Organizational Communication - Miller - Notes from Chapter 1 PDF

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Organisational Communication – Miller MCS1021

Notes from Chapter 1 Facebook has popularised the term of “it’s complicated’ when referring to relationships. That statement can define much of the 21st Century wold and our lives within it’ From our lives to relationships, families work, politics, governments and also global economy, to our beliefs and our connections with other nations have become complicated. This complexity is most apparent in communication processes, how we consider organizations, institutions and social groupings. From a 100 years ago to now this is how we progressed in complicating our organisations: 

100 years ago – Agriculture, increasing industrialisation and the birth of assembly line.

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50 years ago – Moving to the suburbs, long term employment

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20 years ago – Cross functional work-teams, early years of the internet.

We have moved from the time that Ford marketed that you could “buy a car in any colour as long as it’s black” to the age of Starbucks bragging in a campaign that “now there are thousands of ways to customize your Frappuccino blended beverage” The past times have helped us to understand and cope with the complexity of the world around us. The four aspects that dominate our thinking today were barely talked about decades ago whereas not they dominate our thinking and the news coverage.  Globalization  Terrorism  Climate Change  Changing demographics.

Globalization

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We now live in a global economy and participate in a global marketplace.

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As the communication and teletransportation system imporves, our worked becomes more connected on a personal and organisational level. The emergence of Global Economy was facilitated by o Key political Changes;  The end of the cold war  Development of the European Union

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Variety of Institutions help in the regulation of Global economy such as o World Trade Organisations o Inter Monetary Fund

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Globalization led to Outsourcing (moving manufacturing and service centres to countries with cheaper labour) Businesses are no longer centred in a few Western Nations but are spread among the developing world. The global recession in 2007 made the complexity of these global interconnections clear as it has a ripple effect in around the whole world. Some see the Globalization is seen as a positive and unstoppable movement. o Offers exciting opportunity for entrepreneurs. Others agree that globalization can lead to problems such as o Domestic job loss o Exploitation of workers in 3rd world countries o Environmental Problems

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Debating Globalization (2005). Held et al consider the complex issues of global economic and Industrial Systems: o Trade o Economic development o Security o Environmental protection\

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These interconnections make it difficult to fully understand the ramifications of both globalization systems

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The challenges of globalization are not just economic— they also concern messages, relationships, and systems of understanding.

Organisational Communication – Miller MCS1021 Terrorism

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Terrorist attacks for 9/11 changed the world in profound ways. Terrorism can be perpetrated by individuals, groups, nation-states and regimes. Terrorism isn’t a particular ideology o It is a set of strategies that involved unpredictable violence against individual. This creates fear and suspicion around a large groups of people. Effectiveness of terrorism can be enhanced by technological tools and contemporary urban environments with concentrations of residents and mass transportation. The implication of terrorisn can be specifically seen in o The war in terror o Homeland Security Organisation Communication scholars critical questions revolve around; o How to develop communication systems to enhance  Border security  Tracking of possible terrorist activities  Development of ability of first response organizations (below) to act quickly and appropriately in case of terrorist threats and attacks.  Police Departments  Fire Departments  Hospitals  Military Organizational Communication can also go into Public Relations and Crisis Communication. o Homeland security daily operations o Airport security o Passpoty application process o High-level policy debate

Case in Point: A Bungled Bombing in Times Square The Times Square bombing attempt that terrorist attacks are growing and targeting disappointed citizens. Times Square bombing attempt points to the importance of communication systems that connect law enforcement at the local level and homeland security procedures at the national level. His capture was aided by basic police work (tracking down a vehicle identification number, tracing numbers on a cell phone, surveillance operations) and homeland security procedures, such as the no-fly list. Thus, the Times Square bombing incident provides encouragement on several fronts. Shahzad was captured in large part because of enhanced organizational and communication systems at several areas of law enforcement

Climate Change

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Climate change cannot be denied and must be addressed by governments, businesses and individuals. Global warming can be attributed to the activities of individuals and organisations. Organizational Communication’s role in Climate Change and global warming is huge. The Organisations that play key roles to reverse or slow down the process pf climate change are o Industrial Revolution  Systems of energy production  Factory manufacturing  Petroleum-fuelled transportation. China and India are rapidly becoming increasingly industrialised and there are arguments in the nations’ obligations to reduce greenhouse gases. The seriousness of climate change debates became clear following the explosion of BP oil rig which led to a huge environmental crisis. Organisations addressing the Climate change issues can sell theirselves as ‘green’ companies to consumers.

Changing Demographics

Demographics refer to statistical descriptions of characteristics of a population, such as age, race, income, educational attainment, and so on. They describe who we are and can have a foundational impact on how we communicate with each other, how we organize, and how we address critical problems in our social world as well as what those problems are in a given time and place. 

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In 1990, 9% of the population was Hispanic, compared to 12.5% in 2000 and 15.4% in 2008. In 1990, 12.1% of the population was black, compared to 12.3% in 2000 and 12.4% in 2008. Hispanics have now surpassed blacks as a share of the U.S. population, and their numbers continue to grow. It is estimated that whites in the United States will become a minority by 2050. In 1930, 5.4% of the U.S. population was 65 years or older; by 2007, the number more than doubled to 12.6% of the population. It is anticipated that by the year 2050, more than 20% of the U.S. population will be 65 or older (“Statistics on Aging,” Administration on Aging, 2007). The United States is a dramatically different place than it was in decades past, and these different descriptors of who we are, where we live, who we live with, and how long we live lead to dramatically different experiences as we encounter organizations and communicate in them.

Scholars often divide populations into “generational cohorts” that indicate similarities in birth year and associated similarities in experience. The experience of the Word War II cohort is different from those to a Baby Boomer or to the Millennials and the Gen Y Cohort:

Organisational Communication – Miller MCS1021 In terms of work experience; -

The World War II Cohort are known for their dependability long-term employment and relationships with organised labours Members of the baby boomer cohort are known for their ambition but also further cynicism Members of the Generation Y I reviewed to be known as technologically savvy but also spoilt in the ways of work

Changes of demographics influenced by creating new challenges for organisational communication. They result in multicultural workplaces. Changing demographics also pose the challenge of treat- ing individuals from different ethnic backgrounds, races, ages, genders, disabilities, and sexual orientations in ways that respect these differences and create opportunities for meeting both individual and organizational goals. Case in Point: 400 Million People Large populations in areas of the world, such as China, Japan, and Singapore, fueled a huge economic expan- sion in East Asia. It will be crucial to find ways to take care of older citizens, and this need is likely to influence many sectors of the economies in these countries. However, Kotkin believes that another demographic trend—immigration to the United States—will be instrumental in addressing this problem. Increasingly, new residents in the United States are starting small businesses in basic industries, such as construction, manufacturing, agriculture, and energy, and it is these small businesses— more than megacorporations—that will be engines of employment.

Complicating Our Thinking About Organizations

Initially, the definition of Organizations consisted of 5 critical features - The existence of o Social Collectively o Organizational and Individual Goals o Coordinating activity o Organizational Structures o The embedding of the organization with in an environment of other organizations. In complicating our thinking about organisations, it is important to stretch our understanding of each of these concepts. When we think about the idea of “structure,” we need to consider more than basic hierarchical structure or even more complex team structures. Consideration needs to be expanded to structures based on collective and communal relationships; structures that give up hierarchy in favour of flat organisational forms and structures that cross boundaries of time and space.

Organisational Communication – Miller MCS1021 Usually, we thing of “Making money” the epitome of organizations but scholars are becoming more interested in the operations of Non profit organisations. Profit and non-profit organisations can be characterised as service organisations rather than manufacturing organisations. NGOs are important in coordination processes of change in first and third-world nations. It is increasingly common for individuals with similar needs and goals to come together in organizations known as cooperatives (co-ops) that are often motivated by a concern for democracy, social justice, and environmental and global responsibility. Complicating Our Thinking About Communication

Early models of communication were highly simplistic S-M-C-R model in which a Source transmits a Message through a Channel to a Receiver. In the organizational context, this could be seen as a supervisor (source) asking for volunteers to work on the weekend (message) through an e-mail (channel) sent to all her employees (receivers) it is clear that it fails to encompass the varying ways we need to think about communication. Communication is about: -

sending simple messages to one or more receivers

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the intricate networks through which computers link us to others

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he creation of meaning systems in families and cultures

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understanding a market segment to enhance persuasion and increase sales

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the multiple ways information must flow to provide aid when a natural disaster strikes

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framing information about a possible threat so the public is warned but not panicked

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coming to an understanding within a community about issues that both unite and divide.

In a transmission model, communication is a way of moving information from sources to receivers, similar to the S-M-C-R model. In a constitutive model, communication is seen as a “process that produces and reproduces shared meaning” There will be times when it is important to think about communication as -

a way of getting information from one person to another.

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as shared dialogue and a way to enhance understanding about self and others.

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best seen as a means of persuasion and motivation.

Organisational Communication – Miller MCS1021 Our world is becoming increasingly complex, and the intricate situations that arise with globalization, terrorism, climate change, and chang- ing demographics require multifaceted approaches to understanding....