Copyright ©2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

Publishing as Prentice Hall

Management Communication

Chapter One: Management

Communication in Transition

J. S. O’Rourke, University of Notre Dame

Copyright ©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1-2
Managerial Work
 Remarkable similarity across jobs.
 Jobs in the North American workplace
cluster around core management roles:
 Interpersonal
 Informational
 Decisional
Henry Mintzberg, The Nature of Managerial
Work

Copyright ©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1-3

Managerial Roles
 Figurehead.
 Leader.
 Liaison.
 Monitor.
 Disseminator.

Copyright ©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1-4

Managerial Roles

 Spokesperson.
 Entrepreneur.
 Disturbance / Crisis Handler.
 Resource Allocator.
 Negotiator.

Copyright ©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1-5

Major Characteristics
 Time is fragmented.
 Values compete; the various roles are
in tension.
 The job is overloaded.
 Efficiency is a core skill.

Copyright ©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1-6

What Varies? The Emphasis.
 The entrepreneur role is gaining
importance.
 So is the leader role. Managers must
be more sophisticated as strategists
and mentors.
 Managers must create a local vision as
they help people grow.

Copyright ©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1-7

Management Skills Required
 Technical Skills: Most valuable at the
entry level; less valuable at more senior
levels.
 Relating Skills: Valuable across the
managerial career span.
 Conceptual Skills: Least valuable at
the entry level; more valuable at more
senior levels.
Copyright ©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1-8
Talk is the Work
 Managers across industries spend 75%
of their time in verbal interaction:
 one-on-one / face-to-face;
 telephone conversations;

 video teleconferencing;

 presentation to small groups;

public speaking to larger audiences.

Borden, The Business of Talk
Copyright ©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1-9
Talking and Listening
 Meetings.
 Telephone.
 Electronic Mail.
 One-on-one Conversations.
 Interviews.
 Tours and Informal Visits.
 Social Events.
Copyright ©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1-10
The Role of Writing
 The most important projects, decisions
and ideas end up in writing.
 Writing provides analysis, justification,
documentation, and analytic discipline.
 Writing can become a career sifter.

Copyright ©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1-11

The Role of Writing
 Managers do most of their own writing
and editing.
 Very few people have time to assist
you with data gathering, composition,
and proofreading.
 Documents take on lives of their own.

Copyright ©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1-12

Communication is Invention
 Managers create meaning through
communication.
 Managers figure things out by talking
about them as much as they talk about
the things they have already figured
out.

Copyright ©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1-13

Information is Socially Constructed

 Information is created, shared and

interpreted by people.
 Information never speaks for itself.
 Very little in life is self-explanatory.
 Context always drives meaning.
 A messenger always accompanies a
message.
Copyright ©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1-14
Your Greatest Challenge
 Every manager knows communication
is vital . . . to the organization and to
him or her personally.
 But every manager also knows that he
or she is great at it (“Of course I’m
good at this. Haven’t you seen my
writing?”)

Copyright ©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1-15

How Good Are You?
Deep down, managers believe they are
communicating effectively. In ten years of
management consulting, we have never had
a manager say to us that he or she was a
poor communicator. They admit to the
occasional screw-up, but overall, everyone,
without exception, believes he or she is
basically a good communicator.
Larkin, Communicating Change
Copyright ©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1-16
Your Task as a Professional
 Recognize and understand your
strengths and weaknesses as a
communicator.
 Improve existing skills.
 Develop new skills.

Copyright ©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1-17

Your Task as a Professional
 Acquire a knowledge base that will
work for the 21st Century.
 Develop the confidence you’ll need to
succeed as a manager or executive.

Copyright ©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1-18

Copyright ©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1-19