Organizational Communication

Effective Organisational Communication gives students from all backgrounds the tools to communicate both within and between organisations of all kinds. Its two-part structure enables readers to explore important theoretical perspectives and key communication challenges, while also helping them to develop their own communication skills – such as listening, writing and speaking – in order to achieve specific aims and to engage with different audiences. This combination makes it the perfect resource for anyone who wants to improve their ability to work effectively with others. This heavily revised fourth edition reflects the rapidly changing world of organisational communication, with a special focus on social media and recent developments in advertising, PR and social marketing. Effective Organisational Communication is suitable for undergraduate and masters-level courses in Business Communication, Management Skills, International Management and Organisational Behaviour. It also provides an accessible overview for the general reader.

Features to aid learning include:

Real-world case studies from organisations of all kinds bring the topics alive.
‘Face to face’ case studies connect concepts and issue with typical everyday communication challenges found at university and work.
Up to the minute coverage of international and inter-cultural communication and emerging technologies.
Web links provide a starting point for research and further study on key issues in each chapter.

Reviewer comments on third edition:

‘There is something refreshing about this text that derives from the breadth of the issues and perspectives addressed in the first half of the book, the worldview advanced through a willingness to engage with the complexity of organisations and communication, and the authors' rich yet succinct style of writing. They have managed to create a comprehensive text that addresses both the conceptual and the practical requirements of students, and even make topics like “meetings”, “email”, and “report writing” both instructive and engaging. [...] The book is rich with valuable insights into the patterns, unpredictability and nuances of organisational communication. It is surprisingly thorough in its coverage of the topics one might expect, as well as many that come as a pleasing surprise. It avoids an instrumental focus and didacticism, but continuously provides guidance for effective practice.’

Journal of Communication Management (2010)

Out-of-classroom communication (OCC) in the form of email has increased considerably in the past few years. This study uses Interaction Adaptation Theory (IAT) to inform and frame the impact of using overly casual email messages with instructors. Study one used an experimental method to determine that message quality (casual vs. formal messages) accounted for between 48% and 64% of the variance explained in affect toward the student, student credibility, and message attitude. Message quality also significantly impacted on an instructor's willingness to comply with a simple request for a face-to-face meeting. Study two further examined these findings using a comparative analysis of both instructors and students. Findings reveal that instructors are bothered more than students by overly casual email messages. Instructors attribute students' use of overly casual emails more heavily to training issues, while students attribute this to technology use. Two specific email violations that bother instructors more than students are emails not signed by the message sender and messages that include shortcuts like ''RU'' instead of ''are you''. Finally, it appears that instructor generational differences have little impact on these descriptive findings.

"Purpose: This article describes how trust emerged as an issue in one school district and the processes by which central office administrators enhanced trust with its school
site leaders.
Method: This exploratory participant observer case study uses multiple sources of data including surveys, interviews, observations, and documents collected during a 4-year period from central office and school site leaders.
Findings: The article illustrates how a university partner can play a critical role in surfacing and bringing forth action on an undiscussable issue—trust between the central office and its schools—and the actions taken by the central office to address specific facets of trust: openness, communication, risk, and integrity. The site administrators’ response to these actions revealed that trust can be developed at both the relational and organizational leadership levels.
Significance to the Field: The study is significant in illustrating that building trust between the central office and school sites can be an essential step in an underperforming
district and can serve as a resource in achieving and sustaining school district reform. It also shows that attending to specific facets of trust can be useful when examining
the development of trust between school sites and the district office."