BSCOM485 Organizational Communication Analysis Essay

BSCOM485 Organizational Communication Analysis Essay

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BSCOM485 Organizational Communication Analysis Essay

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There is no organization that wants to be put at risk and exposed as vulnerable to cyber-attacks; Northwest Valley Community College is not the exception to the rule. What will separate one organization from another is how the organization handles the crisis. How Northwest Valley Community College communicates issues to their employees and their customers will determine the continued success of the school.

Breach

Northwest Valley Community College has just experienced a massive data breach where student’s information has become vulnerable to hackers. Northwest Valley Community College’s financial information as well as personal student and faculty information has been attacked.

Regard faculty information that has put at risk includes their social security numbers, health information, and salary information that has been exposed. This data breach has caused a massive amount of distrust among students and faculty as there is no way to know how far the information has gone and what will be done with it.

This shake-up has caused the cohesiveness of the faculty and students to be challenged due to the breach. “Group cohesiveness possess the kind of bonds that foster trust, openness, and the ability to manage conflicting views productively” (Beebe & Masterson, 2015). In order to restore cohesiveness among faculty and students, the administration will need to be forthcoming with information regarding the impact of the breach.

Perceptions

Since the breach occurred, some of the students and faculty members are waiting to see how the administration staff handles the communication efforts. So far, administration has been open and mostly forthcoming with information regarding the specifics of the information that was leaked what they know so far.

The administration staff has taken an informative approach with faculty by “providing needed information to personnel so they can do their jobs in an effective and efficient manner” (Richmond, McCroskey, & Powell, 2013). By advising faculty and students on the status of the breach, they can attempt to move forward in their daily activities.

Administration has found that they have to employ some of the persuasive function regarding the staff and students, advising them that the administrative staff is working towards a resolution and influencing them to continue being productive (Richmond, McCroskey, & Powell, 2013).

Communication

The administration staff at Northwest Valley Community College has to have a level of optimism and realism during this crisis. “We cannot be genuinely optimistic in conflict without also being realistic and realism without optimism is not truly realistic. How we integrate these two attitudes is emblematic of the emotional, intellectual, and ethical challenge we face in conflict” (Mayer, 2015).

The administration staff must be realistic in their expectations of how faculty and students will react to the news of the breach. The administration staff will have to understand that the students and faculty will have a level of hesitation and distrust in the technical department at the college because of this breach.

However, the students and faculty can begin to be optimistic in the fact that first, the administrative staff alerted them right away of the breach. Secondly, faculty and students can begin to be hopeful that a situation such as this one will not occur again as Northwest Valley Community College will be sure to put in the appropriate measures for prevention.

In addition to managing the story of the breach effectively, Northwest Community College will have to communicate efficiently with the public, faculty, and students. A few ways the college can communicate with on-campus and satellite students is by immediately informing students and faculty with automatic calls, emailing enrollees, and making posts on the school intranet.

Northwest Valley Community College also can have face-to-face conversations with their students for on-campus students and faculty. These conversations can come in the form of town meetings as well as auditorium gatherings announcing what has happened.

Theories

Regarding different theories that relate to the climate at Northwest Valley Community College, one that comes to mind is the Agenda Setting theory. The Agenda Setting theory states that, “In choosing and displaying news, editors, newsroom staff, and broadcasters play an important part in shaping social and political reality” (West & Turner, 2014).

While Northwest Valley Community College is not a mass media outlet, there is still a story to be controlled. In light of the breach, it is known that since Northwest Valley Community College is pivotal in the Kelsey community, the public would eventually find out what happened.

If Northwest Valley Community College can control the narrative and get ahead of the story, Northwest Valley Community College can shape the perception of the audience. The college will have to first let their audience [faculty and students] know what has happened. Secondly, Northwest Valley Community College will have to reassure the public that they are taking every measure to ensure their privacy and protection has been restored.

Northwest Valley Community College being able to control stories that come from the organization is what would be in the best interest of the school. The security breach that Northwest Valley Community College experienced is not the first crisis that the school has encountered. While the security breach certainly won’t be the last crisis Northwest Valley Community College has to deal with, managing the story effectively will increase the trust the students, public, and faculty has in the school.

Conclusion

Security breaches are never a fun thing to deal with as there is so much sensitive information that has been divulged to people who only want to cause harm. Although it may not be a possibility to leave the situation unscathed, there is the opportunity for an organization to ramp up their communication efforts with their customers.

It is better to alert the customer of what has happened than to let them find out on their own. Getting ahead of the story is in the best interest of the organization and effectively communication the recovery efforts is key.

References Beebe, S. A., & Masterson, J. T. (2015). Communicating in Small Groups: Principles and Practices. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. Mayer, B. (2015). The Conflict Paradox: Seven Dilemmas at the Core of Disputes. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Richmond, V. P., McCroskey, J. C., & Powell, L. (2013). Organizational Communication for Survival. New Jersey: Pearson Education. West, R., & Turner, L. (2014). Introducing Communication Theory: Analysis and Application. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

BSCOM485 Organizational Communication Analysis Essay

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