COMMUNICATION

Nature and Function of Communication

◦ A “must have” skill to be an effective manager.
◦ Practically everything a manager does involves communication.
◦ Information has to be communicated
◦ The best idea, the most creative suggestion, the best plan cannot take shape without communication
◦ It is the transfer and understanding of meaning.
◦ Good communication is often erroneously defined by the communicator as agreement with the message
instead of clear understanding of the message.
◦ Interpersonal Communication
◦ Organizational Communication
Functions of Communication
◦ Control

◦ Motivation

◦ Emotional Expression

◦ Information
Methods & Challenges
◦ A purpose (message) must exist
◦ It passes between a source and a receiver
◦ Message is converted to a symbolic form and passed by some medium to the receiver
◦ Decoding takes place
How to communicate
◦ Feedback: How quickly can the receiver respond to the message?
◦ High Feedback Potential – Face to Face, Telephone
◦ Low Feedback Potential - ?
◦ Complexity capacity: Can the method effectively process complex messages?
◦ High Complexity Capacity – Face to Face,
◦ Low Complexity Capacity – Bulletin Boards
◦ Breadth potential: How many different messages can be transmitted using this
method?
◦ High Breadth Potential – Face to Face, Bulletin Boards
◦ Low Breadth Potential - ?
How to communicate

◦ Confidentiality: Can communicators be reasonably sure their messages are

received only by those intended?
◦ Encoding ease: Can sender easily and quickly use this channel?
◦ Decoding ease: Can receiver easily and quickly decode messages?
How to communicate
◦ Time-space constraint: Do senders and receivers need to communicate at the
same time and in the same space?
◦ Cost: How much does it cost to use this method?
◦ Interpersonal warmth: How well does this method convey interpersonal warmth?
◦ Formality: Does this method have the needed amount of formality?
◦ Scanability: Does this method allow the message to be easily browsed or scanned
for relevant information?
◦ Time of consumption: Does the sender or receiver exercise the most control over
when the message is dealt with?
How to communicate
◦ Different situations warrant different modes of communication
◦ For example - You need to communicate to your employees the organization’s new policy on sexual harassment;
◦ you want to compliment one of your workers on the extra hours she’s put in to help your team complete a
customer’s order;
◦ you must tell one of your employees about changes to his job;
◦ you would like to get employees’ feedback on your proposed budget for next year.
◦ In each of these instances, how would you communicate
Non Verbal Communication
◦ Communication transmitted without words
◦ Body Language – gestures, facial expressions, hand motion
◦ Verbal Intonation – Emphasis given to certain words or phrases
to convey meaning
Barriers to communication
◦ Cognitive barriers
◦ Information overload – information exceeds our processing capacity

◦ Filtering - Deliberate manipulation of information to make it appear more favorable to the receiver.

◦ For example, when a person tells his or her manager what the manager wants to hear, information is being filtered. Or if
information being communicated up through organizational levels is condensed by senders, that’s filtering.

◦ The more vertical levels – more is the opportunity for filtering

Continued…..
◦ Emotions
◦ How a receiver feels influences how he or she interprets it.
◦ Extreme emotions are most likely to hinder effective communication. In such instances, we often
disregard our rational and objective thinking processes and substitute emotional judgments.
◦ When people feel they’re being threatened, they tend to react in ways that hinder effective
communication and reduce their ability to achieve mutual understanding.
Continued…
◦ Sociocultural & Cultural differences
◦ In an individualistic country like the United States, communication is more formal and is clearly spelled
out.
◦ Managers rely heavily on reports, memos, and other formal forms of communication.
◦ In a collectivist country like Japan, more interpersonal contact takes place, and face-to-face
communication is encouraged.
◦ A Japanese manager extensively consults with subordinates over an issue first and draws up a formal
document later to outline the agreement that was made.
Overcoming the barriers
◦ Feedback
◦ Simplify Language
◦ Active Listening - The average person normally speaks at a rate of about 125 to 200 words per minute.
However, the average listener can comprehend up to 400 words per minute. The difference leaves lots of
idle brain time and opportunities for the mind to wander
◦ Constrain emotions
◦ Nonverbal cues
Effective Organizational Communication
◦ Formal Communication - Communication that takes place within prescribed organizational work
arrangements
◦ Informal Communication - Communication that is not defined by the organization’s structural hierarchy
◦ Social Interaction
◦ Creates an alternative channel of communication
◦ Direction of flow
◦ Downward – Informal townhall meetings
◦ https://
economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/flipkart-employees-meet-new-bosses-in-townhall-meet
ing/articleshow/65943385.cms
◦ Upword - performance reports prepared by employees, suggestion boxes, employee attitude surveys,
grievance procedures, manager-employee discussions, and informal group sessions
Continued….
◦ Lateral Communication - Communication that takes place among employees on the same organizational
level is called lateral communication.
◦ Diagonal Communication - Diagonal communication is communication that crosses both work areas and
organizational levels.
◦ A credit analyst who communicates directly with a regional marketing manager about a customer’s problem—note
the different department and different organizational level—uses diagonal communication.
◦ Because of its efficiency and speed, diagonal communication can be beneficial. Increased e-mail use facilitates
diagonal communication
Innovation Project Add on
◦ What social media applications does the company use?
◦ Subscribe to the company’s social media feeds and take notes regarding their social media
communications for at least one week.
◦ What patterns do you see?
◦ What are social media messages that are effective based on the number of “likes” or “shares”?
Networks
◦ Vertical and Horizontal flow of communication can be combined into a variety of patterns
◦ Chain – Communication flows according to the formal chain of command, both downward and upward
◦ Wheel - communication flowing between a clearly identifiable and strong leader and others in a work
group or team. The leader serves as the hub through whom all communication passes
◦ All-Chanel – Communication flows freely among all members of a work team
Continued..
◦ Grapevine - filter and feedback
mechanism
◦ Cannot be eliminated.
◦ Managers should manage it as an
important information network
Workplace design and communication
◦ Wokplace design should support four types of employee work

◦ Focused Work – concentrate on completing a task

◦ Collaboration – work together to complete a task
◦ Learning – Training. (Involves both focused work and collaboration)
◦ Socialization – Informally gather to share ideas
Continued….
◦ What are the kinds of enclosures and barriers used in the workspace.
◦ Density?
◦ Separate area for sensitive discussions
◦ Need for separate space with few distractions
◦ Availability of adjustable work arrangements, equipment and furnishing
◦ One study found that adjustable partitions were associated with both greater perceived privacy and better
communication.
Communication in times of internet and
Social Media
◦ The 24X7 work environment
◦ Working from anywhere
◦ Social Media
◦ The need for balance
◦ The need for choosing the right media
Communication issues
◦ Connected to employees, customers, organization stakeholders
◦ Managing communication in a digitally connected world
◦ Legal and security issues
◦ Lack of personal interaction
◦ Some examples
◦ Chevron paid $2.2 million to settle a sexual-harassment lawsuit stemming from inappropriate jokes being sent by
employees over company e-mail.
◦ U.K. firm Norwich Union had to pay £450,000 in an out-of-court settlement after an employee sent an e-mail
stating that their competitor Western Provident Association was experiencing financial difficulties.
◦ Whole Foods Market was investigated by federal regulators and its board after CEO John P. Mackey used a
pseudonym to post comments on a blog attacking the company’s rival Wild Oats Market
Continued…
◦ Personal Interaction - Some companies have banned e-mail on certain days, as we saw earlier. Others
have simply encouraged employees to collaborate more in person.
◦ In some situations collaborative software can be better than email.
Managing the Organization’s Knowledge
Resources
◦ Managing Knowledge
◦ Making it easier for others to learn and benefit from the knowledge
◦ William Wrigley Jr. Co. launched an interactive website that allows sales agents to access marketing data
and other product information. The sales agents can question company experts about products or search
an online knowledge bank.
Communication in Customer Service
◦ Personalization
◦ Non verbal communication
Getting Employee Input
Communicating Ethically
◦ Communication is true in every sense and is not deceptive in any way.
◦ Some examples
◦ Facebook data scandal
◦  Volkswagen, publicly accepted that it had installed software in several of its cars to fool the
Environmental Protection Agency’s emissions testers into believing that the cars were environmentally
friendly.
◦ n 2015, Toshiba, the Japanese multinational, faced mismanagement of its accounts. They exaggerated
their profits by $1.2 billion for more than seven years.
Some ethic related guidelines
◦ Has the situation been defined fairly and accurately?
◦ Why is the message being communicated?
◦ How will the people who may be affected by the message or who receive the message be impacted?
◦ Does the message help achieve the greatest possible good while minimizing possible harm?
◦ Will this decision that appears to be ethical now seem so in the future?
◦ How comfortable are you with your communication effort? What would a person you admire think of it?
Becoming a better communicator
◦ Sharpening your persuasion skills
◦ Enabling a person to influence others to change their minds or behavior
◦ Ever heard of elevator pitch?
◦ Effective persuasion starts with stating the importance of following a course of action and the likely
benefits. Another characteristic of persuasive messages is to use descriptive language such as metaphors,
humor, and analogies.
◦ Sharpening your speaking skills
◦ authenticity, humility, brevity, and a clear understanding of the audience
◦ Sharpening your writing skills
◦ Sharpening your reading skills
Your thoughts
◦ Social networking websites can be fun. Staying in touch with old friends or even family is one of the
pleasures of joining. However, what happens when colleagues or even your boss want to “friend” you?
◦ What do you think? Is it okay to provide people you know in a professional sense a “window into your
personal life?”
◦ What ethical issues might arise in such a situation?