A social constructionist approach to crisis management: Allegations of sudden acceleration in the Audi 5000

Although most organizational crises begin with an objective triggering event, we maintain that public relations and management approaches (including introductory public relations textbooks), intentionally or not, often follow the positivistic temptation to treat the many components of crisis communication as objective choices, thus obscuring the distinctively communicative character of crises and their resolutions. Consequently, this monograph asserts that crises are dynamic, social constructions that are both created and resolved terminologically. This approach is rooted in the assumption that all perspectives of reality, from scientific discourse to crisis communication, are socially constructed through communication. The case of Audi, after its automobiles were alleged to suffer from “sudden acceleration,” is then used as an exemplar to illustrate the potential contributions that a social constructionist approach to communication offers crisis management researchers.     

Raising awareness of campus diversity and inclusion: Transformationally teaching diversity through narratives of campus experiences and simulated problem solving

ABSTRACT

Courses: Organizational Communication, Intercultural Communication

Objectives: This activity encourages students to learn collaboratively about diversity through the sharing of student experiences; deepen and complicate their understanding of organizational diversity; and enhance their ability to apply course material to increasingly complex organizational environments.     

Structuring First-Year Retention at a Regional Public Institution: Validating and Refining the Structure of Bowman’s SEM Analysis

Research in Higher Education - Structural equation modeling (SEM) considering how students’ non-cognitive attributes influence first-year college student persistence remain extraordinarily...