Harvard University Organizational Problem Communication Conflict Paper ALL POWERPOINTS AND EVERYTHING WILL BE INCLUDED! Directions: In this short essay,

Harvard University Organizational Problem Communication Conflict Paper ALL POWERPOINTS AND EVERYTHING WILL BE INCLUDED!

Directions: In this short essay, you will practice applying some of the interpersonal communication competence you now have in the service of others. Specifically, you will build on your newly-acquired knowledge base to identify, assess, and address a problem you’ve identified in an organization of your choice.

Identify and describe what you believe to be a problem that you’ve observed in an organization to which you belong or have, in the past, belonged. The problem may be large and pervasive (e.g. loneliness in college, sexual harassment in sports, cyberbullying in the high school context, racism in organizations), or it may be very specific to that group or setting (e.g. employee morale at a particular workplace, a conflict between parties in a community or organization). Either way, set up the context and offer a brief outline of the problem (1 paragraph).
Next, use work from this class (readings, lectures, etc) to explain what communication dynamics/processes are at play in this problem. In this section you are diagnosing this problem from a communication angle. Consider: what unique insight/skills might a communication scholar (like yourself!) offer to the situation that someone without this perspective might miss? Draw one of the following course theories to ground your claims: CCO, structuration theory, or organizational socialization theory. (2 paragraphs).
Finally, using at least 3 course concepts, propose a set of strategies that will help address or resolve the challenge. Be sure to explain your rationale and to be clear about its connection to the course theory you used in section 2. There are no steadfast rules for how to devise a plan to address challenges—being a competent communicator means that you are able to assess a context and apply or adapt communication tools and skills to fit the dynamic situation. Feel free to draw on material from before the midterm, but situate it in an organizational context. (~3-4 paragraphs).

A few tips

Feel free to use headers/section breaks such as Organizational Problem, Structuration Theory, A Path Forward etc.
Avoid the simplistic, transmission approach to communication. This approach is apparent in phrases like “communication breakdown” and “we have to communicate better” where you never explain what you mean by “communication.” Watch the CCO video from Week 4 if you have questions.
Remember that this is a communication course: I’m looking to see if you’ve learned communication theory and can apply it to real-life situations. Don’t cite or look for anything beyond this course: stay focused on just the task at hand.

Maximum word count: 1200 words, verbosity is not a virtue.

Rubric

Articulates a clear example of a problem in an organization, links it to communication theory, and offers well-developed, detailed strategies to address it

/4

Clearly demonstrates understanding of course concepts chosen

/10

Provides unique insight/goes beyond surface explanations to analysis

/4

Submits a clean paper that covers all requirements (grammar, word count, etc.)

/2 Week 4: Tuesday
Power and Control in Organizations: A Discussion
Pre/Post Class Discussion
?
List some organizations you’re a part of: how do you know when you are “part” of
an organization?
?
What is an “organization”? Who decides when a group is an organization?
?
What did you think of the webinar?
Overview
?
?
?
?
?
Open Q&A: questions about CCO, the midterm, etc.
Example of discursive closure
Breakout Group #1: What is CCO, what is UNC?
Breakout Group #2: Where are power and control in the comm at UNC?
Breakout Group #3: Webinar Group Quiz/Discussion (20 minutes)
?
?
3-questions for discussion
Your record-keeping of the discussion = your quiz submission
Breakout Group #1
CCO: Communication as Constitutive of Organization
?
?
What distinguishes UNC from other schools to you? What makes UNC what
UNC is?
What language is used to talk about UNC that gives you that impression?
Case study (if time allows):
https://www.theroot.com/costco-bans-employees-from-wearing-masks-that-say-black-1844354715?utm_campaign=The+Root&utm_co
ntent=1594573105&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3h7L4PVFGcW1FGmyTMPzbXQv6Mmh_S8R
r6BqsBlGLFN7ZBI40QgGtN4_Y
Breakout Group #2: Power and Control
?
Consider: “all aspects of an organization–even the material parts of it–enter into
a larger ‘text’. And that text is full of implications of power: possibilities and
actualities of in?uence” (Power and Control, p. 265)
?
Where do you see power and control operating at UNC? Consider the sources of
power listed in the readings for Monday:
?
?
?
?
?
Land
Capital
Rhetoric/Metaphor
Information
“Legitimate” Knowledge
Breakout Group #3
?
?
3 Questions, 1 Record of who says what (submit on Sakai: 1 doc, all names on it).
No need to come to a consensus: grades will be awarded based on depth of
thought, engagement etc., not a “right” answer
?
?
?
Quotes from the webinar (attributed to the speaker) encouraged
Disagreement or di?erent perspectives encouraged but not required
Reminder: be respectful. Use phrases like “My experience has been” and acknowledge your
situatedness “As a white student…” or “as a ?rst-generation college student” when comfortable
1. What is anti-black racism in the UNC context?
2. What anti-racist strategies and challenges to white privilege seem productive?
3. What structural changes would you like UNC to make to become an anti-racist org?
Looking Ahead
?
?
?
Quiz now!
Tomorrow: Socialization + Structuration Theory (used for the TV analysis blog)
THANK YOU to those of you who did the midterm evaluation
Week 5: Monday
Expectancy Violation/Rules
Con?ict (Management)
Weekly Overview
?
Monday:
?
?
?
?
Tuesday: Con?ict and Rules in Organizations (try to draw on structuration
theory)
Wednesday:
?
?
Expectancy violations (reading from last Thursday)
Con?ict Management
Leadership
Thursday: Review! Midterm will be released
Class Announcements
?
?
Week 4 Friday Assignments (grades back next week)
Course Evaluations: 80% completion = 2 points for everyone
Expectancy Violations
Expectancy Violations Theory
?
People generally follow social norms/patterns. Behavior is predictable
(‘expectancy’)
?
When people violate expectations (violations), we:
1. Notice the person who violated expectations
2. Make a snap judgment about their actions/them as a person
a.
[connected terms: tokenism, totalizing]
EVT is about what happens when we act di?erently than others predict we will act.
Expectancy Violations Theory
?
Expectancy violations make us stand out
?
Positively valenced EVs: good violations = we will be evaluated positively
?
Negatively valenced EVs: bad violations = we will be evaluated negatively
?
Ambiguously valenced EVs evaluated according to “reward valence” of the
communicator
?
Reward Valence:
?
?
?
The total positive and negative attributes of a person plus their future power to
punish or reward
In other words: do we like them? How rewarding are they do be around?
Soft power and o?cial power at play here
EVT: with Billy Porter
https://www.facebook.com/pinknews/videos/542902779578909/UzpfSTExNjA0MzAyMTc6MTAyMTc4MTY0MTE5Nzk1NzI/
Consider the following:
?
?
?
?
Pick an organization you have experience in
Name a social norm and how it might be violated
Give an example of how that violation might be considered positive, negative, or
ambiguous
Try to locate the power: who has it; who doesn’t
EVT and Socialization/Individualization
?
?
Socialization: the organization changes you to suit its needs
Individualization: you change the organization to suit your needs
What does reward valence and expectancy violations theory teach you about the
organizational socialization process?
?
?
What counts as a violation is determined by the org members over time (social
construction–universe maintenance)
People with more power can individualize the org more than people without that
power; people who violate norms will have less power, less capacity to change
Con?ict!! (Management)
What is Con?ict?
An expressed struggle between at least two interdependent parties who perceive
incompatible goals, scarce resources, and [or] interference from the other party in
achieving their goals” (p. 351)
People tend to have a central strategy for managing con?ict:
Con?ict Styles Survey
Answer Key! Highest score = go-to strategy
5 Con?ict Styles
Avoidance
Avoidance
Ignoring con?ict
Goal: to delay con?ict
Use when:
?
?
?
the issue is small
The relationship is not important
Speaking up is risky
Pros: gives you extra time; temporarily keeps the peace
Cons: issue is not resolved, resentment can build, can communicate that relationship
doesn’t matter
Competition
?
?
?
Trying to get your way
Goal: to win
Use when:
?
?
?
The goal is more important than relationship
Pros: quick decisions, fosters creativity
Cons: harms relationships, creates binaries
Accommodation
?
?
?
Neglecting own concern to satisfy another
Goal: end con?ict quickly, keep the other person happy
Use when:
?
?
?
?
Issue matters more to other person
Harmony is more important than goal
Pros: enhances relationship (if act of kindness), keep the peace, resolve con?ict
quickly
Cons: pseudo-solution, breeds resentment, creates a lack of power
Compromise
?
?
?
Find the middle ground
Goal: make both parties somewhat happy
Use when:
?
?
?
?
want a quick, fair solutions
You need to be able to work together (but not necessarily have relationship)
Pros: temporary resolution, appears fair
Cons: doesn’t resolve root issue, you both lose something
Collaboration
?
?
?
Working together to meet everyone’s needs
Goal: solve con?ict, keep everyone happy
Use when
?
?
?
Have time and energy to get to the deeper root
Pros: all parties satis?ed, best for long-term committed relationships
Cons: takes time, creativity, and energy
Understanding Con?ict
Identity and
relational goals
are often the
real drivers of
con?ict
Con?ict Management Tip: Co-Narration
1. Consider relational and identity goals:
a.
b.
Relational: who are we to each other (boundary issues here!)? How do we want to be treated? What
do we want from each other? What is at stake for us (not “me”)?
Identity: who am I in this con?ict? What is this con?ict doing to my identity? Is my identity feeling
threatened?
2. (IF a healthy, committed relationship between equals) Invite the other person
into your experience
a.
b.
c.
d.
Remember to use I-language and speci?city
“I feel bored when you talk about horses” or “When you didn’t text me back, I felt really
alone/ignored”
Vulnerable space: allow other person to meet you with their experiences
Find out what that new story looks like (consider maintaining rather than solving con?ict)
Looking Ahead
?
Know your con?ict management style before tomorrow’s class!
Week 5 Wednesday
Leadership: Micro-level and Macro-level Perspectives
Announcements
?
Course evaluations, course evaluations, course evaluations
?
?
Currently at 73% (which is bananas)
2 points if you get 80%; 3 points if you get 100%
Macro-Level Considerations of Leadership
Macro-Level Conceptions of Power/Leadership/Control
Views on how power works, not necessarily on how it should work
?
?
?
Dominance View of Leadership/Power
Empowerment View of Leadership/Power
Synergic View of Leadership/Power
Dominance View*
Power concentrated in the hands of the few
?
?
?
?
?
Power is a ?nite resource
Power exists as an advantage bc it allows someone to control people, ideas, or
resources
Perspective encourages us to increase power
Encourages hierarchy
Sees power struggles as natural
* most common
Empowerment View*
Let’s share power!
?
?
Rooted in the dominance view (power is a resource), but seeks to share power
Power is still seen as a means to accomplish our goals
?
?
?
But it’s our goals now (not “mine”)
Perspective still views power as ?nite, but has a compassionate view. We are all
better when we share that resource equally
BUT perspective still rooted in unequal relations because powerless are always
dependent on the power giving away their power
*possibly best for activism
Synergy View*
Power is (inherent in) relationship between people; never owned, always present
?
?
?
?
?
We are all complicit in the creation and maintenance of power
Power is a process, rather than a commodity
Power is always present
Power is neither ‘good’ or ‘bad’
We can accomplish more together than separately
*Allows for most complex thinking…but hardest to conceptualize
Leadership & Power
What does it mean to be a good leader? How is leadership “coded” or communicated?
In other words, what actions might prompt you to say “Wow, that person has
leadership abilities”?
?
?
?
Read through all of your classmates forum posts (it doesn’t take that long!)
Write down the most common words or themes: what are the common themes?
Identify dominant, empowerment or synergy if you can
Your Views on Power
?
?
?
Empowerment: “Help people achieve goals”
Dominance: Charisma, tough decisions, “Do what’s right, even if people don’t see
it or like it”
Synergy: “Set a good example” or “lead by example” “create a positive
environment”
CCO: Constructing Leadership
Frankly, that’s not the most interesting thing about what you all said! What common
themes did you notice? What does that tell you about the ways we’ve communicatively
constructed what it means to be a good leader?
?
?
?
?
Goal-oriented
Open-minded, ?exible, seeing things from lots of perspectives
Humble, compassionate, can take criticism, doesn’t have to be the smartest,
example-setter
Tough, not everyone likes you, pressure
Pro-tip: take some key words and add them to your next cover letter . . . !
Raven’s Bases: Micro-Conception of
Leadership
Raven’s Bases of Power – micro-level perspective*
“Social power was de?ned as the potential for such in?uence, the ability of the agent or power
?gure to bring about such change, using resources available to him or her. These resources are
represented in six bases of power: Informational, Reward, Coercion, Legitimate, Expertise, and
Referent.” (Raven, p. 1)
*Context is key!
Raven’s Bases of Power – micro-level perspective*
1.
Expert Power: power based on a person’s knowledge or experience
2.
Legitimate power: power based on institution or social structure granting one person the
right to control another
3.
Informational power (persuasion): power based on ability to change someone’s mind using
information or logic
a. Direct vs. indirect (hints and suggestions)
b. “Can persuade me to believe things I didn’t believe before I started talking to them” _
Raleigh Clark
Raven’s Bases of Power
4. Referent power: power based on our sense of identi?cation with another
a.
b.
Positive (liking someone) vs. negative (disliking someone)
Any exes that had a weird amount of power over you?
5. Coercive power: based on someone’s ability to punish others
6. Reward power: based on someone’s ability to reward others; given them something they desire
or provide bene?ts
Identify Who Has POWER Over You
Expert:
Legitimate:
Informational
Referent:
Coercive
Reward:
Suggestion: read through the Q&A in Raven’s piece! Lots of personal stories!
Looking Ahead
?
?
Course Evaluations: keep ‘em coming
Final Exam time: I’ll send out an email
Day 3: Language and the Construction of
Reality
Lecture Overview
? Syllabus updated (…again)
? Social Construction Lecture
? Next lecture: CMM
5-Minute Free-Write (in notes)
“As we communicate, so shall we be.”
-Lee Thayer
What does this quote mean?
Social Construction
? Social construction is a
meta-theoretical
perspective
? CMM is a
micro-theory that
explains the mechanics
of SC
Social Construction/Ritual View
Rather, reality is brought into existence, is produced, by
communication—by, in short, the construction, apprehension, and
utilization of symbolic forms.” (Carey, p. 10)
Differing “Realities”
First Order Reality: things we can physically observe about a thing or a situation
Examples: that person is white; that person smells; that desk feels unstable
Second Order Reality: how we attach meaning di?erently to ?rst-order realities
through the perception process (see ch. 4; we’ll get there)
Examples: white people are nice/polite/civilized; body odor is a bad
smell/rude/unclean; unstable desks are bad/unsafe/trash
Reminder the ritual view’s question: who has power to create second-order realities
with legitimacy? How does that legitimacy come to be legitimate?
Social Construction Tells Us:
“We could construct a world in which there are three genders, the
‘mentally ill’ are ‘spiritual healers,’ or where ‘the power’ in all
organizations lies not within individual leaders but in the lowly
workers” (Gergen, p. 5).
Social Construction as a Perspective on Communication
?
?
?
?
It’s about how we create social realities
Negotiate what is “real” and what is important and what is moral
Our social systems impel us to make sense in particular ways
Communication changes perceptions of objects/ideas and their
range of meanings
Assumptions of Social Construction
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Everything could be otherwise
Meanings are relational
Language (re)generates meaning
Constructions are consequential
If language is creative, it is also destructive (or at least disruptive)
We are never stuck
The Process of Social Construction (Berger & Luckmann)
?
?
?
?
?
?
Habituation
Routinization
Institutionalization
Objectivation
Socialization
Universe maintenance
Process of Social Construction (Berger & Luckmann)
Social Construction Assumptions:
?
?
?
?
?
?
Everything could be otherwise
Meanings are relational
Language (re)generates meaning
Constructions are consequential
If language is creative, it is also
destructive (or at least disruptive)
We are never stuck
Rewatch on your own: identify all 6 stages of
the social construction process and all 6
assumptions of social construction
Looking Ahead
?
Go right on to lecture #2 on CMM!
Wednesday Lecture 2: CMM
Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM)
? A particular theory within the perspective of social
constructionism
? Usually takes place during the routinization steps and universe
maintenance steps of the social construction process (6 steps)
? The “small picture”–should feel “interpersonal”
Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM)
2 “steps”
? Coordination (stories lived, actions): sets of practices (including
speech) we enact to create social systems
? Coherence (stories told; re?ection; thought or speech): how we
make sense of the world, often through language of some kind
Coordinated Meaning Management (a model)
? Stories lived
(coordination)
? Stories told
(coherence)
Coordinated Meaning Management (in real life)
CMM Concepts to Know
Resources: anything we utilize to create/recreate social systems
Logical Force: a sense of “oughtness” or feeling impelled to interpret
something in a certain way or to respond to events in speci?c ways
(Stuck within) Patterns of Interaction
? Paths of Least Resistance (logical force)
?
?
?
Patterns of interaction that meet the least resistance from others
More they are followed, the stronger they get
Ultimately become unquestioned “norms”
? Language plays a huge part in creating these paths (and disrupting
them)
?
?
?
Language constructs symbolic representations
Language a?ects our perceptions of reality
Language coerces us into patterns, keeps us acting in particular ways
Speech Acts/Language: a Resource
? Utterances of any kind are speech acts
? Language is a resource:
? For creating and disrupting social systems
? We use it to produce systems, to reproduce them, and disrupt
them
Looking Ahead
?
?
?
First content forum post due by Wed @ midnight
First comments (on two di? people’s posts) due Thur @ 9:45 AM
Come Thur ready to discuss!
Grading and Assignments
How can I do well in class?
?
?
?
“Lessons” tab
Keep. Reading. Everything.
Actually pause when I suggest it during the lecture
?
?
Stay after or come early to class for “open o?ce hours”
?
?
?
It forces you to create and critically engage the same way you’d be “forced” in a classroom.
Informal opportunity to chat
Can send me questions ahead of time or in the chat box if it’s awkward to interrupt
Ask questions
?
?
FAQ forum on Sakai for general, course questions
Content-related questions (including: can you explain ritual view again?) are great!
How am I being graded?
Generalized rubric:
?
?
?
?
60%: demonstrated complete understanding of course concepts, did the
assignment as prescribed, engaged thoroughly and with academic rigor
20%: personalized the material, made it yours, unique
10%: “oh dang” factor, insightful; used personal experience to complicate course
material
10%: be on time, follow directions, put your name on things, grammar check
yourself)
Friday Assignments
?
?
?
Find an example: Gillette Ad?, the TV shows for the blog, clip from Grease etc.
TV Analysis: watch the episode, write a thesis-driven response to the prompt
Personal Experience: disrupt a path of least resistance! Start a new “social reality”!
Be/do the change you want to see in the world and then tell me about it.
Week 4: Monday
Midterm Review
Intro to Organizational Communication (CCO)
Power and Control
Week Overview
Today: Org Comm introduction + Power and Control
?
Homework: watch the Webinar and take notes on where you see power and
control operating (not in how the presenters are in power, but in what forms of
control they are unmasking)
Tuesday: We’ll discuss the webinar, you’ll have a small group quiz on it
Wednesday: Socialization + Structuration Theory (used for the TV analysis blog)
Thursday: Synchronous Discussion about having a “real job”
Most Common Errors (starting with the most egregious)
?
?
Not accurately summarizing Brooks’ argument
Simplistic Transmission View of Communication:
?
?
?
?
I.e., writing “People aren’t communicating” or “There isn’t enough communication” or “A solution
would be better communication”; humans must communicate”
What does that mean?
Forgetting to talk about theories or concepts
De?ning theory/concept but not actually applying it
Grade Discussions?
Grades/comments released on Tuesday morning
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