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Emerging Enterprise Communication Platforms
Slack and other enterprise-grade digital platforms have become hugely popular
communication tools in contemporary organizations, but they also create new issues
about how to communicate effectively in the workplace.
Communication Definition
Process by which information is transmitted and understood between two or more
people.
Importance of communication
1) Coordinating work activities
.2)Acquiring/sharing knowledge
3) Better decision making
4) Changing others' behavior
5) Employee well-being.
Communication Process Model
look at powerpoint
Coding-Decoding Differences Across Generations
Today's multigenerational workforce creates communication challenges because each
generation has increasingly divergent communication channel preferences, abilities,
and even codebooks
Improving Communication Coding/Decoding
1) Sender/receiver have similar codebooks.
2) Sender has experience encoding the message
3)Sender/receiver are motivated and able to use the selected channel
4)Sender/receiver have shared mental models of the communication context.
Digital Written Communication
ARPANET and Usenet are the earliest digital written communication channels
Digital written communication is rapidly evolving due to
1) Changing generational preferences
2)Emerging workplace communication platforms.
Digital Written Communication
Email is the most frequently used channel in organizations, but is declining quickly.
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Fastest growing channels is online chatting and messaging.
Gen Z employees use email less than text/chat at work
Benefits of Digital Written Communication
Can be written, edited, and transmitted quickly.
Can be sent to many people simultaneously.
Email and others have search engines.
Preferred for sending well-defined information for coordinating work.
Increases upward communication.
Potentially reduces status differences, but still subtle.
Potentially reduces stereotyping and prejudice, but may increase reliance on
stereotypes.
Problems with Digital Written Communication
-Communicates emotions poorly
-Reduces politeness and respectfulness (flaming).
-Inefficient for ambiguous, complex, novel situations.
-Increases information overload.
Workplace Communication Through Social Media
Digital communication channels that enable people to collaborate in the creation and
exchange of user-generated content.
Channels are "social."
1)Enable reciprocally interactive content
2)Users provide feedback, links, edits.
Various social media serve diverse functions
1)Identity, conversations, sharing, presence, relationships, reputation/status.
Nonverbal Communication
Includes actions, facial gestures, physical distance, and silence.
Differs from verbal communication by being
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-Less rule bound.
-Mostly automatic and nonconscious.
Emotional Contagion
Nonconscious process of sharing another person's emotions by mimicking that person's
facial expressions and other nonverbal behavior.
Serves three purposes:
1)Provides continuous feedback to speaker.
2)Improves empathy
3)Fulfills drive to bond.
Choosing Channels: Synchronicity
Channel requires/allows sender and receiver to communicate at the same time
(synchronous) or at different times (asynchronous).
Depends on:
•Time urgency (immediacy).
•Complexity of the topic.
•Cost of synchronous communication.
•Whether receiver should have time to reflect.
Choosing Channels: Social Presence
Extent that the channel creates psychological closeness to others, awareness of their
humanness, and appreciation of the interpersonal relationship.
High social presence is better when:
1)Need to empathize with others.
2)Need to influence others.
Choosing Channels: Social Acceptance
Extent that others support use of that communication channel for that purpose.
Depends on:
•Firm/team norms for using the channel.
•Individual preferences for using the channel.
•Symbolic meaning of the channel.
HillChoosing Channels: Media Richness
RichnessThe channel's data-carrying capacity is the volume and variety of information
that can be transmitted during a specific time.
High media richness features:
•Conveys multiple cues.
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•Allows timely feedback.
•Allows customized message.
•Permits complex symbols.
Exceptions to Media Richness
Media richness theory doesn't apply as well to digital channels because:
•Able to multi-communicate through lean channels.
•More varied proficiency levels.
•Lean channels have less social distraction than do media rich channels.
