Problem Solving

Use a decision-making model of your choice to analyze and provide recommendations to address an organizational communication problem you have experienced.

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 1: Analyze business communication situations. 
  • Describe an organizational communication problem.
• Competency 2: Analyze the interrelationships of communication within organizational systems. 
  • Explain a decision-making model.
  • Describe a solution to an organizational communication problem using a decision-making model.
  • Justify how recommended solutions address a communication problem.
• Competency 3: Communicate effectively. 
  • Write clearly to convey the intended content and follow APA rules for attributing sources.

There are a number of organizational communication issues, including problem solving, organizational conflict, strategic management, communicating change, and the use of technology and its impact on communication. The Assessment 5 Contextdocument contains important information about these topics

Suggested Resources

The following optional resources are provided to support you in completing the assessment or to provide a helpful context. For additional resources, refer to the Research Resources and Supplemental Resources in the left navigation menu of your courseroom.

Capella Resources

Click the links provided to view the following resources:

• Assessment 5 Context.

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Library Resources

The following e-books or articles from the Capella University Library are linked directly in this course:

• Hindle, T. (2008). Guide to management ideas and gurus. London, GBR: Profile Books/The Economist.
  • This e-book addresses a broad range of management topics, including key issues addressed in this course. It is a helpful resource to refer to throughout the course.
• Hodgkinson, G. P., & Starbuck, W. H. (Eds.). (2009). The Oxford handbook of organizational decision making. Oxford, GRB: Oxford University Press. 
• Nutt, P. C., & Wilson, D. (2010). Blackwell encyclopedia of management: Handbook of decision making. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. 
• Brunsson, N. (2007). The consequences of decision-making. Oxford, GBR: Oxford University Press. 

Course Library Guide

A Capella University library guide has been created specifically for your use in this course. You are encouraged to refer to the resources in the BUS-FP3050 – Fundamentals of Organizational Communication Library Guide to help direct your research.

Bookstore Resources

The resources listed below are relevant to the topics and assessments in this course and are not required. Unless noted otherwise, these materials are available for purchase from the Capella University Bookstore. When searching the bookstore, be sure to look for the Course ID with the specific –FP (FlexPath) course designation.

• Shockley-Zalabak, P. S. (2015). Fundamentals of organizational communication: Knowledge, sensitivity, skills, values (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Complete the following:

1. Choose an organizational communication problem you have experienced in your workplace or other organization with which you are involved. Examples of organizational communication problems are as follows: 
   • The leaders of an organization know they have to downsize (that is, fire) a large number of employees but do not effectively communicate the situation.
   • Policies at a company are not followed in different departments or at different locations because the policies are not communicated well by a central office.
   • Employees with inappropriate skill sets are hired because individuals familiar with the requirements do not communicate with the individuals hiring for the position.
   • Two leaders within an organization provide different directions on how employees should conduct their work.
2. Use any of the suggested materials listed in the Resources or search for other resources from the Capella library to examine decision-making models, and select one to apply to the organizational communication problem you have chosen.
3. Write a recommendation paper in which you address the following: 
   • Describe the organizational communication problem and how it might negatively impact an organization.
   • Explain the decision-making model you chose that applies to the problem and indicate why you chose it by comparing it to another decision-making model.
   • Describe recommended solutions to the organizational communication problem using the chosen decision-making model, and assesses the difficulty of implementing your suggested solutions.
   • Justify how your recommended solutions address the communication problem and how they would provide value to the organization.

Additional Requirements

Your analysis and recommended solutions should be well organized and written in clear, succinct language. Follow APA rules for attributing sources that support your analysis and conclusions.

Academic Integrity and APA Formatting

As a reminder related to using APA rules to ensure academic honesty:

1. When using a direct quote (using exact or nearly exact wording), you must enclose the quoted wording in quotation marks, immediately followed by an in-text citation. The source must then be listed in your references page.
2. When paraphrasing (using your own words to describe a non-original idea), the paraphrased idea must be immediately followed by an in-text citation and the source must be listed in your references page.