Workplace Communication – Detailed Bullet-Point Notes

Learning Outcomes

Communication = creation/exchange of thoughts, ideas, emotions, understanding between sender(s) & receiver(s).
It underpins every managerial function (planning, organizing, directing, controlling, leading).
Effective decisions, employee motivation, job satisfaction, and healthy workplace relationships all depend on clear communication.
William H. Whyte’s warning: “The greatest barrier to communication is the illusion of it in the mind of the sender.”
Managers must evaluate and refine their own patterns; sending a message ≠ guaranteeing comprehension.

(S \rightarrow M \rightarrow C \rightarrow R)
- S – Sender: originator; encodes idea into a message.
- M – Message: the coded information itself.
- C – Channel: medium used (voice, email, memo, etc.).
- R – Receiver: target who decodes/interprets.
Decoding influenced by receiver’s frame of reference & prior experience.
Accuracy goal: decoded meaning ≈ sender’s intent.
Barriers (can occur at any stage):
- Environmental (noise, time pressure, competing stimuli).
- Organizational complexity (layers, formal authority, status differentials).
- Personal (beliefs, values, selective perception, fear, jealousy, resistance to change).
Feedback loop returns information to sender, closes the process, and verifies understanding.

Definition: Receiver’s response that signals comprehension (or lack thereof).
Can be oral, written, non-verbal (smile, sigh), or even silence.
Without feedback → illusion of understanding; misinterpretations persist.
One-way vs Two-way:
- One-way: faster, but message richness suffers; limited correction opportunity (e.g., physician’s written order only).
- Two-way: slower, richer, reduces errors; ideal for complex or sensitive issues (e.g., patient chats with medical assistant after order).
Keyton’s Three Intent-Based Forms:
- Descriptive: objective account of how someone communicated.
- Evaluative: judgment about effectiveness/helpfulness of the communicator.
- Prescriptive: advice for future improvement.
Four Levels (focus):
1. Task/Procedural – quality, quantity, timeliness; right process?
2. Relational – interpersonal dynamics while working.
3. Individual – skills, attitudes, contributions of one member.
4. Group – overall team capability, knowledge, networks.
Good feedback should enhance goals, awareness, learning; “negative” simply means “do less/change,” not “bad.”

Invented by Joe Luft & Harry Ingham (1955).
Four panes (see Exhibit in text):
1. Open/Public – known to self & others (behaviours, skills, basic history).
2. Blind – unknown to self, known to others (habits like interrupting).
3. Hidden/Façade – known to self, concealed from others (values, fears, private past).
4. Unknown – unknown to both (untapped potential, latent issues).
Growth strategy:
- Expand Open area by seeking feedback (shrinks Blind) and appropriate self-disclosure (shrinks Hidden).
- Combined efforts may transform parts of Unknown into Open.
Use carefully: disclosure is contextual; timing, relationship quality, and mutual trust matter.

Spoken or Written words; includes dialogue.
Dialogue success principles (Edgley & Robinson, 1991):
- Engage motivated participants.
- Employ facilitator & recorder.
- Group designs its own ground rules & follows them.
- Ensure confidentiality.
- Let the process evolve organically.
Case Study 5-1 (Operating Room Water Leak):
- Chain: Facilities email → Nursing Director forward → Night-shift handwritten note → Day-shift chaos.
- Highlights improper channel selection & hand-off failures.
- Illustrates need for clear policy, redundancy, and confirmation of message receipt.

Internet: global public network.
Intranet: private organizational network; critical for protecting patient confidentiality.
Extranet: controlled extension of intranet to select outsiders (insurers, vendors).
Advantages: speed, simultaneous multi-recipient distribution, modifiability, document trails.
Pitfalls:
- Information overload – excessive, non-essential messages.
- Emotion confusion – tone harder to interpret; emojis not always professional.
- Flaming – impulsive, emotion-laden outbursts; easier when face-to-face discomfort absent.
- Permanence – digital messages last; privacy not guaranteed.
Training & policies mitigate these risks.
Illustrative contrast: Gandhi’s slow, print-based activism vs Xiamen (China) petro-chemical protest organized via texts, blogs, cell phones; Internet pressure forced government to act.

Assume anything could be forwarded; craft with broader audience in mind.
Avoid sending confidential patient data unencrypted; legal ramifications exist.
Introduce yourself on first contact; don’t assume recognition.
Use punctuation judiciously; ≤1 exclamation point is usually sufficient.
Reply within 24-48 hours; if more time needed, acknowledge receipt.
Skip one-word replies unless terminating a thread.
Avoid text slang ("u", "idk"); limit or omit emojis in professional settings.
Write clear, direct subject lines.
Start new threads when topics change; adjust subject lines accordingly.
Use “Reply All” sparingly; only when everyone truly needs the info.
Keep messages concise; number multiple questions for clarity.
If exchange grows lengthy/complex, pick up the phone or schedule a meeting.
After face-to-face discussion, email a summary for documentation.
Adapt tone to audience; maintain formality with senior leaders.
Include automatic signature (name, title, contact details).
Managers should set & communicate explicit email standards.
Remember: your writing shapes your professional reputation—accuracy, courtesy, organization matter.