Organizational Communication Ethics

One of the most interesting aspects of this chapter for me was the dwelling place. According to the authors, “each organization constructs a particular sense of dwelling that welcomes some and dismisses others” (141). I related this to the aspect of a university; from the early stages of admissions, to those who are admitted and those who eventually do graduate, their success is based on the dwelling that the university of their choice embraces and promotes. The chapter also emphasizes the need for an organization to negotiate competing goods in order for it to carry out its work.

In an article in The New York Times titled “How Big-Time Sports Ate College Life” author Laura Pappano states that “between 1985 and 2010, average salaries at public universities rose 32 percent for full professors and 650 percent for football coaches.” Of course, the article also notes that division I football and basketball bring in millions of dollars for the university. Most sports departments at public universities now operate like separate institutions than part of the university, and this is how public universities have created their sense of dwelling. In my opinion, public universities are more often than not, embracing sports culture than harboring a learning environment. I cannot say if this is wrong or right, but I do not agree with it. When an institution of higher learning embraces sports while dismissing those seeking a higher education, the organization is failing to protect its saying.

I’m not from Minnesota and I transferred to the University of Minnesota from an institution where sports are not a top priority. I am amazed at the amount of energy and money that is invested into the Gophers. The University of Minnesota, much like many other state schools, at times seems to be an institution that constructs its value on sports and not the value of academia. This is something that is experienced from visiting the school to our daily lives within the school. However, I would like to note that this is not criticism of the school, simply my insight as a newcomer. I consider myself to be the “uninformed” member, as I simply do not know much about the organization’s history and mission and am basing my conclusions simply on observations and what is generally known about state universities.