CHAPTER 11:

ORGANIZATIONAL
COMMUNICATION

ROK PINTAR
 AGENDA
• Communication process and noise
• Leadership and communication
• Electronic communication
• Communicating across cultures
• Nonverbal communication and silence

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 “THIN-SLICING” A
CONVERSATION 
• Can the first few minutes of communication
define the course of the conversation and the
benefits or costs derived from it?
• These first few minutes are referred to as “thin
slices” of behavior.
• A thin slice of behavior predicted professional
competence as rated by a person conducting an
employment interview.
• Based on both verbal and nonverbal behaviors.
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 WHAT IS ORGANIZATIONAL
COMMUNICATION?
• The process by which individuals
stimulate meaning in the minds of
other individuals by means of verbal
or nonverbal messages in the context
of a formal organization

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 THE COMMUNICATION
PROCESS

Source: Weaver, W. (1949). Recent contributions to the mathematical theory of communication. The mathematical theory of
communication, 1, 1–12.

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 BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION

May distort communication

• Communication apprehension
• Language

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 NOISE REDUCTION:
ACTIVE LISTENING
• Three components:
1. Demonstrating moderate to high
nonverbal involvement
2. Reflecting the speaker’s message using
verbal paraphrasing
3. Asking questions that encourage
speakers to elaborate on their experiences

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 COMMUNICATION
NETWORKS
• Chain gives
best accuracy
• Wheel
facilitates
leadership
development
• All-channel
provides
member
satisfaction
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 COMMUNICATION
NETWORKS
• Communication flows in organizations
• External
• Internal
• Downward
• Lateral
• Upward
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 COMMUNICATION FLOWS
IN ORGANIZATIONS
Executive Lateral
Upward

Manager Manager Manager

Downward
Employee

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 THE GRAPEVINE

Emerges when the situation:

• Is important
• Is ambiguous
• Causes anxiety

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 THE GRAPEVINE
Three characteristics
1. Not controlled by management
2. Perceived as being more believable
and reliable (and often is)
3. Largely used to serve self-interest
of those willing to communicate

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 ELECTRONIC
COMMUNICATION
• E-mail
• Text messages
• Social networking
• Video conferencing (e.g., Skype)

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 LIMITATIONS OF E-MAIL

• Easy to misinterpret
• Should not be used for negative
messages
• Overused and overwhelms
• People are emotionally uninhibited
• Privacy concerns

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 TEXT MESSAGES (AND
INSTANT MESSAGING)
• Essentially real-time
• Inexpensive
• Good for short messages
• Some find it intrusive and distracting
• May be inappropriate for formal
business messages

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 CROSS-CULTURAL
COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
1. Semantics—words mean different things to
different people
2. Word connotations—words imply different
things in different languages
3. Tone differences—in some cultures tone
changes depending on context
4. Differences in perception—different
worldviews

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 CULTURAL CONTEXT
• High-context cultures—rely on
nonverbals and subtle situational
cues (e.g., China, Korea, Japan)
• Low-context cultures—rely on
spoken and written words (e.g.,
Europe, North America)

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 CULTURAL
COMMUNICATION GUIDE
1. Assume differences until similarity is
proved
2. Emphasize description rather than
interpretation or evaluation
3. Practice empathy
4. Treat your interpretation as a working
hypothesis

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 NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION
• Nonverbal communication includes facial
expressions, posture, gestures, and tone of
voice.
• About 55% of understanding a verbal
message is attributed to facial expressions
• 38% of meaning is attributed to verbal tone
• Leaders are always being watched by
followers for cues
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 ORGANIZATIONAL
SILENCE 
• Intentionally withholding meaningful
information from management
• Includes not asking questions, expressing
concerns, and/or offering suggestions

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 EFFECTS OF
ORGANIZATIONAL SILENCE
• Lowers job satisfaction and
organizational commitment
• Stifles organizational change
• Impairs decision making
• Enables corruption

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 LEADERSHIP IMPLICATIONS: THE
MANAGEMENT OF MEANING
• Leaders influence followers through
effective communication that helps them
make sense of organizational events.
• They also use effective communication to
give followers a sense of meaning in their
work which motivates them.
• They use framing as a tool.

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 OPEN-
ACCESS
STUDENT
RESOURCES
• Checklist action plan
• Learning objective summaries
• Mobile-friendly quizzes
• Mobile-friendly eFlashcards
• Video and multimedia resources
• SAGE journal articles

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