Classical theory
Taylor:
Father of scientific management, he considered workers motivated by rewards of a material kind and by fear of necessity. He advised management that when communicating with their employees they should do so with an emphasis on material rewards. The communication model he supported was linear and top-down.
Fayol:
Father of general administration, he had 3 principles closely related to organizational communication:
- Address unit: a single superior per area, to avoid different interpretations of the messages received from the management. It is related to the downward flow of information (vertical communication). Ladder chain: hierarchical order that serves as a nexus for the flow of information. It is related to an upward and downward flow of information, as well as horizontal communication. Unity of command: A manager should not bypass an employee's direct supervisor if he wants to communicate with the latter. It is related to the downward flow of information.
Fayol's principles speak of a pyramidal structure in organizations, where communication is carefully controlled and follows a hierarchical order in decision-making.
Weber:
Father of the theory of bureaucracy, he argues that the organization must be governed by rigid rules so that the execution and coordination of tasks are predictable and thus prevent possible errors.
Synthesis:
The classical theory favors:
- Pyramidal structures Little interaction between the members of the organization Vertical communication processes (especially in the downward flow) Centralization in decision making Excess of rules and regulations Motivation of employees based on fear of need
Humanistic theory
It was born in the mid-30s with the studies carried out in Hawtorne.
Their studies concluded that the performance of the organization is closely related to the interest of management about the needs and ideas of workers.
Mc. Gregor:
Proposes theories X and Y.
Chris Argrys:
He says that the typical individual is frustrated in a formal organization, as it prevents him from developing and limits the use of his skills. This can be corrected allowing a greater participation of the employees in the decision making of the organization and enriching the work among other things.
Rensis Likert:
It suggests that management styles are divided into 4 systems with their extremes in system 1 (authoritarian) and system 4 (participatory).
From the point of view of communication, for the management style to be participatory, it is assumed that there must be:
- Confidence of the supervisor and subordinate in communication Participation in decision making Open channels of ascending, descending and horizontal communication in the organization Correct feedback Free questioning of organizational policies and decisions
Synthesis
Humanistic approaches favor:
- Participation of lower-level employees in decision-making Open communication exchange Trust among members of the organization Free flow of information through various channels Increased interest in the development of workers Employee-centered leadership style Extensive management processes interaction
Systems theory
It says that organizations are made up of functional subsystems (areas of the organization) and social subsystems, dynamically interrelated. In addition, organizations as open systems depend on the environment where they are inserted.
Contingent theory
He says that every organization, being an open system, must take into account the environment and the situation in which it finds itself. Its success will depend on the degree to which it can adapt its structure, its policy and other characteristics to the type of situation in which it is immersed, that is, taking into account situational variables such as technology, culture, environment, etc.
Research trends in organizational communication
1940s:
The communication study priority was to determine the optimal ways for downstream communication to employees.
In this decade, an informed employee was considered a happy and productive employee. The companies issued written publications.
1950s:
In this decade, 3 important aspects of organizational communication are studied:
1. The effects of small group communication networks on the performance of the organization and on the attitudes and behavior of each member of the group.
2. The relationship that exists between the attitudes and perceptions of the members of the organization regarding communication (mainly upward and downward) and their performance at work.
3. Distortion of messages in upward communication.
1960s:
Research in the 1960s follows the path started in the previous decade, in addition to concluding that an efficient supervisor is one who is oriented towards communication, asking and persuading instead of ordering and telling how to do things. It is also open to transmit information to employees.
It was also concluded that participatory decision-making approaches lead to higher levels of mood and employee satisfaction.
1970s:
Research aimed at identifying effective leaders concluded that there is no particular style of communication that is “best” in all organizations, rather that each organization requires a different mix of attitudes and behaviors to achieve leadership effectiveness.
In addition, it was proven that, regarding the distortion of the message, employees tend to distort messages that are negative (unfavorable) more than those that are positive (favorable).
The general results of the investigations showed that the satisfaction in the work of the employees is related to the feedback received from their superiors.
In addition, the attempt to identify the key roles of communication within the networks continued.
Provided by UCh RR.HH. HR student portal www.uch.edu.ar/rrhh
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