Organizational Behavior Chapter 9

Communication

The exchange of information between a sender and a receiver, and the inference (perception) of meaning between the individuals involved.

Communication is a _____ and _____ process

circular and dynamic

The perceptual model of communication depicts communication as a process in which receivers create meaning where?

In their mind

The sender

The person wanting to communicate information—the message.

Encoding

Translates mental thoughts into a code or language that can be understood by others.

The output of encoding

The message

Managers can communicate through a variety of media including:

• face-to-face conversations

• phone calls

• charts and graphs

• many digital forms

Decoding

The process of interpreting and making sense of a message when received by a receiver.

Feedback

When the receiver expresses a reaction to the sender’s message.

Noise

Anything that interferes with the transmission and understanding of the message.

Communication effectiveness is partly based on using the _____ that is most appropriate for the situation at hand.

Medium

Media richness

Capacity of a communication medium to convey information and promote understanding.

Media can vary from _____ to _____.

rich, lean

Media richness is based on:

• feedback

• channel

• type of communication

• language source.

Richest form of communication

Two-way face-to-face conversations

Leanest form of communication

Static media such as newsletters, computer reports, and general e-mail blasts

When should rich media be used?

Situations that are complex or are highly important to receivers

When should lean media be used?

less complex situations such as general e-mail

Communication competence

Performance-based index of an individual’s abilities to effectively use communication behaviors in a given context.

Communication competence reflects your ability to:

Effectively communicate with others.

What are the communication skills that affect communication competence:

• Nonverbal communication

• active listening

• nondefensive communication

• empathy

Nonverbal communication

Communication that does not involve words or text

Examples of nonverbal communication:

• body movements

• touch

• facial expressions

• eye contact

Experts estimate that how much of every message is interpreted through nonverbal communication

65% to 95%

Touch

Conveys an impression of warmth and caring and can be used to create a personal bond between people.

Facial expressions

Smiling represents warmth, happiness, or friendship, whereas frowning conveys dissatisfaction or anger.

Eye contact

Conveys honesty

Active listening

Process of actively decoding and interpreting verbal messages

Active listening requires what unlike hearing?

Cognitive attention and information processing

4 listening styles

• Active: Fully invested

• Involved: Partially invested

• Passive: Doesn’t care

• Detached: Disinterested

Tips for effective listening:

•Show respect and listen from the first sentence.

•Be mindful and keep quiet.

•Ask questions, paraphrase and summarize.

•Remember what was said.

•Involve your body.

How many levels are there in the “levels of listening“ model?

3

Level 1 Listening

Involves the receiver interjecting their thoughts, experiences, perceptions or messages in the middle of the sender’s message. Will include behaviors such as interrupting or cutting off the sender.

Level 2 Listening

Involves the receiver making the sender “the only person in the world” while they are listening to them.  The receiver is interested and involved in the message being sent by the sender. –Will include behaviors such as actively listening and then paraphrasing the message or asking follow-up questions.

Reflective Listening

The skill of listening carefully to another person and repeating back to the speaker the heard message to correct any inaccuracies or misunderstandings

Non-defensive communication

Avoiding shutting down or being passive-aggressive, standing behind rules or policies, creating a diversion, or counterattacking.

When does defensiveness occur?

When people feel like they are being threatened or attacked

Defensiveness from one person activates what?

A similar response in the other party

Defensiveness often is started by what?

The poor choice of words we use and/or the nonverbal posture used during interactions.

Linguistic style

Differences in communication between men, women, and generations

Linguistic styles incorporate such elements as:

• Directness or indirectness

• pacing and pausing

• word choice

• use of such elements as jokes, figures of speech, stories, questions, and apologies

The male linguistic style

• Communicate more aggressively

• interrupt others more

• hide their emotions because they have an inherent desire to possess features attractive to females.

• see conversations as negotiations in which people try to achieve and maintain the upper hand.

• cannot turn off the biologically based determinants of their behavior.

The Female linguistic style

• Learns conversational skills and habits that focus on rapport and relationships

• Come to view communication as a network of connections in which conversations are negotiations for closeness.

_____ and _____ are more likely to prefer instant messaging and texting rather than phone calls

Millenials and Gen Xers

_____ and _____ are more likely to prefer phone calls, letters, and reports

Traditionalists and boomers

Social Media

Web-based and mobile technologies to generate interactive dialogue with members of a network

A fundamental driving force behind technology at work, including social media, is to _____

Boost productivity

Social media has been shown to improve what?

• job satisfaction and work-life balance

• performance and retention

• foster creativity and collaboration.

If deployed effectively, social media enables businesses to what?

• Connect in real time and over distances with many key stakeholders.

• Connect sources of knowledge inside and outside an organization.

• Expand and open the traditional boundaries to involve outsiders in problem solving.

Cyberloafing

When employees use the Internet at work for personal use

50% of time wasted is spent _____

Talking on the phone or texting

39% of time wasted is spent _____

Surfing the internet

38% of time wasted is spent _____

On social media

23% of time wasted is spent _____

Sending personal emails

What are the downsides of blocking employee access to the Internet?

•Alienate employees.

•Fairness.

•Perceptions of lack of trust.

What effective policies should organizations adopt to combat problems with internet use?

•Create safe channels for employees to air their concerns.

•Clarify what is confidential.

•Outline consequences for violations.

•Identify spokespersons.

•Discuss appropriate ways to engage others.

•Explain what is illegal.

•Align social policy with organizational culture.

•Educate employees.

Tips on managing email

•Do not assume e-mail is confidential

•Be professional and courteous - avoid sloppiness

•Don’t use e-mail for volatile or complex issues

•Keep messages brief and clear - save people time

•Be careful with attachments

•Be mindful of the non-verbals that may be associated with your username or account address

The Ted Five-Step Protocol to Boosting Your Communication Effectiveness

Step 1 - Frame your story

Step 2 - Plan your delivery

Step 3 - Develop your stage presence

Step 4 - Plan your multimedia

Step 5 - Put it together

Step 1 - Frame your story

Think of your presentation as a journey and decide where you want to start and end. Include only the most relevant details or points and bring them to life with examples

Step 2 - Plan your delivery

Avoid reading from a “script”… use bullet lists that provide an outline of what you want to say in each section.  Be sure you know not only the content for each point, but also how to transition from one to the next.

Step 3 - Develop you stage presence

Be aware of how much you move – not too much or too little.  Eye contact is an important element of stage presence.  Self-efficacy is important in overcoming nervousness, as is realizing that people expect you to be nervous.

Step 4 - Plan your multimedia

Keep technology simple, don’t let it distract the audience… it should be a “visual aid”, not the entire presentation!

Step 5 - Put it all together

Be prepared in advance and practice in front of others so they can give you effective feedback.

Crucial conversations

Discussions between two or more people where the stakes are high, opinions vary, and emotions run strong.

Examples of work-related crucial conversations:

• Talking to a coworker who behaves offensively

• critiquing a colleague’s work

• talking to a team member who isn’t keeping commitments

• giving an unfavorable performance review.