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21878.Sum2020.Lecture1.ApproachestoOrg.WPJCommunication.WPJ1.pptxDr. Walter Jarvis
University of Technology Sydney Business School
Management Discipline Group
Organisational Dialogue: Theory & Practice Session 1 Subject Overview, Approaches to Organisational Communication
12/18/2020 5:25 PM
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Agenda: 1. Welcome: (i) Subject Outline (ii) Zoom lectures posted Tuesdays (iii) Tutorials start next week (iv) MS Teams for team project 2. Key questions about university and Post graduate studies 3. Intro to Organisational Dialogue 4. Short Q&A and Chat
Context for this subject: ie, ask yourself: why is 21878 a Foundational Core Post Graduate subject in Management?
Yeah, but that’s too obvious … there is so much more …
So let’s get very serious!!
It’s about YOU and UTS
– eh? How?
21878 Organisational Dialogue
Because this is a Post Graduate subject it is NOT just about “good communication”!!
So, let’s firstly unpack what is meant by Post Graduate (PG).
How does PG differ from Under Graduate?
Let’s start with a photographic memory
Would a photographic memory help you at school? At Undergrad? At Post Grad?
What is it that distinguishes a University course from a Training College?
Ie, what is distinctive about a University?
What makes it “higher” education? Again, not higher fees!
Objectives: 2 important lists, and with implications …
Subject Objectives
demonstrate an understanding of effective business communication skills
identify key communication issues in organisations
critically evaluate the factors contributing to effective organisational communication
Program Learning Objectives
Communicate information clearly and fluently in a written form appropriate for stakeholders (3.1)
Use oral communication appropriately to convey information clearly and fluently with others in a professional context (3.2)
Interact effectively with others in order to work towards a common outcome (3.3)
NICE, But these objectives mean a lot more … for you AND for UTS. What might those be? This is BIG!
Is this subject about communication within the organisation or about your personal communications skills?
For you – and UTS: it’s about “higher education”
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Assignments (check timing against Subject Outline)
Reflective Writing Task
A1: Learning Log (Individual) - 50%
Due in Week 5
Group Project ‘Communication Culture Change’
A2: Project Proposal (Group) - 20%
Due in Week 8
A3: Project Presentation (Individual) - 30%
Due in Week 10-11
Teaching & Learning Format – ”flipped learning”!
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Lectures
Tutorials
Discussion of pre-learning tasks
Self-learning resources
Reflective Writing Workshops
Lynda.com communication online modules
Activities and project work
Theory building
Video case study
Overview
Three perspectives on organisational communication
Communication as information transfer
Communication as strategic control
Communication as a dialogic process
Communication as information transfer
Think about these:
What are the key assumptions of this model?
What weaknesses does the ‘information transfer’ model have if applied to organisational practice?
Communication as information transfer
Key question: How can the sender communicate as clearly as possible so that the receiver ‘gets it’?
Manage the content
Clear syntax and expressions
Succinct sentences (max. 25 words per sentence)
Lists should be limited to 7 items
Use examples
Structure content
Repeat key messages
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Back to our reflection
What weaknesses does the ‘information transfer’ model have if applied to organisational practice?
Attitudes and behaviours may not change just because people ‘understand’ what is being said.
People have different mental models which shape the way they interpret a message
Audiences need to be engaged in the communication process. Their non-verbal and verbal feedback counts!
Communication as strategic control
Communication as a tool that individuals use to influence others and control their actions
Key question: How do you control your environment through communication? (It’s not always about clarity!)
Based on this perspective, it’s about strategically managing multiple goals
People have multiple goals, such as:
Maintaining relationships & avoiding conflict
Influencing other people’s actions
Avoiding commitment
Concealing information
Presenting themselves in a positive light
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Time to reflect
What are potential issues with the commonplace ‘communication as strategic control’ model?
Interest in audience, but only as means to be able to influence and persuade them to accept a predetermined meaning – no interest in jointly solving problems, generating ideas, etc.
What does this mean on an organisational level? What kind of working relationships are created with instrumental approach?
Think about how instrumental approaches impact values and attitudes – person to person, collectively.
So, let’s move to Dialogue
Communication as a dialogic process - What is dialogue?
A learning conversation
two-way, open and trust building
Characterised by mutual respect and interest/a genuine engagement
Acknowledges multi-perspectivity
Does not necessarily lead to agreement on a single meaning, but facilitates DIALOGUE, ie shared (Gr. “dia”) understanding (Gr. “logos”) & learning
One key idea to take away: Dialogue is about finding access to the bigger picture
"Just so are these preachers and scholars holding various views blind and unseeing.... In their ignorance they are by nature quarrelsome, wrangling, and disputatious, each maintaining reality is thus and thus.” [The Buddha]
This subject invites you to ask…
How can dialogue help to positively transform organisations?
– and ask yourself again why positive transformation is needed – within organisations, between organisations and society?
How can I contribute to a productive, healthy and ethical workplace and community through the way I communicate?
Communication as information transfer
Communication = a tool to transfer content from sender to receiver
One-way model: focus on what the sender can do to optimise communication ( passive recipient)
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What is dialogue?
“In a dialogue … nobody is trying to win … There is a different sort of spirit to it. In a dialogue, there is no attempt to gain points, or to make your particular view prevail. Rather, whenever any mistake is discovered on the part of anybody, everybody gains. It's a situation called win-win, in which we are not playing a game against each other but with each other. In a dialogue, everybody wins”
(Bohm 2004, p. 7)
“We use the word ‘dialogue’ to refer to a conversation in which people who have different beliefs and perspectives seek to develop mutual understanding.” (Herzig and Chasin, 2006, p. 3)
“Dialogue … is a conversation with a centre, not sides” (Isaacs 1999, p. 19)
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Communication as a dialogic process
Organisational
Constraints
Creativity
Dialogic communication
= Communication that promotes shared understanding, learning & collective problem solving
Key question:
What is effective communication from a more holistic perspective, i.e. to achieve balance between satisfied individuals and a cohesive community?
Communication is not just about information transfer, it is about building better relationships
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Dialogue requires self-reflexivity & openness
Dialogue requires becoming aware of one’s own tacitly held beliefs and being open about them – aka your biases and prejudices (pre-judgements)
Dialogue requires the ability to let go of pre-established assumptions => generation of new ideas/solutions
Positive outcomes of dialogic communication in organisations – note carefully each part and the whole
Better stakeholder participation & engagement
Sustainable decision-making
Development of shared understanding
Dialogue involves respect for ‘the other’ (as persons)
Dialogue is not primarily a difference in technique but a difference in relationship
Recognition of one’s own and others’ legitimate interests, respect for others beliefs and experiences, and increased understanding of both sides’ underlying beliefs and values
“I seriously question whether more technique is necessary. There is already a great deal of technique that relates to clear feedback, supportive and clarifying statements, air time, paraphrasing to check out what is understood, and so on. That is not to say that people consistently make use of the technique that is available to them. But even when they do, they may not change their intent to manipulate or control” (Dixon 1998, p. 64)
What of communication technology (devices, eg smart phones, so called “social media”)? It might be more efficient but what happens to relationships and respect for the other???
Dialogue involves collective critical thinking
“Dialogue….is about a shared inquiry, a way of thinking and reflecting together. It is not something you do to another person. It is something you do with persons.” (Isaacs 1999, p. 9)
Difference between (i) manipulating or coercing people to get ‘buy-in’ and (ii) creating a shared understanding that allows joint problem solving
References
Bohm, D. 2004, On Dialogue, Routledge, New York.
Dixon, N.M. 1998, Dialogue at Work. Making Talk Developmental for People and Organizations, Center for Creative Leadership, London.
Eisenberg, E.M., Goodall, H.L. & Tretheway, A. 2009, 'Defining Organizational Communication', in, Organizational Communication: Balancing Creativity and Constraint, 6th edn, Bedford/St. Martin's, Boston, pp. 26-56.
Herzig, M. & Chasin, L. 2006, 'Fostering Dialogue Across Divides: A Nuts and Bolts Guide from the Public Conversations Project', viewed March 01, 2012, <http://www.publicconversations.org/docs/resources/Jams_website.pdf>.
Isaacs, W.N. 1999, Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together: A Pioneering Approach to Communicating in Business and in Life, Currency, New York.
Miller, K. 2012, Organizational Communication. Approaches and Processes, 6th edn, Cengage Learning, Boston.
Senge, P. 1995, The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook : Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization Nicholas Brealey, London.
Thank you and welcome aboard!
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Q&A
