MSM 6610 Chapter 9

active listening

Becoming actively involved in the process of listening to what others are saying and clarifying messages' meaning

Filtering

How we reduce the amount of information being received to a manageable amount. When the amount of information available exceeds our ability to process it, we experience information overload

Social networking also has a potential downside

If employees and customers are satisfied, these networks can help build loyalty. If not, employees and customers will communicate and amplify every complaint through these networks.

noise

anything that blocks, distorts, or changes in any way the information the sender intended to communicate.

Blogs

are individuals' chronicles of personal thoughts and interests. Some blogs function as online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, webpages, and other media related to its topic.

social network

is the set of relationships among people connected through friendship, family, work, or other ties.

Ambiguity of intent

means the receiver is uncertain about the message's consequences. (What am I supposed to be doing to "do this"?)

Downward communication

occurs when higher-level employees communicate to those at lower levels in the organization—for example, from a manager to a sub-ordinate. Downward communication typically consists of messages about how to do a job, performance goals, the firm's policies, and how the company is perform-ing.

Upward communication

occurs when lower-level employees communicate with those at higher levels—for example, when a subordinate tells a manager about a problem employees are having meeting a customer's request. Encouraging upward communication can help managers check that subordinates understand their goals and instructions, keep managers informed of employee challenges and complaints, and cultivate acceptance and commitment by giving employees the opportunity to express ideas and suggestions

Horizontal communication

occurs when someone in an organization communicates with others at the same organizational level. Managers often depend on each other to help get the job done, and communication is necessary for them to coordinate resources and workflow. Although horizontal communication occurs between peers, as in all organizational communications, it is best to stay professional and avoid confrontational words and negative body language.

Ambiguity of meaning

occurs when the receiver is not sure what the sender meant. (Does "we need to do this" mean now or next year?

Selective perception

occurs when we selectively interpret what we see based on our interests, expectations, experience, and attitudes rather than on how things really are.

Organizational communication

the exchange of information among two or more individuals or groups in an organization that creates a common basis of understanding and feeling. Organizational communication can move in a variety of directions, and be formal or informal in nature.

Workflow automation systems use technology to facilitate and speed up work processes.

These systems send documents, information, or tasks to the right people or places based on the established procedure.

Body language

body movement such as a gesture or expression that conveys information to others.

The six parts of the model of the communication process are:

1. Encoding occurs when the message sender converts a thought, idea, or fact into a mes-sage composed of symbols, pictures, or words. 2. The message is the encoded information being sent. 3. The channel is the medium used to send the message to the receiver, including voice, writing, graphs, videos, intranets, the Internet, television, and body language. 4. When the message receiver sees, reads, or hears the message, it gets decoded. Decoding is the interpretation and translation of the message back into something understood by the receiver. 5. Feedback is a check on the success of the communication. 6. Noise is anything that blocks, distorts, or changes in any way the message the sender intended to communicate.

Here are some guidelines for effectively providing constructive criticism:

1. Give feedback in private, Request permission. 2. People react more strongly to feedback that is unexpected rather than expected, 3. Try to preface a negative statement with a positive one. 4. Be specific but not overly harsh or negative. 5. Suggest specific changes that would help.

There are four major types of telework:

1. Home-based telecommuting includes people who work at home for some period on a regular basis, but not necessarily every day. 2. Satellite offices are offices situated to be more convenient for employees and/ or customers. These offices are located away from what would normally be the main office location. 3. Neighborhood work centers provide office space for the employees of more than one company in order to save commutes to central locations. 4. Mobile work refers to work completed by traveling employees who use technology to communicate with the office as necessary from places such as client offices, airports, cars, and hotels.

Communication media can be classified in terms of their richness or the media's ability to carry nonverbal cues, provide rapid feedback, convey personality traits, and support the use of natural language.61 The richness of a medium depends on four things:

1. Interactivity, or the availability of feedback. Immediate feedback allows senders to adjust their messages. Richer media provide faster feedback. 2. The ability to transmit multiple cues, such as physical presence, voice inflection, nonverbal cues, and pictures. Richer media allow the communication of multiple cues. 3. Language variety for conveying a broad set of concepts and ideas. For example, ideas about a new advertising campaign cannot be expressed in as many ways in a letter as they can in a face-to-face conversation. Richer media allow for greater language variety. 4. The personal focus of the medium, or the degree to which it allows the expression of emotions and other social cues. Richer media allow for more personal focus.

There are three types of interdependence

1. Pooled interdependence is when employees work independently and their output is combined into group output. 2. Sequential interdependence, like in an assembly line, requires tasks to be performed in a certain order. This increases the need for communication as individuals or groups are dependent on other individuals or groups for the resources they need to complete their own tasks. 3. Reciprocal interdependence requires constant communication and mutual adjustment for task completion, such as a cross-functional research and development team, or an event-planning team, and creates the highest potential for conflict.

Experts suggest these guidelines for effective business writing:

1. Write to express, not to impress. 2. Back up your assertions 3. Write for your audience. 4. Edit and revise. 5. Format for readability. 6. Use graphic aids and pictures where appropriate to highlight and express ideas. • 7. Write with energy and conviction. Avoid passive voice.

To professionally receive and respond to negative feedback, it is a good idea to:

1. show appreciation for the feedback. 2. agree with all that you can. 3. request more detail if needed. 4. take responsibility.

low-context cultures

Cultures that rely on words to convey meaning

information push

Occurs when information is received that was not requested

information pull

Occurs when someone receives requested information

Portals are similar to intranets but tend to be more project-focused. Portals strongly resemble Internet sites like Yahoo.com

Project managers use portals to manage schedules and any issues that arise. By centralizing a variety of information, portals allow managers to track prog-ress and identify any problems early on.

Diagonal communication

allows employees in different parts of an organiza-tion to contribute to creating a new product or solving a problem. Diagonal commu-nication also helps to link groups and spread information around the firm.

Webcasts

are live or prerecorded video segments that are broadcast over a company's intranet and archived for employees to view later. They can help higher levels of management communicate with more employees and commu-nicate messages more effectively because the executive is able to use voice and even video to express the message through intonation and body language.

Nonverbal communications

are not spoken or written. Some of the strongest and most meaningful communications are nonverbal—a fire alarm, a smile, an emoticon, a red traffic light, or a look of anger on someone's face

Formal communications

are official, organization-sanctioned communications. They can be upward, downward, horizontal, or diagonal. Formal communication channels typically involve some sort of written communication that provides a permanent record of the exchange. Formal communication is usually interpreted accurately

Wikis

are searchable, archivable websites that allow people to comment on and edit one another's work in real time. The user-edited Wikipedia encyclopedia (Wikipedia.org) is one of the most popular online wikis.

Communication

form of social interaction, is the glue that holds organizations together; it is not an understatement to say that if communication within an organization is consistently ineffective that organization is not likely to survive. process of transmitting information from one person to another to create a shared understanding and feeling. The word communication comes from the Latin word "communicare," meaning to share or make common

Informal communication

is anything that is not official. Informal communications include gossip and answering another employee's question about how to do something. The grapevine is an example of an informal communication channel. The grapevine can promote the spread of gossip or rumors, which can be destructive and interfere with the functioning of the company, particularly if they are untrue.

high-context cultures

rely on nonverbal or situational cues or things other than words to convey meaning.

Verbal intonation

the emphasis given to spoken words and phrases. For example, the simple words, "May I speak with you?" can be interpreted very differently if said in a cheery, upbeat tone versus a strong or angry tone.

intranet

type of centralized information clearinghouse. At its simplest, an intranet is a website stored on a computer that is connected to other company computers by an internal network.

Here are some suggestions for running effective meetings:

• Have a good reason to meet in the first place, or do not meet. • Have an agenda that clearly states the purpose of the meeting and key steps to satisfying that purpose by the end of the meeting. • Ensure that participants receive the agenda in advance, know what you expect of them, and know how they should prepare. • Be fully prepared for the meeting and bring any relevant outside information that might be needed. • State a time frame at the beginning of the meeting and stick to it. • Require that participants come prepared to discuss the topics on the agenda. • Keep participants focused on the agenda items, and quickly manage any inter-personal issues so that the meeting stays productive. • Follow up on any outside assignments made to meeting participants.

Here are some suggestions for making effective presentations:

• Speak up and speak clearly. • Quickly achieve rapport. In the first few moments, show audience members that you feel comfortable with them. • Channel nervous energy into an enthusiastic delivery; use gestures to express your ideas. • Move freely and naturally without pacing; look at your audience. • Minimize notes and use them unobtrusively. Notes work best as "thought triggers." • Highlight key ideas. Use voice volume, graphic aids, pauses, and "headlining" (telling the audience that a point is particularly important). • Watch the audience for signs of comprehension or misunderstanding. Tilted heads and furrowed brows can signal a need for clarification and review. • End with a bang. Your concluding words should be memorable