Introducing Students to Karl Weick’s Principles of Organizational Communication

• In Event: G.I.F.T.S. Session II

Abstract

An educational activity designed to give students an experiential understanding of Weick’s principles of equivocality reduction, sensemaking, and organizing as social activity is presented. Six pieces of an ambiguous puzzle are distributed in a classroom. In order to solve the puzzle, the students must not only figure out that they have been given a puzzle, but also how to cooperate, organize, and use all of the puzzle pieces. Tips for debriefing students are included.

Authors

• John S. Seiter, Utah State Univ

• Deborah Dunn, Westmont College