COM 207 Chapter 22 Exam Questions and Answers Fully Solved Latest Version 2025-2026
Clifford Geertz - Answers Princeton University anthropologist who pioneered the ethnographic
study of culture.
Michael Pacanowsky - Answers Westminster College professor who has applied Geertz's
methodology to organizational communication.
Culture - Answers Webs of significance; systems of shared meaning.
Cultural performance - Answers Actions by which members constitute and reveal their culture to
themselves and others; an ensemble of texts.
Ethnography - Answers Mapping out social discourse; discovering who people within a culture
think they are, what they think they are doing, and to what end they think they are doing it.
Thick description - Answers A record of the intertwined layers of common meaning that underlie
what a particular people say and do.
Metaphor - Answers Clarifies what is unknown or confusing by equating it with an image that's
more familiar or vivid.
Ritual - Answers Texts that articulate multiple aspects of cultural life, often marking rites of
passage or life transitions.
Participant observation - Answers The research methodology of ethnographers, which is a time-
consuming process.
Radical naivete - Answers An attitude advised by Pacanowsky to experience the organization as
a stranger.
Corporate culture - Answers The surrounding environment that constrains a company's freedom
of action.
Collegial stories - Answers Usually unsanctioned by management—are positive or negative
anecdotes about others within the organization that pass on how the organization 'really works.'
Corporate stories - Answers Reinforce management ideology and policies.
Personal stories - Answers Define how individuals would like to be seen within an organization.
Soft science - Answers Geertz labeled the study of culture as this, an interpretive approach in
search of meaning.
Cultural approach - Answers Adopts and refines the qualitative research methodology of
ethnography to gain a new understanding of a specific group of people.
Symbolic analysis - Answers The goal is to create a better understanding of what it takes to
Clifford Geertz - Answers Princeton University anthropologist who pioneered the ethnographic
study of culture.
Michael Pacanowsky - Answers Westminster College professor who has applied Geertz's
methodology to organizational communication.
Culture - Answers Webs of significance; systems of shared meaning.
Cultural performance - Answers Actions by which members constitute and reveal their culture to
themselves and others; an ensemble of texts.
Ethnography - Answers Mapping out social discourse; discovering who people within a culture
think they are, what they think they are doing, and to what end they think they are doing it.
Thick description - Answers A record of the intertwined layers of common meaning that underlie
what a particular people say and do.
Metaphor - Answers Clarifies what is unknown or confusing by equating it with an image that's
more familiar or vivid.
Ritual - Answers Texts that articulate multiple aspects of cultural life, often marking rites of
passage or life transitions.
Participant observation - Answers The research methodology of ethnographers, which is a time-
consuming process.
Radical naivete - Answers An attitude advised by Pacanowsky to experience the organization as
a stranger.
Corporate culture - Answers The surrounding environment that constrains a company's freedom
of action.
Collegial stories - Answers Usually unsanctioned by management—are positive or negative
anecdotes about others within the organization that pass on how the organization 'really works.'
Corporate stories - Answers Reinforce management ideology and policies.
Personal stories - Answers Define how individuals would like to be seen within an organization.
Soft science - Answers Geertz labeled the study of culture as this, an interpretive approach in
search of meaning.
Cultural approach - Answers Adopts and refines the qualitative research methodology of
ethnography to gain a new understanding of a specific group of people.
Symbolic analysis - Answers The goal is to create a better understanding of what it takes to
