MGMT Ch. 15

You have been working in an entry-level position in Raytheon's Environmental Health and Safety division for the last six months. You spend your time reviewing safety reports, entering them into the database, and compiling statistical analyses of the results for your boss, Jack Blum. Lately, Mr. Blum has been asking you when each report will be finished. Following this query, Mr. Blum often compliments you on the results of your past analyses. What is the most important message Mr. Blum is trying to convey? What can you do to listen more effectively to Mr. Blum?

-He wants to know when the report will be ready. Mr. Blum seems pleased with your progress and may even feel you're ready to take on greater challenges in the field-reporting unit. His main reason for the conversation, however, is to ask when the new report will be ready. Superiors often sandwich requests for action between motivational comments to build employee morale. -Lean forward and make eye contact. Your goal during the conversation is to make Mr. Blum feel he has your undivided attention. Leaning forward and making eye contact are nonverbal signs that you are listening carefully. When you understand what Mr. Blum is asking, you can give him the information he wants. Although asking questions and paraphrasing are generally helpful when listening to someone who is giving you information, these techniques can backfire when used in response to a reasonably simple question, such as the one Mr. Blum is asking. Asking additional questions may make it seem as if you are avoiding giving an answer, while paraphrasing the question may make it seem as if you are mocking Mr. Blum.

Identify whether each of the following examples is characteristic of a good listener or a poor listener. 1. Tends to daydream 2. Does not judge until comprehension is complete 3. Tunes out dry subjects 4. Summarizes what is said

1. poor listener 2. good listener 3. poor listener 4. good listener

This diagram represents upward communications. Which of the following are examples of this type of communication? Check all that apply.

Anya Kamenetz, a reporter for The Village Voice, presents her editor with the first draft of a story in a yearlong series titled "Generation Debt: The New Economics of Being Young." Cargill's director of high-intensity sweeteners, Zanna McFerson, tells her boss, Marcelo Montero, the president of Cargill's Health and Nutrition division, that a glycoside called Rebiana can be used to create a new artificial sweetener to be called Truvia. ****** Upward communication occurs when an employee gives information to his or her manager (or to a senior manager who supervises his or her manager). In this case, McFerson and Kamenetz are giving information to their managers; these are both examples of upward communication. Elop, on the other hand, is giving information to his employees (downward communication), and Fanning and Mierau are exchanging information (they are at the same level in the organization and thus are using horizontal communication).

Several months after the reorganization, Jim Umpleby checks in with department managers to see how their employees are handling the changes. Several managers comment that everything must be okay because they haven't heard anything from their employees about the reorganization. Which of the following are methods that Caterpillar could implement in order to hear what employees throughout the organization are thinking and feeling? Check all that apply.

Hold town hall meetings with employees Write a blog which allows for reader comments Plan surprise visits to office locations ******** Organization-wide communication is not just a CEO or top manager communicating their message to employees. It also means listening to what employees are thinking and feeling. Surveys, town halls and informal meetings, surprise visits, blogs, and monitoring social media are all effective ways of hearing what people throughout the organization have to say. Sending emails or voice messages updating employees on the status of the reorganization or performance of new divisions does not allow for any feedback and would not be effective in this situation.

During reorganizations, communication with members of the organization is key. CEO, Jim Umpleby, will need to determine the best ways to communicate changes to his employees and the entire organization. For his initial communication regarding the reorganization, Jim Umpleby, should utilize a ________ will communicate the message to multiple office locations of the organization simultaneously.

Streamed/videotaped speeches and meetings Streamed/videotaped speeches and meetings are originally made to a smaller audience that are either simultaneously streamed to other locations in the company or recorded for subsequent distribution and viewing. Discussion channels and chat rooms are a good tool for employees across the company to have collaborative discussions. Employees can ask questions and share knowledge through discussion channels and chat rooms, but these are not effective for broadcasting messages widely.

Your employee, Holly, wants to know the schedule for regular company holidays for the next year. What form of communication should you use in this situation?

You should send Holly an e-mail with a list of the upcoming holidays.

Nadiya, your classmate, is struggling to keep up with class. Last week, she told you that she even thought about cheating on a test. If you and Nadiya are good friends, and alike in many ways, you are likely to believe that Nadiya would consider cheating because of an ______cause, such as _______ . Your perception is being influenced by the ________.

external the exam being too difficult defensive bias ****** The defensive bias involves identifying with someone who is having trouble and attributing the trouble to an external cause, much as you attribute your own troubles and failures to external causes. The self-serving bias says that when something positive happens to you, you attribute it to an internal cause, but if something negative happens to you, you attribute it to an external cause. ******another version of the statement: Nadiya, your classmate, is struggling to keep up with class. Last week, she told you that she even thought about cheating on a test. If the professor catches Nadiya, the professor is likely to believe that Nadiya is cheating due to an internal cause, such as her dishonesty. The professor's perception is being influenced by the fundamental attribution error.

E-mail is _____ formal than other forms of communication, and it _______ the likelihood of being misunderstood.

less, increases E-mail is an informal communication medium. Think of the number of e-mails you've received with misspellings and no header or closing signature. This informality can make e-mail very effective for dashing off a quick note, but it also increases the likelihood that an e-mail will be misunderstood. Emoticons were developed in an attempt to convey more accurate meanings, but even emoticons can be misunderstood. For example, is that smiley face at the end of the message really happy or is it sarcastic?