Unit V PowerPoint Presentation OT&B

BBA 3451, Organizational Theory and Behavior 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit V Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

5. Assess techniques to promote effective communication. 5.1 Evaluate communication blunders to determine the cause of the error. 5.2 Explain the best communication techniques to prevent communication blunders in the future.

Course/Unit Learning Outcomes

Learning Activity

5.1

Unit Lesson Chapter 9: Communicating in Teams and Organizations Unit V Podcast Unit V PowerPoint Presentation

5.2

Unit Lesson Chapter 9: Communicating in Teams and Organizations Unit V Podcast Unit V PowerPoint Presentation

Reading Assignment Chapter 9: Communicating in Teams and Organizations In order to access the following resources, click the links below. MarketLine. (2012). Netflix Inc.: Can it succeed in the UK? [Case study]. Retrieved from

https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc t=true&db=bth&AN=76480603&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Click here to access the Unit V Podcast. (Click here to access the Unit V Podcast transcript.)

Unit Lesson This unit focuses on the power of communication and the ways in which communication can help an organization or hurt it tremendously. In the podcast below, Chantell Cooley and Dayna Fuller join Robert Mayes, and the three discuss what they have learned about communication through their experiences. Click here to access the Unit V Podcast. (Click here to access the Unit V Podcast transcript.) The Power of Communication What is the real power of communication? It is about expressing ideas in the correct context and reaching a preferred outcome. Communication is not just about two people sharing content, or about an organization sharing information to thousands of its employees through e-mails or even by a CEO sharing critical vision and mission communication with his or her staff.

UNIT V STUDY GUIDE

Techniques to Promote Effective Communication

BBA 3451, Organizational Theory and Behavior 2

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE

Title

Communication is also about building a brand. It is about effectively using the media and social media (the news, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook) to create a strategy to get the message across to consumers about your product. Tesla, the California electric car company founded by entrepreneur Elon Musk, has used media communication to build the brand. According to Chafkin (2007), Musk’s ability to communicate the vision in a way to excite others helped them to grow. In this lesson, we will take a practical approach to learning about communication and expound on effective ways of communicating in teams. The lesson will look at communication through the lens of corporate America by reflecting on the models

discussed in the textbook and short case examples that will display the shortfalls in the communication process. Communicating in Team and Organizations Getting the right information to the right people at the right time sounds simple. Would you agree? For communication to be effective, it is necessary for the right people to be contacted, to be given the right information, and to take the right action or make the right decision. Again, it sounds pretty simple. So, why is communication so hard? Consider the following scenario: Your supervisor asks you to complete a task at work, and you ask her to clarify the deadline. She responds by casually saying, “When you have the time.” You take this to mean that there was not a hard deadline for the task, and then you put it aside while you complete other work. The next day, however, your supervisor asks you where the completed task is because she needs it for a meeting that will occur in 30 minutes. What happened to break down this communication, and how can we ensure that situations like this do not happen again?

What can cause miscommunication?

 Culture

 Ideology

 Power

 Influence

 Ethnicity

 Gender According to Dupe (2015) there are some basic reasons to explain why effective communication is so challenging. First, communication can never end. It is an ongoing process in everyday life and in every organization. Communication is accomplished through negotiations, contracts, decision-making, and explaining processes. Second, communicating is sometimes difficult being that we all interpret information differently. This is impacted by culture, ideology, power, influence, ethnicity, and gender. Third, the art of deception can be an issue when communication is used to present a position or idea that is not really what it is intended to be. An example is the rise and fall of Enron, the world’s largest energy trading company that went bankrupt in 2001 (see case example below). Finally, the inability to be clear can present challenges. You probably witness this in your daily life or at work; you may be given an assignment with an unclear outcome and unclear objectives on short notice, and this can cause a great amount of stress, which can lead to confusion. As a result, is it true to say that people generally may take communication for granted? Communication Blunders and Failures Communication that is taken for granted usually leads to problems. Communication that is unclear usually leads to shortfalls. Communication that is clear in providing guidance might be ignored; however, a breakdown in interpretation, perception, or urgency can lead to failure. Groysberg and Slind (2012b) in their article “The Silent Killer of Big Companies” explain that many leaders understand that poor communication

Computer communication (Geralt, 2017)

BBA 3451, Organizational Theory and Behavior 3

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE

Title

can be dangerous, but some continue to poorly manage communication channels. As you read the examples below, consider where you feel these organizations went wrong and what could have been done to prevent the failures. Nokia: As a Finnish mobile device company, Nokia missed out on the advancement of the smartphone and, therefore, was unable to remain competitive in the communications market (Groysberg & Slind, 2012b). Leadership failed to embrace a new strategy (think about the level of communication that must take place in business strategy), failed to address the competitive market change that the Apple iPhone had gained (communication from leadership to employees to establish a game plan), and remained complacent. As one top Nokia manager explained, nobody was able to handle the miscommunication, and as a result, management was not given the truth (Huy & Vuori, 2015). Enron: As the leading energy trading company, Enron went bankrupt in 2001. Why? Seeger and Ulmer (2003) assign blame to the company’s failure to communicate both moral and operational expectations, which led to serious problems throughout the organization. Unethical behaviors were adopted, and accounting practices were misrepresented (deception). Mrs. Watkins, a senior Enron employee, knew of the accounting irregularities in the company, but she failed to inform employees about their 401(k) plans in company stock as it plummeted from $90 a share to less than $1 a share (Cohan, 2002). Cohan (2002) also noted that Enron created an information blockage by preventing financial news from being released to the public. British Petroleum (BP): BP and the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in 2010 was caused by poor communications and a failure to share communication (Groysberg & Slind, 2012b). It would be difficult to summarize the communication failures, as there were many, but they include poor communication regarding lines of authority, communication failures between BP and Haliburton on design procedures, and poor communication by technicians performing data analysis; as a result, the interpretation of the results were overlooked. Communication failures within BP and with contractors on properly training rig personnel were evident in task accomplishment and comprehension. BP withheld important rig information within its own organization and with contractors (Transocean and Haliburton). Contractors failed to share critical rig operation information, data, and protocols with BP (Graham et al., 2011). Wells Fargo Company: Our final communication blunder is a current example from 2016 with the Wells Fargo Company. In the Roche’s (2016) article “Lessons from Three of 2016’s Biggest PR Failures,” the fraudulent opening of two million fake accounts at Wells Fargo made the list. The underlying impact of this fraudulent act was that a message was sent to Wall Street investors showing that the company was growing its customer base. The message showed more loan growth and higher account fees, both of which generate revenue and lead Wall Street to drive up the stock price based on future earnings. Here is where the communication blunder occurs: Instead of addressing the fraud issue directly with investigators and the public, the CEO, John Stumpf, blamed his employees (5,200 of them) and the consumer banking lead, Carrie Tolestedt, for the fraud (Roche, 2016). The issue here with communication, leadership, and accountability is with Stumpf. Instead of blaming his employees, he should have held himself accountable for the shortfalls, devised a plan to fix the shortfalls, and reassured the public that Wells Fargo is an ethical company. Instead, he was extremely slow to apologize and only did so when he was brought before the Senate Banking Committee. The bottom line of this leader’s weakness in communication and accountability led to reputation and credibility issues at Wells Fargo. Stumpf eventually resigned (Roche, 2016). As we can see in the aforementioned examples, there were many communication problems in negotiations, contracts, decision-making, and explanations regarding processes. Additionally, in the BP, Enron, and Wells Fargo examples, deception was present since communication was used to present a false position or idea. The examples above provide a real-world, practical look on how important information is, how it fails, how it can be manipulated for deception, and how it can be ignored. Review Exhibit 9.1 on page 250 of the textbook. Look at each step (sender, transmission, receiver). Look at the nodes in each area. Can you see the relationship between this diagram and the business failures? In each business situation, failure occurred because the communication channels broke down, were unused, or were misrepresented. Barriers were also noted based on power, position, culture, contract negotiations, authority of position, and communication challenges.

BBA 3451, Organizational Theory and Behavior 4

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE

Title

Improving Interpersonal Communication, and Improving Communication Groysberg and Slind (2012a) explain that when employees have uncertainty regarding the direction of the organization, this lack of direction can prevent the organization from growing in the future. Think about this statement. What is it really saying? The underlying theme and message is communication. What does it take to get the message across? The hottest buzzword today in our society is transparency. We hear about it daily in corporate America as well as federal, state, and local governments. What does it mean? Basically, transparency is the ability to see through to the other side; nothing is blocked or hidden from view. Hence, communication is transparent in the same way. The process of communication is two-fold; the message must be clear, and the receiver must engage in active listening. So, what is active listening? Active listening, according to McShane and Von Glinow (2018), is the ability of the listener to fully concentrate, comprehend, and process the message for action or learning. There are three steps that active listeners go through, which include sensing, evaluating, and responding. Exhibit 9.8 on page 267 of the course textbook provides a great visual on the three stages and the content of each stage. The bottom line is that you are proceeding through active listening and the stages all the time. The resource below is a great example of how active listening influenced Netflix. To access the following resource, click the link below. MarketLine. (2012). Netflix Inc.: Can it succeed in the UK? [Case study]. Retrieved from

https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc t=true&db=bth&AN=76480603&site=ehost-live&scope=site

In 2012, Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings, decided to change the format of billing for customers, creating double accounts and increasing fees. The results and reaction by customers proves that they were actively listening. Hastings apologized for mishandling the company’s 60% rise in price and for splitting the company into two divisions—the DVD delivery service and the streaming service. Over 800,000 Netflix customers cancelled their subscriptions, and over 12 million customers complained about visiting two online websites to verify billing charges (“Netflix Inc.,” 2012). Hastings explained how moving quickly can be positive, but moving too quickly can cause problems. He admitted that the company fell into the latter category (“Netflix Inc.,” 2012). The power of communication can be a huge asset or a huge liability. It can figuratively move mountains or cause an avalanche. From this lesson, you should walk away with a knowledge of clear techniques on how to promote effective communication, how to assess communication channel effectiveness, communication process models, channels of communication, and how to get the correct message across. You should also reflect on failures that occurred in U.S. and foreign companies that had poor communication plans, agendas, and processes (including Nokia, BP, Enron, and Netflix).

References Chafkin, M. (2007). Elon Musk. Inc., 29(12), 114–125.Retrieved from

https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/logi n.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=27655657&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Cohan, J. A. (2002). "I didn't know" and "I was only doing my job": Has corporate governance careened out of

control? A case study of Enron's information myopia. Journal of Business Ethics, 40(3), 275–299. Retrieved from https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/logi n.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=8603982&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Dupe, A. A. (2015). Organisational communication, the panacea for improved labour relations. Studies in

Business & Economics, 10(2), 5–16. Retrieved from https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/logi n.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=109518221&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Geralt. (2017). Computer communication [Image]. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/communication-

internet-1927706/

BBA 3451, Organizational Theory and Behavior 5

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE

Title

Graham, B., Reilly, W., Beinecke, F., Boesch, D., Garcia, T., Murry, C., & Ulmer, F. (2011). BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and offshore drilling. Retrieved from https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO- OILCOMMISSION/pdf/GPO-OILCOMMISSION.pdf

Groysberg, B., & Slind, M. (2012a). Before you start talking, think. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from

https://hbr.org/2012/07/to-resolve-the-uncertainty-in Groysberg, B., & Slind, M. (2012b). The silent killer of big companies. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved

from https://hbr.org/2012/10/the-silent-killer-of-big-companies Huy, Q., & Vuori, T. (2012). Who killed Nokia? Nokia did. Retrieved from

http://knowledge.insead.edu/strategy/who-killed-nokia-nokia-did-4268 MarketLine. (2012). Netflix Inc.: Can it succeed in the UK? [Case study]. Retrieved from

https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc t=true&db=bth&AN=76480603&site=ehost-live&scope=site

McShane, S. L., & Von Glinow, M. A. (2018). Organizational behavior: Emerging knowledge, global reality

(8th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education. Roche, D. (2016). Lessons from three of 2016’s biggest PR fails. Retrieved from

https://www.fastcompany.com/3066458/lessons-from-three-of-2016s-biggest-pr-fails Seeger, M. W., & Ulmer, R. R. (2003). Explaining Enron: Communication and responsible leadership.

Management Communication Quarterly, 17(1), 58–84. Retrieved from http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0893318903253436