OB - Chapter 11
Barriers to Effective Communication
-filtering -selective perception -information overload -emotions -language -silence -communication apprehension -lying
Factors of processing (controlled or automated)
-interest level: If you're interested in the outcome of the decision you will generally do more research -prior knowledge: people who are very well informed about a subject are also more likely to use controlled processing strategies. -personality: If you are high in need for cognition, a personality trait of individuals who are most likely to be persuaded by evidence and facts. Those who are lower in this are more likely to use automatic processing strategies. -message characteristics:Messages provided through relatively lean communication channels, with little opportunity for users to interact with the context of the message, tend to encourage automatic processing. Conversely, messages provided through richer communication channels, like a long magazine article, tend to encourage more deliberative processing.
Suggestions for Reducing the Negative Consequences of Rumors:
1. Provide information—in the long run, the best defense against rumors is a good offense (in other words, rumors tend to thrive in the absence of formal communication). 2. Explain actions and decisions that may appear inconsistent, unfair, or secretive. 3. Refrain from shooting the messenger—rumors are a natural fact of organizational life, so respond to them calmly, rationally, and respectfully. 4. Maintain open communication channels—constantly encourage employees to come to you with concerns, suggestions, and ideas.
blog (Web log)
A Web site where entries are written, and generally displayed in reverse chronological order, about news, events, and personal diary entries.
lying (Barrier to Effective Communication)
Outright misrepresentation of information. The frequency of lying and the difficulty in detecting liars makes this an especially strong barrier to effective communication.
All-Channel (Network)
Permits all group members to actively communicate with each other; it's most often characterized in practice by self-managed teams, in which all group members are free to contribute and no one person takes on a leadership style. Best if you desire high member satisfaction.
Wheel (Network)
Relies on a central figure to act as the conduit for all the group's communication; it simulates the communication network you would find on a team with a strong leader.
communication apprehension (Barrier to Effective Communication)
Undue tension and anxiety about oral communication, written communication, or both.High oral-communication apprehensives distort the communication demands of their jobs in order to minimize the need for communication.
information overload (Barrier to Effective Communication)
When individuals have more information than they can sort and use, they tend to select,ignore, pass over or forget.
information overload
a condition in which information inflow exceeds an individual's processing capacity
controlled processing
a detailed consideration of evidence and information relying on facts, figures, and logic.
a free blogging and networking service where users send and read messages known as tweets, many of which concern OB issues.
automatic processing
a relatively superficial consideration of evidence and information making use of heuristics (catchy jingle or flashy ad)
filtering (Barrier to Effective Communication)
a sender's manipulation of information so that it will be seen more favorably by the receiver. The more vertical levels in the organization, the more opportunity there is for filtering.
top 3 communication skills
articulation, listening, and feeback
formal channels
communication channels established by an organization to transmit messages related to the professional activities of members
informal channels
communication channels that are created spontaneously and that emerge as responses to individual choices
downward communication
communication that flows from one level of a group or organization to a lower level. Used to assign goals, provide job instructions, offer feedback, explain policies and procedures... To be effective managers must explain the WHY of the decision to increase employee commitment and support of decisions.
high-context cultures
cultures that rely heavily on nonverbal and subtle situational cues in communication(China, Korea, Japan)
low-context cultures
cultures that rely heavily on words to convey meaning in communication (US Canada)
upward communication
flows to a higher level in the group or organization. It is used to provide feedback to higher-ups, inform them of progress toward goals, and relay current problems. Keeps managers aware of how employees feel about their jobs, co-workers, and the organization in general.
emotions (Barrier to Effective Communication)
individuals in positive moods are more confident about their opinions after reading a persuasive message, so well-crafted arguments have stronger impacts on their opinions. People in negative moods are more likely to scrutinize messages in greater detail, whereas those in positive moods tend to accept communications at face value.
selective perception (Barrier to Effective Communication)
receivers in the communication process selectively see and hear based on their needs, motivations, experience, background, and other personal characteristics. They also project their interests and expectations into communications as they decode them.
silence (Barrier to Effective Communication)
research suggests silence and withholding communication are both common and problematic. Employee silence means managers lack information about ongoing operation problems. And silence regarding discrimination, harassment, corruption, and misconduct means top management cannot take action to eliminate that behavior. Silence is less likely where minority opinions are treated with respect, work group identification is high, and high procedural justice prevails.
Chain (Network)
rigidly follows the formal chain of command; this network approximates the communication channels you might find in a rigid three level organization. Best if accuracy is the most important.
Listening skills
the ability to grasp both facts and feelings to interpret a message's genuine meaning
Feedback skills
the ability to provide adequate and timely feedback/response
Articulation skills
the ability to transform ideas into words and messages
channel richness
the amount of information that can be transmitted during a communication episode
grapevine
the informal communication network in a group organization. It is where 75% of employees hear news first. Rumors emerge as a response to situations that are important to us, when there is ambiguity, and under conditions that arouse anxiety.
channel
the medium through which the message travels (broken down into informal and formal)
communication
the process by which information is exchanged and understood. Must include both the transfer and understanding of meaning.
communication process
the steps between a source and a receiver that result in the transfer and understanding of meaning: (1) the sender, (2) encoding, (3) the message, (4) the channel, (5) decoding, (6) the receiver, (7) noise, and (8) feedback.
lateral communication
when communication takes place among members of the same work group, members of work groups at the same level, managers at the same level or any other horizontally equivalent workers.Saves time and facilitates coordination some lateral relationships are formally sanctioned, but more often are informally created to short-circuit the vertical hierarchy and expedite action (both good and bad).
barriers caused by words connotations
words imply different things in different languages.
barriers caused by semantics
words mean different things to different people, particularity people from different national cultures.
differences in tolerance for conflict and methods for resolving conflicts
Individuals from individualist cultures tend to be more comfortable with direct conflicts and will make the source of their disagreements overt. Collectivists are more likely to acknowledge conflict only implicitly and avoid emotionally charged disputes.
Drawbacks/Risks: -Risk of misinterpreting the message:we can accurately decode an e-mail's intent and tone only 50 percent of the time, yet most of us vastly overestimate our ability to send and interpret clear messages. If you're sending an important message, make sure you reread it for clarity. -Drawbacks for communicating negative messages: Employees need to be careful when communicating negative messages via e-mail -Time-consuming nature: most of have trouble keeping up with all e-mail. ● Don't check e-mail in the morning. Take care of important tasks beforegetting ensnared in e-mails. Otherwise, you may never get to those tasks. ● Check e-mail in batches. Don't check e-mail continually throughoutthe day. Some experts suggest twice a day. "You wouldn't want to do a new load of laundry every time you have a dirty pair of socks," says oneexpert. ● Unsubscribe. Stop newsletters and other subscriptions you don't reallyneed. ● Stop sending e-mail. The best way to receive lots of e-mail is to send lots of e-mail, so send less. Shorter e-mails garner shorter responses. "A well-written message can and should be as concise as possible," says one expert. ● Declare e-mail bankruptcy. Some people, like recording artist Moby and venture capitalist Fred Wilson, become so overwhelmed by e-mail they declare "e-mail bankruptcy." They wipe out their entire inbox and start over. -Limited Expression of emotions: While emails are often thought of emotionless, people may sometimes put a lot of angry emotion into them because they cannot see the face that will be receiving them. If this happens send a calm message back and try to see it from their point of view if possible. -Privacy concerns: Your emails may be, and often are monitored. You can't always trust the recipient of your email to keep it confidential. (Don't write anything you don't want made public) Exercise caution in forwarding emails from your company's account to a personal account since they are not as secure and you might be violating your organization's policy or unintentionally disclosing data.
language (Barrier to Effective Communication)
Even when communicating in the same language, words have different meanings to different people. Age and context are two of the biggest factors that influence such differences.
nonverbal communication
Every time we deliver a verbal message, we also impart a nonverbal message. Sometimes they can stand alone. Ex: Body movements, intonations or emphasis we give to words, facial expressions, and the physical distance between the send and the receiver. The two most important messages body language conveys are (1) the extent to which we like another and are interested in his or her views and (2) the perceived status between a sender and receiver.
oral communication
Ex: Speeches, formal one-on-one and group discussions, and the informal rumor mill or grapevine. Advantages: Speed and feedback Disadvantages: Risk of distortion the more people it must go through.
written communication
Ex: memos, letters, fax transmissions, email, instant messaging, organization periodicals, notices placed on bulletin boards Advantages: Tangible and verifiable. Can be sorted for an indefinite period. If questions arise about content, you can reference the message later. People are usually forced to think more thoroughly about what they want to convey in a written message versus a verbal one. Disadvantages: Time consuming, there is no built-in feedback, there is no assurance that the message has been received or that the recipient will interpret it as the sender intended
IM and Text Messages
IM is preferable for one or two line messages that would just clutter up an e-mail inbox. Downsides: some IM and TM users find the technology intrusive and distracting. Also be careful of making these messages too informal.
Social Networking
In a desire to maintain control over employee use of social networking for professional purposes, many organizations have developed their own in-house social networking applications.
barriers caused by tone differences
In some cultures, language is formal; in others, it's informal.
