Communication and Organizational Dynamics

Embedded in virtually all contemporary of management and organizational theories is some discussion, whether manifest or latent, of the role that communication plays in making effective and optimal management and organizational decisions. Over the course of the 20th century, the so-called scientific management methods envisioned by Frederick Taylor, originally designed to eliminate uncertainty and chaos in the workplace, were called into question because managers tended to leave employees out of the policy-implementation equation. The result was the evolution, or rather a reconfiguration, of a top-down, hierarchical form of organizational structure, involving authoritarian management styles and one-way communication (Hamilton & Parker, 2001, pp. 47-48). The view of Taylor was that "management and labor need no longer quarrel over how hard a man must work or how much he should earn; science, the impartial arbiter, would decide" (Kanigel,

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ve from others. Hamilton and Parker (2001, p. 109) break down communication methods into five strategies: avoidance, accommodation, compromise, competition, and collaboration. How communication style, strategic method, and the disclosure/feedback features of communication combine can be decisive in whether communication is effective or not. The task of managers in particular is to enable disclosure in an environment of psychological safety and comity and to provide feedback in a way that anticipates or accommodates the various styles and strategies that subordinates bring to their encounters. Part of that involves awareness of obstacles to communication on one hand, and an ability and willingness to listen effectively on the other. Equally, managers must be alert to discern nonverbal as well as verbal cues that may supply information on employees' competence, attitude, and aptitudes. Nonverbal cues may be just as significant as what people actually say in communicating the psychological and social status of relationships within an organization. Facial expressions and eye contact, body language, personal appearance (grooming), and the personal distance or space of individuals combine in ways to send signals of the interior mental
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Hamilton Parker, Systec Inc, Business Wire, Hamiton Parker, Human Enterprise, Frederick Taylor, Finance Retrieved, , Herszenhorn DM, hamilton parker, Brighton Minn, nonverbal cues, parker 2001, hamilton parker 2001, organizational structure, production effectiveness, systec inc, kanigel 1996, retrieved 30 2004, structure management, styles strategies, business wire 2004, management practices, organizational structure management,
Approximate Word count = 1923
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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