The purpose of this paper is to take a closer look at how we can use the major approaches to studying organizational communication (classical approaches, humanistic approaches, systems approaches, cultural approaches) and related concepts/theories. This paper gives you a chance to look at one approach in more detail and use this work to help you understand communication in a specific organization. The goals of this paper are to:

Gain more in-depth knowledge about one of the approaches and related theories/concepts

by reviewing academic research to help you learn more about how we have used this approach and related theories in research

Analyze your research and build a clear analysis of approach and related theories/concepts
Apply what you have learned in class and from your review of academic research to a specific organization.

Paper Timeline

Below you will find a step-by-step breakdown for approaching this paper, including guidelines for each step.

Step 1: Pick an organization to analyze

I want you to be able to use an organization that is familiar to you and interesting to you. There is flexibility in what organization you choose. You can learn about the organization through interviewing a current organizational member OR you can reflect on your own experience as a member of the organization.

Interviewing a current organizational member: You can interview anyone in your network (family, friends, co-workers, etc.). You should develop about 8-10 interview questions. Questions should help you learn about your interviewee’s role, the specific organization, and how communication works in the organization. The specific questions you write will depend on your relationship with the interviewee, your knowledge of the organization, and the approach to studying organizational communication that you are examining for this paper.

Reflecting on your own experience: If you are reflecting on your own experience, you will need to provide detail on your role in the organization (length of time, typical duties), information about the organization, and how communication works in the organization. When you are talking about how communication works within the organization, think about the who, what, when, where, how, and why of communication in the organization.

You will use this information in your paper to provide a clear context for understanding what communication looks like in your organization. To analyze the organization, you must understand how things work (or don’t work)!

Step 2: Pick approach and related theories/concepts

You should pick one of the four approaches we studied: classical approaches, humanistic approaches, systems approaches, or cultural approaches. For your approach, you want to identify two theories or concepts that we studied that are typically associated with the approach. For example, the theory of scientific management and the theory of classical management are two theories associated with the classical approaches. Once you have picked your approach and related theories/concepts, make sure to review your class notes, any handouts from class, and our textbook.

Step 3: Conduct research to learn more about the approach and related theories/concepts

You will use your textbook and other sources to learn more about the organization and about relevant research related to the approach and theories/concepts. Before you start doing this research, review the paper guidelines (next section) to help you focus your search! For this paper, you need five sources. One of the sources can be your textbook, one source should be related to the organization (examples: organization’s website), and three sources should be scholarly sources (examples: book chapter from an edited book, a peer reviewed-journal article). If you are not sure about sources, please ask me! I will also have resources posted on Canvas to help you navigate research.

Paper Guidelines

Below you will find details about the type of information you should include in your paper. You will see bullet points with directions as well as questions to help you as you think about the research or what you have learned about the organization.

Introduction

Briefly introduce the approach and related theories/concepts that you are examining in your paper. Briefly introduce the organization and whether you are analyzing the organization based on an interview or your personal experience. At the end of the introduction, include a preview of the major sections of your paper.

Overview of the organization

Use the information from your interview or your personal experience to write the overview. If you did an interview, you are not going to just type in questions and answers from the interview. Use what you learned from the interview to explain how the organization is structured and what communication looks like in the organization. In your overview, you want to address the following:

What does the organization do? What are they known for?
Where is the organization located? How many members are in the organization?
Describe the structure of the organization
Describe communication within the organization (internal organizational communication)
Describe communication with the organization to nonmembers (external organizational communication.

Explanation and Analysis

In this section, you will explain what you learned from your research and apply that work to how things work in your selected organization.

Explanation of the approach and related theories/concepts

Begin this section with what you learned from your outside research. Do this before you begin your analysis of the organization. Using what you have learned from your book and outside readings, you want to address the following questions in your paper:

How would you explain your approach?
What are the key theories that are relevant to your example?
What does communication look like through this approach?
What key concepts or terms would be used to study your organization through your selected theories?
What can we learn about organizations by studying them using this approach?

Please do not list the questions out and answer them. Use the questions and what you have learned to explain the approach and related concepts/theories. You can organize the information in the way that makes sense for your paper. Be sure to explain your ideas clearly and with detail. Use your research (cite your sources) in the text of the paper to provide details.

Analysis of the organization

Use what you have learned from the research to help you analyze the communication within your organization.

What aspects of your organization stand out when you study your organization with this approach?
- What examples do you see of this approach in the organization? Give specific examples. Connect what you see in the organization to what you specifically learned from your outside research (cite your sources).
- You can focus on what stands out in a positive way and/or what stands out in a negative way.
What can we learn about communication in the organization when we use your approach to studying organizational communication?
- Give specific examples from the organization and connect those to what you learned from your outside research (cite your sources).
- You can talk about what we can learn from what the organization does well and/or what the organization does not do well.

Strengths and Limitations of the Approach

In this section, you are going to use your research and what you learned about the organization to evaluate the approach and related theories/concepts.

What are the strengths of using this approach and related theories/concepts to examine communication in organizations? Use what you learned from your outside research (cite sources) and from your organization. Give specific examples.
What are the limitations of using this approach and related theories/concepts to examine communication in organizations? Use what you learned from your outside research (cite sources) and from your organization. Give specific examples.

Recommendations

Based on what you learned from your outside research and your specific organization, what specific recommendations would you make for your organization about specific actions they could take to improve their overall effectiveness? You can talk about the overall structure, leadership, or the way that the communication inside and outside of the organization.

Conclusion

In your conclusion: recap the approach and relevant theories/concepts you discussed. Summarize why this approach was helpful for studying your organization. What are the most important lessons we can learn about communication and organizations from your approach and organization?

References

You should include a reference page in APA format (7^th edition). Put all your sources that you used in your paper on your reference page.

Technical Requirements

When you are working on your paper, there are specific technical requirements to make sure your papers are clear, your ideas are supported, and your work is organized.

Make sure to follow APA 7^th Edition formatting standards
- Margins: 1 inch, 12-point font, double-spaced, Times New Roman Font
- Include page numbers
- Indent paragraphs
- Include a cover page and reference page
Proofread carefully
Paper length should be about 8-10 pages (this is a suggested length) not including your reference page and cover page
Make sure papers are organized. Consider using headings to make it easy to follow
Cite your 5 sources in the text of your paper as you bring in ideas from those sources

Grading Guidelines and Rubric

The grading rubric details correspond with the paper guidelines. Below you will find points possible for each guideline area for the paper. Review the guidelines so you know what to include in each section:

Guideline Area	Points Possible	Points Earned	Feedback
Introduction	Up to 5 points
Overview of the Organization	Up to 10 points
Explanation and Analysis	Up To 35 points
Strengths and Limitations	Up to 15 points
Recommendations	Up to 15 points
Conclusion	Up to 10 points
Technical Requirements	Up to 10 points
Total points	Up To 100 points

APA Resources and Help

Below I have several APA resources and links if you need them. You can always reach out with questions, but you might find this to help you get started.

Creating Reference Pages

Rules for Creating a Reference List Citing Journal Articles

Citing Books Citing Electronic Sources

Citing Sources in the Text of your Paper

Basic Rules for In Text Citations Rules for In Text Citations

Important Reminders about In Text Citations:

Creating Headings: Headings in APA Format

Sample APA Paper: APA Sample Paper

Applied Theory Paper

Navigating the Applied Theory Paper Guidelines

Purpose and Goals