COMM 101 Study Guide - Final Guide: World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, Tax Inversion
27 Apr 2018
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Defining Organizational Communication
- Organizational communication
- The interaction required to direct a group of people toward a shared goal
- Organizational communication as dialogue
- We construct our sense of self through dialogue not monologue. When people work to
coordinate their contexts, interpretations, communication, and actions, they are said to be
‘organizing’ which we can view as a dialogue.
- Organizational communication as information transfer
- Focuses on exchange of information and the transmission of meaning. Pros: it is a basic
foundational approach. Cons: it is incomplete, assumes passive receiver that is not
participating in the construction
- Creativity vs Constraint
- Communication as balancing creativity and constraint.
- Constraint: the rules, norms that come with a particular system that those within the
system are expected to abide by
- Creativity: the design and modification of social systems through communication
Communication and the Changing World of Work
- Situation
- Organizational communication is situation specific. Effective communication for a
construction company is different than what it would be for a film production company or
a small paper company
- Perishable
- We mean that patterns of interaction that were effective last year may be outdated today
due to changes in customer taste and technology
- Globalization
- The closer integration of the countries and peoples of the world which has been brought
about the enormous reduction of costs of transportation and communication, and the
breaking down of artificial barriers to the flows of goods, services, capital, knowledge,
and people across borders
- Outsourcing
- When companies in the US choose to hire people in other countries to do some of their
work. Businesses today search the globe for the cheapest workers (ex: Nike having
sweatshops in South Korea)
- Corporate inversion
- Occurs when a company, in an attempt to lower its taxes, buys a much smaller company
in a foreign country that has a more favorable tax code. The company does not actually
change how it does business but now claims that its company is located in another
company for the tax break
- Multicultural management
- The ability to adapt one’s leadership styles to both respond to and make the most of
pervasive cultural differences in values and practices among a diverse employee
population
- IMF
- International Monetary Fund- Lends money to member nations (188 members) in order to
allow them to prevent economic collapse
- World Bank (WB)
- Created by the UN to give loans to developing countries to allow them to better their
economies
- World Trade Organization (WTO)
- Created to eliminate trade tariffs and settle international trade disputes
- Human Trafficking
- The illegal trade of human beings across borders
- Environmental degradation
- Heightened companies move in attempts to find locals with the least environmental
regulations and/or the most resources to be exploited
- McDonald’s Theory of Peace
- No two countries with a McDonalds have ever fought a war with one another (since they
got their McDonalds)
- Common interest of fast food: integration of a common interest
- Urgent Organizations
- Organizations whose main goal is to shorten the time period in which employees can
respond to their customers and each other
- Informal Communication Networks
- Relationships with trusted coworkers characterized by quick, verbal communication, and
are the most dynamic source of power in contemporary organizations because of the role
they play in responding to a turbulent business climate
- The New Social Contract
- Refers to the new implied contract between employees and employers. Is a different kind
of employment relationship in which job security is fleeting and tied to the fit of
employees skills fit with the organizations needs at the time
Ethics and Communication
- Ethics
- The study of the general nature of morals and of the specific choices made by a person
- The Golden Mean
- An ethical principle developed by Aristotle. The principle holds that morality is to be
found in moderation and that extremes should be avoided
- Not all behaviors will be tolerated in moderation (murder/adultery are always unethical)
- Personal interest should be subordinated to the interest of our communities
- The Categorical Imperative
- Developed by Immanuel Kant
- Everyone has to act in the way you do; You still need to abide by the rules set in place
- Could have great intentions, but negative implications can not justify the end result
- Three tenets of the Categorical Imperative
1. Act as if your actions were to become a universal law that everyone must obey
Document Summary
The interaction required to direct a group of people toward a shared goal. We construct our sense of self through dialogue not monologue. When people work to coordinate their contexts, interpretations, communication, and actions, they are said to be. Organizing" which we can view as a dialogue. Focuses on exchange of information and the transmission of meaning. Cons: it is incomplete, assumes passive receiver that is not participating in the construction. Constraint: the rules, norms that come with a particular system that those within the system are expected to abide by. Creativity: the design and modification of social systems through communication. Effective communication for a construction company is different than what it would be for a film production company or a small paper company. We mean that patterns of interaction that were effective last year may be outdated today due to changes in customer taste and technology.
