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Organizational Behavior
9
core concepts
Communication: How to Get
Messages Across-Online and
Off
9-2
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Organizational Behavior, Core Concepts
Copyright © 2008 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Learning Objectives
• Describe the elements and steps of the
communication process
• Identify situations that can distort
communication between managers and
employees
• Contrast assertive, aggressive, and
nonassertive communication styles
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Learning Objectives
• Discuss the skills of nonverbal
communication and effective listening
• Summarize how information technology
has affected communication in
organizations
• Give examples of barriers to effective
communication and ways to overcome
them
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Dimensions of the
Communication Process
• Communication
– interpersonal exchange of information and
understanding
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A Perceptual Model of Communication
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Figure 9-1
Question?
What part of the communication process is
the output of encoding?
A. Sender
B. Feedback
C. Endless loop
D. Message
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A Perceptual Process Model of
Communication
• Sender
– individual, group, or organization that
desires or attempts to communicate with a
particular receiver
• Encoding
– translates mental thoughts into code or
language that can be understood by others
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A Perceptual Model of Communication
• Message
– output of encoding
– May contain hidden agendas as well as
trigger affective or emotional reactions
– Need to match the medium used to transmit
them
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A Perceptual Model of Communication
• Selecting a Medium
– depends on the nature of the message, its
intended purpose, type of audience,
proximity to the audience, time horizon for
disseminating the message, personal
preferences, and the complexity of the
problem/situation at hand
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A Perceptual Model of Communication
Potential Media:
• Face-to-face conversations
• Telephone calls
• E-mail
• Written memos or letters
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A Perceptual Model of Communication
• Decoding
– consists of translating verbal, oral, or visual
aspects of a message into a form that can
be interpreted
• Creating meaning
– receiver creates the meaning of a message
in his head
• Feedback
– receives encodes a response and then
transmits it to the original sender
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A Perceptual Model of Communication
• Noise
– interference with the transmission and
understanding of a message
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Communication Distortion between
Managers and Employees
• Communication distortion
– purposely modifying the content of a
message, thus reducing the accuracy of
communication between managers and
employees
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Interpersonal Communication
• Communication competence
– ability to effectively
use communication
behaviors in a given
context
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Criteria Shaping Communication
Competence
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Figure 9-2
Assertiveness, Aggressiveness,
and Nonassertiveness
• Assertive style
– expressive and self-enhancing, but does not
take advantage of others.
• Aggressive style
– expressive and self-enhancing, but takes
advantage of others
• Nonassertive style
– timid and self-denying behavior.
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Communication Styles
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Sources of Nonverbal
Communication
• Nonverbal Communication
– messages sent outside of the written and
spoken word
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Sources of Nonverbal
Communication
•
•
•
•
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Body movement and gestures
Touch
Facial expression
Eye contact
Improving Nonverbal
Communication Skills
Positive nonverbal actions include the
following:
– Maintain eye contact
– Nod to show interest and agreement
– Lean forward to show the speaker you are
interested
– Use a tone of voice that matches your
message
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Improving Nonverbal
Communication Skills
Negative nonverbal actions include the
following:
– Avoiding eye contact and looking away from
the speaker
– Closing your eyes or tensing your facial
muscles
– Licking your lips
– Biting your nails
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Active Listening
• Listening
– actively decoding and interpreting verbal
messages.
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Question?
Which listening style integrates information
by focusing on relationships among
ideas?
A. Appreciative
B. Empathetic
C. Comprehensive
D. Discerning
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Listening Styles
• Appreciative
– listens for pleasure, entertainment, or
inspiration
• Empathetic
– interprets messages by focusing on
emotions and body language
• Comprehensive
– organizes specific thoughts and actions and
integrates this information by focusing on
relationships among ideas
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Listening Styles
• Discerning
– attempt to understand the main message
and determine important points
• Evaluative
– listen analytically and continually formulate
arguments and challenges to what is being
said
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The Keys to Effective Listening
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Communication Styles of
Women and Men
• Linguistic style
– person’s characteristic speaking pattern
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Reasons for Different Linguistic Styles
1. Some researchers believe interpersonal
differences between men and women
arise from inherited biological
differences
2. Social role theory emphasizes that
females and males learn ways of
speaking as children growing up
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Internet/Intranet/Extranet
• Internet
– a global network of computer networks.
• Intranet
– an organization’s private internet.
• Extranet
– connects internal employees with selected
customers, suppliers, and strategic partners
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Electronic Mail
• Electronic Mail (e-mail)
– uses the Internet or intranet connections for
sending and receiving messages
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Benefits of E-mail
• Reduces the cost of distributing
information to a large number of
employees
• Tool for increasing teamwork
• Reduces the costs and time associated
with print duplication and paper
distribution
• Fosters flexibility
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Drawbacks to E-mail
• Can lead to a lot of wasted time and
effort
• People overestimate their ability to
effectively communicate via e-mail
• Information overload
• People are using e-mail to communicate
when they should be using other media
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Additional Issues with E-mail
• E-mail only works when the party you
desire to communicate with also gets it
• Speed of getting a response is
dependent on how frequently the receiver
examines his messages
• Because of misuse and potential legal
liability, many companies now have
policies for using email
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Blogs
• Blog
– online journal in which people comment on
any topic
Read an example of
BusinessWeek’s Blog
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Videoconferencing
• Videoconferencing
– uses video and audio links along with
computers to enable people in different
locations to see,
hear, and talk with
one another
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Group Support Systems
• Group support systems
– using computer software and hardware to
help people work better together
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Telecommuting
• Telecommuting
– a work practice in which an employee does
part of his job in a remote location using a
variety of information technologies
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Barriers to Effective
Communication
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Sender barrier
Encoding barrier
Message barrier
Medium barrier
Decoding barrier
Receiver barrier
Feedback barrier
Personal Barriers
• Ability to effectively communicate
• Way people process and interpret
information
• Level of interpersonal trust between
people
• Stereotypes and prejudices
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Personal Barriers
• Egos
• Poor listening skills
• Natural tendency to evaluate or judge the
sender’s message
• Inability to listen with understanding
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Cultural Barriers: High- and LowContext Cultures
• High-context cultures
– primary meaning derived from nonverbal
situational cues
• Low-context cultures
– primary meaning derived from written and
spoken words
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Physical Barriers
•
•
•
•
•
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Distance between employees
Time zone differences
Work and office noise
Quality of telephone lines
Crashed computers
Semantic Barriers
• Semantics
– study of words
• Semantic barriers
– encoding and decoding errors that involve
transmitting and receiving
– fueled by the use of jargon and acronyms
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