On the approach of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the American Sociological Association (ASA), readily available, official records were utilized to write its history. The product does not detail a history of sociology in the United States; it deals with a history of an organization facing, over time, a series of problems. There is a…

In order to compare how healthy and troubled corporations communicate with their shareholders, a study examined the narrative of the 1982 annual report of 50 of America's best-run corporations (as compiled by Thomas Peters and Robert Waterman for their book, "In Search of Excellence"). The focus was on the letter to the stockholders--the…

Recognizing that public relations is a field in search of the status and benefits of professionalism but which too often is conducted by unqualified, unprofessional people, a study sought to research and analyze the importance of a broad range of tentatively defined knowledge and skill areas considered essential to contemporary public relations…

Fallacies are defined as incorrect patterns of reasoning, and can be classified into two chief classes--formal fallacies, which involve violation of a rule, and informal fallacies, such as hasty generalizations or arguing from ignorance. Inspired by George Orwell's essay "Politics and the English Language" and his book "1984,"…

As more and more organizations are utilizing media such as videotape, electronic mail, computer-based training, and video-conferencing, the role of the media professional becomes more crucial. The responsible media communicator must be cognizant of the ethical concerns of the consultant and adapt these to the special needs of the client and the…

Applying knowledge of myth to the milieu of commercial television programming, this paper focuses on the way myth was generated in an advertising campaign that featured Lee Iacocca, chief executive officer of Chrysler Corporation, during the period of 1979-1982, when Chrysler moved from the edge of bankruptcy to financial stability. After…

The sytems view of organizations recognizes that all parts of the organization, including people and organizations within networks, affect all the other parts. This study examines the interorganizational relationships of a rural community human service delivery system in northern Minnesota. The coordination and integration of human services appear…

A study analyzed the responses of chief executive officers (CEOs) and company presidents to a leadership test and an organizational environment test, to determine whether these individuals' managerial approaches coincided with their characterizations of their organizations' environments. Subjects, CEOs or presidents of 65 randomly selected…

Despite a lack of consensus on theoretical perspectives on public relations and variations in the ways it and interpersonal communication are defined, public relations may be related to interpersonal communication in three ways: (1) it is two-way communication, (2) it is personal, and (3) it is relational. Even in activities having the highest…

Any university or college department that is conducting a self-study (self-evaluation) must do so in an organized and open-minded fashion. Too often persons can delude themselves into believing that they are conducting self-analysis when they are actually engaging in self-congratulations or conducting a disorganized search that will lead to…

For some time organizational theorists have been calling for increased attention to and appreciation of the role of specific contexts in organizational processes. One group of researchers has heeded this call by treating the organization as a cultural phenomenon. This approach has raised many questions, including (1) What is cultural in an…

For several years, the "systems" metaphor has guided organizational communication research. Recently, however, a sizable number of management and organizational communication scholars have explored another guiding metaphor--that of organizational culture. Present notions of organizational culture tend to focus on static, structural…

The responsibilities and skills of college development officers are discussed. The need for development officers has stemmed from financial problems that could only be solved through additional sources of revenue. In addition to understanding the concept and function of institutional development, the development officer must recognize that…

Understanding organizational cultures offers important and useful insights for the professional communicator. The fastest-growing area of interest in the study of modern organizations and their behavior is that of organizational cultures. There are at least two specific ways to categorize and discuss these cultures. The first is to divide them…

Rapid technological development, rising standards of living, and greater pressures of consumerism and consumer expectations have caused shorter product life cycles. Future organizational success will depend on organizations' abilities to respond to the changing opportunities and threats in the marketplace. As companies and products move through…