies past their original boundaries. So much more has become possible as well due to the ability to teleconference and work overseas. The possibilities of the future are even more abundant as long as companies keep an open mind and are able to adapt with what the future brings. Resistance to change will only bring a halt to their evolving.
A good organization will be able to be flexible when communicating. F2F may not always be the easiest and most cost effective but sometimes clients and employees will prefer this type method. You also must be open to newer forms of communication that come out. Being able to have options and backup plans will be key your success. Knowing multiple types of communication puts you in a better position. For example, your small business has a meeting in two days with a supplier. You had booked a flight for them to come to your shop but due to weather conditions they are stuck. You know that your supplier wants to meet face to face but you can’t wait a week for the weather to clear up. So you give them other options such as skype.
I tend to disagree with the statement “the business enterprise of the past is gone forever” because I still see a lot of the business enterprise of the past. For example, where I work (UC Berkeley), many things are done they same way they have been done for decades. F2F is still the primary form of meetings, with an occasional conference call thrown in for good measure. Some groups have tried to introduce a video element to conference calls by providing a camera that can be affixed to participants’ computers, but the group resisted. This may be a factor of the demographic that works at Berkeley (mostly baby boomers) who stays with what is comfortable rather than embracing something that may be more efficient.
As far as sharing practical wisdom, I think most organizations struggle with this. I think of practical wisdom as something that is shared by one-on-one contact, or as part of succession planning. Most long-standing organizations have a lot of practical wisdom, and it is a challenge to disseminate the information.
To some extent, organizational communication is about the messages the organization sends to its employees, and its external audience. Sometimes the messages are explicit, but can also be implicit. For example, if an organization expects their employees to work overtime without proper compensation, they are communicating something to those workers. Nike re-signed Michael Vick to an endorsement deal, which sends the message that they condone felony animal abuse. My point is that it is important for organizations to consider the messages they send, whether intended or not.
Organizational communication is much more than our everyday use of technology; it is the various ways organizations exchange information within a network. But, exactly how they accomplish this task is not quite so simple.
The authors of "Strategic Organizational Communication" suggest that organizations make choices and calculated decisions of how to communicate. They negotiate verbal/nonverbal, internal/external, and informal/formal ways of communicating in an effort to collaborate with individuals, communities, organizations, and industries (Defillippi, 17). As previously mentioned, technology plays a critical role in how organizations communicate today. In fact, technology has revolutionized the way organizations interact by providing access to information and flexibility of time and space. For instance, email provides a means for organizations to coordinate diverse people and perspectives, share information, and make decisions. However, individuals still remain the driving force behind the ideas, expertise, and manpower that organizations utilize. In "Knowledge at Work," the authors refer to the growing population of educated, skilled individuals as “knowledge workers” (Defillippi, 1). These people generate ideas, offer their expertise, and fuel innovation, while technology supports their efforts and interactions.
In today’s workforce, people and technology are codependent; many people cannot complete projects without technology, and technology would not exist without individuals to develop it. The challenge is for organizations to find an effective balance between the two.
Mostly, organizational communication is the exchange of ideas, opinions and information either in written format via mail, email and internet or in person, over the phone. Mostly, people get copied on emails and participate in meetings via teleconferencing or Skype. This process saves time and money. People do not have to travel to locations since they can communicate via technology.
Organizational communication is critical to the leadership, functioning and development of any organization. It highlights a lot of interrelated areas that impact an organizational structure, its growth, diversity, conflicts, management and relationships within an organization. Some common barriers to communication are conventions of meaning due to various cultural differences in our global organizational structure. There are also differences in perception of reality and differences in values, attitudes and opinions.
During the course of this class, I plan to reflect on the culture of communication at my job. For any significant improvement, I have to begin by understanding virtually every communication process that occurs. In my personal experience, there are different communication barriers due to a lack of understanding about generational differences. Like the new generation is so internet savvy and they have almost abbreviated all the terminology used in language, that it gets complicated for someone who is not aware of this trend. We have access to a lot of resources at work these days and we can also focus on creating a uniform structure of communication at work.
As adapted from "The Dance of Change: The challenges of sustaining momentum in learning organizations",Organizational Learning is defined as an organization that is continually enhancing its capacity to do what it aspires to do. Largely impacting to an organizations ability to accomplish a determined set of tasks and goals, are the several, oftentimes diverse, avenues of communication among members of the organization. Communication is so important, in fact, because it is the way in which individuals obtain information, make sense of unfamiliar situations, and ultimately determines how these individuals will step into action. Individuals can step into action only through the acquirement of knowledge and putting that "knowing" to work (Defillippi, pg. 10). Through the communication and transmission of knowledge, workers can further their education and become more skilled at their job, perhaps even develop a specialization. The key to keep an open dialogue and environment with regard to organizational knowledge. With dialogue (organizational communication), individuals developing specialized skill sets can share their knowledge, as well as contribute (or offer input at the very least) to other divisions within the organization. This is what I believe pushes and sustains organizational learning.
The socio-technical is the relationship between socio and technical elements that lead to productivity and wellbeing. This process emphasizes group-relations, where work groups assume responsibility for the entire work cycle. Socio-technical systems focus on the relationship between perception and action, thereby creating enabling constructs for shared values and collaborative decision-making. Today, organizational managers create enabling constructs using information systems, to accelerate communication, learning and knowledge sharing. The Internet brings together the computer, media, and the distributed intelligence.
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