Organizational Communication I:

Structures and Dynamics

Exam

Anders Scharff

MA IBC

160293-1893

MA IBC Copenhagen Business School

Characters: 11.460 (including spaces)

Anders Scharff Organizational Communication I December 12-15, 2016
160293-1893 MA IBC Characters: 11.460

Introduction:
The Chicago-based Sara Lee Corporation has experienced organizational changes, globally. The
company was taken over by Sara Lee in 1978 and traded under the name: Sara Lee/DE. In the
early 1980s, Sara Lee acquired a Dutch company, a household and body care merchant. She
decided to merge this company into the existing DE organization. The two divisions carried the
name Sara Lee/DE and provided two divisions: Coffee and Tea, Household and Body Care.
Now, the organizational structure has changed, and Sara Lee and her corporate holding now
operates in 40 countries.
This paper assesses organizational dynamics and change in structure, analyzing challenges and
issues that Sara Lee has or should have used according to theory, referring to the Communicative
Constitution of Organizations (CCO-approach). The paper also includes limitation and a critique
section.

The CCO approach Communicative Constitution of Organizations

The Communicative Constitution of Organizations approach has gained a lot of critique and
debate over the years. It stands out from other perspectives of organizational structure, basically
to analyze how organizations are trying to re-produce their structure through communication
(Brummans et al, 2013).
One of the perspectives within the CCO approach is the Four Flows Model (McPhee & Zaug,
2000). If we think about interpretation and acceptance of the Four Flows model, the key
epistemological and paradoxical principles is governed by a more socially influenced ontology
(McPhee & Zaug, 2000). People/Employees have a certain level of knowledge that helps them
contribute to their surroundings (McPhee & Zaug, 2000). This knowledge is certified and
interpreted and forms the basis of the communication that flows throughout the organization
(Schoeneborn et al, 2014). You can say that conversations are simply what is accomplished in
the saying; being observable (Kuhn, 2008). This is also what Kuhn (2008) stresses, calling it a
co-orientation system, in which two or even more actors are part of creating the infrastructure of
an organization through dialogue and conversation. The text is also elaborating on the need to
enable and connect personal identities and biographical narratives to the organization and its
current operations. (Kuhn, 2008).

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In a perspective of organizational change in structure, the CCO approach, considering the Four
Flows approach and Kuhns idea about co-orientation systems in an organization, viewing
organizational changes happens through communication. The understanding of organizational
change also perceives communication as a process in which realities interact, negotiate and
change (Marroquin, 2011). This allows us to have a narrower focus on the aspects of structures
and dynamics inside an organization.

Organizational structure and dynamics

As stated in the introduction, we have this Sara Lee/DE corporation presented in the case. It is a
global group of branded consumer goods companies worldwide. After having merged with the
Dutch company Intradel, Sara Lee changed the structure of the new organization.
Today, it is a holding structure, where each different business unit has evolved to local markets.
It enables each unit to be able to respond locally and meet market preferences in the best possible
way. Re-structuring an organization often triggers confusion and controversy among its staff and
almost always presents a justification (Cornelissen, 2014). In this case, it involved lots of new
responsibilities among the staff, and procedures in need of being incorporated across the
organization.
Strategy-making processes in corporate communication might be affected by the interactions
between business partners, CEO and members from the executive team within an organization.
The content and communication is crucial to minimize any gap between, how the company is
currently seen, and how it wants to be seen in the future (Cornelissen, 2014).
In this case, managers and employees from the organization developed their own initiatives to
make the organizational change in structure smoother. But, the initiatives were contradicting
with each other. Furthermore, the initiatives were given to the press receiving lots of ambiguous
information about the circumstances. Rumors circulated about the structural change showing a
certain behavior from the management, whereas the board of management of Sara Lee/DE was
more likely to be criticized for not taking care of a new structural change.

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Organizational Change
When different business units/companies merge, any process of developing an overall
communication must be succeeded (Cornelissen, 2014). The merge between Sara Lee/DE and
the Dutch company is developing a process of change into one corporate culture. Kuhn (2008)
describes this as a process of an organization facing cultural boundaries, where one organization
is blend and almost replaced. A change could be intentional or unintentional (Ford, 1989). In the
case of Sara Lee, merging is an intentional change that occurs consciously by creating new
structures and communication systems. It is setting conditions that are new to the organization. It
differs from what they are now, and what they are going through in the future. The change is
produced with a strategic intent of being more competitive in the market. However, it turns out
that it produces unintentional reactions manifested by employees. Unintentional actions are
caused by an unconscious effect that involves side effects and unanticipated consequences of the
change (Ford, 1989).

To go back to McPhees Four Flows approach, organizations must distinguish between four
types of communication flows generating a social structure through interaction. These four flows
consist of Activity coordination, Self-structure, Institutional positioning and Membership
Negotiation (McPhee & Zaug, 2000). The flows of communication distinguish between social
structures through interaction. They can affect one another in a multi-way conversation involving
a re-production of it, or developing resistance to the rules and core-resources of the organization
(McPhee et al, 2000). As mentioned earlier, a lot of tension and debate occurred after the merge.
Therefore, the executive board decided to implement two formal initiatives to make sure that the
department of corporate communication could maintain its policy-making and coordinating role
in the organization. This is an example of separating and restructuring an organization from
misunderstandings. It is carried out through communication and dialogue (Cornelissen, 2014). It
concerns the control and design, and determines the relations and norms of the organizational
ideology as well as being a part of Self-structure. The executive board of Sara Lee
communicated in a formal way, which allowed them to take control and emerge into a new
collaboration with its stakeholders. To manage that, you need to build communication across
each business unit and stakeholders, lining up with the overall corporate strategy (Cornelissen,

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2014). The corporate strategy of the Sara Lee/DE company was basically translated into themes,
messages and communication principles to minimize the gap between management and the
business units. The corporate public relations department offers the frame, and professionals
within the business units each deliver a picture of it. The Chairman of the Executive Board
states in the case description.
The second initiative was brought to not only support the counsels of the executive board, but
also to influence the organization-wide communication issues. The individual business units
where now included into a professional platform. When you try to solve a communication issue,
you need to establish membership negotiation according to the Four Flows by McPhee (McPhee
& Zaug, 2000). This form of negotiation must occur to incorporate it. The department of
corporate communication was now able to give value-added power over to each business unit
developing and executing their own communication plans.
Sara Lee/DE organization could decentralize power from management to individual business
units, making it possible for them to manage their own communication. This structure from the
Four Flows: Activity coordination operates on the assumption that members are working in an
interdependent unit beyond the work tasks themselves.
Institutional positioning communication flow is also very relevant, and this way of positioning
an organization to its environment takes place on a macro-level (McPhee & Zaug, 2000).. There
is no doubt that by implementing these two formal principles, it ensures a greater coordination
and collaboration across the organization. To manage your corporate communication strategy, it
must be aligned with your general reputation. That is done to maintain your stakeholders and
establish your identity based on for instance different structures and dimensions (Cornelissen,
2014). Furthermore, it gives the organization a more solid and consistent communication
platform from profiling the corporation can be done.

Limitations and Critique

It should be noted that this analysis of organizational structures and change within the CCO-
approach Four Flows by McPhee could have provided a clearer image of organizational culture
between the two merging organizations. If the case had provided even more detailed information
and interviews of the leadership and employees from Sara Lee/DE and the Dutch Intratel.

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Furthermore, the analysis only briefly touches upon the fact that knowledge is collected to
achieve before deciding how it is gained (Schoeneborn et al, 2014). However, there are, of
course other models and ideologies inside both CCO-thinking and managing change. The
Montreal School stands out for its need to focus on action. They argue that organizations merge
in communication through text and conversation. This approach is, more or less, observable to
what is accomplished by saying or written down (Robichaud et al 2004). This paper has taken
the perspective of McPhees Four Flows (McPhee and Zaug, 2000, 2009), where it provides the
constraints of the case plus the flows. However, it should be mentioned that McPhees CCO-
approach has been criticized for not being narrow enough and to not be just as it is critical of
textual meanings (Brumanns et al, 2013).

Conclusion
This paper finds, through the CCO theory McPhees Four Flow Model that the organization, Sara
Lee/DE has tackled the current situation very well. The two formal initiatives have constituted
good conditions for the future profiling and for the organization to function with a balance of
managing communication issues and ensuring a better involvement of the staff and operating as
one single corporation. Today, Sara Lee/DE is able to communicate across different business
units, although their employees are talking to the press. Sara Lee/DE is a worldwide company,
and it is crucial for them to stay in a strong condition, both when it comes to the internal and
external environment. As quoted about the corporate public relations: professionals within
the business units deliver a picture of it.. It turns out that Sara Lee/DE has managed to
implement suitable initiatives to be implemented concerning both corporate and organizational
communication. And that is a strong advantage and picture of leadership, which involves all
levels of power in the change-process.

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References

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McPhee, R.D. & Zaug, P. (2000). The communicative constitution of organizations: A

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