1.4: Communication Study and You
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Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
Does Aristotle’s work still apply today outside of college classrooms? Of course it does. In his book “Organizational Leadership: 73 Tips from Aristotle,” Tyme takes Aristotle’s work and applies it to leadership in organizational contexts (we’ll talk about organizational communication in Chapter 11).
The book description on Amazon.com reads, “Organizational Leadership: 73 Tips from Aristotle” is the third in a series of three short and effective kindle books written for the next generation of leaders (and reminders for current ones) in business and organizations on this important topic. Some advice and quotes are timeless and provides a refreshing spin from a legendary figure. At a very young age of 7, Aristotle started a 20 year journey as a student to Plato the Philosopher. Aristotle learned and contributed to all disciplines within sciences and the arts. Similar to his philosophical lineage, he believed education was valuable and should be sought out to improve one’s life. When Aristotle was not crowned as the successor to lead Plato’s Academy upon Plato’s death, Aristotle did not reject and repute the decision. He reflected on the decision and chose a road to make his mark on society. Aristotle opened his own school and continued to impart the basis of generational and organizational leadership similar to Socrates and Plato with his own great student who went by the name of Alexander the Great.
This third book should provide the following benefits:
Tyme, Justin. Organizational Leadership: 73 Tips from Aristotle. Amazon, 2012. Kindle.
If you think about Smith, Lasswell, and Casey’s statement that those of us who study communication investigate, “who says what, through what channels (media) of communication, to whom, [and] what will be the results” you should realize how truly complex a task we perform (121). While we’ll explore many examples later in the book, we want to briefly highlight a few examples of what you might study if you are interested in Communication as a field of study.
Studying communication is exciting because there are so many possibilities on which to focus. For example, you might study elements of the history and use of YouTube (Soukup); the use of deception in texting (Wise & Rodriguez); college students’ “guilty pleasure” media use (Panek); how sons and daughters communicate disappointment (Miller-Day & Lee); an examination of motherhood in lesbian-headed households (Koenig Kellas & Suter); or daughters’ perceptions of communication with their fathers (Dunleavy, Wanzer, Krezmien, Ruppel).
The above examples demonstrate just a small taste of what we can examine through the lens of communication. In reality, studying communication has almost limitless possibilities. That’s what makes this field so dynamic and exciting! When you think about the infinite number of variables we can study, as well as the infinite number of communication contexts, the task of studying “who says what, through what channels (media) of communication, to whom, [and] what will be the results?” is open to countless possibilities. The study of communication has proven helpful to us as social beings as we work to better understand the complexities of our interactions and relationships.
As a student taking an introductory Communication course, you might be thinking, “Why does this matter to me?” One reason it is important for you to study and know communication is that these skills will help you succeed in personal, social, and professional situations. A survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that “College students who wish to separate themselves from the competition during their job search would be wise to develop proficiencies most sought by employers, such as communication, interpersonal, and teamwork skills.” Whether you major in Communication or not, the more you understand communication, the greater potential you have to succeed in all aspects of your life. Another important reason for studying communication is that it can lead to a variety of career opportunities.
The kind of skills developed by Communication majors are highly valued by all kinds of employers. Courses and activities in Communication departments both teach and make use of the skills ranked consistently high by employers. Students with a degree in Communication are ready to excel in a wide variety of careers. Forbes listed “The 10 Skills Employers Want in 20-Something Employees.” Look to see how many relate directly to what you would learn as a Communication major.
Adams, Susan. “The 10 Skills Employers Most Want In 20-Something Employees” Forbes . 11 Oct. 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.