ORGL 504: Organizational Communication

Contemporary organizations face the tremendous challenge of learning to use information technology to improve organization communication and decision making. The goal of this course is to prepare ourselves to meet this challenge. However, accomplishing this goal requires background knowledge in at least three distinct fields: philosophy of communication, organizational theory, and philosophy of information. The first unit of this course provides an advanced introduction to these fields by focusing on two related questions: How can we understand organizations as information systems? What presuppositions do we have about how humans communicate and the "ideal of communication" toward which we should strive in organizational life?

In the second part of the course we will practice and apply our understanding of theory by giving a sophisticated analysis of one or more actual communication scenarios or cases in an organization with which we are familiar. By analyzing the flow of information in an organizational unit, the quality and use of information, or a specific case of good or bad communication, we will not only deepen our appreciation of contemporary communication theory, but also reflect on the values and expectations we bring to organizational life and interpersonal communication.

During the last third of the semester we will focus exclusively on the meaning and impact of recent information technology on organizational communication and, indeed, on the very nature of the contemporary work organization. We will sample research from an emerging discipline which studies the value and effectiveness of information technology, but we will also consult our own experience of recent information technology to discover its promises and perils. Our concerns are both philosophical and practical:  Are emerging technologies changing something fundamental about the way we work or merely augmenting, for good or ill, our repertoire of techniques for communicating? How can we assure that basic change, if it occurs, will be good? On a more practical level, what opportunities for new work practices, empowerment, and organizational change do specific technologies make possible? How can I realize these opportunities today in my own work and in my relationships with others?

©1997 by Mark Alfino, Department of Philosophy, Gonzaga University.