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Offering students and practitioners an applied approach to the subject, Organizational Culture in Action (OCA) walks them through a six-step model for analyzing an organization's culture to provide insight into positive communication practices to improve organizational ethics and effectiveness.
The authors review relevant theory while integrating a constitutive approach to studying organizational culture and communication. Practical guides for multiple data collection methods are provided, and the workbook format is full of interactive tools that engage students and reinforce learning. The revised OCA cultural analysis model in this edition provides the below elements.
¿ The revised first step in the model - "articulating the value of cultural analysis" includes connections to public relations and crisis management.
¿ A definition of communication and the analysis process that foregrounds ethics throughout the book is included.
¿ Recent research on organizational moral learning is integrated in the ethics chapter, and throughout the book.
¿ The Communicative Constitutive of Organizations is now foregrounded throughout the book, and reflected in a table capturing variable and metaphor approaches to culture.
¿ The latest applied research is integrated in units on diversity, change, leadership, and effectiveness in relation to positive organizational communication.
¿ Enriched guides on multiple data collection methods now includes surveys.
¿ Cases, examples, and applications relevant to crisis, employee engagement, virtual organizations, conflict management, and public relations are provided.
Professionals come away equipped to apply cultural insights to fostering inclusiveness in relation to diversity, supporting organizational change, making leadership more dynamic, understanding the link between ethics and culture, and achieving personal and professional growth.
List of contents
Part 1: Cultural Analysis Planning 1. Introduction: Setting the Stage 2. The Significance of the Stage: The Value of Cultural Analysis
Part 2: Cultural Analysis Basics 3. Constructing the Set: The Concept of Culture 4. Understanding Roles: Cultural Elements
Part 3: Cultural Data Collection and Interpretation 5. Method Acting: Textual Analysis 6. Method Acting: Observation 7. Method Acting: Interviews and Surveys 8. Getting Inside the Character: Interpretation
Part 4: Cultural Analysis Application 9. Casting against Type: Diversity 10. Improvisation: Leading Change 11. An Honest Portrayal: Ethics 12. The Director's Chair: Symbolic Leadership 13. Reading Reviews: Organizational Effectiveness 14. Opening Night: Conclusion
About the author
Gerald W. C. Driskill is a Professor at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, USA. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in organizational communication, theory, and intercultural communication.
Summary
Offering students and practitioners an applied approach to the subject, Organizational Culture in Action (OCA) introduces a six-step model for positive communication practices to improve organizational ethics and effectiveness. Readers will be equipped to foster organizational change toward personal and professional growth targets.
Additional text
"Organizational Culture in Action is one of my critical go-to workbooks for leadership education because it provides practical and ethical real-world steps for diagnosing organizational culture, including diversity and inclusion practices. Highly readable, it offers numerous exemplar questions and recommendations for connecting theory and practice to sustain and transform today’s organizations." — Elisabeth E. Bennett, Ph.D.,Northeastern University, USA
"I have used Organizational Culture in Action to teach the capstone course in the Organizational Communication undergraduate program for five years. My students and I find the book nicely balanced between theory and methods and ideal for those seeking to learn how to conduct organizational ethnography." — Elena Gabor, Bradley University, USA
"While maintaining an academic focus the text offers a unique contribution through the practical exercises and checks on learning designed to stimulate and engage the reader. The format makes it an ideal companion for individuals or groups who are undertaking a cultural analysis in organizations, or for the purpose of corporate training and development." — Nicholas Jackson, University of Leeds, UK
"This volume admirably balances treatment of related concepts and theories with systematic support for student completion of empirical research. The writing is accessible, and the overall approach makes for interesting – and even fun – work with students." — Bryan C. Taylor, University of Colorado Boulder, USA
