Theoretical Foundations

Communication For Business

Professionals

Foundations of Work and

Organizational Structures

Nomadic Society
Economic structures Communal
Life Span short, not sweet
Work little specialization everybody works!
Leadership tribal, religious, physical strength
Social Networks Extended family small groups
Education roles assigned by community,
learn by doing/observation
Leisure time very little

 Agricultural Revolution
(@8,000 B.C.E.)

Economic structures Barter/exchange/money

Life Span longer store food, shelter, etc
Work some specialization not everyone was a good farmer
Leadership class/land ownership/inheritance
Social Networks Family names larger
communities need for large families
Education roles assigned by status/position
Leisure time only little except for landowners,
religious classes, and high status families

 Industrial Revolution (@1750 C.E.)

Economic structures monetary systems
Life Span for some, real improvement
Work specialization blue collar child labor
Leadership accumulation of wealth
Social Networks growth of urbanization
Education limited advanced education
Leisure time more for many normal work
week time off etc

 Information Age (@1955 C.E.)

Economic structures service/info economy
Life Span dramatic increase
Work White collar service-oriented
Leadership knowledge based accumulation
Social Networks de-urbanization suburbs
Education advanced education
Leisure time DISNEYLAND!!!!!! Sports etc

Definition of Organizations

Consciously formed by people

Goal-oriented
Boundary maintaining
Meant to continue but have a life-cycle
Operates in an environment
Traits: a structure, an order or ranks,
behavior norms and rules, membership,
communication systems, a history/rituals,
operates as a system
Has internal and external communication
needs
Business? Not-For-Profits? Government?

Impact of Early Observers

of the Workplace
No theory/little education on how to
manage workers or run organizations
Adam Smith early 18th Century
father of capitalism
Karl Marx 1850s wandered Europe
what do you think he saw in the
workplace????
Child labor brutal and unsafe conditions
no health benefits no education for
workers children etc. (Les Miserables)

Impact of Early Observers

of the Workplace
Marx became a severe critic of
industrialization, capitalism,
religious institutions and
advocated revolution
Socialism/Marxist-Leninism
emerges in the 20th century as
an organizational alternative

Classical/Scientific Management
Basic Assumption - workers are motivated
by pay
Organizations viewed in mechanistic fashion
workers as cogs in the machine you turn
it on, you turn it off
Organization strives to maximize output with
minimum investment; efficiency/productivity
Standardization and planning are key

Classical/Scientific Management
Key invention of Scientific Management the
Time Clock
Language of Scientific Management - Chain
of Command, Division of Labor, Management
decides, labor enacts, Management
Prerogatives.
Frederick Winslow Taylor - 1911 -design of
work based upon time/motion studies,
produced formulas, etc. to reduce work to a
science, standardized tools and routines,
matched employee with job application of
scientific method to the workplace (was he a hero??)

 Humanistic Theories of Organizations

Human Relations Theory
The Hawthorne Studies
Chester Barnard
McGregors Theory X and Theory Y

Theory X and Theory Y: Douglas McGregor

Theory X Scientific
Management
Three Assumptions
The average human being has an inherent
dislike of work and will avoid it.
Most people must be coerced, controlled,
directed, and threatened with punishment
The average human being prefers to be
directed, wishes to avoid responsibility, has
relatively little ambition, wants security.
Most workers without H.S.

Theory Y - Human Relations

Assumptions

Physical and mental effort in work is similar to play / rest.

External control and the threat of punishment are not the only strategies
Commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with
their achievement
The average human being learns, under proper conditions, not only to
accept but to seek responsibility
The capacity to exercise a high degree of imagination, ingenuity, and
creativity in the solution of organizational problems is widely distributed
in the population better educated workforce H.S. diplomas common
Intellectual potentialities of the average human being are underutilized

A more positive perspective of human nature

The KEY to control and quality production is commitment to
organizational objectives

Principles of Human Relations

Theory
Human relations theory is characterized by a shift in
emphasis from TASK to WORKER
Go beyond physical contributions to include creative,
cognitive, and emotional aspects of workers
Based on a more dyadic (two-way) conceptualization of
communication.
SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS are at the heart of
organizational behavior--effectiveness is contingent on
the social well-being of workers (BENEFITS!!!!!)
Workers communicate opinions, complaints, suggestions,
and feelings to increase satisfaction and production
Origins (Hawthorne Studies & work of Chester Barnard)
Human Relations School of Management - Elton Mayo
(Harvard

Human Resources Theory/

Org Development
Formal vs. Informal Organization
Formal Organization - a system of consciously
coordinated activities or forces of two or more
persons. (definite, structured, common
purpose)

Persons are able to communicate with one another

Willing to contribute action
To accomplish a common purpose

 Informal Organization - based on myriad

interactions that take place throughout an
organizations history.

Indefinite
Structureless
No definite subdivisions of personnel
Results: customs, mores, folklore, institutions,
social norms, ideals -- may lead to formal
organization

 Cooperation
Necessary component of formal
organization
The expression of the net
satisfactions or dissatisfactions
experienced or anticipated by each
individual in comparison with those
experienced or anticipated through
alternative opportunities