MGMT 535 - Module 1 - The Meaning of Words - Madeline Campbell

Reflecting on the language within my office and how it primarily is specific to my workplace was difficult for me to identify at first. I realized this was because I have become used to the verbiage. A few of the words that are circulated often in my workplace but carry a different meaning to the outside world are:
-Matriculated
-Conditional
-Provisional
These can easily be portrayed simply as words with either much meaning or very little meaning. However, in the admission field, these words carry heavy meaning and importance when used in the office. For example, before working in admissions, if someone said the word matriculated I would not think of a student who has been admitted normally, who has paid their tuition deposit and has been processed in our system. If I thought of the word provisional, my mind wouldn't have jumped to a student who did not meet the academic requirements, but is trying to gain admission over time. As John Koenig states in his talk, “... and so a real word is one that gets you access to as many brains as you can. That's what makes it worth knowing” (Koening, J, 2016). Having been a member in the admission department for over a year now, these words have given access to brains that never used to be there when someone would say the world “matriculated” or provisional.”
The list of words above create a cultural norm within my workplace simply because they are spoken frequently, interwoven within many conversations. New employees are initiated with the acronyms and terms early, as we are given a key guide for all the abbreviations used within the office as part of our training. Phillip Clampitt states in his book, Communicating for Managerial Effectiveness (2017), “Communication is the transmission and/or reception of signals through some channel(s) that humans interpret based on a probabilistic system that is deeply influenced by context” (p. 3). The context of the words listed above is also an element that make them a cultural norm within the workplace. If my mother used the word matriculated, it probably wouldn't be used in the same context as within my workplace.
These words are used to effectively communicate a message. Because these words are standard knowledge within the team, managers can be assured they are communicating clearly when using such jargon with other employees. Being that we are all trained on these terms, “we have choices about what parts of the message we pay attention to and the meanings we construct. While many people do not recognize those choices, they always exist” (Clampitt, P, 2017, p. 9). As followers, we have to make constructive choices as to what our boss is communicating for us. For example, if my boss tells me an applicant was matriculated, but they were listed with provisional acceptance, I must come to the understanding that there was obviously an error as student cannot be matriculated if they were provisionally accepted. We have to interpret and digest the meanings in a different fashion depending on the environment and context.
The context of the words being used is also key to understanding them and the meaning. If my boss was walking their dog and I ran into them and my boss exclaimed, “ do not get too close to my dogs own territory” I would obviously not assume he is talking about admissions territories within the office. “The more managers know about the context in which employees interpret actions and messages, the greater the likelihood that they can accurately predict the probable interpretations” (Clampitt, P, 2017, p. 18). The list of words above are effectively communicated because the employee understand the meanings. “Communication is traditionally described by scholars as a dynamic interpretive process…where key elements are involved in shaping experiences which can obtain various meanings at different stages of the process” (Pruvil, E, 2016). Since each employee is trained with these terms, the office creates its own set of interpretations for certain terms that become 'common knowledge' for all members of the team, but carry different meaning for those outside of it.

References
Clampitt, P. G. (2017). Communicating for managerial effectiveness: Challenges, strategies, solutions. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Koening, J (2016) Beautiful New Words To Describe Obscure Emotions. Retrieved on May 29th from https://www.ted.com/talks/john_koenig_beautiful_new_words_to_describe_obscure_emotions?language=en
Pruvli, E. (2014). Business communication of a persuasive nature. Journal of Intercultural Communication, (35) Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/1703413081?accountid=27203

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