Download MGMT301: Unit 3 Slide #1 The Principles of

MGMT301: Unit 3
Slide #1
The Principles of Management
Mason Carpenter, Talya Bauer, and Berrin Erdogan
Audio:
No audio
Slide #2
Chapter 3 Communication in Organizations
 Define communication and understand the communication process
 Understand and overcome barriers to effective communication
 Compare and contrast different types of communication
 Compare and contrast different communication channels
 Develop your own communication skills
[Image: a picture of the communication channel between two cans]
Audio:
Welcome to Unit 3, Chapter 3 in your textbook – Communication. I hope you enjoyed the video
from Deborah Tannen on gender differences in communication. If you haven’t watched that, I
would recommend that you invite your spouse, significant other, or just somebody you enjoy
from the opposite gender to watch it with you. I know that my wife and I really got a kick out of
it. Several points struck home with us.
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Slide #3
Slide 3
Communication is Vital in Organizations

Communication is a process by which information is exchanged between individuals
through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior

50-90 % of a manager’s time is spent communicating

Success on complicated missions at NASA depends on strong communication
[Image: corporation leaders]
[Image: NASA logo]
Audio:
I am not sure that anything causes more problems for business today than communication. I have
spoken with a number of company recruiters over the years and I have asked them what they
look for in new employees. Communication skills are always at or near the very top of their list.
One recruiter told me that it was the skill that she thought job applicants were most likely to
overrate themselves. She said it was an area where she had actually seen decreasing skills over
the years. Funny! We have more ways to communicate than ever before and yet apparently we
are becoming less proficient at it. I guess all that tweeting and Facebooking really doesn’t count
much for communication skill building, does it?
Slide #4
Slide 4
Communications Three Main Functions
-
Transmission of Information
-
Coordination of Effort
-
sharing Emotions and Feelings
Audio:
All three of these functions are vitally important in the business world. I think we all understand
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how important it is to transmit of information and to coordinate efforts, but I think we might
underestimate the value of sharing emotions and feelings. We think we are business - emotions
and feelings don’t come into play except on the marketing side. Well, that is not exactly true.
We are not Vulcans from star track fame, we are emotional beings. Emotions bind us together.
They inspire us in the workplace as well as in the marketplace. I am not suggesting that we sit
around holding hands and singing kumbaya, but emotions when properly controlled and utilized
play a vital role in business success.
Slide #5
Slide 5
The Process Model of Communication
[Diagram of the process of communication]
Audio:
This is a basic model of communication that you have probably seen before, but I want you to
look closely at the number of steps involved and at the complexity of those steps. The sender has
a message they would like to send. They have to first encode it and then pick some sort of a
medium by which to transmit that message.
The receiver actually has to receive a message and decode it and give it meaning. Just that half of
the model alone creates significant opportunities for that message to be distorted. Every step is
another place where something can go wrong.
Slide #6
Slide 6
The Sender
Originates and Encodes the Message | Translates the idea into words
 The Medium of this encoded Message may be spoken words, written words, or signs
 The Receiver is the person who receives the Message
 The Receiver
Decodes the Message | Assigns meaning to the words
Audio:
It all looks so simple, doesn’t it? I once saw a skid where they play the game where you pass a
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message and relay it does the line of people to see if it is changed when it comes out of the other
end. Well, the original message was the Cincinnati Reds hit three home runs to defeat the New
York Yankees and win the world series.
When the message reached the other end, it was translated as the Russians had dropped three
nuclear bombs on New York and had taken over the world. The amazing thing was as you
watched the process, you weren’t sure exactly when the conversation switched from baseball to
war.
That is the problem with communication. Even when we think we are doing it right, we don’t
realize that the words that we use and the methods that we use to convey them may portray a
different meaning than what we thought they did.
Slide #7
Slide 7
Due to NOISE, the meaning which the Received assigns may not be the meaning which the
Sender intended
Noise is anything that interferes with or distorts the Message being transformed
Audio:
Just think of all the different types of noise which can hinder communication. We are not talking
about noise like pans clattering or machinery running, we are talking about things as culture,
gender, language barriers, even misattributions from one individual to the next.
All of these can distort the meanings of the words or actions that we take. When you really
understand the process, it is a wonder any message gets through.
The video that I asked you to watch for this chapter demonstrates just one of those areas –
gender. Now think about that for a minute. If a man and a woman have been married for a long
time, say, 20-30 years and they still have trouble with communication, is it any wonder why new
employees have problems communicating with each other?
Slide #8
Slide 8
Discussion

Where have you seen the communication process break down – at work? At school? At
home?
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
Explain how miscommunication might be related to an accident at work.

Give an example of noise during the communication process.
Audio:
No audio
Slide #9
Slide 9
Barriers to Effective Communication
Filtering | Selective Perception |
Workplace Gossip or Grapevine | Semantics and Jargon
Information Overload | Emotional Disconnects |
Gender Differences in Communication |
Differences in Meaning
Lack of Source Familiarity or Credibility
Biased Language
Audio:
Notice the title to this slide – barriers to effective communication. What does effective
communication mean to you? I think for most of this it means that the message that we send is
interpreted in a way we intended it to be interpreted, but there is another side to communication –
efficient communication. We will talk more about that in a minute. I just wanted to plant the seed
in your head that effective and efficient are not the same thing.
Slide #10
Slide 10
[Image: employee talking on the phone and being interrupted by another employee]
Mangers can expect, on average, to do only three minutes of uninterrupted work on any one task
before being interrupted by an incoming email, instant message, phone call, co-worker, or other
distraction
Audio:
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Think about the realities of this slide for just a second. Mangers only get three minutes before
they are interrupted by an incoming peace of communication such as an email or phone call. If
that happened while we were watching a movie, we would probably shoot someone. Why do we
put up with this at work? I know students are surprised when I tell them that I typically do my
emails twice a day – once first thing in the morning and then again later on in the afternoon just
before I go. They can’t understand how in the world I could let email sit there all day long
without responding to them. The fact to the matter is I can’t get anything done if I am interrupted
every three minutes. So, for productivity’s sake, I have to kind of categorize those emails into a
task that I do a couple of times a day. Efficiency in communication is important.
Slide #11
Slide 11
Consequences of Poor Listening
 Lower Employee Productivity
 Missed Sales
 Dissatisfied Customers
 Lowered Morale
 Increased Turnover
The Receiver’s ability to listen effectively is equally vital to effective communication.
Listening takes practice, skill, and concentration.
Audio:
My dad used to use an old tried saying – God gave you two ears and only one mouth, use them
accordingly. You know we often blame the sender for using poor communication techniques
when the real problem lies with the listener. More communication errors could be resolved
through good listening than probably any other single technique. One of the problems is that we
tend to hear and process information faster than we talk about it. So, as you are listening to me
right now, you could actually process the things I am saying at about three times this pace.
Unfortunately, if you were to do so, you wouldn’t have time to think about what you want to say
in reply and that is what makes us listen poorly. We are often thinking about what we want to say
in return.
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Slide #12
Slide 12
Listen for message content  Listen for feelings  Respond to feelings  Note all cues 
Paraphrase and restate
Audio:
So, if there is one thing you can do to practice good communication skills, this is it – active
listening. With all the constant interruptions that managers face is it any wonder that they don’t
do active listening very well? Active listening takes effort and it takes time. We have to slow the
communication process down, but that is time well spent if it means a misunderstanding is
avoided. Listening is a single best tool to increase communication effectiveness and efficiency.
Slide #13
Slide 13

Most people are poor listeners. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Please
support your position.

Please share an example of how differences in shared meaning have affected you.

Give an example of selective perception.

Do you use jargon at or in your classes? If so, do you think it helps or hampers
communication? Why or why not?

In your experience, how is silence used in communication? How does your experience
compare with the recommended use of silence in active listening?
Audio:
No audio
Slide #14
Slide 14
Stories can help clarify key values and help demonstrate how things are done within an
organization
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Story frequency, strength, and tone are related to higher organizational commitment
Audio:
While we use more and more written communication in today’s world, verbal communication
remains very important. It is often the most efficient method of communication, especially if we
are communicating with a small number of people. Verbal communication has a higher level of
richness. It transmits meanings better. This allows for greater accuracy. It is also much more
suited if we are going to communicate things such as emotions.
Slide #15
Slide 15
Crucial Conversations
Require more planning, reflection, and skill
Asking for a raise
Pitching an innovative proposal
Stakes are high – Opinions vary – Emotions run strong
Audio:
While verbal communication is best for conveying emotional messages, those very same
emotions can hinder our ability to communicate. Emotions consume cognitive resources. We are
able to think as well because we are feeling instead. So, we don’t practice active listening often
while we are communicating about emotions. We resort to automatic communication patterns
which may not be best suited to that situation. We also focus more on the emotion than the
message itself.
Slide #16
Slide 16
Written Business Communication
The Printed Word
Memos
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Proposals
Emails
Letters
Training manuals
Written communication is often asynchronous…  … and received by many individuals.
Audio:
In today’s world, we use more and more written communication, especially electronically written
communication. I am not opposed to written communication, but I find that it is often misused.
There are number of a number of good reasons for using written communication.
First we can use that if we need to communicate with large numbers of people. Second, if we
have a simply message that has no emotional content, written communication works well.
A third reason, we use it as to document communications – very important reason. And fourth,
we can use written communication to help explain long or complicated issues.
Now, some caution is warranted on this last one. With written communication, you don’t get the
same amount of feedback as if you are doing this verbally, face to face. So, you are not sure if
your complicated message was received correctly. It needs to be followed up to make sure that
the message that was sent was the message that was received.
What I often see though is people using written communication improperly. They use written
communication to express emotions and written communication doesn’t do this well. It is
difficult for the person to tell if you are just a little angry or really angry in a written
communication.
I think the one that bothers me the most though are people who try to use the written
communication such as emails or texting, when what they really need is an exchange of ideas,
when verbal communication takes much less time.
So, my daughter is famous for these long texting strings where she will text somebody back and
forth twenty or thirty times and I always ask her, “Why do you do that? If you were to actually
call them on the phone because you know they are there, if you call them on the phone, you
could have that same conversation in about thirty seconds and be done! Instead you spend ten
minutes on it!” I realized that you can’t always call somebody on the phone, but such long
strings of emails and text are very inefficient, but we often use them because they are more
convenient for us rather than convenient for the person who is receiving the message.
Slide #17
National Commission on Writing Survey Outcomes
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[Diagram of with the following text and images of an employee typing on a laptop]
67% of salaried employees in large American companies and professional state employees have
some writing responsibility
Half of responding companies reported that they take writing into consideration when hiring
professional employees
91% of governmental agencies report always taking writing into account when hiring
Audio:
I think one of the tragedies of our electronic communication world today is that good writing
seems to have become passé and out of style. That is not a good thing. I have had students to tell
me that I am too picky on the grammar and punctuation for written assignments – I don’t think I
am. I am certainly not an English major, so I don’t catch everything.
I have a good friend who is an executive and he has told me that he has had a pass over of a
number of people who would have gone promotions, but he could not promote them because of
their poor writing skills.
Poor writing makes you look less intelligent. It interferes with the message being properly
received. So, we need to practice good writing skills and that goes throughout all of the writing
that we do in business. Not just formal written communication, but in our emails and texts that
we send. Don’t fall into that trap in business. You can do that with your friends and use all the
jargon and the shortcuts and the initials and all those kinds of things, but in the workplace, good
writing skills are essential.
Slide #18
Slide 18
Nonverbal Communication
It’s what you don’t say…
Communication =
 7% of a Receiver’s comprehension of a Message is based on the Sender’s actual words
 38% is based on paralanguage or the tone, pace, and volume of speech
 55% is based on nonverbal cues – body language
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Audio:
Note that only 7 percent of the message comes from the actual words that we use. In written
communication, words are all that we use. You can see how much more powerful then the verbal
message can be than the written message. Again, I am not suggesting that we always use verbal
communication, but we have to recognize its power particularly when delivering complex and
emotional types of messages. While we often think about our tonal inflections as part of that, we
rarely pay attention to our body language. If you want to have some fun, just sit and watch
people’s body language at an airport or at a hospital or someplace where people are gathered. It
can be quite entertaining.
Slide #19
Slide 19
Factors of Nonverbal Communication
Audio:
After active listening, this is probably the second most important area for us to focus on to
improve communication and I guess in a way, it is part of active listening. We often don’t think
about body language and all of the other nonverbal forms of communication. We kind of
interpret them intuitively, but really good communicators don’t rely on intuition. They study
people’s body language and they use body language themselves to convey the message.
Take for example a situation where an employee comes into your office to let you know that a
parent is sick or maybe a relative has passed away and they need some time off. It is one thing if
sit back in your chair and you nod your head and say, “I understand, feel free to take some time
off,” but think of how much more powerful that message is if you lean forward on your chair or
perhaps even come around the edge of the desk to remove that obstacle that is between you and
that you convey that in a more personal direct way saying that they are free to take the time off
however much they need. It communicates that emotion that comes with the message.
Slide #20
What did you mean?
Audio:
It is not just the nonverbal cues that we use to add meanings to our conversations. The video that
you watched talks about conversational rituals, patterns that we use. There are meta messages, in
other words, what does this communication say about our relationship? Individual factors such as
personality or past experiences come into play.
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Even the channel that we chose to convey the message. For example, have you ever received a
handwritten letter? Does that mean more to you than an email thank you note?
All of these things add to the perceived meaning. They make us interpret things in different
ways. Think about the types of communication that you use.
I know a lot of you are used to a lot of texting for example. What does that mean? How does that
change the meaning of the conversations that you are having with the other individuals? What is
the meta message behind constantly sending text to each other?
Is anybody really interested in what you are doing every minute of your day?
How about tweeting, twittering? Do those change the perceived meaning? Do they say
something about us as the sender as well as the meaning of the message we are sending?
Slide #21
Slide 21
[Diagram of Intimate, Personal and Social distances]
Audio:
Another aspect to communication that we don’t think about is how far apart we stand as we
communicate. There seems to be a natural distance that most of us gravitate to. That natural
distance varies by culture. In Latin American countries, people tend to stand closer to each other
when they speak. Latin American men are often accused of being forward with women because
they stand so close. It is just a natural part of their culture.
I had a coworker that always seemed to stand closer than I felt comfortable with. One of his
female coworkers found this very uncomfortable as well and she told me that she felt like he was
trying to make a pass at her even though she had actually said anything that she could interpret as
being a pass. Think about the meta message that it sends though when we stand close to
somebody, closer than our normal speaking distance?
Slide #22
Slide 22

When you see a memo or e-mail full of typos, poor grammar, or incomplete sentences,
how do you react? Does it affect your perception of the Sender? Why or why not?

How aware of your own body language are you? Has your body language ever gotten you
into trouble when you were communicating with someone?

If the meaning behind verbal communication is only 7% words, what does this imply for
written communication?
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Audio:
No audio
Slide #23
Slide 23
Selecting the best communication media is an important skill
Information channel
Information Richness
Face-to-face communication
High
Videoconferencing
High
Telephone conversation
High
E-mails
Medium
Handheld devices
Medium
Blogs
Medium
Written letters and memos
Medium
Formal written documents
Low
Spreadsheets
Low
Audio:
Up to now, we have been talking about effective communication, in other words, making sure
that the intended message was correctly received. Now, we can take a look at efficient
communication utilizing the fewest resources, but remember if you send the message using few
resources and that message is not effective, in other words, if it is not correctly received or
interpreted, then you are going to have to start over.
As a matter of fact, you are going to have to go back and fix the problem instead. That uses
additional resources.
So, efficiency takes a secondary seat to effectiveness. In other words, we want to make sure that
the communication is effective first. Then we can think about what is the media channel that
does that with the least number of resources, but efficiency without effectiveness isn’t good
communication.
Slide #24
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Slide 24
Decisions: Verbal or Written Communications?
Verbal communications are a better way to convey feelings
Written communications do a better job of conveying facts
Audio:
This slide just summarizes some of our previous conversations about verbal and written
communications. Verbal communications are better for conveying feelings. Written
communications do a better job if we have simple facts to convey.
Slide #25
Slide 25
Use Written Communication When:
Conveying facts
The message needs to become part of a permanent file
There is little time urgency
You do no need immediate feedback
The ideas are complicated
Use Verbal Communication When:
Conveying emotion and feelings
The message does not need to be permanent
There is time urgency
You need immediate feedback
The ideas are simple or can be made simple with explanations
Audio:
Here we are back to that discussion about when to use written and when to use verbal
communication again. On this chart though, I would draw your attention to two lines. The first is
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the one where written communication is suggested when there is little time urgency. Read that
again, written communication for little time urgency. I know we use a lot written electronic
communication when we think it is urgent and important, but just because we have sent an email
doesn’t mean that an email has been received or that the person will respond to it immediately.
We have taken the burden off ourselves because we think we have communicated with the other
person. In reality, the communication doesn’t take place unless that person receives the message.
Sometimes we have to shut down electronic communication formats when we are in meetings or
we have other things to do. I have already told you that I do my emails twice a day.
So, if it is an emergency. You can not going to reach me immediately through email.
Even with all of our smart phones glued to our ears most of the time, really the best way if the
message if urgent is to talk directly with someone. Now, look at the last line.
It says use written communication when the ideas are complicated. Do you like that idea? I am
just going to let you mull that one over
Slide #26
Email and Emotions
Emotionally-laden messages require more thought in the choice of channel and how they are
communicated
Email communication can convey facts quickly yet it is not a recommended choice for sending
emotional information
Audio:
All I can say about this one is amen. I can’t tell you how many people have messed up by trying
to send emotional messaged through email. It is just not a good idea.
Slide #27
Slide 27
[Diagram]:
Communication:
 Upward to a supervisor
 Laterally to a coworker
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 Downward to a subordinate
 Diagonally to a different department
Audio:
Think about how the direction of communication impacts that communication process. Do you
typically use a different language when you are talking up to a supervisor than if you are talking
down to a subordinate? What about the mediums? Do you choose to do written in one direction
and verbal in another?
Slide #28
Slide 28

How could you use your knowledge of communication richness to be more effective in
your own communications?

What are the three biggest advantages and disadvantages you see regarding technology
and communications?

Explain the difference between internal and external communications in an organization,
giving examples of each.
Audio:
No audio
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Slide #29
Slide 29
[Image: a picture of employees having an informal talk]
Communication can be formal or informal
Audio:
As I have already noted, I think communication is a skill that is seriously lacking in today’s work
world. If you have an opportunity to read or study additional information about communication
or even take a communication’s class, I would strongly recommend that.
Slide #30
Ten Ways to Improve Your Listening Habits
Audio:
Your text gives you some suggestions on how to improve your listening habits. Those are
summarized here on this slide. Let me just kind of pay particular attention to two of those.
First, notice the one that says focus and don’t multitask. I know we all think we are great at
multitasking, but every research study that I have ever seen shows that we are not as good at it as
we think we are, that if we are trying to multitask while we are listening, it is kind of rude to the
other person. So, focus on the individual.
The second one is to seek clarification by asking questions. I strongly recommend that you do
this on a regular basis, not to necessarily get clarification even, but to show the person that you
are actively thinking about what they are telling you. This will make you seem a lot more sincere
and it forces you to pay attention to what is being said rather than what you would like to say in
response.
Slide #31
Slide 31
Manage Your Communication Wisely
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Do you properly use online communications?
 Is your outgoing voicemail greeting professional?
 Scrutinize your social networking website
 Googled yourself lately?
[Diagram]:
Be aware of remarks that FREEZE COMMUNICATION
Make a conscious effort to reduce comments that stop effective communication
Don’t criticize, blame, order, judge or shame
Audio:
This is an area that your textbook kind of glosses over a little bit. I think it needs to go into a lot
more depth here. Yes, we are worried about our voicemail greetings and so forth, but I want you
to think more importantly about the types of communication you utilize most often, what types
of information you send and how those are perceived by other people.
How we choose to communicate sends a message about who we are and what we think is
important. In today’s world as we communicate virtually everything all the time, is that
information really important? Does it contribute to information overlap? If you are texting all the
time, what type of information do you send? What does that say about you if you are sending
information about my being at dinner tonight or what I am going to wear, those kinds of things?
Do other people really care about that information or are you saying, “I am important and you
should care about it.”
Those are important messages to think about. I typically get a 100 to 150 emails a day, half of
which I really don’t need to receive. What does that say to me about people who send me emails
that aren’t important to me, that don’t pertain to me at all? Do they stop to think about the ways
they tend to communicate?
I think it is important that we stop for a minute and think about the channels that we use and the
types of information we communicate.
Slide #32
Slide 32

How can you assess if you are engaging in active listening?

How does it feel when someone does not seem to be listening to you?

Some companies have MySpace pages where employees can mingle and share ideas and
information. Do you think this practice is a good idea? Why or why not?
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
What advice would you give to someone who going to become a first time manager in
terms of communication?
Audio:
No audio.
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