COMM 4170-01: Applied Organizational Communication

1. COMM 4170-01:Applied Organizational Communication Instructor: Dan Lair Day Three: Introduction to Consulting August 31, 2005

2. Today’s Agenda • Syllabus/Project Revision • Doing Case Studies • Discussion: • Goodall’s article • Defining training/consulting (DeWine)

3. Introducing Case Studies • What is the purpose of case studies? How do they work? • When reading case studies: • Use your theoretical “lens” to “look” at the case • Pay attention to both broad patterns and specific details, taking notes (!) about both (that’s what margins are for!) • Ask questions of the case: What’s not included that might be helpful? What is included that might be a red herring?

4. Syllabus/Group Project Revision

5. Writing Up a Case Study • 1 page, single-spaced • Case Studies should include: • A paragraph describing the case in general, from your theoretical perspective • A diagnosis of the central communication problem in the case, based on your “reading” of both broad patterns and specific details. • Your suggestions for how to solve that problem, based on your theoretical perspective (you’ll need to remember what you learned in 3170!) • An assessment of the appropriateness of your theory to this particular case. Are there weaknesses/blind spots that hinder your ability to suggest adequate solutions?

6. Discussion: Introductory Case Study • What theories do Yasmin and Marcus use in their conversation to describe and explain their experiences as job seekers and new employees? • How do they use these theories to suggest practices Yasmin’s sister (and others) might use to predict and control her experiences as a job seeker and potential new employee?

7. Goodall, “On Becoming an Organizational Detective” • A curious phrase on p. 43: “in the world we are constructing”? What does Goodall mean by this? How is that sentiment reflected elsewhere in the article? • p. 47: “A lot of communication consulting is really vocabulary building, training people to use language capable of describing a situation in a way that can be productively addressed.” What does this mean? Can you think of examples of this (in the article, in your experience, or that you’ve seen elsewhere? • What different types of “clues” does Goodall key into as he investigates the organization? What kinds of conclusions do those clues lead him to? • Goodall, in a sense, loses control of the process and becomes sort of a pawn in Stella Mims’ elaborate scheme, something he doesn’t seem wholly comfortable with. If you were in this, or a similar situation, how do you think you would deal with it?

8. DeWine, Chapters 1 & 2 • On pp. 5-6, Dewine argues that communication is “irreversible, unrepeatable, and reciprocal”? What does this mean? What are the implications? • On p. 3 (and later as well), DeWine introduces (and develops) the notion of an “internal” consultant? What does this mean? What are the advantages and disadvantages of “internal” and “external” consultants? • What is the difference between training and consulting? How are they similar? What skills are associated with each?