Week 5, Blog 4 “Competitive Democracy”

The Web Lecture goes into detail about democracy and democracy models. The table that outlines strengths and weakness points out that “majority rule may overlook minority interests” is a weakness of competitive Democracy – or the electoral system used in our national, state and local governments.
I think that this is very important to take note of. When someone is elected to office, he/she is supposed to represent ALL constituents, not just the majority opinion holders. This is a huge challenge because chances are that the person elected to office by the majority holds strong values represented by the majority of the population. The best combatant to counteract the threat to minority interests is to elect individuals who have the ability and the inclination to take balanced approach to leadership and who may stray from party or majority interest ideals in order to better represent the broad-based interests of the population. These “moderate” leaders stand to accomplish much more with this approach than by embedding themselves in the dominant mentality.

Week 5, Blog 3- “Phatic Communication”

Chapter 11 talks about mindless or “phatic communication” as “a form of small talk that helps us appear social and gives the impression that we are interested in others”. It goes on the suggest that this type of mindless communication exchange shows a disregard between each of the participants because the scripts are meaningless.
I disagree to an extent. Sometimes, people are not comfortable trying to relate to other on deeper levels, and this “mindless communication” serves as a valiant attempt to at least TRY to relate to others. While throwing in at least SOME personal exchange like “How was your weekend? I recall that you were going to a ball game”, would make the exchange more meaningful, it is still communication. Sometimes asking how someone is doing simply communicates that the first person cares enough to even ask. Not asking says a lot more.

Week 5, Blog 2 – “Performance management”

The section in Chapter 10 which refers to human resources, specifically performance management grabbed my interest. This is where a system “tracks and gives feedback to employees about how well they are accomplishing objectives tied to each for their key dimensions.” The section goes on the say however, that in the absence of such a system managers are more likely to go with their gut feeling or play favorites. There is a lot of truth to this. I think that so much of how successful people are in an organization is tied to how well they have been able to build key relationships, and not necessarily their job performance.

“Transformational Leadership” (Wk 5, Blog 1)

Ch. 9 talks a lot about leadership and communication of leaders. I thought that the concept of “Transformational Leadership” was particularly interesting in regards to what that type of leader communicates. According to the text, a change agent is “one who seeks to lead an organization through and increasingly turbulent global business environment through the strategic use of communication.” This type of leadership style is easily identified in amongst our political and religious leaders, but it is also something that savvy organizational leadership must also utilize.
The book talks about change agent espousing their “vision” and constantly communicating that out to people. I can definitely think of people who I have come across in work places who fit this seemingly exhausting role. It also strikes me that change agents are often not “leaders” inasmuch as they are just out in front of a certain movement or change.

Where can I buy a compucellipod? (Wk 4, Blog 4)

(Lecture: Technology and Teams: “Living in a Pervasive Communication Environment”) The lecture draws a comparison between current emerging technologies and those from many generations past: “… the printing press, telegraph, and telephone were all new communication technologies in their time. What's different this time?” It goes on the explain how the printing press paved the way for one person or small group to communicate out to a larger audience (mass communication). The largest difference is that our numerous communication methods- especially those which are WiFi and thus portable, have unleashed endless avenues of two-way and web-like communication. While more convenient, it also means that managers may have increased expectations for being able to get a hold of employees or monitor their progress. Because the tools of the jobs have increased for employees significantly, so can the expectations of employers for what people can do. I would imagine that there are studies out there which examine the increase in communication technology as it relates to real information dissemination and communication. “Information overload” jumps to mind…..

imo u r def rt! (Wk 4 Blog 3)

(Lecture, Technology and Teams: “Virtual or real communication”) Looking at how technology influences our lives is hard to even see, since it has become such an accepted daily occurrence to use cell phones, email, facebook, myspace, ipods, etc. Virtual meetings are becoming more commonplace in business. The lecture asks a great question about these interactions being “real” or not. I would say that they are, but because they lack direct human contact, they are missing out on many types of non-verbal communication. The difference should not be “real vs. virtual” as much as “in person vs. virtual.”

I attended a lecture recently in which the instructor pointed out that most of communication is non-verbal. I am sure that how much is non-verbal is up for debate, but his point was well-taken. How someone says something is almost more important than what he/she says. When IMing, the “how” (tone, gestures, sarcasm, etc) is hard to communicate and can be lost. I would guess that everyone reading this has had the unhappy experience of either being misunderstood or misunderstanding someone else during virtual communications! It is not fun and happens very easily.

Power and Communication Networks (Wk 4 Blog 2)

If information is power and communication is how information is shared, then communication networks are a perfect way to examine power and group dynamics. (Communication networks Ch. 8, p.256-8) The book gives us a great visual for thinking about the different types of communication networks. The circle is like the children’s game of “telephone” where information is passed from one person to another. The all-channel model does not restrict communication to be centralized like the wheel and chain models do.

The book talks about these networks in terms of superior and inferior ways to communicate. I like to think that these different models are appropriate to different types of groups. Any military or para-military group must be centralized in some way in order to maximize efficiency. People operate solely on a “need to know basis”. However, this restricted information flow results in people knowing only what their superiors allow them to, making them completely dependent upon their leaders. On a fundraising committee for a non-profit organization, decentralized communication may result in more active member participation and the overall meeting of goals. The will also diffuse power throughout the group as any member may bring their leads to the table, and get credit for their input.

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus

Ch. 7 p. 204 address gender differences at work and the differences in communication styles between many men and women. “Report talk” vs. “rapport talk” is a great illustration of some fundamental differences in the way in which men and women communicate. What really struck me about this section however is the book’s premise that much of these communication styles are learned behaviors – gendered socialization- shaped by society.

There is certainly a lot to be said about the different ways in which men and women tend to communicate. I have worked with women who take on a more aggressive communication style (“report style”) and get unfairly labeled as being a “hard-ass” or other such terms (use your imagination!). Reciprocally, I have also seen men who may take on more “rapport styles” of communication and get labeled a push-over.

While there are undeniable differences between the sexes, what is learned behavior vs. “natural” is still very much up for debate.

Organizational Culture (Wk 3, Lecture, Blog 4)

I like that this lecture continued the book’s discuss of organizations as cultures. (p. 2) I know that many people have been blogging about this topic (as have I), and I think that it is a really important one. As a break from traditional approaches to explaining organizational communication, the culture metaphor allows us to think about organization differently. I like the additional examples of looking at external cultural influences on an organization as well.

In our modern, globalized world (especially here in Silicon Valley), we are increasingly seeing a shift in the work force as it becomes more and more diverse. We are truly reaping the benefits of the world’s educated, hard-working and committed immigrants who have decided to work here. With them, come different cultural norms and practices. I would guess that the way people operate a business in India, Spain, Japan, and the US differ greatly from one another. We stand to benefit from a world-wide (informal) “best-practices” session, in which organizations located in the valley are being exposed to such a wide variety of different cultures and their approaches to work. The hurdle, of course, is that we also run the risk of increased misunderstanding poor communication, and employer/employee abuse.

Pinky and The Brain: Hegemony (Wk 3, Lecture, Blog 3)

"Gee Brain, what do you want to do tonight?"
"The same thing we do every night, Pinky- try to take over the world."

Sometimes, those bent on world domination are easy to spot. But for every one person trying to get the upper hand, there seems to be another person willing to turn over his/her freedom, resources, etc. and participate in his/her own oppression. In the critical theory approach to organization, the example given of how oppressors can partake in their own oppression is fascinating to think about. (p. 4) It is hard to comprehend in this day and age that women could have ever actively campaigned against suffrage, asking that they not be entrusted with the power to vote! This is a great example to illustrate the point, because today that is hard to imagine that particular case even happening. The reality however is that hegemonic power balances in which the oppressed accept the power relationship must be numerous very today. It is interesting to try to think about what we will look back on as a society and be equally as flabbergasted about.

Mc[Expletive] (Wk 3 Blog 2)

I feel like a broken record, but yet again, I have a comparison to something in Public Administration: Ch. 6 p. 185-8 talks about employee “resistance” to organizational control and power. I liked the example of the employee who wear the “Mc[expletive]” shirt underneath his official McDonalds uniform. This illustrates an aspect of the concept behind the book “The Ethics of Dissent: Managing Guerrilla Government” by Rosemary O’Leary. The author talks about the very real situation that many employees are faced with: rebelling against the organization from within- legally, ethically, and (hopefully) in such a way as to not get fired.

A Culture of Secrecy (Wk 3, Blog 1)

Organizational culture (Ch. 5 p 127) is such an important concept in public administration. It’s the reason for the saying “that’s not how we do things here.” It seems that the longer an organization exists, the more entrenched the people who work there become in doing things “the way it’s always been done.” The best example of the downside of this cultural entrenchment can be found in Ch. 4 p. 108, which talks about the organizational and communication breakdowns of our national security agencies prior to 9-11. The incident shines a bright light on what has been a festering problem. The FBI and CIA’s failure to effectively communicate stems in large part from their divergent histories and founding objectives. Because the world has changed so much in decades since they were founded, many of their duties now overlap while their approaches to problem solving still differ. While the failure of these 2 organizations stands out, the problem goes well beyond them.

I interned for the U.S. State Dept in the office in Washington D.C. the summer after 9/11. One of my projects was to collect basic contact information for some of the Pentagon and various national security agency personnel working at the State Dept. I was introduced to the appropriate department heads, given the tools to do my job including the appropriate security clearances, and then was let loose to spend the summer beating my head against a brick wall. While I ended up completing my project, it took far longer than it should have. I blame the very different cultures represented by the people from whom I was trying to get information. The one characteristic that they all shared is the knee-jerk reaction of secrecy (That is a cultural value that transcends all security agencies!) It is understandable: information can mean life or death. (Just watch the movie Breach about our nation’s most notorious traitor Robert Hanssen.) Some of the people I tried to get information from could not be bothered by a lowly intern. Others felt that it was something I should get from their secretary. One individual from the pentagon was so against having his information be collected that I had to visit him 6 times and hear a different tail-chasing reason why I couldn’t have it that time. Individuals from other agencies were more inclined to help me, others did what they were told and were fine with “following the rules.” I even had a few people bring me under their wings and explain how to treat people certain agencies to get what I wanted.

Following 9/11 there have been small and large attempts to change the structure of the FBI, CIA and other security organizations in an attempt to alter their cultures. While some changes have been made, I don’t really see them as making much progress. In order to change an organizational culture, there will have to be radical overhaul and a shift in their objectives that brings them in line to meet the modern needs of the country.

Government and Feedback

Ch. 4 Processes and Feedback P. 109-110:

Under the systems theory, both negative and positive feedback are “a system of loops that connect communication and action.” As we learned before, learning organizations take advantage of both negative and positive feedback to improve their operations.

In the public sector, I suspect that government entities are not as willing to benefit from negative feedback as they could be. Because the purpose of many public entities is to provide a legally-mandated services equally to all people in its charge, treating people “equally” tends to trump efficiency, timeliness and often times - courtesy. As government strives to adapt to the societal needs of the 21st century, it must work to become more aware of both internal and external interdependencies as well as its environment. Feedback will help it to achieve this going, and can come in a myriad of ways: fewer people using a once-popular bus route, an increase in affordable housing requests, objections to development plans, etc. Of course, the system is complicated by the fact that government agencies are limited in the extent to which they can change as they are subject to the laws passed by the people and governing bodies.

Organizational Hierarcy and the Industrial Revolution

The section on the societal shift during the industrial revolution from people working mainly for themselves to working mainly for a large company really stuck me. Industrial Revolution (Ch. 3 Page 71)
The section went on to describe how today, the trend is starting to reverse itself with outsourcing, downsizing, etc. and people are once again venturing into self-employment. The industrial revolution shift (or cementing) of class structure which came from the subordination of individuals to the hierarchical factories and their top-down approach to management and communications has shaped our society and individual’s self-perceptions. It will be very interesting to see how this trend towards self employment will once again change the face of society.

“The hip bone is connected to the... elbow?”

My undergraduate degree is in Global Studies, and so I really see the importance of understanding the concept of interdependence as it relates to a system. (Interdependence, p. 107-108) I think that the pitfall with trying to figure out how systems are related is drawing false conclusions or misinterpreting cause and effect relationships. My favorite humorous example of this is the fanatical sports fan who believes that his presence at his team’s games that are the reason for their success. While this example is simplistic, it underscores my point that in eagerly seeking to determine how things are related within a system, it can be easy to draw incorrect conclusions.

"Bureaucracy is a French word"

Chapter 3: Three Early Perspectives on Organizations and Communication
Bureaucracy, p. 76- 77
Henri Fayol’s “Classical Management” talks about the five goals of classical management being “planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling”. He also advocated for hierarchy and a strict chain of command. Out of these management theories came the idea of bureaucracy. I found it really interesting to think that something so universally disliked and thought of as a hindrance to progress could have actually been an improvement! However, it was, and it became a much more attractive alternative to particularism which was not favorable to workers.
I also found it interesting that the chapter went on to say that “the ideal bureaucracy cannot be fully realized”, mostly due to the nagging little problem of human nature…. I think that any new idea for systems must start with accepting the shortfalls of human nature (which differs culturally too), and work them into the theory.

Global Communications

I am presently in Salzburg, Austria for a week long study-abroad program with SJSU. The topic of our session is "global citizenship", and a strong theme is communication. Given that Chapter One in the text for Comm 144 "Organizational Communication" talks a lot about communication in a global context, there is an impressive amount of overlap.
Because of increased global migration, the emerging global economy, and increased multiculturalism, there is an even greater need for changing not just what we communicate, but how. Words and their meaning come under even greater scrutiny not just when translating from one language to another, but also when "translating" from one culture to another. The text talks about the experience of McDonalds in India where they named their burgers "Maharaja Macs" in order to appeal to the local market. We heard similar examples in this morning's session with Dr. Jaehne about efforts in Behjing, China to update the poorly translated signs in English prior to the Olympic events this summer. Examples that he cited were signs which read "pubic restrooms" (No "l") and something like "gently the tender shoots mildly" which was supposed to mean "Stay off the grass".

This is my blog

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