Communication management in a millennium of chaos and change
Copyright and Licensing:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
- Articles
- Submited: October 27, 2022
-
Published: October 31, 2022
Abstract
Changes occur in organisations because of changes in the environment.
Conflicts arise between the organisation and internal and external
stakeholders of the organisation because of these uncontrolled
influences. Small points of disorder may easily escalate into disordered
crises and chaos (bifurcations and the butterfly effect). Communication
management - and specifically constructive conflict management - could
lead to 'positive chaos' and a culture (strange attractor) of constant
change. Positive chaos implies an unstable, seemingly disordered
situation that could bring about productive, creative, and improved
results. Communication management could be used by organisations to
reorganise themselves out of disorder and chaos by facilitating conflicts
and diversity. Strategic planning will become even more important, but
will have to change from the basic premise of control and prediction to
scenario planning, and the emphasis will be on relationship building.
Article Metrics Graph
References
- AULA. P.S. 1996. Chaos and the Double Function of Communication. In Sulis. W. & Combs. A. eds. Non-Linear Dynamics in Human Behavior: 191-206. Vol. 5. Singapore: World Scientific. https://doi.org/10.1142/9789812830005_0010
- BRlGGS, J. & PEAT, D.F. 1989. Turbulent Mirror: An Illustrated Guide to Chaos Theory and the Science of Wholeness. New York: Harper & Row.
- D'ARPIX, R. 1996. Communicating for Change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishing.
- DAVIDSON, J.D. & REES-MOGG, W. 1997. The Sovereign Individual. London: Macmillan.
- DENNARD, L.F. 1996. The New Paradigm in Science and Public Administration. Public Administration Review, 56(5):495-499.
- https://doi.org/10.2307/977052
- DOZIER, D.M., GRUNIG, L.A. & GRUN1G, J.E. 1995. Manager's Guide to Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- EVANS, K.G. 1996. Chaos As Opportunity: Grounding a Positive Vision of Management and Society in the New Physics. Public Administration Review. 56(5):491-494. https://doi.org/10.2307/977051
- FITZGERALD, L.A. 1996. Organizations and other things fractal: A primer on chaos for agents of change. Denver, CO: The Consultancy, Inc.
- GAYESKI, D.M. & MAJKA, J. 1996. Untangling communication chaos: A communicator's conundrum for coping with change in the coming century. Communication World, 13(7)September:22-25.
- GOUILLART, F.J. & KELLY, J.N. 1995. Transforming the Organization. New York: McGraw-Hill.
- GRUNIG, J.E. ed. 1992. Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management. Hillside, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- GRUN1G, J.E. & HUANG, Y. 1998. From Organization Effectiveness to Relationship Indicators: Antecedents of Relationships. Public Relations Strategies, and Relationship Outcomes. Chapter prepared for Ledingham, J.A. & Brunig. S.D. Relationship Management: A Relational Approach to Public Relations. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
- HEAD, C.W. 1997. Beyond Corporate Transformation: A Whole Systems Approach to Creating and Sustaining High Performance. Portland, Oregon: Productivity Press.
- HOL TZHAUSEN, D.R. 1995. The Role of Public Relations Theory and Research in a Postmodem
- Approach to Communication Management in the Organization. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis: Rand Afrikaans University, Johannesburg, South Africa.
- LARKIN, T.1. & LARKIN, S. 1994. Communicating Change: How to Win Employee Support for New Business Directions. New York: McGraw-Hili, Inc.
- LEDINGHAM, J.A. & BRUNIG, S.D. 1997. Building Loyalty through Community Relations. PR Strategist, 3(2):27-30.
- MARLOW, E. & O'CONNOR WILSON, P. 1997. The Breakdown of Hierarchy: Communicating in the Evolving Workplace. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann.
- McDANIEL, R.R.1. 1997. Strategic Leadership: A View From Quantum and Chaos Theories. Health Care Management Review, 22( I ):21-37.
- https://doi.org/10.1097/00004010-199724000-00003
- McGOON, C. 1994. What role shall we play today? Communication World, II (7)August: 12-16.
- MURPHY, P. 1996. Chaos Theory As a Model for Managing Issues and Crises. Public Relations Review, 22(2):95-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0363-8111(96)90001-6
- OVERMAN, E.S. 1996. The New Sciences of Administration: Chaos and Quantum Theory. Public Administration Review, 56(5):487-9.
- https://doi.org/10.2307/977050
- OVERTON-DE KLERK, N. 1994. Corporate Social Responsibility. In Lubbe, B. & Puth, G. eds. Public Relations in South Africa: A management reader. Durban: Butterworths.
- PETERS, T. 1987. Thriving on Chaos: Handbook for Management Revolution. London: Pan Books.
- SANCHEZ, P. 1997. Transfonnation Communication - The Communicator's Guide to Organization Change. New York: IABC.
- SPICER, C. 1997. Organizational Public Relations: A Political Perspective. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.
- SUDHARSHAN, D. 1995. Marketing Strategy: Relationships, Offerings, Timing & Resource Allocation. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
- WHEATLEY, M.J. 1994. Leadership and the New Science: Learning About Organization From an Orderly Universe. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
- WHEATLEY, M.J. 1993. A Quantum Vision: Chaotic Organization Must Replace the Newtonian Bureaucracy. Barron's, 73(12):12.
- WHITE, J. & DOZIER, D.M. 1992. Public Relations and Management Decision Making. In Grunig, J.E. ed. Excellence in Public Relations and .Communication Management. Hillside, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- YOUNGBLOOD, M.D. 1997. Life at the Edge of Chaos: Creating the Quantum Organization. Dallas: Perceval Publishing.
How to Cite
Communication management in a millennium of chaos and change . (2022). Communicare: Journal for Communication Studies in Africa, 17(2), 16-41. https://doi.org/10.36615/jcsa.v17i2.1855
