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.
#33577
Predicting Technical Communication in Product Development Organizations 
This work explores prediction of technical communication patterns within product development organizations. Our methodology involves first predicting the patterns of communication and then measuring the actual communications to see if the anticipated linkages are realized. We applied this methodology to a commercial product development project in the electronics industry. In this case study we found that: 81% of all coordination type communication linkages were predicted in advance; occurrences of frequent communications were more accurately predicted than infrequent communications; and two-way communication exchange was most often observed, even where oneway information transfer was predicted. For the management of product development projects, these results imply that certain aspects of organizational design can be planned by anticipating the technical communication linkages required for project execution. Finally, a critical analysis of our methodology suggests improvements for future work.
Morelli, M.D., S.D. Eppinger and R.K. Gulati. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management (1995). Articles>TC>Organizational Communication>Engineering
#33644
Your Wiki Isn’t Wikipedia: How to Use It for Technical Communication 
Learn how to use a wiki as an organizational tool within your company.
Mader, Stewart. Intercom (2009). Articles>Content Management>Wikis>Organizational Communication
#34278
Finding Solutions by Being Aware of the Way You Think
It is the task of the project manager to be aware of the larger environment in which a project is operating. One approach that helps achieve this insight is systems thinking.
Fischer, Karl. Global Knowledge (2006). Articles>Project Management>Organizational Communication>Collaboration
#34396
Does Email Communication Increase Participation in Organizational Decision Making?
One of the main issues crossing the fields of organization theory, communication theory, and information technology is whether email communication does increase participation in decision making. Common sense and some case studies suggest the so-called "democratization argument": since email allows direct (non-filtered) communication between people and identity/status concealment, it enhances more freely and easy participation in decision making.
Biggiero, Lucio. Social Science Research Network (2008). Articles>Collaboration>Organizational Communication>Email
#34612
Integrating Communities of Practice into the Fabric of Organizations
Even when some recognize the need to scratch that collaborative itch, it can be difficult to resist the urge to impede such efforts, so you need to consciously think about what you are doing to foster trust in your organization’s CoP efforts.
APQC (2006). Articles>Collaboration>Organizational Communication
#34821
Enterprise Networking Web Sites and Organizational Communication in Australia
This article aims to report initial findings about networking in organizational settings in Australia through the use of enterprise social software.
Zhang, Allee M., Ynxia Zhu and Herbert Hildebrandt. Business Communication Quarterly (2009). Articles>Business Communication>Social Networking>Organizational Communication
#34846
Today's organizations are challenged with attracting, developing, and retaining high-quality employees; thus, many firms seek to improve their recruitment and selection processes. One approach involves using realistic job previews (RJPs) to communicate a balanced view of the organization. The authors explored the effects of organizational culture (hierarchy, market, clan, and adhocracy), recruitment strategy (RJP vs. traditional), and personality (horizontal and vertical individualism—collectivism) on attraction to Web-based organizational profiles using a sample of 234 undergraduate students in a mixed two-factor experimental design. Results indicate that the clan culture is viewed as the most attractive. Traditional versus RJP recruitment produced higher levels of organizational attraction. Finally, predicted relationships between the personality framework of horizontal and vertical individualism—collectivism and organizational attraction were supported.
Gardner, William L., Brian J. Reithel, Richard T. Foley, Claudia C. Cogliser and Fred O. Walumbwa . Management Communication Quarterly (2009). Articles>Management>Interviewing>Organizational Communication
#34850
On a Growing Dualism in Organizational Discourse Research
Duality arguments are now a common perspective employed in organizational discourse research to avoid the problematic dualism of necessarily prioritizing structure or agency. Despite this considerable philosophical maturity, not all duality approaches are created equal. In fact, duality theorizing in current organizational discourse research has developed into two perspectives— structured in action or acted in structure. This article outlines the characteristics of each research program and provides an illustration of how similar organizational phenomena may be interpreted differently depending on paradigmatic orientation. Then, methodological recommendations and two emerging theoretical myopias—duality and organizing biases—are described to challenge scholars to employ dialectically these seemingly incommensurate perspectives in their theorizing of 21st-century organizational discourse.
Bisel, Ryan S. Management Communication Quarterly (2009). Articles>Business Communication>Organizational Communication>Theory
#34852
As a professional practice and an academic subfield, organizational communication is a relatively recent addition in Brazil, dating primarily from the 1980s. In both arenas, organizational communication developed from the theory and practice of public relations. Much of its design, however, grows out of the particularities and consequences of the Brazilian social, political, and economic context. This article presents a brief profile of the history of public relations and organizational communication in this country.
do Carmo Reis, Maria. Management Communication Quarterly (2009). Articles>Business Communication>Organizational Communication>Brazil
#34856
The complex distribution and negotiation of authority in real time is a key issue for today's organizations. The authors investigate how the negotiations that sustain authority at work actually unfold by analyzing the ways of talking and acting through which organizational members establish their authority. They argue that authority is achieved through presentification—that is, by making sources of authority present in interaction. On the basis of an empirical analysis of a naturally occurring interaction between a medical coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières and technicians of a hospital supported by her organization, the authors identify key communicative practices involved in achieving authority and discuss their implications for scholars' understanding of what being in authority at work means.
Benoit-Barné, Chantal and François Cooren. Management Communication Quarterly (2009). Articles>Management>Organizational Communication>Rhetoric
#34858
The Social Influences on Electronic Multitasking in Organizational Meetings
Meetings serve an important function in organizational communication. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have infiltrated meetings and allowed a new range of communicative behaviors to emerge. This cross-organizational study relies on key elements in the social influence model to predict variables that influence engagement in electronic meeting multitasking behaviors. The observation of organizational norms and the perceptions of others' thoughts concerning the use of ICTs for multitasking during a meeting explain a considerable amount of variance in how individuals use ICTs to multitask electronically in meetings. Implications for workplace ICT use in meetings and contributions to the social influence model are also discussed.
Stephens, Keri K. and Jennifer Davis. Management Communication Quarterly (2009). Articles>Collaboration>Organizational Communication>Technology
#35128
Although previous researchers have proposed organizational demography as an important determinant of communication, no one has tested this relationship directly.
Zenger, Todd R. and Barbara S. Lawrence. Academy of Management Journal, The (1989). Articles>TC>Workplace>Organizational Communication
#35244
Organizational Change: The Challenge of Supporting Staff
Change management is the subject of many books but what is it like to have to lead staff who are finding it difficult? Gina Lane has extensive experience of change in local government, and Non Departmental Public Body and a charity, and in this article provides insight and practical tips for how to support and lead your team as the organization undergoes change.
Lane, Gina. Business Information Review (2008). Articles>Management>Organizational Communication
#35401
Understanding the Organizational Context to Develop Valuable Policies & Procedures
As a policies and procedures (P&P) practitioner, do you delve into P&P content development projects without a clear understanding of the organizational context? Astute P&P practitioners add more than documentation skills to assignments--they apply an understanding of the organizational context from three perspectives.
Urgo, Raymond E. Policies and Procedures Authority, The (2009). Articles>Workplace>Organizational Communication>Policies and Procedures
#35402
Style Rules for Job Position Names and Titles in Policies & Procedures
Have you struggled with job position names and titles in your policies and procedures (P&P) content? Here are several style rules to follow.
Urgo, Raymond E. Policies and Procedures Authority, The (2009). Articles>Style Guides>Policies and Procedures>Organizational Communication
