Untangling communication chaos: a communicator's conundrum for coping with change in the coming century.

Do you feel frustrated by a lack of ability to control information now that everyone with a networked computer can publish E-mail, Web pages and desktop-published brochures? Is it increasingly difficult to predict how your audience will react to a carefully crafted message? Have various constituencies in your company spontaneously self-organized into communities and pressure groups in cyberspace? Is the "waterfall" method of communication (top down through the management structure) no longer effective or even possible?

"There's nothing as practical as a good theory," the late communication scholar David Berlo reminds. And a new theory of communication management may be what we need to understand the sea of change that's washing over our profession. Traditional linear theories of communication, persuasion and management don't really explain the dynamic, multi-channeled and sometimes chaotic communication environment in most organizations today.

It may seem like organizations and their communication systems are just out of control. You may be struggling to find the right words, a more contemporary image, a faster medium or some other rule to help you better understand, predict and influence the behavior of your audiences. Perhaps, though, it is your expectations - based on your theory of communication - that are outdated. For the past century, both the natural and social sciences have been dominated by metaphors of well-regulated and predictable machines. We modeled our companies based on a mechanistic view of control, illustrated by the classical and scientific theories of management prevalent throughout the industrial world. For every action, there was a specific reaction. We strove to figure out the right formula to plug in, whether the "recipe" be for engine torque or train schedules or an audience's reaction to a new logo.

In recent decades, it's not just organizational communication that's becoming apparently uncontrollable - even the "hard" sciences have found that some of the traditional, simplistic notions about the behavior of objects are not really supportable or understandable by previously unquestioned scientific theories. For example, Newtonian physics once dominated the study of the physical world. However, it largely has been displaced by quantum physics, which permits, even in principle, only the calculation of probabilities rather than absolute predictions. Even today, physicists do not yet fully understand what quantum mechanics really means at the sub-atomic level and for the universe as a whole.

Defining Chaos and Complexity

Enter chaos theory and complexity theory...these both emerged from modern physics and economics. Chaos theory postulates that the behavior of individual elements in systems can't be predicted; they are out of our control, despite what on the surface may seem to be orderly and well-behaved. Complexity theory is related in that a basic theme is that systems are generally not externally controllable. However, complex systems are in constant transitions - self-creating small levels of order, and then adapting and changing again. A diamond crystal, for example, with its neatly arranged atoms, is "ordered;" a rose, which has both randomness and order in the arrangement of its parts, is "complex;" the movement of gas molecules is truly "chaotic."

Complexity thus covers a vast territory that lies between order and chaos. Complex adaptive systems include social systems, and more specifically, communication within our organizations because it is continually changing to readjust to new technologies, enabling an "evolution" of new ways in which communication is possible.

What better way to explore complexity in communication than to use an inherently complex and self-organizing system, an electronic online forum. In the winter of 1996, a message was posted in CompuServe's Public Relations and Marketing forum in the IABC/HyperSpace section, asking for colleagues' thoughts on chaos and complexity in their professional environments. Their responses are interspersed throughout this article, indicated by individual message boxes.

Eric R. Green, IABC/Hyperspace Visitor:

The best metaphor for chaos theory I have found relates to the great game of hockey. When the puck is carried from one end to the other, there is simply no predictability in the way it will get to the other end, and especially the precise way it will get into the goal. The movement of the puck on the ice, on the face of the hockey stick, in the air, etc, is an almost ideal representation of the time-bound, space-delineated nature of fractal theory, which lies behind chaos theory.

In the world of contemporary communication - regardless of the communicator, the media or the audience(s) - the challenge of registering a particular message in the desired way (to match policy and objectives) is as difficult to predict. The organizations who hire so-called professionals to achieve specific objectives tend to want science, when they should look for committed artists. Seeing the grand picture of the organization is more helpful than knowing specific routes through media.

Tom Geddie, ABC, Tom Geddie Communication Planning and Evaluation:

Chaos theory is, I believe, a subset of complexity. And I believe the complexity theory is more descriptive of communication. Complexity involves unpredictable behavior, interaction and feedback loops, decentralized decision making, and inter-dependence of various simple systems that, together, make a complex system. Organizations - and individuals - create complexity when they use syntax (rules, codes or symbols) to translate semantics (meaning).

Tim Hicks, ABC, consultant, TRH Communications:

So, is there a metric for organizational chaos? Is there a way we can say that we are twice as chaotic as we were in 1990? Are we, in fact, more chaotic, or just more aware of it?

Embracing Complexity

Concepts from complexity research are directly relevant to organizational communication (especially computer-mediated communication). Embracing this perspective may reduce our frustration, help us support new management approaches, and align our styles with more contemporary organizational designs. When we seek to understand the communication environment, we need to realize that people continually generate, elaborate and rearrange patterns of meanings and interactions. Concepts like image, employee satisfaction and loyalty are not, and never have been, simple, stable objects that professional communicators can craft. We may influence people's perceptions by providing new ways of looking at, thinking about and describing things through various symbol systems. However, in today's work place, there are many more numerous and credible sources of influence than newsletters, slogans, mission statements and management announcements.

James Horton, president, Slater Hanft Martin Communication

Diane: Your topic is most interesting. Chaos has always been a part of communication. Whenever one communicates, unless under the strictest control, there is spill-over or gapping. Spill-over is the overheard remark, the partially understood message. Gapping is the just-missed communication to the target individual that everyone else gets. The only guideline I have followed is one of fatalism. If it can go wrong, it will. Therefore, communicate much more than you think you should and listen hard for feedback to see if the message arrived and was understood.

Institutions and networks of relationships spontaneously emerge and evolve, especially in contemporary team-based organizations and among individuals and companies that form temporary partnerships and alliances. These "networked organizations" are already in practice in institutions such as law firms, consulting companies and research universities because of the constant change inherent in their work: They are continually faced with different projects requiring different skills and resources. Networked organizations are successful because of the flexibility of the structure in relation to the work that needs to be accomplished. They make use of rapidly shifting project teams, decentralized networks of relatively autonomous groups and innovative communication technologies enabling lateral communication throughout the organization or among organizations. There is little reliance on traditional hierarchical decision making and work orders, or on formal communication channels.

The role of professional communicators is to influence and support - not to single-handedly create - individuals' interpretations of meaning and sense-making in the organization, the coordination of individual and collective expectations, the interplay of cooperation and competition, the diffusion of information and innovations, the creation of individual knowledge and the codification of collective knowledge. We need to recognize that the strongest and best-adapted systems for coordination will probably emerge and adapt on their own, rather than being prescribed and pre-planned by us. If a system of communication is spontaneously created and is being heavily used, whether it be an E-mail "grapevine" or a bulletin board in the cafeteria, then it is likely the best choice at the time.

What this means for communication professionals is that our jobs will either change or evaporate. Many of the organizations where we consult and do research are questioning the need for separate departments for employee communication and training, and wonder why these functions simply aren't a part of everybody's jobs. As employees perceive that feature articles, training courses, and motivational videos are further and further removed from their working "reality," they are using their own communication skills and technologies to gain what they believe to be more up-to-date, relevant, practical and accurate information. Furthermore, in an economy where more of the work is going to be done by networks of independent contractors than by employees of large corporations, what then becomes the role of traditional "employee" media?

Robert Holland, ABC, employee information manager, microelectronics unit of Lucent Technologies:

As long as communication is a human activity, there will be chaos in communication. The fact is that we cannot completely control information, and those who try will be frustrated. The only sane alternative is to manage information and the communication of it, which is what our profession is all about. Management is all about creating the message, evaluating the media at your disposal, assessing the benefits and risks of using each, deciding Which media to use, and then closing the loop by monitoring the results and responding to them. It sounds like it will work, but as we all know, there are hundreds of variables that can throw our best plans into chaos.

Despite the obvious job threat for communicators that complex communication environments may engender, no one is predicting that work place communication is decreasing in importance. Quite to the contrary, executives are grappling with how to improve communication, coordination, corporate culture, and community now that traditional approaches and assumptions no longer are valid. New opportunities await us if we can adopt a new perspective.

Ayelet Baron, Assistant Sysop for the IABC/Hyperspace Forum and works as an independent consultant through her company, PeopleComm:

Communication is reflective of chaos in organizations and in the management structure. Communication is no longer a silo area but must be seen as part of the overall big picture. It is no longer sufficient to merely produce print material but to create synergy among all the available vehicles. There is chaos when organizations do not listen to employees and do not have established upward and downward communication channels. And chaos is also good - it allows us to send messages in diverse ways - not just E-mail, faxes, magazines, but also through people and actions.

Maybe it also recognizes the huge diversity of the people who make up the organization and the work and we no longer view employees as one homogenous group. My advice to communicators is to learn the business and coach management to lead by example - that is one of the most effective tools around today.

New Opportunities

Instead of trying to control and predict communication and its resulting behavior, we can choose to capitalize on the powerful and dynamic aspects of our complex organizations. If all of this has been sounding rather abstract to you, allow us to suggest four immediate projects that you might coordinate in your organization that are based on recognizing the appropriateness and power of complexity theory:

ONE: Use computer networks to find and coordinate people with diverse knowledge and skills from many parts of your organization or outside it. For example, in two of OmniCom Associates' client organizations, marketing development and training departments created electronic databases of in-house experts on various topics who were willing to share knowledge, skills, and materials with colleagues. These mentoring activities didn't generally take the form of formal classes or materials; rather knowledge was shared more often by E-mail exchanges and lunchtime chats. Within months, the resources available to these market development and training departments burgeoned at no extra cost to the organization. In one healthcare system where we served as strategic planning consultants, the staff development department started a "Star Search" to identify people who informally or formally provided training to others in the organization - the search yielded more than 100 people who previously were "hidden" resources to most of the rest of the company.

TWO: Help your E-mail and voice mail systems work more effectively by establishing policies and providing hints on how to reduce information overload. Systems now exist to help people find, filter, and prioritize their E-mail based on topic, sender and other attributes. Many organizations are providing simple guidelines on how to select and use the best technology for the job. These user-centered communication technologies, when applied effectively, can speed up what futurist Charles Handy calls the "information metabolism" of organizations the rate at which organizations can take in information, distribute it, "digest" it, and respond to it. One of OmniCom Associates' recent projects was helping a large restaurant chain to analyze the patterns of communication among headquarters and its more than 200 properties, and to enable them to strengthen the system by streamlining message design and delivery. We found that it was typical for restaurant managers to spend some two to three hours per day reading print mail and E-mail and listening to voicemail. While these technologies and the data carried by them are essential, they are consuming too much time. Quality of life is a major concern for many organizations who wish to become "employers of choice" but are forcing their staff to resort to listening to voicemail while in the shower or commuting.

THREE: Create a "knowledge warehouse" or "answer network," a unified but participatory database on various organizational topics such as human resources policies, troubleshooting guides or new technologies. Some questions could be answered easily from information in a database. Others would be referred to progressively more knowledgeable experts. For example, a vehicle manufacturing company has totally re-designed its approach to training, documentation and field support to technicians. Instead of relying solely on predesigned courses and manuals, the company is now preparing to field an intranet site through which technicians can post questions and solutions to vehicle repair. In this way, the technicians will get the most comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge and technical support, while the factory also captures essential data about repair procedures for unusual problems and recommendations for new engineering changes. Of course, this will be incorporated into a much larger body of information for both customers and dealers that will be contained in the Web site.

FOUR: Make use of the growing number of independently employed professionals as well as new communication technologies to assemble temporary "virtual teams" for your own communication projects, or for your clients' projects. This can be done by advertising electronically and/or consulting a database of available people. You also can build your own database containing not only people's skills and billing rates, but also comments from others who had used their services. Many online bulletin boards, E-mail list servers and electronic forums now exist to share information for free among professional communicators. It is here that independents also can find potential contract work. Have you created your own database of experts? Have you checked out the online resources for collaboration available to you (like CompuServe's IABC/Hyperspace group)?

Fostering Strong, Adaptable Organizations

The potent force that shapes behavior in complex organizations is the combination of a strong culture that embodies mutually held values and standards for acceptable behavior, and the freedom available to individuals to assert themselves in non-deterministic ways. Today's leaders and communicators must learn to trust natural organizing phenomena - trust in the power of guiding principles or values to influence individual behavior and to allow every member to reflect the desired representation of the organization. Managing communication and even learning more about technology are not necessarily the keys to a successful communication practice today. It will become more important than ever to develop better understandings of language and other symbol systems, not just technology.

Sheri Rosen, ABC Assistant Sysop of the IABC/HyperSpace Forum and Communication World columnist:

See if you can round up a book called "Grammatical Man" by Jeremy Campbell. It is about 12 years old now. While it doesn't address corporate communication directly, it is a fascinating look at how chaos, entropy, chance, order, etc. apply to human communication, interaction and meaning.

The "chaos environment" calls for a new form of leadership and to be sure, a new form of communication management. While we're at it...maybe we need to re-examine the word "management"!

Eric R. Green

Following that line, did you know that the word 'management' actually comes from Italian? It derives from a word which meant 'handler of horses' or 'trainer of horses'. The management of communication certainly bears a strong resemblance to the challenges of directing an unruly, large animal, like a horse. And it feels as threatening, dangerous and chaotic from an emotional perspective.

Thank goodness we can think our way through the apparent chaos. And hope for rational outcomes from a process whose rational character evades clear detection.

Diane M. Gayeski, Ph.D. is partner in OmniCom Associates, an international organizational communication and learning consultancy and is also associate professor and chair of the department of corporate communication at Ithaca College, Ithaca, N.Y.

Jennifer K. Majka received her B.S. degree in corporate communication from Ithaca College in May 1996 and in August acquired the RA/University of Cambridge Certificate in Teaching of English as a Foreign Language to Adults from the Coast Language Academy in Portland, Ore.