Communicating in Teams and Organizations

Understanding Communication

• Foundation for team dynamics in the workplace.
• Critical for motivation, information sharing, behavior management, emotional expression, and trust-building.
• Good communication skills are key to career success.

Communication Process Model

• Sender: Form and encode the message.
• Transmission: Send message through chosen channel.
• Receiver: Receive and decode the message.
• Feedback: Return feedback to the sender.
• Noise: Any interference in the communication process.

Channels of Communication

Verbal Communication

• Spoken: Effective for conveying emotions and persuasion.
• Written: Better for technical content, enhances understanding.

Nonverbal Communication

• Includes body language, intonation, proxemics.
• Less structured than verbal; often automatic.
• Emotional Contagion: Sharing emotions through nonverbal cues.

Selecting Channels

• Synchronicity: Choose synchronous or asynchronous based on urgency and complexity.
• Social Presence: The psychological closeness fostered by the medium.
• Social Acceptance: Organizational norms may dictate channel use.
• Media Richness: Capacity to convey information; richer channels offer more cues and feedback.

Hierarchy of Media Richness

• Rich Media: Face-to-face, video conference, telephone.
• Lean Media: Email, newsletters, financial statements.
• Matching Complexity: Complex messages require richer channels; simple messages can use lean channels.

Barriers to Effective Communication

• Filtering: Manipulating information to favor receiver's perspective.
• Selective Perception: Receiver’s biases affect message interpretation.
• Information Overload: Excessive information hampers processing.
• Semantic Barriers: Different meanings of words based on context.

Active Listening

• Fully concentrate on and understand the speaker’s message.
• Enhances relationships and collaboration within teams.
• Promotes respectful and thoughtful responses.

Cultural Context in Communication

• Influences how meaning is derived; varies by culture.
• High-context Cultures: Reliance on nonverbal cues.
• Low-context Cultures: Dependence on explicit verbal communication.

Grapevine Communication

• Informal network based on social relationships.
• Benefits: Rapid information sharing, sense of belonging, informal feedback.
• Disadvantages: Risk of rumors and dissatisfaction with slow official communication.