Organizational Comm Ch. 5

individual roles

-Stars: have central role, well connected. -Liaison: people who link two groups together but don't identify with either group -Bridge link: 2 people that link 2 groups, active member of one group but not the other -Isolate/isolate pairs: no links (Network Analysis)

lateral communication problems

Competition: fight for a job or position Specialization: create jargon and barriers which makes people puzzled Territoriality: everyone is competing for physical territory Lack of incentive: people will not necessarily cooperate in other areas due to a lack of incentive

group level indicator

clique- group that maintains its linkages over time and most likely has multiplex linkages as well. density- the ratio of the number of links compared to the number of possible links. associated with shared understanding reachability- average number of links it takes individuals to connect to others in the network

downward communication

communication that flows from higher to lower levels in an organization 1. Job instructions tell subordinates what task or jobs they need to do and the process of doing the, 2. Job rationales explain the purpose for the jobs and how they relate to the other organizational activities and goals 3. Procedure and practice information provides explanation of organizational policies, practices, and norms 4. Feedback provides subordinates with evaluations of their performance and gives guidance on ways to improve 5. Indoctrination or culture information helps create an understanding and commitment to the values, beliefs, and goals of the organization

upward communication

communication that flows from lower to higher levels in an organization 1. Job performance reports provide managers with information about how individuals or units are producing 2. task procedures communicate to managers the procedures subordinates use to accomplish tasks 3. Problem reports to managers identify issues that are inhibiting an individual or other organizational members from accomplishing individual or organizational goals 4. policy responses and feedback communicate to management subordinates' positive or negative reactions and perceptions of organizational policies and practices especially when they involve changes.

informal communication

communication that is not defined by the organization's structural hierarchy 1. Satisfying social and personal interests is the most common reason for informal communication, as individuals create friendships, provide social and emotional support and discuss topics of mutual interest 2. Addressing gaps in formal communication is an important use of informal communication because it helps employees reduce the uncertainty they experience from a lack of information 3. Managing a threatening and insecure environment is another way that informal communication helps employees to gather information to help them deal with problems and concerns they perceive.

lateral communication

communication that takes place among any employees on the same organizational level 1. Information sharing: occurs as coworkers share their knowledge about the organization and its norms and culture 2. task coordination communication helps address issues of interdependence and control between people within a department relies on someone else to complete part of task before being able to work on it 3. Problem-solving communication: address mutual problems or concerns within or between units, which can lead to innovative ideas and change 4. Employee growth development, and mentoring: occurs as coworkers learn new job skills from each other and goes beyond what they learn 5. Social Support and relationship communication: focuses on building and maintaining interpersonal relationships between coworkers the social environment of the workplace

Bank teller study (McLaughlin & Cheatham)

explored the impact of being a communication network isolate and likely made a difference in how banks are physically designed. The tellers in the toll booth were isolated and had dissatisfaction, but the inside tellers were satisfied. Both had same policies and pay. Lack of participation in a social network led to dissatisfaction with their job in general.

network link (tie)

reciprocity- considers whether the relationships are symmetrical or asymmetrical. lack of reciprocity occurs particularly when using recall data. EX. Flow in one direction intensity-refers to the strength of the linkage. the more frequent the interactions the stronger the link in terms of information shared and resources exchanged. uniplexity- occurs between two individuals in only one network Ex: task related relationships with people in a meeting. they have only a task related relationship multiplexity- occurs between two individuals in two or more kinds of networks. ex: friends that talk about tasks AND politics (things outside of work)

Social vs. Task network diagram

social - people you would talk to about things outside of work task- people you talk to about tasks/work

integrative communication problems

time consuming, no authority, idealistic

5 different types of organizational communication

upward, downward, lateral, informal, integrative

informal communication problems

Accuracy: "grapevine" information shared informally might be unreliable Speed: to move much faster through a network of relationships than formal communication Mid-level employee participation: mid-level employees are the most involved in the grapevine Accountability: face-to-face interaction there was little accountability fro informal communication because it was difficult or impossible to trace The Competence Network: the "go-to" people make all the difference even though communicating and coordinating with them is not outlined by the formal organizational chart

downward communication problems

Amount of Information: supervisor gives too much information leads to information overload Nature of Feedback: can focus on the positive and negative feedbacks and they need to be careful of the way they provide feed back to the employees Information Distribution: How wide spread it can be too many people at the bottom an be permeated and not everyone gets the info

What did researchers find?

McLaughlin & Cheatham (1977)- bank teller study --found that there as higher turnover with jobs that had no social interaction. people need to feel included for higher satisfaction Marshall & stohl (1993)- links to managers, higher performance; comm network involvement, more satisfaction -- results indicated high levels of involvement and strong connection to managers in the communication networks for employees were related to their satisfaction and performance. Feeley (2008, 2010) - turnover by edges in social support network Eisenberg, mongue, & Miller (1983) - high vs. low job involvement and high vs. low network involvement related to org commitment

integrative communication

Problem-solving, constructive criticism, and supportive communication Committees: Standing & Ad Hoc Quality Circles: task to find ways to improve the quality of the output of the organization whether it was a product or a service Project team: is to integrate across departments by having individuals from different departments being assigned teams to produce some new product or outcome

upward communication problems & solutions

Problems: Lack of receptivity: when subordinates feel that their supervisors talk about being receptive to them and having an open door policy when actually not receptive to information Power differences: this power to be able to fire or promote people intimidates many individuals Upward "Distortion": Upward communication can be skewed or filtered when reporting only positive news or using polite language to soften the harsh negative feedbacks Self-promotion or intergration: too much of of self promotion is generally perceived negatively and as brown-nosing