Interpersonal Communication – Organization & Group Interaction

DOES NOT HAVE TO BE 1 PAGE!

Guiding Questions:

Gibson & Papa present two models of of how people learn to become members of an organization including 1) Assimilation and 2) Organizational Osmosis.

1. Given Gibson & Papa’s ideas about Organizational Osmosis, have we all been to some degree socialized to work particular types of jobs rather than others? Why or why not? What are the social consequences of this?

In Tompkins’ article we hear about some of the changes that were occurring in how NASA was being run that significantly contributed to the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle. The majority of these changes were in the communication practices that were taking place within NASA at the time. Tompkins reviews some of the great communication practices that existed in the organization, and how those changed for a variety of reasons and the role those changes played in the explosion. As a result it is a useful article to read to hear about some great communication practices at a huge organization.

1. Pick one of Von Braun’s practices or philosophies, and discuss in your own words why it was so beneficial to the organization. Could this practice or philosophy be applied to a place you work or worked? How would it change things?
2. Pick one of the changes in communication that occurred at NASA that led to the crash and discuss in your own words how it harmed the organization.