Communicating in Organisations

Dr. Berna Bridge İYTE Leadership and Management

Communication

It isn’t always easy when workers or customers confront top managers with difficult questions or challenge them regarding management failings, but getting candid feedback from employees or customers helps executives spot problems or recognise opportunities that might otherwise be missed.

There is a lot of energy put into communication by successful executives.

How important is communication?

Managers spend at least 80% of their day communicating with others.

This means 48 minutes of every hour in meetings, phone calls or talking informally while walking around.

The other 20 % is reading or writing, desk work, which is also communication.

Managers gather important information from both inside and outside the organisation and then distribute appropriate information to others who need it.

When managers perform the planning function: They gather information, write letters, memos and reports, and then meet with other managers to explain the plan

When managers lead: The communicate to share a vision of what the organisation can be and motivate employees to help achieve it.

When managers organise: They gather information about the state of the organisation and communicate a new structure to others.

Communication skills are a fundamental part of every managerial activity.

What is communication?

It is the process by which information is exchanged and understood by two or more people, usually with the intent to motivate or influence behaviour.

It is not just sending information.

Management communication is a two way street that includes listening and other forms of feedback.

By visiting employees at the shop floor or having breakfast with them, managers learn from direct communication and shape their understanding of the corporation.

The communication process

Many people think communication is simple because they communicate without conscious thought or effort.

However, communication is usually complex and opportunities for sending or receiving the wrong messages are innumerable.

The sender encodes the idea by selecting symbols with which to compose a message. The message is tangible formulation of the idea that is sent to the receiver. The message is sent through a channel, which is the communication carrier. The channel can be a formal report, a phone call or a meeting. The receiver decodes the symbols to understand the message.

Encoding and decoding are potential sources for communication errors, because knowledge, attitudes and background act as filters and and create ‘noise’ when translating from symbols to meaning.

Finally, feedback occurs when the receiver responds to the senders communication with a return message.

Without feedback, the communication is one-way, with feedback it is two-way.

Feedback is a powerful way to communication effectiveness.

Communication channels

High channel richness: Advantages: Personal, two way, fast feedbackDisadvantages: No record, spontaneous, dissemination hard Face to face Telephone Electronic message Memo Letter Formal reports BulletinLow channel richnessAdvantages : Provides record, premeditatedDisadvantages: Impersonal, one-way, slow feedback

Channel richness is the amount of information that can be transmitted during a communication episode.

It is important for managers to understand that each communication channel has advantages and disadvantages, and that each can be an effective means of communication in the appropriate circumstances.

Channel selection depends on whether the message is routine or non-routine.

Non-routine messages typically are ambiguous, concern novel events and impose great potential for misunderstanding.

They are often characterised by time pressure and surprise.

Under these circumstances, rich channels are needed.

Routine messages can effectively be communicated with less rich channels.

Nonverbal communication

Nonverbal communication refers to messages sent through human actions and behaviours rather than words.

Managers are watched, and their behaviour, appearance, actions and attitudes are symbolic of what they value and expect of others.

Facial expression, posture, voice, mannerism and dress are very important.

The relative impact of each have been found to be: Verbal impact: 7% Vocal impact : 38 % Facial impact : 55 %

So, it is not what you say but how you say it, which is important.

Nonverbal messages convey thoughts and feelings with greater force than do our most carefully selected words.

Body language often communicates our feelings more clearly.

When vebal and nonverbal communication are contradictory, the receiver can be confused and usually will give more weight to the actions than the words.

A manager’s office also sends poweful nonverbal clues: She stays behind the desk, and you sit in a straight chair

on the opposite side. ( The message is ‘I’m the boss here’)

The two of you sit in straight chairs at a table. ( The message is ‘this is serious bussiness’)

The two of you sit on a sofa or easy chairs. ( The message is, casual and friendly ‘Let’s get to know each other)

Nonverbal messages can be a powerful to communication if they complement and support verbal messages.

Persuasion and Influence

Communication is used not only to convey information but to persuade and influence people.

Managers use communication to sell employees on the vision for the organisation and influence them to behave in such a way as to accomplish the vision.

The command and control mindset of managers telling workers what to do and how to do it, is gone.

Managers can enrich their communication encounters by paying attention to the language they use as well as the communication channels they use to convey their messages.

To persuade and influence, managers connect with others on an emotional level by using symbols, metaphors, and stories to express their messages.

The power of story telling to keep people unified and focused on shared goals is very great.

Patrick Kelly (PSS World Medical Inc.) says: ‘In the early days of founding PSS I spent much of my time visiting various company locations and telling stories about my own life, as well as discussing challenges facing the company.’

Even when people heard the same story many times, their attentions perked up.

It was found that people loved to hear stories and that this can be used to enhance management and communication skills.

Stories can even be used to replace rules and regulations.

Managers can help inspire desirable behaviours for change by tapping into the imagination of their subordinates.

If we think back to our early school years, we may remember that the most effective lessons were often taught by stories.

Presenting hard facts and figures rarely has the same power as telling vivid stories.

Listening

One of the most important tools of manager communication is listening.

Most managers now recognise that important information flows from the bottom up, not the top down.

Listening involves the skill of both grasping facts and feelings to interpret a message’s genuine meaning.

Never pass up the opportunity to remain silent.

Many people instead of listening effectively, concentrate on formulating what they are going to say next.

Good Listener

Asks questions, paraphrases what is said Looks for new learning opportunities Fights or avoids distractions Knows how to concentrate Challenges, anticipates, summarises, weighs the evidence,

listens between the lines to tone of voice Nods, shows interest, give and take, positive feedback Does not judge until comprehension is complete Listens to central themes Works hard, exhibits body state, eye contact Uses difficult material as exercise for the mind, instead of

light material

Formal Communication Channels

Downward communication: Implementation of goals and strategies Job instructions and rationale Procedures and practices Performance feedback IndoctrinationUpward communication: Problems Suggestions for improvement Performance reports Grievances and disputes Financial and accounting information

Horizontal communication:(Coordination)

Intra-departmental problem solving Inter-departmental coordination Change initiatives and improvements

Horizontal communication is particularly important in learning organisations, where teams of workers are continuously solving problems and searching for new ways of doing things.

Informal Communication Channels

Management by wandering around: A communication technique in which managers interact directly with workers to exchange information.

Grapevine: An informal, person-to-person communication network of employees that is not officially sanctioned by the organisation. The information it provides helps make sense of an unclear or uncertain situation. Employees use grapevine rumours to fill in information gaps and clarify management decisions.

Research suggests that a few people are primarily responsible for the grape vine’s success.

Gossip chain: One tells many Cluster chain: A few tell selected others

Surprising aspects of the grapevine are its accuracy and relevance to the organisation.

About 80 % of grapevine communications pertain to the bussiness related topics rather than personal, vicious gossip.

Moreover, from 70 to 90 % of the details are accurate.

Managers should be aware that almost five out of every six important messages are carried to some extent by the grapevine rather than through official channels.

Experts recommend that managers accept and use the grapevine to their advantage.

Smart managers understand the company’s grapevine.

They recognise who is connected to whom and which employees are key players in the informal spread of information.

Communicating in Teams

In a highly competitive global environment, organisations use teams to deal with complex problems.

When team activities are complex and difficult, all members should share information in a decentralised structure to solve problems.

Decentralised network: Individuals can communicate freely with other members of the team and arrive at decisions.

Centralised network: A team communication structure in which team members communicate through a single individual to solve problems or to make decision.

In laboratory experiments, centralised communication networks achieve faster solutions. Members could simply pass relevant information to a central person for a decision.

Open communication: Sharing all types of information throughout the company across functional and hierarchical levels.

This is an emphasis on empowering employees and enhancing team production.

Dialogue: A group communication process aimed at creating a culture based on collaboration, fluidity, trust and commitment to shared goals.

People may start at polar opposites but by talking openly with each other, they discover common ground, common issues and shared goals on which they can build a better future.

Barriers to Communication

Barriers to communication can exist within the individual or as part of the organisation.

Individual barriers:

Interpersonal barriers: Problems with emotions and perceptions held by the employees.

Channels and media: Selecting the correct channel for communication. When a message is emotional, it is better to have a face to face talk. Writing works best for routine messages.

Semantics: The meaning of words and the way they are used.

A word such as effectiveness may mean achieving high production to a factory superintendent, and employees satisfaction to a human resource manager.

Many common words have an average of 28 definitions so knowledge of other’s perspective is important.

Inconsistent cues: Between verbal and nonverbal communications. (If one’s words do not match the facial expressions)

Organisational Barriers:

Status and power differences: Low power people may be reluctant to pass bad news up, high power people may not pay attention to low power people. Climate of trust should be created.

Departmental need and goals: These may interfere with communications. Each dept. perceives problems in its own terms. The production dept. is concerned with production efficiency, and may not fully understand the marketing dept.’s need to get the product to the customer in a hurry. Development and use of formal channels is important.

Communication network unsuited to task: Communication flow may not fit the organisation’s task. Changing organisation or group structure to fit communication needs is the answer.

Lack of formal channels: Absence of formal channels reduces communication effectiveness. Upward, downward, horizontal, employee surveys, open door policies, newsletters, memos, all should be used.

Overcoming communication Barriers

Managers can design the organisation so as to encourage positive, effective communication.

Designing involves both individual and organisational action.

Individual Skills

Most important individual skill is active listening:

Asking questions Showing interest Paraphrasing what was said Providing feedback to the sender to complete the

communication loop.

Other points are: Choosing the right channel To make a special effort to undrstand the other’s perspective Wandering around

Organisational Actions

Create a climate of trust and openness to encourage people to communicate honestly with each other

Use all channels in all directions

The structure should fit the communication needs