Download Management 3e - Gary Dessler

Groups and Communication
Karine Barzilai-Nahon
Executive MSIM – Management of
Information Organizations
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The Communication
Process
Source: © Gary Dessler, Ph.D.
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Barriers to Effective Communication
Ambiguous, Muddled Messages
Semantics
Physical Barriers
Loss of Transmission
Failing to Communicate
Competition Barriers
Cultural, Linguistic, and Diversity Barriers
Not Listening
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Nonverbal Communication
 Nonverbal Communication
The nonspoken aspects of communication, such as a
person’s manner of speaking, facial expressions, or
body posture, that express meaning to others.
Nonverbal communication can complicate the task of
communicating internationally.
 The nonverbal part of communicating is more important
in some societies than in others.
 In many societies, the context (or setting) in which a
message is delivered, with its nonverbal cues, has far
more meaning than the words of the message itself.
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Psychological Barriers
 Perception
 Selectivity/exposure filtering out of unpleasant things and
focusing on or recalling things not heard.
 Retention filtering of things that feel good, and the tendency
to forget those things that are painful.
 Experiential Barriers
 The difficulty in understanding things not personally
experienced.
 Emotions
 Emotions influence both what is said and what is heard.
 Defensiveness
 Adjustments people make to avoid acknowledging personal
inadequacies that might reduce their self-esteem
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Organizational Communication
Organizational Communication
Communication that occurs among several
individuals or groups.
Downward communications go from superior to
subordinate.
Lateral (horizontal) communications move
between departments or between people in the
same department.
Upward communications move from
subordinates to superiors.
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Special Barriers to Organizational
Communication
 Interpersonal Barriers
 Authority
Free
 Task
Speech?
 Political
 Identity
 Organizational Culture
 Organization Structures
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Fostering Upward Organizational
Communication
 Social gatherings
 Union publications
 Regular meetings
 Performance
appraisal meetings
 Grievances
 Attitude surveys
 A suggestion
system
 An open door policy
 Indirect measures
 E-Mail
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Hierarchy of Media Richness and
Application for Managerial Applications
Source: Adapted from Richard L. Daft and Robert H. Lengel, “Information Richness: A New Approach to
Managerial Information Processing and Organization Design,” in Barry Staw and Larry L. Cummings, eds.,
Research in Organizational Behavior, vol. 6 (Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1984), pp. 191–233. Reprinted from
R. Daft and R. Steers, Organizations: A Micro/Macro Approach (Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1986) p. 532.
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Groups and Teams
Group
Two or more persons who are interacting in
such a way that each person influences and is
influenced by each other person.
Team
A group of people committed to a common
purpose, set of performance goals, and
approach for which the team members hold
themselves mutually accountable.
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Group Dynamics
 Group Norms
The informal rules that groups adopt to regulate and
regularize group members’ behavior.
 Group Cohesiveness
The degree of interpersonal attractiveness within a
group, dependent on factors like proximity, similarities,
attraction among the individual group members, group
size, intergroup competition, and agreement about
goals.
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Why Teams
Fail: The
Leadership,
Focus, and
Capability
Pyramid
Source: Adapted from Steven Rayner, “Team Traps: What They Are, How to Avoid Them.”
National Productivity Review. Summer 1996, p. 107. Reprinted by permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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What It Takes to Be a Team Player
 Personality
Individualism versus collectivism
 Interpersonal Skills
Conflict management skills
Collaborative problem solving skills
Communication skills
 Management Skills
Develop and establish goals
Control, monitor, provide feedback
Set work roles and assign tasks
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Leading Productive Teams
 Team Leader Skills
 Coaching, not bossing
 Help define, analyze, and
solve problems
 Encourage participation by
others
 Serve as a facilitator
 Team Leader Values
 Respecting fellow team
members
 Trusting fellow team
members
 Putting the team first
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Designing Organizations to Manage
Teams
Source: Adapted from James H. Shonk, Team-Based
Organizations (Homewood, IL: Irwin, 1997), p. 36.
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Pros and Cons of Group Decision Making
Pros
Cons
 More points of view
 More ways to define the
problem
 More possible
solutions/alternatives
 More creative decisions
 Stronger commitment to
decisions
 More disagreement and
less problem solving
 Desire for consensus
(groupthink)
 Domination by a single
individual
 Less of commitment to
the group decision
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Signs That Groupthink May Be a Problem
Source: Adapted from information provided in Irving James, Group Think: Psychological
Studies of Policy Decisions and Fiascos, 2nd ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1982).
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What is groupthink?
 groupthink occurs when a group makes faulty
decisions because group pressures lead to a
deterioration of “mental efficiency, reality
testing, and moral judgment” (Irving Janis,
1972, p. 9).
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Symptoms of Groupthink
 Illusion of invulnerability
 Collective rationalization
 Belief in inherent morality
 Stereotyped views of out-groups
 Direct pressure on dissenters
 Self-censorship
 Illusion of unanimity
 Self-appointed ‘mindguards’
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Remedies for Groupthink (Janis)
 The leader should assign the role of critical evaluator to
each member
 The leader should avoid stating preferences and
expectations at the outset
 Each member of the group should routinely discuss the
groups' deliberations with a trusted associate and report
back to the group on the associate's reactions
 One or more experts should be invited to each meeting
on a staggered basis and encouraged to challenge views
of the members.
 At least one member should be given the role of devil's
advocate (to question assumptions and plans)
 The leader should make sure that a sizeable block of
time is set aside to survey warning signals.
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Improving Group Decision Making
 Devil’s-Advocate Approach
The group appoints a person to prepare a detailed
counterargument that lists what is wrong with the
group’s favored solution and why the group should not
adopt it.
The aim is to ensure a full and objective consideration of
the solution proposal.
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Improving Group Decision Making
(cont’d)
 Brainstorming
A creativity-stimulating technique in which prior
judgments and criticisms are specifically forbidden from
being expressed and thus inhibiting the free flow of
ideas, which are encouraged.
Brainstorming rules:
 Avoid criticizing others’ ideas until all suggestions are out
on the table.
 Share even wild suggestions.
 Offer many suggestions and comments as possible.
 Build on others’ suggestions to create your own.
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Improving Group Decision Making
(cont’d)
 The Delphi Technique
A multistage group decision-making process aimed at
eliminating inhibitions or groupthink through obtaining
the written opinions of experts working independently.
Process steps
 Identify the problem.
 Solicit the experts’ individual opinions on the problem.
 Analyze, distill, and then resubmit these opinions to other
experts.
 Continue this process for several more rounds until the
experts reach a consensus.
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Improving Group Decision Making
(cont’d)
 The Nominal Group Technique
1. Each group member writes down his or her ideas for
solving the problem at hand.
2. Each member then presents his or her ideas orally, and
the person writes the ideas on a board for other
participants to see.
3. After all ideas are presented, the entire group discusses
all ideas simultaneously.
4. Group members individually and secretly vote on each
proposed solution.
5. The solution with the most individual votes wins.
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Improving Group Decision Making
(cont’d)
 The Stepladder Technique
1. Individuals A and B are given a problem to solve, and
each produces an independent solution.
2. A and B develop a joint decision, and meet with C, who
has analyzed the problem and arrived at a decision.
3. A, B, and C discuss the problem and arrive at a
consensus decision, and are joined by D, who has
analyzed the problem and arrived at a decision.
4. A, B, C, and D jointly develop a final group decision.
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Intergroup Conflict (Taylor and Cox)
Conflict – An overt expression of tensions
between the goals or concerns of one party and
those of another
Intergroup Conflict – Conflict between
groups.
Has two features:
(1) group boundaries and group differences are
involve
(2) the conflict is directly or indirectly related to
culture group identities
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Source of Intergroup Conflict
Competing goals
Competition for resources
Cultural differences
Power discrepancies
Assimilation versus preservation of
microcultural identity
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