Chapter 13 Organizational Communications

Chapter 13: Organizational Communications Lesson 13.1: The Communication Process The Communication Model - Communication - the sharing of information in which the receiver understands the meaning of the message in the way the sender intended - Vital in running organizations because it provides a link between employees and customers and between employees and managers - - Clarification should be asked for when communication is not effective - Poor communication is one of the biggest problems - Two-Way Process between senders and receivers Feedback - a receiver’s response to a sender’s message - - Often in the form of a question or verification Distraction - Anything that interferes with the sender’s creating and delivering a message and the receiver’s getting and interpreting a message - Ex. RInging phones, grammar errors in messages and loud noises - Potential causes of communication problems - some managers learn to work with various interruptions, whereas others try to keep interruptions to a minimum - Distortion - People consciously or unconsciously changing messages - “People often ‘hear’ what they want to’” - Filter messages we receive through our own system of beliefs and experience Channel of Communication - Channel of Communication - the means by which a message is conveyed. - - Carry three types: oral, written, and nonverbal Oral Communication - Speaking with employees, attending meetings, and receiving and making phone calls - take a lot of time for managers - Day-to-day communications require frequent contact with people on a one-to-one basis. - Written Communication - common: emails, reports, memos, and letter - Senders should compose messages using precise, unambiguous words and proper grammar - should be concise - Nonverbal Communication - Delivering message by means other than speaking or writing - Diagrams, charts, pictures, body language - Body Language - Gestures, movements, and mannerisms used to communicate - Ex. frowns, smiles, posture, hand or body movements, or the presence or absence of eye contact - - Examples of Written Business Communication: - Acknowledge or make a request - Provide or Request Information - Share an idea or news - Show respect or courtesy Electronic Communication - can be verbal, written, or nonverbal - Email Policies - Some businesses establish e-mail policies to protect the organization, business partners, employees, and customers - Typically such policies state that employees should use email only for jobrelated matters, with occasional exceptions. - Flame - An electronic message that contains abusive, threatening, or offensive content that may violate company policy or public law - Spam - unsolicited advertising that finds its way into email inboxes - Unwanted - Teleconferencing - an audio or video meeting with participants in two or more locations - In the next few years 75% of business will use some type of teleconferencing - Allows individuals in multiple locations to meet without the time and expense of traveling across town, across the country, or around the globe - Wireless - The use of cellular phones is growing to dominate electronic verbal communication 13.2 Communication Management Organizational Culture - Organizational Culture - The collection of beliefs and patterns of behavior that are shared by people within an organization. - Created by type of business, personalities of its leaders, and its operating procedures - Influences communication climate - Cultures differ widely among firms and may be very closed, very open, or somewhere in between - Closed Culture - top-down decision making and adheres to numerous rules and strict disciplining for violations of established procedures - - Breeds distrust and secrecy, discourages creativity and decision making Open communication system - encourages creativity and problem solving at all levels and supports communication and information sharing - Closed communication system - less likely to benefit from upward communication - Communication network - The structure through which information flows in a business, - Formal communication network - The system of official channels that carry organizationally approved messages - Flows upward (mostly in open communication), downward, and across the organization in a prescribed manner - Upward communication includes oral and written reports from lower-level to upper-level managers - Downward communication in organizations occurs mainly by memos, e-mails, reports, and manuals - Lateral communication flows horizontally or across the organization - Informal communication networks - the unofficial ways that employees share information in an organization - rely on interpersonal and email - Have more influence than managers do over the behavior of individual workers - Common forms - grapevine and small informal groups - Grapevine - one person informally talks to another and that person gives the info to the next person - Can be distorted because of unofficial, partial or incorrect info - Managers should not interfere with these - Often fill the social needs of workers to communicate about their work lives Managing Teams Effectively - Teams of individuals with different skills and backgrounds often work together on complex projects - - Managers must ensure all ideas are heard and considered Disadvantages of team meetings: - Excessive time meetings take - - Differences among those who attend the meetings - - - Can be overcome by careful planning Some people would dominate while others not get a say Suggestions for Planning Effective Meetings - 1) Have a good reason for calling a meeting - 2) Develop a specific agenda and stick to it - 3) Decide who should and who should not attend - 4) Determine how long the meeting will last - 5) Schedule the meeting at a convenient time and place - 6) Be on time for beginning and end - 7) Make individuals face each other to encourage communication - 8) Summarize results at end of meeting Nominal Group Techniques (NGT) - A group problem-solving method in which team members write down and evaluate ideas to be shared with the team Encourages each team member to think about the problem, and it gives the quiet person and the outspoken person an equal opportunity to be heard - Steps in Using the Nominal Group Technique - 1. Present the problem to be resolved to team members. - 2. Distribute blank cards and, without discussion, ask members to write possible - solutions by using a different card for each solution. - 3. Read solutions from the cards and display for all to see. - 4. Discuss each solution listed. - 5. Distribute blank cards and ask members to write their three best solutions on - separate cards. - 6. Tabulate and display results. - 7. Select the solution receiving the most agreement and present it to the team leader. - Brainstorming - A team discussion technique used to generate as many ideas as possible for solving a problem - A team leader presents a problem and asks team members to offer any solution that comes to mind - The team should make no attempt to judge any ideas as good or bad while brainstorming is under way. Lesson 13.3 - Conflict - Interference by one person with the achievement of another person’s goals obstacle to job performance - Can be healthy or harmful based on effects on the business and relationships between employees - Usually occur between two people, but they may also occur between an individual and a group or between groups - Desirable Conflict - may challenge employees and stimulate new ideas - Undesirable Conflict - when the actions of any person or group interfere with the goals of the organization - Employees who dislike others and carry grudges often cause problems for an organization Resolving Conflict - Avoidance strategy - Avoid the conflict completely - can be used if conflict is unimportant - Take a neutral position or to agree with another person’s position even if it differs from your personal belief - Compromise strategy - Everyone in conflict agrees to a mutually beneficial solution - leads to workable solutions - Compromise often grows out of a thorough discussion of the goals and the best way to achieve those goals - Better than avoidance because it often leads to a workable solution Win/Lose strategy - no compromise so one person wins while the other loses - Negatives - take time and energy away from the main problems and issues, delay decisions, hurt relationships, and cause personal resentment - Often interfere with goals because they often: - 1. take time and energy away from the main problems and issues - 2. delay decisions - 3. arouse anger that hurts human relationship - 4. cause personal resentment Cross Cultural Communication - A nation’s culture sets the broad boundaries of shared values, beliefs, and behavior - There are also subcultures or smaller groups with their own unique values, beliefs, and behavior - Language Differences - Very few American managers speak a foreign language fluently - People of most nations realize that learning a new language is difficult - Are willing to help foreigners learn - Impressed when someone makes an effort to learn - Many corporations now provide intensive language training for managers assigned to foreign branches - Cultural Differences - People from other cultures often place different values on such things as family, status, and power - Nonverbal Differences - Great differences exist in the area of nonverbal communication, especially body language - How close one stands when talking to someone else differs from culture to culture - Executives prefer to conduct extremely important business transactions in a formal manner Improving Organizational Communication - Encourage Two-Way Communication - Small businesses provide for plenty of two-way communication between owners and employees - Larger companies shift to one-way communication often for efficiency purposes - Problems can arise because valuable feedback from employees and customers is reduced - Some managers, however, discourage two-way communication because they feel uncomfortable with it and because it is time-consuming - Listen Actively - Effective listening results in effective feedback - - Frequently, employees have questions and encounter problems on the job Facilitate Upward Communication - In large organizations, upward communication is sometimes neglected - To make certain that upward communications occur, some businesses ask managers to use specific techniques: - One technique is called “management by walking around.” - Managers leave their offices from time to time and make trips through the working areas - - Chat with employees about problems and conditions Another is for managers to encourage employees to meet with them when they have concerns - Some managers restrict the practice to one hour per week, when employees can make appointments - Suggestion boxes are also used No technique is better than regular meetings with employees Select Communication Channels Carefully - When a manager must reprimand an employee or settle a dispute, the oral communication channel is best - The written communication channel is best when managers want to communicate information requiring future action or information of a more general nature - In some situations, two channels of communication work best—first oral and then written - Should use both channels when they want to - 1. Give an immediate order - 2. Announce a new policy - 3. Contact a supervisor about work problems - 4. Compliment an employee for excellent work