ABSTRACT
The fields of organizational and business communication have a long and diverse history, and one that is impossible to capture in a single overview essay. Indeed, some would argue that these fields cover so much territory as to lose coherence as fields at all. Nevertheless, they have some important characteristic features. According to Tourish and Hargie (2004), organizational communication is concerned with “how people ascribe meanings to messages, verbal and nonverbal communication, communication skills, the effectiveness of communication in organizations, and how meanings are distorted and changed while people exchange messages, in both formal and informal networks” (p. 10). As we argue in this essay, this definition of organizational communication needs to be extended even beyond this broad one, especially to include more recognition of the current state of scholarship and theorizing.
