Although organizational practices are clearly the strongest contributor to
environmental problems humans face, business communication scholarship has
not attended to the natural environment. One reason for this omission may be
that theories of communication are grounded in Western cultural assumptions.
Communication theorizing assumes that human symbol use differentiates
humans from nature. Nature is defined as hierarchically beneath human symbol
use and therefore ignored. Organizational scholarship has theorized business as
it relates to the natural environment but has not thoroughly understood how
communication functions in this relationship. Because organizational practice
cannot ignore the natural environment, and business communication focuses on
business problems, business communication is situated to fill this gap by draw
ing on past approaches to business communication and by adopting a Gaian
perspective from which to consider alternative business and organizational
arrangements.
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