Download Communication Langton Ch 7

CHAPTER
7
Communication
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Communication – everywhere & continuous
• People spend nearly 70 percent of their waking hours
communicating—writing, reading, speaking, listening.
• Communication is a foundation for many things that
happen among groups and within the workplace – from
motivating, to providing information, to controlling
behaviour, to expressing emotion.
• Good communication skills are very important to your
career success.
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The process of communication
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Communication Channels
• Formal channels
– Traditionally follow the authority chain within the
organization
– Transmit messages related to the professional
activities of members
• Informal channels
– Personal or social messages which are
spontaneous and emerge as a response to
individual choices
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Communication Terms
Encoding
– Converting a message to symbolic form.
Decoding
– Interpreting a sender’s message.
Message
– What is communicated.
Channel
– The medium through which a message travels.
Noise
– Communication barriers that distort the clarity of the message.
Feedback
– Checks how successful we have been in transferring our messages
as originally intended.
– Has an understanding been achieved?
Choosing Channels
Channel: The medium through which a message travels, such as a phone call, face-to-face, or
text message. Channels differ in their capacity to convey information.
Communication apprehension: Undue tension and anxiety about oral communication, written
communication, or both.
Rich channels have the ability to:
Handle multiple cues
simultaneously.
Facilitate rapid feedback.
Be very personal.
Barriers to Effective Communication
Filtering The sender manipulates information so that it will be seen more favourably by the receiver.
Information Overload Occurs when the information we have to work with exceeds our processing capacity. With emails, phone
calls, faxes, meetings, and the need to keep current in one’s field, more employees are suffering from too much information.
Silence Defined as an absence of speech or noise. Not necessarily inaction—can convey: Thinking or contemplating a response to
a question. Anxiety about speaking. Agreement, dissent, frustration, or anger. Individuals should be aware of what silence might
mean in any communication. Silence can be problematic and is common in the workplace. Employees who are silent about
important issues may also experience psychological stress. Silence is less likely where minority opinions are treated with respect.
Language Words mean different things to different people. Age and context are the two biggest factors that influence such
differences
Emotions Individuals may interpret the same message differently when you are angry or distraught than when you are happy
Depression will most likely hinder effective communication
Selective Perception The receivers selectively sees and hears based on their needs, motivations, experience, background, and
other personal characteristics.
Lying: outright misrepresentation of information. Deliberately withholding information. People are more comfortable lying over
the phone than face-to-face. Most people are not very good at detecting deception in others.
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Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal Communication Includes body movements,
facial expressions, and the physical distance between
sender and receiver. Two important messages body
language conveys: 1) The extent to which an individual
likes another and is interested in his or her views and, 2)
Relative perceived status between a sender and receiver
(i.e. how emotionally close they are to each other)
Proxemics The study of physical space in interpersonal
relationships.
Organizational Communication – Direction of Communication
• Downward
– Communication that flows from one level of a group to a
lower level.
• Managers to employees
• Upward
– Communication that flows to a higher level of a group.
• Employees to manager
• Becoming increasingly difficult
• Lateral
– Communication among members of the same work group,
or individuals at the same level.
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Small- Group Networks
• Connections by which information flow.
– Formal Networks
•Task-related communications that follow the
authority chain, and are typically vertical
– The Grapevine – Informal Networks
•Communications that flow along social and
relational lines
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The Grapevine
• 75 percent of employees hear about matters first
through rumours (the grapevine).
• The grapevine has three main characteristics:
– Not controlled by management.
– Most employees perceive it as being more believable
and reliable than formal communication.
– Largely used to serve the self-interests of those people
within it.
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Electronic Communications
• Email
• Instant Messaging and Text Messaging
• Social Networks
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Instant Messaging (IM) & Text Messaging (TM)
• Instant Messaging (IM)
– Usually done via computer
– Synchronous technology – you have to be there to
receive the message and respond
• Text Messaging (TM)
– Usually done via cell phone
– Also synchronous technology, although the text
message will be stored (like email) until read
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Social Media
• Nowhere has communication been more
transformed than in social networking.
• Social media platforms
–
–
–
–
Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter
Pinterest
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Blogs
• (We)blog
– Website about a single person or company that is
usually updated daily.
• Most blogs are written by individuals, but
many organizations and organizational leaders
have blogs that speak for the organization
• Twitter is a hybrid social networking service
for users to post “micro-blog” entries
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Cultural Barriers to Communication
Sources of barriers:
– Semantics
– Word connotations
– Tone differences
– Differences in tolerance for conflict and
methods for resolving conflicts
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Cultural Barriers to Communication
• Cultural Context: Cultures differ in the
importance of the context in influencing the
meaning that individuals take from what is
actually said or written vs. who the other
person is.
– High-context cultures
• Cultures that rely heavily on nonverbal and subtle situational cues
in communication.
– Low-context cultures
• Cultures that rely heavily on words to convey meaning in
communication.
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Exhibit 7-5 High- vs. Low-Context Cultures
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A Cultural Guide
• Know yourself
• Foster a climate of mutual respect, fairness,
and democracy
• Learn the cultural context of each person
• When in doubt, listen
• State facts, not your interpretation
• Consider the other person’s viewpoint
• Proactively maintain the identity of the group
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Summary
1.
Just because something is said, it does not mean that it
was heard.
2.
Communication is rarely “objective”. Both the sender’s
and receiver’s reality affects the framing and
understanding of the message.
3.
Information overload is a serious problem for most
individuals.
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OB at Work: For Review
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What are the key parts of the communication process, and
how do you distinguish formal from informal
communication?
How does channel richness underlie the choice of
communication channel?
What are some common barriers to effective
communication?
What are the differences among downward, upward, and
lateral communication?
What are the differences between formal small-group
networks and the grapevine?
What potential problems underlie cross-cultural
communication? How can they be overcome?
OB at Work: For Managers
■
■
■
Remember that your communication mode will
partly determine your communication
effectiveness.
Obtain feedback from your employees to make
certain your messages—however they are
communicated—are understood.
Remember that written communication creates
more misunderstandings than oral communication;
communicate with employees through inperson
meetings when possible. “
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OB at Work: For Managers
■ Make sure you use communication
strategies appropriate to your audience and
the type of message you are sending.
■ Keep in mind that culture can be a
communication barrier.
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Effective Listening
If you want to improve your listening skills, look to these
behaviours as guides
1. Make eye contact.
2. Exhibit affirmative head nods and appropriate facial
expressions.
3. Avoid distracting actions or gestures.
4. Ask questions.
5. Paraphrase.
6. Avoid interrupting the speaker.
7. Don’t over-talk.
8. Make smooth transitions between the roles of speaker and
listener.
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