Management 8e. - Robbins and Coulter

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(No Transcript)
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What Is Communication?

• The transfer and understanding of meaning.
• Transfer means the message is transmitted in a
  form that can be interpreted by the receiver.
• Understanding is getting the picture it is not
  the same as simply receiving or agreeing with the
  message.
• Interpretation A mental representation of the
  meaning.

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What Is Communication?

• Interpersonal Communication
• Communication between two or more people

• Organizational Communication
• All the patterns, networks, and systems of
  communication within an organization

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Interpersonal Communication Process

• The seven elements of the communication process
• Source
• Message
• Encoding
• Channel
• Decoding
• Receiver
• Feedback

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Interpersonal Communication Process

• Source
• The sender who initiates the message.
• Message
• The intended meaning or purpose to be conveyed.
• Encoding
• The message converted into symbolic form. In
  written/printed, verbal or nonverbal actions.
• Channel
• The medium used to transmit the message.
  (face-to-face, e-mail, telephone, etc)

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Interpersonal Communication Process

• Decoding
• The receivers retranslation of the symbols
  (visual and/or auditive) into a form that he/she
  can understand.
• Receiver
• The individual to whom the message is directed.
• Feedback
• The response from the receiver to the sender that
  provides knowledge on whether understanding has
  been achieved.

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Interpersonal Communication Process

• The entire process is likely to be affected by
• Noise
• Anything that distorts the message and interferes
  with understanding. E.g..
• Illegible print
• Inattention by the receiver
• Background sounds
• Limited writing, oral, or listening skills
• Attitudes
• Sociocultural differences

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The Interpersonal Communication Process
Exhibit 10.1
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Interpersonal Communication Methods

• Face-to-face
• Telephone
• Group meetings
• Formal presentations
• Memos
• Traditional Mail
• Fax machines
• Employee publications
• Bulletin boards
• Audio- and videotapes

• Hotlines
• E-mail
• Computer conferencing
• Voice mail
• Teleconferences
• Videoconferences

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Interpersonal Communication

• Nonverbal Communication
• Communication that is transmitted without words.
• Body language Gestures, facial expressions, and
  other body movements that convey meaning.
• Situational behaviors that convey meaning
• Clothing and physical surroundings that imply
  status
• Images that control or encourage behaviors
• Verbal intonation Emphasis that a speaker gives
  to certain words or phrases that conveys meaning.
• It is not what you say, but how you say it!

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Barriers to Effective Interpersonal Communication

• Filtering
• The deliberate manipulation of information to
  make it appear more favorable to the receiver.
• Emotions
• Interpreting messages differently, depending on
  whether were happy or distressed.
• Information Overload
• The quantity of information we have to work with
  exceeds our capacity to process it.

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Barriers to Effective Interpersonal Communication

• Defensiveness
• When feeling threatened, people react in ways
  that reduce their ability to achieve mutual
  understanding.
• Language
• Words mean different things to different people.
  Senders tend to assume that words they use mean
  the same to the receiver as they do to them.
• National Culture
• Culture influences the form and patterns of
  communication and affect the ways managers
  communicate.

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Interpersonal Communication Barriers
Filtering
NationalCulture
Emotions
Interpersonal Communication
Language
Information Overload
Defensiveness
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Overcoming the Barriers to Effective
Interpersonal Communications

• Use Feedback
• Simplify Language
• Constrain Emotions
• Watch Nonverbal Cues
• Listen Actively

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Overcoming the Barriers to Effective
Interpersonal Communications

• Use Feedback
• Feedback can be verbal or nonverbal
• Ask questions
• Look for general comments
• Simplify Language
• Choose words, and structure messages to make them
  understandable to the receiver

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Overcoming the Barriers to Effective
Interpersonal Communications

• Constrain Emotions
• When upset, refrain from communicating until you
  have regained calmness
• Watch Nonverbal Cues
• Watch your actions and gestures (cues) to make
  sure they convey the desired message

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Overcoming the Barriers to Effective
Interpersonal Communications

• Listen Actively
• Place yourself in the senders position to
  improve understanding of the message content
• Listen to full meaning without making premature
  (too soon) interpretations (a mental
  representation of the meaning).
• The average person speaks at a rate of 125 to 200
  words per minute. The average listener can
  comprehend up to 400 words per minute. That
  leaves a lot of time for the mind to be
  distracted.

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Active Listening Behaviors
Source Based on P.L. Hunsaker, Training in
Management Skills (Upper Saddle River, NJ
Prentice Hall, 2001).
Exhibit 10.4
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Types of Organizational Communication

• Formal Communication
• Communication that follows the official chain of
  command or is part of the communication required
  to do ones job.

• Informal Communication
• Communication that is not defined by the
  organizations hierarchy.
• Permits employees to satisfy their need for
  social interaction.
• Can improve an organizations performance by
  creating faster and more effective channels of
  communication.

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Direction of Communication Flow

• Downward Communication
• Communication that flow from managers to
  employees.
• To inform, direct, coordinate, and evaluate
  employees.
• Upward Communication
• Communication that flow from employees to
  managers.
• It keeps managers aware of employees needs, how
  they feel about their jobs and how things can be
  improved.

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Direction of Communication Flow

• Lateral (Horizontal) Communication
• Communication that takes place among any
  employees on the same organizational level.
• It saves time and facilitates coordination.
• Cross-functional teams rely on this form of
  communication.
• Diagonal Communication
• Communication that cuts across both work areas
  and organizational levels.
• It improves efficiency and speed.

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Communication Flows
Diagonal
Downward
Upward
Lateral
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Types of Communication Networks

• Chain Network
• Communication flows according to the formal chain
  of command, both downward and upward.
• Wheel Network
• Communication flows to and from a leader to
  others in a work team.
• All-Channel Network
• Communication flows freely among all members of a
  work team.

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Three Common Organizational Communication
Networks and How They Rate on Effectiveness
Criteria
Exhibit 10.5
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The Grapevine

• An informal network of communication that is
  active in almost every organization.
• It helps managers identify issues that concern
  employees.
• Managers can in turn use the grapevine to
  disseminate information they consider important
• Managers can minimize the negative consequences
  of rumors by communicating openly and honestly
  with employees in situations where they may not
  like managerial actions.

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Current Communication Issues

• Gripe Sites
• A gripe site or complaint site is a website
  devoted to criticisms and complaints of an
  organization.
• Managers should view them as a source of
  information.
• They can uncover employee important issues.
• They provide a way to judge the mood of the
  workforce.
• They can be viewed as a means of upward
  communication.

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Current Communication Issues

• Gripe Sites
• Managers might respond by posting messages on the
  gripe site to clarify misinformation.
• Managers might take actions to correct problems
  that have been written about.

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Current Communication Issues

• Managing the Organizations Knowledge Resources
• Making it easy for employees to communicate and
  share their knowledge so they can learn from each
  other ways to do their jobs more effectively and
  efficiently.
• Build online information databases that employees
  can access.
• Create communities of practice.
• Groups of people who share a concern, a set of
  problems or interest about a topic and who
  interact with each other regularly to improve
  their knowledge and expertise in that area.
  Strong interaction can be maintained through web
  sites, e-mail and video-conferencing.

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Communication and Customer Service

• Communication has a significant impact on a
  customers satisfaction with the service.
• Managers need to make sure that employees who
  interact with customers are communicating
  effectively with those customers.
• Train employees to listen actively and respond to
  the customer.
• Make sure information needed to deal with
  customers issues is readily available.
• Managers need to develop a strong service culture
  focused on the personalization of service to each
  customer.

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Politically Correct Communication

• Certain words can stereotype, intimidate and
  insult individuals. How to communicate with
  someone who isnt like us?
• We must be sensitive to how certain words might
  offend others
• However, choose words carefully to maintain as
  much clarity as possible in communicating.
• Sears tells its employees that when talking with
  a customer in a wheelchair,
  employees place
  themselves at the customers eye level by
  sitting down to make
  it more comfortable
  for everyone.

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C H A P T E R R E V I E W 1/3

• Understanding Communications (slides 2, 3)
• What are the two important parts of the
  definition of communication?
• Differentiate between interpersonal and
  organizational communication.
• The Process of Interpersonal Communications
  (slides 5, 6, 912, 14)
• Describe the seven elements of the communication
  process.
• List the communication methods managers might
  use.
• Describe nonverbal communication an how it takes
  place.
• Explain the barriers to effective interpersonal
  communication and how to overcome them.

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C H A P T E R R E V I E W 2/3

• Organizational Communication (slides 1921, 23,
  25)
• Contrast formal and informal communication.
• Explain how communication can flow in an
  organization.
• Describe the three common communication networks.
• Discuss how managers should handle the grapevine.

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C H A P T E R R E V I E W 3/3

• Communication Issues in Todays Organization
  (slides 2630)
• Discuss how Internet employee gripe sites affect
  communication.
• Explain how organizations can manage knowledge.
• Explain why communicating with customers is an
  important managerial issue.
• Describe how political correctness is affecting
  communication.