Communication and Organization Culture

Introduction

The different approaches and perspectives developed more recently have sought to demonstrate the importance of organizational communication has taken in the face of new global scenario. The common thread among the authors is a concern in defining and characterizing organizational communication and their scope, highlighting the need to give it a prominent place in organizations. The organizational communication covers all forms of communication used by the organization to relate to and interact with their audiences. Organizational communication encompasses public relations, organizational strategies (public affairs), corporate marketing, advertising, corporate, internal and external communication, finally a heterogeneous group of communication activities, geared primarily to the public or segments with which the organization relates to and depends (Peters & Waterman, pp. 360).

Schein in turn understands organizational communication as a process through which members of the organization obtains relevant information about it and the changes that occur in it (Schein, 1992). In view of this author, organizational communication plays a role as a source of information (data gathering) for members of the organization. The information constitutes the intermediate variable linking communication to the organization.

Talking about the Kean University, it is one of the major universities in United States and is situated in Union and Hillside, New Jersey. It is very much renowned for its physical therapy center and the way it provides programs to its graduate and undergraduate students. However, one thing that is not much known about this university is its Organization Communication and Culture. The university was started in 1855 and by far is one of the most renowned universities for its public research. It has since then developed itself through its own culture, which has been developed by previous faculty members, management, and students. Generation after generation values has been transferred to other management, faculty, and students. All stakeholders of this organization have preserved its own culture and are trying to give their best to preserve the culture (Kean University).

Discussion

Whereas organizational communication concerns the communication processes that characterize human organizations has been identified from the three models or perspectives of organizational communication including traditional, interpretive, and critical. The traditional model is so named because it is the oldest of the three (Andres, pp. 121-130). The organizational communication from this perspective is seen as an activity whose behavior can be measured, standardized, and classified. There is a relationship between communication process and organizational efficiency. In this approach can be identified by two points first, to consider the organization as a machine (mechanistic view) organizational communication is seen as a gear, a mechanical process (machinelike), and second, in a more recent, taken the organization as a system, organizational communication is a dynamic and organic process. Therefore, this is the predominant model adopted by the university metaphorically understood as an organism a living system.

The second model is the interpretation that understands organizations as cultures. From this perspective, the organization is a subjective phenomenon, that is, social action is possible only when people can share subjective meanings. Organizational culture is considered a ...