Final Report of Organizational Communication

Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: ......................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION TO REPORT ..............................................................................................................2

PURPOSE OF REPORT: .......................................................................................................................2
REPORT OBJECTIVES: .......................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................2
 INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER .....................................................................................................2
ASPECTS OF CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF ORGANIZATIONS ................................................2
1. COMMUNICATION IN GLOBAL WORKPLACE ..............................................................................2
2. COMMUNICATION IN ERA OF SHIFTING IDENTITY ......................................................................2
3. COMMUNICATION IN A SERVICE ECONOMY ...............................................................................2
4. COMMUNICATION IN THE AGE OF DISPOSABLE WORKERS .........................................................2

1. COMMUNICATION IN THE GLOBAL WORKPLACE ............................................................3

GLOBALIZATION; ..............................................................................................................................3
TYPES OF ORGANIZATION IN GLOBAL MARKET PLACE .....................................................................4
IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION .............................................................................................................4
WAYS OF GLOBALIZATION INFLUENCES OC: ....................................................................................4
EFFECTS OF GLOBALIZATION............................................................................................................5
PATTERNS OF GLOBALIZATION PROCESS; .....................................................................................................5
CONVERGENCE .................................................................................................................................5
DIVERGENCE .....................................................................................................................................6

2. COMMUNICATION IN THE ERA OF SHIFTING IDENTITY ..................................................6

MCDONALDIZATION; .........................................................................................................................6

3. COMMUNICATION IN THE ERA OF SERVICE ECONOMY ..................................................7

4. COMMUNICATION IN THE ERA OF DISPOSABLE WORKERS...............................................................7

CONTINGENT WORKERS; ...................................................................................................................8

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The main purpose to write this report is to understand the changing landscape of organizations.
How organizations are changing their environment and how they are adapting changes and how
they react towards diversity and how they survive in global workforce.
The landscape of the work has shifted in the last few years, and it continues to change. First
aspect is globalization which changes organizations. Organizations became globalized and attract
more customers and diverse employees and hence it increase productivity of the organization.
Globalization has an impact on the economy due to increase in technology and the generation
difference can clearly influence relationships in the workplace, and the prevailing perception of
younger workers, can be seen as a disturbing trend for both employers and for workers.
Third, the economy is increasingly dominated by organizations that provide services rather than
products. Finally, workers in today’s economy increasingly hold temporary and contingent
positions that make them more “disposable” and that change the basic relationship between
workers and organizations. People still enter and leave organizations, make decisions, manage
conflict, deal with change, balance emotional and rational needs, and organize in the midst of
diversity and technological change. But knowing about the changes in our organizational
landscape helps to highlight areas of increasing importance in the workplace, such as managing
diversity in a multicultural organization or understanding the comings and goings of temporary
workers. And knowing about the changing nature of organizations provides a new lens for the
consideration of organizational communication processes.
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Introduction to Report
This report is conducted for the final project of Organizational Communication. This report is to
analyze the changing landscape of organizations and the aspect of changing landscape of
organizations and communication in the Era of changing Identity, communication in the Era of
Globalization and Disposable Workers and communication in the Service Economy

Purpose of Report:
The reasons behind this report are to know the Changing Landscape of Organizations and
communication in the organization in different era.

Report Objectives:
Following are our objectives regarding this report work:
• To know the Changing Landscape of organizations.
• To know organizational communication styles in different Eras
• To know the technological effect on organization
• To know about globalization and McDonaldization

Introduction
 Introduction to Chapter
Organizational landscape helps to highlight areas of increasing importance in the workplace,
such as managing diversity in a multicultural organization or understanding the comings and
goings of temporary workers. And knowing about the changing nature of organizations provides
a new lens for the consideration of organizational communication processes.

ASPECTS OF CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF ORGANIZATIONS

There are different aspects of the Changing Landscape of Organizations which are as follows:

1. Communication in Global Workplace

2. Communication in Era of Shifting Identity
3. Communication in a Service Economy
4. Communication in the Age of Disposable Workers
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1. Communication in the Global Workplace

The rapidly developing process of complex interconnections between societies, cultures
organizations, institutions and individuals worldwide is called Communication in the Global
workplace. As political changes have broken down many boundaries that’s why many countries
changes their business practices to compete in global market. Due to modernization many
organizations are able to compete in the global workplace and meet new challenges. The most
obvious example is China, which in 2010 passed Japan to become the world’s second-largest
economy (with the United States being first). Many of the organizations have open branches and
manufacturing plants in worldwide.
Communication is defined as a two way process of exchanging information through a medium
i.e through telephone, internet, face to face, verbal and non-verbal.

Globalization;
It is defined as the spread of products, technology, information, and jobs across national borders
and cultures. In economic terms, it describes an interdependence of nations around the globe
fostered through free trade. As a result of these changes, we have moved from a landscape in
which companies are largely associated with one country to a landscape where there is a mix of
domestic organizations (single country with a predominant culture), multicultural organizations
(diverse workforce. multinational organizations( many nations), international
organizations(across national borders), and global organizations(global system rather than any
particular nation).
It affects the communication system and also the organizations in different ways. With increase
in globalization the technology is also increasing and the competition among organizations is
also increasing. Foremost among these are the ease of travel and the advent of advanced
communication technologies. Through low-cost air travel, it is possible for companies to employ
many “road warriors” to span the globe. And through technologies such as the Internet, Skype,
facsimile, and videoconferencing, it is possible to conduct business across great distances.
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Types of organization in Global Market Place

Impact of Globalization
 Increased trade
 Greater competitors
 Increased capital and labor mobility
 Greater opportunities

Ways of Globalization influences OC:

There are several ways in which globalization influence organizational communication;
 Globalization results in time and space compression, changing the perception and
communication styles. In the global workplace, everything moves quickly: You can be in
Tokyo one day and Cleveland the next, and it’s always the beginning of the workday
somewhere around the globe.
 It enhances our sense of global consciousness. When we work in an organization that is
global, multinational, or multicultural, we must be aware of the cultures of others and of
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our own attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Kim (2008) has referred to this as a process of
developing “intercultural personhood” that includes both patterns of individuation and
universalization.
 It leads to flexible organizations and people. In a global society, behavior and interaction
are often lifted from their local context and restructured across time and space. While
working in a cybercafé, for example, it might be difficult to know if one is in Seattle,
Moscow, or Kuwait.

Effects of Globalization
 First, Globalization results in time and changing communication patterns and perceptions
 Second, globalization enhances our sense of global consciousness when we work in an
organization that is global, multinational, or multicultural, we must be aware of the cultures of
others and of our own attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.
 Because of globalization the economies of the world are being increasingly integrated, example
mobile phones and internet have brought people closer.
 Work can be outsourced to any part of the world that has an internet connection because of
improvements in traffic infrastructure one is able to reach one’s destination in a short time.
 Rapid technology developments make global communications possible, political developments
and trade among different organization across nations
 Allow greater customer harmonization as a result of the increase in shared cultural values, and
provide a superior competitive position with lower operating costs in other countries and access
to new raw materials, resources, and investment opportunities.
 Economic globalization has substantially changed how we live and how organizations do
business

Patterns of Globalization Process;

There are some patterns which people considers in globalization process and outcome of
globalization, these are proposed by Stohl (2001) and are as follows;
Convergence
The first is Convergence (making us more alike in our search for workplace efficiency) is an
approach that emphasizes the need of organizations to adapt their practices to a global
marketplace. A convergence approach considers how an organization might adapt its practices to
“a global system that requires flexibility, responsiveness, speed, knowledge production, and
knowledge dissemination” In this approach, communication is seen as “a channel for the
acquisition of resources, capital, information, and expertise.
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Divergence
In contrast, the Divergence approach (making us appreciate our cultural difference) to the
globalizing workplace emphasizes the cultural uniqueness found around the world. The
divergence perspective is less interested in exploring strategies for organizational success than in
exploring how meaning is constructed in various cultural settings and the impact of
organizational norms and functioning on that construction of meaning.

2. Communication in the Era of Shifting Identity

Organizations try to be proactive in developing and communicating in the Era of Shifting
Identity. Organization tries to impose themselves on their environments rather than adapt to
them. They seek to create and maintain positive images in order to achieve long-term goals by
adapting different and new technology.

As our economy becomes more global, the names of some corporations have become known
worldwide. Some critics have talked about the “McDonaldization” of the world. The worldwide
spread of these corporate monikers suggests the increasing importance of organizational
identity—knowing an organization, what it sells, and where it stands on relevant issues of the
day with widespread mergers and acquisitions, there is the shifting landscape of “who belongs to
whom.”

Mcdonaldization;
It refers to a concept by American Sociologist George Ritzer which refers to the particular kind
of rationalization of production, work, consumption that rise in the late 20th century The basic
idea is that these elements have been adapted based on the characteristics of a fast food
restaurant (efficiency, calculability, predictability and standardization and control) and this
adaption has impact on the society.

Organizations often try to be proactive in developing and communicating an organizational

identity. Heath (1994) has noted that companies try to impose themselves on their environments,
rather than merely adapt to them. They attempt to shape their environment by their presence in it,
by what they do and say”. Organizations seek to create and maintain positive images in order to
achieve long-term goals.

Examples of organizational image creation and maintenance abound and illustrate the various
communication avenues through which this process occurs. In the late 1970s, Mobil Oil
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enhanced its image through an advertising campaign that advocated positions on a wide range of
public issues.

For example, a pharmaceutical company may attempt to enhance its image in a number of ways:
by providing free AIDS drugs in sub-Saharan Africa, by distributing prescription discount cards
for senior citizens who rely on Medicaid, or by promoting concern for the long-term health of
Americans. It is then hoped that this positive image will engender public support that could
eventually be parlayed into favorable policy decisions at various levels of government

3. Communication in the Era of Service Economy

A third aspect of the changing landscape for organizational communication is communication
Service Economy. It involves the type of business we conduct in today’s organizational world.
The economy can impact organizations in both positive and negative ways and both can be
stressful. Indeed, it is hard to deny the importance of service in our daily lives as employees,
students, customers, and clients in a wide range of organizational settings. Even a trip to the
grocery store involves a service encounter that has implications both for the grocer’s profits and
for your mood for the rest of the day.

It involves the type of business we conduct in today’s organizational world. In the time of
Industrial revolution most organization thinks that creation of things as their primary goal.
Example the U.s economy was totally based on manufacturing. At the end of World War II, only
10% of nonfarm jobs were in the service sector (“The American Workplace,” 2010), but the U.S.
economy then underwent a radical shift, and today, it can largely be characterized as a service
economy. For example, in 2006, 67.8% of the U.S. gross domestic product could be accounted
for by services produced by private industry, especially in the areas of banking, insurance,
investment, wholesale and retail sales, transportation, and health care. The shift to a service
economy has also fueled rapid growth in global economies, such as in India.

4. Communication in the Era of Disposable Workers

A final factor to consider in the changing landscape of the workplace involves the roles that
individuals play in the new global economy that is communication in the Era of Disposable
workers. In the past, many people stayed with one or perhaps two organizations throughout their
working lives. A disposable worker is a temporary or flexibly assigned employee. Some labor
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economists call them disposable or throwaway workers. With increased technology, weakened
labor unions, and an extremely competitive organizational environment had contributed to what
Robert Reich called “the end of employment as we knew it” (Reich, 2000) and what Conrad and
Poole (1997) labeled “the age of the disposable workers.

Today’s workforce is comprised to an ever-increasing degree of contingent workers—individuals

without a permanent and full-time connection to an organization. They are flexible and easily
removed from organizations whenever needed.

Contingent workers;
Tyler (2008) defines contingent workers as “workers with jobs structured to be short-term or
temporary, including workers from temporary employment agencies, on-call workers,
independent contractors and seasonal workers.”

Workers in today’s economy increasingly hold temporary and contingent positions that make
them more “disposable” and that change the basic relationship between workers and
organizations.

Recent research found that contingent workers are at higher risk for work-related injury, illness,
and death (Cummings & Kreiss, 2008). There are also social and psychological effects, as a
disposable workforce feels less connection to the organization and vice versa. For business
owners, the advantages of a contingent workforce are mostly financial. They do not have to
collect and pay taxes from the workers’ pay cheques. They don’t have to offer health benefits,
provide paid sick days and vacation days or pay for overtime. This not only saves them
significant money associated with recruiting and hiring permanent employees, but it also allows
them to save on administrative costs associated with payroll and human resources, too.