1. How does the concept of constitutive rule help explain the misunderstanding between Ed and his manager?

2. How might Ed learn the normative practices of the company so that he can understand the meanings that long-time employees have?

3. How do the ambiguity and abstraction that are inherent in language explain the misunderstanding between Ed and his manager?

4. How would you suggest that Ed repair the damage done by his absence from the company banquet? What might he say to his manager? How could he use I-language, indexing, and dual perspective to guide his communication?

5. Sign onto InfoTrac College Edition. Use the InfoTrac author search to find articles by Jeanette W. Gilsdorf. Read "Organizational rules on communicating: How employees are or are not learning the ropes," which was published in the Journal of Business Communication in April of 1998. What light does her study shed on Ed's situation? Does Gilsdorf's research suggest that not understanding organizational rules is common for new employees? Does her research suggest ways of minimizing the problem?