Managerial Communication

Preface

I have been a practicing manager for nearly two decades in a number of different capacities: as a department chair, as a dean, as a noncommissioned officer in charge of the supply and services division of a hospital, and as a warehouse supervisor. I have also been conducting network analysis, innovation, and information behavior research for over three decades now. The combination of these experiences has led me to a central question: what level of communication is really necessary to accomplish particular purposes?

Most communication theories implicitly paint a picture of the prevalence and paramount importance of communication, through a “metamyth” that more is necessarily better. However, in our rapidly expanding information society, ...