Communication & Influence

Communication & Influence

Team Members:

Brandon Luong Matt Brown

Brian Turner Russell Veals

Gene White Victoria Landrum

Interpersonal Relationships

Positive Interpersonal Relationships

What are they?– Encounters that create positive energy in an organization

Benefits:– Higher commitment and information exchange among

coworkers– Expanded intellectual capacity– Better task performance– More positive emotions– Physical well-being


Organizational example: Business Student Ambassadors

What we do:– Work with each other within our organization as student

officers by sharing responsibilities– Build relationships by holding socials– Be open, friendly, and welcoming to new students

How it helps:– High sense of accomplishment – More feelings of camaraderie– Mutual trust and responsibility– Attractive to new or unsociable students


Organizational example: Lewis Landscaping

What we do:– Support coworkers by finishing their tasks for them– Converse about similar topics of interest while working– Spend time with each other while working to be able to

recognize emotional ups and downs

How it helps:– Faster task completion– Fun, supportive working environment– Higher level of “team spirit”

Effective Communication


What is communication?– The act of conveying information by, to or between people or

groups

Importance of Effective Communication– The most important skill in building and strengthening

positive relationships giving the people an enhanced feeling of trust, openness and support.

– In studies, communication problems are identified as the single largest impediment to positive relationships and positive performance in organizations.


Reasons for difficulties include:– People are often given an abundance of information that

was poorly presented, as a result information gets lost– Lack of context, often times information lacks significant

meaning to the person receiving the messages– Last, the effective interpretation and use of the information

still depends on the relationship the recipient has with the sender

Results– Misunderstandings– Lack of Information– Decrease in employee performance– Decrease in profitability or productivity for an organization

Example of Ineffective Communication

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBKKgtsWqZQ

Example of Effective Communication Organizational example:

– Global Foundation (GF) Had communication problems: officers did not

understand roles, duties, obligations, etc. MGMT 389 skills applied = more effective group Results:

– Work gets done on a timely manner– Information is flowed without interruption– More support and group efforts– Stronger board members

Before After

Power and Influence

Building a Strong Power Base

What are power and influence?– Power is the ability of a person, team or organization to

influence others– Influence is the affect power can have on others’ behavior– Power is necessary to influence people, but not all powerful

people are capable of influence

Two power sources:– Personal power– Position power


Personal Power:– The traits that make up this source of power are:– Expertise - Task-relevant knowledge or experience– Personal Attraction - Desirable characteristics associated

with friendship– Effort - Dependability and reliability– Legitimacy - Behavior consistent with key

organizational values


Position Power:– The traits that make up this source of power are:– Centrality - Being in the middle of communication– Latitude/Job Flexibility - Freedom to exercise one’s own

judgment– Visibility - Whether or not influential people in the company

see how well or poorly you are performing– Relevance - Being directly related to the central objectives

and issues in an organization


Organizational example:

Using Influence Wisely

Three methods of influence:– The three influence strategies or “three Rs” are Retribution,

Reciprocity, and Reason– Each of these strategies have strengths and weaknesses,

and it is important to know in which situations they are acceptable for use


Retribution:– The strategy of forcing others to do as you say– The direct method uses coercion; the indirect method uses

intimidation– It is useful when quick results are required, but the drawback

is that it can cause employees to resent their superiors

Reciprocity– The strategy of convincing others to want to do what you say– The direct method uses bargaining; the indirect method uses

the approach of making others feel obligated to agree– The drawback is that this strategy can lead to people

believing that terms of assignments, etc. are open for debate


Reason:– The strategy of showing others that it makes sense to do as

you say– The direct method requires the presenting of facts to

strengthen your argument; the indirect method involves appeal to other personal values

– The drawback is that this strategy can take a while to build trust with others and that it requires that they share common goals and values with the influential person


Organizational example:

The EndThanks for listening!

Works Cited

Luong, Brandon. Personal Interview. 19 Sep 2010.