Classical theory

Classical theory has at least two distinct meanings in Physics:

1. In the context of quantum mechanics, "classical theory" refers to theories of physics that do not use the quantization paradigm, particularly Newtonian mechanics (which is also known as classical mechanics). General relativity and special relativity are also considered to be "classical" in this sense.
2. In the context of general and special relativity, "classical theory" refers to classical mechanics, and other theories which obey Galilean relativity. Light and other electromagnetic phenomena cannot be correctly modeled in such a theory. Traditionally, light was reconciled with classical mechanics by assuming the existence of a "stationary" medium through which light propagated, the aluminiferous either.

The existence of these two distinct meanings of the term can lead to confusion: special relativity is a "classical theory" in the first sense, but its predictions are more accurate than "classical theory" in the second sense.

In other contexts, "classical theory" will have other meanings if a current accepted theory is considered to be "modern” and its introduction represented a major paradigm shift, and then previous theory (or new theories based on the older paradigm) will often be referred to as "classical".

CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS

From Wikipedia,

Crisis communications is generally considered a sub-specialty of the public relations profession that is designed to protect and defend an individual, company or organization facing a public challenge to its reputation.

These challenges may come in the form of an investigation from a government agency, a criminal allegation, a media inquiry, a shareholders lawsuit, a violation of environmental regulations, or any of a number of other scenarios involving the legal, ethical or financial standing of the entity.

Crisis communications professionals preach that an organization’s reputation is often its most valuable asset. When that reputation comes under attack, protecting and defending it becomes the highest priority. This is particularly true in today’s 24 hours news cycle, fuelled by government investigations, Congressional or parliamentary hearings, lawsuits and “gotcha” journalism. When events like these happen, the media firestorm can quickly overwhelm the ability of the entity to effectively respond to the demands of the crisis. To emerge with its reputation intact, an organization must anticipate every move and respond immediately and with confidence. Companies facing such a threat will often bring in experienced crisis communications specialists to help prepare and guide them through the process.

Crisis Communications is also considered a sub-specialty of the Business Continuity area of modern business. The aim of crisis communications in this context is to assist organizations to achieve continuity of critical business processes and information flows under crisis, disaster or event driven circumstances.

The key to effective crisis communication is to be prepared before a crisis occurs. Once an emergency happens, there is little time to think much less to plan. Without a crisis plan, you can be overwhelmed by events.

COMMUNICATION CLIMATE

Communication Climate and Organizational Climate

Organizational climate is the general quality of communication in an organization and is composed of multiple dimensions including communication patterns, openness, trust, and types of messages. Measured quantitatively, this construct is used to assess the overall communication patterns of an organization. Climate is considered an outcome of organizational structure and yet the climate of an organization is commonly held by members of the organization and can be measured by looking for common patterns of perception. According to Denison (1996) and Tagiuri (1968), climate involves organizational conditions and individual reactions.

Employees of a large service organization based in the Southwest were surveyed to determine if individual levels of organizational commitment were related positively to perceptions of organizational climate and of communication climate. The results of the study suggest that employees' perceptions of organizational climate and communication climate were correlated positively with the level of employees' organizational commitment. Specifically, multiple regression analysis indicated that organizational clarity, participation, and superior-subordinate communication accounted for 41% of the variance in organizational commitment, with participation and organizational clarity emerging as significant predictors of commitment.

Human resource management

Human resource are the people that work for an organization, and Human Resource Management is concerned with how these people are managed. However, the term Human Resource Management (HRM) has come to more than this because people are different from the other resources that work for an organization. People have thoughts and feelings, aspirations and needs. The term HRM has thus come to refer to an approach, which takes into account both:

1. The needs of the organization
2. The needs of its people.

Different individuals have their own needs and aspirations. HRM therefore involves finding out about the needs and aspirations of individual employees, for example through the appraisal process and then creating the opportunities within the organization example through job enlargement and outside the organization example through taking up educational opportunities at local colleges/universities) for employees to improve themselves.

HRM therefore relates to every aspect of the way in which the organization interacts with its people, e.g. by providing training and development opportunities, appraisal to find out about individual needs, training and development needs analysis.