COMM 325 Exam 1 || with Complete Solution.
Why is control a defining feature of organizations? correct answers -They must learn to organize
large numbers of people in specific settings
-a social organization is an ordered arrangement of individual human interactions.
-control process help circumscribe idiosyncratic behaviors and keep them conformant to the
rational plan of organization...the co-ordination and order created out of the diverse interests and
potentially diffuse behaviors of members is largely a function of control.
What types of control exist in organizations? correct answers *Direct control
-close supervision of employees
*Technological control
-controls speed of work
-both workers and customers subject to technological control
*Bureaucratic control
-Max Weber
-system of rules and formal structure
-defining feature of modern organizations
-routinizing work
-scheduling classes
*Ideological control
-identification with beliefs and values
-little direct supervision necessary
-corporate culture
*Disciplinary control
-bottom line form of control
-focus on self as a project
-finding meaning in work
,-breaking down work-life boundaries
-post-fordist organization
-employees have a sense of insecurity
-self branding
-people are now becoming free agents so to speak
What is the "pyramid of control"? correct answers *hierarchy of control
-direct, technical, bureaucratic, ideological then disciplinary
Be able to discuss each theory we have discussed so far in terms of how it addresses workplace
control correct answers ...
What are the key features of organizations? correct answers Interdependence, differentiation of
tasks and functions, goal orientation, and control.
Be able to compare and contrast the "container" (flat earth) and the "constitutive" (round earth)
perspectives of communication correct answers *container "flat earth" which is communication
within organizations
-shaped by structure of organization
-organization separately from communication
-getting right info to right people
-different people interpret the exact same message differently
-if there is miscommunication it's because there was some form of noise not because different
interpretations of message
-informational view, flat earth approach, fails to count for complexity
-important for day to day flow but need to know more
*Constitutive "round earth" which is organizations as communication
fundamental process that shapes our social reality
-constitutive view
, -the idea of organizations are never just neutral structures, they are communicative
-accumulation of communication processes are what make organizations organizations
-much better perspective
-round earth
-recognizable forms
What is theory, and how is it being framed in the context of this course? correct answers
*Perspectives on organizational communication:
*Functionalism - A discourse of representation that views the world as existing separately from
knowledge claims and human perception; the dominant discourse in the human sciences.
*Interpretivism - Sees the world as socially constructed through communication process:
communication creates reality; communication is human sense-making.
*Critical Theory - Views the world as socially constructed through communication but sees
underlying systems of power that shape it.
*Postmodernism - Rejects any single, overarching reality and sees reality as constructed in
multiple ways by multiple, competing voices. Discourse of vulnerability.
*Feminism - Sees reality as socially constructed through gender-biased communication
processes that have mostly excluded women from participation in organizations - there is a need
to empower women in order to escape oppression.
Functionalism - conception of communication correct answers External to humans, waiting to be
discovered; truth universal and generalizable
Functionalism - view of organization correct answers Goal-oriented structures independent from
member's actions
Functionalism - conception of the communication-organization relationship correct answers
Comm takes place in organizations; organization as container for communication
Interpretivism - conception of communication correct answers Intersubjectively produced by
members of a community; emerges through consensus
Why is control a defining feature of organizations? correct answers -They must learn to organize
large numbers of people in specific settings
-a social organization is an ordered arrangement of individual human interactions.
-control process help circumscribe idiosyncratic behaviors and keep them conformant to the
rational plan of organization...the co-ordination and order created out of the diverse interests and
potentially diffuse behaviors of members is largely a function of control.
What types of control exist in organizations? correct answers *Direct control
-close supervision of employees
*Technological control
-controls speed of work
-both workers and customers subject to technological control
*Bureaucratic control
-Max Weber
-system of rules and formal structure
-defining feature of modern organizations
-routinizing work
-scheduling classes
*Ideological control
-identification with beliefs and values
-little direct supervision necessary
-corporate culture
*Disciplinary control
-bottom line form of control
-focus on self as a project
-finding meaning in work
,-breaking down work-life boundaries
-post-fordist organization
-employees have a sense of insecurity
-self branding
-people are now becoming free agents so to speak
What is the "pyramid of control"? correct answers *hierarchy of control
-direct, technical, bureaucratic, ideological then disciplinary
Be able to discuss each theory we have discussed so far in terms of how it addresses workplace
control correct answers ...
What are the key features of organizations? correct answers Interdependence, differentiation of
tasks and functions, goal orientation, and control.
Be able to compare and contrast the "container" (flat earth) and the "constitutive" (round earth)
perspectives of communication correct answers *container "flat earth" which is communication
within organizations
-shaped by structure of organization
-organization separately from communication
-getting right info to right people
-different people interpret the exact same message differently
-if there is miscommunication it's because there was some form of noise not because different
interpretations of message
-informational view, flat earth approach, fails to count for complexity
-important for day to day flow but need to know more
*Constitutive "round earth" which is organizations as communication
fundamental process that shapes our social reality
-constitutive view
, -the idea of organizations are never just neutral structures, they are communicative
-accumulation of communication processes are what make organizations organizations
-much better perspective
-round earth
-recognizable forms
What is theory, and how is it being framed in the context of this course? correct answers
*Perspectives on organizational communication:
*Functionalism - A discourse of representation that views the world as existing separately from
knowledge claims and human perception; the dominant discourse in the human sciences.
*Interpretivism - Sees the world as socially constructed through communication process:
communication creates reality; communication is human sense-making.
*Critical Theory - Views the world as socially constructed through communication but sees
underlying systems of power that shape it.
*Postmodernism - Rejects any single, overarching reality and sees reality as constructed in
multiple ways by multiple, competing voices. Discourse of vulnerability.
*Feminism - Sees reality as socially constructed through gender-biased communication
processes that have mostly excluded women from participation in organizations - there is a need
to empower women in order to escape oppression.
Functionalism - conception of communication correct answers External to humans, waiting to be
discovered; truth universal and generalizable
Functionalism - view of organization correct answers Goal-oriented structures independent from
member's actions
Functionalism - conception of the communication-organization relationship correct answers
Comm takes place in organizations; organization as container for communication
Interpretivism - conception of communication correct answers Intersubjectively produced by
members of a community; emerges through consensus
