Assessing Organizational Communication

This essential guide offers a detailed framework for assessing communication processes within an organization and using the results to develop improved organizational strategies. Presented in clear, accessible prose are the 'tools of the trade' for planning and initiating audits, gathering data using a wide variety of methodologies, analyzing the findings, and preparing effective reports. Throughout, practical examples drawn from the authors' influential work in the field help readers understand the real-world applications of the concepts discussed and gain skills for creative problem solving. A successor volume to Cal Downs' popular Communication Audits, the book has been extensively rewritten with many new topics and two entirely new chapters reflecting today's critical issues and best practices. It will serve as both an authoritative primer for human resource and management consultants and a comprehensive text for undergraduate and graduate students in organizational communication.

Cal W. Downs, PhD, is Professor of Organizational Communication at the University of Kansas. Allyson D. Adrian, PhD, is Adjunct Assistant Professor of Management at the McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University.

"The ultimate book on this subject. Comprehensive and brilliantly written, it is a complete guide to planning, implementing, and interpreting the results from communication assessments. It will be indispensable reading for professionals seeking a 'how to' guide, for students in management communication courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and for anyone interested in organizational communication more widely. The authors have made a major contribution to scholarship in this aspect of our discipline."--Dennis Tourish, Aberdeen Business School, Scotland "My students and I have been eagerly awaiting the follow up to Downs's groundbreaking "Communication Audits," and the current volume meets all our expectations. Communication, the essence of organizational functioning, is all too often overlooked in the complex world of contemporary business. This book provides the background and the strategies for understanding and assessing communication in a range of organizational contexts. Written in a str