Essay organizational communication | BBA 2026 – Organizational Communications | Columbia Southern University

In “What Was Volkswagen Thinking?,” Jerry Useem (2016) discusses James Burke, the CEO of Johnson & Johnson, and highlights Burke’s decision to hold a meeting with his top executives to discuss eliminating the company credo. Burke was concerned that the managers were not reflecting upon the company credo for everyday decisions. He called for a debate among his top managers about the document and the role of moral duties in daily business. Instead of voting to remove it, the managers chose to revitalize the message of the credo within the company (Useem, 2016).

In your response, explain why this meeting was effective. Why do you believe Burke chose this type of channel—where the managers could not only directly talk to him, but they could also talk to each other—over other types of communication?

Your response should be at least 500 words in length.