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ERIC Number: ED217507
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1982-May
Pages: 12
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Developing Research and Teaching Resources for the Study of Organizational Communication in Political Settings.
Graber, Doris A.
It is unfortunate that the field of organizational communication has neglected communication in political settings, because the bulk of students enrolled in social science curricula are likely to work in public or semipublic institutions. Problems unique to the political setting stem from the fact that most public agencies must tailor their external and internal messages to a variety of public audiences. A two-quarter graduate level course sequence offered at the University of Illinois (Chicago Circle) is structured to provide an introduction to the organizational communication field with an emphasis on political settings. The course begins with a general discussion of the nature, importance, and technical and ethical problems of organizational communication, with examples drawn largely from the field of politics. Next, the course focuses on the major roles of information gathering in the work of governmental and other political organizations. The third major focus of the course is formal and informal internal and external information flows, structures, and climates. Finally, the students spend considerable course time developing the research skills needed to carry out major research projects, including communication audits. Unfortunately, the literature available for teaching such a course is inadequate. If the field is to develop properly, several good texts are needed, as well as intellectual transposers who can restructure available data about organizational communication in political settings into appropriate formats. (HTH)
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Descriptive; Guides - Classroom - Teacher
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association (32nd, Boston, MA, May 2-5, 1982).