Outerstreaming: the fourth communication paradigm - includes related articles on corporate paternalism, communication in the future, direct communication, and American Greetings Corp

Communication World, Dec, 1990 by Chris Campbell

OUTERSTREAMING: the fourth communication paradigm

EMPLOYEES ARE FINDING UNOFFICIAL, INTERACTIVE CHANNELS THROUGH WHICH TO COMMUNICATE

You grab that first cup of coffee and sit down and tackle the contents of your in-box. It's barely visible beneath a stack of videocassettes, photographs, graphics, fax copy and newsletters that have come in from around the globe. You log on to your desktop computer, where you find a backlog of electronic mail. And there's the computer bulletin board to check.

Just another day for an NBC network news director? Wrong. It's just another day for the average corporate communication manager.

What's the source of all these messages? They are all unsolicited, employee-produced contributions to the flow of corporate communication. What's the year? 2020? 1995? It's starting to happen already.

When it comes to production of good, high-quality communication tools, expertise remains an important ingredient. But the tools are available to virtually everyone. Today there is more raw computing power sitting on the average employee's desk than existed in entire divisions or corporations 25 years ago. And employees are becoming increasingly more sophisticated in its use.

Inside the corporate world, this combination of widely accessible technology and individual skill and creativity is fundamentally changing the attitude about communication, as well as the course of information flow. Time was, the company grapevine or a photocopied cartoon tacked up over the water cooler were the only sources of information outside the mainstream of traditional, sanctioned corporate communication. These days, employees at every level are engaged in "outerstreaming," communicating with each other outside the mainstream of communication. They're using computer bulletin boards, electronic mail and other "unofficial" and interactive channels.

Corporations have a choice: They can tap into this energy and profit from it, or they can ignore the realities of the changing communication environment--and suffer its disruptive influence. Because outerstreaming is more than just new gadgets and boxes; it's actually a new way of thinking.

As a result, the key challenge for the corporate communication executive in the 1990s will be to figure out how to access and capitalize on the creativity of the entire organization. Rather than trying to force information through traditional channels, or even creating radical new channels, we need to shift our concept of control of communication channels. In its place, we need to create a supportive environment in which new channels can be created--and used--by anyone. Our role will be to harness the energy of these new channels to accomplish management objectives.

The Fourth Paradigm

We are experiencing a fundamental shift in the model of corporate communication. In fact, a new model is emerging. We at Praxis call it the "fourth communication paradigm."

What are the first three paradigms? The first paradigm is hierarchical and unidirectional. Communication flows from the top down only, and there are few mechanisms for feedback or information generated from other levels. Following World War II, corporations structured on the military model of top-down information flow flourished. The communication process was used as a power base and control device.

In the second paradigm, there is a bilateral information flow. A second paradigm communicator would be handing down orders and information, but also getting feedback through sanctioned corporate channels. An example of bilateral information flow might be the time-honored suggestion box.

The third paradigm, which is where most of us find ourselves today, is characterized by multi-channel, multi-directional communication. With the proliferation of technologies at our disposal, we have developed many distinct channels of communication that are functionally based. For instance, multiple newsletters targeted at different audiences within the company--the sales force, the middle manager, executives. There are often separate newsletters on quality, productivity, and products. And with the increasing availability and cost-effectiveness of desktop publishing, multi-point teleconferencing and business television networks, managers and employees can communicate across organizational and functional lines as never before.

The first, second and third paradigms all share one common characteristic: The organization creates the communication channels. We are about to enter the fourth communication paradigm, in which the members of the organization create their own communication channels. More and more, employees are becoming the hubs of their own communication networks. They are using the tools that were once available only to a select few within very large organizations to originate sophisticated communication messages. And just as the printing press affected the flow of information in society in unanticipated ways, changed political structures and, in fact, stimulated the Reformation, so the availability of analogous technologies in the hands of today's workers has basically changed the fundamental flow and characteristics of information within the corporation--in effect, stimulating the communication revolution.