Master in Communication Series Part 3: What am I actually studying?

Months go by, and my Swedish academic adventure continues non stop. This time, Iā€™d like you to find out more about another course Iā€™ve been attending since January. First of all, do I really have to remind you once again what Iā€™m actually studying?

via GIPHY

Seriously? Okayā€¦ just for this time, I promise myself thatā€™s the last!

Iā€™m joking of course. Here we are: Iā€™m studying a Masterā€™s Programme in Communication at the University of Gothenburg.

The course Iā€™m gonna talk about is called ā€˜Communication among professionalsā€™. The focus is obviously on the term ā€˜professionā€™ and ā€˜professionalā€™, keeping always in mind the fundamental role that communication plays within the field of the organizational domain. When I say organizational, I mean that we should consider everything that happens within the borders of any sort of organization, company or whatever: a cluster of people working together and, presumably, belonging to different positions. These positions entail a diverse knowledge owned by specific people at various levels of the organization; of course, who is entitled of the highest positions owns more power and different knowledge than whom has a lower position in the organizational hierarchy.

As it is assumed, communication has carried out through different channels, such as written forms, oral ones, non-verbal, visual or digital too. When communication occurs within a workplace context, most probably is framed in a metaphorical container that is known as ā€˜discourseā€™. Almost every kind of professional domains has its own discourse: for instance, medical discourse, scientific discourse, legal discourse, and the list goes on. If you happen to be in an hospital, perhaps youā€™ll listen to workers conversations, while queueing or waiting in the hallway or whatsoever situation; well, in this case, medical discourse donā€™t always occur: it may be normal listen briefly to two nurses talking about their family or their friendsā€™ issues; as well, it may be normal listen to the same two nurses talking about patientsā€™ conditions or medical treatments: in that case, we can claim that weā€™re in front of the so called medical discourse.

Some days ago, our class, divided into small groups, had to make a ā€˜professionalā€™ presentation of a case study, pretending to be consultants: the aim of this activity saw each group presenting a case of boat rocking to the ā€˜top managementā€™ (our professor and the rest of the classmates, N.d.R). What is boat rocking, are you wondering? No problem, just read this definition: ā€œthe boat-rocker is one who express ā€“ in a direct, straightforward manner ā€“ the boundaries of an organizationā€ (Redding, 1985, p.246). The case was about a conflict that was rising between a frontline worker and her middle-managers within a healthcare provider of in-home services. I personally found this task being really interesting, and this will surely lead me to deepen the topic concerning boat rocking, as well as the one known as whistleblowing: the case of Edward Snowden reminds you anything, doesnā€™t it?

Waiting for new tasks and assignments, and new stories regarding my Masterā€™s Programme to tell you!

Featured image:Ā http://thebusinesstherapist.com/2011/10/corporate-communication-skills/

Picture 1:Ā https://news.clearancejobs.com/2013/03/07/mastering-professional-communication-in-a-defense-industry-office/

Picture 2:Ā http://www.tomppro.com/course-cat/people/communication/

Francesco

Written by Francesco

12 Feb 2017