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CH 11: COMMUNICATION Sender – initiates a message by encoding a thought
Functions of Communication Message – actual physical product of encoding
COMMUNICATION Channel – medium
- include both the transfer and the FORMAL CHANNELS
understanding of meaning - established by the organization
Perfect Communication - transmit mssg related to professional activities
- follow authority chain
- would occur when a thought or idea was
transmitted so the receiver perceived exactly INFORMAL CHANNELS
the same mental picture as the sender. - personal/social
- did not exist - spontaneous & emerge as a response to
individual choices
4 Functions of Communication Receiver – to whom msg is directed; translate symbol
Decoding – translate symbols - understandable form
1. CONTROL Noise – barriers, distort clarity
2. MOTIVATION Feedback – check on how successful
3. EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION
4. INFORMATION Direction of Communication
Directions of Communication
Control
1. DOWNWARD C
- authority hierarchies and formal guidelines
2. UPWARD C
- When employees must communicate any job-
3. LATERAL C
related grievance to their immediate boss,
follow their job description, or comply with
DOWNWARD COMMUNICATION
company policies, communication is
- from one level of org to a lower level
performing a control function.
- assign goals, provide job instructions, explain
Motivation policies and procedures, point out problems.
- clarifying to employees what they must do… - Mangers explain “why” + One-way nature
- formation of specific goals, feedback on
progress toward the goals, and reward for UPWARD COMMUNICATION
- flows to a higher level in organization
desired behavior [goal-setting theo]
- provide feedback - hghr-ups, inform progress
Emotional Expression
- Communication within the group is a LATERAL COMMUNICATION
fundamental mechanism by which members - among horizontally equivalent workers
show their satisfaction and frustrations
Interpersonal Communication
Information
- to facilitate decision making. Interpersonal Communications
- by transmitting the data needed to identify 1. ORAL C
and evaluate choices 2. WRITTEN C
3. NONVERBAL C
The Communication Process
ORAL COMMUNICATION
COMMUNICATION PROCESS - chief means of conveying messages
- Sender encodes the message (converts it to a - Speeches, formal one-on-one and group
symbolic form) and passes it through a discussions, and the informal rumor mill or
medium (channel) to the receiver, who grapevine. [popular forms]
decodes it. The result = transfer of meaning - Speed & Feedback [advantage]
from one person to another. - “Face-to-face communication on a consistent
- The steps between a source and a receiver basis is still the best way to get information to
that result in the transfer and understanding of and from employees.”
meaning.
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
- transmits via written words or symbols
8 Key Parts of Communication Process Model - memos, letters, fax transmissions, e-mail,
1. SENDER - Tangible & Verifiable
2. ENCODING NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
3. MESSAGE - body movements, intonations / emphasis we
4. CHANNEL to words, facial expressions, and physical
5. DECODING distance between the sender and receiver
6. RECEIVER - disbelief = lift one eyebrow
7. NOISE - puzzlement = rub our noses.
8. FEEDBACK
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- isolate / protect = clasp our arms ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS
- indifference = shrug our shoulders - An indispensable—and in about 71 percent of
- intimacy = wink cases, the primary—medium of
- impatience = tap our fingers communication in today’s organizations
- forgetfulness = slap our forehead
Electronic Communications
Two most important messages body language 1. E-MAIL
conveys: 2. INSTANT MESSAGING & TXT MESSAGING
- extent to which we like another and are 3. SOCIAL NETWORKING
interested in his or her views 4. BLOGS
- perceived status between sender & receiver 5. VIDEO CONFERENCING
Organizational Communication E-mail
Formal Small-Group Networks - uses the Internet to transmit and receive
computer-generated text and documents
Three Common Small-Group Networks
- Drawbacks/Limitations
1. CHAIN N - Risk of misinterpreting the message
2. WHEEL N - Drawbacks for communicating
3. ALL CHANNEL N negative messages
- Time-consuming nature
Chain Don’t check e-mail in the
- rigidly follows the formal chain of command morning.
Wheel Check e-mail in batches -
- relies on a central figure to act as the conduit [laundry]
for all the group’s communication; Unsubscribe
- it simulates the communication network you Stop sending e-mail
would find on a team with a strong leader Declare e-mail bankruptcy -
[Moby]
All-channel - Limited expression of emotions
- permits all group members to actively - Privacy concerns.
communicate with each other;
- it’s most often characterized in practice by Instant Messaging and Text Messaging
self-managed teams, in which all group - use electronic media.
members are free to contribute and no one - in real time (IM)
person takes on a leadership role. - use portable communication devices (TM)
- IM is usually sent via computer,
GRAPEVINE - TM is transmitted via cellphones
- informal communication network in group/org Social Networking
Rumors
- emerge as a response to situations that are Blog (Web Blog)
important to us, when there is ambiguity, and - is a Web site about a single person or
under conditions that arouse anxiety. company
- Twitter -- is a hybrid social networking service
Suggestions for that allows users to post “microblog” entries to
Reducing the Negative Consequences of Rumors their subscribers about any topic, including
work.
1. PROVIDE information—in the long run, the
best defense against rumors is a good Video Conferencing
offense (in other words, rumors tend to - permits employees in an organization to have
thrive in the absence of formal real-time meetings with people at different
communication). locations.
2. EXPLAIN actions and decisions that may
appear inconsistent, unfair, or secretive. Managing Information
3. REFRAIN from shooting the messenger— 2 Important Challenges
rumors are a natural fact of organizational 1. Information Overload
life, so respond to them calmly, rationally, 2. Threats To Information Security
and respectfully.
4. MAINTAIN open communication Choice of Communication Channel
channels—constantly encourage CHANNEL RICHNESS
employees to come to you with concerns, - amount of info that can be transmitted during
suggestions, and ideas. a communication episode. [Manpower B Sol]
- (1) handle multiple cues simultaneously (2)
facilitate rapid feedback (3) be very personal
- Routine – straightforward; Nonroutine –
compli
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Persuasive Communications Global Implications
Cultural Barriers
AUTOMATIC PROCESSING
1. Barriers caused by SEMANTICS
- a relatively superficial consideration of
2. Barriers caused by WORD CONNOTATIONS
evidence and information making use of
3. Barriers caused by TONE DIFFERENCES
heuristics [car u prefer – catchy slogan]
4. Differences in TOLERANCE FOR CONFLICT
- takes little time and low effort, so it makes
& METHODS FOR RESOLVING CONFLICTS
sense to use it for processing persuasive
messages related to topics you don’t care
Cultural Context
much about.
HIGH-CONTEXT CULTURES
CONTROLLED PROCESSING - such as China,Korea, Japan, and Vietnam
- a detailed consideration of evidence and - people rely heavily on nonverbal and subtle
information relying on facts, figures, and logic. situational cues in communicating with others
[choose house to live] and a person’s official status, place in
society,and reputation carry considerable
Rules to determine what Processing to use: weight.
1. INTEREST LEVEL - What is not said may be more significant than
2. PRIOR KNOWLEDGE what is said.
3. PERSONALITY - [oral – strong commitment][sgstns than orders]
a. need for cognition - a personality
LOW-CONTEXT CULTURES
trait of individuals who are most likely
- people from Europe and North America
to be persuaded by evidence and
- rely essentially on spoken and written words
facts
to convey meaning; body language and
4. MESSAGE CHARACTERISTICS
formal titles are secondary.
- [in writing][value directness]
Barriers to Effective Communication
1. FILTERING Cultural Guide (to reduce misinterpretations)
- a sender’s purposely manipulating 1. Assume differences until similarity is proven.
information so the receiver will see it 2. Emphasize description rather than
more favorably. interpretation or evaluation
2. SELECTIVE PERCEPTION 3. Practice empathy
- An employment interviewer who 4. Treat your interpretations as a working
expects a female job applicant to put hypothesis.
her family ahead of her career is likely
to see that in all female applicants,
regardless of whether they actually
feel thatway
3. INFORMATION OVERLOAD
4. EMOTIONS
5. LANGUAGE
6. SILENCE
7. COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION
- Social anxiety; experience undue
tension and anxiety in oral
communication, written
communication, or both
8. LYING
- outright misrepresentation of
information
