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Running head: Discussion Work Forum Week Five Fore 2

Organizational Behavior

Melanie Fore

University of the Cumberlands

Introduction

Communication is a key to being a leader. These two chapters are connected in that way. Everyone in an organization needs to be comfortable with communicating to customers and each other. Leaders should have communication skills and that should show.

Chapter Eleven

Communication isn’t just about talking to someone, it is about listening as well. Chapter eleven goes further into detail about communicating. There are five functions of communicating. Managing behavior would be leaders creating a company policy and employees complying with it. Feedback would be letting your employees know how well they did and what they can do to improve their performance. Sometimes when communicating people like to use emotional sharing so that employees can show their satisfaction and frustration. Persuasion is often used in communication, and like emotional sharing it can be good or bad. Sometimes managers try to persuade you to do the right thing, and sometimes they try to persuade you to break the rules. And finally, information exchange is used in communication. Knowing all the information helps you to make decisions. The communication process includes eight key parts: the sender, encoding, the message, the channel, decoding, the receiver, noise, and feedback. Directions of communication can go downward, upward, lateral, in formal small-group networks, or through the grapevine. Downward communication is communication flowing from one level to a lower level. Upward communication is the opposite, from the lower level to the upper level. Lateral communication is communication from those who are in similar positions or the same level in the workplace. Formal small-group networks can be a chain, wheel, or all channel. Exhibit 11-2 helps with understanding these terms. And the grapevine is what you would think because of the “I heard it through the grapevine.” This means just everyone talking within the organization. Some information you hear may not be true and some may. Communication can be oral, written, or nonverbal. Several barriers exist when trying to communicate. Some common ones are filtering, information overload, language, silence, and many more.

Chapter Twelve

Traits can help predict leadership. Our authors discussed a couple theories about the traits leaders should have. The big five traits cover some. One is extraversion. Being sociable and easy to talk to is very important in a leader. Conscientious is also a good trait to have. You want to be someone who sticks to their word. Being flexible is also significant. Another theory is that emotional intelligence indicates effective leadership. Everyone looks up to people who can understand and share the feelings of others. While, trait theories predict leadership, behavioral theories explain it. Initiating structure is one behavioral theory. Someone who initiates structure sets standards and deadlines for employees to follow. Consideration is another behavioral theory. This means followers trust their leaders because they care about their feelings. The Fiedler Model, Situational Leadership Theory, and the Path-Goal Theory are contingency theories discussed in this chapter. Everyone has their own opinions whether charismatic leaders are born or made. Our authors tell us they can be both. Studies show that you can be born with charismatic traits, but then anyone can develop charismatic traits. Knowing the difference between transactional and transformational leaders are important. Both types of leaders can be effective in their own way. Transactional leaders guide people to their goals. While transformational leaders inspire others to pursue their goals, without guidance. Then there are authentic leaders, servant leaders, and positive leaders. All three are commonly used and also have their differences but can be effective. A lot of leaders choose to engage in formal courses, workshops, or mentoring to benefit them.

Conclusion

To sum things up, communication skills are important for any position, especially leaders. I enjoyed reading this week’s chapters because it clarified that.

References

Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. (2018). Essentials of organizational behavior. Harlow: Pearson

Education.