57237 Organisational Communication and Culture
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Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Anti-requisite(s): 57035 Organisational Change and Communication AND 57191 Organisational Change and Communication
Description
This subject examines the importance of employee communication for building and supporting organisational culture, maintaining employee loyalty, and facilitating change. Students learn major methods and media used for organisational communication and employee engagement. As employees are key stakeholders for organisations to achieve their overall strategic communication goals, this subject explores contemporary theories and practices of internal organisational communication using case studies, field trips and guest lectures. Students critically analyse key factors that hinder and facilitate positive cultural and organisational changes. They learn to develop effective leadership styles and manage workplace conflicts and negotiations through hands-on activities such as role-plays, simulations and professional business presentations. Students develop ethical and effective internal communication projects to address organisational changes such as mergers and acquisitions, leadership succession and technological disruption.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
| a. | Identify factors that contribute to positive and destructive organisational culture |
|---|---|
| b. | Explain the importance of organisational communication genres in the workplace |
| c. | Evaluate communication effectiveness during organisational change |
| d. | Assess employee communication strategies for organisations |
| e. | Demonstrate professionalism in business presentations and leadership skills |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject engages with the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs), which are tailored to the Graduate Attributes set for all graduates of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences:
- Apply a body of practice-oriented knowledge and skills to develop, implement and evaluate innovative solutions to real-world communication challenges with a high level of personal autonomy and accountability (1.1)
- Critically and creatively re-think and reflect on public relations, advertising and organisational change models and practices for the 21st century beyond dominant models and approaches (2.2)
- Graduates are able to continually reflect on and interrogate their cultural values and those of colleagues and organisations (3.2)
- Graduates are able to persuade and engage diverse audiences through both written and oral communication strategies across a range of media formats with consideration of others' needs and views (6.1)
Teaching and learning strategies
The subject employs a distance learning mode in which online content and assessed online discussions will take place during weeks 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. Students attend live online seminars during weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12. Pre-census feedback will be provided in week 3 when students complete their first online discussion. Learning activities during the live online seminar will include case study discussion, simulations and role-plays, as well as professional business presentations.
Content (topics)
The content of subject is categorised into two broad areas. Students will be introduced to organisational communication as an interdisciplinary subject that covers the management communication flow within organisations as well as individual communication that contributes to organisational culture. During the first half, the subject explores the macro perspective of how organisations manage their cultures and changes through various contemporary employees communication strategies. Then in the second half, the subject explores the various workplace communication genres that are essential for students to develop professionalism and career success.
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Organisational Change Case Study
| Objective(s): | a, b, c and e | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight: | 30% | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Length: | 1500 words case paper plus a 10-minute group presentation Groups will present live to tutor via Zoom during week 6 tutorial. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Assessment task 2: Online Discussions
| Objective(s): | a, b, d and e | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight: | 40% | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Length: | 1500 words (approximately 500 words for each post) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Assessment task 3: Organisational Communication TED-style Talk
| Objective(s): | b and e | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight: | 30% | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Length: | 3-minute individual presentation plus PowerPoint slides with references Students will present live, via Zoom, to class and tutor during week 12 tutorial | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Required texts
There are no required texts for this subject. Recommended readings will be available via UTS Library and the subject online site.
References
Bochantin, J. 2017, ‘“Ambulance thieves, clowns, and naked grandfathers”: How PSEs and their families use humorous communication as a sense making device’, Management Communication Quarterly, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 278-296.
Bordia, P., Jones, E., Gallois, C., Callan, V., & DiFonzo, N. 2006, ‘Management are aliens! Rumors and stress during organizational change’, Group & Organization Management, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 601-621.
Hartelius, E., & Browning, L. 2008, ‘The application of rhetorical theory in managerial research’, Management Communication Quarterly, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 13-39.
Jian, G., Schmisseur, A., & Fairhurst, G. 2008, ‘Organizational discourse and communication: the progeny of Proteus’, Discourse & Communication, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 299-320.
Jones, E., Watson, B., Gardner, J., & Gallois, C. 2004, ‘Organizational Communication: Challenges for the New Century’, Journal of Communication, vol. 54, no. 4, pp. 722-750.
Lewis, L., & Russ, T. 2012, ‘Soliciting and using input during organizational change initiatives’, Management Communication Quarterly, vol. 26, no. 2, 267-294
McClellan, J. 2013, ‘Announcing change: Discourse, uncertainty, and organizational control’, Journal of Change Management, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 192-209.
Miller, K., Considine, J., & Garner, J. 2007, ‘“Let me tell you about my job”: Exploring the terrain of emotion in the workplace’, Management Communication Quarterly, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 231-260.
Pfeil, M., Setterberg, A., & O’Rourke, J. 2004, ‘The art of downsizing: Communicating lay?offs to key stakeholders’, Journal of Communication Management, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 130-141.
Tye-Williams, S., & Krone, K. 2017, ‘Identifying and re-imagining the paradox of workplace bullying advice’, Journal of Applied Communication Research, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 218-235.