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Chapter 12
Communicating Effectively
Within Diverse Organizations
Pamela S. Lewis
Stephen H. Goodman
Patricia M. Fandt
Slides Prepared by
Bruce R. Barringer
University of Central Florida
©2001 South-Western College Publishing
Learning Objectives
Slide 1 of 3
1.Explain the role of communication in the
organization and why it is so complex for
managers to understand.
2.Define communication and explain how to
achieve high-quality communication.
3.Describe the elements of the
communications process.
4.Identify the primary categories of
interpersonal communication.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-2
Learning Objectives
Slide 2 of 3
5.Discuss the role of technological
communication and information use in the
workplace.
6.Address the primary reasons why managers
communicate.
7.Explain the barriers that interfere with
effective communication.
8.Discuss the types of formal communication
channels.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-3
Learning Objectives
Slide 3 of 3
9.Describe the principles for effective
feedback.
10. Specify the guidelines for becoming a
good listener.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-4
Communication Complexity
Communication is a complex process that
requires constant attention so that intended
messages are sent and received.
Communication is essential to management;
it is the process through which things get
done in organizations.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-5
Defining Communication and
Achieving Quality
• Communication
– The process through which managers
coordinate, lead, and influence subordinates; a
process in which one person or group evokes a
shared or common meaning in another person
or group.
– Defining communication is relatively simple,
but achieving high-quality communication is
both complicated and difficult.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-6
Basic Elements in the
Communication Process
Slide 1 of 5
Noise
Noise
Social context
Sender
Encoding
Noise
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Message
Decoding
Receiver
Noise
Transparency 12-7
Basic Elements in the
Communication Process
Slide 2 of 5
• Social Context
– The setting in which the communication takes
place.
• Sender and Message
– Encoding:
• The process that translates the sender’s ideas
into a systematic set of symbols or a
language expressing the communicator’s
purpose.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-8
Basic Elements in the
Communication Process
Slide 3 of 5
• Messages and Channel
– Messages
• The tangible forms of coded symbols that are
intended to give a particular meaning to the
information or data.
– Channel
• The carrier of the message or the means by
which the message is sent.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-9
Basic Elements in the
Communication Process
Slide 4 of 5
• Receiver
– Decoding
• The translation of received messages into
interpreted meanings.
• Feedback
– The process of verifying messages and the
receiver’s attempts to ensure that the message
he or she decoded is what the sender really
meant to convey.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-10
Basic Elements in the
Communication Process
Slide 5 of 5
• Noise
– Any internal or external interference or
distraction with the intended message that can
cause distortion in the sending and receiving of
messages.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-11
Categories of Interpersonal
Communication
Slide 1 of 3
• Oral Communication
– All forms of spoken information; by far the
most preferred type of communication used by
managers.
• Written Communication
– Letters, memos, policy manuals, reports, forms,
and other documents used to share information
in an organization.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-12
Categories of Interpersonal
Communication
Slide 2 of 3
• Nonverbal Communication
– All messages that are nonlanguage responses.
• Types of Nonverbal Communication
– Kinesic behavior, or body motion, such as
gestures, facial expressions, and eye behavior.
– Physical characteristics, such as body shape,
physique, posture, height, and weight.
– Paralanguage, such as voice quality, speech
rate, pitch, and laughing.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-13
Categories of Interpersonal
Communication
Slide 3 of 3
• Types of Nonverbal Communication
– Environment, such as building and room
design, furniture and interior decorating, light,
noise, and cleanliness.
– Time, such as being late or early, keeping
others waiting, and other relationships between
time and status.
– Proxemics, such as the way people use and
perceive space, seating arrangements, and
conversational distance.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-14
Technological Communication
Slide 1 of 2
• Technological Communication
– A broad category of communication
components that are rapidly influencing how
managers communicate.
• Types of Technological Communication
– Telecommuting
• The practice of working at a remote site by using a
computer linked to a central office or other
employment location.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-15
Technological Communication
Slide 2 of 2
• Types of Technological Communication (cont.)
– Electronic mail (e-mail)
• A computer-based system that allows individuals to
exchange and store messages through computerized textprocessing and communication networks.
– Video conferencing
• An umbrella term referring to technologies that use live
video to unite widely dispersed company operations.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-16
Why Managers Communicate
Managers communicate for many reasons:
To motivate
To inform
To control
To satisfy social
needs
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-17
Barriers to Effective Communications
Slide 1 of 3
• Cross-Cultural Diversity
– When senders and receivers come from
different cultural backgrounds, breakdowns in
the communication process are more likely.
• Ethnocentrism - The tendency to consider one’s own
culture and its values as being superior to others.
• Trust and Credibility
– Trust and credibility between the sender and
receiver must be established.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-18
Barriers to Effective Communications
Slide 2 of 3
• Information Overload
– Managers and organizations can experience
information overload when the amount of
information that can be processed is exceeded.
• Language Characteristics
– Many words and phrases in our language are
imprecise. Individuals often use different
meanings or interpretations of the same word
and do not realize it.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-19
Barriers to Effective Communications
Slide 3 of 3
• Gender Differences
– Gender differences can result in breakdowns
and lead to distorted communication and
misunderstandings between men and women.
• Other Factors
– Time pressures may cause us to focus on
information that helps us make a choice
quickly. Feedback may be impaired or absent.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-20
Communication Channels
• Formal Communication Channels
– Formal communication follows the chain of
command and is recognized as official.
• Direction of Flow
– One way to view formal communication within
organizations is to examine how it flows vertically and horizontally.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-21
Formal Communication Flows
External
Upward
External
Horizontal
External
Downward
External
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-22
Communication Flows
Slide 1 of 3
• Vertical Communication
– The flow of information both up and down the
chain of command.
– Downward communication
• Messages sent from individuals at higher levels of
the organization to those at lower levels.
– Upward communication
• Messages sent up the line from subordinates to
managers.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-23
Communication Flows
Slide 2 of 3
• Horizontal Communication
– The flow of information that occurs both within
and between departments.
• Spontaneous Communication Channels
– Opportunistic and informal communication
paths that arise from the social relationships
that evolve in the organization.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-24
Communication Flows
Slide 3 of 3
• Grapevine
– An informal method of transmitting
information depicted as the wandering of
messages throughout the organization.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-25
Communication Competency
Challenges
• Three Most Important Communication
Challenges:
– Expect to be misunderstood by at least some
listeners and readers.
– Expect to misunderstand others.
– Strive to reduce the degree of such
misunderstandings, but never expect total
elimination of them or the ability to anticipate
all possible outcomes.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-26
Developing Quality Feedback Skills
Slide 1 of 3
• Feedback
– The process of verifying messages from the
sender.
– Through feedback, communication becomes a
dynamic, two-way process, rather than just an
event.
– The emotional impact of feedback varies
according to how personally it is focused.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-27
Developing Quality Feedback Skills
Slide 2 of 3
• Principles of Effective Feedback
– Give feedback that is specific rather than
general.
– Give feedback when the receiver appears ready
to accept it.
– Focus feedback on behavior rather than the
person, and focus it on behavior that can be
changed.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-28
Developing Quality Feedback Skills
Slide 3 of 3
• Principles of Effective Feedback (cont.)
– Provide feedback using descriptive information
about what the person said or did.
– Avoid feedback using evaluative inferences
about motives, intent, or feelings.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-29
Advanced Listening Skills
Slide 1 of 2
• Guidelines For Effective Listening
–
–
–
–
Listen for message content.
Listen for feelings.
Respond to feelings.
Be sensitive to both the nonverbal and the
verbal content of messages.
– Reflect back to the sender, in your own words,
what you think you are hearing.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-30
Advanced Listening Skills
Slide 2 of 2
• Guidelines for Effective Listening
– Be attentive and listen to understand, not to
reply.
– Be patient. Don’t interrupt the speaker. Take
time to digest what has been said before
responding.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-31
Key Points to Consider
Slide 1 of 2
• You spend most of your time at work
communicating.
• Your success is based on strong
communication skills.
• Communication is becoming increasingly
important in view of recent trends, such as
increased globalization, diversity, and
workplace specialization.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-32
Key Points to Consider
Slide 2 of 2
• Technological communication offers new
opportunities to communicate more often
and more efficiently than ever before. It is
an essential tool for people who want to
stay in touch with the rest of the world.
© 2001 South-Western Publishing
Transparency 12-33