This article examines open systems thinking as a new lens for the field's
researchers to use when exploring written business communication. The transfer
or conduit model that the field has traditionally used to describe how communi
cation occurs has, of course, determined what the field knows. An open systems
model provides a new way of looking at the field, a lens that integrates concepts
such as task, organizational structure, control, and technology into the analysis
of written business messages. The article explores the influences these subsys
tems have on written communication and then develops these systems and
subsystems into a series of business communication system maps. These maps or
models can serve as springboards for additional research of on-the-job writing
situations.
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