Text and conversation is a theory in the field of organizational communication illustrating how communication makes up an organization. In the theory's simplest explanation, an organization is created and defined by communication. Communication "is" the organization and the organization exists because communication takes place. The theory is built on the notion that an organization is not seen as a physical unit holding communication. Text and conversation theory puts communication processes at the heart of organizational communication and postulates, an organization doesn't contain communication as a "causal influence", but is formed by the communication within. This theory is not intended for direct application, but rather to explain how communication exists. The theory provides a framework for better understanding organizational communication. Since the foundation of organizations are in communication, an organization cannot exist without communication, and the organization is defined as the result of communications happening within its context. Communications begin with individuals within the organization discussing beliefs, goals, structures, plans and relationships. These communicators achieve this through constant development, delivery, and translation of "text and conversation". The theory proposes mechanisms of communications are "text and conversation".
Definitions The foundation of this theory is the concepts of text and conversation. Text is defined as the content of interaction, or what is said in an interaction. Text is the meaning made available to individuals through a face-to-face or electronic mode of communication. Conversation is defined as what is happening behaviorally between two or more participants in the communication process. Conversation is the exchange or interaction itself. The process of the text and conversation exchange is reciprocal: text needs conversation and vice versa for the process of communication to occur. Text, or content, must have context to be effective and a conversation, or discourse, needs to have a beginning, middle and end. Individuals create the beginning, middle and end by using punctuation, bracketing or framing. When conversation is coupled with text, or meaning, communication occurs. Taylor submits this process is a translation process of: translation of text to conversation and the translation of conversation into text.
"text" = content and meaning "conversation" = discourse and exchange
Theorist James R. Taylor, introduced text and conversation theory in 1996 with François Cooren, Giroux and Robichaud and then further explored the theory in 1999. Taylor drew on the work of sociologist and educator John Dewey's pragmatic view society exists not "by" but "in" communication. Taylor followed the same principle, putting communication as the essence of an organization. He was born in 1928 and is Professor Emeritus at the Department of Communication of the Université de Montréal, which he founded in the early 1970s. Drawing from research in fields of organizational psychology (Karl E. Weick), ethnomethodology (Harold Garfinkel), Deirdre Boden), phenomenology (Alfred Schütz) and collective minding (Edwin Hutchins), Taylor formed the original text and conversation theory. This line of thought has come to be known as "The Montreal School" of organizational communication, sometimes referred to as TMS, and has been acknowledged as an original theory by authors such as Haridimos Tsoukas, Linda Putman, and Karl E. Weick.
Taylor said,"...organization emerges in communication, which thus furnishes not only the site of its appearance to its members, but also the surface on which members read the meaning of the organization to them." Taylor argues communication is the "site and emergence of organization."
Foundational theories
Structuration theory "Structuration theory" identifies h text and conversation theory evolved from this communication construct. Proposed by Anthony Giddens (1984) in ‘’The Constitution on Society,’’ structuration theory, originated in the discipline of sociology. Giddens’ theory has been adapted to the field of communication, particularly organizational communication; specifically, how and why structural changes are possible and the duality of formal and informal communication. This theory is based on concepts of structure and agency. structure is defined as rules and resources of an organization; agency is the free will to choose to do otherwise than prescribed through structure.
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