Week 1: Organizational Communication

Our first week of class began with the topic of organizational communication and its four challenges that have a tremendous impact on today’s world. These four challenges include globalization, terrorism, climate change, and changing demographics. With the rise of technology over the years, these issues have become more prevalent in our everyday lives and will continue to do so for our future generations.

Now what exactly is organizational communication? We can break it down into two concepts: organizations and communication. An organizational structure “delineates how task allocation, coordination, and supervision are focused towards the completion of organizational claims” (Pugh, 1990). Corporations, governments, and charities are all common examples and work by using communication (being able to relay messages and information back and forth). With the rise of technology, organizations have been facing challenges on how to communicate effectively in different settings (multicultural, when space/time is condensed, etc) and how to deal with different issues (global warming, terrorism, etc). Privacy, audience awareness, and the distinction between “work vs non-work” are also issues that arise from this.

We also watched a video of Thomas Friedman, who talked about globalization and claimed that “the world is flat”. I was very engaged throughout this video and felt that he brought up very interesting and valid points. He mentioned how the world evolved from being spearheaded by countries, to companies, and now to individuals. I agree with this statement completely because with the creation of the Internet and social networks, individuals can now create, share, and connect with millions of people around the world instantly. It changed the entire world and human race completely! Friedman also claimed that a major advantage in life is being able to combine and apply two or more specialities. By combining them, it enables inspiration and creativity, and Friedman further adds that “the most important economic challenge is you versus your imagination”. It is really something to think about and I am glad that I was able to watch this video in class.

I have learned a lot this past week through the lectures and the Friedman video. It was a great way to start the semester and I cannot wait for the weeks to come.