What is Org Comm?: A Tightly Compressed Intro

Definition 1

Org Comm is the application of methods—some intrinsic to, some extrinsic to, the academic discipline of Comm—to a domain of phenomena (which the methods also shape [some would say "create"]), through a particular history: to wit, the history of industrial and post-industrial sites of production, and the concomitant development of public universities and the social sciences.

Definition 2

To put it another way, Org Comm is the totality of scholarly approaches within the discipline of Communication—and the larger, multi-disciplinary, field of Org Studies—to understanding modern organizational life, mostly in business organizations. Org Comm rose out of the (post WWII) national determination to solve the problems of industry with the help of the social sciences, to rationalize business processes, and to motivate workers. (Several more recent Org Comm studies have called into question these very founding premises.)

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Org Comm draws on the insights of, among other disciplines, Sociology, Philosophy, Industrial Psychology, and Business Management. From within the discipline of Comm itself, Org Comm borrows from Interpersonal Communication, Intercultural Communication, and Rhetoric.

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So how do we recognize an Org Comm study when we see it?

• An Org Comm study draws on the literature of Org Comm; it addresses a concern or problem within the field.
• An Org Comm study deals with all elements of the basic Comm model in some form or fashion; the Shannon & Weaver model is a good touchstone. [link 1] [link 2] [link 3]
• An Org Comm study deals with the basic Comm model in the context of groups (multiple "Senders" and "Receivers").
• An Org Comm study identifies and describes an organization (whether that organization is enduring, temporary, or ad hoc) which is the primary context of its analysis.

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The basic Shannon & Weaver model is pretty plain; what concepts and motifs do we need to make it serviceable for Org Comm?

• Bureaucratic rationality and industrialization [link]
• Material context (including technologies) [link]
• Network analysis [link 1] [link 2] [link 3]
• Diffusion (of ideas / innovations) [link 1] [link 2]
• Leadership [link]
• Discourse Analysis [link]
• Ethnography [link]
• Culture [link]
• Identity (class, gender, ethnicity, sexuality) [link]
• Ideology [link]

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Like other Social Sciences, Org Comm relies on both quantitative and qualitative research methods.

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Org Comm seems too complicated; what is it again?!

• Org comm is not easy to define! (It is promiscuous, drawing on other fields.)
• Org comm is a specific (but not simple) historical development (around a century old).
• Org comm can be descriptive, prescriptive (practical), or critical in its approach.

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So Dr. G, how does our upcoming course project fit in with all this?

• It will be prescriptive.
• It will rely mostly on qualitative analysis (Network Analysis, Ethnography, and Discourse Analysis are all possibilities).
• It will deal with an ad hoc organization.