BC345: Organizational Communication

Credit Hours:
3
Estimated Hours Per Week:
12

Overview

This course reviews organizational communication theory and how the theory can be applied to global and multicultural organizations. Students will explore organizational communication through the context of:

  • Organizational structure and processes, including leadership and decision-making processes
  • Organizational culture, including conflict and stress, social relationships, and group networks
  • Group communication and teamwork

For the course project, Organizational Communications Report: An In-depth Analysis of a Firm's Organizational Communication, students will assess various aspects of organizational communication and make recommendations for improving communications.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  • Describe an organization’s structure and determine to what degree the structure helps or hinders communication throughout the organization.
  • Describe an organization’s culture and determine to what degree the culture helps or hinders communication.
  • Identify ethical issues faced by an organization and describe the organization’s communication of these issues to employees and the public.
  • Identify leadership characteristics/styles for key management and determine the impact on organizational communication.
  • Assess the communication networks in an organization and determine the impact of these networks on the overall communication climate.
  • Assess an organization’s use of teams, use (or misuse) of power, and the presence of conflict in an organization, and determine the impact on organizational communication.
  • Conduct an assessment of an organization’s efforts to communicate effectively during times of change.
  • Examine an organization’s decision-making processes and determine how those processes impact the organizational climate.
  • Assess an organization’s communication technologies and determine their impact on organizational communication.
  • Assess the global/multicultural/diversity context of an organization’s communication efforts and determine its effectiveness.
  • Recommend improvements to a firm’s organizational communication practices.
ENROLLMENT
To enroll in this course, please complete the online application.

Special Requirements

Students will need Microsoft PowerPoint for creating the final course presentation.

Prerequisites

Not recommended as first course.

Required Texts
BC345 texts are available from the JIU/MBS bookstore