1st Edition

Cases in Organizational and Managerial Communication Stretching Boundaries

    314 Pages
    by Routledge

    314 Pages
    by Routledge

    In the 21st century, shifting workplace demographics, globalization, and the flattening of the world via new communication technologies has ushered in radical changes in our understandings of organizations and their members. Given the interest in engaged scholarship and more flexible and virtual forms within organizational communication, cases in this volume cross over different areas within the field and related disciplines. Furthermore, they cover topics and populations that are increasingly being seen in organizational communication literature. Cases delve into organizing structures, relationships, and visions for global not-for-profits, hybrid, creative industry, and entrepreneurial organizations. Some cases are "positive" in orientation and display exemplars of organizations that have qualities to emulate. Others display "destructive" elements and processes (e.g., dysfunctional leadership, workplace bullying). Furthermore, the cases reflect an awareness of the necessity of intercultural communication competencies, emphasizing communication in multicultural contexts (e.g., China, India, Africa, Russia).

    This book can benefit instructors and students in at least four ways. First, it provides instructors with an application-based teaching tool to help spark discussion. Second, students often find case studies interesting and applicable to their current and future work lives, especially undergraduates who anticipate graduating within the next year or two and entering full-time membership in the labor force. Third, students and instructors note that cases help students grasp course materials that may be otherwise challenging. In their case study learning, students sometimes derive insights, lessons, and strategies that broaden the theoretical and practical implications for which instructors plan. Finally, for graduate students, the book encourages reflection on important topics for future research and provides a resource for making their lessons come alive in classrooms and in other settings.

    List of Figures and Exhibits

    Preface

    Introduction

    Part I. Identities and Meaningful Membership

    1. Cultural Diversity in the Community Choir (Michael W. Kramer)

    2. Reminiscing at the Kitchen Table (Patrice M. Buzzanell & John Duckworth)

    3. A Single Mom on the Teeter-Totter of Work and Life (Kendra Rivera)

    4. Exploring Work-Life Considerations of Independent Home Party Consultants (Sarah E. Riforgiate)

    5. Working with Stigma Identity Management in the Quest for Employment (Angela N. Gist, Peter R. Jensen, Jonathan E. Wickert, & Rebecca J. Meisenbach)

    6. Empowerment for Whom? (Amy K. Way)

    7. We Honor God in All We Do (Lindsey B. Anderson & Melanie Morgan)

    8. How the Everyday Becomes the Eternal (Boris H.J.M. Brummans)

    9. The Best Kept Secret (David H. Torres & Jeremy P. Fyke)

    10. Exploring Mitchell University as an Encultured Organization (Cerise L. Glenn)

    11. Being a Professional Woman in Russia (Katerina Tsetsura)

    12. Finding the Meaning of Work in the Factory and on the Picket Line (Amy O’Connor & Emily A. Paskewitz)

    Part II. Technology and Innovations

    13. When the Bell Rings, the Team Emerges (Elizabeth A. Williams)

    14. Finding the Right Fit. Online? (Brenda L. Berkelaar & Taylor Jackson)

    15. A Good Fit for Telework? (Ziyu Long)

    16. Working Together by Working Apart (Kathryn L. Fonner)

    17. Creating Community with Clay (Prashant Rajan)

    18. Student Voices in University Social Media (Emma K. See & Jeralyn Faris)

    Part III. Culture and Global Labor Force Patterns

    19. "So, What’s your Job"? (Carmen S. Lowry)

    20. Women and Expatriate Experiences (Donnalyn Pompper)

    21. "Learning the Ropes" as a Foreign Worker (Sarah Steimel)

    22. Restraining my Latino Soul (Suchitra Shenoy-Packer)

    23. Playing the Chords of Social Entrepreneurship (Elena Gabor)

    24. If you don’t Hear from Him, it Means you’re Doing Well (Kumi Ishii)

    25. Communication and Identity Management by New York City’s Immigrant Women Entrepreneurs (Muge Haseki & Craig R. Scott)

    26. Culture Challenges at the VIP Casino (Elizabeth J. O’Connor)

    27. Planning for a Negotiation (Ryan P. Fuller & Linda L. Putnam)

    Part IV. Transformation and Engagement

    28. Corporate Social Responsibility and Water Management in India (Steve May)

    29. Fairer than Fair Trade (Colleen Arendt)

    30. Volunteerism and Change in Faith-Based Food Assistance Organizing (Liliya Yakova)

    31. Resilient Community Networks after Disaster (Jack Harris & Marya L. Doerfel)

    32. Managing Communicative Manifestations of Psychiatric Disorders at a Homeless Shelter (Phillip K. Tompkins & Tamla Clarke)

    33. Support and Control in a Reentry Court (Jeralyn Faris)

    34. Sustaining "Green Consumption" (Rahul Mitra)

    35. Organizing Bike Commuters to Work for Change (Elizabeth Wilhoit)

    36. The City is Depending on Us (Rebecca L. Dohrman)

    37. Organizing for Nontraditional Economic Development (Anna Wiederhold Wolfe)

    Part V. Destructive and Dysfunctional Communication

    38. Power and Productivity in Creative Industry Internships (Suzy D’Enbeau)

    39. Advertising Creative and the Pink Ghetto (Jean M. Grow)

    40. Culture Change in a Castle of Secrets (Alyssa Roehrig)

    41. Speechless with No One to Tell (Katherine M. Kelley)

    42. "Treating" employees to abuse in the workplace (Sarah E. Riforgiate & Pamela Lutgen-Sandvik)

    43. Organizational Culture or Organizational Cult (Scott Dickmeyer & Nicole A. Ploeger-Lyons)

    44. Challenges in Creating a Culture of Workplace Dignity for LGTB Employees (Sara Baker & Kristen Lucas)

    45. Jim and Pam Made This Look So Easy (Hailey Gillen Hoke, Sean M. Horan, Renee L. Cowan, Rebecca M. Chory)

    46. Bullying at Scandinavia Business University (Robyn Remke)

    Biography

    Jeremy P. Fyke (PhD, Purdue University) is Assistant Professor of Communication Studies and Corporate Communication at Belmont University.

    Jeralyn L. Faris (PhD, Purdue University) is a Continuing Lecturer and Director of the Interviewing course at Purdue University.

    Patrice M. Buzzanell (PhD, Purdue University) is a Distinguished Professor in the Brian Lamb School of Communication, Professor of Engineering Education (courtesy), and the Chair and Director of the Susan Bulkeley Butler Center for Leadership Excellence at Purdue University.