MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
LECTURE 6*, CHAPTER 11
‘COMMUNICATION’
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Communication refers to the transmission of information
from a sender to a receiver, via a given medium.
Two-way communication involves some kind of feedback
from the receiver back to the sender.
Definition: Communication
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Communication in the Workplace
• Not very different from regular communication process-wise
• Communication skills crucial to success
– Empathy: putting yourself into someone else’s shoes
• Not just for the organisation, but for each
individual/employee
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
coding
Sender
feedback
message Receiver
decoding channel
Perceptual filters
Perceptual filters
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
The Business Communication Process
Communicator 1 Communicator 2
1. Senses a communication need 7. Receives the message
2. Defines the problem 8. Interprets the message
3. Searches for possible solutions 9. Decides on a response
4. Selects a course of action (message type, content, style, format, channel)
10. May send a responding message
5. Composes the message
6. Delivers the message
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Four major functions of communication
1. Control
2. Motivation
3. Emotional expression
4. Information
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Communication Process Model
• The sender
– initiates the message
• Encoding
• The message
– actual physical product of the
sender
• The channel
– Formal and Informal
• Decoding
• The receiver
– translates into understandable form
• Noise
– Barriers
• Feedback
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Direction of Communication
• Downward communication
– Goals, instructions, policies, procedures feedback
– Must explain decision
– Frequently and with variety
• Upward communication
– Feedback, report progress, relay problems
– Idea of how to improve conditions
• Lateral communication
– Save time and facilitates coordination
– Can benefit the organisation
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Interpersonal Communication
• Oral communication
– Chief means of communication
– Speeches, discussions, grapevine
– Advantage: speed and feedback
– Disadvantage: when it passes through multiple people
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Interpersonal Communication
• Written communication
– Advantages
• Tangible and verifiable
• Recordable and storable
• Important for complex and lengthy problems
• More time, hence more thought out
– Disadvantages
• Time-consuming
• No immediate feedback
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Interpersonal Communication
• Non-verbal communication
– Body movements, intonations, words, facial expressions, physical
distance between sender and receiver
– Important to look for non-verbal cues as well as literal meaning
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Barriers to effective communication
1. Semantic Barriers
i. Poorly expressed
ii. Symbols or words with different meaning
iii. Faulty translation
iv. Unclarified Assumption
v. Technical Jargon
vi. Body language and gesture decoding
2. Psychological and Emotional Barriers
i. Premature evaluation
ii. Lack of attention
iii. Loss by transmission and poor retention
iv. Distrust
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Barriers to effective communication
3. Organisational Barriers
i. Organisational policies
ii. Rules and regulations
iii. Status
iv. Complexity in organisational structure
v. Organisational facilities
4. Personal barriers
i. Barriers related to superiors
a) Fear of Challenge of authority
b) Lack of confidence in subordinates
ii. Barriers related to subordinates
a) Unwilling to communicate
b) Lack of proper incentive
Source:http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/business-communication/4-different-types-of-barriers-to-effective-communication/1004/
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Organizational Communication Process
• Formal small group networks
• The Grapevine
• Electronic communications
• Instant messaging
• Networking software
• Blogs
• Video conference
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Formal Small-Group Networks • Chain:
– Rigidly follows the chain of command
– Accuracy
• Wheel:
– Relies on a central figure to act as the
conduit for all communication
– Team with a strong leader
• All Channel:
– All group members communicate actively
with each other
– Self-managed teams
– High member satisfaction
11-15
E X H I B I T 11-3
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Small Group Network Effectiveness
• Small group effectiveness depends on the desired outcome
variable
11-16
E X H I B I T 11-4
TYPES OF NETWORKS
Criteria Chain Wheel All Channel
Speed Moderate Fast Fast
Accuracy High High Moderate
Emergence of a leader Moderate High None
Member satisfaction Moderate Low High
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
The Grapevine
• Three Main Grapevine Characteristics
1. Informal, not controlled by management
2. Perceived by most employees as being more believable and reliable than formal communications
3. Largely used to serve the self-interests of those who use it
• Results from:
– Desire for information about important situations
– Ambiguous conditions
– Conditions that cause anxiety
• Insightful to managers
• Serves employee’s social needs
11-17
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Reducing Rumors
1. Provide information
2. Explain decisions and behaviors that may
appear inconsistent or secretive
3. Refrain from shooting the messenger
4. Maintain open communication channels
11-18
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Electronic Communications: E-mail
– Advantages: quickly written, sent, and stored; low cost for distribution
– Disadvantages:
• Risk of misinterpretation
• Not appropriate for sending negative messages
• Time-consuming nature
• Removes inhibitions and can cause emotional responses and flaming
• Limited expression of emotions
• Privacy Concerns
© 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.
11-19
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Electronic Comms: Instant/Text Messaging
Forms of “real time” communication of short messages that often
use portable communication devices.
– Explosive growth in business use
– Fast and inexpensive means of communication
• Downside
– Can be intrusive and distracting
– Easily “hacked” with weak security
– Can be seen as too informal
© 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.
11-20
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Electronic Comms: Networking Software
• Linked systems organically spread throughout the nation and
world that can be accessed by a PC
• Key Points:
– These are public spaces – anyone can see what you post
– Can be used for job application screening
– Avoid “overstimulating” your contacts
11-21
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Electronic Comms: Blogs and Videoconferencing
• Blogs: websites about a single person (or entity) that are typically updated
daily.
– A popular, but potentially dangerous activity:
• Employees may post harmful information
• Such comments may be cause for dismissal
• No First Amendment rights protection
• Can be against company policy to post in a blog during company time and on company
equipment/connections
• Videoconferencing: uses live audio and video Internet streaming to create
virtual meetings.
– Now uses inexpensive webcams and laptops in place of formal videoconferencing rooms
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Choice of Communication Channel
• The model of “media richness” helps explain an individual’s choice of
communication channel
– Channels vary in their capacity to convey information
• A “rich” channel is one that can:
– Handle multiple cues simultaneously
– Facilitate rapid feedback
– Be very personal
• Choice depends on whether the message is routine
• Non-routine messages require rich channels
11-23
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Media Richness Model
© 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.
11-24
Low channel richness High channel richness
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Persuasive Communication
Automatic Processing
A relatively superficial consideration of evidence and information making use of heuristics
Controlled Processing
A detailed consideration of evidence and information relying on facts, figures and logic
Factors to determine types of processing
– Interest level
– Prior Knowledge
– Personality
• need for cognition
– Message Characteristics
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Persuasive Messages
• Automatic Processing when audience (is)
– Not especially interested
– Poorly informed
– Low in need for cognition
– Receive information through lean channels
• Controlled Processing when audience (is)
– Interested in a topic
– In need for cognition
– Receive information through rich channels
Use emotion-laden persuasion
Use rational arguments and evidence
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Global Implications • Cross-cultural factors increase communication difficulties
• Cultural Barriers (page 381):
– Semantics: some words aren’t translatable
– Word Connotations: some words imply multiple meanings beyond
their definitions
– Tone Differences: the acceptable level of formality of language
– Difference in tolerance for conflict and resolving conflicts
• Cultural Context:
– The importance of social context to meaning
– Low-context cultures (like the US) rely on words for meaning
– High-context cultures gain meaning from the whole situation
11-27
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
Body Language Issues
11-28
All of these common U.S. hand signs are offensive
somewhere in the world.
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
A Cultural Guide
• To reduce your chance of making a faux pas in
another culture, err on the side of caution by:
– Assuming differences until similarity is proven
– Emphasizing description rather than interpretation
or evaluation
– Practicing empathy
– Treating your interpretations as a working
hypothesis
11-29
MGT 321: WASIK ALI KHAN ‘COMMUNICATION’
END OF CHAPTER