Organisations and
the Individual
27 June 2011 – Session 1, Week 2
The week ahead
Mon – Organisations and the
Individual
 Tue – Intrapersonal communication
 Wed – Culture and communication
 Thur – Face-face communication /
Interviews

Readings:
O’Rourke & Barnett (2008) – Chap 7-13
Jameson, D. (2007) pp 199-235
Task 1: DUE Friday, 10.30am (office)
Today
 Pop
quiz (10-15 min)
 Organisation and the
individual
“Effective communication begins with
shared understanding of personal,
social and organisational needs
between employers, employees,
colleagues and managers.”
(O’Rourke & Barnett, 2008, p.52)
Why do we need to
communicate?
Schutz Theory of
Interpersonal Needs
People join groups to satisfy
interpersonal needs
 Interpersonal needs are based on self
image
 Three basic human needs are:
Inclusion, Control and Affection

Schutz, W.C. (2005). The postulate of interpersonal
needs: Description. In S. Friedley, (Ed.). Foundations
of interpersonal communication: A reader. (pp. 3 – 25).
Reno, NV: Bent Tree Press.
Inclusion
Refers to feelings of importance
 The need to matter so people will care
about me

Example:
- Feeling a part of social talk at work
- Social teams, business house
competitions
Inclusion






Manifests itself in people wanting to be
attended to
Wanting to attract attention
Wanting interaction with others
Being a distinct person - having a particular
identity
Happens early in the group formation
process
A person seeking inclusion wants to be one
of the participants in a group
Psychological AspectsInclusion
People with low inclusion needs tend
to be introverted and withdrawn
 No one is interested in me, because I
am worthless, and I’m not going to
risk being ignored, so I will stay away.

Control


Refers to feelings of competence.
Being seen as able to cope with the world
Example:
- Being appointed as project manager
- Manager, supervisor, prodcution manager
(make sure the job gets done on-time,
within budget etc)
Control

If inclusion is about belonging, then
control is about winning
One seeking inclusion wants to be
part of the argument, win or lose
 One seeing control wants to win, even
if he’s not accepted by the group

Control
Deals in areas of power, influence and
authority
 Manifests itself along a continuum
from

Desire for control over others - and
over one’s future
 Desire to be controlled - have
responsibility lifted

Extremes of control needs
The person who will not take
responsibility for anything. Whatever
you say boss
 The tyrant

Affection
Refers to the feeling of being lovable
 Definition in your text is simplistic
 If you see the real me, you are going
to like what you see

Example:
- Work-buddies, work support, personal
support (family, bereavements)
Affection
Close emotional feelings between
two people - dyadic
 Love and hate
 Only between two people



Inclusion needs and control needs can
exit between dyads or between one
person and the group
Last phase to emerge in human
relationship
Conclusions
Inclusion is about prominence, control is
about winning (power), affection is about
interpersonal relationships (emotional)
 INCLUSION: people encounter each other &
decide if they will continue association
 CONTROL: confront each other & work out
how they will be related
 AFFECTION: to continue relationship,
affection ties must form, people must
embrace each other to form a lasting bond,

Principles of Interpersonal
Communication
Interpersonal communication is
inescapable
 Interpersonal communication is
irreversible
 Interpersonal communication is
complicated
 Interpersonal communication is
contextual

Organisations
Are made up of people
 Vision
 Mission
 Goals
 Objectives
 Needs

Exercise

Discuss
personal goals in communication
 organisational goals in
commmuication


Consider the relationship between
personal and organisational:
are they the same?
 are they complimentary?
 are they contradictory
 what should the relationship be like?

Summary
Effective workplace begins with
shared understanding (personal,
social and organisational needs)
 We communicate to satisfy needs:
inclusion, respect, affection, control
 Our behaviour determine by our
needs and reactions to other people
 Communication meets needs of
information flow, control, innovation
and motivation (choose to work in a
place where goals align with your
needs and abilities)
