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Mba612 chapter 1
This document provides an introduction to communication theory, defining it as a systematic summary about the nature of the communication process that focuses attention on concepts, clarifies observations, predicts behavior, and enables personal and social change. It distinguishes between commonsense, working, and scholarly theories, and identifies key criteria for evaluating theories including accuracy, practicality, succinctness, consistency, and acuity.
Mba612 chapter 1
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- 2. Everyday viewof communication is the flow of information from one person to another. Communication: the process by which people interactively create, sustain, and manage meaning.
- 4. Communication competence:balancing effectiveness and appropriateness. ◦ Effectiveness: extent to which you achieve your goals in interaction. ◦ Appropriateness: fulfilling social expectations for a particular situation. Understanding theory will allow for a proper balance of effectiveness and appropriateness
- 5. Abstract understandingof communication process. Move beyond describing a single event by providing a means by which all like events can be described. Defined: systematic summary about the nature of the communication process. Functions include: ◦ Focusing attention on particular concepts ◦ Clarifying our observations ◦ Predicting communication behavior ◦ Generating personal and social change
- 6. Commonsense theory ◦Theories-in-use ◦ Created through personal experiences ◦ Are often the basis for our decisions on how to communicate ◦ E.g.: Never date a colleague; it always ends up badly
- 7. Working theory ◦Generalizations made in particular professions about the best technique for doing something ◦ More systematic than commonsense theory represent agreed-on ways of doing things in professions. ◦ E.g.: Audience analysis should be done prior to presenting a speech.
- 8. Scholarly theory ◦Has undergone systematic research ◦ Provide more thorough, accurate, and abstract explanations for communication ◦ Typically more complex and difficult to understand ◦ E.g.: The media do not tell us what to think, but what to think about (agenda-setting theory)
- 9. Accuracy ◦ Correctlysummarizes the way communication actually works ◦ Look at research studies that use the theory and see whether the research supports the theory or fails to support it.
- 10. Practicality ◦ Howwell the theory can be used to address real- world communication problems ◦ A theory with more applications is better than a theory without practical uses ◦ Look for how the theory has been used in the research literature as well as a theory’s professional application
- 11. Succinctness ◦ Isthe theory formulated as simply as possible? ◦ Compare how much of communication is explained by the theory versus how many concepts are being used to explain it
- 12. Consistency ◦ Themost useful theories have internal and external consistency ◦ Internal consistency means that the ideas of the theory are logically built on one another ◦ External consistency refers to the theory’s consistency with other widely accepted behaviors
- 13. Acuity ◦ Theability of a theory to provide insight into an otherwise intricate issue ◦ You need to think, “Wow, I never realized that!”
- 14. Case Study1: Evaluating Groupthink ◦ How accurate is groupthink? ◦ How practical is groupthink? ◦ Is the theory appropriately succinct? Or is it overly simple or overly complex? ◦ Is groupthink consistent with other theories about group communication? Does it demonstrate internal consistency? ◦ Does groupthink demonstrate acuity?
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- 16. The sixthinking hats allows us to conduct our thinking as a conductor might lead an orchestra. We can call forth what we will.
- 18. • Neutral andobjective • Concerned with objectives, facts and figures
- 19. • Cool… • Organizationof thinking
- 20. • Cautious andcareful • Points out the weaknesses in an idea
- 21. • The emotionalview
- 22. • Creativity • Growthand new ideas
- 23. • Optimism • Hopeand positive thinking
- 24. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnk lfYs Describethe “I Have a Dream” speech to a class of MBA students in Estonia.