Organizational Communication

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Organizational Communication

• John A. Cagle

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Max Weber Theory of Bureaucracy

• Organization is a system of purposeful
  interpersonal activity designed to coordinate
  tasks.
• Power is the ability of a person to influence
  others and overcome resistance.
• Legitimate authority is power authorized formally
  by the organization.
• Bureaucratic authority is power vested in
  supervisors and managers by virtue of rules.

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Theoretical Priorities in Organizational
Communication

• 1940s What effects do downward directed
  communications have upon employees?
• 1950s How do small-group networks affect
  organizational performance and members attitudes
  and behaviors?
• 1960s What do organizational members perceive
  to be communication correlates of good
  supervision?
• 1970s What are the communication components and
  correlates of organizational communication
  climates?What are the characteristics and
  distribution of key communication roles within
  organizational networks?
• til now Organizations are a system of
  interdependent variables.
• What are the strategic parts of the system?
• What is the nature of their mutual dependency?
• What are the main processes in the system which
  link the parts together and facilitate their
  adjustment to each other?
• What are the goals sought by the system?

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Gordon Lippitts Organizational Health

• Task dimensions
• Goal focus
• Communication adequacy
• Optimum power utilization
• Social dimensions
• Resource utilization
• Cohesiveness
• Morale
• Growth dimensions
• Innovativeness
• Autonomy
• Adaptation
• Problem-solving adequacy

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Organizational Hierarchy Bureaucratic Structure
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Communication Network
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Peter F. Druckers Key Leadership

• Key leadership tasks must be done if the
  organization is to be successful.
• On the other hand, the organization cannot
  function unless the routine tasks are taken care
  of as well.
• The answer, of course, is effective delegation of
  these routine tasks so the key leaders have time
  for their genuinely more important
  responsibilities.

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Key Leadership Tasks

• Thinking through the mission of the organization
• Setting the standards and good examples
• Building the human organization
• Relating to the public
• Perform ceremonial functions
• Attend to crisis after crisis whenever necessary

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Requirements for Key Leadership

• Analysis of key leadership tasks
• Key leadership tasks assigned
• Key leadership team
• Delegation of operating tasks