Traditional Management Th eory Th rust Forward 107
Communication Th eory
Much of what is understood to be public management depends upon eff ective
communication. Communication theory is a mix of cybernetics, linguistics, and
social psychology. Th e language of communication theory resembles the language
of systems theory: inputs, throughputs, outputs, feedback loops, entropy, homeo-
stasis. Although communication is always individual or singular, communication
theorists tend to regard the work group or the organization as their unit of analy-
sis, and in doing so, they anthropomorphize the organization. Anthropomorphic
thought promotes organizational guessing, organizational memory, organiza-
tional consciousness, organizational culture, organizational will, and, especially,
organizational learning—all of which are based upon communication. Th is logic
is particularly helpful in building a management theory of communication, now a
considerable body of knowledge (Garnett 1992).
Th e theory of communication found in public administration argues that
most downward communication, or communication with subordinates, em-
phasizes task directives and organizational policy and procedures. Th e com-
munication of agency mission and performance is oft en neglected, the result
being low morale, preoccupation with routine tasks, and indiff erence to agency
performance (Garnett 1992). Public managers overestimate the power of com-
munication through memoranda, e-mail, telephone, and other such channels,
and they underestimate the power of direct communications through or by
managerial action. Th e use of internal models of eff ectiveness or examples of
organizational success is an eff ective means of organizational learning. Eff ec-
tive communication occurs when managers establish work standards through
collective means and provide feedback on performance as measured against
agreed-upon standards. Keeping channels clear for upward communication is
a staple in communication theory, as is the importance of redundant, multiple,
and overlapping communication channels downward, upward, and laterally
(Garnett 1992).
Eff ective communication with other agencies and with agency publics is an
enduring feature of managerial communication theory. Communication between
organizations is most oft en associated with shared professional training perspec-
tives and with regular training. In a metropolitan area, city public works direc-
tors, chiefs of police, fi re chiefs, and city administrators oft en communicate both
formally and informally with their counterparts; indeed, lateral communication
networks are oft en robust and enduring. It is sometimes said that a city public
works director will spend more time communicating with other city public works
directors in a metropolitan area than with other agency heads in his or her own
city government (Frederickson 1997a). Lateral communication and coordination
in complex organizations are aided by assigning key people to so-called lynchpin
responsibilities (Likert 1961, 1967).