Theories of Organizational Communication Comm 604 Wed. 6-8:45 5th Street 209 Instructor: Zachary White, Ph.D. Office Location: Dana 102-D Office Phone: 704-688-2731 Email: whitez@queens.edu Office Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday9:30-10:30 a.m. Wednesday 8:45-9:15 and by appointment

Required Materials: Eisenberg, E.M., Goodall, H.L., Jr., & Trethewey, A. (2010). Organizational communication: Balancing creativity and constraint (6th Edition). Boston: Bedford/St. Martins. Supplemental Readings: Additional readings and research examples will be posted on the Queens Learning Management System (Moodle). http://moodle.queens.edu/

COURSE DESCRIPTION/OBJECTIVES In this course, we will examine historical and contemporary approaches to studying organizations, organizational communication, and a variety of communication processes, structures and strategies. Specifically, we will critically analyze how various theories of management, organizing, and communication theory shape our understanding of such essential issues as efficiency, employee motivation, organizational identity and identification, power, leadership, organizational culture, and ideology. The specific objectives of this course are to: y Critically explore the major schools of organizational communication theory y Understand the significance of communication in creating, maintaining, and transforming organizations y Understand the significance of communication in creating, maintaining, and transforming individuals in organizations y Appreciate how various theoretical conceptions of organizational communication illuminate our understanding of organizational communication processes y Improve your ability to create and consume communication by applying a variety of theoretical frameworks to everyday organizational communication practices

Course Policies: 1. Expectations: At the graduate-level, I expect students to come to class ready to discuss, analyze, critique, and apply course-related material. Given we meet only once a week, each class period is vitally important to your ability to do well in the course. Moreover, your active and ongoing participation throughout the course is essential to enhancing both your own success and that of the overall class experience. 2. Written Work: In addition to bringing a hard copy of assignments to class, please submit an electronic copy (email to: whitez@queens.edu) of all written documents by 6 p.m. on the assigned day (Note: These emails should be sent youre your queens email account). Any assignments submitted to me after that time will be considered late. Typically, late assignments are lowered one letter grade for each class meeting after the assigned due date. If you know you will miss class for any reason when an assignment is due, you must submit the completed assignment BEFORE you leave to receive credit. Written work must be TYPED and PROOFREAD for errors. Handwritten assignments will not be accepted (unless otherwise specified). Written assignments are required to follow the APA format. For example, typed assignments should be 11- to 12-point font size, Times New Roman, double-spaced, and one inch margins--a few of the basic guidelines for APA format. Be sure to keep a copy of all major assignments for your records. Also, any assignments that I return electronically will only be sent to your queens email account (per FERPA regulations). 3. Additional Readings/Rubrics, etc.: Additional course readings, updates, rubrics for assignments, etc., will regularly be posted on Moodle (see http://moodle.queens.edu/). Please check Moodle regularly for the latest updates. 4. Class Attendance: A great deal of learning in this course comes from in-class discussions, so it is essential that you attend class consistently. More than 1 unexcused absence (justified, notified in advance) will result in a deduction of participation points for each additional class period missed. A student who misses class more than 3 times (and thus misses more than 1/3 of the class meetings) will receive a failing grade in the course. 5. University Closings/Cancelled Classes: In the rare occasion when it is necessary to close the university, announcements will be made on TV and radio, and will be posted on the Queens web site (www.queens.edu). Students who live on campus will be notified of a decision to cancel classes through their voice mail. Commuter students should call the Queens Information Hotline (704-337-2567). NOTE: If classes are meeting but you find that you cannot find a safe way to get to class, you should notify me as soon as possible.

6. Academic Integrity: Papers/assignments found to contain plagiarized material will result in an automatic failure for the assignment, and possible future action by the university. The Honor Code, which permeates all phases of university life, is based on three fundamental principles. It assumes that Queens students: a) are truthful at all times, b) respect the property of others, and c) are honest in tests, examinations, term papers, and all other academic assignments. Please contact me if you believe a violation of the Honor Code has occurred. It is a violation of the Honor Code for a student to be untruthful concerning the reasons for a class absence. 7. Intellectual Property Policy: Queens University of Charlotte faculty and students adhere to the Queens Intellectual Property Policy. See Faculty Handbook, http: moodle.queens.edu and the Queens University of Charlotte Website at: http://www.queens.edu. 8. Class decorum: Students are to come to class on time. Students are expected to turn off cell phones and other electronic devices while in class. Violation of any of these simple rules of decorum will negatively affect a students participation grade. Continued violation will result in the student being expelled from the class. 9. Disability Accommodations: If you are a student with a verified disability, please give to your professor, the LETTER OF ACCOMMODATION provided by Student Disability Services. Students who have a disability, or think they have a disability (e.g. psychiatric, attentional, learning, vision, hearing, physical, or systemic), are invited to contact Sandy Rogelberg, Manager of Student Disability Services for a confidential discussion. The Office of Student Disability Services is located in Dana 014 (in the Center for Academic Success) or contact at 704337-2508 or at rogelbes@queens.edu . Additional information is available at the SDS website: http://www.queens.edu/studentlife/resources/disability.asp. 10. Grading: You will receive feedback and a grade on each assignment completed. Final grades will be calculated by summing your numerical grades and assigning the appropriate letter grade. The grading scale is as follows: A B C D F 100-90 89-80 79-70 69-60 59 and below

11. Graded Assignments: Exams35% (Test #1: 15%; Test #2: 20 %) You will take a midterm exam and a final exam. The test format is multiple choice and true-false. The tests include material from all of the chapters, supplement readings, and class lectures during the time period specified on the syllabus. I will provide a study for each exam. Analysis Papers40% (5 papers @ 8%each) Analysis papers will provide you an opportunity to critically reflect, analyze, and apply the material we learn in class to real-life organizational settings. In total, there will be five analysis papers that each specifically address a particular topic of importance to communication and organizational theory. Prompts for the analysis papers will be provided in class and on moodle. Papers should be no shorter than 3 pages and no longer than 4 pages and should adhere to the standards of good writing. In addition, be prepared to orally share your analyses with the class as the analysis papers will often be used as a starting point for discussion. Management and Organizational Philosophy (10%) The goal of this assignment is to help you reflect on the various assumptions, structures, and theories of organizational communication as you create a management and organizational philosophy that explicitly addresses such important issues as your particular communication style, preferred management philosophy (i.e. leadership), ethics of communication, assumptions about motivation levels of employees and co-workers, and best practices for balancing the various dynamics of organizational life. Participation15% Your participation grade is partly based on your preparation for class as evaluated by your active engagement in class discussion and completion of in and out-of-class exercises. For certain class periods, I will ask (in advance) 1-3 students to be in charge of the discussion for a particular reading or set of readings. On these occasions, be prepared to summarize the article/reading, provide connections to course concepts, and be able to illuminate concepts with examples. Finally, included in your participation grade is the creation of a Twitter account, and the contribution of at least one tweet per week (beginning the second week of class) concerning course readings, lecture, and or application of course concepts. More details on this requirement will be forthcoming.

Tentative Date Syllabus (*subject to change)

Wed. Jan. 19

Introduction to Course Introduction to Organizational Communication Labor, Work, and Organizations in the Modern World For January 26, Read: Eisenberg, Goodall & Trethewey: Ch.s 1, 2 & 3 (pp. 5970) Miller, Ch. 1 (Moodle) Morgan, Ch.s 1 & 2 (Moodle) Early Theoretical Perspectives Scientific Management/Classical Management/Bureaucracy Read: Eisenberg, Goodall & Trethewey Ch. 3 (pp. 70-79) Miller, Ch.s 2 & 3 (Moodle) Analysis Paper #1 Assigned Early Theoretical Perspectives: Human Relations and Human Resources Read: Eisenberg, Goodall & Trethewey Ch. 3 (pp. 79-95) Weick (1995), Ch. 1 & 2 Weick (1996) Senge (1990) (skim as example of systems theory) Weick, K. E. (1995) Analysis Paper #2 Assigned Analysis Paper #1 Due Contemporary Approaches (Systems Theory, Learning Organizations, and Sensemaking) Read: Eisenberg, Goodall & Trethewey Ch. 4 Gibson & Papa (2000) Smith & Eisenberg (1987) Morgan, Ch. 5 Analysis Paper #3 Assigned Analysis Paper #2 Due Organizational Culture Analysis Paper #3 Due

Wed. Jan. 26

Wed. Feb. 2

Wed. Feb. 9

Wed. Feb. 16

Wed. Feb. 23

Midterm Exam Read: Eisenberg, Goodall & Trethewey Ch. 5 Deetz (1992) Morgan Ch. 9 Ehrenreich (1992) Cheney (2006) Ch 9 Pierce, T., & Dougherty (2002)

Wed. March 2

Critical Approaches to Organizing Read: Foucalt (TBA) Potter and Lopez (2001) Spradlin (1998) Violanti, M. T. (1997)

Wed.

March 9

Critical Approaches Contd Read: Ch. 6 and Ganesh and Burke, RhetoricOld and New Read: Cheney (1983) Tracy (2000) Gergen (1991) Analysis Paper #4 Assigned SPRING BREAK Identity, Identification and Division in Organizational Life Read: Eisenberg, Goodall & Trethewey Ch.s 2 (pp. 38-51) & 7 TBA Analysis Paper #4 Due Teams and Networks in the Workplace Read: Eisenberg, Goodall & Trethewey Ch. 8, TBA Communication and Leadership Read: Eisenberg, Goodall & Trethewey Ch. 9 Cheney Ch. 13 Friedman (2006) Analysis Paper #5 Assigned Organizational (Re)Alignment: Management and the Organization Reading: TBA

Wed. March 16 Wed. March 23

Wed. March 30

Wed. April 6

Wed. April 13

Analysis Paper #5 Due Wed. April 20 The Entrepreneurial Self and Organizing in the 21st Century Management and Organizational Philosophy Due

Wed. April 27 Exam #2 (Final Exam Period)

References Burke, K. (1951). RhetoricOld and new. Journal of General Education, V, 203-209. Cheney, G. (1983). The rhetoric of identification and the study of organizational communication. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 69, 143-158. Cheney, G., Christensen, L. T., Zorn, T. E., & Ganesh, S. (2004). Organizational communication in an age of globalization: Issues, reflections, practices. IL: Waveland Press, Inc. Deetz, S. (1992). Democracy in an age of corporate colonization: Developments in the communication and the politics of everyday life. NJ: SUNY Press. Ehrenreich, B. (2002). Nickel and dimed: On (not) getting by in America. New York: Holt. Friedman, T. L. (2005). The world is flat: A brief history of the twenty-first century. Farrar, Straus, & Giroux. Gergen, K. (1991). The saturated self: Dilemmas of identity in contemporary life. NY: Basic Books. Gibson, M. K., & Papa, M. J. (2000). The mud, the blood, and the beer guys: Organizational osmosis in blue-collar work groups. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 28, 68-88. Miller, K. (2006). Organizational communication: Approaches and processes (4th ed.). New York: Wadsworth Publishing Company. Morgan, G. (2006). Images of organization. Thousand Oaks: CA. Sage Publications, Inc.

Pierce, T., & Dougherty, D. S. (2002). The construction, enactment, and maintenance of power-as-domination through an acquisition: The case of TWA and Ozark Airlines. Management Communication Quarterly, 16, 129-164. Potter, G., & Lopez, J. (2002) After postmodernism: The new millennium. In Potter, G., & Lopez, J. (Eds.), After postmodernism: An introduction to critical realism (pp. 3-16). New York, NY: The Athlone Press. Senge, P. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Broadway Business. Smith, R. C., & Eisenberg, E. M. (1987). Conflict at Disneyland: A root metaphor analysis. Communication Monographs, 54, 367-380. Spradlin, A. L. (1998). The price of "passing": A lesbian perspective on authenticity in organizations. Management Communication Quarterly, 13, 598-605. Tracy, S. J. (2000). Becoming a character for commerce: Emotional labor, selfsubordination, and discursive construction of identity in a total institution. Management Communication Quarterly, 14, 90-128. Violanti, M. T. (1997). Men will be "boys" and women will be "whores": The case of the U.S. Navy's Tailhook scandal. In B. D. Sypher (Ed.), Case studies in communication (pp. 337-352). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Weick, K. E. (1995). The collapse of sensemaking in organizations: The Mann Gulch disaster. Administrative Science Quarterly, 38, 628-652. Weick, K. (1995). Sensemaking in organizations: Foundations for organizational science. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Weick, K. (1996). Prepare your organization to fight fires. Harvard Business Review, 74, 143-148.