Ch.14-Communication.pptx | Essay Stewards

Fundamentals of Management

Eleventh Edition

Chapter 14

Managing Organizational and Interpersonal Communication

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Learning Objectives

14.1 Describe what managers need to know about communicating effectively.

14.2 Explain how technology affects managerial communication.

14.3 Discuss contemporary issues in communication.

After studying this chapter, you will be able to:

Describe what managers need to know about communicating effectively.

Explain how technology affects managerial communication.

Discuss contemporary issues in communication.

Learning Objective 14.1

Describe what managers need to know about communicating effectively.

Effective Communication

Communication:

a transfer of understanding and meaning from one person to another.

Poor communication can cost a

business up to $5,200 per employee

each year!2

A survey of employees found that the

skill managers most need to improve

is communication.3

Another employee survey found that over half the

respondents said their workplace communication was

“less than great.”4

The importance of effective communication for managers cannot be overemphasized—for one specific reason: Everything a manager does involves communication.

Communication can be thought of as a process or flow that transfers understanding and meaning from one person to another.

Before communication can take place, a purpose, expressed as a message to be conveyed, is needed. The message passes between the sender and a receiver. The message is converted to symbolic form—such as a television commercial—and is passed by way of some channel of communication to the receiver, who decodes the message.

Let’s take a closer look at how this happens.

How Does the Communication Process Work?

Exhibit 14-1 The Communication Process

WHAT is communicated? The 3 I’s: Information, Ideas,

Instructions

Exhibit 14–1 depicts the seven-part communication process of transferring and understanding meaning: (1) the communication source or sender; (2) encoding; (3) the message; (4) the channel; (5) decoding; (6) the receiver; and (7) feedback.

The sender is the source of the communication.

Encoding means converting a message into symbolic form.

The message is the purpose to be conveyed in the communication.

The channel is the medium by which a message travels.

Decoding means translating a received message.

The receiver is the recipient of the communication.

Feedback is checking to see how successfully a message has been transferred.

Factors Affecting Encoding

Skill

Attitudes

Knowledge

Social cultural system

The source initiates a message by encoding a thought. Four conditions affect the encoded message: skill, attitudes, knowledge, and social cultural system.

Skill determines a person’s total communicative success and includes speaking, reading, listening, and reasoning skills.

Attitudes influence our behavior.

Knowledge of the subject matter allows us to communicate more clearly or, if our knowledge is quite extensive, to confuse our receiver with overly complex information.

Finally, our position in our social cultural system—our beliefs and values—influences each of us as a communicative source.

Communication Channels

Formal channels

Informal channels

The source selects either a formal or informal channel through which the message travels.

Formal channels are established by the organization, transmit job-related messages, and traditionally follow the authority network within the organization. Personal or social messages follow the informal channels in the organization.

Participating in a meeting at company headquarters, these employees of Alibaba, China’s largest e-commerce firm, illustrate the channel part of the communication

process. The meeting is a formal channel established by Alibaba during which employees transmit messages that pertain to their job-related activities.

Decoding and Feedback

Decoding:

translating a received message.

Feedback:

checking to see how successfully a message has been transferred.

Note that just as the skills, attitudes, knowledge, and social culture of the sender affect the sender’s ability to encode a message, the skills, attitudes, knowledge, and social culture of the receiver to whom the message is directed affect his or her ability to decode the message.

The final link in the communication process is a feedback loop, which checks how successfully we’ve transferred our messages and whether we have achieved understanding. Given the cultural diversity of today’s workforce, effective feedback is critical.

Written vs. Verbal Communication

Advantages

Tangible/verifiable

Permanent record

Stored for later reference

Well-thought out

Drawbacks

Time consuming

Doesn’t lend itself to feedback like oral communication

Written communications include memos, letters, email, and other forms of digital communication, organizational periodicals, bulletin boards, or any other device that transmits written words or symbols.

Some of the pros of choosing written communication are:

It is tangible and verifiable.

It creates a more permanent record for both sender and receiver than a verbal exchange does.

The message can be stored for an indefinite period of time so the content is physically available for later reference, which is particularly important for complex or lengthy communications.

Generally, more care is taken with the written word than with the spoken word so it’s more likely to be well thought out, logical, and clear.

Two drawbacks to written communication are that it’s time consuming and that it does not lend itself to feedback like oral communication does. Unlike written communication, oral communication allows receivers to respond rapidly to what they thought they heard or to verbally summarize what they understood the sender said.

The Grapevine

The Grapevine: Fruitful or Not?

The grapevine is the unofficial way that communications take place in an organization and it’s neither authorized nor supported by the organization.

In the grapevine, information is spread by word of mouth—and even through electronic means. Good information travels quickly, but bad information travels even more quickly.

The biggest issue about grapevines is the accuracy of the information that is communicated. Research shows that in an organization characterized by openness, the grapevine may be extremely accurate. However, in an authoritative culture, the rumor mill may be inaccurate but still contain some element of truth. So while details may not be accurate, the reports that something is about to happen are probably on target.

Nonverbal Cues

It’s not WHAT you say but HOW you say it.

Some of the most meaningful communications are neither spoken nor written. These nonverbal communications—such as a loud siren, red flashing light, the size of a person’s office and desk, or someone’s clothing—convey messages to others. The best-known areas of nonverbal communication are body language and verbal intonation.

Body language refers to gestures, facial configurations, and other movements of the body. Hand motions, facial expressions, and other gestures can communicate emotions or temperaments such as aggression, fear, shyness, arrogance, joy, and anger.

Verbal intonation refers to the emphasis someone gives to words or phrases, and can make a statement sound defensive or friendly. The adage “it’s not what you say but how you say it” is something managers should remember as they communicate.

In oral communication, the nonverbal component carries the greatest impact. Research indicates that from 65 to 90 percent of the message of every face-to-face conversation is communicated through body language.

Communication Barriers

Exhibit 14-2 Barriers to Effective Communication

Barrier	Description
Filtering	The deliberate manipulation of information to make it appear more favorable to the receiver.
Selective perception	Receiving communications on the basis of what one selectively sees and hears depending on his or her needs, motivation, experience, background, and other personal characteristics.
Information overload	When the amount of information one has to work with exceeds one’s processing capacity.
Emotions	How the receiver feels when a message is received.
Language	Words have different meanings to different people. Receivers will use their definition of words being communicated.
Gender	How males and females react to communication may be different, and they each have a different communication style.
National culture	Communication differences arising from the differentlanguages that individuals use to communicate and thenational culture of which they are a part.

A number of interpersonal and intrapersonal barriers affect why the message decoded by a receiver is often different from what the sender intended. Here, in Exhibit 14–2, we see illustrated some of the more prominent barriers to effective communication.

Filtering refers to the way that a sender manipulates information so that it will be seen more favorably by the receiver. For example, when a manager tells his boss what he feels the boss wants to hear, he is filtering information.

In selective perception, receivers in the communication process selectively see and hear based on their needs, motivations, experience, background, and other personal characteristics. Receivers also project their interests and expectations onto communications as they decode them.

With information overload, individuals’ finite capacity for processing data is overwhelmed by the onslaught of modern communication. The result is lost information and less effective communication.

Words mean different things to different people, age, education, and cultural background are three obvious variables that influence the language a person uses and the definitions he or she applies to words. Additionally, specialists in specific fields of work or departments develop their own jargon (or technical language) as do employees spread across different geographic locations.

Both genders have distinct communication styles, so individuals must acknowledge these differences and strive for acceptance, understanding, and a commitment to communicate adaptively with each other.

Finally, communication differences arise from language: the three different languages that individuals use to communicate and the national culture of which they’re a part. The style of communication also differs for countries that are highly individualistic (like the United States) and those that are collectivist (such as Japan). U.S. managers rely heavily on memoranda, announcements, position papers, and other formal forms of communication to state their positions, whereas the Japanese use face-to-face meetings at which discussion is followed by consensus, at which point a formal document is written.

Overcoming Communication Barriers

Exhibit 14-3 Overcoming Barriers to Effective Communication

Use feedback	Check the accuracy of what has been communicated—or what you think you heard.
Simplify language	Use words that the intended audience understands.
Listen actively	Listen for the full meaning of the message without making premature judgment or interpretation—or thinking about what you are going to say in response.
Constrain emotions	Recognize when your emotions are running high. When they are, don’t communicate until you have calmed down.
Watch nonverbal cues	Be aware that your actions speak louder than your words. Keep the two consistent.

Here in Exhibit 14–3 we see some suggestions that can help make communication more effective.

Because many communication problems are directly attributed to misunderstandings and inaccuracies, a manager can ask questions to determine if the message was understood, can ask the receiver to restate the message in his or her own words, and can be alert to nonverbal cues.

A manager should also simplify communication so it’s clear, easily understood, and in language customized to the specific employee or group being addressed.

Managers must also practice active listening, which is listening for full meaning without making premature judgments or interpretations. Active listening demands total concentration, and is enhanced by developing empathy with the sender. Active listeners use eye contact, affirmative nods, and appropriate facial expressions; appear attentive and ask questions; avoid interrupting the speaker; and make smooth transitions between being a speaker and a listener.

When they are upset, managers should control their emotions. Strong emotions make it easier to misconstrue incoming messages and more difficult to communicate outgoing messages clearly and accurately.

Because actions speak louder than words, it’s important to make sure your actions align with and reinforce the words you use to ensure that your nonverbal cues convey the desired message.

Learning Objective 14.3

Discuss contemporary issues in communication.

Contemporary Issues

Communication management in an Internet world

Managing the organization’s knowledge resources

Communicating with customers

Getting employee input

Communicating ethically

Being an effective communicator in today’s organizations means being connected to not only employees and customers but also to any of the organization’s stakeholders.

Let’s take a look at five communication issues that are of particular significance to today’s managers:

Communication management in an Internet world

Managing the organization’s knowledge resources

Communicating with customers

Getting employee input

Communicating ethically

Communication in an Internet World

Legal and security issues

Lack of personal interaction

This is BIG!

A recent survey found that 20 percent of employees at large companies say they contribute regularly to blogs, social networks, wikis, and other Web services. As a result, managers are learning (and sometimes learning the hard way) that new technology has created two large communication challenges:

Legal and security issues, and

Lack of personal interaction.

Legal and Security Issues

Electronic information is potentially admissible in court

Sensitive, proprietary information is at risk

E-mail, blogs, tweets, and other forms of online communication can give rise to potential legal problems if they are used inappropriately—especially because electronic information is potentially admissible in court.

But security is a serious concern as well. A survey addressing outbound e-mail and content security found that 26 percent of the companies surveyed saw their businesses affected by the exposure of sensitive or embarrassing information.

Managers need to ensure that confidential information is kept confidential. Employee e-mails and blogs should not communicate proprietary information— either inadvertently or purposely. Corporate computer and e-mail systems must also be protected against unauthorized users and spam to fully realize the benefits of communication technology.

Personal Interaction

Social media can minimize personal interaction.

EMPLOYEES AND SOCIAL MEDIA

77 percent say they use social media to connect with colleagues.

35 percent say that social media has damaged a work relationship.

61 percent say that social media has led to new or better work relationships.

32 percent say they use social media to enhance work-related projects or solve problems.44

Even though one of the most popular types of technology is called “social” media, one critical communication challenge posed by the Internet age is the lack of personal interaction. Therefore, some companies have banned e-mail on certain days and others have simply encouraged employees to collaborate more in person.

When you think about how difficult even face-to-face communication can be, it can be even more challenging to achieve understanding and collaboration on work when communication takes place in a virtual environment.

However in some situations, personal interaction isn’t physically possible. In these situations, real-time collaboration software (such as private workplace wikis, blogs, instant messengers, and other types of groupware) may be a more efficient and effective communication choice than e-mail.

Some companies have created their own in-house social networks such as Starcom MediaVest Group, whose employees tap into SMG Connected to find colleague profiles. These profiles outline their jobs, list the brands they admire, and describe their values.

Knowledge Management

Cultivating a learning culture in which organizational members systematically gather knowledge and share it with others.

One way organizations can manage knowledge resources is to build online information databases so employees can communicate, access research, and learn from other staff how to do their jobs more effectively and efficiently.

Another tool for managing knowledge is to create communities of practice, which are groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in that area by interacting on an ongoing basis. To make these “communities of practice” work, however, it’s important to maintain strong human interactions by using tools such as interactive websites, e-mail, and videoconferencing.

Of course, these groups face the same communication problems that individuals face—such as filtering, emotions, defensiveness, over-documentation, and so forth—and they can resolve these issues by trying the suggestions discussed earlier.

Strong Service Culture

Finding out what customer needs are, meeting these needs, and following up to make sure those needs were met satisfactorily.

An organization with a strong service culture already values taking care of customers—finding out what their needs are, meeting those needs, and following up to make sure that their needs were met satisfactorily. Each of these activities involves communication, whether face-to-face, by phone or e-mail, or through other channels.

Communication is also a part of specific customer service strategies the organization pursues and the individual service provider who is on the front line. The individual provider is often the first to hear about or notice service failures or breakdowns. In these cases, the individual provider must decide how and what to communicate, must listen actively, and must communicate appropriately so the situation is resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

The individual service provider must also have the information necessary to deal with customers efficiently and effectively or be able to access it easily and promptly.

Employee Input

Exhibit 14-4 How to Let Employees Know Their Input Matters

In today’s challenging environment, companies need to get input from their employees, and effective managers mine such potentially valuable information. Here in Exhibit 14–4, we see several suggestions for letting employees know that their opinions matter, such as providing employees with current information—good and bad—and analyzing problems together.

Workplace Design

Focused work

Collaborative work

Learning work

Socializing work

Think you’re gonna have your own

desk at your job? That’s not so

likely in today’s workplace! How

do you feel about that?

Another factor that affects organizational communication is workplace design. Despite all the information technology and employee mobility, much of an organization’s communication still happens in the workplace. In fact, some 74 percent of an employee’s average workweek is spent in an office. How that office workspace is designed and configured can affect the communication that occurs as well as influence an organization’s overall performance. In fact, in a survey of American workers, 90 percent believed that better workplace design and layout result in better overall employee performance.

Research shows that a workplace design should successfully support four types of employee work: focused work, collaborative work, learning work, and socializing work.

Focused work is when an employee needs to concentrate on completing a task.

Collaborative work is when employees need to work together to complete a task.

Learning work is when employees are engaged in training or doing something new and could involve both focused and collaborative work.

Finally, socializing work is when employee gather informally to chat or to exchange ideas.

Ethical Communication

Presented material that contains all the relevant information, is true in every sense, and is not deceptive in any way.

It’s particularly important today that a company’s communication efforts be ethical. This means that the communication includes all relevant information, is true in every sense, and is not deceptive in any way.

Unethical communication often distorts the truth or manipulates audiences—for example, by omitting essential information, selectively misquoting, misrepresenting numbers, distorting visuals, or failing to respect privacy or information security needs.

Managers encourage ethical communication by establishing clear ethical guidelines for behavior and business communication.

In a global survey by the International Association of Business Communicators, 70 percent of communication professionals said their companies clearly define what is considered ethical and unethical behavior.

If no clear ethical guidelines exist, apply the following questions to help you think through your communication choices and consequences:

Has the situation been defined fairly and accurately?

Why is the message being communicated?

How will the people who may be affected by the message or who receive the message be impacted?

Does the message help achieve the greatest possible good while minimizing possible harm?

Will this decision that appears to be ethical now seem so in the future?

How comfortable are you with your communication effort?

What would a person you respect think of it?