Organizational Communication Division

The purpose of the Organizational Communication Unit is to promote research and teaching that highlights communicative behavior in organizational settings. Members are concerned with the creation of meaning, the production of messages, and the processing of information that makes organizing possible. Members are engaged in developing, explicating, and applying theories and concepts that speak to the diverse array of issues facing organizations and members of all types, including both the paid and nonpaid labor force, profit and nonprofit organizations, managers and employees, and the intersection of work, home, and society at large. The unit embraces diverse theoretical and methodological approaches to research and theory relevant to organizational communication including postmodern and humanistic inquiries, and social scientific and social constructionist frameworks. The goals of the unit’s activities are to acknowledge, debate, and reformulate understandings of organizational communication in an effort to forward new knowledge, prepare students to participate in their communities and workplaces in more informed ways, prepare the next generation of scholars and teachers, and provide expert advice to organizations interested in improving communication and the workplace more generally. Members of the Organizational Communication Unit support these activities by participating in scholarly discussions at national meetings and by publishing relevant books, monographs, and technical reports. They also provide expert commentary for media outlets, teach and mentor both graduate and undergraduate students, as well as practicing professionals, and consult with both corporate and nonprofit groups in a variety of training, development, and assessment activities. Members of the unit also support community engagement that promotes open dialogue and participative, ethical, and inclusive practices.