Speech Communication 475
Organizational Communication

M & W 11:30-1:20, F 11:30-12:20

Savery Hall, Room 211

 

Professor: John Gastil

Office: Raitt 205L

Phone: 543-4860

Office hours: Monday & Wednesday 10:20-11:20

Course Summary

This course introduces students to theory and research on organizational communication by examining many of the facets of organizational life (e.g., culture, leadership, politics, conflict, ethnic diversity, gender, and ethics). My primary goal is to teach students to think critically about organizations. After completing the course, students should be able to understand an organization’s structural design, social context, and internal dynamics. Students who complete the course should also develop a firmer grasp of social scientific theory and its usefulness as a tool for understanding human communication.

Assignments and Grading

Student grades will be based upon a midterm exam (20%), a final exam (30%), a research report (40%), and class participation (10%). The midterm will cover the first 4.5 weeks of the quarter, and the final exam will cover material from the entire class, with an emphasis on material from the second half of the quarter. Handouts and class discussions will clarify the nature of the research report students will write.

The final 10% of your grade is based upon class participation. You should attend every one of the scheduled classes unless an emergency prevents you from doing so. When in class, you should listen attentively to your classmates and the instructor, and you should speak up when you have questions or wish to express an idea or viewpoint. Please participate actively in class discussions, and always feel free to raise questions when I am lecturing.

 

Reading Assignments

For your reading pleasure, I have assigned a single comprehensive text. In Strategic Organizational Communication, 4th Ed. (Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace, 1998), Charles Conrad and Marshall Scott Poole present a coherent summary of nearly all the major issues in organizational communication scholarship. I chose their book because it uses an overarching theory to frame every chapter, and their book avoids the oversimplifications common in most textbooks.

The schedule below on page 2 the days by which you should complete each reading assignment. For example, you should have finished reading pages 2-13 in Chapter 1 before class on Wednesday, January 6.

 

Week 1: Introduction (Jan 4-8)

M         Introduction

W        Organizational discourse, Case 1-1       Ch 1: 2-13

F          Organizational discourse, Case 1-2       Ch 1: 14-34

Week 2: Traditional Organizational Strategies (Jan 11-15)

M         Traditional design, Case 2-1     Ch 2: 40-61

W        Traditional motivation and control, Case 2-2     Ch 2: 61-69

F          Discussion of research report    handout

Week 3: Relational Organizational Strategies (Jan 18-22)

M         HOLIDAY

W        Relational design, Case 3-1       Ch 3: 76-92

F          Relational motivation/control, Case 3-2 Ch 3: 92-96

Week 4: Cultural Organizational Strategies (Jan 25-29)

M         Cultural design  Ch 4: 112-119

W        Cultural motivation/control, Cases 4-1 & 4-2    Ch 4: 119-139

F          The critical perspective Ch 4: 139-144

Week 5: Technology and Organizational Design (Feb 1-5)

M         Three views of leadership; exam review Ch 2: 69-70; Ch 3: 96-105; Ch 4: 136-139

W        Midterm exam 

F          Discussion of research report    handout           

Week 6: Power and Politics (Feb 8-12)

M         The nature of power in organizations, Case 7-1 Ch 7: 238-255

W        Power and dissent, Case 7-2    Ch 7: 255-266

F          Discussion of research report    handout

Week 7: Conflict Management (Feb 15-19)

M         HOLIDAY

W        Early phases of conflict, Case 9-1         Ch 9: 312-326

F          Overt conflict, Case 9-2           Ch 9: 326-343

Week 8: Gender, Race, and Ethnicity (Feb 22-26)

M         Accommodation of diversity, Cases 10-1 & 10-2         Ch 10: 348-373

W        Diversity management, Case 11-1         Ch 11: 381-394

F          Alternative approaches, Case 11-2       Ch 11: 394-401

Week 9: Organizational Ethics (March 1-5)

M         Ethical problems, Case 12-1     Ch 12: 405-417

W        Stakeholder models      Ch 12: 417-422

F          Ethical dilemmas; turn in research report           

Week 10: Review (March 8-12)

M         Discussion of research report findings

W        Overview of quarter and review for final exam

F          Review for final exam

Exam Week: Final Exam

Wed., March 17 Final exam from 2:30-4:20 in Savery, Rm. 211. Wear green.