Organizational Communication and Classical Management

Discuss which approach or approaches to Organizational Communications seems most closely connected to the Classical approaches to management and discuss why this is so. Some answers to this question will be more correct than others.

There are four approaches to organizational communication, communication as information transfer, as transactional process, as strategic control, and as a balance for creativity and constraint. Communication as information transfer views communication as a metaphoric pipeline through which information flows from one person to another (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 29). Communication as transactional process asserts that in actual communication, clear distinctions are not made between senders and receivers. Instead, people play both roles simultaneously (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 30). The strategic control approach regards communication as a tool for controlling the environment. A concept called strategic ambiguity, describes how people can communicate unclearly but still accomplish their goals. Due to personal, relational, and political factors, perfect clarity among people is not always the main goal in interaction. Your communication is seen as having multiple goals. The final approach to Organizational Communication is communication as a balance of creativity and constraint. “Communication is the moment-to-moment working out of the tension between individuals creativity and organizational constraint” (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 36).

Classical Management approaches are represented by a collection of theories that all represent the metaphor of organizations, which are modeled after efficient machines (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 64). One form of management, called hierarchy refers to the vertical arrangement of power an communication that distinguishes managers from employees (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 71). Another classical management approach is the development of scientific management. Management is a science based on clearly defined laws, rules and principles. Scientific management is best shown through straightforward tasks that require no flexibility and offer no opportunity for initiative (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 75). The administrative theory developed by Henri Fayol, which is based on four categories: structure, power, reward, and attitude. He encouraged employee initiative and believed that supervisors should work hard to build positive employee morale (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 76). The final aspect of classical management is the idea of bureaucracy. Under this system there is a fixed division of labor, hierarchy of offices, set of general rules that govern performances, rigid separation of personal life from work life, technical qualifications, and a view of employment as a career (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 77).

The approaches to Organizational Communication that seem closely connected to the Classical approaches to management is the concept of communication as information transfer and idea of hierarchy. This Organizational Communication approach seems connected to hierarchy because both are a way in which information flows from one person to another. Managers are communicating to their subordinates and transferring their knowledge.