Strategic Organizational Communication

Organizations are created through the process of communication, whether in the form of verbal agreements, written policies or enacted behaviors. As a result, organizational communication is highly interdisciplinary. It is inextricably linked to management, sociology, psychology and organizational behavior.

Managing Communication is about the process of understanding the systems, structures and processes that are integral to creating and maintaining organizations. This survey course will work through a model of organizational design to touch on a wide variety of the macro-level areas of the field of organizational communication, including the organizational structure, partnerships, networks, teams, culture and reward systems.

An understanding of research methods is essential to successfully navigate the current professional business world. In this course we consider research from both a qualitative and quantitative perspective.

The course is designed around the principle that the best way to learn is via doing. Each week students apply the instructional materials to a range of problems simulating real-world scenarios. The course presents a range of methodological approaches, and multiple opportunities are provided to tailor the assignments to student personal interests.

More and more organizations find they have to be much more strategic in their communication with their stakeholders. No more can a company or a nonprofit focus on its key messages at the expense of stakeholder perception. This class simulates the issues and stakeholders a U.S. publicly held company has to deal with on a regular basis. The class members play the role of the chief communication officer and create data-based strategic communication plans. Students work both on group and individual assignments throughout the semester.

Communication in Work Settings focuses on internal communication topics (e, g., manager-employee and peer communication). Equal emphasis is placed on theoretical understanding and practical applications.

A strong theoretical foundation is required to ensure that decisions about communication practices are based on sound research rather than popularized myths. That is, how is a concept studied by academics and why do we want to build/test theories about the concept? Concomitantly, how is the concept treated by practitioners and consultants? Your (future) employers are counting on you to be able to collect and evaluate the most recent research about topics that they are concerned about. Topics covered include: foundations of organizational communication and competencies; leadership, delegation and coaching; destructive workplace communication – workplace bullying and incivility; employee engagement and building trust; emotions in the workplace; organizational culture.

The context of the class is the organization and the role communication plays in developing and implementing business strategy. Students assess and make recommendations on live organizational change projects. Course pulls from corporate case studies as well as current theory.

Topics include business strategy, the role of the change agent, change models and their application, building ad-free brand communities, power, organizational politics and leadership. Students practice using change management tools and techniques while assessing organizational change efforts from both a theoretical and practical perspective. This course prepares students to lead change within the reality of today’s modern organizations.

Crisis happens. Sometimes an organization is faced with a crisis due to forces outside their control (e.g., natural disasters, pandemics, supply chain interruptions); at other times, an organization faces a crisis of its own making (e.g., accidents, product failures, scandals). Facilitating crisis prevention, detection, management, and change through effective organizational communication, inside and outside the organization, can determine the outcome difference between organizational destruction and organization survival, adaptation, and renewal.