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ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS.
Term Paper ID:28031
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Essay Subject:
Uses 1994 film THE PAPER as workplace example of role of management in commujnication process.... More...
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5 Pages / 1125 Words
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Paper Abstract:
Uses 1994 film THE PAPER as workplace example of role of management in commujnication process.
Paper Introduction:
This paper is an examination of some basic concepts of organizational communications, using examples from the workplace depicted in Ron Howard's movie, The Paper. This film, set in the newsroom of a major New York City tabloid, provides interesting examples of a distinctive corporate culture and the communication process at work. Three of its principal characters are managers, and their interrelationships demonstrate contrasting leadership styles, showing some of the different ways in which managers try to communicate organizational goals and motivate employees.
William W. Neher (1997) notes, "Organizing requires getting people together to accomplish some purpose" (p. 19). The people in the office depicted in The Paper (1994) have come together in order to produce a daily tabloid. Although some of the individuals working at the fictitious New York Sun are concerned
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19). Organizational communication: Challengesof change, diversity, and continuity. She is aclassic "9,1"; Blake and Mouton (1985) describe her style as resting "onthe assumption that there is an inevitable contradiction between theorganization's needs for productivity and the needs of people" (p. He also has a mid-level concern for the productivity of theorganization: he would like to have the kind of journalistic integrityrequired to work on a more high-brow newspaper like the Sentinel (a NewYork Times clone) but finds their corporate culture too stuffy,pretentious, and snobbish for his taste. . The movie focuses on three leaders: Metro Editor Henry Hackett(Michael Keaton), his boss Managing Editor Alicia Clark (Glenn Close), andtheir boss Executive Editor Bernie White (Robert Duvall). Interestingly, her logic is at fault. Blake and Jane S. Clark has not always been this kind of manager,and his staff, obviously concerned with his health and respectful of hispast behavior, is still willing to follow him and try to do an effectivejob for him. This paper is an examination of some basic concepts of organizationalcommunications, using examples from the workplace depicted in Ron Howard'smovie, The Paper. The three managersfeatured in The Paper are almost textbook examples of three very differentpositions on Blake and Mouton's managerial grid. If Clark were only concerned withproduction, she might be able to understand the importance of what herstaff has been able to accomplish. 19).She is so focused on her power that she is unable to accommodate thehumanity of those with whom she works. However, he is working on borrowed time and residual respect. 12). (1997). He actually likes working for apaper that puts out headlines designed to grab attention and raise thereader's adrenaline level, as long as those headlines have some basis intruth. Theorganization will succeed only if it is able to win a significant number oftimes over the year. Although he pretends not to care aboutthe demands he makes on his staff, he is actually very aware of theirwillingness to put in extra time and effort, a willingness that his concernfor them inspires. The next 24 hours will be anentirely new communication process. They are loud, raucousaffairs, in which jokes and sarcastic comments help advance the causes andcareers of the participants, in the same way that blaring headlines help tosell papers. Three of its principal charactersare managers, and their interrelationships demonstrate contrastingleadership styles, showing some of the different ways in which managers tryto communicate organizational goals and motivate employees. This film, set in the newsroom of a major New York Citytabloid, provides interesting examples of a distinctive corporate cultureand the communication process at work. Neher (1997) notes, "Organizing requires getting peopletogether to accomplish some purpose" (p. She is convinced that getting the newspaperprinted on time, with a compelling but erroneous front headline, is moreimportant than spending thousands of extra dollars and delaying delivery inorder to print the truth that her reporters have put themselves on the lineto dig up after the paper's daily deadline. To do this, the organization needs to print articles,features, and headlines that as many readers as possible will want to read.The organization is competing for readership with other tabloids who aretrying to do the same thing: whoever has the catchiest, flashiest, mostcompelling front headline is likely to win the race that day. In the film's climax, she is concerned only with the cost to theorganization were she to allow Hackett to stop the presses and print a moreaccurate front page story. Inthe 24-hour period depicted in this movie, very different managerial stylescombine to achieve a successful outcome. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.----------------------- 7 Although some of the individuals working at the fictitious NewYork Sun are concerned with communicating effectively and accurately withtheir reading public, the organization's real purpose is to sellnewspapers. Hackett represents a middle balance between these two extremes. As Blake and Mouton (1985) observe, "The 1,1-oriented person's positive motivation is to . Clark's seething contempt for the people around her serves tofuel the sarcasm in the room, while White's sudden coughing fit puts a pallover the proceedings, forcing his staff to think about how much longer theywill be able to work for an essentially absent leader. The managerial grid III.Houston: Gulf. Spending the extra money andtime in order to print a sensationally exclusive story turns out to makethe Sun stand out from its competitors. The mosteffective managers are able to balance both concerns, creating a dynamicthat allows the organization to accomplish its goals while also enhancingthe lives of the people who make up the organization. The movie is an effective example of many of the ways in whichcommunication occurs (or does not occur) within an organization. The staff meetings that start each workday and are attended by allthree managers and their reporters are interesting examples of thecommunication styles that drive this organization. . References Blake, R.R., & Mouton, J.S. . The Paper shows that thecommunication process within an organization whose purpose is communicationitself is not any more efficient, effective, or simple than in any othersituation in which a group of human beings have come together to achieve aspecific task. Once she finally does, she recognizes that printing theexclusive story is just better business. The people in the officedepicted in The Paper (1994) have come together in order to produce a dailytabloid. In the end, she learns thathaving a little more concern for the people under her leadership might makeher a better manager after all. (1985). Universal Studios. Neher, William W. However, she is not only unconcerned with the people under hercommand, she is actively contemptuous of their contributions. The Sun has been struggling. At the opposite corner of the grid is Clark, an ambitious formerreporter who has risen rapidly to management level by focusing exclusivelyon production and ignoring the concerns of the people around her. Organizational communication is a complex system of interactions inthe service of accomplishing common goals. . She is socertain that Hackett is trying to stop the presses simply to spite her andmake her look bad that she keeps them going without thinking through thewhole situation. with little regard for making a contribution that benefitsthe organization" (p. The film showseffectively the relationships among these three characters and theinteroffice connections that both enhance and impede communication withinthe organization. Heis concerned with production, but not at the expense of all other things,and with people, but not to the point of giving up on the job at hand.Interestingly, he is not as successful at balancing things in his personallife, and he is fortunate to be married to a reporter who understands thefascinations that his work exerts. He is able to continue to be more effective than a typical1,1-oriented manager because he still has the respect of those working withhim. The paper. Thesethree managers demonstrate how differing emphasis on a concern for thepeople who make up an organization and the work that the organization isthere to accomplish can affect production and personal satisfaction. Hewill probably not be able to continue to be effective for long. 5 ). He is more or less a "5,5," in Blake and Mouton's (1985) grid,"balancing the necessity to get out work with maintaining morale of peopleat a satisfactory level" (p. Clark, who is suffering from an enlarged prostate and the sense ofhis own mortality, is, on the Blake and Mouton scale, a "1,1." He isunable to concern himself with either the people under his command or theproduction of the newspaper. Robert R. William W. Howard, Ron. (1994). [do] the minimumnecessary . Mouton (1985) describe leadership "as aprocess of people working together to achieve organization objectives" (p.2) and note that leadership consists of the combination, to a greater orlesser degree, of concern for either production or people.
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