WorkTeam Communication

1
Work-Team Communication

• Chapter 2

2
Work Teams

• Team is a group of individuals who depend upon
  one another to accomplish a common goal
• Usually 2 to 7 members
• Can be a waste of time if not managed

3
Variables

• Conflict
• Is a positive aspect of communication as it
  ensures various viewpoints are heard and creative
  ideas are generated
• Conformity
• Agreement of ideas, rules, and principles
• Consensus
• Group decisions are reached

4
Group Goals

• Get to know one another
• Discuss how to make decisions
• Create operating rules
• Choose a leader

5
Constructive Feedback

• Giving constructive feedback is No 1 importance
• Must acknowledge need for feedback
• Positive and negative
• Be descriptive
• Avoid using labels
• Dont exaggerate
• Speak for yourself
• Use I statements (I feel that we should)

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Conflict Resolution

• Develop into a team to avoid problems
• Get to know one another
• Establish ground rules
• Discuss norms for group behavior
• Do not make one a scapegoat
• Do not assume to make everyone happy
• Work through conflicts before they become a
  hindrance to group

7
Team Writing

• Groups should assign tasks to each
• Hold regular meetings
• Each group member is to write a section
• Assign one person to pull together the draft
• Leave time for editing

8
Ethical Communication

• Put the team ahead of the person
• Avoid advocating positions that benefit one
  person
• Set aside hidden agendas
• Respect each persons integrity and emotional
  needs
• Make a positive contribution to promote team
  welfare

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Nonverbal Communication

• Body movement
• Facial expressions, movement of eyes, hands, and
  body
• Physical appearance
• Cultural differences, attractive vs. not
  attractive
• Voice qualities
• Volume, speed, pitch, tone, accent, variety,
  rhythm carry intentional and unintentional
  messages

10
Time and touch

• Time varies with cultures
• Agree on a time for meetings, work completion,
  etc.
• Touch is a touchy subject
• Touching can mean
• Intimacy
• Willingness to communicate
• Purely physical or accidental touch

11
Space and Territory

• Our culture is usually uncomfortable with
  physical closeness with strangers
• Intimate zone is 18 inches
• Reserved for close and intimate
• Personal zone is 18 inches to 4 ft
• Conversation and business
• Social zone is 4 to 12 ft
• Business exchanges
• Public zone is 12 feet to as far as the eye can
  see
• Formal zone. Insignificant interactions

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Diverse Environment

• U.S. is worlds largest importer and second of
  exporting goods
• Culture refers to customary traits, attitudes,
  and behaviors of people
• Ethnocentrism is the belief that ones own
  culture is superior
• Hinders communication, understanding, and
  goodwill
• Few Americans speak foreign language
• Presumptuous to expect the world to speak English

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Cultural Differences

• People interpret events through their own mental
  filter or cultural knowledge.
• Nonverbal forms of communication have different
  meanings in different cultures.
• Time
• Body language
• Touch
• Space
• Social behavior

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Differences

• American English The Electrolux is the
  strongest vacuum available.
• British English Nothing sucks like an
  Electrolux.
• English Come alive with Pepsi.
• Thai Bring your ancestors back from the dead
  with Pepsi.

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Differences

• English Im just tickled to death to be here.
• Russian Scratch me until I die.
• English Chevrolet Nova
• Spanish No go.

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Group-Oriented Behavior

• In the U.S. individual effort is often stressed
  more than the group
• Look what George did
• I did this
• In the Japanese culture, group effort and
  consensus are the norm.

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Communicating Across Cultures

• Maintain formality
• Show respect
• Communicate clearly
• Value diversity

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Diversity Within the U.S.

• All people are part of a minority group depending
  on
• Ethnicity
• Beliefs
• Gender
• Disability
• Visible or non-visible
• In anthropology this is called a cultural scene.

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Listening

• Hearing is perceiving sound passively
• Poor listening creates problems
• Good listening is
• Maintain eye contact with speaker
• Focus on content of message
• Dont dismiss a topic just because you dont
  believe it, isnt interesting, or presented
  poorly

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• Stay open minded
• Dont interrupt
• Involve yourself by summarizing talk, notes, nod
  in agreement, make encouraging statements

21
Business Meetings

• Average executive spends 25 to 70 percent of
  his/her time in meetings
• Plan the meeting carefully
• Identify the purpose
• Prepare an agenda
• Decide who should attend
• Determine the logistics

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Conducting the Meeting

• Managers should lead
• Punctuality
• Start and end on time
• Follow the agenda
• Lead, guide, resolve, summarize
• Written order of rules (parliamentary procedure.
  Fig 2.7 in text Roberts Rules of Order)

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Follow Through

• Minutes
• First paragraph
• Identify meeting, date, time, place, those
  present, minutes read and approved
• Body
• Separate paragraph for each topic
• Last Paragraph
• Time end, time for next meeting

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Business Etiquette

• Practice of polite, appropriate behavior
• Good manners
• Meeting and greeting
• Dining
• Giving gifts
• Impersonal, not extravagant, used to thank not
  obligate

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Business Etiquette

• Dress
• Professional
• If dress down policy
• Comfortable, neat, clean, pressed, no holes or
  frayed clothing
• Not revealing, tight, or inappropriate
• Leather shoes, not sandals or beach thongs
• Traditional clothing best

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Summary

• Work Teams
• Variables
• Goals
• Feedback
• Conflict
• Resolution
• Writing
• Ethical Consideration

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• Nonverbal Communication
• Time
• Space
• Diverse Environment
• Cultural Differences
• Communicating Across Cultures

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• Listening
• Business Meetings
• Business Etiquette
• Business Dress