Changing Organizational Communication Practices and Norms: A Framework

Jim Suchan Naval Postgraduate School

Abstract

Efforts to get workers to change significantly their communication practices often fail. This failure occurs because external consultants, who are often academics, and internal organizational development specialists see changing communication practices as merely introducing new skills rather than altering the way workers habitually think and talk about communication. In this article, the author uses organizational theory and details from his research and consulting experience to explain why changing communication practices is difficult. He proposes a theory-based framework to help the professional and managerial communication disciplines better understand the steps necessary to change communication practice and norms in large, complex organizations.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2006-01-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651905281038
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
Export

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (6)

  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  5. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Show all 6 →
  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

References (59) · 1 in this index

  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Overcoming organizational defenses: Facilitating organizational learning
  3. Organizational learning: A theory of action practice
  4. Speech genres and other late essays
  5. 10.1016/0090-2616(95)90070-5
Show all 59 →
  1. 10.1177/0021886390262011
  2. 10.1177/0021886395313007
  3. 10.1177/002188639002600108
  4. Reframing organizations
  5. The social life of information
  6. 10.2307/2393807
  7. Collaborative leadership: How citizens and civic leaders can make a difference
  8. Appreciative management and leadership
  9. Research in organization change and development
  10. 10.2190/CWIC5
  11. 10.1287/orsc.5.2.121
  12. Community action and organizational change: Image, narrative, identity
  13. 10.1108/09534819910300855
  14. 10.5465/amr.1994.9412190218
  15. 10.2307/258787
  16. 10.1108/09534810210422991
  17. Creative destruction
  18. Changing minds
  19. 10.1007/978-1-4612-5706-6
  20. 10.1016/S0732-1317(02)12006-9
  21. The constitution of society: Outline of the theory of structure
  22. 10.1177/014920638501100212
  23. 10.4135/9781446280270.n5
  24. 10.2307/3069414
  25. 10.1016/S0732-1317(02)12011-2
  26. Managing change
  27. Managing change
  28. Mental models
  29. Harvard Business Review
  30. Leading change
  31. A primer on decision-making: How decisions happen
  32. The structuring of organizations
  33. Champions of change
  34. Harvard Teaching Note
  35. Enlightened leadership
  36. 10.1177/017084069501600502
  37. 10.1287/isre.7.1.63
  38. New directions for organization theory
  39. 10.2307/2392223
  40. 10.2307/977060
  41. 10.1016/S0732-1317(02)12003-3
  42. 10.1017/CBO9780511804397
  43. 10.1016/0090-2616(93)90052-3
  44. The fifth discipline: The art and practice of a learning organization
  45. Conversational realities: Constructive life through language
  46. 10.4159/harvard.9780674424753
  47. 10.1177/002194369503200101
  48. 10.1177/0893318990004001005
  49. 10.5465/amr.1995.9508080329
  50. The invented reality
  51. Change: Principles of problem formation and problem resolution
  52. 10.1146/annurev.psych.50.1.361
  53. 10.4135/9781446280270.n3
  54. 10.5465/amr.1992.4279545