Corrine Evans is an SPC student majoring in Education.

One of the most compelling things I have learned in this course is to reach out and grab all the information you can obtain on the subject of diversity in business.  Organizational communication is going to be one of those items, and being good at it, is going to be an essential tool for success in the upcoming future.  If businesses around the world fail to embrace this mantra, and practice diversity within their own organization or business, they will not be in business very long.  While the “good all boys” network may have still been in full operation twenty years ago, the ever changing cultural diversity of the United States of America is no longer going to put up with that kind of mentality.  Members of a company, team, or organization need to be able to take on new roles in the business market.  Globalization is expanding minute by minute via the availability and development of technology.  Companies need to be first in line to obtain the technology necessary, and need to ensure their internal customers (staff members) are trained, consulted with, and brought together in order for everyone to understand the need and necessity for change, and to buy into the concept.  Prior communication techniques from the majority of organizations need to be changed, and new methods that are available, need to be embraced to go further into the technological world.  Countries need to foster their companies to ensure they are in balance with the culture, and societies of the different parts of the world to enable them to comprehend what is important to these future potential businesses now; not wait until it just slides by them without them realizing what happened.   Stakeholders in any company wanting to expand globally will need to fine tune their ability to communicate with multiple cultures so they can embrace the future.

I have learned more about teamwork.  Team members need to individually “buy” into the concept a company is trying to implement in company culture.  If team members are not communicated to properly, they will not “jump on the new bandwagon”, so the big thing holding them back is communication.  Organizational Communication needs to be modified according to the specifics of the company or organization, and needs to have back-ups or changes made as needed, in order to succeed.  I certainly will use “the cognitive model” which is centered on the human resources approach.  This will improve information flowing upward so that decision making personnel are able to dissimilate and explain the information in a positive manner to increase morale and productivity.

Another lesson learned in Organizational Communication, is there should be a “Workplace Democracy” in many ways.  They can be as simple as a conversation held at the water cooler to formal written policies that contain a lot of participation by team members.  Part of this concept is to allow the people out on the line everyday a say in how their work conditions, hiring, company policies are determined and how much participation in needed in the work place.  Humanistic traits and ideals are a part of a democracy in the company, and these features should be recognized.  Collaboration among a work group is essential and will result in success of a company if it is embraced and handled in a manner that everyone understands and feels a part of.

I have learned many, many things about organizational communication. The things one should do and those things that probably are not a good idea if success is the ultimate goal.  I now feel I can relate to the different generation types in the workforce today and understand what events happened to make them feel that way.  I have learned to be an empathic, knowledgeable, open-minded, culture sensitive communicator in the business world.  I feel this information will take me a long way into being the successful person I want to be.

Making sure I combine the social process according to the culture I am working with will certainly lead to better community relations and a more successful outcome for any company I may work for.  While this information is outlined in a simple manner, the people putting it into action need to be honestly supportive people that understand the true meaning of teamwork.  Also being a truly nice person, with good manners, will help the communication process work easier and faster, so this should always be kept in the mind of the person contributing to the communication process.  You can’t teach someone to be nice; they either are or are not.

REFERENCES

Miller, Katherine (2015).  Organization Communication: Approaches and Processes. [978-1-285-

16420-5].  Cengage Learning.  7^th Edition. Stamford, CT.

Yates, J., & Orlikowski, W. J. (1992). Genres of organizational communication: A

structurational approach to studying communication and media. Academy of management

           review, 17(2), 299-326.