Communication and Decision-making

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Communication and Decision Making

• Prepared by
• Narendra Singh Chaudhary

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Committees, Teams and Group Decision Making

• A committee is a group of persons to whom, as a
  group, some matter is committed.
• Definition of team is similar, a small number of
  people with complementary skills who are
  committed to a common purpose, set of performance
  goals and approach for which they hold themselves
  mutually accountable.
• A group may be defined as two or more people
  acting interdependently in a unified manner
  towards the achievement of common goals.

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Nature of Committee and Groups

• Group Process in CommitteesGroups go through
  four stages Forming (the members of the group
  get to know each other), storming (the members of
  the group determine the objective of the meeting
  conflicts arise), norming (the group agrees on
  norms and some behavior rules) and performing
  (the group gets down to the task).
• People play certain role in committees e.g.
  information giver, information seekers,
  coordinator etc. To be effective in a group, one
  must not only listen to what is said but also
  observe the nonverbal behavior. The seating
  arrangement may have an impact on the group
  interaction.

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Functions and Formality of Committees and Groups

• Some committees undertake managerial functions,
  and others do not. Some make decisions, while
  others merely deliberate on problems without
  authority to decide.
• A committee may have either line or staff
  functions, depending on its authority. If its
  authority involves decision making affecting
  subordinates responsible to it, it is a plural
  executivea line committee that also carries out
  managerial functions such as the board of
  directors if its authority relationship to a
  superior is advisory, then it is a staff
  committee.
• Committee may also be formed or informal, if
  establish as a part of the organization
  structure, with specifically delegated duties and
  authority, they are formal. Most committees with
  any permanence fall into this class. Those that
  are informal are organized without specific
  delegation of authority. Committees may be
  relatively permanent or they may be temporary.

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Disadvantages and Misuse of Committees

• They are costly.
• They may lead to indecision
• They also can split responsibility
• They can lead to situation in which a few persons
  impose their will on the majority, not allowing
  participation of its members.
• In general, committees should not be used as
  replacement for manager for research study, for
  unimportant decisions and for decisions beyond
  the participants authority.

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Conflicts in Committees, Groups and Teams

• Conflicts may arise between and among individuals
  (interpersonal conflicts), among groups
  (inter-group conflicts) and the organization and
  its environment such as with other organization.
• Reasons-
• Clash of interests, Difference in opinions.
• Varied styles of working and decision-making
  process.

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Communication

• The word communication has been derived from
  the Latin word communis which means common.
  Communication, thus, is the process of sharing
  facts, ideas and opinions in common.
  Communication is said to take place when an
  individual conveys some information to other.
•   The person conveying of sending the information
  is called the sender or the communicator and
  the person receiving the information is called
  the receiver or the communicatee. The
  information conveyed is known as the message.
  The act of conveying the message is called
  transmission. The reaction of the receiver to
  the message is what is called response.

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Definitions of Communication

• Communication is the process of passing
  information and understanding from one person to
  another Haimann.
• Communication is the sum of all the things one
  person does when he wants to create understanding
  in the minds of others Allen.
• Communication is the exchange of facts, ideas,
  opinions or emotions by two or more persons
  Newman and Summer.
• Communication is the transfer of information from
  one person to another whether or not it elicits
  confidence but the information transferred must
  be understandable to the receiver G.C.Brown.

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• Communication is an intercourse by words,
  letters, symbols or messages, and is a way that
  one organization member shares meaning and
  understanding with another Koontz and
  ODonnell.
• Communication is the intercourse by words,
  letters or messages, intercourse of thoughts or
  opinions F.G.Meyer.
• Communication is the process of conveying
  messages (facts, ideas, attitudes or opinions) by
  one person to another so that they are understand
  M.W.Cummin.

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Process of Communication
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Communication Process
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Components of Communication Process

• Context - Communication is affected by the
  context in which it takes place. This context may
  be physical, social, chronological or cultural.
  Every communication proceeds with context. The
  sender chooses the message to communicate within
  a context.
• Sender / Encoder - Sender / Encoder is a person
  who sends the message. A sender makes use of
  symbols (words or graphic or visual aids) to
  convey the message and produce the required
  response.
• Message - Message is a key idea that the sender
  wants to communicate. It is a sign that elicits
  the response of recipient. Communication process
  begins with deciding about the message to be
  conveyed. It must be ensured that the main
  objective of the message is clear.

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• Medium - Medium is a means used to exchange /
  transmit the message. The choice of appropriate
  medium of communication is essential for making
  the message effective and correctly interpreted
  by the recipient. This choice of communication
  medium varies depending upon the features of
  communication. For instance - Written medium
• Recipient / Decoder - Recipient / Decoder is a
  person for whom the message is intended / aimed /
  targeted. The degree to which the decoder
  understands the message is dependent upon various
  factors such as knowledge of recipient, their
  responsiveness to the message, and the reliance
  of encoder on decoder.
• Feedback - Feedback is the main component of
  communication process as it permits the sender to
  analyze the efficacy of the message. It helps the
  sender in confirming the correct interpretation
  of message by the decoder. Feedback may be verbal
  (through words) or non-verbal (in form of smiles,
  sighs, etc.). It may take written form also in
  form of memos, reports, etc.

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Communication Flows in an
Organization

• In an organization, communication flows in 5 main
  directions-
• Downward
• Upward
• Lateral/Horizontal
• Diagonal
• External

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Importance of Communication

• Communication promotes motivation by informing
  and clarifying the employees about the task to be
  done, the manner they are performing the task,
  and how to improve their performance if it is not
  up to the mark.
• Communication is a source of information to the
  organizational members for decision-making
  process as it helps identifying and assessing
  alternative course of actions.
• Communication also plays a crucial role in
  altering individuals attitudes, i.e., a well
  informed individual will have better attitude
  than a less-informed individual. Organizational
  magazines, journals, meetings and various other
  forms of oral and written communication help in
  moulding employees attitudes.
• Communication also helps in socializing. In
  today's life the only presence of another
  individual fosters communication.
• Communication also assists in controlling
  process. It helps controlling organizational
  members behaviour in various ways. Communication
  helps in controlling function of management.

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Communication Barriers

• Perceptual and Language Differences Perception
  is generally how each individual interprets the
  world around him.
• Information Overload Managers are surrounded
  with a pool of information. It is essential to
  control this information flow else the
  information is likely to be misinterpreted or
  forgotten or overlooked. As a result
  communication is less effective.
• Inattention At times we just not listen, but
  only hear. For example a traveler may pay
  attention to one NO PARKING sign, but if such
  sign is put all over the city, he no longer
  listens to it. Thus, repetitive messages should
  be ignored for effective communication. Similarly
  if a superior is engrossed in his paper work and
  his subordinate explains him his problem, the
  superior may not get what he is saying and it
  leads to disappointment of subordinate.
• Time Pressures Often in organization the targets
  have to be achieved within a specified time
  period, the failure of which has adverse
  consequences. In a haste to meet deadlines, the
  formal channels of communication are shortened,
  or messages are partially given, i.e., not
  completely transferred. Thus sufficient time
  should be given for effective communication.

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• Distraction/Noise Communication is also affected
  a lot by noise to distractions. Physical
  distractions are also there such as, poor
  lightning, uncomfortable sitting, unhygienic room
  also affects communication in a meeting.
  Similarly use of loud speakers interferes with
  communication.
• Emotions Emotional state at a particular point
  of time also affects communication. If the
  receiver feels that communicator is angry he
  interprets that the information being sent is
  very bad. While he takes it differently if the
  communicator is happy and jovial (in that case
  the message is interpreted to be good and
  interesting).
• Complexity in Organizational Structure Greater
  the hierarchy in an organization (i.e. more the
  number of managerial levels), more is the chances
  of communication getting destroyed. Only the
  people at the top level can see the overall
  picture while the people at low level just have
  knowledge about their own area and a little
  knowledge about other areas.
• Poor retention Human memory cannot function
  beyond a limit. One cant always retain what is
  being told specially if he is not interested or
  not attentive. This leads to communication
  breakdown.

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ROLE OF ELECTRONIC MEDIA IN COMMUNICATION

• Communication and electronic media go hand in
  hand. In this technology oriented era the use of
  electronic communication is inevitable. The role
  and importance of electronic communication can't
  be overlooked. Electronic information interchange
  is necessary for the survival in current era.
  Information is the back bone of the economy of a
  Nation. Electronic media has improved
  communication numerous ways.
• Internet has immensely helped in communicating.
  There are a lot of new websites coming in each
  day, each hour. Emails are an efficient and
  economical mode for communication with no time
  restraints and country borders. More and more
  people use emails to communicate and spread
  information. These characteristics of electronic
  communication have a tempting effect on the
  organizations to carry on their businesses.
  Organizations use electronic communication as
  their marketing tool leading to spam for some of
  the recipients.

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• The Internet and electronic communications (also
  called computer mediated communications, or CMC)
  doesn't just mean new tools for communication it
  means new ways to communicate. Today our
  organization interacts with its various
  constituents differently - employees, board
  members, customers, partners and others -
  depending upon the nature of the message, the
  goals you are trying to achieve and the strengths
  (and weaknesses) of the available media -
  telephones, voice mail, fax machines, print,
  etc.Electronic communications adds a powerful
  new channel that not only will change how you use
  this mix of options, but it will create entirely
  new ways to interact.

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Decision Making

• Decision making can be regarded as the mental
  processes (cognitive process) resulting in the
  selection of a course of action among several
  alternative scenarios. Every decision making
  process produces a final choice.
• Decision making is the study of identifying and
  choosing alternatives based on the values and
  preferences of the decision maker.
• Making a decision implies that there are
  alternative choices to be considered, and in such
  a case we want not only to identify as many of
  these alternatives as possible but to choose the
  one that (1) has the highest probability of
  success or effectiveness and (2) best fits with
  our goals, desires, lifestyle, values, and so on.

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• A decision may be defined as "a course of action
  which is consciously chosen from among a set of
  alternatives to achieve a desired result." It
  represents a well-balanced judgment and a
  commitment to action.
• The Oxford Dictionary defines the term
  decision-making as "the action of carrying out or
  carrying into effect".
• According to Trewatha Newport, "Decision-making
  involves the selection of a course of action from
  among two or more possible alternatives in order
  to arrive at a solution for a given problem".

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Importance

• 1.Better Utilisation of Resources-Decision making
  helps to utilise the available resources for
  achieving the objectives of the organisation. The
  available resources are the 6 Ms, i.e. Men,
  Money, Materials, Machines, Methods and Markets.
  The manager has to make correct decisions for all
  the 6 Ms. This will result in better utilisation
  of these resources.
• 2. Facing Problems and Challenges- Decision
  making helps the organisation to face and tackle
  new problems and challenges. Quick and correct
  decisions help to solve problems and to accept
  new challenges.
• 3. Business Growth- Quick and correct decision
  making results in better utilisation of the
  resources. It helps the organisation to face new
  problems and challenges. It also helps to achieve
  its objectives. All this results in quick
  business growth. However, wrong, slow or no
  decisions can result in losses and industrial
  sickness.
• 4. Achieving Objectives-Rational decisions help
  the organisation to achieve all its objectives
  quickly. This is because rational decisions are
  made after analysing and evaluating all the
  alternatives.

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• 5. Increases Efficiency- Rational decisions help
  to increase efficiency. Efficiency is the
  relation between returns and cost. If the returns
  are high and the cost is low, then there is
  efficiency and vice versa. Rational decisions
  result in higher returns at low cost.
• 6. Facilitate Innovation- Rational decisions
  facilitate innovation. This is because it helps
  to develop new ideas, new products, new process,
  etc. This results in innovation. Innovation gives
  a competitive advantage to the organisation.
• 7. Motivates Employees- Rational decision results
  in motivation for the employees. This is because
  the employees are motivated to implement rational
  decisions. When the rational decisions are
  implemented the organisation makes high profits.
  Therefore, it can give financial and
  non-financial benefits to the employees.

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Limitations

• Time Consuming- A lot of precious time is
  consumed for decision making. Individual
  decisions take a lot of time because the manager
  has to study the merits and demerits of all the
  alternatives. He also has to take advice from
  many people before making a decision. All this
  consumes a lot of time. Group decisions are also
  time consuming. This is because it involves many
  meetings and each member has to give his opinion.
  This results in delayed decisions or no
  decisions.
• 2. Compromised Decisions- In group decisions,
  there is a difference of opinion. This results in
  a compromised decision. A compromised decision is
  made to please all the members. It may not be a
  correct and bold decision. The quality of this
  decision is inferior. So it will not give good
  results on implementation.
• 3. Subjective Decisions- Individual decisions are
  not objective. They are subjective. This is
  because the decisions depend on the knowledge,
  education, experience, perception, beliefs,
  moral, attitude, etc., of the manager. Subjective
  decisions are not good decisions.
• 4. Biased Decisions-Sometimes decisions are
  biased. That is, the manager makes decisions,
  which only benefit himself and his group. These
  decisions have a bad effect on the workers,
  consumer or the society.

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• 5. Limited Analysis- Before making a decision the
  manager must analyse all the alternatives. He
  must study the merit and demerits of each
  alternative. Then only he must select the best
  alternative. However, most managers do not do
  this because they do not get an accurate date,
  and they have limited time. Inexperienced
  researchers and wrong sampling also result in a
  limited analysis. This limited analysis results
  in bad decisions.
• 6. Uncontrollable Environmental Factors-
  Environmental factors include political, social,
  technological and other factors. These factors
  are dynamic in nature and keeps on changing
  everyday. The manager has no control over
  environmental factors. If these factors change in
  the wrong direction, his decisions will also
  divert and go wrong.
• 7. Uncertain Future-Decisions are made for the
  future. However, the future is very uncertain.
  Therefore, it is very difficult to take decisions
  for the future.
• 8. Responsibility is Diluted-In an individual
  decision, only one manager is responsible for the
  decision. However, in a group decision, all
  managers are responsible for the decision. That
  is, everybody's responsibility is nobody's
  responsibility. So, the responsibility is
  diluted.

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What is Creativity?

• Creativity is the act of turning new and
  imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity
  involves two processes thinking, then producing.
  Innovation is the production or implementation of
  an idea. If you have ideas, but dont act on
  them, you are imaginative but not creative.
  Linda Naiman
• Creativity is the process of bringing something
  new into beingcreativity requires passion and
  commitment. Out of the creative act is born
  symbols and myths. It brings to our awareness
  what was previously hidden and points to new
  life. The experience is one of heightened
  consciousness-ecstasy.Rollo May, The Courage
  to Create
• A product is creative when it is (a) novel and
  (b) appropriate. A novel product is original not
  predictable. The bigger the concept, and the more
  the product stimulates further work and ideas,
  the more the product is creative.Sternberg
  Lubart, Defying the Crowd

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What is Innovation?

• Innovation is the production or implementation of
  ideas. The National Innovation Initiative  (NII)
  defines innovation as The intersection of
  invention and insight, leading to the creation of
  social and economic value.
• Innovation means making meaningful change to
  improve an organizations products, services,
  programs, processes, operations, and business
  model to create new value for the organizations
  stakeholders. Innovation should lead your
  organization to new dimensions of performance.
  Innovation is no longer strictly the purview of
  research and development departments innovation
  is important for all aspects of your operations
  and all work systems and work processes.
  Organizations should be led and managed so that
  innovation becomes part of the learning culture.
  Innovation should be integrated into daily work
  and should be supported by your performance
  improvement system.

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• Systematic processes for innovation should reach
  across your entire organization. Innovation
  builds on the accumulated knowledge of your
  organization and its people. Therefore, the
  ability to rapidly disseminate and capitalize on
  this knowledge is critical to driving
  organizational innovation.2009-2010 Baldrige
  Criteria for Innovation
• For innovation to flourish, organizations must
  create an environment that fosters creativity
  bringing together multi-talented groups of people
  who work in close collaboration together-
  exchanging knowledge, ideas and shaping the
  direction of the future.

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What is Creativity in Business?

• Creativity is a crucial part of the innovation
  equation. Creativity requires whole-brain
  thinking right-brain imagination, artistry and
  intuition, plus left-brain logic and planning.
• Creativity is a core competency for leaders and
  managers and one of the best ways to set your
  company apart from the competition.
• Corporate Creativity is characterised by the
  ability to perceive the world in new ways, to
  find hidden patterns, to make connections between
  seemingly unrelated phenomena, and to generate
  solutions. Generating fresh solutions to
  problems, and the ability to create new products,
  processes or services for a changing market, are
  part of the intellectual capital that give a
  company its competitive edge.

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Thank you