Organizational Communication Commons^™

Sony Pictures And The U.S. Federal Government: A Case Study Analysis Of The Sony Pictures Entertainment Hack Crisis Using Normal Accidents Theory, Mohamed Ismail

Master's Theses

In this case study, I analyze the 2014 North Korean computer database hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), a serious national security crisis of cyberterrorism. I utilize Normal Accidents theory as a lens, to help explain how the accident within one system (SPE) and later crisis lead to the interaction with a second system (U.S. Federal Government), the development of a new crisis, and the need for a crisis response from system two. The evolution of a single organization’s accident into a national security crisis does not occur without specific complex interactions that take place to connect the two systems …

Learning To Pray The Lord’S Prayer For Spiritual Transformation At Tachikawa Church Of Christ, Naoyoshi Fukushima

Doctor of Ministry Theses

ABSTRACT

This thesis describes a project to lead the members of Tachikawa Church of Christ to learn and experience the power and blessings of praying the Lord’s Prayer for spiritual edification and maturity. The program consisted of eight weeks of learning the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer and doing spiritual exercises. To provide a theological foundation for this project, I delivered eight sermons on the Lord’s Prayer with strong emphasis on the relational nature of the prayer.

Those who engaged in the spiritual exercises were given opportunities to experience joy, peace, and correction as they tried to live in harmony …

Exploring Workplace Connections Of Employees With Multiple Role Expectations: Accommodating Communication Behaviors Of Hospital Chaplains, Stephen Spates

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the communication behaviors of hospital chaplains in an effort to understand their workplace role. In the literature, most chaplain recognition related to spiritual interactions and improved health outcomes for patients, which left much information about their workplace lives unknown. This study used interviews with hospital chaplains to explore their communication behaviors. Using communication allowed chaplains to manage roles and uncertainty, build relationships, and handle the paradoxical interactions they encounter at work. The findings revealed that hospital chaplains, who operate as liaisons in their organizations, practiced convergence to accommodate others. They also managed …

The Net Generation At Work: Younger Employees’ Understanding Of Productive/ Counter-Productive Information Across Communication Channels, Whitney Lauren Tipton

Doctoral Dissertations

Organizations are increasingly implored to engage in communicative accommodation based on employees’ generational cohort. While previous research has found generational differences in workplace values, empirical evidence has not supported the popular claim that younger generations prefer more technological communication than their older colleagues. Using media richness theory (MRT), social presence theory (SPT), and channel expansion theory (CET) as a framework, this dissertation analyzes the responses of 382 Net Generation-aged (18-27 years old) participants to questions related to communication channel preference, information type, channel familiarity, and productivity/counter-productivity at work. Significant differences were found between communication channels across five types of common …

Oil And Water: Corporate Interest And Risk Communication Preceding The Deepwater Horizon Disaster, Joshua Seth Cunningham

Masters Theses

Palenchar and Heath (2006) claim that, “organizations find reason to implement programs whereby they increase the public’s understanding of technical processes as a means for lessening the fear of the threatening unknown and of increasing trust.” The research being proposed will hold the British Petroleum Company (BP) to these standards as they relate to communicating emanating from BP before, during, and after the Deepwater Horizon disaster of 2010.

Domestic Violence And The National Football League, Kelsey Rentner

Master of Arts in Media and Communication Plan II Graduate Projects

In 2014, the National Football League (NFL) faced extreme criticism for the way it handled the three domestic violence cases that emerged into the spotlight. The Ray Rice video that showed him punching his at-the-time fiancé, as well as the several other domestic violence cases among NFL players that quickly followed, shed a light on what seemed to be a well-hidden problem within the league. Since being in the public eye, the league has not been effective with its communication efforts to prevent the issue of domestic violence and rebuild its reputation among stakeholders. This project uses evidence-based literature to …

Rock The Runway Event Proposal, Jamie R. Foxen, Hayley Silva

Communication Studies

EVENT OVERVIEW

We will host a fundraiser to raise money for the non-profit Do It for the Love, by putting on a concert and fashion show. The concert and fashion show not only represent our passions, but will be an effective way to raise as much money as possible while making it an enjoyable experience for our guests. We will have 15-20 silent auction items for guests to bid on. Additionally, we hope to generate funds from the sale of Sextant wine by the glass at the event. This event will be a perfect and unique way to bring together …

Like, Comment, And Share: Distortion Of Information On Facebook, Sungwoo Hong

Global Honors Theses

Social media users all around the globe use Facebook to stay connected with each other, and it is a dominant source of news: “over 63% of users acquire their news from social media” (Schmidt, 2017, p.3035). The connectivity of social media has created unintended consequences that promote or influence creation and dissemination of misinformation. By literature review and using real world example, this research identifies sources and provocation of inaccurate news, and explores how user interaction within social media promotes dissemination of distorted information.

Wardle (2017) from FirstDraftNews, suggests that there are seven distinct types of content and eight different …

Social Media And The Voice Of The Department, Brittany N. Rios

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

More law enforcement agencies are adopting social media as a progressive policing strategy each year. They utilize it for several reasons including, community outreach and engagement, public relations, notifying the public of safety concerns, recruitment, intelligence gathering for investigations, among other uses (IACP, 2017). This study explores Southern California Law Enforcements’ use of social media through a survey and content analysis. First, the survey results suggest that more than 93% of departments surveyed concentrate on community outreach through their social media channels. Second, the content analysis results suggest that when media (pictures/video), links, and hashtags (#), are included in posts …

Modernizing A Podcast Media Organization Via Social And New Media Rebranding Methods, Randi A. Hair

Journalism

The following study and subsequent public relations campaign is intended to explore the difficulties, opportunities, caveats and all facets of transitioning a traditional travel media organization to new media. It unearths the pitfalls/barriers that naturally occur and aggregate over time when an organization or journalist (specifically “Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer” in this scenario) has not adapted nor altered their practices for changing common practices in the media industries. In this campaign, journalist Thomas Wilmer is seeking to increase his podcast audience and digital presence.

The research conducted for this study is two-fold. Firstly, the research demonstrates best practices …

Bridging The Gap Between National And Local Safety Through A Comprehensive Review Of Emergency Preparedness Plans In A Large, Urban High School Located In Delray Beach, Florida Within The Palm Beach County School District, Retha Prescod

Theses & Dissertations

Each year almost 60 million elementary, middle and high school children attend school across the United States. Each day on campus holds the possibility that these students may suffer from an encounter that causes them long-term physical, emotional, psychological impact. Unfortunately, hundreds of victims from this vulnerable population have suffered each time a school was unprepared for an emergency event that occurred on campus. Currently, there are no mandatory specifications in place for school preparedness plans. The government has mandated that schools develop a framework to address hazards that affect schools, but have not made any of these requirements mandatory. …

Employees Communicating Within Transportation And Logistics Organizations: What Studying Stress And Acts Of Incivility In The Workplace Reveals About The Industry, Elizabeth Munyak Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis project investigates the relationship of workplace stress and workplace incivility in the context of transportation and logistics organizations. Informal, one-on-one interviews with transportation and logistics operations office employees are conducted to answer this study’s research questions that examine the commonality, perceived norms, and perceived emotional and physical effects of workplace incivility in response to stress within the transportation and logistics workplace. Using grounded theory analysis, it is revealed that acts of incivility amongst transportation and logistics operations office employees communicate the conflict occurring at the industry, organization, and workplace levels of the transportation and logistics industry. The ultimate …

Information Sharing, Transparency, And E-Governance Among County Government Offices In Southeastern Michigan, Lawrence Bosek

All NMU Master's Theses

The Internet has given rise to the availability of information at our fingertips. While the public, particularly consumers, are more commonly described as being the leading users and beneficiaries of electronic information services, businesses and governments are also players in the arena for sharing official information. Information can be easily stored on Internet websites for the public, businesses, and other governmental offices to search and peruse when needed. This study examined the ease of locating county governmental information, such as contact information for public officials and financial reports, and surveyed elected county officials for purposes of identifying how information is …

Connecting Beyond The Circle: A Restorative Approach In Co-Creating A Safe Space For Social Justice Education At Utec, Nikki F. Pelonia

Capstone Collection

“Social justice is both a process and a goal. The goal of social justice education is full and equal participation of all groups in a community that is [co-created] to meet the members’ needs. Social justice includes a vision of a community that is equitable and all members are physically and psychologically safe and secure” (Adams, Bell, & Griffin, 2007, p. 1). In the process, one is used to going straight to issues of social justice before connecting by building trusts and relationships. This Course-Linked Capstone in Training focuses on SIT Graduate Institute coursework from Training Design in Experiential Learning …

Transforming Conflict: A Grounded Theory Study Of Six Behavior Domains Of Leaders In Five Different Fields, Scott A. Dick

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this grounded theory research consisting of five collective phenomenological studies was to generate a theory that explains how exemplar leaders from five different fields use six domains of conflict transformation behaviors to establish common ground and produce breakthrough results. The six domains of behavior are communication, collaboration, ethics, emotional intelligence, problem solving, and process. Methodology: The sample was composed of 75 exemplar leaders from five different professional fields and included an analysis of over 1,300 pages of interview transcripts as the main data source for the study. Findings: The results found that exemplar leaders establish, build, …

Transitioning College Media From Print Focused Business Models To Digitally Focused Business Models, Celina Oseguera

Journalism

The noticeable downturn in print advertising indicates a need for change in the news industry business model. College media is not immune to this decline and need for change. A change in business model calls for transitioning to an alternative system that does not primarily rely on print products and advertising — a digitally focused business model. Many college media organizations around the United States have started to pursue this type of model, changing the way they produce and present news in the process. Taking into account the state of print focused business models in the general and collegiate news …

Arctic Research Collaborations Among Agencies: A Case Study Analysis Of Factors Leading To Success Within The Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee, Meredith Clare Lavalley

Bard Center for Environmental Policy

The Arctic is changing rapidly as average temperatures rise. As an Arctic nation, the United States is directly affected by these changes. It is imperative that these changes be understood to make effective policy decisions. Since the research needs of the Arctic are large; 14 Federal agencies have Arctic research programs. As a result, the government regularly works to coordinate Federal Arctic research in order to reduce duplication of effort and costs, and to enhance the research’s system perspective. The government’s Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee accomplishes this coordination through its Five-year Arctic Research Plans and Collaboration Teams, which are …

Brunswick Educational Access Television Social Media Campaign, Nicole Rhoades

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This social media campaign is to be executed by student managers within the Brunswick Schools Video Program. The Video Program provides journalistic experience to young students by immersing them in print and broadcast journalism that is provided to the Brunswick-area through Brunswick Educational Access Television.

Improving Planning: Quantitative Evaluation Of The Premortem Technique In Field And Laboratory Settings, Madeline Peabody

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This thesis compares different plan evaluation techniques in a series of experiments. The Premortem plan evaluation method can help people reduce overconfidence and generate more reasons a plan might not succeed. This research evaluates the extension of the Premortem to shorter planning time periods, evaluates the effectiveness with team generated and executed plans, and compares the use of this technique among individuals and teams. In Experiment 1, 52 Army Cadets operating in teams completed six time-constrained field exercises that required planning, half using the Premortem and half using a standard Military plan evaluation process. When teams used the Premortem they …

Beyond The Bike; Identity And Belonging Of Free Cycles Members, Caitlyn Lewis

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

A qualitative analysis was conducted at the community bicycle shop, Free Cycles, in order to examine participants’ identities and belonging within a community of practice. Semi-structured interviews with 19 members of the community and 50 hours of participant observation were conducted. Data analysis followed the grounded theory methodology of Strauss and Corbin (1990). Four research questions were proposed to examine the ways participants at Free Cycles identified with the bicycle-related practices of bicycle riding and maintenance, co-constructed the collective organizational identity, and developed a sense of belonging within the community amongst other members. The constructs of identity and belonging were …

On Making A Difference: How Photography And Narrative Produce The Short-Term Missions Experience, Joshua Kerby Jennings

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

Short-term missions participants encounter difference in purportedly captivating ways. Current research, however, indicates the practice does not lead to long-lasting, positive change. Brian M. Howell (2012) argues the short-term missions experience is confined to the limitations of the short-term missions narrative. People who engage in short-term missions build assumptions, seek experiences, understand difference, and convey meaning, as a result of this narrative. The process of telling and retelling travel stories is integral to the short-term missions experience. Drawing upon literature on tourism, narrative, development, and photography, this study intends to evaluate the inefficacy of short-term missions through the stories which …

A Comparative Analysis Of The Organizational Effectiveness Of Three Korea Land And Housing Corporation Construction Field Groups, Jachoon Koo

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study is to propose a performance evaluation method (organizational effectiveness value) that is most suitable for LH field organizations and to suggest an improvement plan by comparing and analyzing the results from organizational perspective.

I compared and contrasted three LH construction fields. The following is my research findings: First, the main factors which determine successful or unsuccessful field are organizational cohesion and inter-organizational communication. Mutual communication of field groups affects the quality more, if the field conditions are difficult. Second, if field groups fail to cohere and communicate, it is likely to lead to low performance …

Service Standards In Higher Education: Lasswell's Communication Model As A Training Tool, Crystal R. Alston

Masters Theses

This paper examines a service standards training process established during the 2016/2017 academic year for Prairie State College (PSC), a two-year community college located in Chicago Heights Illinois. The goal of examining and revising the service training process was to enhance the quality of service after the college received poor service reviews from a recent satisfaction survey. Lasswell's Communication Model was used to create content and structure for a training manual and workshop as part of the overall service training process at PSC. The service standards and training manual was successfully developed and is currently being tailored to accommodate the …

Collaborative Practices Among Professionals In Special Education Workplaces, Shannon Lynne Coughlin

Honors Theses and Capstones

The aim of this study is to examine collaborative relationships existing among professionals working in special education and specifically the relationships between school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and elementary school classroom teachers. A survey was administered to classroom teachers in New Hampshire. The first part of the survey asked teachers their opinions regarding the extent to which SLPs should be collaborating with teachers. The second part of the survey asked teachers to estimate how often they engaged in collaborative practices with the SLP currently working in their school. Results indicated that teachers would prefer SLPs to spend significantly more time in …