Myers-Briggs

We discussed in class that the Myers Briggs Personality Type Indicator is frequently used in human resources approaches to organizations to help people figure out how they fit in to the organization. The results of the test are also used to help people work together more effectively.

The are several short forms of the test available free on the Internet. The longer form is more reliable and valid but the short form often gives a good idea of your tendencies. Have fun.

http://www.personalitytest.net/types/index.htm

Tell us what you are. I consistently score out an an INTP but I'm border line on the a couple of the factors.

Systems

The systems approach to organizations emphasizes the whole while still looking at the parts. Too often in our lives we become too concerned with one part of our lives while disregarding everything else. We can concentrate on problems we are having without thinking about the blessings.

Reflect for a few moments and think about how everything in your life fits together.

The International Society for Systems Science has an online primer which can help you understand general systems theory. While communications scholars use general systems theory to help describe organizations there has been comparatively little predictive work done using this paradigm. One of the earliest theories in communication Claude Shannon's Information Theory later discussed by Warren Weaver is a product of systems theory.

Blake and Mouton

Blake and Mouton devised a simple questionnaire for determining managerial style. Go to the leadership questionnaire and see what type of manager you are. Do you agree? Have you ever been a manager?

Maslow

Seems that in communication courses we are enamoured with Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Look in almost any textbook on communication whether the subject is an introductory fundamentals text, public speaking, persuasion, group discussion, mass communication, public relations, or organizational communication an Maslow is mentioned. In many of the text the theory is simply presented with no reference to its efficacy.

Rarely is there an adequate description of what is meant by self-actualization or how to motivate people to self-actualization. Motivation is subject to so many individual differences that theories of human needs like Maslow's just not seem to be very effective in predicting human behavior.

The entire human relations approach to motivation has come under question because the base theories are weak when it comes to predictive ability. Check out this brief article on Maslow by Huitt for some insight and additional references. Note this depiction of the hierarchy includes a level beyond self-actualization label transcendence.

Humans indeed have needs but has our conceptualization psychological needs helped or hindered our understanding of motivation?

Industrial Psychology

While doing some reading about the human relations approach to organizations I came across the term industrial psychology. I remember hearing this term when I was younger but I haven't heard it very often in recent years. I just find it interesting how terminology changes. I wonder what caused the change?

What is a bureaucracy?

Kathrine Miller's textbook Organizational Communication: Approaches and Process is the primary text for the class and begins with a chapter on classic approaches to organizational theory. When it comes to classic approaches to organizations it is difficult to get more classic than the bureaucracy.

We all just love a bureaucracy, why else would be associate them with such fun things as red tape, standing in line, uncaring bureaucrats, inefficiency, and waste. While there is a downside to bureaucracy there is also an upside. Max Weber wrote about both the good and bad found in bureaucracy. Karl Marx commented on the origins of bureaucracy found in religion and government.

To get a basic understanding of bureaucracy the article in the Wikipedia offers a starting place. Take note of the fact that I say starting place. While our concept of what is an authoritative source is undergoing change due to blogs and wikis that does not make the Wikipedia an authoritative source for purpose of scholarship. For any papers written for this class I expect primary sources whenever possible. The Wikipedia is so far from a primary source that you shouldn't even think about using it for written assignments except under very unusual circumstances. You should check with me to determine if I agree you situation constitutes an unusual circumstance. Compare the entry above on bureaucracy from the Wikipedia with an entry on bureaucracy from Encyclopaedia Britannica. note: this may require you to sign up for a free trial.

Welcome to Cubicle Land

I am creating this blog as a complement to the Organizational Communication class I teach at Austin Peay State University. The name of the blog Cubicle Land refers to the world of cubicles that so many workers live in these days. I have had to work in cubicles several different times during my career and I can't say that I'm very fond of that environment. Perhaps the best commentary on life is cubicles comes not from an organizational theorist but from the comic strip Dilbert by Scott Adams.

In beginning this blog I recalled my first class in Organizational Communication at Michigan State University which was taught by my undergraduate adviser Clyde D. J. Morris. Dr Morris (that sounds strange, everyone called him Clyde) was definitely a character but also a wonderful teacher. The main project for the class was a communication audit of the city of Grand Rapids. My particular part of the audit was to gather information at Calvin College. I took two other classes from Clyde as an undergraduate a class in research methods and a class in conflict resolution. Much of what I learned in all of Clyde's classes has stuck with me throughout my teaching career.