Philip Tompkins

’ Organizational Communicatin Imperatives Essay, Research Paper

Philip Tompkins’ Organizational Communicatin Imperatives

INTRODUCTION

In the book Organizational Communication Imperatives, by Philip K.

Tompkins, we are introduced to a chapter that deals with an organization that is

held under high prestige by not only those who are employed by it, but by a

country as well. This American organization is NASA, (National Aeronautical

Space Administration), and although a very prestigious place to work, it is not

free of its share of wrongdoing and counter productive ways. Ten years ago

(1986), NASA was faced with its biggest catastrophe, The Challenger Explosion.

This preventable event , which claimed the life of a crew of seven, left many

questioning the ability of communication throughout NASA. The idea that a

crucial element of the space shuttle, O-Rings, would pass inspection, although

many scientists doubted the success of these, would be the ultimate cause of the

crew’s demise shortly after lift off. It seems these scientists’ doubts were

overlooked by a higher authority who gave the go ahead knowing the risk at

stake.

The United States Army, well known for its maintaining of order and

conduct, has fallen into a most peculiar and shameful predicament due to lack of

communication. The New York Times brought its readers to the attention that all

was not right in the military. An organization that shares a similar prestige

to that of NASA, an organization who has exemplified its leadership time and

time again by becoming a force, so powerful, that it is sometimes considered to

police the world, has fallen into a sex abuse scandal. It seems that several

women have come forward to proclaim their mistreatment from various acts ranging

from rape to verbal harassment instilled upon them by members of the military.

These women feel, had there been a genuine form of organizational communication,

the study of sending and receiving messages, they would not have fell victims’

to such hideous crimes. Senator Barbara Boxer stated (New York Times 11/96)

that the complaints made by the women who came forward immediately were lost

somewhere along the line in an attempt to reach a higher authority, signifying a

need for some type of restructure.

STRENGTHS

In the minds of many people today the United States Army Is considered

to have one of the best structured organizational communication networks. This

is based upon the specified code of conduct that the Army is underlyingly ruled

by. This is upheld by the specific chain of command which is easily

distinguished by rank and uniform. Strict punishment is carried out upon those

who violate rules and conduct, commonly accepted by this organization. The

authority figures, in the Army, set tasks, and relay a common purpose to all

subordinates down to the lowest level in the organization. They also oversee

that actions and conduct are carried out in line with the organization ideology.

Luckily for NASA, during Werner Von Braun’s tenure at the helm, there

were many strengths in this company’s organizational communication structure. A

more than adequate system of communication was established and overseen by Von

Braun that centered upon the theory of upward communication. This theory was

designed around the principle, that workers closest to the problem had a large

“hand in” the decision making. The term, penetration, was key for this

organizations checks and balances. It established extensive contact between

contractors and NASA officials at the Marshall Space Flight Center. Von Braun’s

system of the “Monday Notes,” kept communication between each level of this

organization at an informed stature This was a two-way direct form of

communication where feedback was present in both parties. The high level of

redundancy in this organization can be attributed to the success of the Monday

Notes in the communication process. NASA’s lateral function kept different labs

up to date upon each other, and its workers possessed a “willingness to serve,”

a principle where workers had the necessary skills and training to perform their

jobs.

WEAKNESSES

Believe it or not, the Army, as strong as it may appear, contains

several weaknesses to coincide with its strengths. This can be attributed to

the Army’s system of downward communication. This system is based upon the

giving and taking of orders, with an understanding that no questions shall be

asked of authority. The lack of checks and balances in the Army leads to

enormous amounts of discretion held by any officer with a considerable amount of

power and prestige. This can sometimes lead to hostility and moral masochism,

the act of abuse and overextension of power towards subordinates. Feelings of

persecution, fear, and intimidation of superiors are associated with this trend

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