Chapter 17-Managing Interpersonal Relations and Communication
Nonverbal communication
Any communication exchange that does not use words or uses words to carry more meaning than the strict definition of the words themselves
Decisional roles require managers to:
Seek out information to use in making decisions and then communicate those decisions to others.
6 Organizational Barriers to Communication
Semantics Status or Power differences Different Perceptions Noise Overload Language Differences
Three kinds of nonverbal communication practiced by managers
images, settings, and body language.
Common forms of informal communication in organizations
include the grapevine, management by wandering around, and nonverbal communication
Biggest single drawback of traditional forms of written communication
inhibit feedback and interchange
Interpersonal roles involve:
interacting with supervisors, subordinates, peers, and others outside the organization
The primary advantage of oral communication
it promotes prompt feedback and interchange in the form of verbal questions or agreement, facial expressions, and gestures.
Gossip Chain
likely to carry personal information.
Telecommuting
the label given to a new electronic cottage industry. people work at home on their computers and transmit their work to their companies digitally.
What does being a good listener require?
the person be prepared to listen, not interrupt the speaker, concentrate on both the words and the meaning being conveyed, be patient, and ask questions as appropriate
Regulating Information Flow
the sender or receiver takes steps to ensure that overload does not occur.
When decentralized networks tend to perform with greatest efficiency and accuracy:
the task is complex and nonroutine
When to use written communication
when the message is more impersonal, routine, and longer
When to use oral communication
when the message is personal, nonroutine, and brief.
Definition of effective communication is based on the ideas of
Meaning and consistency of meaning
written communication
Memos, letters, reports, notes, and other circumstances in which the written word is used to transmit meaning usually more difficult and time consuming than oral communication.
Upward communication
More subject to distortion
2 forms of interpersonal communication
Oral and Written
percent of the managers who responded to one survey indicated that the written communication they received was of fair or poor quality.
Over 80
Proportion of time managers usually spend on communication
Over Half
Effects of recession and large-scale job losses on informal communication.
Over half of the survey participants reported a sharp increase in gossip and rumors in their organizations. The same survey also reported an increase in the amount of eavesdropping in most businesses. Further, in another survey, 32 percent of people claimed to use their work e-mail inappropriately and 48 percent admitted gossiping with other employees through their e-mail. Finally, in another survey conducted in 2015 over half of the participants reported that they had overheard confidential conversations at work.
Images
Kinds of words people elect to use.
Ways the grapevine can be an asset
-By learning who the key people in the grapevine are, the manager can partially control the information they receive and use the grapevine to sound out employee reactions to new ideas. -get valuable information from the grapevine and use it to improve decision making.
The two most common Grapevine chains?
-Gossip Chain -Cluster Chain
Wheel Pattern
-all communication flows through one central person, who is probably the group's leader. -most centralized network because one person receives and disseminates all information.
Forms of Communication in Organizations
-interpersonal communication -communication in networks and teams -organizational communication -electronic communication.
Ways manager can minimize the damage grapevine can do
-maintaining open channels of communication -responding vigorously to inaccurate information
Drawbacks of oral communication
-may suffer from problems of inaccuracy if the speaker chooses the wrong words to convey meaning or leaves out pertinent details -if noise disrupts the process -or if the receiver forgets part of the message.
Basic reasons informal communication is increasing in many organizations
-recent increase in merger, acquisition, and takeover activity. -as more and more corporations move facilities from inner cities to suburbs,employees tend to talk less and less to others outside the organization and more and more to one another the widespread availability of information technology that makes it easier than ever before for people to communicate quickly and easily.
Percent of content derived from inflection and tone
38
Percent of executives that felt written communication skills were fair or poor and opted for oral communication.
55
percent of the content of a message transmitted by facial expressions and body posture
55
percent of executives surveyed indicating they preferred to interact with customers, business partners, and vendors with e-mail or text messaging rather than by phone.
65
Percent of content derived from words
7
% study found grapevine to be accurate
75-95
management by wandering around
An approach to communication that involves the manager's literally wandering around and having spontaneous conversations with others
Grapevine
An informal communication network among people in an organization
What do managers around the world agree is one of their most important tasks?
Communication
Horizontal communication
Communication that flows laterally within the organization; involves colleagues and peers at the same level of the organization and may involve individuals from several different organizational units Probably occurs more among managers than among nonmanagers.
Vertical communication
Communication that flows up and down the organization, usually along formal reporting lines; takes place between managers and their superiors and subordinates and may involve several different levels of the organization
5 Individual Barriers to Communication
Conflicting or inconsistent signals Credibility about the subject Reluctance to communicate Poor Listening Skills Predispositions about the subject
6 Individual skills for overcoming communication barriers
Develop good listening skills Encourage two-way communication Be aware of language and meaning Maintain credibility Be sensitive to receiver's perspective Be sensitive to sender's perspective
Oral communication
Face-to-face conversation, group discussions, telephone calls, and other circumstances in which the spoken word is used to transmit meaning
Purposes of Horizontal Communication
Facilitates coordination among interdependent units. Joint problem solving Plays a major role in work teams with members drawn from several departments.
3 organizational skills for overcoming communication barriers
Follow up Regulate information flows Understand the richness of media
In general, the more complicated the message...
The more useful two-way communication is
Communication network
The pattern through which the members of a group 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
Form of communication preferred when important details are involved
Written
Informational roles focus specifically on:
acquiring and disseminating information
What organizations are Grapevines found in?
all organizations except the very smallest
all-channel network
allows a free flow of information among all group members. Everyone participates equally, and the group's leader, if there is one, is not likely to have excessive power eg: Facebook, Linkedin
Sematics problems
arise when words have different meanings for different people
single most important individual skill for improving communication effectiveness
being a good listener.
Typical day for a manager includes
doing desk work, attending scheduled meetings, placing and receiving telephone calls, reading and answering correspondence (both print and digital), attending unscheduled meetings, and making tours
The Chain
offers a more even flow of information among members, although two people (the ones at each end) interact with only one other person.
Cluster Chain
one person passes the information to a selected few individuals. Some of the receivers pass the information to a few other individuals; the rest keep it to themselves.
Cottage Industry
people work at home (in their "cottage") and periodically bring the products of their labors in to the company.
Chief Information Officer (CIO)
responsible for determining the information-processing needs and requirements of the organization and then putting in place systems that facilitate smooth and efficient organizational communication. also involves the creation of one or more formal information systems linking all relevant managers, departments, and facilities in the organization
The Y Pattern
slightly less centralized—two people are close to the center.
When centralized networks tend to perform with greatest efficiency and accuracy:
the group's task is relatively simple and routine