The purpose of this presentation is to provide SJSU students with the opportunity of integrating service and learning through reflection and action. The community organization that we choose for our group project was Toyon Elementary School. The core subject of our project is communication networking; which includes three key subcategories: upward networking, downward networking and horizontal networking.

1. An Analysis of the
Communication Networks at
Toyon Elementary School
Home of the Toyon Tigers!

2. INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this assignment is to
provide us with the opportunity to
integrate service and learning through
reflection and action.
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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3. INTRODUCTION CONT...
The community organization that we chose for our
group project is Toyon Elementary School.
The core subject of our project is communication
networking; which includes three key subcategories:
upward networking, downward networking and horizontal
networking.
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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4. LITERATURE REVIEW
TWO ARTICLES

5. LITERATURE REVIEW
Analyzing Schools as Organizations:
Long-term Permanence and
Short_term Change, by E.C. Bidwell,
from the Sociology of Education Journal.
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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6. LITERATURE REVIEW CONT...
Managerial Level and Subunit Function
as Determinants of Networking
Behavior in Organizations, by J. Michael
and G.Yuki, from the Group &
Organization Management Journal.
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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7. DESCRIPTION
Toyon was built in 1955 and is one of ten elementary
schools in the Berryessa Union School District.
The grade range is kindergarten through 5th grade.
Enrollment is roughly 470 students with 23 full-time
teachers, giving it a 16 to one student per teacher
ratio.
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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8. DESCRIPTION CONT...
American Indian Asian Hispanic Black White Other
Students by Ethnicity
15%
•American Indian - 0%
• Asian - 37% 5%
37%
• Hispanic - 43%
• Black - 5%
• White - 15%
• Other - 0% 43%
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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9. RESEARCH METHODS
SURVEYS, WHAT WE TESTED, WHO WE TESTED

10. RESEARCH METHODS
Email and printed
surveys were sent to
none preselected
employees at Toyon
Elementary.
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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11. RESEARCH METHODS
CONT...
The survey tested the validity and use of
downward, upward and horizontal
communication networks.
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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12. RESEARCH METHODS
CONT...
All applicants were
female, full-time
employees. One was a
middle manager
(Principal) and two
were classified staff
(Librarian and
Secretary). Four were
teachers from 2nd, 3rd,
4th, and 5th grades.
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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13. RESEARCH RESULTS
THREE SUBCATEGORIES

14. Communication
from subordinates &
their bosses
UPWARD NETWORKING

15. RESEARCH RESULTS:
UPWARD NETWORKING
Face-to-face meetings with supervisors/upper
management, staff meetings and electronic message
systems (such as voicemail and e-mail) are the top
three medium used to allow communication between
subordinates and superiors.
The majority of employees at Toyon feel that face-t-
face meetings are the most effective means of
communicating between superiors and subordinates.
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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16. RESEARCH RESULTS:
UPWARD NETWORKING CONT...
Face-to-face meetings and electronic methods (e-
mail, voicemail and phone conversations) are the
most comfortable methods for employees to
communicate problems to upper management.
The employees of Toyon Elementary are most
comfortable requesting information or scheduling
clarification and confirmation form upper
management, and are least comfortable with
requesting additional supplies or funding.
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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17. RESEARCH RESULTS:
UPWARD NETWORKING CONT...
The majority of those surveyed feel that important
decisions are being made without consulting the
teachers and other subordinate staff memevers first,
and that increased communication between upper
and lower ranking employees is needed (even if it’s
just via a suggestion box).
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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18. Communication
from bosses to their
subordinates
DOWNWARD NETWORKING

19. RESERACH RESULTS:
DOWNWARD NETWORKING
It was discovered that downward communication is sent
through email, phone conversations, formal face-to-face
meetings, personally addresed documents (memos and
letters) and formal un-addressed documents (pamphlets,
newsletters).
When asked to rate the infomation received from
administrators regarding job topic areas it was found that
least amount of infomation communicated to employees
concerns the mistakes and failures of the organization.
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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20. RESERACH RESULTS:
DOWNWARD NETWORKING CONT...
When asked to rate the information received from
administrators regarding job topic areas it was found that
staff value messages concerning how organizational
decisions are made that affect their jobs to be the messages
most necessary to be communicated.
When asked to rate the information that is communicated
form administrators it was agreed upon by staff that
downward communication messages are both significat and
clear, yet lack timeliness.
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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21. RESERACH RESULTS:
DOWNWARD NETWORKING CONT...
Through the written suggestions of
interviewed employees it was found that
timely responses from administrators on
all levels are needed to promote school
effectiveness and to help prevent and
resolve mistakes.
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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22. Communication
between
subordinates
HORIZONTAL NETWORKING

23. RESEARCH RESULTS:
HORIZONTAL NETWORKING
Formal memos and the Principal ranked the best
mediums for information exchange between
departments.
Informal conversations and staff meetings were the
two channels form which employees rport learning
most of their work-related information.
Turn-around times for information exchange between
teachers are slower than with non-instructinoal
employees
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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24. RESEARCH RESULTS:
HORIZONTAL NETWORKING CONT...
Information learned about other
departments was primarily at the
employees’ normal working locations.
A majority of employees wanted more
frequent staff meetings, and one suggested
the creation of cross grade level meetings
among teachers.
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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25. CONCLUSIONS
HORIZONTAL, UPWARD AND DOWNWARD NETWORKING

26. CONCLUSIONS:
UPWARD NETWORKING
The school already has storng and useful
formal horizontal communication
networks.
Use of formal memos, email memos,
conversations with Principal and
colleagues, and staff meetings which are
held monthly.
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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27. CONCLUSIONS:
DOWNWARD NETWORKING
Toyon utilizes many mediums to
communicate their messages which is
good as it promotes open and frequent
communication from administrators to
employees.
Employees place more value on human-
interest messages than on task or
maintence messages.
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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28. CONCLUSIONS:
HORIZONTAL NETWORKING CONT...
The school already has storng and useful
formal horizontal communication
networks.
Use of formal memos, email memos,
conversations with Principal and
colleagues, and staff meetings which are
held monthly.
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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29. ACTION PLAN
PUTTING OUR RESEARCH RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS TO
GOOD USE

30. ACTION PLAN:
UPWARD NETWORKING
The scheduling of regular meetings
between the upper and lower ranking
members of Toyon would solve the issue
of the upper management ignoring the
lower ranking staff members.
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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31. ACTION PLAN:
UPWARD NETWORKING CONT...
The addition of more diverse
communication mediums would help
further improve upon the already strong
communiction systems currently in use.
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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32. ACTION PLAN:
DOWNWARD NETWORKING
To sustain effective downward communication at
Toyon it is important that the school take measures
to maintain all available channels of communition
between administration and employees.
To help improve the message quality of Toyon’s
downward communication it would be wise to pay
more attention to human interest topics while
maintaining a steady amount of task and maintenance
messages.
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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33. ACTION PLAN:
HORIZONTAL NETWORKING
To increase the number of staff interactions at Toyon
it is advised that more staff meetings should be
scheduled that focus more on professional/
occupational development and problem solving,
instead of grade level curriculum problems.
To increase the efficiency of staff at Toyon it is also
advised that staff meetings should fosters and
promote strong and highly skilled teachers to lead
and develop goals and plan agendas for these
meetings.
Communication Networks at Toyon Elementary - By, One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza, Brian Belunny, Kristin Hahn
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34. Communication Networks at
Toyon Elementary
By,
One Voice: Lohrie Arruiza,
Brian Belunny, Kristin
Hahn
COMM 144 | 5-3-06