Reference no: EM133174746

Modern Theories of Organizational Communication

Rethinking the Organization

Learning Objective 1: Differentiate among the four approaches to theorizing about organizations: postpositive, interpretive, critical, and postmodern.

Learning Objective 2: Understand how these approaches are driven by three decisions: about ontology (how things exist), epistemology (how things are known), and axiology (what is worth knowing).

Question 1. Think of the college or university that you are attending. Then imagine a prospective student asking you, "What is the best way to find out what your school is really like?" Would you advise the prospect to take a survey of current students, or to spend some time living on campus and participating in school activities? What is the reason for your advice? Could you imagine how a combination of both methods could be useful? Explain yourself.

Question 2. We described above how most students go to college to "make more money," taking for granted that higher education is about fitting into the needs of corporations. Can you think of other ways that the corporate world has influenced college students so that you might think in ways that serve corporate interests? Why might these thoughts seem natural to you, so that you do not question them?

Question 3. Which approach to theorizing organizational communication-postpositive, interpretive, critical, or postmodern-makes the most sense to you? Why? Explain your answer.