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Communicating in Organizations
“The greatest problem in communication is

the illusion that it has been accomplished.”
-George Bernard Shaw
“The most important thing in communication

is to hear what isn’t being said.”
- Peter F. Drucker
Communication Model
 Phenomenology
 Message Channels
 Relative Roles
 Feedback
 Listening
Organizational Behavior for the Hospitality Industry © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458.
Berger/Brownell 2 All Rights Reserved.
Phenomenology
 Meanings are in people, not in words.
 If a word falls in a forest, and nobody
reads it, does it have any meaning?
 Definition: the different meanings that
each person attributes to a word.
 Ambiguities can cause
misunderstandings.
Message Channels
 Verbal
 Spoken words
 Written words
 Visual symbols
 Non-verbal
 Body language
 Actions
Relative Roles
Differences in status between two individuals will
make a difference in how they communicate.
When status differences
are large, the
communication process
will be more formal.
People of low status are
often intimidated by
those of higher status.
Feedback
 Any message that the receiver gives to
the sender that indicates the receiver’s
interpretation of the sender’s message.
 Feedback helps us to understand if the
receiver understood the message
properly.
 Can be verbal or non-verbal.
Listening
 Listening means more than just hearing.

 Listening requires active attention and
avoiding distractions in order to understand
and remember the message.
Listening
 Pay attention to the speaker.
 Be attentive to both verbal and nonverbal
communication.
 Listen with empathy; suspend judgment until
hearing the person out.

 Let the speaker know you are paying attention.
 Lean toward speaker and maintain eye contact.
 Nod to express understanding.
 Ask for clarification if needed.
Listening
 HURIER Listening Model
 Hearing
 Understanding
 Remembering
 Interpreting
 Evaluating
 Responding
Effective Communication
 Eschew obfuscation (avoid
confusion).
 Avoid slang.
 Be brief.
 Be precise.
 Know when to use redundancy.
 Choose the right time and place.
Speaking
 Involves both language and paralanguage.
 Paralanguage includes:
 Inflection
 Speed
 Volume
 Pronunciation
 Fluency
 Silence
Nonverbal Communication
 93% of meaning is communicated non-

verbally.
 Four functions of non-verbal
communication:
 Express emotion.
 Communicate the nature of the relationship.
 Affect verbal meaning.
 Substitute or replace verbal communication.
Communicating Nonverbally
 Appearance
 Posture and Positioning
 Proxemics: “personal space”
 Touching
 Gestures
 Facial Expressions
 Eyes
 Chronemics: timing
Organizational Communication
 The efficiency and effectiveness
of the organizational “message
processing system” is crucial to
overall success.
 Communication channels:
 Formal Communication Network
 Informal Communication Network
Formal Communication Network
 Components:
 Upward Communication
 Employee to manager
 Downward Communication
 Manager to employee
 Lateral communication
 Manager to manager
Upward Communication
 Communication from employees to managers
 Benefits:
 Provides feedback to management
 Enhances employees’ feeling of participation
 How to improve:
 Encourage employees to communicate with you
 Listen supportively
 Respond
 Avoid communication barriers
Downward Communication
 Communication from managers to
employees
 Functions:
 Give instructions
 Establish corporate atmosphere
 Main barrier:
 Message gets distorted as it passes through
various levels
Improving Downward Communication
 Use upward communication
 Establish trust
 Allow employees to get to know you
 Be honest
 Explain why
 Use redundancy and multiple channels
 Make the message important to the employee
 Don’t overload
Lateral Communication
 Communication between peers.
 Coordinates functions of different
departments.
 Guidelines to improve:
 Reward good lateral communication.
 Make sure inter-departmental
competition is constructive.
The Grapevine
 Composed of informal links that cross

status and departmental boundaries
 75% accurate
 Fastest type of organizational
communication
 Maintain the grapevine as a valuable
source of information, but work on
eliminating rumors by increasing downward
communication.

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Communicating in Organizations

“The greatest problem in communication is

“The most important thing in communication

 Listening means more than just hearing.

hearing the person out.

 93% of meaning is communicated non-

 Composed of informal links that cross

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