The Rotunda Audit Reportblogs.longwood.edu/leechsp/files/2014/03/Final-Official-Report-Comm-364-3.pdf · communication and effectiveness throughout the organization; these recommendations

[1]

2013

Comm 364 Section 1

The Rotunda Audit Report

Team Kilimanjaro

“Striving for the peak of success”

Hillary Bourke

Sarah Bennett

Elena Dixon

Samuel Leech

[2]

Table of Contents

Kilimanjaro Mission Statement 3

Executive Summary 6

Introduction 7

Purpose 7

Authorization 7

Scope 7

Research Methods 7

Observations 7

Interviews 8

Surveys 8

Limitations 8

Organizational Strengths 9

Opportunities of Improvement 14

Recommendation for Continued Growth 19

Summary 22

Appendix A

The Rotunda’s Interview Questions 24

Appendix B

The Rotunda’s Survey 27

Works Citied 36

[3]

Mission Statement:

We are a group of unique individuals and dedicated

students motivated to assist our client in fulfilling its

ultimate potential. The organization’s communication will

reach its full potential by receiving open, honest, and

respectful services. We strive to be confidential,

dependable, committed, and sophisticated.

[4]

Executive Summary

The Purpose

This report has been created to assist The Rotunda identify their strengths and areas of

improvements. Various members of The Rotunda were observed, interviewed, and surveyed to

find their strengths and areas of improvement. Through these assorted ways of looking at The

Rotunda, Team Kilimanjaro has recommendations that would help The Rotunda reach their full

potential through communication.

Organization Strengths

After looking through all of our observations, interviews, and surveys, Team Kilimanjaro

found multiple strengths that The Rotunda possesses. These areas of strength include the editors’

and advisors’ openness to new ideas, and how efficient and informative the weekly meetings are.

After looking at the observations and interviews many respondents explained how open

top editors and advisors are to new, innovative ideas for the paper. Many people concentrated on

Gabby when they talked about new ideas and who they represent them to. One respondent

explained that she was also very outgoing, always had good ideas, and never downs any new

ideas. When looking at the survey, staff responded that they trusted their supervisors. This is

good, because this means that they trust their advisors enough to be open with their ideas.

The second strength that stood out during our process is how productive The Rotunda’s

weekly meetings on Thursday nights are. Through observations Team Kilimanjaro noticed that

The Rotunda’s weekly meetings are very efficient because it gives the editors and the rest of the

staff an opportunity to communicate, when they usually aren’t able to throughout the week. This

also is a prime opportunity for the advisors to be able to have face to face communication with

the entire staff if they want to, and vice versa. In interviews staff said that the information in the

meetings are descriptive and informative, and gives everyone an opportunity to know what is

happening. Finally, in surveys, participants stated that they preferred face-to-face interactions the

most; the meetings that The Rotunda holds on Thursday nights is completely face-to-face, giving

the staff the communication satisfaction they desire.

Organization Areas for Improvement

After looking throughout the observations, interviews, and surveys performed on The

Rotunda has a small number of areas of improvement help make their organization run more

efficiently, and help their communication throughout The Rotunda. The two areas that could be

improved that occurred the most are repercussions for turning in stories late, and the need for

The Rotunda’s office to be more professional of an atmosphere.

The first area of improvement that The Rotunda made clear was the lack of repercussions

if a story was turned in late. When stories are turned in late, which in turn, makes the rest of the

paper urn late? If all stories are turned in on time, then the staff can go home at a reasonable

hour; however, if not, the staff has been known to stay there until 2 am on Wednesday morning.

[5]

When observing The Rotunda’s Tuesday nights, which is when the paper is put together, we

noticed a lot of rushing and stress over stories being past due. A lot of the staff believes there

should be repercussion; however, they don’t know what to do. Making sure that they have

deadlines and meet them, effects their productivity by providing them with due dates. If they

have repercussions, then they will see the effects, whatever the repercussions would be, of not

turning in their stories on time. By having repercussions, this helps encourage the staff to turn in

their work, therefore become more productive.

Recommendations

Team Kilimanjaro have several recommendations for The Rotunda to help improve their

communication and effectiveness throughout the organization; these recommendations include

having a bulletin board in the office, have a suggestion box in the office, have a blog and Twitter

site for The Rotunda, and finally have a retreat for the entire staff to attend.

The first and second recommendations go together. The Rotunda should consider making

a bulletin board to hang in their office. This bulletin board would hold weekly announcements, a

copy of any emails that were sent out that week, and finally a list of all the rules and expectations

of office etiquette. This would provide a constant flow of communication when face to face

communication isn’t available. By providing the rules and regulations of being in the office, this

would help people realize that the office is for being productive and working on the paper, not

for socializing. This bulletin would also have deadlines clearly posted so people couldn’t say

they didn’t know when stories were due. The last piece of this bulletin board would be a

suggestion box. This way, the bulletin board would not only be downward communication, but it

would allow upward communication as well. The lower level staff, meaning the assistant editors

and writers, would be able to provide suggestions and concerns anonymously to the top editors.

By doing this, communication will be more open, and clarified.

The next suggestion is for The Rotunda to have a blog and Twitter site. These would

allow for The Rotunda to keep people on campus more informed with what is going on campus.

This would also allow for more up to date stories to reach campus. Every tweet could have a

hyper-link that could have a short, quick to the point story that explained what happened; then in

the paper, there could be a more in-depth story. This way The Rotunda keeps their readers up to

date as much as possible, and this way, they could also intrigue readers on what the paper was

going to be about this week.

Finally, the last recommendation Team Kilimanjaro advises that The Rotunda have a

once a year retreat, in which the entire staff gets together and has a team building activity outside

the office. The goal of this activity would be to make the entire staff more united and so this

would hopefully make more people comfortable with each other and in the end, hopefully make

people want to communicate more openly with each other.

[6]

Introduction

[7]

Purpose

Team Kilimanjaro has been investigating and assessing Longwood University’s student

run newspaper, The Rotunda, through a communication audit throughout the fall

semester of 2012. This communication audit and this final report have been produced in

order to evaluate their communication, what practices they’re performing well and which

practices they could improve on.

Authorization

We had authorization that The Rotunda would be participating in a communication on,

produced by Team Kilimanjaro in Fall 2012, on September 18th

, 2012. On September

18th

, Team Kilimanjaro met with Gabrielle Pedro, the Editor-in-Chief, in The Rotunda

office at 3:30 pm. Throughout the semester, Team Kilimanjaro and The Rotunda worked

together and the final report will be presented on Thursday, December 6th

at 1:30 pm.

Scope

The main focus that Team Kilimanjaro concentrated on when auditing The Rotunda was

communication. To further focus in on this, team Kilimanjaro decided to concentrate

communication functions and communication relationships. Team Kilimanjaro decided to

concentrate on these two areas because they seemed most relevant to The Rotunda after

observing them.

Research Methods

While producing The Rotunda’s final audit report, Team Kilimanjaro evaluated our

client through observing, interviewing, and surveying them (in that order). After

authorizing our audit, Team Kilimanjaro started by observing The Rotunda during

the collaboration of the paper, on a Tuesday afternoon. We observed them at two

different points of the afternoon. Lastly, we observed The Rotunda on their Thursday

night meeting at 8 pm. Next we interviewed various members of The Rotunda. The

interviews provided Team Kilimanjaro with more details than we would have been able

to get from simply observing and surveying; it provided us with opinions and experiences

within The Rotunda. Finally, we surveyed the organization, in which all members were

able to participate in.

Observations

The two weeks following the authorization of the audit Team Kilimanjaro started

observing The Rotunda and their daily activities. During the time of observations, three

were executed. Two of the observations happened on a Tuesday afternoon while The

Rotunda was putting together the weekly paper. Finally, the last observation happened

on a Thursday at 8 pm for The Rotunda’s weekly staff meeting. During this meeting, the

editors get together and explain potential stories for the paper; it is the main face-to-face

encounters lower staff members experience from upper level staff members.

[8]

Interviews

Detailed interviews were held after observations to gain more details and opinions from

various staff members in The Rotunda. This survey was created by Team Kilimanjaro’s

Interview Coordinator. During the interviews, two members of Team Kilimanjaro

attended each interview; one member to ask the questions and one member to record

anything the interviewee would say or do while answering the questions.

Surveys

The last step of the evaluation stage of The Rotunda’s communication audit was the

survey portion. The survey was created by Team Kilimanjaro’s Survey Coordinator, and

was distributed through surveymonkey.com. The link of the survey was sent to the editor-

in-chief, and this was forwarded to the staff of The Rotunda. The entire staff received the

same survey, and all together, we had 14 participants. Many of the questions were related

to the organization’s communication functions and relationships.

Limitations

Throughout the entire communication audit, Team Kilimanjaro faced numerous

limitations. The first problem that we faced was getting people to be available to

interview. Because the staff is very busy it was hard to get as many staff members

together to interview as we wanted. Because of this we were only able to interview five

people. Another limitation that we had was controlling whether the staff members took

the survey. The staff of The Rotunda consists of about twenty five people, including all

of the writers, and we only had fourteen respondents. Finally, the length of the survey

itself was very long and Team Kilimanjaro

[9]

Organizational Strengths

[10]

Communication Relationships- Superior/Subordinate: Most important communication link in

the workplace, the relationship is analyzed through trust, message exchange, and communication

style. (Downs & Adrian, 2004).

This relationship concentrates on upper level management and the people that are staffed

below that. This communication is key to an organization running smoothly. This relationship

uses both upward and downward communication; meaning communication from lower level to

upper level staff to upper level to lower level staff on The Rotunda.

Observations

The main observation connected to this concept that The Rotunda participated in was

their weekly Thursday night staff meeting. At this meeting the entire staff meets in the

Chichester lecture hall at eight o’clock to discuss what the paper will tackle within the next

week. Each top editor has a chance to talk about what stories they would like to see in their

section of the paper that week. After each editor finishes talking, they give the rest of the staff an

opportunity to give suggestions and ideas for the paper and stories for the paper. This is an

excellent example of superior/subordinate communication because there is a constant, open flow

of communication between these two positions at The Rotunda’s Thursday night meetings.

Interviews

During interviews, various staff of The Rotunda mentioned their experience with the

communication they share with their editors and or lower level staff members.

“Gabby is extremely open to new ideas, she is very outgoing, she always has good ideas,

she doesn’t down any new ideas, but doesn’t implement all new ideas, very hands on.”

This staff member expressed their respect for the Editor-in-Chief, and stated that she is

supportive as well. Through being supportive, she communicates with her staff members by

listening to their suggestions and taking them into consideration.

Our communication is “verbal and electronic, Gabby and I, have a good form of

communication on multiple levels.”

Through using various communication channels and outlets, The Rotunda’s staff has figured out

a way to successfully communicate. There is constant communication throughout the various

levels of staff.

Survey

The survey suggests that overall The Rotunda members trust each other and work well

together. They understand what needs to be accomplished and have the freedom to critique and

give constructive criticism on each other’s work. Higher management is open with members of

the organization and run the business in a professional manner. See Figure One.

[11]

Figure One- Communication Relationships

When looking at the superior/subordinate relationship within the Rotunda, we found that

they have a successful system of communication happening. According to Fix and Sias’, (2006),

article in the Communication Research Reports “….editor’s person-centeredness is interaction

contributes to higher-quality leader-member relationships.” (p. 41). More specifically, we found

through our observations, interviews, and surveys that the editors of The Rotunda are very open

to communicating with the other members or the organization.

Number of Respondents

[12]

Communication Functions- Integration:

Concentrates on keeping everyone involved and in the loop. By keeping everyone ‘in the

know’, people are more satisfied with their work environment because they are aware of their

surroundings and feel more involved. (Downs & Adrain, 2004).

We found that The Rotunda’s weekly Thursday night meetings are successful because

they keep everyone involved and informed on what is going on in The Rotunda and what the

staff should expect.

Observations

From attending meetings we found that they were very informative because they have all

the editors talk to the staff and answer any questions or concerns writers or assistant editors may

have. They also have an advisor attend to give any help possible. These meetings are very

efficient because they always at the same time in the same place and have the same schedule.

Interviews

From interviews, staff said that meetings were always filled with useful information for

all members for the staff. This is the time that all levels of staff have an opportunity to get

together and communicate in the same setting. They also stated that most of the communication

within The Rotunda happens at the meetings and collaboration happens.

“Most of the communication happens at the meeting and collaborates.”

A staff member stated that the weekly Thursday meetings that are held are very productive

because it gives the staff, as a hold, an opportunity to collaborate their ideas and suggestions to

help make the paper as productive and successful as possible.

“When they present the info during the meetings it is very descriptive and informative,

we know what is happening.”

Surveys

The survey indicates that most communication takes place through face to face interactions.

This is important because face to face is most effective when trying to explain things that need

done in order to finish assignments on time. See figure two.

[13]

Figure Two: Rate of Amount of Information You Receive Now

Upon looking at the various pieces of data we have about the weekly meetings the

Rotunda has on Thursday nights, this is a prime opportunity for communication exchange

between the entire staff. According to Downs and Adrian (2004), integrative communication can,

“build links so that members know what is going on, identify with the organization, articulate its

values, participate willingly in it processes, and feel pride in working there.” (p. 61) By having

their weekly Thursday night meetings and having the entire staff attend, the Rotunda is including

everyone in what is going on in the Rotunda and this helps everyone have a sense of belonging

and meaning in the organization. This also allows the lower level staff the perfect opportunity to

give their opinions and talk to staff because everyone is there.

Number of Respondents

[14]

Areas of Improvement

[15]

Communication Functions-Motivation: Focuses on editors and staff members keeping each

other inspired and stimulated by daily conversation, speeches, and positive evaluations at work.

By being more motivated, people are more likely to be productive. An example of

communication used to motivate others could include a poster that has all of the rules and

expectations of the staff.

One problem the Rotunda faces is that stories are being turned past due date, which in

turn, makes the rest of the paper run late. The paper itself is put together on Tuesday night of

every week; every story has a certain time that it is turned in. If all stories are turned in on time,

then the staff can go home at a reasonable hour; however, if not, the staff has been known to stay

there until 2 am on Wednesday morning. Top management believes there should be

repercussions; however, they don’t know what to do.

Observations

The Rotunda was observed during their Tuesday afternoon session of putting the paper

together. During this time, stress levels were high and there was a lot of rushing. There were

stories that the editors were waiting on, and so this slowed down the editors’ ability to put the

paper all together.

Interviews

During interviews, members of The Rotunda stated many stories don’t get turned in on

time, and that expectations aren’t clear.

“A lot of stories don’t get turned in on time…”

This staff member is expressing the fact that a lot of stories don’t get turned in on time. Once

they aren’t turned in on time, there isn’t anything that happens to the writer.

“Expectations aren’t clear and once they aren’t met, there’s an amount of hostility”

The staff member mentions expectations and how they are unclear. Unclear expectations add

confusion into the workplace, thus disrupting the productivity. Also, when expectations aren’t

met, such as deadlines, people get behind on their work and become frustrated.

Survey

The survey implies that members stay productive and are stimulated by staff to keep them

motivated and inspired. See Figure Three

[16]

Figure Three: In the last months, what has happened to your productivity?

After looking at the staffs’ opinion of repercussions through observing, interviewing, and

surveying, it is an overall belief that some king of system needs to be put into place to help the

Rotunda work more efficiently. According to Meiners and Vernon (2004), “Clearly, managers

who entertain informal suggestions but then fail to commit to discuss details in more official

settings might only frustrate subordinates and compound their dissatisfaction with their work

roles.” (p. 315). Through this quote it is important to emphasize how crucial it is to explain

deadlines. Inconsistently affects the productivity of the workplace; with this being said,

repercussions are crucial to create.

60%

26.7%

13.3%

[17]

Communication Functions- Task/Work Function: This function concentrates on getting work

done. It involves informing, instructing, commanding, problem solving, and goal setting. “Most

of these ways represent some form of downward communication, but many of them will also

require important feedback to be reported upward.” (Downs & Adrian, 2006, p. 60)

Observations

While observing in their office on a Tuesday, the day the paper is put together, there was

a lot of socializing, and side conversations happening. This is a natural occurrence, however, it

was keeping a lot of the staff off task.

Interviews

During interviews, staff members stated how the office is a distracting workplace, and

they find it difficult to concentrate in.

“A lot of writers come in to the office to work and they get people off topic.”

When coming into the office to work, staff members aren’t able to work because they are

distracted and brought off topic. Some writers are becoming distractions by coming into the

office and over-socializing.

“People will have a lot of conversations”

Staff members try and use the office as a productive space to write and edit their stories. This is

made more difficult when their fellow staff members hold constant conversation in the office,

because this is a distraction.

This graph exemplifies the need for a more efficient work environment. The lack of

information on bulletin boards shows the need for a more professional work environment

through utilizing posted messages and organizational expectations. Bulletin Boards would help

organize announcements in a central place where members will be reminded of important dates

and information. See Figure Four

[18]

Figure Four: Rate the amount of information you receive now

While observing, interviewing, and surveying the staff of the Rotunda one popular

occurrence in responses was that the office wasn’t as productive as it should be. This in turn

makes staff members who are working in the office stray from their task and become less

productive.

Number of Respondents

[19]

Recommendations for Continued Growth

[20]

Organizational Retreat:

Overview of Organizational Retreat: An organizational retreat would be a great way to

get to know one another in a relaxed environment. To be most effective the retreat

should take place at the beginning of the year as a way to bond as a group and get

comfortable with each other. This will help members communicate more effectively and

professionally with one another. The retreat could be a weekend long event that could

perhaps take place at Longwood University’s Hull Springs Farm located in

Westmoreland County, Virginia. This location will help keep costs low and members

could experience more that Longwood has to offer. The facilities at Hull Springs Farm

will allow members comfortable accommodations where they can stay, relax, cook, and

get to know one another.

Task/Work Function: This function is a vital part of communication within organizations,

and is focused on succeeding by getting work done effectively. Important aspects of this

function include informing, instructing, commanding, solving problems, identifying

goals, and announcing controls (Downs & Adrian, 2004).

Social/Maintenance Function: This function focuses on the importance of

communication within the organization, both on a personal and professional level. The

most important aspects of this function are to “enhance the individual’s feeling of self-

worth, to place high value on cooperative interpersonal and group interactions, and to

keep personnel functioning well together” (Downs & Adrian, 2004, p. 60).

Motivation Function: This function is centered on editors motivating other

organizational members to help improve motivation and communication within all

members of the organization. Examples of communication that can be utilized to

improve motivation are “performance appraisals, speeches given by managers in

organization-wide meetings to motivate people to be more productive, and even

something as simple as a poster” (Downs & Adrian, 2004, p. 61)

Integration Function: This function explains the importance of keeping all organizational

members on the same page and up-to-date on all information communicated within the

organization. “Communication can build links so that members know what is going on,

identify with the organization, articulate its values, participate willingly in its processes,

and feel pride in working there” (Downs & Adrian, 2004, p. 61). All of these factors can

be very useful in creating a positive and integrated work environment.

Innovation Function: This function focuses on the improvement and adaptation of

organizations as they are constantly changing. These improvements should be made by

all organization members and can be done in simple, informal ways. A few of these ways

for adding and integrating in new ideas within the organization are “suggestion systems,

problem-solving meetings, quality circles, and goal setting are all means of being

innovative” (Downs & Adrian, 2004, p. 61).

[21]

Activities: As a whole, The Rotunda could benefit from a few activities that could be

done during the Organizational Retreat. Some activities that we thought could take place

could be preparing a meal together as a whole, having a game night with various board

games, conduct any important business in a meeting, and have a camp fire the last night

of the retreat. All of these activities could benefit The Rotunda in positive ways and also

bring all of the members closer together on a more personal basis.

Bulletin Board:

The Rotunda office have a bulletin board hung somewhere where it is obvious and the

staff can clearly read what is on it

Have weekly emails and announcements attached to the board, so it’s another copy of

what the staff should know.

Create “Office Etiquette” and hang it on the board, so staff knows what acceptable

behavior in the office is and what isn’t. (Make sure to back up this etiquette and ask

members to leave if they ignore rules)

Have each announcement on bright paper so that each will stand out to staff members

Suggestion Box:

Have a box connected to the bulletin board

Make it big and bright to stand out

Have editors at weekly meetings encourage staff members to give their opinions and

suggestions

Have pen and paper available for staff to make suggestions, the easier the better

[22]

Summary

[23]

Overall, Team Kilimanjaro found that The Rotunda has strengths and opportunities,

along with areas for improvement. Through the survey and various interviews conducted, we

have found that this organization has strengths within its top management and also through the

effectiveness of meetings. The areas of improvement within this organization involve a lack of

repercussions for turning in stories late, and also a shortage of professionalism within the office

space.

Our key findings from the interviews and survey conducted found that the top

management is very open and willing to hear new ideas from other members in the organization.

The upward and downward communication utilized has allowed for this organization to function

more efficiently and effectively, and also in bringing everyone’s ideas into the group. The

openness through efficient communication allows for each member of The Rotunda to feel as if

they are a contributing and active member.

As with any active organization, The Rotunda has areas that it could improve upon. As

noted previously, The Rotunda can further improve in the areas of creating a more professional

work space so that work can be done efficiently and on time. Developing a work atmosphere

that displays the foundations on which the organization is based on, will allow for all members to

get work done in an efficient manner. Also, this organization can make positive changes in

addressing repercussions for stories that are turned in late. The need for having all materials to

put the newspaper together is crucial, so it is important that all work is submitted on its due date.

In order to make sure that this happens, consequences could be set in place. These are both

challenges that The Rotunda can approach to advance their organization in a positive direction.

The Rotunda has proven to be an organization that works as a team and accomplishes

tasks to better Longwood University’s school newspaper. Though they have areas that could use

some improvement, they also have shown areas in which they have flourished as a student-based

organization. Ultimately they have demonstrated

[24]

Appendix A

[25]

The Kilimanjaro Team Interview Guide

Introductions

- Explain what a communication audit is

- Assure confidentiality

o No one will ever see notes except for our group members

o We won’t tell anyone in the organization what you said

o Won’t put anything obvious in report to where people could tell who said what

o Nothing will be talked about outside of our interview and group meetings

- Explain how interviewee was selected

- Preview statement

o Main topics

o How long the interview will last

Getting to Know You

1. Identify and name position of the interviewee.

2. What’s your position in the organization? Describe your responsibilities in that position.

3. How long have you been a part of the organization?

4. Have you held any other positions?

5. What helps you become most productive on the job? Please give an example.

6. What’s your biggest distraction when working? Please give an example.

Functions

1. What are major communication strengths of within the organization? Please be specific.

2. What are the major communication weaknesses of the organization? Please be specific.

3. When conflict occurs, how is it resolved? What normally causes conflict here? Please

give examples.

4. How often do you receive information of little value? Example?

a. How often are you overloaded with information?

[26]

b. How often do you feel you get too little information?

5. How does communication here affect your productivity? Is this typical for others?

Relationships

1. Please describe the communication relationship you have with:

a. Your immediate supervisor

b. Top management

c. Coworkers

d. Subordinates, if applicable

2. How would you evaluate your manager in terms of:

a. Openness to new ideas

b. Willingness to share information

c. Ability to clarify expectations

d. Ability to coordinate work in the unit

3. How do most people react to their editors?

4. How would you evaluate the communication from top management?

a. How would you describe the general communication climate here?

5. Describe the chain of command in this organization and how it operates.

Closing

1. Is there anything that I have left out that I should have included?

[27]

Appendix B

[28]

Works Cited

Downs, C. W., & Adrian, A. D. (2004). Assessing organizational communication, strategic

communication audits. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Fix, B., & Sias, P. M. (2006). Person-centered communication, leader-member exchange, and

employee job satisfaction. Communication Research Reports, 23(1), 35-44.

doi:10.1080/17464090500535855

Meiners, E. B., & Miller, V. D. (2004). The effect of formality and relational tone on

supervisor/subordinate negotiation episodes. Western Journal Of Communication, 68,

302-321. Retrieved from http://www.westcomm.org/publications/westernjournal.asp