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Meredith Craig

Heather Hundley, Instructor

COMM 2100- 03

10 November, 2018

Organizational Communication as a Practical Discipline

In a world blossoming with ever growing industry, understanding communication in

corporate settings- whether that means corporate prayer, or corporate, quarterly meetings- has

become paramount in sustaining healthy organizations. Thus, the subdiscipline of

communication, organizational communication, has rapidly become a vital organ in the body of

thriving organizations. Understanding how an organization communicates internally, while

simultaneously being a vessel of communication changes the roles, responsibilities, and interests

of organizations altogether, making organizational communication a necessary field of study. As

a person tending towards leadership and structure, organizational communication is of particular

interest to me. I have a calling for planning, organizing, serving- essentially- getting things done

for others. At present, I am marching towards a paid position as a site director at a refugee

assimilation community outreach program in Smyrna, Tennessee; therefore, the interdisciplinary

potential of organizational communication as well as the overlap between management skills,

non profit work, and public service makes organizational communication of particular interest to

me. The intersection of learning to communicate within an organization, like within a nonprofit

or a family, along with learning how to effectively use an organization as a whole to

communicate is paramount to my future.

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The concept of organizational communicate sounds superficially basic. Every

organization communicates- just by existing. However, there are more complexities within the

subdiscipline than just communication within an organization. Organizational communication is

defined as “the process by which individuals stimulate meaning in the minds of other

individuals, by means of verbal and nonverbal messages in the context of a formal organisation”

(Pace and Faules, 1994, p. 20).​ To define even more basically what an organization refers to, an

organization, in this context, means a social microcosm within a larger culture where events and

processes work collectively to achieve the goals of the organization as a whole, and its individual

members. (​Miller, 2008)​.​ ​A family, as an example of an organization, is an example that relates

to my life and in my future aspirations. Families work together as a unit to achieve common

goals, like keeping a tidy house, but they also work to make each member feel valued; family

members communicate internally by how the speak and interact with other family members,

while the family as a whole communicates externally by what events they attend or what

restaurants they patron, or how they speak to each other in front of guests. In this way families

communicate within themselves while also being a body who reflects communication into other

families. In this same way, individual members of organizations are constantly exchanging

messages within themselves and these messages are reflecting back on the organization as a

whole. Additionally, communication, although often overlooked as obvious, is the most

frequently used skill- and the most necessary skill- a person can acquire by the sheer number of

communicative interactions people participate in each day. It is unavoidable, but more than that,

people’s perceptions are distinctly shaped by what they recieve in the communication process, so

communication is wholly relevant to any subject area. By considering the importance of

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communication as a whole, and the prevalence of structured organizations, like our workplaces,

and unstructured organizations, like a church group or family, in our lives, it becomes

increasingly clear that we must constantly be analyzing the way the organizations in which we

exist communicate.

Essentially, this subfield of communication studies the vessels, or subcultures, within our

lives that communication takes place, as well as the roles, responsibilities, and functions that we

adopt within these various organizations. Organizational communication is often studied by

analyzing “structures, channels, culture, roles, and the management of information, data,

knowledge and learning” both within and without an organization (​Eunson, 2016, p. 573).​ All of

these pieces come together to study how communication forms within a group, then is

communicated, then is reacted to, and finally is scrutinized for ways to improve communication

and to build stronger communication networks. Different communication strategies are

considered such as downward, upward, and horizontal communication strategies, and the effects

that each strategy can create within an organization. For example, downward communication

structures that are very forward and imposing can create a “culture of silence” that threatens

members of an organization by stifling their ability to speak (​Eunson, 2016​, p. 601). Studying

networks is also paramount in the discussion of organizational communication in understanding

how general organizations work, but also understanding how organizational communication was

historically developed. D’Urso, Fyke and Torres used networks to study how the knowledge of

organizational communication was spread, to trace the idea’s “genealogy” and it is increasingly

clear that organizations spread knowledge in the same way. (D’Urso, Fyke, Torres, 2014).
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Organizational communication scholars must study the medium in which information gets

distributed and the effects of this medium.

As a problem solver, the idea of identifying something that is broken and mending it is

fascinating and gratifying to me. Therefore, studying communication patterns and then adapting

these patterns to increase productivity or effectiveness within a group is important to me, as

someone who finds fulfillment in helping others. Upon researching college majors, I felt an

immediate spark towards organizational communication, profoundly because it offers an

opportunity at almost anything. I haven’t found exactly what I want to pursue yet, but I know it

will require leadership and the ability to manage and organize the many facets of my life. I have

every dream of becoming a wife and then a mother- and the ability to communicate well with my

husband, my children, and all of the people involved in families (teachers, pediatricians,

babysitters) is a vital skill I am working to acquire, as well as the ability to cope and balance a

thriving family life with a career. I have a conviction and a passion in working to help

marginalized communities, whether that be refugees, people experiencing homelessness,

veterans. Because of this, local nonprofits have always been a point of great interest for me. At

present, I am seeking a job as a field director for a program out of Smyrna that helps Karen

refugee children assimilate into United States culture, by teaching English language skills,

providing tutoring, and fostering a community for children who have historically otherwise

turned to gang violence. Organizational communication would give me the knowledge in how to

create a culture where both the children and volunteers feel honored and respected by the

channel and the medium in which communication was delivered. For example, if I was given this

position I would certainly recognize my finality in the decision making process, but I would
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encourage upward communication from volunteers and students so that every group felt they

were being benefited as greatly as possible. In both my present dream of running the Smyrna site

as a director and eventually my dream of becoming a wife and a mother, communication is going

to be necessary; moreover, organizational communication principles would provide me the

knowledge in leading my students and my family efficiently and lovingly.

Organizational communication is not an obscure phenomenon that is only applicable to a

small portion of the population. Unlike many other fields of study, is it relevant to every person.

Every person participates in some sort of organization, whether it is a church or a family or a

workplace; every person is part of more than one organizational culture that could be improved.

Therefore, the study of organizational communication is not only beneficial, but necessary, to

people interested in getting the most out of their corporate interactions. As a subdiscipline of

communication, organizational communication looks at how groups corporately communicate as

well as how communication occurs within the group itself. Not only the information that is

communicated, but the way that information is communicated is important when studying this

facet of communication. I believe organizational communication is a worthwhile, relevant

subdiscipline of communication for me to study because it is applicable to so many areas of my

life and my aspirations. Not only is this content crucial to a career in helping service people

through community outreach, it is also paramount in creating a family of my own. In all,

organizational communication is a wholly practical sub discipline that studies humans’ nearly

constant effort at communicating.

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References

D’Urso, S. C., Fyke, J. P., & Torres, D. H. (2014). Exploring Organizational Communication

(Micro) History Through Network Connections. ​Review of Communication​, ​14​(2),

(pp. 89–106). https://doi.org/10.1080/15358593.2014.944871

Eunson, Baden. (2016). Organisational communication. In ​Communicating in the 21st Century

(pp. 571- 614). Clayton, Australia: Wiley.

Miller, K. I. (2008). ​Organizational Communication: Approaches and processes​. The

International Encyclopedia of Communication, W. Donsbach (Ed.).

doi:10.1002/9781405186407.wbieco018

Pace, R Wayne & Faules, Don F 1994, ​Organisational communication,​ 3rd ed, Allyn & Bacon,

Boston, MA.