Communication Effectiveness of Made at TU Organization

Made at TU Organization is an organization that existed at The University of Tulsa since the 1970s in order to help mechanical engineering students fund their projects. The organization was founded after the then Dean, Steve Bellovich, became interested in the efforts by mechanical engineering students at the institution to develop projects that help meet the needs of the local residents suffering from physical and developmental disabilities (The University of Tulsa, n.d.). Since its inception, Made at TU has developed to become an important student organization in this academic institution through leadership and service. The main objective/goal of Made at TU is to utilize the university's mechanical engineering students to help enhance the lives of people with disabilities. This paper focuses on examining communication effectiveness at the organization given the value of its social service aspects to the university's students and faculty.

Methodology for Assessing Communication Effectiveness

One of the major factors that have contributed to the success of Made at TU organization across all its operations is communication. Communication plays a crucial role in ensuring that the organization's members understand the needs of the locally disabled people. Additionally, communication is crucial towards the creation of projects that meet the needs of these people in an effective and sustainable manner. The field of organizational communication has gained considerable attention in the recent past because of its significance to the effective functioning of an organization (Hargie & Tourish, 2015). In this regard, there are several methodologies that are utilized to assess communication effectiveness within an organization.

For this paper, the methodology utilized to assess communication effectiveness in Made at TU organization is a communication audit approach. This approach helps in understanding the wide range of communicative behaviors within an organization. While there are several variables and techniques that can be utilized in this approach, this analysis will focus... The strategy and behaviors will be examined with regards to their role in the achievement of organizational goals and effective functioning and operations of the organization.

Assessment of Communication Effectiveness

As previously described, one of the major factors towards smooth operations of Made at TU is communication effectiveness. Koschmann (2012) contends that organizational communication refers to information sharing processes within an organization through the use of effective communication channels. In this regard, organizations establish structures that promote smooth communications between its members towards the achievement of desired organizational goals and objectives (Cheney et al., 2010). The leadership of Made at TU has established a focused communication strategy that plays a crucial role in enhancing interactions between students and the local residents. The organization's leadership has established interdependent communication systems and structures through which organizational components are dependent on each other. These systems, which act as the focused communication strategy, are based on the concept of vertical communication. The vertical communication concept refers to up-and-down communication from the organization's leadership to the members and vice versa. This system also follows a common-sense approach through which communication moves across a chain of command.

For Made at TU, vertical communication takes place through ensuring that the faculty and students interact regularly towards carrying out various roles and responsibilities. While students are mandated with the responsibility of creating projects that meet the needs of the locally disabled people, they need to work with the faculty to ensure development of suitable projects. Since the students are still learning, they work in collaboration with the faculty to ensure that the understand the needs of local residents and create relevant projects towards meeting those needs. In addition, the organization has established a…