Assignment 7

may2025

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Chapter 13

Communication

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Introduction

Communication is the glue that holds organizations together.

Communication assists organizational members to develop long-range strategic plans, respond to changes in the organizational environment, manage internal talent, and engage in virtually all organizationally relevant behaviors.

Improving our ability to communicate effectively should be a top priority.

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Communication is the glue that holds organizations together. Communication assists organizational members to develop long-range strategic plans, respond to changes in the organizational environment, manage internal talent, and engage in virtually all organizationally relevant behaviors. Improving our ability to communicate effectively should be a top priority.

The Importance of Communication

Communication helps organizations

Accomplish individual and organizational goals

Implement and respond to organizational change

Coordinate activities

Engage in virtually all organizational relevant behaviors

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Organizations that foster communication among employees and managers are more likely to be effective.

The Importance of Communication

Communication breakdowns are pervasive

Ineffective communication = ineffective organizations

Problems arise when…

Informal remarks are distorted

Kidding leads to anger

Directives are misunderstood

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It would be extremely difficult to find an aspect of a manager’s job that does not involve communication. Serious problems arise when directives are misunderstood when casual kidding in a work group leads to anger, or when informal remarks by a top-level manager are distorted. Each of these situations is a result of a breakdown somewhere in the communication process.

The Importance of Communication

Communication itself is unavoidable in a functioning organization

Only effective communication is avoidable

Everything one does communicates something, in some way, to somebody

The only question is, “With what effect?”

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The pertinent question is not whether managers engage in communication because communication is inherent to the functioning of an organization. Rather, the pertinent question is whether managers will communicate well or poorly. In other words, communication itself is unavoidable in an organization’s functioning; effective communication is avoidable. Every manager must be a communicator. In fact, everything a manager does communicates something in some way to somebody or some group, but with what effect? While this may appear an overstatement at this point, it will become apparent as you proceed through the chapter. Despite the tremendous advances in communication and information technology, communication among people in organizations leaves much to be desired.

How Communication Works

Effective communication

Common understanding between a communicator and a receiver

Verbal or nonverbal common symbols are used to convey information

In an organizational, information flows

Vertically

Horizontally

Diagonally

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Communication experts tell us that effective communication is the result of a common understanding between the communicator and the receiver. In fact, the word communications derived from the Latin communis, meaning “common.” The communicator seeks to establish commonness” with a receiver. Hence, we can define communication as the transition of information and understanding through the use of common symbols from one person or group to another. The common symbols may be verbal or nonverbal. You will see later that in the context of an organizational structure, information can flow up and down (vertical), across (horizontal), and down and across (diagonal).

EXHIBIT 13.1 A General Model of Communication

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The most widely used contemporary model of the process of communication has evolved mainly from the work of Shannon, Weaver, and Schramm. These researchers were concerned with describing the general process of communication that could be useful in all situations. The model that evolved from their work is helpful for understanding communication. The basic elements include a communicator, encoding, a medium, decoding, a receiver, feedback, and noise.

The Elements of Communication

Communicator: a person with ideas, intentions, information, and a purpose for communicating

Message: an idea or experience that a sender wants to communicate

Encoding: converting a message into groups of symbols that represent

ideas or concepts

Medium of transmission: the carrier of the message

Decoding-Receiver: technical term for the receiver’s thought processes

Feedback: the receiver’s response to the sender’s message

Noise: factors that distort the intended message

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Encoding

Given the communicator, an encoding process must take place that translates the communicator’s ideas into a systematic set of symbols—into a language expressing the communicator’s purpose. Message

Medium

The medium is the carrier of the message.

Decoding-Receiver

For the communication process to be completed, the message must be decoded in terms of relevance to the receiver. Feedback

Provision for feedback in the communication process is desirable. One-way communication processes are those that do not allow receiver-to-communicator feedback. This may increase the potential for distortion between the intended message and the received message. A feedback loop provides a channel for receiver response that enables the communicator to determine whether the message has been received and has produced the intended response.

Noise

In the framework of human communication, noise can be thought of as those factors that distort the intended message.

Nonverbal Communication

Messages sent via physical signals

Head, face, and eye movements, posture, physical distance, gestures, voice tone, and clothing choices

Influenced by such factors as gender and race

Just as important as verbal communication, sometimes more so

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The information sent by a communicator that is unrelated to the verbal information—that is, nonverbal messages or nonverbal communication—is a relatively recent area of research among behavioral scientists. The major interest has been in the physical cues that characterize the communicator’s presentation. These cues include such modes of transmitting nonverbal messages as head, face, and eye movements, posture, physical distance, gestures, tone of voice, handshakes, and clothing and dress choices.

Nonverbal Communication

Unique Qualities

More apparent to observers than communicators

Susceptible to multiple interpretations

Can be difficult to suppress

Can contradict verbal messages

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Nonverbal messages may differ from other forms of communication behavior in several ways. For example, nonverbal behavior can be difficult to suppress (e.g., an involuntary frown indicating displeasure), ultimately contradicting the communicator is sending verbally. Another way in which nonverbal messages differ from other forms is that they are more apparent to the people who observe them than they are to the people who produce them. This can make it very difficult for the sender to know how successfully she or he produced the nonverbal message that was intended. Finally, many nonverbal messages are susceptible to multiple interpretations.

Nonverbal Message Research Findings

Facial expressions and eye contact and movements provide information about emotions

Physical cues indicate emotional intensity

Communicators often send more information than is obtained in verbal messages

When verbal and nonverbal messages conflict, receivers place more faith in nonverbal cues

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Research indicates that facial expressions and eye contact and movements generally provide information about the type of emotion, while such physical cues as distance, posture, and gestures indicate the intensity of the emotion. These conclusions are important to managers. They indicate that communicators often send a great deal more information than is obtained in verbal messages. To increase the effectiveness of communication, a person must be aware of the nonverbal as well as the verbal content of the messages. When verbal and nonverbal messages conflict, receivers tend to place more faith in nonverbal cues.

Communicating Within Organizations

Downward Communication

Flows from higher levels in the hierarchy to those in the lower levels

Includes job instructions, memos, policy statements, procedures, manuals, company publications

Often incomplete, inadequate, and inaccurate

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The design of an organization should provide for communication in four distinct directions: downward, upward, horizontal, and diagonal. Since these directions of communication establish the framework within which communication in an organization occurs, let us briefly examine each one. This examination will enable you to better appreciate the barriers to effective organizational communication and the means to overcome them.

Downward Communication

This type of communication flows downward from individuals in higher levels of the hierarchy to those in lower levels.

Communicating Within Organizations

Decision Stages

Speculate

Digest

Deliberate

Draw conclusion

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Employees go through four stages when high-level decisions are developed and implemented: first, employees speculate about what’s going to happen ,second, when the official announcement is made, employees digest the news and why the decision is being made, third, they deliberate by discussing the announcement with their peers; and, fourth, employees make a conclusion about the decision. This last step will lead the employees to “embrace, accept, endure, reject, or passively resist” the decision. Decision makers who communicate and respond to these stages will increase the likelihood that employees will accept and embrace the announced changes.

Communicating Within Organizations

Upward Communication

Communicator is at lower level than receiver

Includes suggestion boxes, group meetings, and appeal or grievance procedures

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An effective organization needs upward communication as much as it needs downward communication. In such situations, the communicator is at a lower level in the organization than the receiver. Some of the most common upward communication flows are suggestion boxes, group meetings, and appeal or grievance procedures. In their absence, people somehow find ways to adopt nonexistent or inadequate upward communication channels. This has been evidenced by the emergence of “underground” employee publications in many large organizations.

Communicating Within Organizations

Functions of Upward Communication

Provides managers feedback about problems, organizational issues, day-to-day operations

Is management’s primary source of feedback

Relieves employee tension by allowing lower-level organization members to share relevant information with superiors

Encourages employees’ participation and involvement, thereby enhancing organizational cohesiveness

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Upward communication serves a number of important functions. Organizational communication researcher Gary Kreps identifies several which are listed on the slide.

Communicating Within Organizations

Horizontal Communication

Overlooked in most organizational designs

Necessary for coordination and integration of diverse organizational functions

Often necessary for coordination

Can provide social need satisfaction

Facilitation often left to individual managers

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Often overlooked in the design of most organizations is the provision for horizontal communication .When the chairperson of the management department communicates with the chairperson of the marketing department concerning the course offerings in a college of business administration, the flow of communication is horizontal. Al-though vertical (upward and downward) communication flows are the primary considerations in organizational design, effective organizations also need horizontal communication. Horizontal communication is necessary for the coordination and integration of diverse organizational functions.

Communicating Within Organizations

Diagonal Communication

Least-used channel of communication

Important where members cannot communicate effectively through other channels

Sometimes the most efficient

communication method, in terms of time and money

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While it is probably the least-used channel of communication in organizations, diagonal communication is important in situations where members cannot communicate effectively through other channels.

Communicating Within Organizations

Communicating Externally

Present products, services, positive image

Attract employees

Gain attention

Typically used for…

Public relations

Advertising

Promoting

Customer/client/patient surveys

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Organizations are involved in communicating externally to introduce products and services, to increase awareness of key brands, to project a positive image and reputation, to attract employees, and to gain attention.

The typical external communication program includes four distinct programs:

• Public relations involves the communication of a positive image, exemplary corporate/organization citizenship, and promotion of an identity as a contributor to society and the immediate community.

• Advertising involves illustrating products or services in a positive manner and building brand loyalty.

• Promoting the culture and opportunities available to prospective employees.

• Customer/client/patient surveys are used to gather feedback about the experience of external constituents with the organization.

Each of these four communication programs is used to collect or disseminate information. The internal and external communication programs provide ideas, information, connections, and insight into what individuals and groups are saying, what is important, and what needs modification.

Information Richness

The amount of information that can be transmitted or communicated effectively

Face-to-face interactions are high in richness

A general email to employees is low in richness

A medium with high richness

Likely to result in common understanding

“Real time” communication permits instant feedback

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There are many different ways to communicate both within

the organization, to supervisors and co-workers, and outside the organization, to customers and vendors. Communication media differ in their information richness .The richness of communication refers to the amount of information that can be transmitted in an effective manner. A medium that enables high richness, such as a face-to-face interaction, is more likely to result in common understanding between individuals or a group when compared to a low-in-richness medium, such as a generalized e-mail sent to all employees.

EXHIBIT 13.2 Common Communication Media in 21st Century Organizations

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Exhibit 13.2 provides examples of communication media typically used by employees and the level of richness contained within each medium. Face-to-face communication is high in richness because verbal and nonverbal cues can be exchanged and observed. This form of communication is also in “real time” and consequently permits on-the-spot feedback. If a person fails to understand a communication, a request for clarification can immediately be presented. Information richness is low in the case of an e-mail to a general population. The impersonal nature of this type of communication is obvious. A specific individual is not being addressed, so feedback is not likely to occur in this type of communication.

Technology and Communication

Internet/Intranet/Extranet

Email, Messaging

Social Networks

Smart Phones

Voice Mail

Videoconference

Teleconference

eMeeting/ Collaboration

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Managers have access to various technologies to facilitate communication.

Intranet Versus Extranet

Intranet

Private, protected electronic communication system within an organization

Used to communicate proprietary and organization- specific information

Extranet

Connects employees with individuals external to the organization

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While we may all be aware of the internet, there are two closely related terms.

An intranet is a private, protected electronic communication system within an organization. If it is connected to the Internet, it has its privacy protected by what are called firewalls. A firewall is a network mode set up internally to prevent traffic to cross into the private domain. Intranets are used to communicate such things as proprietary organizational information, company plans, confidential medical records, training programs, compensation data, and company records.

An extranet is designed to connect employees with individuals external to the organization, such as vendors, customers, and other strategic partners.

Dangers of Email Use

Unedited, poorly written messages

Lack of privacy

Erased messages can remain on drives

Hard to maintain email files that adhere to recordkeeping standards

Messages are often monitored

Ineffective for complex data and information

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The use of e-mail will continue to expand rapidly in the coming years. In the past, some e-mail users sent out unedited, poorly written messages on the fly. This type of sloppiness has been criticized and is discouraged in organizations. The privacy of e-mail is another serious issue. Supervisors, colleagues, and others can access e-mail messages. Consequently, care must be exercised in properly using e-mails as a communication approach. The permanency of e-mail messages is another issue that astute users of e-mail communications have learned to consider. Erased messages can remain on disk drives, servers, and social networking sites indefinitely.

Instant Messaging

Instant messaging

Real-time communication among geographically dispersed employees

Inexpensive alternative to phone calls and travel

Offers a document trail

Integration with voice and video

Demands the immediate attention of its users

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In addition to e-mail, the growth of instant messaging (IM) has also been explosive within recent years. Now, more and more organizations are installing internal IM systems. Corporate use of IM is expected to grow rapidly because IM offers real-time communication among geographically dispersed employees; is an inexpensive alternative to multiple telephone calls and travel; creates a document trail for future reference; offers integration with voice and video; and demands the immediate attention of its users.

Text Messaging

Texting competes with traditional marketing

Less expensive

Favored by young consumers

Most text messages are read

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Driven by the increased need to conduct business from anywhere at any time, text messaging from cell phones is also gaining in popularity. Given that most employees, customers, and vendors have cell phones in the United States, many companies are exploring ways to use text messaging to connect with potential customers, increase sales, and enhance customer satisfaction. Texting to reach customers has many advantages compared with the more traditional methods such as TV, radio, e-mail, newspapers, magazines, or direct mail, including:

•Texting is less expensive than many other forms of advertising and marketing.

•Texting is the favorite form of communication among young consumers, making them an attractive target market.

•People read 95 percent of text messages because they are generally from known sources and friends.

Social Networking Sites

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

Rapidly becoming part of communication fabric

Used for a variety of purposes

Not exclusive to the young

Increasingly monitored by businesses

Powerful communication tool that can reach around the world in seconds

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Another way in which technology is transforming communication is with the explosion in popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Serving a variety of human and business needs, social networking sites are rapidly becoming part of the communication fabric of organizations.

Smartphones

68% of Americans had smart phones in 2015

Increased need to stay connected with colleagues, customers, and other stakeholders

Stores addresses, phone numbers, customer prices, and other critical data

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According to research conducted by the Pew Research Center, approximately 68 percent of American adults owned smartphones in 2015. The way people use their

smartphones continues to evolve. According to recent research, more than 225 billion apps were downloaded by iOS (Apple) and Android (Google) users in 2015. The five most popular apps in 2015 were Facebook, YouTube, Facebook Messenger, Google Search, and Google Play.

Voice Mail

Recorded messages account for 90% of telephone communication in organizations

Voice mail is more popular than email

Messages are delivered without interruption

Communicators can focus on the reason for the call

Voice mail minimizes inaccurate message- taking and time zone barriers

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The primary method by which employees communicate internally, leaving a recorded message accounts for approximately 90 percent of telephone communication within organizations today. Voice mail, more popular than e-mail, serves many functions, but one of the most important is message storage. Incoming messages are delivered with-out interrupting receivers and allow communicators to focus on the reason for their call. Voice mail minimizes inaccurate message-taking and differences in time zones. Employees today are encouraged to develop the ability to leave concise, professional, and courteous voice-mail messages.

Voice Mail Best Practices

Organize thoughts before picking up the phone

Identify a specific, brief request

State your name, the time and date, your company name, and the reason for the call

Be precise and keep the message simple

Say what you would like the receiver to do

Give a reason for the request

Say “thank you”

Finish with “Feel free to call me at…”

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Best voice mail practices include those listed on the slide.

Perhaps the most important tip is the first one listed, organize thoughts before picking up the phone

Videoconferencing and Teleconferencing

Videoconferencing

Refers to technologies associated with viewing

Teleconferencing

Refers to technologies associated with speaking

Both allow meetings without getting together face-to-face increasing productivity and reducing travel costs

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Video conferencing refers to technologies associated with viewing, and teleconferencing refers to technologies primarily associated with speaking. These technologies allow members of virtual teams and other geographically dispersed individuals to interact without having to travel for a face-to-face meeting.

Electronic Meetings

Using software and networked computers to automate meetings

Facilitators can poll meeting participants, analyze voting results, create detailed reports

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Another form of conferencing is Web conferencing (or “webinars”) in which the Internet is used to conduct real-time e-meetings or presentations of geographically dispersed participants. Participants connect to the Web conference via a personal computer or other Internet-enabled device. In addition to presentations, Web conferencing and online collaboration software allow voice, video, instant messaging, document sharing, and presentations among participants. These capabilities help facilitate on-line collaboration on projects and other work assignments.

Electronic meeting software (EMS), or meetingware, uses networked computers to automate meetings. A large screen at the front of the room is the focal point. The screen serves as an electronic flip chart displaying comments, ideas, and responses of participants. Meetingware allows facilitators to poll meeting participants, analyze voting results, and create detailed reports.

Electronic Meetings

Overloading employees with new “toys,” additional information, and technologies

Can reduce efficiency

Social interaction is lost

Most verbal and nonverbal cues are omitted

Anonymity and de-personalization are concerns

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Advancements in information technologies are continuing and are providing organizational members with additional ways to communicate. Technologies, however, will not solve all communication problems. Overloading employees with new “toys,” additional information, and technologies to learn can result in less efficiency. Also, the social interaction and personal touch can be lost by relying solely on electronic technologies for communication. Electronic communication omits many verbal and most nonverbal cues that people use to acquire feedback. Guarding against anonymity and depersonalization are concerns when using many of the information technologies.

Interpersonal Communication

Communication flows from person to person in face-to-face and group meetings

Includes instant messaging, video-conferencing

Varies from direct orders to casual expressions

Includes both verbal and nonverbal forms of communication

Communication problems are tied to

Perceptual differences

Interpersonal style differences

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Within an organization, communication flows from individual to individual in a variety of ways, from face-to-face and group settings to instant messaging and videoconferencing. Such flows are termed interpersonal communication and can vary from direct orders to casual expressions. Interpersonal behavior could not exist without interpersonal communication. In addition to providing needed information, interpersonal communication also influences how people feel about the organization. The problems that arise when managers attempt to communicate with other people can be traced to perceptual differences and interpersonal style differences. We know from Chapter 4 that each manager perceives the world in terms of his or her background, experiences, personality, frame of reference, and attitude. The primary way in which managers relate to and learn from the environment (including the people in that environment) is through information received and transmitted. And the way in which managers receive and transmit information depends, in part, on how they relate to two very important senders of information themselves and others In research involving interpersonal communication, it has been found that only 7 percent of the “attitudinal” meaning of a message comes from words spoken. Over 90 percent of meaning results from nonverbal cues.

Multicultural Communication

Behavior

Time

Words

Space

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Multicultural communication occurs when two or more individuals from different cultures communicate with one another, whether it is through a face-to-face meeting, an instant messaging exchange, or a videoconference. Cultural anthropologists Edward T. and Mildred R. Hall theorize that culture is communication and that communication can be divided into several culturally determined parts: words, space, time, and behavior. Within each of these categories, examples of the challenges of communicating across cultures are common.

Successful Multicultural Communication

Preparation

Become familiar with cultural differences

Flexible Thinking

Lay aside ethnocentric tendencies

Humility

Assume communication is incomplete

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Businesspeople from different cultures effectively and efficiently communicate with each other hundreds, perhaps thousands, of times every business day. By and large, the senders and receivers of those successful communications exhibit some, or all, of the following attributes:

1. Preparation. They have made it a point to familiarize themselves with significant cultural differences that might affect the communication process. They do this through study, observation, and consultation with those who have direct or greater experience with the culture than do they.

2. Flexible thinking. They make a conscious, concerted effort to lay aside ethnocentric tendencies. This does not mean they must agree with values, customs, interpretations, or perspectives different from their own; awareness, not acceptance, is what is required to facilitate communications.

3. Humility. Perhaps most importantly, despite their efforts at doing what is described in the above two points, they maintain a posture of “knowing they do not know.” This simply means that in the absence of direct, usually extensive, ongoing exposure to another culture, they may be unaware of nuances in the communication process. Rather than assuming understanding is complete unless demonstrated otherwise, they assume it is incomplete until shown otherwise.

Barriers to Effective Communication

Frame of Reference

Selective Listening

Value Judgments

Source Credibility

Filtering

In-Group Language

Status Differences

Time Pressures

Communication Overload

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A good question at this point is: “Why does communication break down?” On the surface, the answer is relatively easy. We have identified the elements of communication as the communicator, encoding, the message, the medium, decoding, the receiver, and feedback. If noise exists in these elements in any way, complete clarity of meaning and understanding will not occur. A manager has no greater responsibility than to develop effective communications. In this section, we discuss several barriers to effective communication that can exist both in organizational and interpersonal communications.

Improving Communication in Organizations

To become a better communicator

Strive to be understood

Strive to understand

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Managers striving to become better communicators have two separate tasks they must accomplish. First, they must improve their messages—the information they wish to transmit. Second, they must seek to improve their own understanding of what other people are trying to communicate to them. As organizations become increasingly diverse, the opportunities for communication breakdowns will most likely increase.

Techniques to Improve Communications

Following up

Empathy

Effective timing

Regulating information flow

Repetition

Simplifying language

Utilizing feedback

Encouraging mutual trust

Using the grapevine

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Despite innumerable differences, multicultural communication can be successful.

Following up involves assuming that you are misunderstood and, whenever possible, attempting to determine whether your intended meaning actually was received.

The regulation of communication can ensure an optimum flow of information to managers, thereby eliminating the barrier of “communication overload.”

Empathy involves being receiver-oriented rather than communicator-oriented.

Repetition is an accepted principle of learning.

We know that time pressures often negate the possibility that managers will be able to follow up communication and encourage feedback or upward communication every time they communicate.

Individuals are exposed to thousands of messages daily. Many of these messages are never decoded and received because of the impossibility of taking them all in.

Complex language has been identified as a major barrier to effective communication.

The grapevine is an important information communication channel that exists in all organizations. It basically serves as a bypassing mechanism, and in many cases it is faster than the formal system it bypasses.

Promoting Ethical Communications

Kreps’ principles for internal organizational communications

Do not intentionally deceive another

Do not purposely harm an organization member

Treat organizational members justly

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It is incumbent upon organizational members to deal ethically with one another in their communication transactions. Kreps postulates three broad principles applicable to internal organizational communications. The first is that organizational members should not intentionally deceive one another. This may not be as simple a principle to conform to as it may seem. While lying clearly violates it, is communicating less than you know to be true a breach of ethics? There is no hard and fast answer. The second principle is that organization members’ communication should not purposely harm any other organization member. This is known as nonmalfeasance or refraining from doing harm. Finally, organization members should be treated justly. This too can be difficult, for justice is a relative principle that must be evaluated in a specific context.

EXHIBIT 13.3 Improving Communications in Organizations (Narrowing the Communication Gap)

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We have discussed several common communication barriers and several means to improve communication. Exhibit 13.3 illustrates the means that can be used to facilitate more effective communication. Often there is not enough time to utilize many of the techniques for improving communication, and skills such as empathy and effective listening are not easy to develop. Exhibit 13.3 shows that communicating is a matter of transmitting and receiving. Managers must be effective at both. They must understand as well as be understood.

Assignment 7

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