MGMT Chapter 12

Characteristics of Useful information:

-Accurate -Timely -Complete -Relevant

Improving communication effectiveness:

Individual skills: -develop good listening skills -Encourage two way communication -Be aware of language and meaning -Maintain credibility -Be sensitive to the receiver's perspective -Be sensitive to the sender's perspective Organizational Skills: -Regulate information flows -Understand the richness of media

Written communication:

Putting it in writing, in a letter, report, memo, note, or email. Not as common. only 13% of printed mail they received was of immediate use to them. Drawbacks: inhibit feedback or interchange. requires more equipment and more time. Advantages: accurate and provides a permanent record of exchange. Generally preferable when important details are involved.

The communication process:

Refer to figure 12.1 Sender --> meaning (simple or complex) --> encoding --> transmitted`

Organizational barriers:

Semantics problems (words have different meanings to different departments) different power status perception of the situation environmental factors (such as noise, overload) different languages

Personal digital technology:

Telecommuting, new digital cottage industry. people work at home and communicate electronically.

body language:

The distance we stand from someone, eye contact, , hand/body movement, pauses in speech and mode of dress.

Choosing the right form of communication:

Which form should a manager use? oral communication, email or text may be preferred when the message is personal, non-routine and brief. More formal written communication is usually best when the message is more impersonal, routine, and longer.

Wheel pattern:

all communication flows through one central person, who is probably the group's leader. most centralized.

setting:

boundaries, familiarity, home turf, etc.

Vertical communication:

communication that flows up and down the organization, usually along formal reporting lines, that is, it is the communication that takes place between managers and their superiors and subordinates.

individual barriers:

conflicting or inconsistent goals. Credibility about the subject Reluctance to communicate Poor listening skills Predispositions about the subject

upward communication:

consists of messages from subordinates to superiors. up the hierarchy. More subject to distortion. Subordinates may not disclose information that makes them look bad.

Relevant:

defined according to the needs and circumstances of a particular manager. Operations managers need information on costs and turnover rates, and marketing managers need information on sales projects and advertising rates.

Timely:

does not necessarily mean speediness. IT means only that information needs to be available in time for appropriate managerial action.

nonverbal exchange:

does not use words. powerful but little understood. Words only account for 7% of a message. the rest is body language/tone. -images -settings -body language

Accurate:

for information to be of real value to a manager, it must be accurate information. Accuracy means that the information must provide a valid and reliable reflection of reality. Ex. AOL over-inflating its value.

Complete:

if the information is not complete, then the manager will get an inaccurate or distorted picture. of reality. Ex. Kroger's national brands vs. house brands.

Barriers to communication:

individual barriers and organizational barriers

grapevine

informal communication network that can permeate an entire organization. Found in all organizations except the very smallest. -gossip chain (one person tells many) -cluster chain (many people tell a few) -research is finding that information is accurate (between 75 and 95%) -informal information is increasing in organizations for two reasons: recent increase in merger, take over activity and acquisition. More and more corporations are moving to inner cities and suburbs, and employees talk to each other. -attempts to eliminate grapevines are fruitless.

Horizontal communication:

involves colleagues and peers at the same level of the organization. Ex. operations manager might communicate with marketing manager that inventory levels are running low and that projected delivery should be extended. Occurs more among managers than non-managers. -facilitates coordination among interdependent units. -used for joint problem solving -plays a major role in wrk teams.

Information:

is the data presented in a way or form that has meaning. Ex. combining and summarizing the four pieces of data just given provides information: The plant has excess capacity and is therefore incurring unnecessary costs. Information has meaning to a manager and provides a basis for action. The plant manager might use the information and decide to sell four machines and transfer 5 operators to other jobs.

Management by Wandering around:

managers keep in touch with what's going on by wandering around and talking to people on all levels of the organization. -William Hewlett and David Packard founders of HP, used this active listening approach in their company. -requires random selection.

Downward communication:

occurs when information flows down the hierarchy from superiors to subordinates. The typical content of these messages is directives on how something is to be done, the assignment of new responsibilities, performance feedback, and general information that the higher level manager thinks will be of value to the lower level manager. -should be two way in nature. Give and take.

chain pattern:

offers a more even flow of information among members, although two people interact with only one other person.

Interpersonal communication:

oral or written

Circle pattern:

path is closed.

Data:

raw figures and facts reflecting a single aspect of reality. The facts that a plant has 35 machines, that each machine is capable of producing 1000 units of output per day, that current and projected future demand for the units is 30000 per day, and that workers sufficiently skilled to run the machines make $20 an hour are data.

Y pattern:

slightly less centralized than the wheel. Two people are close to the center.

Oral communication:

takes place in conversations, group discussions, phone calls, and other situations in which the spoken word is used to express meaning. Managers spend 50-90% of their time talking to people. Primary advantage: promotes prompt feedback and interchange in the form of verbal questions or agreement, facial expressions and gestures. Its easy and can be done with little preparation. The sender does not need equipment. Drawbacks: may suffer from inaccuracy if the speaker chooses the wrong words to convey meaning or leaves out pertinent details. Noise can interrupt, or the receiver can forget part of the message.

images:

the kinds of words people elect to use.

All channel network:

the most decentralized, allows a free flow of info among all group members, everyone participates equally, and the group's leader, if there is one, is not likely to have excessive power.

Communication networks:

the pattern though which the members of a group or team communicate.

Effective communication:

the process of sending a message in such a way that the message received is as close in meaning as possible to the message intended.

Communication:

the process of transmitting information from one person to another.

Information systems:

transaction processing systems: a system designed to handle routine and recurring transactions. Ex. POS terminal. Management Information systems: supports an organization's managers by providing daily reports, schedules, plans and budgets. Ex. MRP system Decision Support System (DSS): an interactive system that automatically searches for, manipulates, and summarizes information needed by managers for specific decisions. Ex. What if capabilities in simulation software. Executive support systems: a top level system that provides critical info to exec management in a timely manner for the purpose of supporting strategic and tactical planning and providing reliable means for execution control. Ex. ERP systems, SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Expert System: information systems designed to imitate the thought process of human experts; are capable of learning. Ex. deep learning project at Google. Intranet and Extranet: Firewall protected private networks for internal use by employees that become extranets when selected outsiders are given limited access.