2.4 A critique of the methodologies used in studies investigating communication channels in the book publishing industry
Mbengei (2001), set out to investigate the kind of information publishing personnel looks for. He gathered his data through personal interviews with forty two (42) employees of firms dealing with publishing, observation and secondary sources of data such as documents to gather information. The study established that information needs of publishing personnel included the following: information on authors who could write saleable books, market and marketing information, customers' information such as names, addresses and telephone numbers, competitors' information such as their products and the marketing channels they used,…show more content… AST was developed by M. Scott Poole based on the work of Giddens, Robert McPhee, and David Seibold. Poole critically analysed the linear models of communication and concluded that group dynamics are much more complicated than a predictable chain of events. According to this theory, group members have a great impact on the outcome of the group and deliberately adapt to rules and structures in order to achieve the group goals. The Adaptive Structuration Theory delves into how these groups are formed, and their influence on communication and decision making in the group. It examines the process by which groups or organizations establish rules, utilize resources, achieve cohesiveness, accomplish goals, and adapt or evolve over time. AST asserts that group structures are created from the social, cultural or historical assumptions each group member brings to the table, and that such assumptions determine how members communicate, the types of resources they use, and how their rules and resources evolve with continued communication. AST seeks to explain the relationship between group inputs (rules and resources) and outputs (decisions or…show more content… The theory has been most successful in analyzing organizational communication and group decision making. It has also been used to examine the structures advanced technologies have introduced to groups, as well as the structures that have emerged from people interacting with such technologies. Experts say the theory can even help people realize and expand the scope of their influence as group