Week Ten: Public Relations

This week, the class will attend a public lecture hosted by The Center for Communication, PR Newswire and The New School's Media Studies Program. The lecture, "Public Relations: Careers in the Fast Lane," will cover "How To Break In" and "Secrets to Success." Attending presenters come from ABC News, Hill & Knowlton and PR Newswire, among others.

The talk will take place at:
The New School
Lang Student Center
Arnhold Hall, 2nd Floor
55 West 13th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues)

Directions: Take a subway to Union Square (N,Q,R,W,4,5,6). Walk one block south on 4th Avenue to 13th Street. Turn and walk 2 1/2 blocks west on 13th Street to 55 West 13th Street. Here is a map.

Please arrive promptly at 6pm. I will have a sign-in sheet for attendance. As this is a class field trip, non-attendance will count as a class absence.

- JOURNAL TEN -
Using EITHER the theory of Organizational Assimilation (144-148) OR the theory of Organizational Socialization (148-154) outlined in chapter 8 of our class text, summarize AND critique one example from the talk. Think of both the organization initiating the public relations event (the example you are discussing) and the public itself (also a large organization). Does the example promote assimilation or socialization in some way? How? What communication strategies are used to initiate this process? For what purpose? What problems arise from a constant focus on assimilation and/or socialization?

Graphic Organizers

A graphic organizer is a visual representation of a concept, experience or argument. Similar to flowcharts, graphic organizers can help to pinpoint communication problems or blockages in a process. Graphic organizers are like maps or schematics of an idea. Scientists, engineers, doctors and teachers all use graphic organizers to examine processes, locate problems and propose solutions. After you conduct your own communication experiment, or audit, you may wich to use a graphic organizer to examine your data and to share it with others. Graphic representations are a key way to show others deeper problems that may be difficult to see on the surface.

Here are a few websites to help you create your own graphic organizers:

Concept Maps
Graphic.org
Library of Graphic Organizers
Flowchart
Enchanted Learning

Here are a few sample graphic organizers:

Week Nine: The Communicative Organization

Our lesson this week focused on Modaff and DeWine's model of the Communicative Organization. This model consists of four elements: 1) anticipating misunderstandings; 2) social interaction; 3) behavioral flexibility; and 4) strategic communication planning. By combining these four priorities, the authors promote an organization formed around the importance of communication. They call this the "Communicative Organization" or CO (109). Members of a Communicative Organization know that misunderstandings are a normal and positive component of communication, and they plan accordingly. Modaff and DeWine believe that misunderstandings can be positive if organizations (and their members) promote flexible social interactions, engage in on-going dialogues, create structures to deal with conflicts, and develop communication strategies (109-117).

The most important element of communication is TALK. Classical management and relationship theories de-emphasize this fact by making statements such as: "Don't talk about it; do something!" or "Let's stop talking and act!" These statements assume that talking and action are dissimilar or separate. In contrast, Modaff and DeWine propose that organizations follow a model of "TALK AS ACTION" (106-109). "Talk, as it produces and reproduces structure, is action itself" (108). In other words, talking IS doing something. This view places a critical focus on communication.

- JOURNAL NINE -
Select one of the four elements of Modaff and DeWine's Communicative Organization model (anticipate misunderstandings; social interaction; behavioral flexibility; or strategic communication planning) and apply it to an organization from your daily life. Your application can EITHER illustrate how your organization uses an element of this model OR show how it should use this model (in the form of a critique).

Week Eight: BOOK TALK at the Brooklyn Campus

This week, the class will attend a mandatory book talk given by Dr. Norman Loftis, who recently published an introduction to D.H. Lawrence's "Women in Love." His lecture will be held at the Brooklyn Campus, 1368 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11216. The talk will take place from 6pm to 8pm. To get to the Brooklyn Campus, take the A/C train to Nostrand Ave. Then, walk 2 blocks east on Fulton Street.

Here is a flyer with more details:



- JOURNAL 8 -
Post a reaction to the talk. Include at least ONE of the theories discussed in class thus far. Use this theory to analyze one or more of the following: the purpose of the talk; the organization(s) promoting and/or attending the talk; the structure of the communication informing the talk; the worldview/culture promoted in the talk.

Week Seven: Workshop I

This week's lesson offered the class a chance to review the many theories discussed thus far. Each student presented the gist of their research, ranging from the classical notions of Taylor, Fayol and Weber through the introduction of human and cultural elements. While each paper examined a single theory in-depth, our combined efforts provided the class a full, complex picture of the history of organizational communications and, more importantly, of its role in the evolution of human societies, economies, and worldviews.

A final draft of the research paper will be due on March, 15th! Below are some elements that make a good research paper. Please keep them in mind as you finish your work. And, remember to proofread for all those pesky grammar, spelling and punctuations mistakes!



This .pdf was created from a research paper writer's guide posted by Holt, Rinehart and Winston at Research Paper.

- JOURNAL 7 -
Post a new idea or fact gained from your research. This time, be as concise as possible! Your post should be ONLY ONE SENTENCE long.

Week Six: A Work Day

I apologize for cancelling this week's lesson with such short notice. An unfortunate flu bug kept me at home. Please take this week as extra time to work on the research paper and communication audit. We will have our first class workshop next week, and the guest lecture will be postponed to week eight. Your research paper WILL BE DUE ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15TH. But, please come to class next week prepared to give a presentation of your research thus far. This presentation will count as your midterm - five percent of your final grade. We will make-up this week's lesson with individual meetings later in the term.

-JOURNAL SIX-
Post the introductory paragraph of your research paper. This paragraph should include a thesis statement. For this paper, the thesis statement will be a claim about the theory you have researched. For example, the system theory of Katz and Kahn, as stated in "The Social Psychology of Organizations," attempts to provide a metaphor for understanding organizations that goes beyond both classical and humanistic theories (Modaff and DeWine 69). This attempt created a completely new way of thinking about organizations as living organisms.