Organisational Communication - The epitome of multi-dimensional interactions

First and formost, an organisation in this context should be defined as such:

"A system consisting of a large number of people working together in a structured way to accomplish multiple goals" - Trenholm, 2005

Now that we are all on common ground as to what a formal organisation is, I feel that the picture below perhaps gives a good perspective of how Organisational Communication flows:

*picture taken from http://www.pureshare.com/images/360degree.jpg

Basically, in an Organisation we see a multi-layered hierachy where different people assuming different roles are intertwined and related through channels of communication. The structure resembles a beehive, where by many individual cells are connected with each other.

This clearly depicts the largely Interdependent nature inside most oraganizations, in which we see individual departments committed to accomplishing certain tasks while at the broader level, we see all these tasks coming together to achieve the common goals of the organization. As such, it is safe to say that the channels of communication that exists between the departments of an organization are extremely vital. Furthermore, the diagram above also depicts the way communication flows in organizations. We can indentify that in most stratas, there is a distinct way that Information flows both Upwards, Downwards, and most certainly also Laterally.

Therefore, for effective communication to take place, the Leadership and Managerial stratas should understand that for efficient processes to take place within formal organizations such as Government bodies or Mega-corporations, it is essential to keep the communication channles open and transparent. This ensures that there is feedback and that reports can be attained so that better decisions can be made at the upper levels. Only when this can be achieved that we see members within the organization being able to work hand in hand to attain common goals.

Should there be a lack of transparency within the communication channels, it is not uncommon to see miscommunications arise. For example, workplace politics will be strife among colleagues and bosses will not be able to ascertain a good idea as to the current status of the organization. Moreover, staff at the lower stratas who are denied from relevant information, or from constructive feedback will perhaps feel unappreciated and lose job satisfaction, thus losing efficiency.

Having seen what a typical Organizational Commmunication structure looks like, let us now examine a somewhat different model:

Clearly, this model of communication represents what we see in MLM - Multi-level Marketing firms. In recent economic times, the proliferation of such firms have been clearly evident and many high profile cases involving such firms have plagued our society. But before we impose any preconceptions about the reputation of such firms, let us plainly examine how this model contrasts with the Typical model we have seen above.

Firstly, Communication in MLM firms flow only in a downward manner. Morever, each strata that extends downward becomes larger and encompasses more members. Members also communicate with one representative in their respective stratas, whom then serves as the Management for that specific strata. As such, those at lower rungs in such a communication model will perhaps never be able to directly communicate with the leadership, thus blinding them to the real decisions that are being made at the top levels.

In truth, such firms are largley profit oriented and members of each strata are highly motivated in purely meeting their sales quotas. There is a lack of synergy or perhaps even a common goal. Furthermore, we see a lack of feedback due to non-existent upward flowing communication channels.

As a result to these flaws of the MLM model of communication, we see why it is not difficult for scams or frauds to revolve around it. In most cases of MLM related scams, higher levels of management are able to get away with such fraudulent behavior because the lower rungs in the organization are clearly unaware of their liabilities. Therefore, by the time most people in such scams realized they have been cheated, it is perhaps already too late.

In your opinion, which Organization Communication model do you think is more effective?

Furthermore, why do you think that such scams can still take place in modern society?

American-ism and the World

What do the War in Iraq, the ousting of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and the 9/11 Terror attacks have in common?

Personally, I feel that many critiques and historians might agree that they are the result of America's influence, perhaps even forceful injection of American culture into the global community. In this case, particularly the Islamic community, whom are not be too happy with the way their culture had been diluted with the influx of western ideals. Hence, we see the formation of extremist cells that aim to spread their message through the use of terror tactics.

Of course... some might disagree...

Take a look at the below pictures, what comes to mind?

CULTURAL IMPERIALISM :

"The imposition of a foreign viewpoint or civilization on a people" - Dictionary.com

" ... artificially injecting the culture or language of one culture into another" - Wikipedia

I hope we can all agree that in the above pictures, together with a clearer idea of what cultural imperialism is truly all about, the western, if not American influx of culture into foreign communities is clearly evident.

We cannot deny that many traditional Asian communities, even China itself, has become "victim" to the diffusion of American ideals and culture. We see clear signs - where once used to be dignified local eateries, replaced by Macdonalds, Starbucks, Burger King and Pizza Hut. Children all over the world have the foundations of their childhood built upon the magic of Disney whereas school children and working adults alike don attire and footwear adorned with the ever so familiar Nike tick.

My friends, in case you haven't noticed, American already has "invaded" the world... the marketing world that is. But we should be truly concerned with the impact this will have on the local culture...

Nonetheless, the influx of one dominant set of culture might not necessarily be bad. In fact, the key argument that cultural imperialism effects - the Cultural Imperialism Debate, is actually as such:

Cultural Imperialism provides a one-way flow of international products and messages to outlying societies that might eventually benefit from it. However, this might prove negatively and impose messages of imperialism and possibly also ideological propaganda.

The point that I am trying to make here is that we cannot reverse or prevent the actual occurance of Cultural Imperialism. But we certainly can curb the impact it has on the extent of dilution of our traditional roots and culture. The fact is, we should not and cannot blindly accept all forms of seemingly "dominant" trends and ideals, fads even, as being the most correct way of life to adopt. In case you hadn't noticed, Americans have demographics that illustrate their rather unhealthy way of lives, with staggering percentages in obesity and other social problems. Not that other cultures do not, but the fact is that sometimes the "coolest" things might not necessarily be the best.

The biggest problem is that we cannot actually curb the influx of Western culture because of the economic and commercial way the media operates.

Still not convinced that American Cultural Imperialism can be demeaning? Take a look at the trailer of the movie below:

This movie is entitled The Wrestler and depicts the life of an American wrestler. The problem with this American production is that there is scene within the plot that illustrates how the main actor outright defeats an Iranian competitor by ramming an Iranian flag pole under under his neck. Talk about insulting!

Furthermore, most of us might remember last years epic, 300:


I dare say most of us were unaware that Hollywood had been slammed by critiques for the way it chose to portray the Battle of Thermopylae. Specifically, how it depicted the Persians as having been "ugly violent creatures other than human beings" Althought it is true that the West actually posses a Globally dominant media presence, but should the world merely sit back and perhaps allow the Americans to continue their onslaught on our cultures?

For the full report: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3740936/Hollywood-film-The-Wrestler-insults-Iran.html

So you see, sometimes we ought to take a step back and realize that not everything popular might actually be good for us. Afterall, he who controls the media, gets to say something and will say it loud.

How then, can we prevent ourselves from succumbing to the ill effects of Cultural Imperialism?

The Invasion of the Cows: Revolutionizing the Mass Media

The concept of Mass media and Mass Communications is definitely not new to society. Newspapers, Tabloids and Magazines have been so thorougly intertwined with our lives that they are usually only passively acknowledged. Nonetheless, it has only been in more recent times has techonology helped to re-define the way Mass Media reaches out. Moreover, we should also note that Mass Communications, as a scholarly subject, is a fairly new field of study and is still in its infancy.

Basically, Mass Media can be defined as:

" A form of Communication through which institutional sources address relatively large, heterogeneous and anonymous audiences physically separated from one another".

With this in mind, we see that Newspapers, Television, Radio, Magazines and perhaps even the Internet are inclusive. Now we should note that the Internet is a controversial medium because it does allow the user to discern what he or she pleases to view. As such, it should in more ways than one be considered Interactive and not merely Passive although it does have the ability to extend its reach to a multitude of communities.

Having said that, i would now like to bring you attention to local advertising firm, Moove Media:

I am pretty certain that the majority of the populace in Singapore find the cows in the pictures above familiar. They belong to local advertising and mass media firm, Moove Media. The reason I have chosen to bring your focus to this is because Moove is not only a successful practitioner and provider of Mass Communication, but also a pioneer in revolutionising the local mass communication scene.

You see, Moove is a partner entity with mass transportation operators here. As such, they have the ability and access to mobile vehicular platforms to which they can implement their "products". And might I just add, I feel that they have done a great job at squeezing their creative juices all over the buses, trains and taxis here.

The above pictures have been sourced from Moove's official website. Clearly evident is the company's ability to transform existing media platforms into something unprecedented. Their use of 3-Dimensional effects and utter emphasis for details surely out-rivals any previously known forms of mass communication. I dare say thay many would find these advertisements more appealing than the relatively more traditional forms such as television and newspapers.

Besides their outstanding product concepts, we should also realize that Moove has a great, albeit "funky" advertising campaign for themselves. The wooden Cows we are now so familiar with that have been strewn all over the island surely managed to capture our attention, so much so that some people felt compelled to steal a few for themselves as a souvenir:

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_335725.html

So, the point that I have been trying to make is thus simple:

Media Determinism can break the Spiral of Silence.

To elaborate, Media determinism referes to the fact that the medium used to convey the message is faily important and usually, is the crux of the message itself. Furthermore, the Spiral of Silence refers to the tendency for people to refrain from expressing unpopular ideas and views. As such, I believe that with the influx of new techniques in mass communication, such as those exemplified by Moove, society should soon be able to open up and perhaps bring themselves to react to the appeal brought about by innovative breakthroughs in Mass Media.

A penny for your thoughts:

It is typical for many to think that only Modern Technology has the ability to fuel breakthroughs in the way we communicate. However, Moove and their Cows certainly have captured our attentions with nothing more than creative application of traditional ideas.

Is there any other way that advertising firms can successfully break through the clutter and reach out to us?