The basic points

Communication is the process through which social ties are established

There is no community (or society) without group identity: this identity is formed when communication achieves its objective

The objective of communication is achieved when a group of "I"s accept to identify themselves as a "we". This collective identity is the psychological base of a community (or society).

Communication is different from information: communication is active interaction while information is  an isolated action

Communication always involves at least two persons (or two groups of persons) who, while talking about "something" also define their relationship and the reciprocal expectations.

In each human relationship we can find elements of solidarity and elements of  competition.

Communication is what allows us to manage the reciprocal conflic of interests maintaining the bound of solidarioty for the achievement of the shared objectives.

The efficacy of communication dependant upon only one of its modalities (i.e. propaganda, information, education): either seducing or objective, or self-revealing

The emerging challenges for communicating and organizing in a global/local operational environment (think globally, act locally) are based on understanding the interrelationships among cultural differences, communication behaviors, and organizational relationships both within and outside of the organization.

A strong organizational culture provides work community identity, a sense of uniqueness, and sense of connection for all members within the organization.  

For values to be accepted, behavior must be consistent with messages about values that are extensively shared.   There are two general principles one can follow to set the stage for matching promises and behavior: 1-  visibly show values through action; 2- set a performance standard.

There are five actions managers can do to create a positive organizational and communication climate:   1. provide supportive message that acknowledge effort, creativity and teamwork; 2. engage people in the decision making process; 2. build trust by sharing your concerns and encouraging others to do the same; 3. do what you say you are going to do and stand by your working teams; 4. build openness by sharing information honestly; 5. emphasize high quality goals, expend energy on goals that people can stand behind and communicate information needed to get the job done well.

Openness is the transparent disclosure of information and the sharing of feelings regarding the organization and its activities; openess leads to better performance within the organization. Main factors promoting opness are: 1. establish genuine two-way communication within the ranks of management, between management and employees, and among employees themselves; 2. improve management’s accessibility to employees especially in terms of listening; 4. establish a climate that welcomes the new and the different and be open to hearing all ideas; 5.   reward creativity;  6. solicit and accept criticismwithout becoming defensive show a genuine sensitivity to employees and a willingness to grapple with employee problems and difficulties.

Credibility is the key to successfully communication, that is dependant upon three main factors: competence, trustworthiness and dynamism.

Trust is crucial to team work. and is central to the organisational/communication climate; first duty of a manager/leader is to be trustworthy and first objective is to be trusted.   

One of the fundamental aspects of effective communication is good listening.

Feedback is central to building understanding and establishing trust.

At times healthy competition breacks down into unhealty conflict: this happens when there is perceived incompatibility. It can be managed by good communication.

 

 

 

 

S 4 -  The formation of social identity is however just one of the two levels of communication:   the other is the expression of the personality of the individuals.

S5 - Social solidarity is created by taming the desire for personal power: this submission is called "socialisation".

S 6 - On the base of the objectives we can therefore distinguish two varieties of socialisation: the socialisation that has as its objective the welfare of the social body, the socialisation that has as its objective the welfare of the individual. The latter is the educational communication.

S  7 - Therefore to educate means : to help the person to develop her faculties and to express her individuality.

S 9 -  It is possible to obtain the co-operation of the counterpart either through an association for a common objective or through the assertion of power.  

S 11 - Also the assertion of power needs to communicate: in this case the objective is the imposition of norms  .

S 12 - The justification of power in a community is called "persuasion". 

S 13 - Different are the forms of communication aimed at obtaining subordination and the communication aimed at obtaining co-operation: in the first form it is necessary to submit the individual scopes to the communication logic; in the other form the communication logic have to be submitted to individual aims.  

S 14  - The difference between education and persuasion consists in this: education is a service rendered to the person, in order to make her more aware and more free; persuasion is an af organizationation of power upon the individual, in order to make her subservient to other scopes. 

S 15 - The method of persuasion is the "rhetoric": it is of two kinds: the friendly and the hostile .

S 16 - The method of education is "maieutics". We think it more appropriate to call it dialectics, because education implies a creative dialogue: the student will not deliver what is not fecundated .

S 17- In the case of persuasion instead there is no generation of truth; there is no production of new knowledge: there is only redundancy of norms and sentiments. 

S- 18 Originality and redundancy: both have their value in the process of communication.

S 19 - Being based on dialogue, the dialectical method is naturally centred on the objectives and cannot therefore represent the starting point of education.   

S 20  - Expression requires the acquisition of the codes through which expressions are articulated; in the same way the af organizationation of one’s personality in a community requires the acceptance of social rules.

S 21 - "Proclamation" is the presentation of the rules and the codes to which the individual has to submit in order to socialise. 

S 22 - Each teacher is also an announcer of the social decrees; the difference with respect to the mere "announcer" consists in the fact that the teacher gives to the learners such tools that she/he can relate to the social game in a way that her/his personality is not suffocated.

S 23 - An important part of education is the delivery of the know-how that allows the relationship with the social context without the submission of one’s personality: this is what we call "instruction". 

S - 24 - Education therefore is different from instruction for the fact that, through education, the personality of the individual emerges, and, through instruction, this personality af organizations itself in the social context.

S 26 - Similar to instruction is training; however the scope is different: training is the transmission of knowledge with the scope of serving a production process.

S 28 - Each social system necessarily has to consider the integration of new generations:  this is obtained through the investments for education, socialisation, instruction and training.

S 29- Education teaches how to build just relationships amongst the members of a social system;  so education makes it possible to establish and renew social norms;  these norms are necessary for managing the power game in a way which promotes the common interest.

S 30 - Education therefore represents a vital factor:  it is the most important non-economic resource of the economy. 

S 31 -  However a contrast is created between the education that aims at the well being of the person (which requires an adaptation of the economic structure to human objectives) and the education finalised to the accumulation of financial power (which requires an adaptation of the persons to the productive structure).

S 32  -In spite of these differences, the two exigencies generate each other.  Just like originality and redundancy in communication.

33 - Since one dynamics sustains the other one, a choice all-oriented towards professional training is not sustainable; just as is not sustainable an approach all-oriented towards value education.

S 34 -  Development requires education and training   Education and training require development.