[COMS 3500] - Final Exam Guide - Everything you need to know! (26 pages long)

• School: Ohio University
• Department: Communication Studies
• Course: COMS 3500
• Professor: Ford

Document Summary

Unitary frame of reference: emphasis is placed on common organizational goals. Conflict is seen as rare & negative, power is the prerogative of management. Pluralist frame of reference: the organization consists of many groups with divergent interests. Radical frame of reference: organization is viewed as a battleground where rival forces (management & unions) strive for the achievement of largely incompatible ends. Conflict & power are seen as reflections of larger class struggles. Examined relationships between owners & workers in a capitalist society. Theorized that there was an imbalance in this relationship & that workers would rise up against the capitalist system: critique would lead to a revolution . Power: a defining, ubiquitous feature of organizational life. Traditional approach: power is a relatively stable entity that people or groups possess: power over control, hierarchical status. Symbolical approach: power is a product of communicative interactions and relationships: power in socially constructed orgs.