COM4807 ORGANISATIONAL
COMMUNICATION THEORY ASSIGNMENT 02
2026 FINAL REVIEW QUESTIONS ANSWERS
BUNDLED PRACTICE COLLECTION
◉ What do classical theories view communication as?
Answer: A pipe carrying managerial instructions.
◉ What do interpretive and critical theories argue about
communication?
Answer: Communication constitutes the organisation, creating
identity, culture, hierarchy, and meaning.
◉ What is the central tension in organisational communication?
Answer: Communication as conduit vs. communication as
constitutive.
◉ What characterizes the classical era of organisational
communication?
Answer: Communication is top-down control, treating workers as
rational economic actors.
,◉ What did the Human Relations era emphasize?
Answer: The importance of social motivation and two-way
communication.
◉ What is the significance of the Hawthorne Studies?
Answer: They revealed that social factors outweigh financial
incentives in worker motivation.
◉ What does Systems Theory propose about organisations?
Answer: Organisations are open, adaptive systems that exchange
energy and information with their environments.
◉ What is the Cultural/Interpretive turn in organisational
communication?
Answer: It views organisations as webs of meaning created and
sustained through communication.
◉ What does Giddens's structuration theory suggest?
Answer: It bridges macro and micro perspectives, showing that
communication and structure are inseparable.
◉ Who are the key scholars associated with Bureaucratic Theory?
Answer: Max Weber, Frederick Taylor, and Henri Fayol.
, ◉ What is Weber's definition of bureaucracy?
Answer: The most rationally efficient form of authority,
characterized by rule-governed, hierarchical, specialized, and
impersonal structures.
◉ What are Weber's three types of authority?
Answer: Traditional, charismatic, and rational-legal authority.
◉ What is the core claim of Bureaucratic Theory?
Answer: Organisations are rational instruments designed to achieve
goals efficiently.
◉ What does Taylor's Scientific Management emphasize?
Answer: Finding the most efficient method for each task and
aligning worker motivation with productivity goals.
◉ What are Fayol's 14 Principles of Management?
Answer: Guidelines for effective management, including unity of
command and scalar chain.
◉ What are some strengths of Bureaucratic Theory?
Answer: Predictability, consistency, accountability, and meritocracy.
COMMUNICATION THEORY ASSIGNMENT 02
2026 FINAL REVIEW QUESTIONS ANSWERS
BUNDLED PRACTICE COLLECTION
◉ What do classical theories view communication as?
Answer: A pipe carrying managerial instructions.
◉ What do interpretive and critical theories argue about
communication?
Answer: Communication constitutes the organisation, creating
identity, culture, hierarchy, and meaning.
◉ What is the central tension in organisational communication?
Answer: Communication as conduit vs. communication as
constitutive.
◉ What characterizes the classical era of organisational
communication?
Answer: Communication is top-down control, treating workers as
rational economic actors.
,◉ What did the Human Relations era emphasize?
Answer: The importance of social motivation and two-way
communication.
◉ What is the significance of the Hawthorne Studies?
Answer: They revealed that social factors outweigh financial
incentives in worker motivation.
◉ What does Systems Theory propose about organisations?
Answer: Organisations are open, adaptive systems that exchange
energy and information with their environments.
◉ What is the Cultural/Interpretive turn in organisational
communication?
Answer: It views organisations as webs of meaning created and
sustained through communication.
◉ What does Giddens's structuration theory suggest?
Answer: It bridges macro and micro perspectives, showing that
communication and structure are inseparable.
◉ Who are the key scholars associated with Bureaucratic Theory?
Answer: Max Weber, Frederick Taylor, and Henri Fayol.
, ◉ What is Weber's definition of bureaucracy?
Answer: The most rationally efficient form of authority,
characterized by rule-governed, hierarchical, specialized, and
impersonal structures.
◉ What are Weber's three types of authority?
Answer: Traditional, charismatic, and rational-legal authority.
◉ What is the core claim of Bureaucratic Theory?
Answer: Organisations are rational instruments designed to achieve
goals efficiently.
◉ What does Taylor's Scientific Management emphasize?
Answer: Finding the most efficient method for each task and
aligning worker motivation with productivity goals.
◉ What are Fayol's 14 Principles of Management?
Answer: Guidelines for effective management, including unity of
command and scalar chain.
◉ What are some strengths of Bureaucratic Theory?
Answer: Predictability, consistency, accountability, and meritocracy.
