Introducing Communication Theory Analysis and Application - Richard West

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Language: eng
Format: mobi

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wes85077_ch17.qxd 1/20/09 12:20 PM Page 307

Karl Weick has centralized the notion of organizational ambiguity and his the-

ory resonates today. Organizational Information Theory continues to attract

theorists and practitioners interested in the intersection of organizations, mes-

sages, and people. To that end, the theory will have even more importance as

the United States prepares itself for significant corporate changes in the twenty-

first century.

Discussion Starters

1. Based on your understanding of the concepts of Organizational

Information Theory, what additional avenues could Dominique engage in

to facilitate a solution to the Y2K problem in NowBank? Respond using at

least two concepts discussed in the chapter.

2. Recall an organization in which you are or were a member. Can you

remember an incident when you or the organization received ambiguous

information? If so, what rules did you or the organization use in dealing

with this equivocality?

3. Weick describes the process of enactment, selection, and retention to

understand how organizations deal with information inputs. Provide an ex-

ample of how your school has employed these strategies in making sense of

information on your campus.

4. Discuss the importance of the principle of requisite variety in dealing

with ambiguity. Do you think that highly equivocal information requires

more complex communication processes in order to make sense of the input?

Defend your answer.

5. Does your college or university solicit feedback from students regarding

its promotion of the organization? Discuss the methods that your school uses.

6. Discuss how organizational rules function in OIT.

7. Apply equivocality to an organization with which you are familiar.

Online Learning Center

www. mhhe.com/west4e

Visit the Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/west4e for chapter-specific

resources, such as story-into-theory and multiple-choice quizzes, as well as

theory summaries and theory connection questions.

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