Introduction to organizational communication is the type of class that seeks to examine the true and vital role of communication within an organization. The communication is looked at from a structural perspective and a functional perspective. Students are able to see the reasons for communications breakdowns and why gaps exist in organizational communication.
Organizational communications courses are somewhat subjective in nature and require a lot of data transference in order to properly analyze what may be transpiring between entities within an organization. The data itself must be quantitative in nature, but the analysis will most always be qualitative. As students in the course will see, organizational communication is both an art and a science, which is why it requires such precision in the way that it is taught and understood.
Students will explore the roles of technology in organizational communication; they will look into how leadership roles differ in their subordinate’s perception of what is being communicated. The instructor will explore how communication is worked within the team environment and the overall corporate environment. Students will look at the ethics dilemma within communicable policy messages along with their intended uses and consequences for procedural breakdown. There will be sections dealing with emergency message management as it relates to communications.
Some of the simple topics that will be discussed will be the context of organizational communication, communication as it pertains to managers and leaders, strategic communication, organizational thematic roles, and issues & solutions in communications. The student will work through the ideas and concepts that make for good communications and learn to avoid poor communication. The student will want to take detailed organizational communications notes during their time as to this will be information that will most often be useful in their career.
Some very common organization communication books that could be used are: Fundamentals of Organizational Communication by Pamela Shockley Zalabak; Thinking Through Communication: An Introduction to the Study of Human Communication by Sarah Trenholm; or even Introducing Communication Theory: Analysis and Application by Richard West and Lynn Turner. Instructors may want to choose the most appropriate books for the audience in question. Communications is taught from both the instructors experiential perspective and the from the students needs. This will determine what type of book that will be used during the course.
Organizational communication is a delicate topic that must be approached from a few different points of view. Whether the student is a beginner in the area of organizational communication or a so-called expert, they will be able to glean a lot of information as they take a fresh look into the topic. As the business environment constantly changes, so does the role of organizational communication, it is always proper to keep a finger on the pulse of communication issues.
