Transcript Communicating in Teams and Organizations

BUS7000
Organizational Behavior &Theory
Week 3
Dr Jenne Meyer
1
6-1
Article Analysis
2
9-2
Communicating in
Teams and
Organizations
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2013 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Communication Defined
Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh values open
communication with staff, such as
sending Twitter tweets, writing blogs,
and having an office with no door

The process by which information is
transmitted and understood between
two or more people

Effective communication
• Transmitting intended meaning (not just
symbols)
9-4
Videos

No cell communication:
http://www.mhhe.com/business/management/videos/NBC/Fla
sh/NBC_could_you_go_without_tech.html
9-5
Importance of Communication
1. Coordinating work activities
2. Vehicle for organizational learning
3. Critical ingredient for decision making
4. Influencing others – changing their
behavior
5. Employee well-being
9-6
Communication Process Model
Sender
Form
message
Transmit
Message
Encode
message
Receiver
Receive
encoded
message
Decode
message
Encode
feedback
Form
feedback
Noise
Decode
feedback
Receive
feedback
Transmit
Feedback
9-7
Improving Communication
Coding/Decoding
1.
Communication channel proficiency
 Sender/receiver have motivation and ability to use the
communication channel
2.
Similar codebooks
 Both parties generate similar meaning from symbols,
language, etc
3.
Shared context mental models
 Parties have a common understanding of the
environment
4.
Experience encoding the message
 Sender is experienced at communicating the message
topic
9-8
Email communication video

Email communication:
http://www.mhhe.com/business/management/videos/POM_V2/
Flashvideo/EmailEttiquette.html
9-9
Email Communication
How email has altered communication
 Now preferred medium for coordinating
work
 Tends to increase communication
volume
 Significantly alters communication flow
 Reduces some selective attention biases
Problems with email
 Communicates emotions poorly
 Reduces politeness and respect
(flaming)
 Inefficient for ambiguous, complex, novel
situations
 Increases information overload
9-10
Communicating Through Social Media

User-generated content
• Users, not professionals, create the content
• Usually interactive -- viewer can respond
• Includes social sites -- Facebook, blogs, wikis,
tweets

Serves diverse functions
• Presenting individual’s identity, enabling
conversations, sharing information, sensing others’
online presence, maintaining relationships,
revealing status, supporting interest communities
9-11
Nonverbal Communication



Influences meaning of verbal symbols
Less rule bound than verbal communication
Most is automatic and nonconscious
Courtesy of Microsoft.
9-12
Emotional Contagion

The automatic process of sharing another
person’s emotions by mimicking their facial
expressions and other nonverbal behavior

Serves three purposes:
1. Provides continuous feedback to speaker
2. Increases emotional understanding of the other
person’s experience
3. Communicates a collective sentiment -- sharing
the experience as part of drive to bond
9-13
Choosing Channels: Social
Acceptance
Do others support use of that communication
channel for that purpose?
Depends on:
1. Firm/team norms for using the channel
2.
Individual preferences for using the channel
3.
Symbolic meaning of the channel
9-14
Choosing Channels: Media
Richness
The channel’s data-carrying capacity needs to be
aligned with the communication activity
High richness when channel:
1. conveys multiple cues
2. allows timely feedback
3. allows customized message
4. permits complex symbols
Use rich communication media when the situation is
nonroutine and ambiguous
9-15
Hierarchy of Media Richness
Rich
Overloaded
Zone
Media
Richness
Oversimplified
Zone
Lean
Routine/clear
Situation
Nonroutine/
Ambiguous
9-16
Computer-Mediated Exceptions to
Media Richness
Media richness theory less applicable to
computer-mediated channels because:
1.Able
to multi-communicate through lean
channels
2.More varied proficiency levels
3.Lean channels have less social distraction than
do media rich channels
9-17
Persuasive Communication

Changing another person’s beliefs and
attitudes.

Spoken communication is more persuasive
because:
• accompanied by nonverbal communication
• has high quality immediate feedback
• has high social presence
9-18
Video

Improve your communication skills:
http://www.mhhe.com/business/management/videos/POM_V
2/Flashvideo/BetterManners.html
McShane/Von Glinow OB 6e
19
9-19
© 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Communication Barriers



Perceptions
Filtering
Language
• Jargon
• Ambiguity

Information Overload
9-20
Information Overload
Episodes of
information
overload
Information Load
Employee’s
information
processing
capacity
Time
9-21
Managing Information Overload

Solution 1: Increase info processing capacity
•
•
•
•
•

Learn to read faster
Scan through documents more efficiently
Remove distractions
Time management
Temporarily work longer hours
Solution 2: Reduce information load
• Buffering
• Omitting
• Summarizing
9-22
Cross-Cultural Communication

Verbal differences
• Language
• Voice intonation
• Silence/conversational overlaps

Nonverbal differences
• Some nonverbal gestures are universal, but others
vary across cultures
9-23
Gender Communication Differences

Men consider more power, status,
functionality
• Report talk
• Give advice quickly
• Dominate conversation

Women consider more interpersonal
relations
• Rapport talk
• Indirect advice/requests
• Sensitive to nonverbal cues
9-24
Getting Your Message Across
1.
Empathize
2.
Repeat the message
3.
Use timing effectively
4.
Focus on the problem,
not the person
Courtesy of Microsoft.
9-25
Active Listening Process & Strategies
Sensing
• Postpone evaluation
• Avoid interruptions
• Maintain interest
Active
Listening
Responding
Evaluating
• Show interest
• Clarify the message
• Empathize
• Organize information
9-26
Communicating in Hierarchies

Workspace design
• Open offices – consider noise, distractions
• Clustering people in teams

Web-based organizational communication
• Wikis -- collaborative document creation
• E-zines -- rapid distribution of company news

Direct communication with management
• Management by walking around (MBWA)
• Town hall meetings
9-27
Organizational Grapevine

Early research findings
• Transmits information rapidly in all directions
• Follows a cluster chain pattern
• More active in homogeneous groups
• Transmits some degree of truth

Changes due to internet
• Email, social networking, tweets are becoming the
main grapevine media
• Social networks are now global
9-28
Conflict and
Negotiation
in the Workplace
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2013 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Managing Intergenerational Conflict
at L’Oreal Canada
L’Oreal Canada executive
Marjolaine Rompré (left in this
photo, with CEO Javier San
Juan and Garnier brand director
Sheila Morin) introduced
educational seminars to help
employees across generations
improve their mutual
understanding and thereby
minimize conflict.
9-30
Is Conflict Good or Bad?
Negative consequences of conflict
• Wastes time, energy, resources
• Less information sharing, productivity
• More organizational politics
• More job dissatisfaction, turnover, stress
• Weakens team cohesion (when conflict is within team)
Positive consequences of conflict
• Better decisions (tests logic, questions assumptions)
• Improves responsiveness to external environment
• Increases team cohesion (when conflict outside the team)
9-31
Emerging View: Constructive Versus
Relationship Conflict

Constructive (task-oriented) conflict
• Parties focus on the issue while maintaining respect for
people having other points of view.
• Try to understand the logic and assumptions of each
position

Relationship (socioemotional) conflict
• Parties focus on personal characteristics (not issues)
as the source of conflict.
• Try to undermine each other’s worth/competence
• Accompanied by strong negative emotions (drive to
defend)
9-32
Minimizing Relationship Conflict

Goal: encourage constructive conflict,
minimize relationship conflict

Problem: relationship conflict often develops
when engaging in constructive conflict

Three conditions that minimize relationship
conflict during constructive conflict:
• Emotional intelligence
• Cohesive team
• Supportive team norms
9-33
The Conflict Process
Sources of
Conflict
Conflict
Perceptions
and
Emotions
Manifest
Conflict
Conflict
Outcomes
Conflict
Escalation Cycle
9-34
Sources of Conflict

Bad bosses:
http://www.mhhe.com/business/management/videos/POM_
V2/Flashvideo/BadBosses.html
 Destroying silos:
http://www.mhhe.com/business/management/videos/POM_
V2/Flashvideo/DestroyingSilos.html
 Hollywood labor unions:
http://www.mhhe.com/business/management/videos/POM_
V2/Flashvideo/HollywoodLabor.html
 Toxic co-workers:
http://www.mhhe.com/business/management/videos/BW/Fl
ash/BW_Toxic_CoWorkers.html
9-35
Structural Sources of Conflict
Incompatible
Goals
• One party’s goals perceived to interfere
with other’s goals
Differentiation
• Different values/beliefs
• Explains cross-cultural and generational
conflict
Interdependence
• Conflict increases with interdependence
• Parties more likely to interfere with each
other
more
9-36
Structural Sources of Conflict
Scarce
Resources
• Motivates competition for the resource
Ambiguous
Rules
• Creates uncertainty, threatens goals
• Without rules, people rely on politics
Communication
Problems
• Increases stereotyping
• Reduces motivation to communicate
• Escalates conflict when arrogant
9-37
Five Conflict Handling Styles
Forcing
Assertiveness
High
Problem-solving
Compromising
Avoiding
Low
Yielding
Cooperativeness
High
9-38
Conflict Handling Contingencies

Problem solving
• Best when:
- Interests are not perfectly opposing
- Parties have trust/openness
- Issues are complex
• Problem: other party may use information to its advantage

Forcing
• Best when:
- you have a deep conviction about your position
- quick resolution required
- other party would take advantage of cooperation
• Problems: relationship conflict, long-term relations
9-39
Conflict Handling Contingencies

(con’t)
Avoiding
• Best when:
- conflict is emotionally-charged (relationship conflict)
- conflict resolution cost is higher than benefits
• Problems: doesn’t resolve conflict, frustration

Yielding
• Best when:
- other party has much more power
- issue is much less important to you than other party
- value/logic of your position is imperfect
• Problems: increases other’s expectations; imperfect
solution
9-40
Conflict Handling Contingencies

(con’t)
Compromising
• Best when:
- Parties have equal power
- Quick solution is required
- Parties lack trust/openness
• Problem: Sub-optimal solution where mutual gains
are possible
9-41
Organizational Approaches to
Conflict Resolution

Emphasize superordinate
goals
• Emphasize common
objective rather than
conflicting sub-goals
• Reduces goal
incompatibility and
differentiation
9-42
Organizational Approaches to
Conflict Resolution (con’t)

Reduce differentiation
• Remove differences that generate conflict
- e.g. Move employees around to different jobs

Improve communication/understanding
• Employees understand and appreciate each
other’s views through communication
• Relates to contact hypothesis
• Warning: Apply communication/understanding
after reducing differentiation
9-43
Organizational Approaches to
Conflict Resolution (con’t)

Reduce interdependence
• Create buffers
• Use integrators
• Combine jobs

Increase resources
• Increase amount of resources available

Clarify rules and procedures
• Establish rules and procedures
• Clarify roles and responsibilities
9-44
Types of Third Party Intervention
High
Mediation
Inquisition
Level of
Process
Control
Arbitration
Low
Level of Outcome Control
High
9-45
Choosing the Best 3rd Party
Strategy

Managers prefer inquisitional strategy, but
not usually best approach

Mediation potentially offers highest
satisfaction with process and outcomes

Use arbitration when mediation fails
9-46
Resolving Conflict Through Negotiation
 Negotiation
-- conflicting parties attempt to resolve their
divergent goals by redefining the terms of their
interdependence.
 Need
to balance collaborative behaviors (create value)
and competitive behaviors (claim value)
9-47
Bargaining Zone Model
Your Positions
Initial
Target
Resistance
Area of
Potential
Agreement
Resistance
Target
Initial
Opponent’s Positions
9-48
Conflict Handling p343
Individually – pick the best alternative for each scenario:
 As a team review your responses: similarities and differences.
 Review answers from me.

9-49
Strategies for Claiming Value
Claiming value – aiming for the best possible
outcomes for yourself and your constituents.
1. Prepare and set goals
2. Know your BATNA
• cost of ending negotiation; best outcome through
another means)
3.
Manage time
• avoid time pressure on you; avoid escalation of
commitment effect
4.
Manage first offers and concessions
9-50
Strategies for Creating Value
Creating value – use problem solving to help
both parties reach the best outcomes.
1. Gather information
• Understand other party’s needs/expectations
2. Discover
priorities through offers and
concessions
• Make multi-issue proposals
3. Build the relationship (trustworthiness)
• Common backgrounds, manage first impressions,
maintaining positive emotions, act reliably
9-51
Situational Influences on Negotiation

Location

Physical setting

Audience
9-52
Week 5 wrap up

Questions?
 Assignments for next week
9-53