Chapter 10

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Article 1: Katherine N. Kinnick and Sabrena R. Parton. (2005) The Apprentice Teaches About  Communication Skills, Business Communication Quarterly, Volume 68, Number 4, December, 2005, pages 429-456.

Questions that apply to this article:

1. Do younger audience members viewing The Apprentice think it accurately depicts workplace relationships?  This is a “reality show,” but does it accurately depict workplace relationships?  What are the implications of your answers from a socialization perspective?
2. Read the eight business communication competency categories at the bottom of page 436.  Is this a comprehensive list, or should the researchers have include other forms of workplace communication?  Do some of the categories overlap?  Are people born with a talent to communicate or must people be taught how to complete communication tasks well?
3. The researchers were surprised that unethical communication was not criticized.  Does this finding surprise you?  Why or why not?
4. The researchers use Burgoon and Miller’s expectancy violations theory to explain why the men were more harshly criticized for leadership skills and the women were more harshly criticized for interpersonal communication skills.  Discuss whether leadership and interpersonal communication expectations differ for men and women.  What impact does culture have on these expectations?  Do you think these expectations are changing?

Article 2:  Jermier, J.M., & Forbes, L.C. (2011). Metaphor as the Foundation of Organizational Studies: Images of Organization and Beyond. Organization & Environment, December 2011; vol. 24, 4: pp. 444-458.

Questions that apply to this article:

1. Identify the authors’ note that “the message of IO [Images of Organization] for researchers, educators, and other students of organization is that all conceptual frameworks (including formal theories) result from the elaboration of root metaphors and that metaphor tends to lock the scholar into a particular train of thought.” Why do you think metaphors might be useful tools for studying workplace organizations rather than simply studying conceptual frameworks in a more “straightforward” way?
2. The authors suggest that “metaphors are wrapped up with ontology because our assumptions about the nature of reality condition every facet of existence.” Are our assumptions about reality developed and maintained through our interactions with others? Are those realities transacted in the workplace?
3. Find the author’s discussion of Sackmann’s work (1989). After reading this section regarding metaphors in organization settings, what do you take away from this section? Does it seem that some metaphors, such as downsizing and housecleaning, have taken on auras of foreboding and alarm for workers?