Mobile Communication and Work Practices in Knowledge-based Organizations

This chapter introduces methods to enable to act on the results of articulation and alignment processes. As such, it outlines paths towards sharing and anchoring new work practices in organizations. The proposed methodologically grounded interventions allow to qualitatively validate novel work practices and to agree on strategies for their organization-wide roll-out. Drawing from current practice-oriented research in organizational development, Computer Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW), and knowledge management, this chapter also includes an account on supporting technology that could be used to aid method deployment.

This study proposes the analysis of Sesinho magazine, a publication of SESI - Social Service of Industry, in the period of 2001 to 2011 to identify the use of the material as a communicative practice and how the discourse of the institute is revealed by the iconographic language of comics, inside the context of institutional communication. The reading of comics lies in the understanding of words and images, which together, delimit the content of the message sent and, in this context, the study questions the appropriation of language in the construction of SESI?s speech for children, target audience of the publication. In this work we will focus on concepts related to organizational communication, an area that covers the studies of communication phenomenon on organizations, with the relational perspective, that considers the relevance of all the actors in the production of the institutional speech. To this area has highlighted the aspect of institutional communication that represents the ways in which organizational speech is shared and understood by the public that directly or indirectly influence and are influenced by organizations. It is considered in this research, as an institutional speech, industry?s utterances, in its various forms of language, which aim to produce meaning among its interlocutors, referred here as the various publics with which SESI is related. The research adopts the qualitative method and occurs on two levels: descriptive, which aims to describe the characteristics of visual and verbal languages of the publications with the establishment of relations between them, and exploratory, with the aim of obtaining an overview of the ten years of production of the material. The methodological approach adopted in this study for data collection and data analysis is Content Analysis, a technique of hybrid feature that can be used in a systematic way for the content analysis of verbal and visual language, therefore, applicable to the study of comics images, which is intended to identify the discursive constructions that are embedded in the iconographic language. Considerations obtained show that the use of comics in the context of institutional communication can contribute to the production of meaning by the reader, when it recognizes the meanings and emotional impacts of image, thus being relevant and appropriate to the relational communicative practice in organizations. Thus, the study may contribute with new researches in the field of image and in its relation to the field of organizational communication, which is considered the convergence of comics with the prospect of interactive communication that sees organizations as discursive constructions.

PurposeThis study aims to examine the relationship between leaders' personality traits and their internal communication practices from the leaders' and the followers' perspectives. The effectiveness of leader communication on the followers' perceived relational quality with their organization is also tested.Design/methodology/approachTwo survey studies in the United States were conducted focusing on leaders' and followers' perspectives on communication practices, respectively.FindingsResults of Study 1 showed that leaders' self-reported extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, emotional stability and openness to experience are all significantly and positively associated with their symmetrical and transparent communication practices. From the followers' perspective (Study 2), extraversion and agreeableness positively influenced symmetrical leader communication, while agreeableness and conscientiousness were positively related to transparent leader communication. Both symmetrical and transparent leader communication enhanced the followers' perceived relationship quality with their organization.Originality/valueThe current study is among the first attempts to incorporate the trait theory of leadership in understanding organizational leaders' effective and ethical communication practices with their followers.

This study explored the influence of organizational communication and work values on collaboration among intergenerational nurses in a government hospital in Iloilo City during the first quarter of 2025. The study was anchored on the Theory of Work Adjustment, Communication Accommodation Theory, and Interprofessional Collaboration Theory. A descriptive-correlational and comparative research design was employed involving 51 nurses—nearly equally divided between young adults (20–35 years old) and older adults (36 years old and above). Standardized instruments measured organizational communication, work values, and collaboration. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests for significant differences, and Pearson’s correlation for relationships among variables. Results revealed no significant differences in communication and collaboration across age groups. However, older nurses scored significantly higher in values such as power, universalism, conformity, and tradition, indicating a generational shift in value orientation. Significant positive relationships were found between several work values like conformity, self-direction, universalism and dimensions of communication and collaboration. These findings confirm that intergenerational collaboration is shaped more by value alignment and communication practices than by age differences alone. A generation-based collaboration plan was proposed to strengthen shared values, promote effective communication, and enhance team-based nursing care.

Gaining a thorough understanding of today's complex workplace is of vital importance to both business professionals and academics—not only because it leads to a deeper understanding of individual motivation in the work context, but also because it reveals ways in which work practices can be improved. This requirement for both understanding and action has become especially pressing in the area of "learning in organizations" as businesses have become ever more "knowledge-based." There is now an urgent need to comprehend how people and organizations learn, and then to store and transfer the resulting new knowledge to facilitate the design of work environments and practices. Learning from Work directly addresses this growing workplace need by examining how people communicate and learn in one of the most complex of industry structures: the automobile industry. It is the very nature of this industry's complexity that makes this study so valuable. The combination of global scale, plus the nature of the relationships between the manufacturers and the dealerships (the dealerships are independent businesses that are only loosely coupled to the manufacturers) make the barriers to communication and learning quite high, and make the solutions to overcoming them applicable in many different work environments. Anne Beamish suggests that the only way is to increase learning and improve collaboration and communication in complex organizations is to apply design thinking. This is the only comprehensive method, she claims, that can unleash the kind of innovative and effective solutions required to overcome the inherent structural, procedural, and political barriers.

This paper (1) reviews the growing recognition of uncertainty as a central concern in social science and administrative disciplines, (2) proposes a definition of uncertainty useful in organizational communication, and (3) demonstrates the applicability of this concept to managing communication problems in a manufacturing firm. Uncertainty is defined herein as the perceived lack of information, knowledge, beliefs, and feelings necessary for accomplishing organizational tasks . The goal of communicators is to reduce andlor manage their own and their audience's uncertainties through language. By analyzing corporate, departmental, and individual uncertainties, writers can interpret communication problems, design documents, and manage formal and informal communication systems efficiently and effectively.

A design stance seeks to understand design practice in organizational communication and to engage in it. This is achieved in three ways: (1) by recognizing organizations as designs for communication and organizing as communication design work ; (2) by examining language use and interactivity as matters for design; and (3) by analysis of ideas in design regarding what communication is and ought to be. The pragmatist underpinnings of a design stance inspire a unique approach to knowledge about organizational communication and the cultivation of organizational practice in society.

The present study discusses communication strategies and practices of organizations in the context of managing their levels of (in)visibility in the current sociotechnical landscape. In this sense, the aim is to understand how Freemasonry – historically known for its secretive nature – interprets the current hegemonic regime of expanded visibility and manages (in)visibility in its organizational communication processes. To achieve this, the assumptions of symbolic interactionism (Mead, 1982; Blumer, 1980) and theoretical contributions from organizational communication (Baldissera, 2009; 2017) and the notion of secrecy (Simmel, 1999; Despret, 2011) are used as the theoretical foundation. Methodologically, secondary data is extracted from a study conducted by Vinhola (2021), analyzed through the lens of Goffman’s stage/backstage metaphor (2002), along with the organizational communication dimensions proposed by Baldissera (2009). Through diagrams, the study highlights different strategies and operations of (in)visibility (defensive, offensive, counterattack, and veiled infiltration) employed by Freemasonry in heterogeneous interactional devices. The main inference is that the management of Freemasonry’s (in)visibility is grounded in a specific organizational logic, defined here as discreet communication.

In a crisis situation, employees are facing pressures and challenges because they have to deal with unexpected disruption in their routine working conditions with a high level of uncertainty. Organizational communication strategies and practices play important roles to give employees information, direction, and support. The research aims to explore how organizational communication strategies and practices responses to such a specific crisis: Pandemic Covid-19, using a situational crisis communication theoretical framework. The research applies a qualitative approach. Four organizations participated, involved two business organizations and two educational organizations, selected using a maximum variation sampling technique. Four people representing each organization were interviewed using the inductive method. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings show that organizational communication strategies and practices being used by all participants’ organizations are mostly related to the preparation stage and the response stage of crisis management. Early crisis management planning, forming crisis management teams, and preparing supporting communication systems, including providing health care facilities and communication protocols for infected employees are salient practices during the preparation stage. On the response stage, leader and horizontal communication intensively used with a variation of media and channels. Interestingly, informal communication was minimized while formal communication conducted intensively and transparently. Furthermore, sensitivity to employees’ needs and conditions as well as emphatic communication expressing positive emotion and support was perceived positive to help employees to understand the information well and to feel being understood and being appreciated.

Information and communication technology (ICT) has changed and continues to change almost every aspect of our daily lives. Our personal lives, social interactions, educational systems, business atmosphere, and corporate culture-everything has changed in one way or another due to advances in the field of ICT. The construction industry is no exception. ICT provides an unprecedented opportunity as well as enormous challenges to the construction industry.

This article aims to know the impact of communication technology in organizational communication. As we know organizational communication has limitations because of distortions, one of which is caused by physical distance. However, with the development of technology, physical distance can be overcome by sending the work instruction, discussion, and decision-making through email or instant messengers like WhatsApp, Blackberry Messenger that can be accessed by simply using the phone. The advantage of instant messaging services is that it can be used by anyone, anywhere and anytime without the need to meet at the office. Technology changes offices into virtual ones. Distortion due to the dissolution of the message on one level in the organizational structure can be minimized because employees who are members within the group instant messenger can read messages simultaneously. Additionally, nonverbal message during face to face communication can be replaced with emoticons. But the downside is the time to work is often used for informal messaging not relevant with work and the employee ultimately can be drowned in a flood of data, including ones not needed to complete the job.

Effective communication is pivotal for success in today's interconnected and complex business environments. This research delves into the communication culture of an engineering and construction company, aiming to comprehend its organizational culture and communication practices. Using a qualitative research design, key informant interviews were conducted with three engineers holding managerial positions within the company. Thematic analysis revealed insights into the organization's values, communication patterns, and dynamics. Results indicate a culture emphasizing honesty, integrity, collaboration, and transparency. Communication channels such as team meetings, open-door policies, and suggestion boxes were identified, highlighting the importance of both formal and informal communication models. Instances impacting communication, such as deadlines and seminars, were also examined. Recommendations include promoting open communication, utilizing various communication channels, implementing training programs, fostering diversity, balancing formal and informal communication, setting clear deadlines, and continuously evaluating communication practices. Despite limitations such as sample size and potential biases, this study offers valuable insights into enhancing communication effectiveness within engineering and construction companies, contributing to organizational success.

This article explores the principles, challenges, and practices of cross-cultural communication in faith-based organizations (FBOs). It emphasizes empathy, respect, cultural sensitivity, and adaptability as guiding principles for building trust and inclusivity. Drawing on experiences from resource-constrained environments, the article highlights both the challenges of language barriers, stereotypes, and limited technology, and the opportunities provided by local knowledge, leadership, and innovative outreach. It provides practical strategies such as training, feedback mechanisms, and culturally tailored communication for sustaining long-term community impact.

This Problems in the field discusses the problem of insufficient collaboration between writing practice in organizations on the one hand and research into writing processes and document design on the other. From writing process research there are few impulses to make connections with relevant theoretical models (e.g. Human performance improvement, organizational communication) to create a fertile basis for investigating and improving real organizational writing processes. Research results in document design turn out to be hardly translatable into everyday practice. This is an important issue as experimental research may indicate that popular ideas about what is effective in letters don't seem to hold. Our own research shows that the effect of politeness strategies may be far less important than using the right arguments. But how can we get the practitoners to accept this. Two final questions: Are textual strategies subject to temporal and/or cultural change? And secondly: How do people appreciate specific media choices: is it, e.g., acceptable to answer a letter with an e-mail or a phone call?.

AIDA is a qualitative method of analysis developed by Karen Tracy for studying talk or text in communicative situations. As a discourse analytic method, its home is the research area of Language and Social Interaction (LSI), though it has also been used in research areas such as argumentation and interpersonal, group, and organization communication. Its aim is to reconstruct and make arguments about discourse practices that reveal and manage communication challenges people face in identified situations, specifically how those practices shape the normative ideals about that situation. AIDA’s roots are in discursive psychology, interactional sociolinguistics, conversation analysis, and critical discourse analysis, all of which influence four interrelated key features. One is that the data for analysis is typically recorded and transcribed talk. Analysis considers not just what people say but also how they talk and interact with other speakers. Details of talk and interaction such as overlapping speech, pauses, repetition, false starts, emphasis, intonation, and sound particles (e.g., “uh,” “mhm,” “uhuh”) have potential analytic significance. Decisions about how much to record and how detailed to make the transcription are influenced by three other key features of AIDA: the naming of discourse/communication practices, its rhetorical-normative impulse, and the usefulness of ethnographic background. Naming a discourse/communication practice helps frame the situation in which it is found. AIDA’s rhetorical and normative impulse is that it assumes communicators seek to achieve multiple goals in articulated situations which inevitably compete and therefore create interactional problems and challenges, often in the form of dilemmas. Furthermore, those goals invariably involve displaying the self and altercasting others’ identities in some group, institutional, or community context. Thus, some moral compass, or normative guide, shapes how people manage those goals and seek to achieve them. Ethnographic background in forms such as field notes, interviews, and institutional documents helps situate the practice under study and is necessary for interpreting the transcribed talk. Like decisions about transcription amount and detail, the type and amount of ethnographic background will be influenced by articulation of the practice, the situation of interest, and the relevant group, institution, or community. AIDA is an inductive approach that may nonetheless be guided by theoretical concepts. Nascent hunches born with fitting theoretical concepts (e.g., as face/facework, politeness theory, membership categorizing, argumentation concepts) may furnish—to varying degrees—a project using AIDA, but AIDA ultimately seeks to formulate theoretical propositions or new and interesting claims about situated communication practice. This bibliography begins with a collection of articles about AIDA’s theoretical orientation, grounded practical theory (GPT), followed by overview articles about AIDA and book-length research studies featuring AIDA. It also includes a collection of journal articles using AIDA, organized into two groups. One foregrounds the reconstruction of communication practices, while the other foregrounds interaction challenges.