Chapter 7: Communication. Organizational Behaviour 5 th Canadian Edition 7-1. Langton / Robbins / Judge Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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1 Chapter 7: Communication Organizational Behaviour 5 th Canadian Edition Langton / Robbins / Judge Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada 7-1

2 Chapter Outline The Communication Process Barriers to Effective Communication Organizational Communication Other Issues in Communication 7-2

3 Communication 1. How does communication work? 2. What are the barriers to communication? 3. How does communication flow in organizations? 4. What are other issues in communication? 7-3

4 The Communication Process People spend nearly 70 percent of their waking hours communicating writing, reading, speaking, listening Work Canada survey of 2039 Canadians in six industrial and service categories found: 61 percent of senior executives believed that they did a good job of communicating with employees. Only 33 percent of managers and department heads believed that senior executives were effective communicators. Only 22 percent of hourly workers, 27% of clerical employees, and 22% of professional staff reported that senior executives did a good job of communicating with them. Canadians reported less favourable perceptions about their company s communications than did Americans. 7-4

5 Communication Terms Communication The transfer and understanding of a message between two or more people. Sender Establishes a message, encodes the message, and chooses the channel to send it. Receiver Decodes the message and provides feedback to the sender. 7-5

6 Communication Terms Encoding Converting a message to symbolic form. Decoding Interpreting a sender s message. Message What is communicated. Channel The medium through which a message travels. 7-6

7 Exhibit 7-1 The Communication Process Model Chooses a message Encodes the message Chooses the channel Considers the receiver Sender Receiver Considers the sender Provides feedback Decodes the message 7-7

8 Choosing Channels Channels differ in their capacity to convey information. Rich channels have the ability to: Handle multiple cues simultaneously. Facilitate rapid feedback. Be very personal. 7-8

9 Exhibit 7-2 Information Richness of Communication Channels Source: Based on R. H. Lengel and R. L. Daft, The Selection of Communication Media as an Executive Skill, Academy of Management Executive, August 1988, pp ; and R. L. Daft and R. H. Lengel, Organizational Information Requirements, Media Richness, and Structural Design, Managerial Science, May 1996, pp Reproduced from R. L. Daft and R. A. Noe, Organizational Behavior (Forth Worth, TX: Harcourt, 2001), p

10 Barriers to Effective Communication Filtering The sender manipulates information so that it will be seen more favourably by the receiver. Selective Perception The receivers selectively sees and hears based on their needs, motivations, experience, background, and other personal characteristics. 7-10

11 Barriers to Effective Communication Defensiveness When individuals interpret a message as threatening, they often respond in ways that retard effective communication. Information Overload Occurs when the information we have to work with exceeds our processing capacity. Language Words mean different things to different people. 7-11

12 Communicating Under Stress Speak clearly. Be aware of the nonverbal part of communicating. Think carefully about how you state things. 7-12

13 Organizational Communication Direction of Communication Downward Communication that flows from one level of a group to a lower level. Managers to employees Upward Communication that flows to a higher level of a group. Employees to manager Becoming increasingly difficult Lateral Communication among members of the same work group, or individuals at the same level. 7-13

14 Networks Connections by which information flow. Formal Networks. Task-related communications that follow the authority chain The Grapevine Informal Networks. Communications that flow along social and relational lines 7-14

15 Exhibit 7-4 Networks and Their Effectiveness Chain Wheel All-Channel Speed Accuracy Emergence of a leader Member satisfaction Moderate High Moderate Moderate Fast High High Low Fast Moderate None High 7-15

16 The Grapevine 75 percent of employees hear about matters first through rumours on the grapevine. The grapevine has three main characteristics: Not controlled by management. Most employees perceive it as being more believable and reliable than formal communication. Largely used to serve the self-interests of those people within it. 7-16

17 Purpose of Rumours 1. To structure and reduce anxiety 2. To make sense of limited or fragmented information 3. To serve as a vehicle to organize group members, and possibly outsiders, into coalitions 4. To signal a sender s status or power 7-17

18 Exhibit 7-5 Grapevine Patterns Y E C I J H D C G K G X B I B C E D F H J I K F B D J C D F A B A A A Single Strand Each tells one another Gossip One tells all Probability Each randomly tells others Cluster Some tell selected others Source: K. Davis and J. W. Newstrom, Human Behavior at Work: Organizational Behavior, 7 th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1985), p Reprinted by permission. 7-18

19 Exhibit 7-6 Emoticons: Showing Emotions in s 7-19

20 Electronic Communications: Significant Limitations of Misinterpreting the message. Communicating negative messages. Overuse of . emotions. Privacy concerns 7-20

21 Instant Messaging (IM) and Text Messaging (TM) Instant Messaging (IM) and Text Messaging (TM) Rapidly gaining popularity in business. Fast and inexpensive way for managers to stay in touch with employees and peers with each other. IM is better for short messages that will be quickly deleted. Despite exponential growth in usage, IM and TM are not likely to replace . is better for long messages that need to be saved. There are additional security fears in using IM/TM More easily intercepted 7-21

22 Nonverbal Communication Messages conveyed through body movements, facial expressions, and the physical distance between the sender and the receiver. Kinesics The study of body motions, such as gestures, facial configurations, and other movements of the body. Proxemics The study of physical space in interpersonal relationships. 7-22

23 Silence as Communication Defined as an absence of speech or noise. Not necessarily inaction can convey: Thinking or contemplating a response to a question. Anxiety about speaking. Agreement, dissent, frustration, or anger. Individuals should be aware of what silence might mean in any communication. 7-23

24 Communication Barriers Between Women and Men Men use talk to emphasize status, women use it to create connection. Women and men tend to approach points of conflict differently. Men and women view directness and indirectness differently. Women interpret male directness as an assertion of status and oneupmanship. Men interpret female indirectness as covert, sneaky, and weak. Men criticize women for apologizing, but women say I m sorry to express empathy. 7-24

25 Cross-Cultural Communication Difficulties Sources of barriers: Semantics Word connotations Tonal differences 7-25

26 Culture Contexts Cultures differ in how much the context makes a difference in communication. High-context cultures Cultures that rely heavily on nonverbal and subtle situational cues in communication. Low-context cultures Cultures that rely heavily on words to convey meaning in communication. 7-26

27 Exhibit 7-7 High- vs. Low-Context Cultures Source: Based on the work of E. T. Hall. From R. E. Duleck, J. S. Fielden, and J. S. Hill, International Communication: An Executive Primer, Business Horizons, January-February 1991, p

28 Cross-Cultural Communications: Helpful Rules Assume differences until similarity is proven. Emphasize description rather than interpretation or evaluation. Practise empathy. Treat your interpretations as a working hypothesis. 7-28

29 Summary and Implications 1. How does communication work? Communication works through choosing the correct channel, being an effective listener, and using feedback. 2. What are the barriers to communication? Errors arise from filtering, selective perception, defensiveness, information overload, and language. 3. How does communication flow in organizations? Communication can flow vertically and laterally, and by formal and informal channels in organizations. 4. What are the other issues in communication? The big topics in communication are the importance of nonverbal communication and silence, gender, and cross-cultural differences in communication. 7-29