Transcript 17 Organizational Communication

chapter
17
Communication
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Principles of Management
© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
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Learning Objectives
1. Outline the main elements of a communication
system.
2. Explain why it is important to match media to a
message.
3. Discuss the formal and informal channels through
which information flows in organizations.
4. Identify the sources of noise that lead to
miscommunication within organizations.
5. Discuss the steps managers can take to counteract
noise and improve communication within their
organizations.
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Communication
• The process by which information is exchanged and
understood between people
• Transmitting the sender’s intended meaning is the
essence of good communication
Managers Use
Communication to:
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• Transmit information about their goals, strategies,
expectations, management philosophy, and values
• Build commitment among subordinates to their programs and
policies, convince allies in their network to support them,
persuade their bosses that they are performing well, and
influence stakeholders
• Achieve coordination between different units within an
organization, such as R&D, marketing, and production
• Help shape the image of themselves that they present to the
world
Professional Business
Communication Advice
• Don’t interrupt – this is really looked down upon
• Use meetings to get to know your co-workers
• Let speakers in meetings speak freely about their
needs
• Americans value time, so stick to the issues on the
agenda
• Avoid personal confrontations
• Don’t tell foreign jokes, they don’t work in
translation
Source: www.professional-business-communications.com
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Model of the
Communication Process
Sender
Encode
message
Transit
message
Form
message
Receiver
Receive
encoded
message
Decode
message
Encode
feedback
Form
feedback
Noise
Decode
feedback
Receive
encoded
feedback
Transit
feedback
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Communication Channels
Verbal
Communication
Nonverbal
Communication
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Verbal Communication
• Any oral or written means of transmitting meaning
through words including face-to-face meetings,
telephone conversations, written memos, and e-mail
messages
• Media richness – The volume and variety of
information that a sender and receiver can transmit
during a specific time
• Flaming – The act of sending an emotionally charged
message to others
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Europe Heads
for the E-mail
Company
Audience
Reach* 5/04
Country
1. Google
36.7%
U.S.
2. MSN
35.7%
U.S.
3. Microsoft.com
33.3%
U.S.
4. Ebay
20.7%
U.S.
5. Yahoo!
19.7%
U.S.
6. Wanadoo**
13.2%
France
7. Tiscali**
10.1%
Italy
8. Lycos Europe**
9.8%
Spain
9. Amazon
9.6%
U.S.
10. T-Online**
9.3%
Germany
Source: Business Week, July 12, 2004
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Nonverbal Communication
• Any part of communication that does not use words
• Messages sent through human actions and behavior
rather than words
• Facial gestures, voice intonation, posture, physical
distance, and silence
• Emotional contagion – the automatic process of
“catching” or sharing another person’s emotions by
mimicking that person’s facial expressions and other
nonverbal behavior
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Media Richness
1. Rich media simultaneously use multiple communication
methods
2. Rich media such as face-to-face communication allow
immediate feedback from receiver to sender, whereas
feedback in lean media, such as written reports, is
delayed or nonexistent
3. Rich media let the sender customize the message to the
receiver. Most face-to-face conversations are developed
specifically for one or a few people.
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Question
______ media allows immediate feedback,
whereas feedback from _____ media is
delayed or nonexistent.
a. Rich; lean
b. Routine; ambiguous
c. Lean; rich
d. Ambiguous; rich
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Matching Media
to the Situation
Rich
Medium
Overload zone
Face-to-face
Video conference
Telephone
Richness of the
Communication
Medium
Lean
Medium
Instant massaging
E-mail
Web-logs
Newsletters
Oversimplified zone
Financial statement
Routine/
Communication situation
clear
Nonroutine/
ambiguous
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Can We Talk?
• Face-to-face meetings can trump technology
• The CEO of PBD Worldwide Fulfillment Services in
Alpharetta, GA., launched a “no e-mail Fridays” policy
- He suspected that overdependence on e-mail at PBD, which
offers services like a call center management and
distribution, was hurting productivity and perhaps sales
- In less than four months, the simple directive has resulted in
quicker problem-solving, better team-work, and best of all,
happier customers.
• Recent research suggests that the perils of e-mail are greater
than many assume.
Source: Business Week, December 4, 2006
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Writing Skills Matter
• Business undergraduates facing challenge — writing mature
research papers for general courses and expressing themselves
clearly, confidently, and concisely for a professional audience
• Only 51% of all high school students who took the college
entrance exams are prepared for college-level reading,
according to a report released last month by the American
College Testing Program (ACT)
• Strong writing skills are crucial for business majors looking to
enter the corporate world.
• Top of the list of recruiting companies’ desired traits: The
ability to communicate
Source: Business Week Online, April 26, 2006
Organizational
Communication
Formal
Communication
Channels
Informal
Communication
Channels
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Formal Communication
• Systems of officially sanctioned channels within an
organization that are used regularly to communicate
information
• Downward communication – occurs when information flows
from higher levels within an organization hierarchy
• Upward communication – occurs when information flows
from lower to higher levels within an organization hierarchy
• Horizontal communication – relationships between
individuals
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Informal Communication
• Unofficial communication channels
not formally established by managers
• Personal networks – relationships
between individuals
• Grapevine –the spread of
unsanctioned information (rumor or
gossip) through personal networks
Communication Barriers
& Breakdowns (Noise)
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Perceptions
Filtering
Language
Barriers
Information
Overload
Cultural
Differences
Gender
Differences
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Perceptions
The process of attending to, interpreting,
and organizing information
Selective
Perception
Stereotyping
Attribution
Process
Fundamental
Attribution Error
Self-Serving Bias
Recency Effect
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Vague Resume Statements
The online consultant, ResumeDoctor.com, looked at 160,000
resumes and found the most common vague statements (% of
resumes):
12.6 Communication skills
4.2 Detail-oriented
7.2 Team player
3.8 Results-oriented
5.5 Interpersonal skills
3.8 Self-motivated
4.8 Interpersonal skills
3.2 Problem solver
4.3 Driven
3.1 Highly motivated
Source: Business Week, July 12, 2004
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Language Barriers
• Jargon – technical language and acronyms as
well as recognized words with specialized
meaning in specific organizations or social
groups
• Drop-off – distortion in the content of a
message as it passes through a communication
system
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Question
In order to effectively
communicate with
others, you should adapt
your jargon to meet the
situation. Do you agree?
Explain.
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Information Overload
Information Load
Episodes of
information
overload
Employee’s
information
processing
capacity
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Time
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Improving Communication
Facilitate
communication
through workspace
design
Reduce
information
overload
Engage in
active listening
IMPROVING
COMMUNICATION
Get your
message across
Communicate
directly with
employees
Proactively
use the
grapevine
Match media
to message
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Active Listening
Sensing
*Postpone evaluation
*Avoid interruptions
*Maintain interest
Active
Listening
Responding
*Show interest
*Clarify the message
Evaluating
*Empathize
*Organize information
Communicate Directly
With Employees
Management By
Walking Around
effective way to counteracting
filtering, and it can teach the
manager things that might not
be transmitted upward through
formal channels
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