Chapter 3: Three Early Perspectives on Organizations and Communication

Classical Management Approaches
Pg.64-78
I find that the historical perspective which the text provides is essential in order to properly understand the development of organizational communication. The classical management approaches that are mentioned in the text begin with the industrial revolution, nevertheless one element that encompasses all classical management approaches is their hierarchical nature which probably stems from western society's feudal past wherein status and societal position played a key role in everyday life. Furthermore, the implications which arise from the top down approach to organizational communication result in, or are a product of, some very negative aspects of our nations past. For example, the hierarchical and top down organizational communication of the industrial revolution fit in perfectly with slave holders who viewed communication with their slaves as a one way conversation where they gave orders and the slaves were expected to carry them out. Moving forward to the development of scientific management, Frederick Taylor continued with the top down approach to organizational communication by dictating to the employee the best way to carry out a given task. The implications of such a system of communication are many nevertheless a few stand out. Primarily, innovation is lost due to the employees inability to communicate his or her ideas on how to better carry out a task. Second, an internecine sense of simply being a cog in the machine begins to take over, consequently as the text states you have massive turnover as was the case in Henry Ford's plant aside from the psycholgical implications to the employee.