Foundations of Organizational Listening

In this chapter, we attempt to explicate the concept of listening, to describe what it means to listen in interpersonal versus organizational contexts, and to provide an overview of how organizational listening is viewed from alternative disciplinary perspectives. This chapter also introduces a second case study that illustrates common challenges and obstacles to organizational listening effectiveness. A review of relevant literature in areas of study such as organizational development, public relations, marketing, and organizational communication reveals considerable overlap in the way scholars and practitioners think about how organizations should orient and structure themselves for the purpose of listening and responding to external stakeholders. From this review, we derive eight generalizations that may serve as guidelines for the conceptual and operational framework described in subsequent chapters.