Analyzing how communication happens (or doesn't) in organizations, Max Boisot discusses corporate communications in terms of a set structure or pattern, describing how bureaucracies differ, and how members of any organizations can expect to impart or receive information within their given structure. The book also examines international communication, looking at multinational corporations and national business operations which have dealings with foreign partners or subsidiaries. Whatever the organization, Boisot shows the many preferred ways of spreading information - memos, meetings, face-to-face encounters - but stresses that these will differ vastly in consideration of company size, location and type of transaction carried out. Ultimately, he demonstrates how a company's mode of communication is a telling indication of how it thinks.