Managing Communications

Chapter 14
 THE nature and function of communication
 The ability to communicate effectively is a skill that must be mastered by any person who wants to be an
effective manager. The importance of effective communication for managers can’t be overemphasized for
one specific reason: Everything a manager does involves communicating. A manager can’t make a decision
without information. That information has to be communicated
 Communication is the transfer and understanding of meaning. More importantly, however, communication
involves theunderstanding of meaning. For communication to be successful, the meaning must be imparted
and understood. interpersonal communication—communication between two or more people—and
organizational communication, which is all the patterns, networks, and systems of communication within
an organization
 Functions of Communication
a) Communication acts to control employee behavior in several ways. Organizations have authority
hierarchies and formal guidelines that employees are expected to follow
b) Communication acts to motivate by clarifying to employees what is to be done, how well they’re doing,
and what can be done to improve performance if it’s not up to par.
c) Communication, provides a release for emotional expression of feelings and for fulFllment ofsocial needs.
d) Finally, individuals and groups need information to get things done in organizations. Communication
provides that information. Unfortunately, there can sometimes be a breakdown in information sharing,
leading to confusion.
 METHODS and challenges of interpersonal communication
 Before communication can take place, a purpose, expressed as a message to be conveyed, must exist. It
passes between a source (the sender) and a receiver. The message is converted to symbolic form (called
encoding) and passed by way of some medium (channel) to the receiver, who retranslates the sender’s
message (called decoding). The result is the transfer of meaning from one person to another.
 Methods
 Managers have a wide variety of communication methods from which to choose and can use 12 questions
to help them evaluate these methods.
1. Feedback: How quickly can the receiver respond to the message?
2. Complexity capacity: Can the method effectively process complex messages?
3. Breadth potential: How many different messages can be transmitted using thismethod?
4. Confidentiality: Can communicators be reasonably sure their messages are received only by those
intended?
5. Encoding ease: Can sender easily and quickly use this channel?
6. Decoding ease: Can receiver easily and quickly decode messages?
7. Time-space constraint: Do senders and receivers need to communicate at the same time and in the same
space?
8. Cost: How much does it cost to use this method?
9. Interpersonal warmth: How well does this method convey interpersonal warmth?
10. Formality: Does this method have the needed amount of formality?
11. Scanability: Does this method allow the message to be easily browsed or scanned for relevant information?
12. Time of consumption: Does the sender or receiver exercise the most control over when the message is
dealt with?
 Methods and Barriers
1. An important part of interpersonal communication is nonverbal communication
—that is, communication transmitted without words. Some of the most
meaningful communications are neither spoken nor written
2. Body language refers to gestures, facial expressions, and other body
movements that convey meaning. A person frowning “says” something different
from one who’s smiling. Hand motions, facial expressions, and other gestures
can communicate emotions or temperaments such as aggression, fear, shyness,
arrogance, joy, and anger. Knowing the meaning behind someone’s body moves
and learning how to put forth your best body language can help you personally
and professionally
3. Verbal intonation refers to the emphasis someone gives to words or phrases in
order to convey meaning.
 Methods and Barriers
Barriers
A. COGNITIVE
1. Information overload occurs when information exceeds our processing
capacity. The demands of keeping up with e-mail, text messages, phone calls,
faxes, meetings, and professional reading create an onslaught of data. What
happens when individuals have more information than they can process? They
tend to ignore, pass over, forget, or selectively choose information. Or they
may stop communicating.
2. The challenges don’t stop there. The full extent of information may not be
accurately conveyed, as a result of intentional filtering. Filtering is the
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.
 Methods and Barriers
Barriers
B. EMOTIONS: How a receiver feels infuences how he or she interprets it. 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.
They become defensive—verbally attacking others, making sarcastic remarks, being
overly judgmental, or questioning others’ motives.
C. SOCIOCULTURAL: Words mean different things to different people. Age,
education, and cultural background are three of the more obvious variables that
in„uence the language a person uses and the defnitions he or she gives to words.
D. NATIONAL CULTURE This general tendency illustrates how communication
differences can arise from national culture as well as different languages. 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
 Methods and Barriers
How to Overcoming Barriers
A. USE FEEDBACK Many communication problems are directly attributed to misunderstanding and
inaccuracies. These problems are less likely to occur if the manager gets feedback, both verbal and
nonverbal
B. SIMPLIFY LANGUAGE Because language can be a barrier, managers should consider the audience
to whom the message is directed and tailor the language to them. Effective communication is
achieved when a message is both received and
understood
C. LISTEN ACTIVELY Listening is an active search for meaning, whereas hearing is passive. In
listening, the receiver is also putting effort into the communication. Listening, is often more tiring
than talking. Unlike hearing, active listening, which is listening for full meaning without making
premature judgments or interpretations, demands total concentration
D. CONSTRAIN EMOTIONS Emotions can cloud and distort communication. A manager who’s upset
over an issue is more likely to misconstrue incoming messages and fail to communicate his or her
outgoing messages clearly and accurately
E. WATCH NONVERBAL CUES If actions speak louder than words, then it’s important to make sure
your actions align with and reinforce the words that go along with them
 EFFECTIVE organizational communication
In this section, we look at several important aspects of organizational communication,
including formal versus informal communication, the Flow patterns of communication,
formal and informal communication networks, and workplace design.
A. Formal Versus Informal
Formal communication refers to communication that takes place within prescribed
organizational work arrangements. Informal communication is organizational communication
not defned by the
organization’s structural hierarchy.
B. Direction of Flow: downward, upward, laterally, or diagonally. Downward communication
Communication that flows downward from a manager to employees. Upward
communication
Communication that flows upward from employees to managers. Lateral communication
Communication that takes place among any employees on the same organizational level.
Diagonal communication Communication that cuts across work areas and organizational
levels
 EFFECTIVE organizational communication
C. Networks
The vertical and horizontal Flows of organizational communication can be combined into a
variety of patterns called communication networks. In the chain network, communication
flows according to the formal chain of command, both downward and upward. The wheel
network represents 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. Finally, in the all-channel network, communication flows freely
among all members of a work team.
THE GRAPEVINE : the informal organizational communication network. The grapevine is
active in almost every organization. One survey reported that 63 percent of employees say
they hear about important matters first through rumors or gossip on the grapevine.
 Workplace design and communication
 Another factor that influences organizational communication is workplace design
 Research shows that a workplace design should successfully support four types of
employee work:
a) focused work: is when an employee needs to concentrate on completing a task
b) collaboration,
c) learning: is when employees are engaged in training or doing something new and could
involve both focused work and collaboration
d) socialization: happens when employees informally gather to chat or to exchange ideas
 open work places VS traditional work places
 COMMUNICATION in the Internet and social media age
 Information technology (IT) now touches every aspect of almost every company’s
business. The implications for how, where, and when managers communicate are
profound
a) The 24/7 Work Environment: IT has made it possible to stay connected around the
clock, seven days per week. And IT has radically changed the way organizational
members communicate.
b) Working from Anywhere: Employees don’t have to be at their desks to communicate
with others in the organization. As wireless technology continues to improve, we’ll see
more organizational members using it as a way to collaborate and share information.
c) Social Media: Employees—working in teams or as individuals—need information to
make decisions and to do their work. It’s clear that technology can change the way that
organizational members communicate, share information, and do their work.
d) Balancing the Pluses and Minuses
e) Choosing the Right Media
 Information technology (IT) now touches every aspect of almost every company’s
business. The implications for how, where, and when managers communicate are
profound
a) The 24/7 Work Environment: IT has made it possible to stay connected around the
clock, seven days per week. And IT has radically changed the way organizational
members communicate.
b) Working from Anywhere: Employees don’t have to be at their desks to communicate
with others in the organization. As wireless technology continues to improve, we’ll see
more organizational members using it as a way to collaborate and share information.
c) Social Media: Employees—working in teams or as individuals—need information to
make decisions and to do their work. It’s clear that technology can change the way that
organizational members communicate, share information, and do their work.
d) Balancing the Pluses and Minuses
e) Choosing the Right Media
 Communication issues in today’s organizations
 The main challenges of communicating in a digitally connected world are legal and
security issues and the lack of personal interaction.
 Organizations can manage knowledge by making it easy for employees to communicate
and share their knowledge, which can help them learn from each other ways to do their
jobs more effectively and efficiently. One way is through online informationdatabases.
 Communicating with customers is an important managerial issue since what
communication takes place and how it takes place can significantly affect a customer’s
satisfaction with the service and the likelihood of being a repeat customer.
 It’s important for organizations to get input from their employees. Such potentially
valuable information should not be ignored. Managers should explain how suggestions
are reviewed and feedback about the feasibility of suggestions should be shared.
 Finally, a company’s communication efforts need to be ethical. Ethical communication
can be encouraged through clear guidelines and through answering questions that force
a communicator to think through the communication choices made and the
consequences of those choices
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