Engaging Organizational Communication Theory and Research or Building Community

Engaging Organizational Communication Theory and Research: Multiple Perspectives

Author: Dennis K Mumby

"This book offers a refreshing and engaging overview of the ways some research traditions in organizational communication have unfolded over time and continue to be connected to everyday, real events."
--Patrice Buzzanell, Purdue University
 
Engaging Organizational Communication Theory and Research: Multiple Perspectives is a book unlike any in the field. Each chapter is written by a prominent scholar who presents a theoretical perspective and discusses how he or she "engages" with it, personally examining what it means to study organizations. Rejecting the traditional model of a "reader," this volume demonstrates the intimate connections among theory, research, and personal experience.

Significant theoretical perspectives such as post-positivism, social construction, rhetoric, critical theory, feminism, postmodernism, structuration theory, and globalization are discussed in terms of their history, assumptions, development, propositions, research, and applications. In addition to editors Steve May and Dennis K. Mumby, contributors include Brenda J. Allen, Karen Lee Ashcraft, George Cheney, Steven R. Corman, Stanley Deetz, Robert McPhee, Marshall Scott Poole, Cynthia Stohl, Bryan C. Taylor, and James R. Taylor.

Key Features
• An introduction that addresses the idea of engaged research.
•  Accessible and cutting edge accounts of important research traditions written by well-known leaders in the field.
•  Personal accounts of each scholar's place in his or her field of study.
•  A conclusion that explores the future of organizational communicationstudies.
•  An extensive body of references on each perspective.

Engaging Organizational Communication Theory and Research is an indispensable resource for anyone wishing to be familiar with current trends in the field of organizational communication. It is recommended as the main text for upper-level undergraduate and entry-level graduate courses in organizational communication theory. It is also an excellent supplementary text for related courses in departments of communication studies, business and management, sociology, and industrial relations.

 

Table of Contents:

1	Introduction : thinking about engagement	1
2	Postpositivism	15
3	Social constructionism	35
4	Theorizing about rhetoric and organizations : classical, interpretive, and critical aspects	55
5	Critical theory	85
6	Postmodern theory	113
7	Feminist organizational communication studies : engaging gender in public and private	141
8	Structuration theory	171
9	Engaging organization through worldview	197
10	Globalization theory	223
11	Conclusion : engaging the future of organizational communication theory and research	263

Interesting textbook: Japanese Homestyle Cooking or Oxford Companion to Italian Food

Building Community: The Human Side of Work

Author: George Manning

Building Community is devoted to those who recognize that the human side of work has been lost after a decade of downsizing, restructuring, and reengineering. It offers a practical, hands-on approach to team-building strategies, group dynamics, and human motivation in the workplace. The book includes discussions of personal values, cultural diversity, and total quality management. Colorful analogies and interesting historical references, plus charts, lists, and planning guides make for enjoyable and productive reading.