Transcript Organizational Communication

SHP 1313 LECTURES at UTM
Prepared by Siti Rokiah Siwok
[email protected]
What do you want in life?
What do you want in life?
Consider this : Some facts of life…
 Whatever you want to achieve in life..communication
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is VITAL to achieve what you want to achieve.
Happiness is will not be meaningful if you have
nobody to share your feelings with.
Business is about your ability to “market” your ideas
and convincing the other party to “agree” with you.
How much you learn depends on how much you listen
and interact with the people who teach you.
Your ability to “change for the better” depends how
much you “know” about yourself..this take intra
personal communication.
..and this too.
 Medical researchers identified that a whole range of
health threats can result from the lack of close
relationships:
 A lack of social relationships jeopardizes physical
wellbeing to a degree similar to cigarette smoking, high
blood pressure etc
 Socially isolated people are 2-3 times more likely to die
earlier than those with strong social ties ( marriage,
friendship, religious and community ties all seem to
increase longevity).
 Poor communication can contribute to coronary heart
disease
Do you know that…..?
 Communication is the way for us to survive?
 As our sense of identity comes from the way we interact
with people around us.
 Deprived of communication, there will be no sense of
identity.
 The case of the “The wild boy of Aveyron”
Communication : A social need
 We communicate for :
 Pleasure (“to have fun”, “to have a good time” etc)
 Affection (“to help others” , “ to let others know that I
care” etc)
 Inclusion ( “because I need somebody to talk to..” etc)
 Relaxing ( “helps me to unwind/feel less stressful”..)
 Fulfilling a need (“ I want it to be done today” ….)
 Fulfillment of a practical goals( “ I need a hair cut”!....)
What is communication?
Some Definitions of
Communication
 It is the transfer of a message through a medium,
from one individual to another individual.
 The process of sending and receiving of messages
between individuals, with feedbacks and effects.
 It is the process of sharing of information, ideas
and feelings
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Some definitions of
communication
 It is the simultaneous sharing and creating of
meaning through symbolic interaction ( Seiler and
Beall, 2008)
 A transmission of information from one person or
group to another person or group ( Riggio, 2008)
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Components of communication
Essential components of communication
 Source /Sender
 Receiver
 Message
 Feedback
 Channels
 Environment
 Noise/interference
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 Context
Principles of Communication
 Communication is a process
 Communication is a system
 Communication is both interactional and
transactional
 Communication can be intentional and
unintentional
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Communication is a process
 Because it involves a series of actions which are
ongoing and is constantly changing.
 The relationship of all the components at a certain
time in a process of communication cannot be
duplicated.
 Communication is ever-changing and capable of
making changes.
 Communication takes place within a flow.
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Communication is a system
 A system is a combination of parts interdependently
acting to form a whole.
 If one part is not functioning properly, the other parts
are affected.
 Therefore in a communication, if one component is
not functioning properly, the whole process is affected.
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Communication is both
Interactional and Transactional
 The interactional and transactional nature of
communication should be considered together.
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Communication is interactional
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Communication is transactional
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Communication can be Intentional
and Unintentional
 When one communicate with another, s/he intends a
certain specific message, with specific purpose and
specific meanings.
 Communication occurs regardless whether it is
intended or unintended.
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What are the functions of
communication?
Functions of Communications
 Communication is a social process to :
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To seek information
To disseminate information
To educate
To persuade
To entertain
To influence
To discover information
To uncover information
etc
What are the functions of
communication?
Some functions of communication
 To inform
 To share
 To influence
 To persuade
 To discover information
 To uncover information
 etc
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Types of communication
 Intrapersonal communication
 Interpersonal communication
 Small group communication
 Organizational communication
 Public communication
 Mass communication
 Mediated communication
 Intercultural communication
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Organizational Communication
 One of the main characteristics of effective
employers and employees is to be able to
communicate effectively.
 Ideas, visions, knowledge, opinions or complains
will not get anywhere without communicating
them to relevant others.
Organizational Communication
 Organizational communication may be
classified into four types:
 Upward communication
 Downward communication
 Business communication
 Informal communication
( Aamodt, 2010)
Organizational Communication
 Upward communication
 Down communication
 Lateral communication
( Riggio, 2009)
What is organizational
communication?
 Organizational communication is the ability of an
individual or group within a collective establishment
to transmit and receive information within that
collective establishment. Usually organizational
communication is premised on common set goals that
the collective establishment attempts to execute
(http://www.yourcommunicationskills.com/organizatio
nalcommunication.html )
Upward communication(UC)
 UC is the communication of subordinates (lower levels
) to superiors or of employees to managers(upper
levels).
 The ideal practice is for employees to speak directly to
the management with an “open door policy” .
 Quality of UC contributes to employees satisfaction.
 However, it is not be practical if every employee
communicates with the manager for several reasons
such as : the volume that reaches the management &
employees feel threatened by managers.
Serial communication
 In situations when open door policy is not
possible, serial communication is adopted,
in which message is relayed from an
employee to the superiors ( according to
hierarchy) until the message reaches the
top.
Serial communication:
Disadvantages
1. The message (content and tone) changes as it
moves from person to person.
2. Bad news and complaints are seldom
conveyed, partly due to the stress associated
with delivering the bad news (McKee
&Ptacek, 2001, in Aamodt, 2007). The
reluctance to convey bad news is called MUM
(minimize unpleasant message ) effect {
Rosen & Tesser, 1970 in Aamodt, 2007}.
Serial communication:
Disadvantages
 Effectiveness of the communication depends on
the physical proximity of the sender and the
receiver, especially with informal communication
channels. However, proximity does not play a role
if the message is being communicated
electronically such as the e-mail ( Valacich,
Parantia, George &Nunamaker, 1993 in Aamodt,
2007)
Serial communication
 The MUM effect affects the organization as important
information is being kept from the upper levels.
 For the employees , the MUM effect is a form of
survival, i.e nobody has to be the bad news bearer (the
one who communicates the bad news to the
management).
Facilitating Upward communication
 To overcome the disadvantages of serial
communication, several methods are utilised:
 Surveys
 Focus groups
 Exit Interviews
 Suggestion boxes
 Third party Facilitators
Surveys
 Surveys are usually conducted annually by an outside
consultant who administers questionnaires, asking
employees to rate their opinions on factors such as:
pay, working conditions, supervisors etc
 Surveys also give opportunity to employees to give
suggestions and to list complaints.
 The consultant then analyse the responses and then
report to the management.
 Results of the surveys are use to create the action plans
for the coming year (Robb ,2004 in Aamodt 2007).
Surveys
 Surveys are only useful if the results are being taken
seriously by the management.
 Some organization share the result of the survey with
their employees, as an act to increase trust .
Focus groups
 Focus groups are group interviews (Morgan, 1998).
 A focus is a qualitative research method with a widespread
use in various applicative fields (such as market research or
NGOs research), and a fairly moderated use in social
sciences (mainly sociology and psychology) (Barbour, 1995;
Baban, 2002; Boan, 2006; Goldman & MacDonald, 1987;
Greenbaum, 1988; Howard, Hubelbank, & Moore, 1989;
Powell & Single, 1996).
 The responses obtained from the focus group is the then
passed on to the management, without telling the names of
employs who participated in the focus groups.
Exit Interviews
 Exit interviews are interviews done with employees
voluntarily leaving the organization .
 It is an excellent source of information as the “real”
reason/s will be revealed.
Suggestion boxes
 Suggestion or complaints boxes is another method to
facilitate UC. (or the toll free numbers ).
 The greatest advantage of the suggestion or
complaints boxes is that employees can immediately
communicate their feelings anonymously.
 Suggestion and complaints boxes work equally well
with customers.
 For the boxes to be beneficial, management must
respond to the suggestions and complaints in a timely
manner.
Suggestion boxes
 One way to respond to the suggestions or complains is
to place the suggestions and complaints on the
bulletin board or to post them on the organization’s
intranet along with the management’s responses.
 Some organizations take suggestions seriously and
reward employees who give useful ideas such as
money-saving ideas or cost –saving ideas.
Third party Facilitators
 The use of third party facilitators, such as liaison and
ombudsperson ,is another way to facilitate UC.
 A third party facilitator takes the complaints and
suggestions of the employees and personally work with
the management to find solutions .
 The advantage of this method is the neutrality of the
ombudsperson , who works for a solution acceptable
to both the employees and the management
(Hirshman, 2003 in Aamodt, 2007)
Downward communication(DC)
 DC is the communication from superior or
management to employees.
 DC considered a major method in organizational
communication to keep employees informed and
to convey vital information crucial for the
employs to perform their jobs.
Methods in downward
communication
 Bulletin boards (electronic and non-electronic)
 Policy manuals
 Newsletters
 Intranets
Bulletin Board
 A method in DC .
 The main use is to communicate non-work related
opportunities such as scholarship , optional meetings
and items for sale.
 It is not an appropriate place for important
information such as change of policy or procedures.
 Advantage: low cost and wide exposure to employees
and visitors, especially placed at strategic places .
 There is also electronic bulletin boards called
“networks” .
Policy Manuals
 Policy Manuals is the place for posting important
changes in policy or procedure.
 The Policy Manual contains the rules employees must
operate; written in highly technical language,
although they should be written less technical so that
employees feel encouraged to read.
 The contents of the policy manuals are binding
contracts by courts; thus must be updated each time
policy changes. This is usually done by sending
updated pages to employees so that they can replace
the old ones with the new pages.
Policy Manuals
 Policy manuals are usually hundreds of pages long and
so many employees do not want to read them.
 To reduce length problems, most organizations have
two types of company manual: (1) A policy manual
(very specific and lengthy, containing all the rules and
policies under which the organization operates) (2)
The employee handbook (shorter and contains only
the most essential policies and rules, as well as
general summaries of less important rules)
Newsletter
 Newsletter s are designed to bolster employees’
morale by discussing happy or innocous events such
as birthdays, births and ballgame scores.
 A good source of information for celebrating
employee successes, providing feedback of how well
the organization is doing , introducing new employees
and to remind employees of organizational changes .
 Newsletter can be printed or electronic (sent through
email or intranet).
Intranet
 Many organizations are using intranets to replace
bulletin boards, newsletter and company manuals .
 Intranets are organization-wide versions of internet.
 One of the most useful aspects of intranets is the
speed , besides its 24-hour availability , paperless and
savings on postage and printing.
 Intranets are common resources for : online employee
handbooks, FAQs, activity calendars etc
Business Communication
 This is the communication which relates to the
business –related information among employees,
management and customers.
 Methods include:
 Memos
 Telephone calls and faxes
 Email and voice mail
 Business meeting
Each method has its advantages and disadvantages
Informal communication
 Informal communication happens everywhere
including the workplace .
 Often, informal communication is transmitted
through “grapevine”, a term which can be traced back
to the Civil War.
 Informal communication provides information, power
and entertainment.
 Most people consider contents in informal
communication to be inaccurate or distorted, research
shows that it contains a great deal of truth.
Informal Communication
 Grapevine
 single-strand pattern
 gossip pattern
 probability pattern
 cluster pattern
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What do you think of grapevine?
Grapevine
 Most people consider the grapevine to be
inaccurate, research shows that grapevine
often contains a great deal of truth,
although incomplete ( Aamodt, 2010).
Information in the grapevine
Gossip
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Primarily about individuals and the content of the message
lacks significance to the people gossiping.
Serves to entertain and provides social information.
2. Rumour
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Contains information that is significant to the lives of those
communicating the message.
Occurs when the available information is both interesting
and ambiguous.
Most common topics are personnel changes, job security
and reputation of the organization.
Office design and layout affect
communication?
Office Design
 Designs
 Open (landscaped) offices
 bullpen design
 uniform design
 Cubicles
 Private offices
 Research on open
designs
 decreased satisfaction
 increased socialization
 decreased costs
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Office Layout
 Furniture type
 Desk placement
 Neatness/clutter
 Artifacts
 Windows
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How do we improve our
communication skills?
Do seek more information on
communication, as communication
is very crucial in life: Knowledge is
power
ALSO
THERE IS THE COMMUNICATION
BETWEEN US AND GOD
IS THE COMMUNICATION GOOD?
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References:
 Aamodt, M.G (2010). Industrial /organizational
psychology. An applied approach (6th ed) Belmont,
CA: Thomson
 Adler , R. B & Towne, N. ( 1996). Looking out /Looking
in. Interpersonal Communication (8th ed) . Florida:
Harcourt Brace.
 Riggio, R. E. ( 2009). Introduction to
Industrial/Organizational Psychology (5th ed). New
Jersey: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
 Seiler, W. J (2011). Communication. Making
Connections (8th ed). Boston: Pearson
Useful websites
 http://www.maxwideman.com/issacons4/iac1432/sld0
03.htm
 http://www.shkaminski.com/Classes/Handouts/C
ommunication Models