Business Exam #2 Study Guide (Professor Scott)

Things to consider when choosing a communication channel:

richness, control, and constraints

Types of communication channels:

email, phone, video meeting, and face-to-face

Richness

builds trust, rapport, and commitment

Richness considers:

level of immediacy and number of cues

Immediacy

how quickly someone responds/ gives feedback

Social Cues

turn taking

Verbal Cues

tone of voice

Nonverbal Cues

gestures, facial expressions

Control

degree to which communications can be planned/ recorded, allowing strategic message development

Control Considers:

planning and permanence

Planning

drafting, editing, and revision

Permanence

extent to which the messages can be stored, retrieved, and shared

Constraints

practical limitations of coordination and resources

Coordination

effort and timing needed to allow all relevant people to participate

Resources:

financial, space needed to meet, time, etc.

Synchronous

real-time, immediate response, and turn-taking

Asynchronous

participants pay attention and respond at time of their choosing

Right purpose for email

few constraints and high control

Few constraints:

low cost and little coordination

High control

requires a lot of thinking and provides a permanent record

Rarely use email for:

1. Sensitive/Emotional Messages

2. Facilitating Discussions

Primary form of written business communication

email

Ease of reading email

subject line, brief yet complete, expected actions, signature line, use attachments wisely

Show respect for time by:

1. Selecting recipients carefully

2. Providing timelines and options

3. Careful use of priority flag

4. Letting others know when to expect longer response times

5. Avoiding email chains

Protect privacy by

Being careful of sending sensitive, private, or confidential info

Respond promptly

answer quickly as possible and if not, provide time to expect response

Maintain professionalism by:

1. Avoiding indication that email was received as casual

2. Using standards of spelling/ grammar/ and punctation

3. Utilizing greetings/names

Neutrality effect

recipients likely perceive positively intended messages as neutral

Negativity effect

recipients likely perceive neutral intended messages as negative

Flames

hostile intentions with profanity, insults, and obscenity to inflict harm

Cyber Silence

nonresponsive

Cyber Incivility

violation of respect/ consideration in an online environment based on workplace norms

Active Incivility

1. Direct forms of disrespect

2. Being condescending or demeaning, saying something hurtful, using email to say things that you wouldn't say in person

Passive Incivility

1. Indirect forms of disrespect

2. Using emails for time-sensitive messages, not acknowledging receipt of emails, not replying to emails, using email for discussions that are better suited for real-time

Reinterpretation is:

1. Adjusting your initial perceptions by making more objective

2. More fact-based, and less personal judgments and evaluations

Relaxation

releasing and overcoming anger and frustration so that you can make a more rational and less emotional response

Defusing

avoiding escalation and removing tension to focus on work objectives

Don'ts of instant message/text:

1. Do NOT send important info

2. Be careful about humor/ emojis/ abbreviations

3. Avoid using for scheduling

4. Do not send after hours, and turn alerts off

Do's of instant messaging/ text:

1. Use an app that all can use

2. Stay positive/fun,

3. Evaluate meta of message

4. Ask simple brief questions

5. Identify yourself

6. Establish rules

Guidelines for phone calls:

1. Schedule

2. Check Audio

3. Warm Greeting

4. Speak Pleasantly

5. Active Listening

6. Avoid multitasking

7. Take notes

8. Close with appreciation

Interpersonal communication

1. Sending and receiving verbal and nonverbal messages

2. Exchange of simultaneous and mutual messages to share or negotiate

Priming statements

trigger a mind-set that affects subsequent behavior

Example of a priming statement

"let's figure out our options to create new customized tour options"

Meaning

the thoughts and feelings that people intend to communicate to one another

Encoding is:

process of converting meaning of words and nonverbal signals into messages

Decoding is:

process of interpreting messages from others into meaning

Credibility

1. Reputation of being trustworthy

2. degree at which others trust you

Credibility is based on:

integrity, trust, reliability, authenticity, reputation, regard, and commitment

Teams can focus on performance by:

1. Setting goals

2. Revisiting goals often to determine progress

3. Getting individuals to understand an d buy into the purpose

Stages of high-performing teams

forming, storming, norming, performing

Forming

1. Honeymoon stage in which team members gain acceptance and avoid conflict

2. 1-2 months

Storming

1. Members open up about competing ideas of how to approach work

2. 2-3 months

3. Least productive, since members are attempting to make sense of uncertain

Norming

1. Team arrives at work plan, including the roles, goals, and accountabilities

2. 4-5 months

Performing

1. 6-7 months

2. Team operates efficiently toward accomplishing goals

3. Team has evolved to a level where they can transform disagreement and conflict into consensus for future action

Team Culture

1. Shared commitment to collective values, norms, roles, responsibilities, and goals

2. Must be communicated properly by leader

Team culture is developed in the _________ stage

norming

Team Charter

1. Document that provides direction to the team in how it functions to meet shared objectives

2. Includes purpose, values, goals, team member roles, tasks, and ground rules

Ground rules in team work:

1. Communication protocol

2. Meeting protocol

3. Decision making rules

4. Conflict Resolution

5. Feedback mechanisms

Teams who meet often must:

1. Discuss goals and steps to achieving them

2. Stay on track with the agenda

3. Are mindful of others time commitments and responsibilities

4. Choosing a single member to polish work

9-11 AM

most productive time of the day and is best for meetings

When planning a meeting, you must share:

1. Purpose

2. Outcomes

3. Who and When?

4. Roles/responsibilities

5. An agenda & Materials

6. When & How to invite others, And solve logistical issues

Logistical Issues

1. Reserving rooms

2. Getting equipment

3. Printing materials

4. Providing food (if needed)

Psychological safety

ensure all voices are heard by making sure members feel safe to take risks and be vulnerable in front of one antoher

How teams build trust:

1. Get to know one another

2. Holding an effective launch meeting

3. Commit to working together and separately

4. Setting up a deliverable schedule and evaluating performance regularly

Groupthink

when groups verbally/ non verbally agree to ideas without gathering enough information or sharing opinions

Collective Rationalization

group convinces themselves a solution is the best one, even when faced with conflicting information.

Moral High-Ground

members assume they're morally correct and as a result dismiss competing ideas or alternate solutions

Self-Censorship

members don't voice their opinions for the sake of harmony

Illusion of Unanimity

no one speaks out against the majority view and, as a result, everyone assumes there is agreement

Peer Pressure

majority of group members pressure or even penalize a member with dissenting views

Illusion of Invulnerability

members are overly optimistic in their ideas and don't consider the risks or drawbacks of their ideas

Complacency

group has experienced quite a few successes and begins to assume it will automatically make good decisions

Mindguards

members who purposely filter information so there is no dissent or threat to the team leader

Stereotyping

members see outsiders as morally inferior or less competent

Cascades

initial ideas in a discussion excessively influence the ultimate decisions

Embrace diversity by:

making sure everyone is heard, making is safe for members to express ideas, give members decision-making authority, sharing credit, giving useful feedback, and putting feedback into action

Inherent Diversity

traits such as age, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation

Acquired Diversity

involves traits you acquire through experience, such as customer service experience, retail experience, or engineering experience

2-D Diversity

having both inherent and acquired diversity

Effective teams:

1. Solve problems and generate creative solutions

2. Provide positive feedback and evaluate performance

Self-Disclosure

sharing information about yourself, such as goals, aspirations, views, values, and experiences

Divergence

1. Considering as many solutions as possible

2. Working independently can increase the number of ideas and solutions generated

Convergence

1. Evaluating the proposed ideas and solutions an narrowing them to a small set of feasible solutions to address the problem

2. Highly collaborative and generally involves refining the best ideas with contributions from all members

Effective Teams:

feel a common sense of purpose and bond socially

Coordination Meetings

Primary focus on discussing roles, goals, and accountabilities

Problem-Solving Meetings

involve brainstorming about how to address and solve a particular work problem

Facilitator

acts from a neutral position to get each person to participate in the conversation and ensure that each agenda item is properly discussed

Principles of Managing Difficult Conversations:

1. Embrace them

2. Assume the best in others

3. Adopt a learning stance

4. Stay Calm

5. Overcome noise

6. Find common ground

7. Disagree diplomatically

8. Avoid exaggeration and either/or approaches

How to address difficult conversations:

1. Declare intent

2. Listen to their story

3. Tell yours

4. Create a shared story

Disagree well by:

validating others and using I statements

Validating Others

shows recognition of feelings and perspectives

I-Statements

sound more conciliatory and flexible allowing you to seem less blaming

Brainstorming

a method of generating ideas for speech topics by free association of words and ideas

Brainwriting

simultaneous written generation of ideas

write first, talk second

Brainswarming

individually write contributions on sticky notes and place them on a graph

Questioning

provoking new ways of thinking with questions

Observing

carefully evaluating the behavior of others, especially customers

Experimenting

trying out new things in methodical ways, which could even include thought experiments

Networking

finding and testing ideas with a wide range of individuals

Diversity

the presence of phycological, physical, and social differences in a given setting