Why is control a defining feature of organizations? correct answers Organizational control:
dynamic communication process through which organizational stakeholders struggle to
maximize their stake in an organization
organizations as communicative structures of control
how can we exercise control over employees to get them to function in a coordinated manner?
What types of control exist in organizations? correct answers DISCIPLINARY-shift from
hierarchical to decentralized and self-discipline
IDEOLOGICAL-the development of a system of values and beliefs with which employees are
expected to identify strongly. Ex. Corporate culture movement in '80s. Can be oppressive to
some organization members as it asks the self to invest their identity in the company.
BUREAUCRATIC-advancements based on merit, central/defining feature of Western democratic
societies, enables organization members to advance based on merit rather than connections,
exists as a form of rules, formal structures, and roles that both enable and constrain activities of
organization members.
TECHNOLOGICAL: controls both kind of work and speed
panopticon
Ford's moving production line
DIRECT: monitor behavior through superior-subordinate relations, most coercive
What is the "pyramid of control"? correct answers DIBTD(direct at foundation/bottom)
Be able to discuss each theory we have discussed so far in terms of how it addresses workplace
control correct answers Meta-theoretical Discourses:
functionalism (dominant paradigm)-makes things more efficient
interpretivism- human meaning, identity (culture theory)
critical theory-power (class orientation) and control
postmodernism-nature of work shifted
, feminism-gender and power
Critical Perspective:
view of organizations as political systems with multiple stakeholders (who have multiple goals
and interests)
explore relation between organizations and democracy
What are the key features of organizations? correct answers interdependence (no member can
function without affecting others)
differentiation of tasks/functions (division of labor)
goal orientation (common purpose)
control mechanics
communication processes
Be able to compare and contrast the "container" (flat earth) and the "constitutive" (round earth)
perspectives of communication; be able to provide examples of organizational communication
from each perspective correct answers Flat-Earth: communication within organizations
organization is separate from communication
communication problems are technical issues
does not capture complexity of communication-organization process
informative view of communication, about communication as information transmission-
communication as process of distortion
shaped by the structure of organization
Round-Earth/constitutive: organizations as communication/communication shapes reality
("everything communicates")
questions the idea of organization
allows us to examine complex realities of organizational life
communication as explanatory framework
communication between people forms complex systems
takes interpretive processes into account