Organizational communication, broadly speaking, is: people working together to achieve individual or collective goals. The field traces its lineage through business information, business communication, and early mass communication studies published in the 1930s through the 1950s.
#31522
Case in Point: Cisco’s Model For Change Management
A few months ago, a company-wide team at Cisco Systems Inc. was challenged to come up with the best model for change management. Several team members had experience in change management through various disciplines, such as process management, HR consulting, communication, Six Sigma and IT. In the first meeting, the team recognized many factors that would affect how they moved forward: hundreds (maybe thousands) of models already existed, thousands of consultants had their favorite models and were eager to help, and employees were familiar with models from other companies.
Horn, Karen. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Articles>Business Communication>Management>Case Studies
#22282
A Case Study of Health Risk Communication: What the Public Wants and What it Gets 
The task of informing the public about various health risks is fraught with many problems. It is essential to overcome them if risk communication is to be improved. In 1989, the National Research Council (NRC) released a report that is important for many reasons. In particular, it helped establish a conceptual framework for risk communication and identified a research agenda to improve risk communication practices. One area of need identified by the report was better use of case studies to understand, e.g., 'how people react to different types of messages and channels; [and] what their actual concerns, frustrations, and data needs are' with regard to particular health risks.
Trauth, Jeannette M. Franklin Pierce Law Center (1994). Articles>Risk Communication>Biomedical
#30550
Catalyze is a member-driven community for all professionals involved in defining business systems, designing software applications and creating websites. If you are a business analyst, usability professional, UI designer, information architect, interaction designer, product manager, project manager or anyone else involved in the definition process of software applications, this community is for you and will be worth your time.
#21636
La Catastrofe del Trasbordador Espacial
El lamentable accidente del trasbordador Columbia ha propiciado la creación de innumerables gráficos para explicar lo que pasó. Revisamos la importancia de la visualización en este accidente y, especialmente, en el del Challenger en 1986.
Dursteler, Juan Carlos. InfoVis (2003). (Spanish) Articles>Risk Communication>Technical Illustration
#27905
Safety and warning notices form the most important elements of user information wherever safety and [product liability are concerned. A carefully thought out and systematic process is required in developing safety-relevant information, in order to increase the completeness and comprehensibility of product safety. This will also disarm any suspicion of gross negligence in internal documentation in case of missing safety notices and it will ensure traceability.
Schmeling, Roland. tekom (2006). Articles>Documentation>Risk Communication
#19447
This chapter reports on an ethnographic study of the technology-mediated discourse practices of a professional organization in a period of major transition. Employing theories of genre and activity along with other theoretical constructs, the study examined how the Bank of Canada, the country’s central bank, employs a “Communications Strategy” to orchestrate the organization’s communicative interactions with other social groups in the Canadian public-policy sphere. After identifying a set of written and spoken genres associated with the Communications Strategy, the chapter suggests that the genre set and various mediating technologies can be usefully viewed as parts of a local sphere of organizational activity. The chapter then describes two features of the genre set: the genre knowledge within the community-of-practice associated with it and the relationship of the genre set to processes of organizational change. Next, the chapter discusses the role that the genre set plays in the activity of the Communications Strategy, focusing on three primary functions: cocoordinating the intellectual and discursive work of a large number of individuals performing a variety of professional roles; generating, shaping, and communicating the “public information” that constitutes the Bank’s official public position on its monetary policy; and acting as a site for organizational learning. The chapter concludes with five theoretical claims regarding the way in which the genre set, mediated by technology, operates within the Bank, suggesting that these theoretical claims might serve as a heuristic for other researchers.
Smart, Graham. WAC Clearinghouse (2002). Articles>Business Communication>Rhetoric
#30697
Review: CEO-Speak: The Language of Corporate Leadership 
The Language of Corporate Leadership is a study of the written discourse of CEOs that is found in annual reports, corporate Web sites, congressional testimonies, and employee newsletters. The book contains 10 case studies of CEOs' writings from past and present megacorporations, including Enron, General Electric, Microsoft, Disney, and AOL. The organizations covered in the book represent both new and old economies and include two Canadian companies and a public-sector company. The authors, Joel Amernic and Russell Craig, are accounting and business professors and appropriately focus on accounting and financial reporting aspects of CEOs' written discourse.
Dave, Anish M. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2008). Articles>Reviews>Business Communication>Language
#21254
With a creative background and an M.B.A., I’ve been a professional half-breed over the past 20 years. What I’ve learned is that the antagonism, hostility and resentment often felt on both sides of the equation is the outgrowth of a basic failure to understand what makes the other side tick.
Derricks, Alma. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Articles>Workplace>Communication
#23619
Certifications and Credentials for Scientific Editors 
Most professionals want to further their careers over the course of their working life. Scientific editors as a whole do not have well-defined paths for establishing their careers, unlike professionals such as lawyers and doctors, where the educational and credentialing processes are well established. Where can scientific editors get their training? Where can they get experience? This paper will explore experiences, certifications and credentials, as well as training, and degrees, specific to scientific editing that can help further the careers of scientific editors.
Firestone, Elaine R., Tony Caruso, Barbara Simmons, Earlene Hammock, Michael Ebinger and Sushil K. Oswal. STC Proceedings (2003). Careers>Certification>Editing>Scientific Communication
#31228
The Challenge of Line Manager Communication
There is a great deal of research around these days that makes the connection between employee engagement and good line manager communication. After all, as the saying goes, people don’t leave bad companies, they leave bad managers. The reality is there are many elements that make a bad manager. As communication professionals, we are not there to solve all the problems of socially challenged managers, but we do need to help them fulfill their role in effectively communicating to their people.
Cropley, Adrian. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Management>Workplace
#23624
Challenges for Technical Communicators in Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics, a specialized field in the area of biotechnology, has been a major growth market for the last decade. Generally, bioinformatics companies serve pharmaceutical and other life science research institutes by providing powerful computational solutions for the analysis, storage, and integration of molecular data. The project-oriented organizational structures, international environment, and interdisciplinary approaches that characterize bioinformatics companies provide a wealth of challenges and opportunities. Technical communicators who want to work in this field must be willing to apply strategies and techniques that enable them to streamline communication channels and write effective documentation.
Weirich, Margaret. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Scientific Communication>Biomedical
#31341
Challenging Your Assumptions: Entrepreneurial Groups Offer Idea Incubators
I recently had a conversation with a colleague about business development. While that's neither revolutionary nor even terribly uncommon, what was different was that we weren't commiserating about business cycles or the fact that when we're busy we often neglect the very activities that bring in new projects. Instead, we were talking about strategies for moving our businesses in new directions. When was the last time you questioned your business strategy or seriously considered adding a new business line or branching out into a new service area?
Steigman, Daria. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Management
#26584
Change Agents or Followers: Analyzing Genres in the Business Writing Classroom
Asking business students to perform a rhetorical analysis of generic conventions may help students gain the confidence to modify those conventions. Research shows that while generic conventions impose constraints, experienced writers also learn they have the agency to modify those conventions to meet the exigency of the rhetorical situation. The article reviews both traditional conceptions of the nature of genre as well as recent research, and describes an assignment which uses genre analysis as a means of teaching students the social nature of generic structures.
Amidon, Stevens R. Association for Business Communication (2004). Articles>Education>Genre>Business Communication
#26861
Change Architecture: Bringing Information Architecture to the Business Domain
As information architects, we are not just architecting information; we are using information to architect change. Bob Goodman shows us how we can use business and management techniques to help us be more effective agents of change.
Goodman, Bob. Boxes and Arrows (2006). Articles>Information Design>Business Communication
#27165
Changing Nature and Uses of Media Literacy
The more that information and communication technologies become central to modern society, the more it is imperative to identify, and to manage the development of, the skills and abilities required to use them. Within both academic and policy discourses, the concept of media literacy is being extended from its traditional focus on print and audiovisual media to encompass the internet and other new media. Hence, even though the concept of literacy has itself long proved contentious, there is widespread speculation regarding supposedly new forms of literacy - variously termed computer literacy, internet literacy, cyber-literacy, and so forth.
Livingstone, Sonia. London School of Economics (2006). Articles>Communication>Theory
#32022
Changing Uses of Technology: Crisis Communication Responses in a Faculty Strike
This case study of a faculty strike examines the crisis response strategies of a university and its faculty union and the changing uses of technology to communicate to key stakeholders. An analysis of the types of crisis response strategies reveals that both the university and the faculty union used defensive and ingratiation strategies to build their cases and protect their reputations. The university also used denial to argue that the strike was not disrupting operations. The university and the union both relied on e-mails, Web sites, and press releases to update their constituencies. The difference was that for the union in particular, technology both expanded the options for sending information and accelerated the flow of information when conditions changed. The case study illustrates that technology has diminished an organization's control of crisis communication by opening numerous communication channels for others to use to explain their positions and build support.
Vielhaber, Mary E. and John L. Waltman. JBC (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Email
#25784
Checklist for Effective E-Mail 
Use this checklist to ensure that your e-mail reflects a high level of professionalism and increases your credibility within your company.
ULiveandLearn.com (2005). Articles>Business Communication>Correspondence>Email
#31554
A Checklist for Public Relations Practitioners When Considering Measurement or Evaluation Research
Read these 10 useful tips from Walter K. Lindenmann, Ph.D., an independent consultant specializing in public relations research, measurement and evaluation services.
Lindenmann, Walter K. Communication World Bulletin (2003). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations>Assessment
#29158
This article presents a qualitative text analysis of persuasive documents written by a major U.S. airline in a 2004 counter-campaign against the Teamsters union. The methodology for this study is based on Stephen Toulmin's argument model, including his "double triad" and his interpretation of artistic proofs, which parallel the three classical rhetorical appeals. Actual corporate documents are featured in this article, supported by content from management conference calls that were attended by the researchers. The article concludes with implications for teaching and research in the field of technical and professional communication.
Ortiz, Lorelei A. and Julie Dyke Ford. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Management>Workplace
#31406
Choosing the Right Metrics to Benchmark
The assumption that financial analysts make is that low numbers on efficiency (communicators per employee, for example) would be better than high numbers. Unfortunately, that doesn't take into account that low-cost communication may have low impact on the bottom line. If your organization wants to track communication efficiency metrics, then I'd suggest tracking effectiveness measures as well.
Sinickas, Angela D. Sinickas Communications (1999). Articles>Management>Communication>Assessment
#31041
It's not about what software you use, or how you organize your document, or how big the document is; but about whether the expectations the client has set, have been met. The question is, then, how do we assure we're meeting all the client's expectations? The answer is client buy-in.
Mink, Don. BA Collective (2007). Careers>Consulting>Business Communication>Collaboration
#20090
This panel brings together three consultants to discuss the link between the client and consultant. Their individual papers provide the background; 'Create Your Consultant Image,' 'SmartStart Guides,' and 'Managing Client Relationships.'
Woods, Joyce F., Nancee E. Master and Karen Steele. STC Proceedings (1997). Careers>Consulting>Communication
#30398
Client-Vendor Communications: What to Talk About to Get the Job Done
This progression presents a structured approach to client-vendor communications that can enhance quality; ease frazzled nerves; and result in win-win situations for clients, vendors, end users, and their organizations. Participants will discuss how clear, structured communications can strengthen their roles as clients and vendors of publication products and services. Participants will review the checklist that this vendor developed for use from initial contact to contract to project completion. Discussion will address how participants can develop their own customized checklists.
Shenouda, Judith E. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Business Communication>Collaboration
#29583
Code of Ethics for Professional Communicators
The IABC Code of Ethics is based on three different yet interrelated principles of professional communication that apply throughout the world. These principles assume that just societies are governed by a profound respect for human rights and the rule of law; that ethics, the criteria for determining what is right and wrong, can be agreed upon by members of an organization; and, that understanding matters of taste requires sensitivity to cultural norms.
#21818
Programs in technical and scientific communication educate students from multiple disciplines. As we teach these students from various fields, we often assume they will write to others who are members of the same field. However, professionals commonly communicate across disciplinary boundaries and collaborate with those who do not necessarily belong to their field. We should rethink our approaches in teaching scientific and technical communication to consider how different peoplefrom different areas of expertise engage one another in a communication situation. Based on the understanding that different disciplinary cultures and languages alter contexts for communication, astudy examining how experts from science, engineering, mathematics, and architecture come together as a single group and collaboratively invent discourse can contribute to new knowledge to inform curriculum development.
Gooch, John C. CPTSC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Risk Communication>Collaboration
