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Organizational Communication
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Organizational Communication
A Critical Introduction

Second Edition
December 2018 | SAGE Publications, Inc
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While traditional in its coverage of the major research traditions that have developed over the past 100 years, Organizational Communication is the first textbook in the field that is written from a critical perspective while providing a comprehensive survey of theory and research in organizational communication.

Extensively updated and incorporating relevant current events, the Second Edition familiarizes students with the field of organizational communication—historically, conceptually, and practically—and challenges them to critically reflect on their common sense understandings of work and organizations, preparing them for participation in 21st-century organizational settings. Linking theory with practice, Dennis K. Mumby and new co-author Timothy R. Kuhn skillfully explore the significant role played by organizations and corporations in constructing our identities.


 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
PART I. STUDYING ORGANIZATIONS CRITICALLY
 
1. What Is Organizational Communication?
Time, Space, and the Emergence of the Modern Organization

 
Organizations as Communicative Structures of Power

 
Defining Organizational Communication

 
Communication, Organizations, and Work

 
Conclusion

 
Critical Applications

 
Key Terms

 
Student Study Site

 
 
2. Developing a Critical Approach to Organizational Communication
Understanding Theory in the Critical Analysis of Organizational Communication

 
Unpacking the Critical Approach

 
Understanding Organizational Communication From a Critical Perspective

 
Conclusion

 
Critical Applications

 
Key Terms

 
Student Study Site

 
 
PART II. STUDYING ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION HISTORICALLY
 
3. Fordism and Organizational Communication
The Fordist Organization

 
Fordism and Scientific Management

 
Fordism and Bureaucracy

 
Fordism and the Human Relations School

 
Fordism and Human Resources Management

 
Conclusion

 
Critical Applications

 
Key Terms

 
Student Study Site

 
 
4. Organizations as Communication Systems
Situating the Systems Perspective

 
The Principles of the Systems Perspective

 
The “New Science” of Systems Theory: Complexity and Chaos

 
Karl Weick: Organizing and Communicating

 
Conclusion

 
Critical Applications

 
Key Terms

 
Student Study Site

 
 
5. Communication, Culture, and Organizing
The Emergence of the Cultural Approach

 
Two Perspectives on Organizational Culture

 
Conclusion

 
Critical Applications

 
Key Terms

 
Student Study Site

 
 
PART III. CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION AND THE NEW WORKPLACE
 
6. Post-Fordism and Organizational Communication
The Fall of Fordism and the Rise of Post-Fordism

 
Neoliberalism as an Economic System

 
Neoliberalism as a Hegemonic Discourse

 
The Post-Fordist Workplace: A New Organizational Model

 
Conclusion

 
Critical Applications

 
Key Terms

 
Student Study Site

 
 
7. Power and Resistance at Work
The Community Power Debate

 
Power, Ideology, and Organizational Communication

 
Resisting Workplace Control

 
Biopower and Organizational Communication

 
Conclusion

 
Critical Applications

 
Key Terms

 
Student Study Site

 
 
8. Communicating Gender at Work
Feminist Perspectives on Organizational Communication

 
Masculinity and Organizational Communication

 
Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

 
Conclusion

 
Critical Applications

 
Key Terms

 
Student Study Site

 
 
9. Communicating Difference at Work
Defining Difference at Work

 
Race and Organizational Communication

 
Sexuality and Organizational Communication

 
Conclusion

 
Critical Applications

 
Key Terms

 
Student Study Site

 
 
10. Branding, Work, and Consumption
Branding and Capitalism in the 20th Century

 
The Evolution of Branding: Three Models

 
Work, Branding, and the Entrepreneurial Self

 
The Ethics of Branding

 
Conclusion

 
Critical Applications

 
Key Terms

 
Student Study Site

 
 
11. Leadership Communication in the New Workplace
Traditional Perspectives on Leadership

 
New Approaches to Leadership

 
A Critical Communication Perspective on Leadership

 
Conclusion

 
Critical Applications

 
Key Terms

 
Student Study Site

 
 
12. Information and Communication Technologies in/at Work
Understanding Technology

 
New Technologies, New Challenges

 
Conclusion

 
Critical Applications

 
Key Terms

 
Student Study Site

 
 
13. Organizational Communication, Globalization, and Corporate Social Responsibility
Defining Globalization

 
Spheres of Globalization

 
Organizing Against Globalization

 
Globalization and Corporate Social Responsibility

 
Conclusion

 
Critical Applications

 
Key Terms

 
Student Study Site

 
 
14. Communication, Meaningful Work, and Personal Identity
Meaningful Work

 
Managing Work Identity: Some Historical Context

 
Creating and Managing Work Identities

 
No Collar, No Life

 
Conclusion

 
Critical Applications

 
Key Terms

 
Student Study Site

 
 
Glossary
 
References
 
Index
 
About the Authors

Supplements

Instructor Resource Site

Password-protected Instructor Resources include the following:

    • A Microsoft® Word® test bank is available containing multiple choice, true/false, short answer, and essay questions for each chapter. The test bank provides you with a diverse range of pre-written options as well as the opportunity for editing any question and/or inserting your own personalized questions to effectively assess students’ progress and understanding.
    • Editable, chapter-specific Microsoft® PowerPoint® slides offer you complete flexibility in easily creating a multimedia presentation for your course.
    • Lecture notes summarize key concepts on a chapter-by-chapter basis to help with preparation for lectures and class discussions.
    • Sample course syllabi for semester and quarter courses provide suggested models for use when creating the syllabi for your courses.
Key features
NEW TO THIS EDITION:
  • A new chapter on “Information and Communication Technologies in/at Work” (Chapter 12) introduces new developments such as platform capitalism and algorithmic management, explores mobile communication and the extension of the workplace, includes extensive discussion of issues related to knowledge management, and provides students with the opportunity to engage in a critical assessment of how communication technologies will impact their work lives.
  • The historical portion of the text has been restructured into a single new chapter titled “Fordism and Organizational Communication” (Chapter 3) and, while applying a critical communication stance, offers a comprehensive critical review of early theories of management, including scientific management, bureaucracy, human relations theory, and human resource management.
  • A new chapter on “Post-Fordism and Organizational Communication” (Chapter 6) provides students with an overview of issues associated with the new workplace, including discussions of the rise of the “gig” economy, neoliberal capitalism, the enterprise self, and immaterial labor.
  • “Branding, Work, and Consumption” (Chapter 10) has been significantly revised to reflect new developments in organizational communication, encouraging students to both critically engage with branding and be able to critically reflect on what it means to “brand” oneself.?
  • Each chapter has been updated to reflect new research developments, providing students with the most up-to-date developments in the field.
  • Current events have been strategically placed throughout the book to allow for timely consideration and discussions and include workplace sexual harassment, the #MeToo movement, race and organizations, and the rise of personal branding.
  • Each chapter includes a “Critical Research” box which highlights a snippet of cutting-edge research discussed in the chapter, allowing students the opportunity to closely engage with original research and making scholarly research accessible.

 

KEY FEATURES:

  • A thematic critical perspective on organizational communication provides a fresh lens to examine traditional theory and research focusing on connections among communication, power, and control.
  • Critical Case Studies in each chapter provide practical applications of theoretical perspectives, demonstrating how theories can be critically applied to everyday organizational life.
  • "Critical Technologies" boxes in each chapter offer students a critical lens for exploring how communication technologies impact organizational life.