Engaging Organizational Communication Theory and Research

Book excerpt: "This book offers a refreshing and engaging overview of the ways some research traditions in organizational communication have unfolded over time and continue to be connected to everyday, real events." —Patrice Buzzanell, Purdue University Engaging Organizational Communication Theory and Research: Multiple Perspectives is a book unlike any in the field. Each chapter is written by a prominent scholar who presents a theoretical perspective and discusses how he or she "engages" with it, personally examining what it means to study organizations. Rejecting the traditional model of a "reader," this volume demonstrates the intimate connections among theory, research, and personal experience. Significant theoretical perspectives such as post-positivism, social construction, rhetoric, critical theory, feminism, postmodernism, structuration theory, and globalization are discussed in terms of their history, assumptions, development, propositions, research, and applications. In addition to editors Steve May and Dennis K. Mumby, contributors include Brenda J. Allen, Karen Lee Ashcraft, George Cheney, Steven R. Corman, Stanley Deetz, Robert McPhee, Marshall Scott Poole, Cynthia Stohl, Bryan C. Taylor, and James R. Taylor. Key Features • An introduction that addresses the idea of engaged research. • Accessible and cutting edge accounts of important research traditions written by well-known leaders in the field. • Personal accounts of each scholar′s place in his or her field of study. • A conclusion that explores the future of organizational communication studies. • An extensive body of references on each perspective. Engaging Organizational Communication Theory and Research is an indispensable resource for anyone wishing to be familiar with current trends in the field of organizational communication. It is recommended as the main text for upper-level undergraduate and entry-level graduate courses in organizational communication theory. It is also an excellent supplementary text for related courses in departments of communication studies, business and management, sociology, and industrial relations.