Communicating in Teams and Organizations

1
Chapter 11

• Communicating in Teams and Organizations

2
Chapter Outline

• Communication Model
• Communication Channels
• Choosing the Best Communication Channels
• Communication Barriers
• Cross-Cultural Gender Communication
• Improving Interpersonal Communication
• Communicating through the Grapevine

3
A Model of Communication

• Communication process by which
• information is transmitted understood
• between two or more people.
• Coordinates employees
• Influences employee satisfaction/loyalty
• Supports knowledge management
• Improves decision making
• Impacts organizational performance

4
Communication Model
Receiver
Sender
Transmit Message
Form message
Transmit Feedback
5
Communication Channels

• Verbal
• Transmitting meaning through words (written
  or oral)
• Nonverbal
• Communication that does not use words

6
Communication ChannelsVerbal Communication

• E-Mail
• Preferred medium for coordinating work
• Appropriate for well-defined information
• Increases volume of communication
• Alters flow of information throughout
  organization
• Status differences less apparent

7
Communication ChannelsVerbal Communication

• Advantages of E-mail
• Efficient medium
• Fewer social status barriers
• Problems with E-mail
• Information overload
• Interpreting emotions
• Flaming
• Lack of human interaction

8
Communication ChannelsNonverbal Communication

• Facial expressions, voice intonation, physical
  distance, silence
• More automatic unconscious
• Transmits most info in face-to-face meetings
• Influences meaning of verbal written symbols
• Less rule bound than verbal communication
• More ambiguous susceptible to misinterpretation

9
Communication ChannelsNonverbal Communication

• Emotional Contagion catching or
• sharing another persons emotions by
• mimicking that persons facial expressions
• or nonverbal behavior.

10
Choosing the Best Communication Channel

• Media Richness
• Data-carrying capacity
• Newsletters, e-mail, phone, face-to-face
• Symbolic Meaning
• Channel transmits meaning beyond message content

11
Hierarchy of Media Richness
Rich
Overloaded Zone
Face-to-face
Telephone
Media Richness
E-mail
Oversimplified Zone
Newsletters
Lean
Nonroutine/ Ambiguous
Routine/ Clear
Situation
12
Communication Barriers

• Perceptions
• Filtering
• Language
• Jargon
• Ambiguity
• Information Overload

13
Communication Barriers

• Solution 1 Increase information processing
  capacity
• Learn to digest information more quickly
• Temporarily work longer hours
• Solution 2 Reduce information load
• Buffering
• Omitting
• Summarizing

14
Cross-Cultural Communication Differences

• Verbal differences
• Language
• Voice intonation
• Nonverbal differences
• Nonverbal more important in some cultures
• Nonverbal cues specific to particular culture

15
Gender Communication Differences
Men
Women
16
Improving Interpersonal Communication

• Empathize with the receiver
• Repeat the message
• Use timing effectively
• Be descriptive not evaluative

17
Improving Interpersonal Communication
SENSING Postpone evaluation Avoid
interruptions Maintain interest
Active Listening
EVALUATING Empathize Organize information
RESPONDING Show interest Clarify the message
18
Communicating through the 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
• Deletes fine details, exaggerates key points
• Changing due to the internet