chapter 6, stephen p. robbins and nancy langton, organizational behaviour, third canadian edition....

Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Communication


• The Communication Process• Barriers to Effective Communication• Communication Flows in Organizations• Creating Effective Mechanisms for

Communication• Current Issues in Communication


Communication

• How can we improve communication?• How does communication flow in

organizations?• Do men and women communicate differently?

Questions for ConsiderationQuestions for Consideration


Communication Problems

• People spend nearly 70 percent of their waking hours communicating—writing, reading, speaking, listening

• WorkCanada survey of 2039 Canadians in six industrial and service categories found – 61 percent of senior executives believed that they did a good job of

communicating with employees. – Only 33 percent of the managers and department heads believed

that senior executives were effective communicators. – Only 22 percent of hourly workers, 27 percent of clerical employees,

and 22 percent of professional staff reported that senior executives did a good job of communicating with them.

• Canadians reported less favourable perceptions about their company’s communications than did Americans


Communication Terms

• Communication– The transfer of meaning among people

• Sender – Establishes a message, encodes the message,

and chooses the channel to send it

• Receiver – Decodes the message and provides feedback

to the sender


Exhibit 1 -- The Communication Process

Model

Providesfeedback

Receiver

Chooses thechannel

Source

Decodes themessage

Chooses amessage

Encodes themessage


Communication Terms

• Message– What is communicated.

• Encoding– Converting a message to symbolic form.

• Channel– The medium through which a message travels

• Decoding– Retranslating a sender’s message.


Choosing Channels

• Channels differ in their capacity to convey information.

• Rich channels have the ability to – Handle multiple cues simultaneously– Facilitate rapid feedback– Be very personal


Channelrichness

Type ofmessage

Informationmedium

Leanest

Richest Nonroutine,ambiguous

Routine,clear

Face to facetalk

Telephone

Computer

Memos,letters

Flyers, bulletinsgeneral reports

Exhibit 2Hierarchy of Channel

Richness


Barriers to Effective Communication

• Filtering– Refers to a sender manipulating

information so that it will be seen more favourably by the receiver.

• Selective Perception– Receivers in the communication process

selectively see and hear based on their needs, motivations, experience, background, and other personal characteristics.


Barriers to Effective Communication

• Defensiveness– When individuals interpret another’s

message as threatening, they often respond in ways that retard effective communication.

• Language– Words mean different things to different

people.


Communication Flows in Organizations

• Downward– Communication that flows from one level of a group

to a lower level• Managers to employees

• Upward– Communication that flows to a higher level of a group

• Employees to manager

• Lateral– Communication among members of the same work

group, or individuals at the same level


Networks

• Connections by which information flow– Formal

•Task-related communications that follow the authority chain

– Informal•Communications that flow along

social and relational lines


Exhibit 3 Networks and Their Effectiveness

All-ChannelWheelChain

ModerateHighModerateModerate

SpeedAccuracy

Emergence of a leaderMember satisfaction

FastHighHighLow

FastModerateNoneHigh


The Grapevine

• 75 percent of employees hear about matters first through rumours on the grapevine

• Grapevine: the organization’s informal network• Grapevine has three main characteristics

– Not controlled by management– Most employees perceive it as being more believable

and reliable than formal communiqués issued by top management

– Largely used to serve the self-interests of those people within it


Purpose of Rumours

• To structure and reduce anxiety

• To make sense of limited or fragmented information

• To serve as a vehicle to organize group members, and possibly outsiders, into coalitions

• To signal a sender’s status or power


Exhibit 4 Reducing the Negative Consequences of

Rumours1. Announce timetables for making important

decisions.2. Explain decisions and behaviours that may

appear inconsistent or secretive.3. Emphasize the downside, as well as the upside,

of current decisions and future plans.4. Openly discuss worst case possibilities; it is

almost never as anxiety provoking as the unspoken fantasy.


Creating Effective Mechanisms for Communication

• Mechanisms– The practices that bring what you stand for

to life and stimulate change

• They are intended to demonstrate how the communication should be accomplished


Nonverbal Communication

• Messages conveyed through body movements, facial expressions, and the physical distance between the sender and the receiver– Kinesics

• The study of body motions, such as gestures, facial configurations, and other movements of the body

– Proxemics• The study of physical space in interpersonal

relationships


Communication Barriers Between Men and Women

• Men use talk to emphasize status, women use it to create connection

• Women and men tend to approach points of conflict differently


Communication Barriers Between Men and Women

• Men and women view directness and indirectness differently– Women interpret male directness as an

assertion of status and one-upmanship– Men interpret female indirectness as covert,

sneaky, and weak

• Men criticize women for apologizing, but women say “I’m sorry” to express empathy


Cross-Cultural Communication Difficulties• Sources of barriers

– Semantics – Word connotations– Tonal differences


Culture Contexts

• Cultures differ in how much the context makes a difference in communication– High-context cultures

•Cultures that rely heavily on nonverbal and subtle situational cues in communication.

– Low-context cultures•Cultures that rely heavily on words to

convey meaning in communication


Exhibit 5 High- vs. Low-Context

CulturesHigh

context

Lowcontext

Chinese

Korean

Japanese

Vietnamese

Arab

Greek

Spanish

Italian

English

North American

Scandinavian

Swiss

German


Cross-Cultural Communications: Helpful

Rules• Assume differences until similarity is

proven.

• Emphasize description rather than interpretation or evaluation.

• Practise empathy.

• Treat your interpretations as a working hypothesis.


Tips for Writing and Sending E-mail

• Don’t send e-mails without a subject line• Be careful in your use of emoticons and

acronyms for business communications • Write your message clearly and briefly• Copy e-mails to others only if they really

need the information• Sleep on angry e-mails before sending to

be sure you are sending the right message


Summary and Implications:

Communication• A common theme regarding the relationship between

communication and employee satisfaction– The less uncertainty, the greater the satisfaction– Distortions, ambiguities, and incongruities all increase

uncertainty

• Less distortion in communication equals– More goal attainment, and better feedback– Reduction in ambiguity and distortion

• Ambiguity between verbal and nonverbal communiqués increase uncertainty and reduce satisfaction

• The goal of perfect communication is unattainable• The issue of communication is critical to motivation

chapter 6, stephen p. robbins and nancy langton, organizational behaviour, third canadian edition....

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