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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Robbins, Stephen P. Organizational behavior / Stephen P. Robbins, Timothy A. Judge. — 15th ed. p. cm. Includes indexes. ISBN-13: 978-0-13-283487-2 ISBN-10: 0-13-283487-1 1. Organizational behavior. I. Judge, Tim. II. Title.
HD58.7.R62 2012 658.3—dc23 2011038674
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ISBN 10: 0-13-283487-1 ISBN 13: 978-0-13-283487-2
3
2
1
Brief Contents
The Individual
2 Diversity in Organizations 39 3 Attitudes and Job Satisfaction 69 4 Emotions and Moods 97 5 Personality and Values 131 6 Perception and Individual Decision Making 165 7 Motivation Concepts 201 8 Motivation: From Concepts to Applications 239
The Group
9 Foundations of Group Behavior 271 10 Understanding Work Teams 307 11 Communication 335 12 Leadership 367 13 Power and Politics 411 14 Conflict and Negotiation 445 15 Foundations of Organization Structure 479
Preface xxii
v
Introduction
1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 3
vi B R I E F C O N T E N T S
Appendix A Research in Organizational Behavior 616
Comprehensive Cases 623
Indexes 637 Glindex 663
4 The Organization System 16 Organizational Culture 511 17 Human Resource Policies and Practices 543 18 Organizational Change and Stress Management 577
Communication 11 Constantly talking isn’t necessarily
communicating. —Joel in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
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336 CHAPTER 11 Communication
It’s unlikely these messages would be consistent with Goldman’s elaborate
e-mail policies. But the firm did make some serious profit.
Source: M. Abelson and C. Winter, “The Goldman Rules,” Bloomberg Businessweek (April 25, 2011), pp. 90–91; L Lavelle, “Best Places to Launch a Career,” Bloomberg Businessweek (June 2010), downloaded June 10, 2011, from http://images.businessweek.com/ ; and L. Story and S. Chan, “Goldman Cited ’Serious’ Profit on Mortgages,” The New York Times (April 25, 2010), pp. Y1, Y25.
T his example illustrates the profound consequences of communication. In this chapter, we’ll analyze the power of communication and ways in which it can be more effective. One of the topics we’ll discuss is gossip. Consider the following self-assessment, and see how you score on your attitudes toward gossip at work.
Poor communication is probably the most frequently cited source of inter- personal conflict. 1 Because individuals spend nearly 70 percent of their waking hours communicating—writing, reading, speaking, listening—it seems reason- able that one of the biggest inhibitors of group performance is lack of effective communication. Good communication skills are critical to career success. Polls of recruiters nearly always show communication skills among the most desired characteristics. 2
No individual, group, or organization can exist without sharing meaning among its members. It is only thus that we can convey information and ideas. Communicating, however, is more than merely imparting meaning; that mean- ing must also be understood. If one group member speaks only German and the others do not know the language, the German speaker will not be fully understood. Therefore, communication must include both the transfer and the understanding of meaning.
Perfect communication, if it existed, would occur when a thought or idea was transmitted so the receiver perceived exactly the same mental picture as the sender. Though it sounds elementary, perfect communication is never achieved in practice, for reasons we shall see later in this chapter.
First let’s briefly review the functions communication performs and describe the communication process.
S A L SELF-ASSESSMENT LIBRARY
Am I A Gossip?
In the Self-Assessment Library (available on CD or online), take assessment IV.E.3 (Am I a Gossip?) and answer the following questions.
1. How did you score relative to your classmates? 2. Do you think gossiping is morally wrong? Why or why not?
Functions of Communication
Communication serves four major functions within a group or organization: control, motivation, emotional expression, and information. 3
Communication acts to control member behavior in several ways. Organizations have authority hierarchies and formal guidelines employees
1 Identify the main functions of communication.
Functions of Communication 337
are required to follow. When employees must communicate any job-related grievance to their immediate boss, follow their job description, or comply with company policies, communication is performing a control function. Informal communication controls behavior too. When work groups tease or harass a member who produces too much (and makes the rest of the group look bad), they are informally communicating, and controlling, the mem- ber’s behavior.
Communication fosters motivation by clarifying to employees what they must do, how well they are doing it, and how they can improve if perfor- mance is subpar. We saw this operating in our review of goal-setting theory in Chapter 7 . The formation of specific goals, feedback on progress toward the goals, and reward for desired behavior all stimulate motivation and require communication.
Their work group is a primary source of social interaction for many employees. Communication within the group is a fundamental mechanism by which members show their satisfaction and frustrations. Communication, therefore, provides for the emotional expression of feelings and fulfillment of social needs.
The final function of communication is to facilitate decision making. Communication provides the information individuals and groups need to make decisions by transmitting the data needed to identify and evaluate choices.
Almost every communication interaction that takes place in a group or orga- nization performs one or more of these functions, and none of the four is more important than the others. To perform effectively, groups need to maintain some form of control over members, stimulate members to perform, allow emo- tional expression, and make decision choices.
communication The transfer and understanding of meaning.
Many communication interactions that take place in an organization
perform the function of providing for the emotional expression of
feelings and fulfillment of social needs. In this photo, Rene Brook- bank, marketing consultant and
director of client relations at Cum- mins & White law firm, jokes with her co-workers during a corporate fashion event. The law firm staged
a show for female lawyers and staffers as a fun way for them to
view fashion trends in business attire and then treated them all to new outfits. Throughout the social
event, cheerful communication among employees allowed them to express their emotions of happiness
and gratitude.
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338 CHAPTER 11 Communication
Before communication can take place it needs a purpose, a message to be conveyed between a sender and a receiver. The sender encodes the message (converts it to a symbolic form) and passes it through a medium (channel) to the receiver, who decodes it. The result is transfer of meaning from one person to another. 4
Exhibit 11-1 depicts this communication process . The key parts of this model are (1) the sender, (2) encoding, (3) the message, (4) the channel, (5) decod- ing, (6) the receiver, (7) noise, and (8) feedback.
The sender initiates a message by encoding a thought. The message is the actual physical product of the sender’s encoding. When we speak, the speech is the mes- sage. When we write, the writing is the message. When we gesture, the movements of our arms and the expressions on our faces are the message. The channel is the medium through which the message travels. The sender selects it, determining whether to use a formal or informal channel. Formal channels are established by the organization and transmit messages related to the professional activities of members. They traditionally follow the authority chain within the organization. Other forms of messages, such as personal or social, follow informal channels , which are spontaneous and emerge as a response to individual choices. 5 The re- ceiver is the person(s) to whom the message is directed, who must first translate the symbols into understandable form. This step is the decoding of the message. Noise represents communication barriers that distort the clarity of the message, such as perceptual problems, information overload, semantic difficulties, or cul- tural differences. The final link in the communication process is a feedback loop. Feedback is the check on how successful we have been in transferring our messages as originally intended. It determines whether understanding has been achieved.
The Communication Process
2 Describe the communication process and distinguish
between formal and
informal communication.
The Communication Process Exhibit 11-1
Sender
Encoding message
Channel
Noise
Feedback
Message received
Receiver
Message decoding
S Message
to be sent
3 Contrast downward, upward, and lateral
communication, and
provide examples of each.
Communication can flow vertically or laterally. We further subdivide the verti- cal dimension into downward and upward directions. 6
Direction of Communication
Direction of Communication 339
Downward Communication Communication that flows from one level of a group or organization to a lower level is downward communication . Group leaders and managers use it to assign goals, provide job instructions, explain policies and procedures, point out problems that need attention, and offer feedback about performance.
When engaging in downward communication, managers must explain the reasons why a decision was made. One study found employees were twice as likely to be committed to changes when the reasons behind them were fully explained. Although this may seem like common sense, many managers feel they are too busy to explain things or that explanations will “open up a big can of worms.” Evidence clearly indicates, though, that explanations increase employee com- mitment and support of decisions. 7 Moreover, although managers might think that sending a message one time is enough to get through to lower-level em- ployees, most research suggests managerial communications must be repeated several times and through a variety of different media to be truly effective. 8
Another problem in downward communication is its one-way nature; gener- ally, managers inform employees but rarely solicit their advice or opinions. A study revealed that nearly two-thirds of employees say their boss rarely or never asks their advice. The study noted, “Organizations are always striving for higher employee engagement, but evidence indicates they unnecessarily create funda- mental mistakes. People need to be respected and listened to.” Companies like cell phone maker Nokia actively listen to employee’s suggestions, a practice the company thinks is especially important to innovation. 9
The best communicators explain the reasons behind their downward com- munications but also solicit communication from the employees they supervise. That leads us to the next direction: upward communication.
Upward Communication Upward communication flows to a higher level in the group or organization. It’s used to provide feedback to higher-ups, inform them of progress toward goals, and relay current problems. Upward communication keeps managers aware of how employees feel about their jobs, co-workers, and the organization in gen- eral. Managers also rely on upward communication for ideas on how conditions can be improved.
Given that most managers’ job responsibilities have expanded, upward communication is increasingly difficult because managers are overwhelmed and easily distracted. To engage in effective upward communication, try to reduce distractions (meet in a conference room if you can, rather than your boss’s office or cubicle), communicate in headlines not paragraphs (your goal is to get your boss’s attention, not to engage in a meandering discussion), support your headlines with actionable items (what you believe should happen), and prepare an agenda to make sure you use your boss’s attention well. 10
Lateral Communication When communication takes place among members of the same work group, members of work groups at the same level, managers at the same level, or any other horizontally equivalent workers, we describe it as lateral communication.
communication process The steps between a source and a receiver that result in the transfer and understanding of meaning.
formal channels Communication channels established by an organization to transmit messages related to the professional activities of members.
informal channels Communication channels that are created spontaneously and that emerge as responses to individual choices.
340 CHAPTER 11 Communication
Why is lateral communication needed if a group or an organization’s vertical communications are effective? Lateral communication saves time and facilitates coordination. Some lateral relationships are formally sanctioned. More often, they are informally created to short-circuit the vertical hierarchy and expedite action. So from management’s viewpoint, lateral communications can be good or bad. Because strictly adhering to the formal vertical structure for all communications can be inefficient, lateral communication occurring with management’s knowledge and support can be beneficial. But it can create dysfunctional conflicts when the formal vertical channels are breached, when members go above or around their superiors to get things done, or when bosses find actions have been taken or decisions made without their knowledge.
As president of Home Depot’s southern division, Ann-Marie
Campbell demonstrates the text concept of downward communica-
tion when speaking with the manager and employees of a store
in St. Petersburg, Florida. Serving as a member of Home Depot’s
senior leadership team, Campbell oversees 100,000 workers at
640 stores in 15 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. During her
store visits, Campbell communicates the retailer’s goals of focusing on
clean warehouses, stocked shelves, and excellent customer service.
Her personal, face-to-face meetings with employees give her the oppor- tunity to solicit upward communi-
cation from them.
Interpersonal Communication
How do group members transfer meaning between and among each other? They essentially rely on oral, written, and nonverbal communication.
Oral Communication The chief means of conveying messages is oral communication. Speeches, for- mal one-on-one and group discussions, and the informal rumor mill or grape- vine are popular forms of oral communication.
The advantages of oral communication are speed and feedback. We can convey a verbal message and receive a response in minimal time. If the receiver is unsure of the message, rapid feedback allows the sender to quickly detect and correct it. As one professional put it, “Face-to-face communication on a consis- tent basis is still the best way to get information to and from employees.” 11
The major disadvantage of oral communication surfaces whenever a mes- sage has to pass through a number of people: the more people, the greater the potential distortion. If you’ve ever played the game “Telephone,” you know the
4 Contrast oral, written, and nonverbal communication.
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Interpersonal Communication 341
problem. Each person interprets the message in his or her own way. The mes- sage’s content, when it reaches its destination, is often very different from the original. In an organization, where decisions and other communiqués are ver- bally passed up and down the authority hierarchy, considerable opportunities arise for messages to become distorted.
Written Communication Written communications include memos, letters, fax transmissions, e-mail, in- stant messaging, organizational periodicals, notices placed on bulletin boards (including electronic ones), and any other device that transmits via written words or symbols.
Why would a sender choose written communication? It’s often tangible and verifiable. Both the sender and receiver have a record of the communication; and the message can be stored for an indefinite period. If there are questions about its content, the message is physically available for later reference. This feature is particularly important for complex and lengthy communications. The marketing plan for a new product, for instance, is likely to contain a num- ber of tasks spread out over several months. By putting it in writing, those who have to initiate the plan can readily refer to it over its lifespan. A final benefit of all written communication comes from the process itself. People are usually forced to think more thoroughly about what they want to convey in a written message than in a spoken one. Thus, written communications are more likely to be well thought out, logical, and clear.
Of course, written messages have drawbacks. They’re time consuming. You could convey far more information to a college instructor in a 1-hour oral exam than in a 1-hour written exam. In fact, what you can say in 10 to 15 minutes might take you an hour to write. The other major disadvantage is lack of a built- in feedback mechanism. Oral communication allows the receiver to respond rapidly to what he thinks he hears. But emailing a memo or sending an instant message provides no assurance it has been received or that the recipient will interpret it as the sender intended.
Nonverbal Communication Every time we deliver a verbal message, we also impart a nonverbal message. 12 Sometimes the nonverbal component may stand alone. In a singles bar, a glance, a stare, a smile, a frown, and a provocative body movement all convey meaning. No discussion of communication would thus be complete without consideration of nonverbal communication —which includes body movements, the intonations or emphasis we give to words, facial expressions, and the physi- cal distance between the sender and receiver.
We could argue that every body movement has meaning, and no movement is accidental (though some are unconscious). Through body language, we say, “Help me, I’m lonely”; “Take me, I’m available”; and “Leave me alone, I’m de- pressed.” We act out our state of being with nonverbal body language. We lift one eyebrow for disbelief. We rub our noses for puzzlement. We clasp our arms to isolate ourselves or to protect ourselves. We shrug our shoulders for indiffer- ence, wink for intimacy, tap our fingers for impatience, slap our forehead for forgetfulness. 13
The two most important messages body language conveys are (1) the extent to which we like another and are interested in his or her views and (2) the perceived status between a sender and receiver. 14 We’re more likely to position ourselves closer to people we like and touch them more often. Similarly, if you feel you’re of higher status than another, you’re more likely to display body movements—such as crossed legs or a slouched seated position—that reflect a casual and relaxed manner. 15
342 CHAPTER 11 Communication
Body language adds to, and often complicates, verbal communication. A body position or movement can communicate something of the emotion behind a message, but when it is linked with spoken language, it gives fuller meaning to a sender’s message.
If you read the verbatim minutes of a meeting, you wouldn’t grasp the im- pact of what was said the same way as if you had been there or could see the meeting on video. Why? There is no record of nonverbal communication. The emphasis given to words or phrases is missing. Exhibit 11-2 illustrates how intonations can change the meaning of a message. Facial expressions also convey meaning. A snarling face says something different from a smile. Facial expres- sions, along with intonations, can show arrogance, aggressiveness, fear, shyness, and other characteristics.
Physical distance also has meaning. What is considered proper spacing between people largely depends on cultural norms. A businesslike distance in some European countries feels intimate in many parts of North America. If someone stands closer to you than is considered appropriate, it may indicate aggressiveness or sexual interest; if farther away, it may signal disinterest or dis- pleasure with what is being said.
It’s important to be alert to these nonverbal aspects of communication and look for nonverbal cues as well as the literal meaning of a sender’s words. You should particularly be aware of contradictions between the messages. Someone who frequently glances at her wristwatch is giving the message that she would pre- fer to terminate the conversation no matter what she actually says. We misinform others when we express one message verbally, such as trust, but nonverbally com- municate a contradictory message that reads, “I don’t have confidence in you.”
Intonations: It’s the Way You Say It! Exhibit 11-2
Change your tone and you change your meaning:
Placement of the Emphasis What It Means
Why don’t I take you to dinner tonight? I was going to take someone else.
Why don’t I take you to dinner tonight? Instead of the guy you were going with.
Why don’t I take you to dinner tonight? I’m trying to find a reason why I shouldn’t take you.
Why don’t I take you to dinner tonight? Do you have a problem with me?
Why don’t I take you to dinner tonight? Instead of going on your own.
Why don’t I take you to dinner tonight? Instead of lunch tomorrow.
Why don’t I take you to dinner tonight? Not tomorrow night.
Source: Based on M. Kiely, “when ’No’ Means ’Yes,’ ” Marketing (October 1993), pp. 7–9. Reproduced in A. Huczynski and D. Buchanan, Organizational Behavior, 4th ed. (Essex, UK: Pearson Education, 2001), p. 194.
5 Analyze the advantages and challenges of electronic
communication.
In this section, we move from interpersonal communication to organizational communication. Our first focus will be to describe and distinguish formal networks and the grapevine. Then we discuss technological innovations in communication.
Organizational Communication
Organizational Communication 343
Formal Small-Group Networks Formal organizational networks can be very complicated, including hundreds of people and a half-dozen or more hierarchical levels. To simplify our discus- sion, we’ve condensed these networks into three common small groups of five people each (see Exhibit 11-3 ): chain, wheel, and all channel.
The chain rigidly follows the formal chain of command; this network approximates the communication channels you might find in a rigid three-level organization. The wheel relies on a central figure to act as the conduit for all the group’s communication; it simulates the communication network you would find on a team with a strong leader. The all-channel network permits all group members to actively communicate with each other; it’s most often characterized in practice by self-managed teams, in which all group members are free to con- tribute and no one person takes on a leadership role.
As Exhibit 11-4 demonstrates, the effectiveness of each network depends on the dependent variable that concerns you. The structure of the wheel facilitates the emergence of a leader, the all-channel network is best if you desire high mem- ber satisfaction, and the chain is best if accuracy is most important. Exhibit 11-4 leads us to the conclusion that no single network will be best for all occasions.
The Grapevine The informal communication network in a group or organization is called the grapevine . 16 Although the rumors and gossip transmitted through the grapevine may be informal, it’s still an important source of information.
Three Common Small-Group Networks Exhibit 11-3
Chain Wheel All channel
grapevine An organization’s informal communication network.
Small-Group Networks and Effective CriteriaExhibit 11-4
Networks WheelCriteria Chain All Channel
Speed Moderate Fast Fast Accuracy High High Moderate Emergence of a leader Moderate High None Member satisfaction Moderate Low High
MyManagementLab For an interactive application of this topic, check out this chapter’s simulation activity at www.mymanagementlab.com.
344 CHAPTER 11 Communication
One survey found it’s where 75 percent of employees hear news first. 17 A re- cent report shows that grapevine or word-of-mouth information from peers about a company has important effects on whether job applicants join an organization. 18
One of the most famous studies of the grapevine investigated communication patterns among 67 managers in a small manufacturing firm. 19 The study asked each communication recipient how he or she first received a given piece of information and then traced it back to its source. While the grapevine was important, only 10 percent of the executives acted as liaison individuals (that is, passed the information to more than one other person). When one executive decided to resign to enter the insurance business, 81 percent of the others knew about it, but only 11 percent told someone else. This lack of spreading informa- tion through the grapevine is interesting in light of how often individuals claim to receive information that way.
It’s frequently assumed rumors start because they make good gossip. This is rarely the case. Rumors emerge as a response to situations that are impor- tant to us, when there is ambiguity, and under conditions that arouse anxiety. 20 The fact that work situations frequently contain these three elements explains why rumors flourish in organizations. The secrecy and competition that typi- cally prevail in large organizations—around the appointment of new bosses, the relocation of offices, downsizing decisions, or the realignment of work assignments—encourage and sustain rumors on the grapevine. A rumor will persist until either the wants and expectations creating the uncertainty are fulfilled or the anxiety has been reduced.
What can we conclude about the grapevine? Certainly it’s an important part of any group or organization communication network and is well worth understanding. It gives managers a feel for the morale of their organization, identifies issues employees consider important, and helps tap into employee anxieties. The grapevine also serves employees’ needs: small talk creates a sense of closeness and friendship among those who share information, although research suggests it often does so at the expense of those in the “out” group. 21 There is also evidence that gossip is driven largely by employee social networks that managers can study to learn more about how positive and negative information is flowing through their organization. 22 Thus, while the grapevine may not be sanctioned or controlled by the organization, it can be understood.
Can managers entirely eliminate rumors? no. What they should do, however, is minimize the negative consequences of rumors by limiting their range and impact. Exhibit 11-5 offers a few practical suggestions.
Suggestions for Reducing the Negative Consequences of Rumors
Exhibit 11-5
1. Provide information—in the long run, the best defense against rumors is a good offense (in other words, rumors tend to thrive in the absence of formal communication).
2. Explain actions and decisions that may appear inconsistent, unfair, or secretive.
3. Refrain from shooting the messenger—rumors are a natural fact of organizational life, so respond to them calmly, rationally, and respectfully.
4. Maintain open communication channels—constantly encourage employees to come to you with concerns, suggestions, and ideas.
Source: Based on L. Hirschhorn, “Managing Rumors,” in L. Hirschhorn (ed.), Cutting Back (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1983), pp. 54–56.
Organizational Communication 345
E xperts define gossip as “the exchange of information between two people about a third, absent
person.” It’s tempting to gossip about others at work. We all want to know about what’s going on with our co- workers, even if it isn’t necessarily our concern. But there is a real possibility that gossip can change from harmless chat about other people’s lives to truly destructive words that can spread ani- mosity and anger.
So is gossip necessarily bad? Not according to Joe Labianca at the University of Kentucky. He notes, “If a few people know what’s really going on, gossip becomes the means of spreading that information to everyone else. What’s more, research shows that gossip often reduces individuals’
anxiety and helps them cope with uncertainty.” How? Labianca and col- leagues have found that gossip allows people to make personal connections with co-workers and facilitates social support. Managers tend not to like gos- sip because it subverts their authority, but at the same time, it can level the playing field for those who do not other- wise have access to power. Gossip can also be a means to identify individuals who are free riders, bullies, or difficult to work with. In this way, gossip can even facilitate productive performance.
Does this mean that anything goes when it comes to gossip? Hardly. There are several guidelines for keep- ing gossip a positive source of in- formation. First, don’t pass on any information without checking that it’s
accurate. Second, don’t share person- ally sensitive information about some- one else that violates that person’s privacy. Finally, whenever possible, let the person you are talking about to have a chance to enter the discussion at some later point so his or her view can be explicitly taken into account.
Sources: Based on G. Michelson, A. van Iterson, and K. Waddington, “Gossip in Organizations: Contexts, Consequences, and Controversies,” Group and Organization Management 35, no. 4 (2010), pp. 371–390; K. M. Kniffin and D. S. Wilson, “Evolutionary Perspectives on Workplace Gossip: Why and How Gossip Can Serve Groups,” Group and Organization Management 35, no. 2 (2010), pp. 150–176; and J. Labianca, “It’s Not ’Unprofessional’ to Gossip at Work,” Harvard Business Review (September 2010), pp. 28–29.
An Ethical Choice
The Ethics of Gossip at Work
Electronic Communications An indispensable—and in about 71 percent of cases, the primary—medium of communication in today’s organizations is electronic. Electronic communica- tions include e-mail, text messaging, networking software, blogs, and video con- ferencing. Let’s discuss each.
E-mail E-mail uses the Internet to transmit and receive computer-generated text and documents. Its growth has been spectacular, and its use is now so pervasive it’s hard to imagine life without it. E-mail messages can be quickly written, edited, and stored. They can be distributed to one person or thousands with a click of a mouse. And the cost of sending formal e-mail messages to employees is a fraction of the cost of printing, duplicating, and distributing a comparable letter or brochure. 23
E-mail is not without drawbacks. The following are some of its most signifi- cant limitations and what organizations should do to reduce or eliminate them:
● Risk of misinterpreting the message. It’s true we often misinterpret ver- bal messages, but the potential to misinterpret e-mail is even greater. One research team at New York University found we can accurately decode an e-mail’s intent and tone only 50 percent of the time, yet most of us vastly overestimate our ability to send and interpret clear messages. If you’re sending an important message, make sure you reread it for clarity. 24
● Drawbacks for communicating negative messages. E-mail may not be the best way to communicate negative information. When Radio Shack
346 CHAPTER 11 Communication
decided to lay off 400 employees, it drew an avalanche of scorn inside and outside the company by doing it via e-mail. Employees need to be careful when communicating negative messages via e-mail, too. Justen Deal, 22, wrote an e-mail critical of some strategic decisions made by his employer, pharmaceutical giant Kaiser Permanente, and questioned the financing of several information technology projects. Within hours, Deal’s com- puter was seized; he was later fired. 25
● Time-consuming nature. An estimated 62 trillion e-mails are sent every year, of which approximately 60 percent, or 36 trillion, are non-spam messages that someone has to answer! 26 Some people, such as venture capitalist and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, receive more than a thousand messages a day (Cuban says 10 percent are of the “I want” va- riety). Although you probably don’t receive that many, most of us have trouble keeping up with all e-mail, especially as we advance in our career. Experts suggest the following strategies: ● Don’t check e-mail in the morning. Take care of important tasks be-
fore getting ensnared in e-mails. Otherwise, you may never get to those tasks.
● Check e-mail in batches. Don’t check e-mail continually throughout the day. Some experts suggest twice a day. “You wouldn’t want to do a new load of laundry every time you have a dirty pair of socks,” says one expert.
● Unsubscribe. Stop newsletters and other subscriptions you don’t re- ally need.
● Stop sending e-mail. The best way to receive lots of e-mail is to send lots of e-mail, so send less. Shorter e-mails garner shorter responses. “A well-written message can and should be as concise as possible,” says one expert.
● Declare e-mail bankruptcy. Some people, like recording artist Moby and venture capitalist Fred Wilson, become so overwhelmed by e-mail they declare “e-mail bankruptcy.” They wipe out their entire inbox and start over.
Although some of these steps may not work for you, keep in mind that e-mail can be less productive than it seems: we often seem busy but get less accomplished through e-mail than we might think. 27
● Limited expression of emotions. We tend to think of e-mail as a sort of sterile, faceless form of communication. Some researchers say the lack of visual and vocal cues means emotionally positive messages, like those including praise, will be seen as more emotionally neutral than the sender intended. 28 But as you no doubt know, e-mails are often highly emotional. E-mail tends to have a disinhibiting effect on people; without the recipient’s facial expression to temper their emotional expression, senders write things they’d never be comfortable saying in person. When others send flaming messages, remain calm and try not to respond in kind. And, as hard as it might sometimes be, try to see the flaming mes- sage from the other party’s point of view. That in itself may calm your nerves. 29
● Privacy concerns. There are two privacy issues with e-mail. 30 First, your e-mails may be, and often are, monitored. You can’t always trust the re- cipient of your e-mail to keep it confidential, either. For these reasons, you shouldn’t write anything you wouldn’t want made public. Second, you need to exercise caution in forwarding e-mail from your company’s e-mail account to a personal or “public” e-mail account (for example, Gmail, Yahoo!, MSN). These accounts often aren’t as secure as corporate accounts, so when you forward a company e-mail to them, you may be
Organizational Communication 347
violating your organization’s policy or unintentionally disclosing confi- dential data. Many employers hire vendors to sift through e-mails, using software to catch not only obvious key words (“insider trading”) but also the vague (“that thing we talked about”) or the guilt-ridden (“regret”). Another survey revealed nearly 40 percent of companies have employees whose only job is to read other employees’ e-mail. 31
Instant Messaging and Text Messaging Like e-mail, instant messaging (IM) and text messaging (TM) use electronic media. Unlike e-mail, though, IM and TM either occur in real time (IM) or use portable communication devices (TM). In just a few years, IM and TM have become pervasive. As you no doubt know from experience, IM is usually sent via computer, whereas TM is transmitted via cellphones or handheld devices such as BlackBerrys and iPhones.
Despite their advantages, IM and TM aren’t going to replace e-mail. E-mail is still probably a better device for conveying long messages that must be saved. IM is preferable for one- or two-line messages that would just clutter up an e-mail inbox. On the downside, some IM and TM users find the technology intrusive and distracting. Its continual presence can make it hard for employ- ees to concentrate and stay focused. A survey of managers revealed that in 86 percent of meetings, at least some participants checked TM, and another survey revealed 20 percent of managers report having been scolded for using wireless devices during meetings. 32 Finally, because instant messages can be intercepted easily, many organizations are concerned about the security of IM and TM. 33
One other point: it’s important to not let the informality of text messag- ing (“omg! r u serious? brb”) spill over into business e-mails. Many prefer to keep business communication relatively formal. A survey of employers revealed that 58 percent rate grammar, spelling, and punctuation as “very important” in e-mail messages. 34 By making sure your professional commu- nications are, well, professional, you’ll show yourself to be mature and seri- ous. Avoid jargon and slang, use formal titles, use formal e-mail addresses for yourself (lose [email protected] ), and take care to make your message concise and well written. None of this means, of course, that you have to give up TM or IM; you just need to maintain the differences between the way you communicate with your friends and the way you communicate professionally.
Social Networking Nowhere has communication been more transformed than in the rise of social networking. You are doubtless familiar with and per- haps a user of social networking platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Rather than being one huge site, Facebook, which has more than 600 million active users, is actually composed of separate networks based on schools, com- panies, or regions. Individuals older than age 25 are now its fastest-growing group of users. In a desire to maintain control over employee use of social net- working for professional purposes, many organizations have developed their own in-house social networking applications. The research and advisory firm Gartner Inc. estimates that social networking will soon replace e-mail as the primary form of business communication for 20 percent or more of business users. 35
To get the most from social networks and avoid irritating your contacts, re- serve them for high-value items only—not as an everyday or even every-week tool. Remember that a prospective employer might check your Facebook en- tries. Some entrepreneurs have developed software that mines such Web sites on behalf of companies (or individuals) that want to check up on a job applicant
Malaysia’s airline AirAsia is taking advantage of the flexibility of text messaging to make it more conve- nient for travelers to book flights.
AirAsia flight attendants are shown here with a mobile phone billboard
during the launch of the world’s first airline booking through a short
messaging service (SMS) on cell phones. The SMS makes it easier for
travelers to book their seats as the service allows them to choose their flights, confirm their booking, and pay for their seats by text messag- ing from the convenience of their mobile phone wherever they are.
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348 CHAPTER 11 Communication
(or potential date). So keep in mind that what you post may be read by people other than your intended contacts. 36
Blogs A blog (Web log) is a Web site about a single person or company. Ex- perts estimate that more than 156 million blogs now exist. Millions of U.S. work- ers have blogs. And, of course, many organizations and organizational leaders have blogs that speak for the organization.
Twitter is a hybrid social networking service that allows users to post “micro- blog” entries to their subscribers about any topic, including work. Many organi- zational leaders send Twitter messages (“tweets”), but they can also come from any employee about any work topic, leaving organizations with less control over the communication of important or sensitive information.
Although some companies have policies governing the content of blogs and Twitter feeds, many don’t, and many posters say they have blogged or tweeted comments that could be construed as harmful to their company’s reputation. Many think their personal blogs are outside their employer’s purview, but if someone else in the company happens to read a critical or negative blog entry or post, there is nothing to keep him or her from sharing that information with others, and the employee could be dismissed as a result.
One legal expert notes, “Employee bloggers mistakenly believe the First Amendment gives them the right to say whatever they want on their personal blogs. Wrong!” Also, beware of posting personal blog entries from work. More than three-quarters of employers actively monitor employees’ Web site connec- tions. In short, if you are going to have a personal blog, maintain a strict work– personal “firewall.” 37
Video Conferencing Video conferencing permits employees in an organization to have real-time meetings with people at different locations. Live audio and video images let participants see, hear, and talk with each other without being physi- cally in the same location.
Peter Quirk, a program manager with EMC Corporation, uses video confer- encing to hold monthly meetings of employees at various locations and many
Rising Risks of Social Networking at WorkOB Poll
2009
10%
2010
20%
2011
Percentage of organizations that have disiplined an employee for activities on Facebook, Linkedin, or Twitter
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
24%
Source: Based on Studylogic poll for Starwood Hotels and Resorts/Sheraton.
Sunita Williams, a NASA astronaut commander and the woman who
has spent the longest time in space, used videoconferencing to speak to students and journalists at The
American Center in Kolkata, India. The videoconferencing technology
allowed the students and journalists to interact with Williams as she dis- cussed her experiences aboard the
Space Station Atlantis. The inter- active meeting gave Williams the opportunity to answer questions
about her job as a U.S. Navy experi- mental test pilot and as a helicopter
pilot during the Gulf War.
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o w
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/G e tt
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Organizational Communication 349
other meetings as well. Doing so saves travel expenses and time. However, Quirk notes it’s especially important to stimulate questions and involve all participants in order to avoid someone who is linked in but disengaged. Sun Microsystem’s Karen Rhode agrees special efforts must be made to engage remote partici- pants, suggesting, “You can poll people, people can ask questions, you can do an engaging presentation.” 38
Managing Information We all have more information at our disposal than ever. It brings us many ben- efits, but also two important challenges: information overload and threats to information security. We consider each in turn.
Dealing with Information Overload Do you find yourself bombarded with information—from e-mail, blogs, Internet surfing, IMs, cell phones, and televi- sions? You’re not alone. Basex, a company that looks at worker efficiency, found the largest part of an average worker’s day—43 percent—is spent on matters that are neither important nor urgent, such as responding to noncrucial e-mails and surfing the Web. (In fairness to e-mail, Basex also found 25 percent of an employee’s time was spent composing and responding to important e-mail.)
Intel designed an 8-month experiment to see how limiting this information overload might aid productivity. One group of employees was told to limit both digital and in-person contact for 4 hours on Tuesdays, while another group fol- lowed its usual routine. The first group was more productive, and 75 percent of its members suggested the program be expanded. “It’s huge. We were expect- ing less,” remarked Nathan Zeldes, an Intel engineer who led the experiments. “When people are uninterrupted they can sit back and design chips and really think.” 39
We have already reviewed some ways of reducing the time sunk into e-mails. More generally, as the Intel study shows, it may make sense to connect to tech- nology less frequently, to, in the words of one article, “avoid letting the drum- beat of digital missives constantly shake up and reorder to-do lists.” Lynaia Lutes, an account supervisor for a small Texas company, was able to think much more strategically by taking a break from digital information each day. In the past, she said, “I basically completed an assignment” but didn’t approach it stra- tegically. By creating such breaks for yourself, you may be better able to priori- tize, think about the big picture, and thereby be more effective. 40
As information technology and immediate communication have become a more prevalent component of modern organizational life, more employees find they are never able to get offline. Some business travelers were disap- pointed when airlines began offering wireless Internet connections in flight because they could no longer use their travel time as a rare opportunity to relax without a constant barrage of organizational communications. The negative im- pacts of these communication devices can spill over into employees’ personal lives as well. Both workers and their spouses relate the use of electronic com- munication technologies outside work to higher levels of work–life conflict. 41
Employees must balance the need for constant communication with their own
blog (Web log) A Web site where entries are written, and generally displayed in reverse chronological order, about news, events, and personal diary entries.
Twitter A free blogging and networking service where users send and read messages known as tweets, many of which concern OB issues.
information overload A condition in which information inflow exceeds an individual’s processing capacity.
350 CHAPTER 11 Communication
personal need for breaks from work, or they risk burnout from being on call 24 hours a day.
Threats to Information Security Security is a huge concern for nearly all or- ganizations with private or proprietary information about clients, customers, and employees. A Merrill Lynch survey of 50 executives found 52 percent rated leaks of company information as their number-one information security con- cern, topping viruses and hackers. Most companies actively monitor employee Internet use and e-mail records, and some even use video surveillance and re- cord phone conversations. Necessary though they may be, such practices can seem invasive to employees. An organization can relieve employee concerns by engaging them in the creation of information-security policies and giving them some control over how their personal information is used. 42
Choice of Communication Channel
Why do people choose one channel of communication over another—say, a phone call instead of a face-to-face talk? A model of media richness helps explain channel selection among managers. 43
Channels differ in their capacity to convey information. Some are rich in that they can (1) handle multiple cues simultaneously, (2) facilitate rapid feedback, and (3) be very personal. Others are lean in that they score low on these factors. As Exhibit 11-6 illustrates, face-to-face conversation scores highest in channel richness because it transmits the most information per communica- tion episode—multiple information cues (words, postures, facial expressions, gestures, intonations), immediate feedback (both verbal and nonverbal), and
6 Show how channel richness underlies the choice of com-
munication channel.
Information Richness and Communication Channels Exhibit 11-6
Formal reports, bulletins
Low channel richness
High channel richness
Prerecorded speeches
Online discussion groups, groupware
Live speeches Video conferences
Memos, letters Electronic mail Voice mail Telephone conversations
Face-to-face conversations
Source: Based on R. H. Lengel and R. L. Daft, “The Selection of Communication Media as an Executive Skill,” Academy of Management Executive (August 1988), pp. 225–232; and R. L. Daft and R. H. Lengel, “Organizational Information Requirements, Media Richness, and Structural Design,” Managerial Science (May 1996), pp. 554–572. Reproduced from R. L. Daft and R. A. Noe, Organizational Behavior (Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt, 2001), p. 311.
Persuasive Communications 351
the personal touch of being present. Impersonal written media such as formal reports and bulletins rate lowest in richness.
The choice of channel depends on whether the message is routine. Routine messages tend to be straightforward and have minimal ambiguity; channels low in richness can carry them efficiently. Nonroutine communications are likely to be complicated and have the potential for misunderstanding. Managers can communicate them effectively only by selecting rich channels.
When tough times hit Manpower Business Solutions during the recent eco- nomic contraction, the company elected to communicate with employees daily in a variety of media to ensure that everyone remained informed. 44 Employees were given updates about the company’s plans for dealing with economic prob- lems, including advance warning before layoffs. The company believes its strat- egy of using rich communication channels for nonroutine information has paid off by reducing employee anxiety and increasing engagement with the organization.
channel richness The amount of information that can be transmitted during a communication episode.
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.
Persuasive Communications
We’ve discussed a number of methods for communication up to this point. Now we turn our attention to one of the functions of communication and the features that might make messages more or less persuasive to an audience.
Automatic and Controlled Processing To understand the process of communication, it is useful to consider two relatively different ways that we process information. 45 Think about the last time you bought a can of soda. Did you carefully research brands and engage in your own double-blind taste test to see which types you actually prefer? Or did you reach for the can that had the most appealing advertising images? If we’re honest, we’ll admit glitzy ads and catchy slogans do indeed have an influence on our choices as consumers. We often rely on automatic process- ing , a relatively superficial consideration of evidence and information making use of heuristics like those we discussed in Chapter 6 . Automatic processing takes little time and low effort, so it makes sense to use it for processing per- suasive messages related to topics you don’t care much about. The disadvan- tage is that it lets us be easily fooled by a variety of tricks, like a cute jingle or glamorous photo.
Now consider the last time you chose a place to live. For this more impor- tant decision, you probably did do some independent research among experts who know something about the area, gathered information about prices from a variety of sources, and considered the costs and benefits of renting versus buying. Here, you’re relying on more effortful controlled processing , a de- tailed consideration of evidence and information relying on facts, figures, and logic. Controlled processing requires effort and energy, but it’s harder to fool
7 Differentiate between automatic and controlled
processing of persuasive
messages.
352 CHAPTER 11 Communication
someone who has taken the time and effort to engage in it. So what makes someone engage in either shallow or deep processing? There are a few rules of thumb for determining what types of processing an audience will use.
Interest Level One of the best predictors of whether people will use an automatic or con- trolled process for reacting to a persuasive message is their level of interest in it. 46 Interest levels reflect the impact a decision is going to have on your life. When people are very interested in the outcome of a decision, they’re more likely to process information carefully. That’s probably why people look for so much more information when deciding about something important (like where to live) than something relatively unimportant (like which soda to drink).
Prior Knowledge People who are very well informed about a subject area are also more likely to use controlled processing strategies. They have already thought through vari- ous arguments for or against a specific course of action, and therefore they won’t readily change their position unless very good, thoughtful reasons are provided. On the other hand, people who are poorly informed about a topic can change their minds more readily, even in the face of fairly superficial ar- guments presented without a great deal of evidence. In other words, a better informed audience is likely to be much harder to persuade.
Personality Are you the type of person who always likes to read at least five reviews of a movie before deciding whether to see it? Do you carefully consider several mov- ies before making a choice? Perhaps you even research recent films by the same stars and director. If so, you are probably high in need for cognition, a personality trait of individuals who are most likely to be persuaded by evidence and facts. 47
Those who are lower in need for cognition are more likely to use automatic pro- cessing strategies, relying on intuition and emotion to guide their evaluation of persuasive messages.
Message Characteristics Another factor that influences whether people use an automatic or controlled processing strategy is the characteristics of the message itself. Messages pro- vided through relatively lean communication channels, with little opportunity for users to interact with the content of the message, tend to encourage auto- matic processing. For example, most television advertisements go by too fast for really deliberative thought; we automatically process these. Conversely, mes- sages provided through richer communication channels, like a long magazine article, tend to encourage more deliberative processing.
The most important implication of all this research is to match your persuasive message to the type of processing your audience is likely to use. When the audience is not especially interested in a persuasive message topic, when they are poorly informed, when they are low in need for cognition, and when information is transmitted through relatively lean channels, they’ll be more likely to use automatic processing. In these cases, use messages that are more emotion-laden and associate positive images with your preferred out- come. On the other hand, when the audience is interested in a topic, when they are high in need for cognition, or when the information is transmitted through rich channels, then it is a better idea to focus on rational arguments and evi- dence to make your case.
Barriers to Effective Communication 353
Barriers to Effective Communication
A number of barriers can retard or distort effective communication. In this sec- tion, we highlight the most important.
Filtering Filtering refers to a sender’s purposely manipulating information so the re- ceiver will see it more favorably. A manager who tells his boss what he feels the boss wants to hear is filtering information.
The more vertical levels in the organization’s hierarchy, the more opportu- nities there are for filtering. But some filtering will occur wherever there are status differences. Factors such as fear of conveying bad news and the desire to please the boss often lead employees to tell their superiors what they think they want to hear, thus distorting upward communications.
Selective Perception We have mentioned selective perception before in this book. It appears again here because the receivers in the communication process selectively see and hear based on their needs, motivations, experience, background, and other personal characteristics. Receivers also project their interests and expectations into communications as they decode them. An employment interviewer who expects a female job applicant to put her family ahead of her career is likely to see that in all female applicants, regardless of whether they actually feel that way. As we said in Chapter 6 , we don’t see reality; we interpret what we see and call it reality.
Information Overload Individuals have a finite capacity for processing data. When the information we have to work with exceeds our processing capacity, the result is informa- tion overload. We’ve seen that dealing with it has become a huge challenge for individuals and for organizations. It’s a challenge you can manage—to some degree—by following the steps outlined earlier in this chapter.
What happens when individuals have more information than they can sort and use? They tend to select, ignore, pass over, or forget. Or they may put off further processing until the overload situation ends. In any case, lost informa- tion and less effective communication results, making it all the more important to deal well with overload.
Emotions You may interpret the same message differently when you’re angry or dis- traught than when you’re happy. For example, individuals in positive moods are more confident about their opinions after reading a persuasive message, so well-crafted arguments have stronger impacts on their opinions. 48 People in negative moods are more likely to scrutinize messages in greater detail, whereas those in positive moods tend to accept communications at face value. 49 Extreme
8 Identify common barriers to effective communication.
filtering A sender’s manipulation of information so that it will be seen more favorably by the receiver.
354 CHAPTER 11 Communication
emotions such as jubilation or depression are most likely to hinder effective communication. In such instances, we are most prone to disregard our rational and objective thinking processes and substitute emotional judgments.
Language Even when we’re communicating in the same language, words mean different things to different people. Age and context are two of the biggest factors that influence such differences.
When Michael Schiller, a business consultant, was talking with his 15-year- old daughter about where she was going with her friends, he told her, “You need to recognize your KPIs and measure against them.” Schiller said that in response, his daughter “looked at him like he was from outer space.” (For the record, KPI stands for key performance indicators.) Those new to corporate lingo may find acronyms such as KPI, words such as deliverables (verifiable out- comes of a project), and phrases such as get the low-hanging fruit (deal with the easiest parts first) bewildering, in the same way parents may be mystified by teen slang. 50
In short, our use of language is far from uniform. If we knew how each of us modified the language, we could minimize communication difficulties, but we usually don’t know. Senders tend to assume the words and terms they use mean the same to the receiver as to them. This assumption is often incorrect.
Silence It’s easy to ignore silence or lack of communication, precisely because it is defined by the absence of information. However, research suggests silence and withholding communication are both common and problematic. 51 One survey found that more than 85 percent of managers reported remaining silent about at least one issue of significant concern. 52 Employee silence means man- agers lack information about ongoing operational problems. And silence re- garding discrimination, harassment, corruption, and misconduct means top management cannot take action to eliminate this behavior. Finally, employees who are silent about important issues may also experience psychological stress.
Managers of Hochtief, Germany’s largest construction firm, relied on
controlled processing when address- ing employees during a supervisory
board meeting at company head- quarters in Essen, Germany, shown
here. In response to a takeover bid by the Spanish construction
firm Actividades de Construccion & Servicios (ACS), Hochtief manage-
ment focused on rational evidence and arguments in presenting its
defense against the takeover bid and its plans to fend off the bid.
Employees’ level of interest in the takeover attempt is high, because
they fear that an ACS takeover would result in a major downsizing of Hochtief’s workforce and would
put their jobs at risk.
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e rn
d T
h is
se n
/d p
a /p
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re -a
ll ia
n ce
/N e
w sc
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.
Barriers to Effective Communication 355
Silence is less likely where minority opinions are treated with respect, workgroup identification is high, and high procedural justice prevails. 53
Practically, this means managers must make sure they behave in a supportive manner when employees voice divergent opinions or concerns, and they must take these under advisement. One act of ignoring or belittling an employee for expressing concerns may well lead the employee to withhold important future communication.
Communication Apprehension An estimated 5 to 20 percent of the population suffers debilitating communica- tion apprehension , or social anxiety. 54 These people experience undue tension and anxiety in oral communication, written communication, or both. 55 They may find it extremely difficult to talk with others face-to-face or may become extremely anxious when they have to use the phone, relying on memos or e-mails when a phone call would be faster and more appropriate.
Studies show oral-communication apprehensives avoid situations, such as teaching, for which oral communication is a dominant requirement. 56
But almost all jobs require some oral communication. Of greater concern is evidence that high oral-communication apprehensives distort the communica- tion demands of their jobs in order to minimize the need for communication. So be aware that some people severely limit their oral communication and ra- tionalize their actions by telling themselves communicating isn’t necessary for them to do their job effectively.
Lying The final barrier to effective communication is outright misrepresentation of information, or lying. People differ in their definition of what constitutes a lie. For example, is deliberately withholding information about a mistake you made a lie, or do you have to actively deny your role in the mistake to pass the threshold of deceit? While the definition of a lie will continue to befuddle both ethicists and social scientists, there is no denying the prevalence of lying. In one diary study, the average person reported telling one to two lies per day, with some individuals telling considerably more. 57 Compounded across a large orga- nization, this is an enormous amount of deception happening every single day! Evidence also shows that people are more comfortable lying over the phone than face-to-face and more comfortable lying in e-mails than when they have to write with pen and paper. 58
Can you detect liars? Despite a great deal of investigation, research generally suggests most people are not very good at detecting deception in others. 59 The problem is, there are no nonverbal or verbal cues unique to lying—averting your gaze, pausing, and shifting your posture can also be signals of nervousness, shy- ness, or doubt. Moreover, most people who lie take a number of steps to guard against being detected, so they might deliberately look a person in the eye when lying because they know that direct eye contact is (incorrectly) assumed to be a sign of truthfulness. Finally, many lies are embedded in truths; liars usually give a somewhat true account with just enough details changed to avoid detection.
In sum, the frequency of lying and the difficulty in detecting liars makes this an especially strong barrier to effective communication in organizations.
communication apprehension Undue tension and anxiety about oral communication, written communication, or both.
356 CHAPTER 11 Communication
T his statement is true, though we still have more to learn about the characteristics of proficient liars.
As we have noted in this chapter, it is not easy to detect whether liars are telling the truth. We have re- viewed some of the reasons for this, but recent research has uncovered an obvious but only recently tested expla- nation for why it’s hard to catch a liar: some people are just good at lying, and we’re beginning to understand why.
What causes people to be good liars? A major review of the literature identified six features of good liars:
1. Their natural behavior is disarming— they smile, make eye contact,
mimic the gestures of their target, and avoid “ums” and “ehs.”
2. They do their homework—they have thought up plausible cover stories before they are demanded.
3. They don’t let their emotions get in the way—good liars are unusually calm and composed when lying.
4. They are good-looking—good liars are physically attractive; we are more likely to trust stories told by attractive people.
5. They have good insights into oth- ers’ thought processes.
6. They tend to believe their own lies—this has been established by studies that ask people to lie and
later find many of them believe their original lies to be true.
A sad truth of organizational behavior is that people are better liars than we think, and we are worse at unveiling them than we realize.
Sources: A. Vrij, P. A. Granhag, and S. Porter, “Pitfalls and Opportunities in Nonverbal and Verbal Lie Detection,” Psychological Science in the Public Interest 11, no. 3 (2010), pp. 89–121; E. F. Loftus, “Catching Liars,” Psychological Science in the Public Interest 11, no. 3 (2010), pp. 87–88; and A. Vrij, P. A. Granhag, and S. Mann, “Good Liars,” Unpublished manuscript, University of Portsmouth, 2011, www.port.ac.uk/ departments/academic/psychology/staff/ downloads/filetodownload,89132,en.pdf .
Myth or Science?
“We Know What Makes Good Liars Good”
Effective communication is difficult under the best of conditions. Cross-cultural factors clearly create the potential for increased communication problems. A gesture that is well understood and acceptable in one culture can be mean- ingless or lewd in another. Only 18 percent of companies have documented strategies for communicating with employees across cultures, and only 31 per- cent require that corporate messages be customized for consumption in other cultures. Procter & Gamble seems to be an exception; more than half the com- pany’s employees don’t speak English as their first language, so the company focuses on simple messages to make sure everyone knows what’s important. 60
Cultural Barriers Researchers have identified a number of problems related to language difficul- ties in cross-cultural communications. 61
First are barriers caused by semantics. Words mean different things to differ- ent people, particularly people from different national cultures. Some words don’t translate between cultures. The Finnish word sisu means something akin to “guts” or “dogged persistence” but is essentially untranslatable into English. The new capitalists in Russia may have difficulty communicating with British or Canadian counterparts because English terms such as efficiency, free market, and regulation have no direct Russian equivalents.
Second are barriers caused by word connotations. Words imply different things in different languages. Negotiations between U.S. and Japanese executives can be difficult because the Japanese word hai translates as “yes,” but its connota- tion is “Yes, I’m listening” rather than “Yes, I agree.”
9 Show how to overcome the potential problems in cross-
cultural communication.
Global Implications
Global Implications 357
Third are barriers caused by tone differences. In some cultures, language is formal; in others, it’s informal. In some cultures, the tone changes depending on the con- text: People speak differently at home, in social situations, and at work. Using a personal, informal style when a more formal style is expected can be embarrassing.
Fourth are differences in tolerance for conflict and methods for resolving conflicts. Individuals from individualist cultures tend to be more comfortable with direct conflicts and will make the source of their disagreements overt. Collectivists are more likely to acknowledge conflict only implicitly and avoid emotionally charged disputes. They may attribute conflicts to the situation more than to the individuals and therefore may not require explicit apologies to repair relation- ships, whereas individualists prefer explicit statements accepting responsibility for conflicts and public apologies to restore relationships.
Cultural Context Cultures tend to differ in the degree to which context influences the meaning individuals take from communication. 62 In high-context cultures such as China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, people rely heavily on nonverbal and subtle situational cues in communicating with others, and a person’s official status, place in society, and reputation carry considerable weight. What is not said may be more significant than what is said. In contrast, people from Europe and North America reflect their low-context cultures . They rely essentially on spoken and written words to convey meaning; body language and formal titles are secondary (see Exhibit 11-7 ).
These contextual differences actually mean quite a lot in terms of commu- nication. Communication in high-context cultures implies considerably more trust by both parties. What may appear to be casual and insignificant conver- sation in fact reflects the desire to build a relationship and create trust. Oral agreements imply strong commitments in high-context cultures. And who you are—your age, seniority, rank in the organization—is highly valued and heavily influences your credibility. But in low-context cultures, enforceable contracts tend to be in writing, precisely worded, and highly legalistic. Similarly, low- context cultures value directness. Managers are expected to be explicit and precise in conveying intended meaning. It’s quite different in high-context cultures, in which managers tend to “make suggestions” rather than give orders.
high-context cultures Cultures that rely heavily on nonverbal and subtle situational cues in communication.
low-context cultures Cultures that rely heavily on words to convey meaning in communication.
High- versus Low-Context Cultures Exhibit 11-7
Chinese Korean Japanese Vietnamese Arab Greek Spanish Italian English North American Scandinavian Swiss German
High context
Low context
358 CHAPTER 11 Communication
T hose who have traveled or done business internationally are often advised to be careful about how
directly they communicate with peo- ple from different cultures. The popu- lar advice suggests that U.S. citizens prefer upbeat, positive communica- tion; the English prefer formal com- munication; central Europeans are more interested in direct communica- tion even if information is negative; and East Asians prefer to minimize disagreements and emphasize shared perspectives. Although there is more advice than research on this particular issue, some preliminary work does suggest some reliable differences in how cultures value direct and indirect communication.
One study examined cultural dif- ferences in values, beliefs, and per- sonality data to see whether any
consistent patterns in communica- tion could be found. A group of East Asian countries, including China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Japan, were marked by a bias for low levels of both agreement and disagreement in com- munication, preferring moderate dis- cussions with respondents not taking strong sides on an issue. Conversely, countries like Morocco, Iraq, Israel, and Saudi Arabia prefer high levels of both agreement and disagreement in their communications; in these coun- tries, the preferred communication style meant directly taking a stand on issues whether positive or negative. “Dissent” cultures like Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Greece favored high levels of disagreement in communication with relatively low levels of agreement. Nigeria, India, and Vietnam were found to be high in
agreement and low in disagreement in communication.
The results of studies of this nature should always be considered carefully in light of the large differences we also find within cultures. Some individuals from India may well value negative opinions and active disagreement from others, whereas some Germans might prefer to focus on areas of shared val- ues. However, some patterning of re- sponses across cultures does indicate a real difference in preferences for communication styles.
Sources: P. B. Smith, “Communication Styles as Dimensions of National Culture,” Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 42, no. 2 (2011), pp. 216–233; and M. G. Kittler, D. Rygl, and A. Mackinnon, “Beyond Culture or Beyond Control? Reviewing the Use of Hall’s High-/Low-Context Concept,” International Journal of Cross Cultural Management 11, no. 1 (2011), pp. 63–82.
glOBalization!
A Cultural Guide When communicating with people from a different culture, what can you do to re- duce misinterpretations? Begin by trying to assess the cultural context. You’re likely to have fewer difficulties if it’s similar to yours. The following rules can be helpful: 63
1. Assume differences until similarity is proven. Most of us assume others are more similar to us than they actually are. You are less likely to err if you assume they are different from you until proven otherwise.
2. Emphasize description rather than interpretation or evaluation. Interpreting or evaluating what someone has said or done draws more on your own culture and background than on the observed situation. So delay judgment until you’ve had sufficient time to observe and interpret the situ- ation from the differing perspectives of all concerned.
3. Practice empathy. Before sending a message, put yourself in the recipient’s shoes. What are his or her values, experiences, and frames of reference? What do you know about his or her education, upbringing, and background that can give you added insight? Try to see the other person as he or she really is.
4. Treat your interpretations as a working hypothesis. Once you’ve devel- oped an explanation for a new situation or think you empathize with some- one from a foreign culture, treat your interpretation as a hypothesis that needs further testing rather than as a certainty. Carefully assess the feed- back recipients provide you, to see whether it confirms your hypothesis. For important decisions or communiqués, check with other foreign and home- country colleagues to make sure your interpretations are on target.
How Direct Should You Be?
Global Implications 359
Social Networking Is Good Business POINT COUNTERPOINT
T here’s no doubt social networking has exploded. There is significant doubt, however, that this explosion is benefi- cial to employees and to organizations. Although there are
many dangers in social networking, let’s focus on three. First, companies can get into legal hot water by looking
into applicants’ social networking profiles. Equal Employment Opportunity laws require companies to hire without respect to race, sex, age, religion, national origin, or disability. Yet you can learn all these things from someone’s profile. And that’s not the only legal minefield. Recently, when a Chicago-area employee was reprimanded for posting her frustrations with her boss on her Facebook page, the National Labor Relations Board ruled against the company.
Second, social networks are risky for employees and appli- cants too. They were originally established to connect friends— and that remains their primary purpose. When employers snoop into an employee or applicant’s Facebook page, fairly or not, they won’t judge the information and its informality as dialogue among friends. Rather, they’ll use it to draw the wrong con- clusions. As one employment expert says, “While employers shouldn’t use affiliations with social networks or your personal posts as reasons not to hire you, why take the risk?”
Finally, and perhaps most important, today nearly all of us suffer from communication overload, and social networking only adds to it. “There are so many things coming at you,” says 29-year-old manager Jose Huitron. “Sometimes it can be so overwhelming,” says George Washington University student Ben Yarmis. Scores of research studies show that the growth in social networking has limited people’s attention spans and in- creased distractions. Says one neuroscientist who has studied the effect of social networking on how the mind works: “We are exposing our brains to an environment and asking them to do things we weren’t necessarily evolved to do. We know already there are consequences.”
F acebook has passed a half a billion users for a reason. It’s an inspired idea that serves many useful purposes for or- ganizations and employees alike. Other social networking
and media sites like Twitter are not far behind. Employers can learn a lot about prospective hires by exam-
ining their Facebook (or other social networking) page. UPS re- cently ramped up its use of social networking to recruit. “Our reason for using social media is because that’s where we think the applicants are,” says a UPS manager in charge of recruit- ment. Applicants likewise can learn a lot about an organization by analyzing its online presence.
Facebook and other social networks are also great ways for employees to communicate with one another, particularly when they work in geographically dispersed locales and do an in- creasing amount of their work remotely. Banning or discourag- ing employees from using social media needlessly places each employee in a communications silo. One social media expert said the Millennial generation “is horrified at how unconnected people in many organizations are.” Many firms, like UPS, are embracing social networking, though. IBM developed its own social networking software—called w3—to link its 400,000 em- ployees across the world. IBM manager John Rooney says the software “contributes to the integration of our company on a global basis. It’s seen as part of our ability to succeed.”
In some companies, teams create Facebook groups around their projects to foster teamwork and open the lines of com- munication. Pushed to its full potential, social networking can even change a company’s culture given its open, democratic, and transparent nature. “You better believe it can democratize a company,” said one workplace expert. Isn’t that what we want?”
Sources: J. A. Segal, “Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano,” HR Magazine (April 2011), pp. 83–86; T. L. Griffith, “Tapping Into Social-Media Smarts,” The Wall Street Journal (April 25, 2011), p. R6; L. Petrecca, “More Grads Use Social Media to Job Hunt,” USA Today (April 5, 2011), p. B1; J. Swartz, “Communications Overload,” USA Today (February 2, 2011), pp. 1B–2B; S. Ladika, “Socially Evolved,” Workforce Management (September 2010), pp. 18–22; M. Richtel, “Hooked on Gadgets, and Paying a Mental Price,” The New York Times (June 6, 2010), pp. A1, A12, A13; and A. Clark, “Watch What You’re Posting: Your Boss May Be Watching,” Gainesville Sun (February 19, 2011), pp. 1B, 5B.
360 CHAPTER 11 Communication
S A L SELF-ASSESSMENT LIBRARY
How Good Are My Listening Skills?
In the Self-Assessment Library (available on CD or online), take assessment II.A.2 (How Good Are My Listening Skills?).
MyManagementLab Now that you have finished this chapter, go back to www.mymanagementlab.com to continue practicing and applying the concepts you’ve learned.
Summary and Implications for Managers
You’ve probably discovered the link between communication and employee satisfaction in this chapter: the less uncertainty, the greater the satisfaction. Distortions, ambiguities, and incongruities between verbal and nonverbal mes- sages all increase uncertainty and reduce satisfaction. 64
● The less distortion, the more employees will receive goals, feedback, and other management messages as intended. 65 This, in turn, should reduce ambiguities and clarify the group’s task.
● Extensive use of vertical, lateral, and informal channels also increases communication flow, reduces uncertainty, and improves group perfor- mance and satisfaction.
● Perfect communication is unattainable. Yet a positive relationship exists between effective communication and worker productivity. 66 Choosing the correct channel, being an effective listener, and using feedback can make for more effective communication.
● Whatever the sender’s expectations, the message as decoded in the receiver’s mind represents his or her reality. And this reality will determine performance, along with the individual’s level of motivation and degree of satisfaction.
● Because we gather so much meaning from the way a message is communi- cated, the potential for misunderstanding in electronic communication is great despite its advantages .
● We sometimes process messages relatively automatically, while at other times we use a more effortful, controlled process. Make sure you use com- munication strategies appropriate to your audience and the type of mes- sage you’re sending.
● Finally, by keeping in mind communication barriers such as gender and cul- ture, we can overcome them and increase our communication effectiveness.
1 What are the primary functions of the communication process in organizations?
2 What are the key parts of the communication process, and how do you distinguish formal and informal communication?
3 What are the differences among downward, upward, and lateral communication?
4 What are the unique challenges to oral, written, and nonverbal communication?
5 What are the advantages and challenges of electronic communication?
6 What are the main forms of electronic communication? What are their unique benefits and challenges?
QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW
Ethical Dilemma 361
EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISE An Absence of Nonverbal Communication
This exercise will help you to see the value of nonverbal communication to interpersonal relations.
1. The class is to split up into pairs (party A and party B).
2. Party A is to select a topic from the following list: a. Managing in the Middle East is significantly
different from managing in North America. b. Employee turnover in an organization can be
functional. c. Some conflict in an organization is good. d. Whistle-blowers do more harm than good for an
organization. e. An employer has a responsibility to provide
every employee with an interesting and challenging job.
f. Everyone should register to vote. g. Organizations should require all employees to un-
dergo regular drug tests. h. Individuals who have majored in business or eco-
nomics make better employees than those who have majored in history or English.
i. The place where you get your college degree is more important in determining your career suc- cess than what you learn while you’re there.
j. It’s unethical for a manager to purposely distort communications to get a favorable outcome.
3. Party B is to choose a position on this topic (for example, arguing against the view “Some conflict in an organization is good”). Party A now must automatically take the opposite position.
4. The two parties have 10 minutes in which to debate their topic. The catch is that the individuals can only communicate verbally. They may not use gestures, facial movements, body movements, or any other nonverbal communication. It may help for each party to sit on their hands to remind them of their restrictions and to maintain an expressionless look.
5. After the debate is over, form groups of six to eight and spend 15 minutes discussing the following: a. How effective was communication during these
debates? b. What barriers to communication existed? c. What purposes does nonverbal communication
serve? d. Relate the lessons learned in this exercise to prob-
lems that might occur when communicating on the telephone or through e-mail.
ETHICAL DILEMMA Pitfalls of E-Mail
While e-mail may be a very useful—even indispensable— form of communication in organizations, it certainly has its limits and dangers. Indeed, e-mail can get you into trouble with more people, more quickly, than almost any other form of communication.
Ask Bill Cochran. Cochran, 44, is a manager at Richmond Group, a Dallas-based advertising agency. As Richmond was gearing up to produce a Superbowl ad for one its clients—Bridgestone—Cochran’s boss sent an e-mail to 200 people describing the internal competition to determine which ad idea would be presented. Cochran chose the occasion to give a pep talk to his team. Using “locker room talk,” he composed an e-mail criticizing the other Richmond teams, naming employees he thought would provide them real competition—and those who wouldn’t.
What Cochran did next—hit the Send key—seemed so innocuous. But it was a keystroke he would soon wish he could undo. Shortly after he sent the e-mail, a co-worker, Wendy Mayes, wrote to him: “Oh God . . . Bill. You just hit REPLY ALL!”
Questions 1. After realizing what he had done, how should
Cochran have responded to this situation?
2. After the incident, Mayes says of Cochran: “His name soon became synonymous with ’idiotic behavior’ such as ‘don’t pull a Cochran.’” Is it unethical to partici- pate in such ribbing?
3. Kaspar Rorsted, CEO of Henkil, a consumer and industrial products company based in Germany, says that copying others on e-mails is overused. “It’s
7 What is the difference between automatic and controlled processing of persuasive messages?
8 What are some common barriers to effective communication?
9 What unique problems underlie cross-cultural communication?
362 CHAPTER 11 Communication
a waste of time,” he said. “If they want to write me, they can write me. People often copy me to cover
their back.” Do you agree? How can you decide when copying others is necessary vs. “a waste of time”?
Sources: E. Bernstein, “Reply All: The Button Everyone Loves to Hate,” The Wall Street Journal (March 8, 2011), pp. D1, D4; and A. Bryant, “No Need to Hit The ’Send’ Key. Just Talk to Me,” The New York Times (August 29, 2010), p. 2.
CASE INCIDENT 1 Using Social Media to Your Advantage As you know, social media have transformed the way we interact. The transparent, rapid-fire communication they make possible means people can spread information about companies more rapidly than ever.
Do organizations understand yet how to use social me- dia effectively? Perhaps not. As recently as 2010, only 19 of the top 50 chief executives in the world had Facebook accounts, only 6 had LinkedIn pages, and only 2 regularly used Twitter or blogs to communicate. Many executives are wary of these new technologies because they cannot always control the outcomes of their communications. However, whether they are directly involved with social media or not, companies should recognize that these messages are out there, so it behooves them to make their voices heard. And social media can be an important way to learn about emerg- ing trends. André Schneider, chief operating officer of the World Economic Forum, uses feedback from LinkedIn discussion groups and Facebook friends to discover emerg- ing trends and issues worldwide. Padmasree Warrior, chief technology officer of Cisco, has used social media to refine her presentations before a “test” audience.
The first step in developing a social media strategy is es- tablishing a brand for your communications—define what you want your social media presence to express. Experts recommend that companies begin their social media strategy by leveraging their internal corporate networks to test their strategy in a medium that’s easier to control. Most companies already have the technology to use social media through their corporate Web sites. Begin by using these platforms for communicating with employees and fa- cilitating social networks for general information sharing.
As social networking expert Soumitra Dutta from Insead notes, “My advice is to build your audience slowly and be selective about your contacts.”
Despite the potential advantages, companies also need to be aware of significant drawbacks to social media. First, it’s very difficult to control social media communications. Microsoft found this out when the professional blogger it hired spent more time promoting himself than getting positive informa- tion out about the company. Second, important intellectual capital might leak out. Companies need to establish very clear policies and procedures to ensure that sensitive information about ongoing corporate strategies is not disseminated via so- cial media. Finally, managers should maintain motivation and interest beyond their initial forays into social media. A site that’s rarely updated can send a very negative message about the organization’s level of engagement with the world.
Questions 1. Do you think organizations need to have a social media
presence today? Are the drawbacks sufficient to make you think it’s better for them to avoid certain media?
2. What features would you look for in a social media outlet? What types of information would you avoid making part of your social media strategy?
3. Which social media sources do you think are most useful for organizations to send communications to external stakeholders, like stockholders or custom- ers? Are different social media more appropriate for communicating with employees?
4. What do you think is the future direction of social media? How might emerging technologies change them?
Sources: S. Dutta, “What’s Your Personal Social Media Strategy,” Harvard Business Review (November 2010), pp. 127–130; and G. Connors, “10 Social Media Commandments for Employers,” Workforce Management Online (February 2010), www.workforce.com .
CASE INCIDENT 2 Should Companies That Fire Shoot First? In the recessions in the early 1990s and after the 2001 terrorist attacks, layoffs were fairly private affairs. News often leaked out to local and national media outlets, but companies did their best to keep it as quiet as possible. Given the growth of the Internet in general, and of social networking sites in particular, that’s no longer possible.
When Starbucks laid off employees in 2008 and 2009, the Web site StarbucksGossip.com received a barrage of posts from disgruntled employees. One 10-year employee wrote, “This company is going to lose every great partner that it has. I am sick and tired of being blamed for not meeting my budget when the economy is in a recession.
Endnotes 363
Sources: Based on C. C. Miller, “In Era of Blog Sniping, Companies Shoot First,” The New York Times (November 5, 2008), pp. B1, B11; M. Allison, “More Layoffs Expected at Starbucks,” Seattle Times (January 24, 2009), seattletimes.nwsource.com ; and C. Hirschman, “Giving Voice to Employee Concerns,” HR Magazine (August 2008), pp. 51–53.
ENDNOTES
1. See, for example, R. S. Lau and A. T. Cobb, “Understanding the Connections between Relationship Conflict and Performance: The Intervening Roles of Trust and Exchange,” Journal of Organizational Behavior 31, no. 6 (2010), pp. 898–917; and M. Olekalns, L. L. Putnam, L. R. Weingart, and L. Metcalf, “Communication Processes and Conflict Management: The Psychology of Conflict and Conflict Management in Organizations,” in C. K. W. De Dreu and M. J. Gelfand, (eds.), The Psychology of Conflict and Conflict Management in Organizations . (New York: Taylor & Francis Group, 2008) pp. 81–114.
2. “Employers Cite Communication Skills, Honesty/Integrity as Key for Job Candidates,” IPMA-HR Bulletin (March 23, 2007), p. 1.
3. W. G. Scott and T. R. Mitchell, Organization Theory: A Structural and Behavioral Analysis (Homewood, IL: Irwin, 1976).
4. D. K. Berlo, The Process of Communication (New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1960), pp. 30–32; see also K. Byron, “Carrying Too Heavy a Load? The Communication and Miscommunication of Emotion by Email,” The Academy of Management Review 33, no. 2 (2008), pp. 309–327.
5. J. Langan-Fox, “Communication in Organizations: Speed, Diversity, Networks, and Influence on Organizational Effectiveness, Human Health, and Relationships,” in N. Anderson, D. S. Ones, H. K. Sinangil, and C. Viswesvaran (Eds.), Handbook of Industrial, Work and Organizational Psychology , vol. 2 (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2001), p. 190.
6. R. L. Simpson, “Vertical and Horizontal Communication in Formal Organizations,” Administrative Science Quarterly (September 1959), pp. 188–196; A. G. Walker and J. W. Smither,
“A Five-Year Study of Upward Feedback: What Managers Do with Their Results Matter,” Personnel Psychology (Summer 1999), pp. 393–424; and J. W. Smither and A. G. Walker, “Are the Characteristics of Narrative Comments Related to Improvement in Multirater Feedback Ratings Over Time?” Journal of Applied Psychology 89, no. 3 (June 2004), pp. 575–581.
7. P. Dvorak, “How Understanding the ‘Why’ of Decisions Matters,” The Wall Street Journal (March 19, 2007), p. B3.
8. T. Neeley and P. Leonardi, “Effective Managers Say the Same Thing Twice (or More),” Harvard Business Review (May 2011), pp. 38–39.
9. J. Ewing, “Nokia: Bring on the Employee Rants,” BusinessWeek (June 22, 2009), p. 50.
10. E. Nichols, “Hyper-Speed Managers,” HRMagazine (April 2007), pp. 107–110.
11. L. Dulye, “Get Out of Your Office,” HRMagazine (July 2006), pp. 99–101.
12. L. S. Rashotte, “What Does That Smile Mean? The Meaning of Nonverbal Behaviors in Social Interaction,” Social Psychology Quarterly (March 2002), pp. 92–102.
13. J. Fast, Body Language (Philadelphia: M. Evan, 1970), p. 7. 14. A. Mehrabian, Nonverbal Communication (Chicago: Aldine-
Atherton, 1972). 15. N. M. Henley, “Body Politics Revisited: What Do We Know
Today?” in P. J. Kalbfleisch and M. J. Cody (eds.), Gender, Power, and Communication in Human Relationships (Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1995), pp. 27–61.
16. See, for example, N. B. Kurland and L. H. Pelled, “Passing the Word: Toward a Model of Gossip and Power in the Workplace,” Academy of Management Review (April 2000), pp. 428–438; and G. Michelson, A. van Iterson,
I used to be proud of my company . . . now I am embar- rassed and feel physically ill every time I have to go to work.”
Some companies are taking a proactive approach. When Tesla Motors laid off employees, its CEO Elon Musk posted a blog entry about it just before announcing the layoffs internally. “We had to say something to prevent articles being written that were not accurate,” he said.
“Today, whatever you say inside a company will end up in a blog,” says Rusy Rueff, a former executive at PepsiCo. “So, you have a choice as a company—you can either be proactive and say, ‘Here’s what’s going on,’ or you can allow someone else to write the story for you.”
Illustrating the perils of ignoring the blogosphere, when newspaper giant Gannett announced it was laying off 10 percent of its employees, it posted no blog entries and made no statement. Jim Hopkins, a 20-year veteran who left the company just before the layoffs, writes the unof- ficial Gannett Blog. “I try to give the unvarnished truth. I don’t think the company offers the same level of candor
to employees,” he said. Gannett spokeswoman Tara Connell replied, “We attempt to make those personal communications happen as quickly as possible.”
Says blog expert Andy Sernovitz, “There are hold-out companies that still wish there was traditional P.R. control of the message, but that day is long over.”
Questions 1. Do you think Tesla CEO Elon Musk did the right thing
when he blogged about impending layoffs just before announcing them to employees? Why or why not?
2. Do you think employees have a responsibility to be careful when they blog about their company? Why or why not?
3. Do you think employees who blog about their com- panies have an ethical responsibility to disclose their identities?
4. How can a company develop a policy for handling communication of sensitive issues inside, and outside, the company?
364 CHAPTER 11 Communication
and K. Waddington, “Gossip in Organizations: Contexts, Consequences, and Controversies,” Group and Organization Management 35, no. 4 (2010), pp. 371–390.
17. Cited in “Heard It Through the Grapevine,” Forbes (February 10, 1997), p. 22.
18. G. Van Hoye and F. Lievens, “Tapping the Grapevine: A Closer Look at Word-of-Mouth as a Recruitment Source,” Journal of Applied Psychology 94, no. 2 (2009), pp. 341–352.
19. K. Davis, “Management Communication and the Grapevine,” Harvard Business Review (September–October 1953), pp. 43–49.
20. R. L. Rosnow and G. A. Fine, Rumor and Gossip: The Social Psychology of Hearsay (New York: Elsevier, 1976).
21. J. K. Bosson, A. B. Johnson, K. Niederhoffer, and W. B. Swann, Jr., “Interpersonal Chemistry Through Negativity: Bonding by Sharing Negative Attitudes About Others,” Personal Relationships 13 (2006), pp. 135–150.
22. T. J. Grosser, V. Lopez-Kidwell, and G. Labianca, “A Social Network Analysis of Positive and Negative Gossip in Organizational Life,” Group and Organization Management 35, no. 2 (2010), pp. 177–212.
23. B. Gates, “How I Work,” Fortune (April 17, 2006), money .cnn.com .
24. D. Brady, “*!#?@ the E-mail. Can We Talk?” BusinessWeek (December 4, 2006), p. 109.
25. E. Binney, “Is E-mail the New Pink Slip?” HR Magazine (November 2006), pp. 32–33; and R. L. Rundle, “Critical Case: How an Email Rant Jolted a Big HMO,” The Wall Street Journal (April 24, 2007), pp. A1, A16.
26. S. Hourigan, “62 Trillion Spam Emails Cause Huge Carbon Footprint,” Courier Mail (April 17, 2009), www.news.com.au/ couriermail .
27. R. Stross, “The Daily Struggle to Avoid Burial by E-Mail,” New York Times (April 21, 2008), p. BU5; and H. Rhodes, “You’ve Got Mail . . . Again,” Gainesville Sun (September 29, 2008), pp. 1D, 6D.
28. C. Byron, “Carrying Too Heavy a Load? The Communication and Miscommunication of Emotion by Email,” Academy of Management Review 33, no. 2 (2008), pp. 309–327.
29. D. Goleman, “Flame First, Think Later: New Clues to E-mail Misbehavior,” The New York Times (February 20, 2007), p. D5; and E. Krell, “The Unintended Word,” HRMagazine (August 2006), pp. 50–54.
30. J. E. Hall, M. T. Kobata, and M. Denis, “Employees and E-mail Privacy Rights,” Workforce Management (June 2010), p. 10.
31. R. Zeidner, “Keeping E-mail in Check,” HRMagazine (June 2007), pp. 70–74; “E-mail May Be Hazardous to Your Career,” Fortune (May 14, 2007), p. 24; and J. D. Glater, “Open Secrets,” The New York Times (June 27, 2008), pp. B1, B5.
32. A. Williams, “Mind Your BlackBerry or Mind Your Manners,” The New York Times (June 21, 2009), www.nytimes.com .
33. “Survey Finds Mixed Reviews on Checking E-mail During Meetings,” IPMA-HR Bulletin (April 27, 2007), p. 1.
34. K. Gurchiek, “Shoddy Writing Can Trip Up Employees, Organizations,” SHRM Online (April 27, 2006), pp. 1–2.
35. T. Henneman, “Companies Making Friends with Social Media,” Workforce Management , (April 2010), p. 4.
36. D. Lidsky, “It’s Not Just Who You Know,” Fast Company (May 2007), p. 56.
37. “Bosses Battle Risk by Firing E-mail, IM & Blog Violators,” IPMA-HR Bulletin (January 12, 2007), pp. 1–2; G. Krants, “Blogging with a Vendetta,” Workforce Week 8, no. 25 (June 10,
2007), www.workforce.com/section/quick_takes/49486_3 .html ; B. Leonard, “Blogs Can Present New Challenges to Employers,” SHRM Online (March 13, 2006), pp. 1–2; and J. Greenwald, “Monitoring Communications? Know Legal Pitfalls,” Workforce Management Online (February 2011), www.workforce.com .
38. E. Agnvall, “Meetings Go Virtual,” HR Magazine (January 2009), pp. 74–77.
39. C. Huff, “Staying Afloat in a Digital Flood,” Workforce Management Online (July 2008), www.workforce.com .
40. M. Richtel, “Lost in E-mail, Tech Firms Face Self-Made Beast,” The New York Times (June 14, 2008), pp. A1, A14; and M. Johnson, “Quelling Distraction,” HR Magazine (August 2008), pp. 43–46.
41. W. R. Boswell and J. B. Olson-Buchanan, “The Use of Communication Technologies After Hours: The Role of Work-Attitudes and Work-Life Conflict,” Journal of Management 33, no. 4 (2007), pp. 592–610.
42. “At Many Companies, Hunt for Leakers Expands Arsenal of Monitoring Tactics,” The Wall Street Journal (September 11, 2006), pp. B1, B3; and B. J. Alge, G. A. Ballinger, S. Tangirala, and J. L. Oakley, “Information Privacy in Organizations: Empowering Creative and Extrarole Performance,” Journal of Applied Psychology 91, No. 1 (2006), pp. 221–232.
43. See R. L. Daft and R. H. Lengel, “Information Richness: A New Approach to Managerial Behavior and Organization Design,” in B. M. Staw and L. L. Cummings (eds.), Research in Organizational Behavior, vol. 6 (Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1984), pp. 191–233; R. L. Daft and R. H. Lengel, “Organizational Information Requirements, Media Richness, and Structural Design,” Managerial Science (May 1986), pp. 554–572; R. E. Rice, “Task Analyzability, Use of New Media, and Effectiveness,” Organization Science (November 1992), pp. 475–500; S. G. Straus and J. E. McGrath, “Does the Medium Matter? The Interaction of Task Type and Technology on Group Performance and Member Reaction,” Journal of Applied Psychology (February 1994), pp. 87–97; L. K. Trevino, J. Webster, and E. W. Stein, “Making Connections: Complementary Influences on Communication Media Choices, Attitudes, and Use,” Organization Science (March–April 2000), pp. 163–182; and N. Kock, “The Psychobiological Model: Towards a New Theory of Computer- Mediated Communication Based on Darwinian Evolution,” Organization Science 15, no. 3 (May–June 2004), pp. 327–348.
44. E. Frauenheim, “Communicating For Engagement During Tough Times,” Workforce Management Online (April 2010), www.workforce.com .
45. R. E. Petty and P. Briñol, “Persuasion: From Single to Multiple to Metacognitive Processes,” Perspectives on Psychological Science 3, no. 2 (2008), pp. 137–147; F. A. White, M. A. Charles, and J. K. Nelson, “The Role of Persuasive Arguments in Changing Affirmative Action Attitudes and Expressed Behavior in Higher Education,” Journal of Applied Psychology 93, no. 6 (2008), pp. 1271–1286.
46. B. T. Johnson, and A. H. Eagly, “Effects of Involvement on Persuasion: A Meta-Analysis,” Psychological Bulletin 106, no. 2 (1989), pp. 290–314; and K. L. Blankenship and D. T. Wegener, “Opening the Mind to Close It: Considering a Message in Light of Important Values Increases Message Processing and Later Resistance to Change,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 94, no. 2 (2008), pp. 196–213.
Endnotes 365
47. See, for example, Y. H. M. See, R. E. Petty, and L. R. Fabrigar, “Affective and Cognitive Meta-Bases of Attitudes: Unique Effects of Information Interest and Persuasion,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 94, no. 6 (2008), pp. 938–955; M. S. Key, J. E. Edlund, B. J. Sagarin, and G. Y. Bizer, “Individual Differences in Susceptibility to Mindlessness,” Personality and Individual Differences 46 , no. 3 (2009), pp. 261–264 and M. Reinhard and M. Messner, “The Effects of Source Likeability and Need for Cognition on Advertising Effectiveness Under Explicit Persuasion,” Journal of Consumer Behavior 8, no. 4 (2009), pp. 179–191.
48. P. Briñol, R. E. Petty, and J. Barden, “Happiness Versus Sadness as a Determinant of Thought Confidence in Persuasion: A Self-Validation Analysis,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 93, no. 5 (2007), pp. 711–727.
49. R. C. Sinclair, S. E. Moore, M. M. Mark, A. S. Soldat, and C. A. Lavis, “Incidental Moods, Source Likeability, and Persuasion: Liking Motivates Message Elaboration in Happy People,” Cognition and Emotion 24, no. 6 (2010), pp. 940–961; and V. Griskevicius, M. N. Shiota, and S. L. Neufeld, “Influence of Different Positive Emotions on Persuasion Processing: A Functional Evolutionary Approach,” Emotion 10, no. 2 (2010), pp. 190–206.
50. J. Sandberg, “The Jargon Jumble,” The Wall Street Journal (October 24, 2006), p. B1.
51. E. W. Morrison and F. J. Milliken, “Organizational Silence: A Barrier to Change and Development in a Pluralistic World,” Academy of Management Review 25, no. 4 (2000), pp. 706–725; and B. E. Ashforth and V. Anand, “The Normalization of Corruption in Organizations,” Research in Organizational Behavior 25 (2003), pp. 1–52.
52. F. J. Milliken, E. W. Morrison, and P. F. Hewlin, “An Exploratory Study of Employee Silence: Issues That Employees Don’t Communicate Upward and Why,” Journal of Management Studies 40, no. 6 (2003), pp. 1453–1476.
53. S. Tangirala and R. Ramunujam, “Employee Silence on Critical Work Issues: The Cross-Level Effects of Procedural Justice Climate,” Personnel Psychology 61, no. 1 (2008), pp. 37–68; and F. Bowen and K. Blackmon, “Spirals of Silence: The Dynamic Effects of Diversity on Organizational Voice,” Journal of Management Studies 40, no. 6 (2003), pp. 1393–1417.
54. B. R. Schlenker and M. R. Leary, “Social Anxiety and Self- Presentation: A Conceptualization and Model,” Psychological Bulletin 92 (1982), pp. 641–669; and L. A. Withers, and L. L. Vernon, “To Err Is Human: Embarrassment, Attachment, and Communication Apprehension,” Personality and Individual Differences 40, no. 1 (2006), pp. 99–110.
55. See, for instance, S. K. Opt and D. A. Loffredo, “Rethinking Communication Apprehension: A Myers-Briggs Perspective,” Journal of Psychology (September 2000), pp. 556–570; and B. D. Blume, G. F. Dreher, and T. T. Baldwin, “Examining the Effects of Communication Apprehension within Assessment Centres,” Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 83, no. 3 (2010), pp. 663–671.
56. See, for example, J. A. Daly and J. C. McCroskey, “Occupational Desirability and Choice as a Function of Communication Apprehension,” Journal of Counseling Psychology 22, no. 4 (1975), pp. 309–313; and T. L. Rodebaugh, “I Might Look OK, But I’m Still Doubtful, Anxious, and Avoidant: The Mixed Effects of Enhanced Video Feedback on
Social Anxiety Symptoms,” Behaviour Research & Therapy 42, no. 12 (December 2004), pp. 1435–1451.
57. B. M. Depaulo, D. A. Kashy, S. E. Kirkendol, M. M. Wyer, and J. A. Epstein, “Lying in Everyday Life,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 70, No. 5 (1996), pp. 979–995; and K. B. Serota, T. R. Levine, and F. J. Boster, “The Prevalence of Lying in America: Three Studies of Self-Reported Lies,” Human Communication Research 36, No. 1. (2010), pp. 2–25.
58. DePaulo, Kashy, Kirkendol, Wyer, and Epstein, “Lying in Everyday Life”; and C. E. Naguin, T. R. Kurtzberg, and L. Y. Belkin, “The Finer Points of Lying Online: E-Mail Versus Pen and Paper,” Journal of Applied Psychology 95, No. 2 (2010), pp. 387–394.
59. A. Vrij, P. A. Granhag, and S. Porter, “Pitfalls and Opportunities in Nonverbal and Verbal Lie Detection,” Psychological Science in the Public Interest 11, No. 3 (2010), pp. 89–121.
60. R. E. Axtell, Gestures: The Do’s and Taboos of Body Language Around the World (New York: Wiley, 1991); Watson Wyatt Worldwide, “Effective Communication: A Leading Indicator of Financial Performance—2005/2006 Communication ROI Study,” www.watsonwyatt.com/research/resrender .asp?id=w-868 ; and A. Markels, “Turning the Tide at P&G,” U.S. News & World Report (October 30, 2006), p. 69.
61. See M. Munter, “Cross-Cultural Communication for Managers,” Business Horizons (May–June 1993), pp. 75–76; and H. Ren and B. Gray, “Repairing Relationship Conflict: How Violation Types and Culture Influence the Effectiveness of Restoration Rituals,” Academy of Management Review 34, no. 1 (2009), pp. 105–126.
62. See E. T. Hall, Beyond Culture (Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1976); W. L. Adair, “Integrative Sequences and Negotiation Outcome in Same- and Mixed-Culture Negotiations,” International Journal of Conflict Management 14, no. 3–4 (2003), pp. 1359–1392; W. L. Adair and J. M. Brett, “The Negotiation Dance: Time, Culture, and Behavioral Sequences in Negotiation,” Organization Science 16, no. 1 (2005), pp. 33–51; E. Giebels and P. J. Taylor, “Interaction Patterns in Crisis Negotiations: Persuasive Arguments and Cultural Differences,” Journal of Applied Psychology 94, no. 1 (2009), pp. 5–19; and M. G. Kittler, D. Rygl, and A. Mackinnon, “Beyond Culture or Beyond Control? Reviewing the Use of Hall’s High-/Low-Context Concept,” International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management 11, no. 1 (2011), pp. 63–82.
63. N. Adler, International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior, 4th ed. (Cincinnati, OH: South-Western Publishing, 2002), p. 94.
64. See, for example. R. S. Schuler, “A Role Perception Transactional Process Model for Organizational Communication-Outcome Relationships,” Organizational Behavior and Human Performance (April 1979), pp. 268–291.
65. J. P. Walsh, S. J. Ashford, and T. E. Hill, “Feedback Obstruction: The Influence of the Information Environment on Employee Turnover Intentions,” Human Relations (January 1985), pp. 23–46.
66. S. A. Hellweg and S. L. Phillips, “Communication and Productivity in Organizations: A State-of-the-Art Review,” in Proceedings of the 40th Annual Academy of Management Conference, Detroit, 1980, pp. 188–192. See also B. A. Bechky, “Sharing Meaning Across Occupational Communities: The Transformation of Understanding on a Production Floor,” Organization Science 14, no. 3 (May–June 2003), pp. 312–330.
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DEFINING ORGANISATIONAL COMMUNICATION
Karen Cacciattolo, D.Soc.Sci.(Leic.), M.Sc. (Trng& HRM) (Leic.)
University of Malta, Malta
Abstract This paper deals with the topic of organisational communication. It discusses the various types and theoretical aspects of communication. If one raises the question “How important is it to have good communication in an organisation?” Nearly everyone will give an answer that it is vital for both the organisation and its employees. However, when it comes to the question of what can be done to improve communication in organisations, there appears to be a somewhat slight conformity. A basic unavoidable feature of complex organisations is that the people in them do not work in isolation. Therefore, group identification and role relationships, information transmission, and the process by which information required meaning, must be better understood. Another important point is the fact that organisations are goal-oriented, a phenomenon which directly influences the content and patterns of communication within them (Porter & Roberts, 1977).
Keywords: Organisational Communication, Interpersonal Communication, Communication Barriers Introduction There are and have been various general definitions of communication: Beattie & Ellis (2014) defines communication as the human language that is used to transmit information, whilst the World Book Dictionary (1980) defines it as “a giving of information or news by speaking or writing“ (1980: 420). Beals & Hoijer (1953) state that communication has the main function of bolstering ideas and beliefs (1953: 548) and Hellriegel & Slocum (2002) define communication as that instrument which leaders use to direct the activities of others. Communication is often described as the „social glue“ that holds the organisation together (Alvesson, 2002) and „the nervous system“ (Davis, 1953) of any organised group. Bavelas & Barrett (1951) argue that communication is the most fundamental activity in an organisation and it is
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the basis of all the functions of an organisation (1951: 253). As such, organisational activities cannot be coordinated without communication among the various departments or parts of the organisation. The Importance of Communication It is widely understood that you cannot NOT communicate (Motley, 1990), due to the fact that communication is both verbal and non-verbal. Therefore, even silence communicates a message. Communication is arguably the most important skill a person can have since everything a person achieves at work and socially occurs through communication. Yet people still invest very little time in improving their communication skills. Efficient communication is not only necessary, but also indispensable to success in an organisation, and it is a vital tool for achieving organisational goals (Fussell & Kreuz, 2014: 6). Communicating effectively matters because failure to keep people informed may be costly. People who don’t know how to communicate, among other things may be incapable of motivating their associates. They may not only lose an enormous amount of time because of misunderstandings and imprecisions resulting from their bad communication technique, but they may also let innumerable opportunities for success pass them by. Davis (1953) comments about the bottleneck of communication, wherein the manager, in planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling has to communicate with the group, in order to obtain effective performances. Therefore, one may assume that communication is the one way of motivating people, thus resulting in better work performance and cooperation (Fussell & Kreuz, 2014: 6). Communication also creates understanding on what people have to do, why they have to do it, and to what extent they are achieving the objectives. According to Harvey-Jones (1988), everyone down the line in the organsiation has to understand what they are trying to achieve in line with the organisation’s goals and objectives (1988: 187).
The Ability to Listen Good communication above all means good listening. Zeno (in Godefroy & Clark, 2000) argues that „the reason why we have two ears and only one mouth is that we may listen more and talk less“ (Godefroy & Clark, 2000: 177). According to Katz & Lawyer (1987) the typical barriers to effective listening include the listener talking too much; the listener does not listen for long enough before starting to talk; or that the listener remains silent and entirely unresponsive. All these tendencies make it difficult for the other to describe his or her experience. Thus, leaders in an organisation need to be good listeners in view that a lot of their work involves eliciting information from others in order to solve problems.
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The Communication Process While the definitions of communication vary according to the theoretical frames of reference employed and the stress placed on certain aspects of total process, they all include five fundamental factors: an initiator, a recepient, a mode or vehicle, a message and an effect (Miller, 2014). Simly expressed the communication process commences when a message is conceived by a sender. It is then encoded – translated into a signal or a sequence of signals – and transmitted via a particular medium or channel to a receiver who then decodes it and interprets the message, returning a signal in some way that the message has or has not been understood (Watson Hill, 1997). In a two-way communication the process continues with the roles reversed. Noise can interrupt the communication process at any step. People must therefore understand that, for example; a conversation in the next office, a phone speaker, and the reciever’s uncertainties, may all hinder the person’s best attempts to communicate.
Learning to „decode“ Uri Geller, the man who became famous throughout the world by bending spoons with his psychic power, tells the following instructive story in his fascinating „Uri Geller’s Fortune Secrets“: „One of my friends recently went to India, and had an especially frustrating experience trying to take a taxi to the beach in Bombay. Each time he hailed a taxi and told the driver where he wanted to go, the man would move his head from side to side, left to right, in a strange gesture which my friend took to mean an emphatic ‚no!‘“ What was exactly going on? Uri Geller provided the following explanation: „The truth is, all the drivers were expressing their willingness to take on the fare, using the local body language; a side-to-side movement of the head, to express their assent. My friend’s frustration, therefore, arose from an incapacity to communicate properly. He didn’t understand that in Bombay, moving the head from left to right means ‚yes‘, while the occidental gesture of moving the head up and down, for them means ‚no‘!“ The inability to decode may lead to daily problems like misunderstandings, bad decisiosn, unattained goals, hiring errors and breakdowns in negotiations. All these things invariably lead to loss of time and money. The following golden rule of communication (Godefroy & Clark, 2000) must be always kept in mind: „What may seem obvious, clear and straightforward to you, is not necessarily so to your listener.“
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Forms of Communication Several forms of communication exist, namely interpersonal communication, communication in networks and teams, organisational communication, and electronic communication. Interpersonal communication focuses on communication among a small number of people and two important forms of interpersonal communication, oral and written, offer unique advantages and disadvantages (Fussell & Kreuz, 2014: 21). Thus, the person should weigh the pros and cons of each when choosing a medium for communication. Aydin and Rice (1992) describe how networks bring together different groups in the workplace. Thus, communication networks are recurring patterns of communication among members of a group of work team. Research has identified five basic networks for five-person groups (Griffin, 1999: 555).
These differ in terms of information flow, position of the leader, and effectiviness for different types of tasks. Leaders in an organisation might attempt to create centralised networks when group everyday jobs are easy and customised. Alternatively, these may promote decentralised groups when group tasks are difficult and nonroutine. Organisational communication includes other forms of communication in organisations that flow among and between organisational units and groups. Each involves oral or written communication. Some forms of communication in an organisation follow vertical and horizontal linkages (Cornelissen, 2014: 30). Vertical communication usually takes place between managers and their subordinates and may involve several different levels of the organisatiion, namely ‘Upward Communication’ and ‘Downward Communication’ (Cornelissen, 2014: 30). Upward communication consists of messages from subordinates to superiors, whilst downward communication occurs when information flows down the hierarchy from superiors to subordinates. Horizontal communication involves colleagues and peers at the same level of the organisation and may involve individuals from several different orgnisational units (Cornelissen, 2014: 30). Horizontal communication is usually used to facilitate coordination since it provides the basis for cooperation. People need to communicate with each other in order to work effectively in joint efforts. Electronic communication may have a profound effect on managerial and organisational communication. Many writers, including sholars, professionals and technical journalists, have speculated about the effects of new technologies on work life (Kiesler, 2014: 2). Some consider the electronic mail is eliminating organisational hierarchies, or at least is reducing the barriers of communication between people at differenet levels of authority in an organisation (Kiesler, 2014: 5), thus facilitates the formation of more flexible work groups, including ‘virtual’ work groups.
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Other speculations involve the extent and the conditions under which electronic communications will foster or undermine a sense of community in the workplace and elswhere. Employees that are connected by electronic communications media, often form ‘communities’ that differ in substanial ways from other communities to which they may belong (Kiesler, 2014: 6). Heintz (1992) argues that the electronic science arena is a small-scale world (1992: 34), and technical journalists like Perry (1992) claimed that the use of electronic mail has eliminated the limitations of time and place, and as such, computer mediated communication technology has become the backbone of many organisations supplanting the formal hierarchical structure to achieve coordination and manager relationships within and between organisations. Therefore, one may suggest that electronic communications fill the growth and effectiveness of an organisation and its part. Informal Communication in Organisations Informal communication channel is another system of communication, which occurs in organisations. Common forms of informal communication include the grapevine, management by wandering around, and non-verbal communication (Griffin, 1999). The grapevine is the major informal communication channel, and it transmits rumors (Davis, 1978: 112). Management can take steps to reduce the effect of harful romours, such as discussing them openly in public. The two most common grapevine chains in organisations are the gossip chain and the cluster chain (Davis & Newstrom, 1989). Several employees in an organisation consider the grapevine to be their primary source of information about company events, especially when they lack formal information (Kandlousi et al, 2010: 52). The grapevine often creates a bigger impact on employees than do messages sent over formal channels. According to Mishra (1990), information usually travels with considerable speed with this informal communication channel – the more important the information, the greater the speed (1990: 214). Management by wandering around is an approach to communication that involves the manager literally wandering around and having spontaneous conversations with subordinates, customers and any other stakeholders of the organisation (Lorenzen, 1997). This approach may be an effective way of learning about what is happening in the organisation and what people are talking about. According to Lorenzen (1997), management by wandering around decreases bureaucracy and eliminates some of the hierarchical barriers of communication (1997: 52). Non-verbal communication is probably the oldest area of investigation into human communication. It dates back from at least the 1800s, when teachers of acting and pantomime analysed how facial and body
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movements could be used to convey emotions (The World Book Encyclopedia, Volume 4). Thus, non-verbal communication is a communication exchange that does not use words and it can frequently convey a great deal of information. It includes facial expressions, body movement, physical contact, gestures, and inflection and tone (Chira, 2014: 67; Payrato, 2009: 167). According to Chira (2014), a substantial amount of interpersonal communication also occurs through non-verbal communication. This communication channel usually supplements rather than substitutes for writing, speaking and sign language. Like language, non-verbal communication is used to express meaning, but it is particularly important in revealing feelings and attitudes, especially towards the person or persons being communicated with, and it is the main ‚patron‘ of affect in messages (Gallois & Callan, 1986). Barriers to Communication George Bernard Shaw said that the biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished (Kanki & Smith, 2001: 95), and perhaps several people working in medium and large sized organisations may testify to the truthfulness of the above statement. According to Riege (2005), managing the communication process necessitates recognizing the barriers to effective communication and understanding how to overcome them (2005: 31). Barriers can be identified at both the individual and organisational level. Many factors make it difficult to get messages across as intended, namely low motivation and interest, inappropriate language, defensive communication, dishonest dialogue and filtering, insufficient non-verbal communication, information overload, poor communication skills, and technological problems (Riege, 2005: 23). Jackson (1995) puts forward the real reason behind the organisation that seems to make communication especially difficult. According to Jackson (1959), an organisation may be considered a system of overlapping and interdependent groups, which may be departments located on the same floor or a building, or they can be divisions that are geographically distant (1959: 158). People tend to communicate most frequently to those geographically closest to them, even within a small organisation. Therefore, geographical radius can thus be a barrier to communication (Jackson, 1959). Cultural differences can also be barriers to communication. Larkey (1996) puts forward a general view that cultural differences affect intercultural encounters, usually by leading to misunderstanding or conflict, at both the individual and group level. According to Guirdham (2005), at the individual level, as different values, beliefs or worldviews are manifested in communication behaviours, and as culture creates differing expectations,
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styles or patterns of speech, very often interpersonal misunderstanding and conflict may arise. On the other hand, Guirdham (2005) affirms that at the group level, intergroup processes can be triggered by an individual’s non- verbal behaviour or ways of speaking which stereotypically represent a group.
Conclusion According to Hall (1987) and as discussed in the previous sections, the more an organisation is people and idea oriented, the more important communication becomes. Therefore, organisations have to provide up-to- date information. In addition, Hall (1987) argues that the key to the communication process in organisations is to ensure that the correct people receive the correct information at the correct time. Moreover, an organisation with a positive attitude can, in no time, win the trust and commitment of its employees. This organisational attitude, in turn, is reflected by the way the organisation communicates with its employees. The strategy for organisational communication should be simple, yet effective and most importantly practical at all times. Only then will the communication process benefit both the organisation as well as its employees. After all, by mere definition, communication is a two-way process, and no party in this procedure is in any way, more or less important than the other (Shannon, 1961).
References: Alvesson, M. (2002) Understanding Organisational Culture, Sage Publications Ltd. Aydin, L. & Rice, R. E. (1992) Bringing Social Worlds Together. Computers as Catalysts for New Interactions in Healthcare Organisations, Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, 33(2), pp. 168-185. Bavelas, A. & Barrett, D. (1951) An Experimented Approach to Organisational Communication, Personnel, Vol. 27, pp. 366-371. Beattie, G., & Ellis, A. (2014) The psychology of language and communication, Psychology Press. Beals, R. L. & Hoijer, H. (1953) An Introduction to Anthropology, The Macmillan Company, New York. Chira, D. (2014) NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION - NOTES ON PROXEMICS AND EYE CONTACT, CONSTRUCTIONS OF IDENTITY (VII), pp. 67-73. Cornelissen, J. (2014) Corporate communication: A guide to theory and practice, Sage. Davis, K. (1953) Management Communication and The Grapevine, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 31, pp 43-49.
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Davis, K. (1978) Methods for studying informal communication, Journal of Communication, 28(1), pp. 112-116. Davis, K. & Newstrom, J. W. (1989) Human Behaviour at Work: Organisational Behaviour, 8th Edition, The McGraw Hill Companies. Fussell, S. R. & Kreuz, R. J. (Eds.) (2014) Social and cognitive approaches to interpersonal communication, Psychology Press. Gallois, C. & Callan, V. J. (1986) Decoding Emotional Messages: Influence of Ethnicity, Sex, Message Type and Channel, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(4), pp. 755-762. Geller, U. (1987) Uri Geller’s Fortune Secrets, USA, Macdonald & Co 21 May. Godefroy, C. H. & Clark, J. (2000) The Complete Time Management System, London-UK, Butler & Tanner Ltd. Griffin, R. W. (1999) Management, New York-USA, Houghton Mifflin Company, 6th Edition. Guirdham, M. (2005) Communicating across cultures at work, Basingstoke: Palgrave macmillan. Hall, R. H. (1987) Organisations: Structures, Processes & Outcomes, UK, Prentice-Hall International Inc. Harvey-Jones, J. (1988) Making it happen: Reflections on leadership, London: Collins. Heintz, L. (1992) Consequences of New Electronic Communications Technologies for Knowledge Transfer in Science: Policy Implications, Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) contractor report. Congress of the United States, Washington, D.C. Hellriegel, D. & Slocum, J. (2002) Organisational Behaviour, West Publishing, 10th Edition. Jackson, J. M. (1959) The Organisation and Its Communication Problems, The Journal of Communication, Vol. 9, pp. 158-167. Kandlousi, N. S. A. E., et al (2010) Organizational citizenship behavior in concern of communication satisfaction: The role of the formal and informal communication, International Journal of Business and Management, 5(10), pp. 51-61. Kanki, B. G. & Smith, G. M. (2001) Training aviation communication skills. In E. Salas, C. A. Bowers, & E. Edens (Eds.), Improving teamwork in organizations: Applications of resource management training (pp. 95–127), Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Katz, N. H. & Laywer, J. W. (1987) Communication and Conflict Resolution Skills, Iowa-USA, Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. Kiesler, S. (Ed.) (2014) Culture of the Internet, Psychology Press.
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Larkey, L. K. (1996) The Development and Validation of the Workforce Diversity Questionnaire, Management Communication Quarterly, 9(3), pp. 296-337. Lorenzen, M. (1997) Management by Wandering Around: Reference Rovering and Quality Reference Service, Reference Librarian, Vol. 59, pp. 51-58. Mishra, J. (1990) Managing the grapevine, Public Personnel Management, 19(2), pp. 213-228. Motley, M. T. (1990) On whether one can (not) not communicate: An examination via traditional communication postulates, Western Journal of Communication (includes Communication Reports), 54(1), 1-20. Miller, K. (2014) Organizational communication: Approaches and processes, Cengage Learning. Payrató, L. (2009) Non-verbal communication, Key Notions for Pragmatics, John Benjamins, Amsterdam/Philadelphia, pp. 163-194. Perry, T. S. (1992) E-Mail at Work, I.E.E.E. Spectrum, 29(10) October, pp. 24-28. Porter, L. W. & Roberts, K. H. (1977) Communication in Organisations, Suffolk-UK, Richard Clay (The Chaucer Press) Ltd. Riege, A. (2005) Three-dozen knowledge-sharing barriers managers must consider, Journal of knowledge management, 9(3), pp. 18-35. Shannon, C. E. (1961) Two-way communication channels. In Proc. 4th Berkeley Symp. Math. Stat. Prob, Vol. 1, pp. 611-644. The World Book Dictionary (1980) Volume one A-K, Communciation, USA, Doubleday & Company, Inc., pg. 420. The World Book Encyclopedia (1990) Ci-Cz Volume 4, Communication, USA, World Book Inc., pp. 878-888. Watson Hill (1997) Communication 1 – Ein Glossar fur die Net Academy on Media Management – Institute for Media and Communication Management, University of St. Gallen, 03/98.
(In Introduction to Operating Systems and Networks)
Question 1
Dorathy and James are having a debate about multiprogramming and multitasking operating systems and their overall efficiency. Dorathy says the two concepts are the same and are dependent on each other. On the other hand, James says these are two different concepts and they are not dependent on each other. Is anyone of them right? Give your inputs on both Dorathy and James’s arguments. Briefly also explain the key difference between the two. You may use a diagram(s) to support your answer.
Question 2
Naota group of companies’ CC is an upcoming business that specializes in data mining. They are in a process of setting up their IT system, and they have consulted you for advice on the operating system they should use. They are stuck between Windows and Linux OS. As a computer expert, what will you advise and why? Secondly, when is the Windows operating system preferable than Linux, and like wisely, when is Linux more preferable than windows?
Question 3
Discuss 4 the key difference between the Windows file system and the Linux file system.
Question 4
Resource management is one of the key functions of an operating system. Briefly name and explain four resources that are managed by your computer.
Question 5
System Administrators play a major role in every IT department. Their responsibilities range from planning, developing, installation, configuration, and maintenance of corporate hardware, software, and any related IT infrastructure. Their lives revolve around diagnosing and resolving performance issues to ensure optimal performance and reliability in a company. For smooth operations, System Administrators use various tools for configuration, troubleshooting, and diagnosis.
a) Name and explain five windows tools that administrators use in their everyday lives.
b) One more role of System Administrators is creating users and groups. This concept is the same in both Windows and Linux. Explain why it is important that each user has a separate user profile/account.
c) What is the relevance of placing users in groups as far as user management is concerned?
d) For security reasons, password length is amongst others one of the fundamentals password setting that administrators take into account when creating user accounts. Name and explain six other password essentials that administrators should consider when creating users and groups?
Question 6
The Windows operating system is proprietary owned by Microsoft, while Linux is an Open-source software or operating system. This means that the source code for Linux is freely available for anyone to inspect, modify, and enhance. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of using open-source software and those of proprietary owned software, e.g. Microsoft Windows.
Notes: Plagiarism must be less than 20% in Turnitin
Answer all the Question 1-6
(In Introduction to Operating Systems and Networks).
SCHOOLING
VOLUME 1, NUMBER1, 2010
1
Communication: The Process, Barriers,
And Improving Effectiveness
Fred C. Lunenburg
Sam Houston State University
________________________________________________________________________
ABSTRACT
Communication is the process of transmitting information and common
understanding from one person to another. In this article, I discuss the
communication process, barriers to communication, and improving communication
effectiveness.
________________________________________________________________________
The study of communication is important, because every administrative function
and activity involves some form of direct or indirect communication. Whether planning
and organizing or leading and monitoring, school administrators communicate with and
through other people. This implies that every person’s communication skills affect both
personal and organizational effectiveness (Brun, 2010; Summers, 2010). It seems
reasonable to conclude that one of the most inhibiting forces to organizational
effectiveness is a lack of effective communication (Lutgen-Sandvik, 2010). Moreover,
good communication skills are very important to ones success as a school administrator.
A recent study indicated that recruiters rated communication skills as the most important
characteristic of an ideal job candidate (Yate, 2009).
In this article, I will help you to better understand how school administrators can
improve their communication skills. To begin, I define what is meant by communication
and then discuss the process by which it occurs. Following this, I examine barriers to
communication and ways to improve communication effectiveness.
Defining Communication and Describing the Process
Communication can be defined as the process of transmitting information and
common understanding from one person to another (Keyton, 2011). The word
communication is derived from the Latin word, communis, which means common. The
definition underscores the fact that unless a common understanding results from the
SCHOOLING
2____________________________________________________________________________________
exchange of information, there is no communication. Figure 1 reflects the definition and
identifies the important elements of the communication process (Cheney, 2011)
Figure 1. The communication process.
Two common elements in every communication exchange are the sender and the
receiver. The sender initiates the communication. In a school, the sender is a person who
has a need or desire to convey an idea or concept to others. The receiver is the individual
to whom the message is sent. The sender encodes the idea by selecting words, symbols,
or gestures with which to compose a message. The message is the outcome of the
encoding, which takes the form of verbal, nonverbal, or written language. The message is
sent through a medium or channel, which is the carrier of the communication. The
medium can be a face-to-face conversation, telephone call, e-mail, or written report. The
receiver decodes the received message into meaningful information. Noise is anything
that distorts the message. Different perceptions of the message, language barriers,
interruptions, emotions, and attitudes are examples of noise. Finally, feedback occurs
when the receiver responds to the sender's message and returns the message to the sender.
Feedback allows the sender to determine whether the message has been received and
understood.
The elements in the communication process determine the quality of
communication. A problem in any one of these elements can reduce communication
effectiveness (Keyton, 2011). For example, information must be encoded into a message
that can be understood as the sender intended. Selection of the particular medium for
transmitting the message can be critical, because there are many choices.
For written media, a school administrator or other organization member may
choose from memos, letters, reports, bulletin boards, handbooks, newsletters, and the
like. For verbal media, choices include face-to-face conversations, telephone, computer,
public address systems, closed-circuit television, tape-recorded messages, sound/slide
shows, e-mail, and so on. Nonverbal gestures, facial expressions, body position, and even
clothing can transmit messages. People decode information selectively. Individuals are
more likely to perceive information favorably when it conforms to their own beliefs,
Feedback
Medium
Noise
Message
Decode
Receiver
Encode
Encode
Sender
Decode
FRED C. LUNENBURG
____________________________________________________________________________________3
values, and needs (Keyton, 2010). When feedback does not occur, the communication
process is referred to as one-way communication. Two-way communication occurs with
feedback and is more desirable.
The key for being successful in the contemporary school is the ability of the
school administrator to work with other school stakeholders (faculty, support staff,
community members, parents, central office); and develop a shared sense of what the
school/school district is attempting to accomplish – where it wants to go, a shared sense
of commitments that people have to make in order to advance the school/school district
toward a shared vision and clarity of goals. As school administrators are able to build a
shared mission, vision, values, and goals, the school/school district will become more
effective. Building a relationship between school administrators and other school
stakeholders requires effective communication.
For example, research indicates that principals spend 70 to 80% of their time in
interpersonal communication with various stakeholders (Green, 2010; Lunenburg & Irby,
2006; Matthews & Crow, 2010; Sergiovanni, 2009; Tareilo, 2011; Ubben, Hughes, &
Norris, 2011). Effective principals know how to communicate, and they understand the
importance of ongoing communication, both formal and informal: faculty and department
meetings; individual conversations with parents, teachers, and students; and telephone
calls and e-mail messages with various stakeholder groups.
The one constant in the life of a principal is a lot of interruptions – they happen
daily, with a number of one- and three-minute conversations in the course of the day.
This type of communication in the work of the principal has to be done one on one - one
phone call to one person at a time, one parent at a time, one teacher at a time, one student
at a time; and a principal needs to make time for these conversations. For example, a
principal may be talking with a parent with a very serious problem. She may be talking
with a community member. She may be talking with the police about something that
went on during the school day. The principal must be able to turn herself on and off in
many different roles in any given day.
Barriers to Effective Communication
A school administrator has no greater responsibility than to develop effective
communication (Pauley, 2010). Why then does communication break down? On the
surface, the answer is relatively simple. I have identified the elements of communication
as the sender, the encoding, the message, the medium, the decoding, the receiver, and the
feedback. If noise exists in these elements in any way, complete clarity of meaning and
understanding does not occur. The author, George Bernard Shaw wrote, ‖The greatest
problem with communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished‖ (Shaw, 2011).
Four types of barriers (called ―noise,‖ see Figure 1) are process barriers, physical barriers,
semantic barriers, and psychosocial barriers (Eisenberg, 2010).
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Process Barriers
Every step in the communication process is necessary for effective and good
communication.. Blocked steps become barriers. Consider the following situations:
• Sender barrier. A new administrator with an innovative idea fails to speak up at a
meeting, chaired by the superintendent, for fear of criticism.
• Encoding barrier. A Spanish-speaking staff member cannot get an English-
speaking administrator to understand a grievance about working conditions.
• Medium barrier. A very upset staff member sends an emotionally charged letter
to the leader instead of transmitting her feelings face-to-face.
• Decoding barrier. An older principal is not sure what a young department head
means when he refers to a teacher as "spaced out."
• Receiver barrier. A school administrator who is preoccupied with the preparation
of the annual budget asks a staff member to repeat a statement, because she was
not listening attentively to the conversation.
• Feedback barrier. During a meeting, the failure of school administrators to ask
any questions causes the superintendent to wonder if any real understanding has
taken place.
Because communication is a complex, give-and-take process, breakdowns anywhere in
the cycle can block the transfer of understanding.
Physical Barriers
Any number of physical distractions can interfere with the effectiveness of
communication, including a telephone call, drop-in visitors, distances between people,
walls, and static on the radio. People often take physical barriers for granted, but
sometimes they can be removed. For example, an inconveniently positioned wall can be
removed. Interruptions such as telephone calls and drop-in visitors can be removed by
issuing instructions to a secretary. An appropriate choice of media can overcome distance
barriers between people.
Semantic Barriers
The words we choose, how we use them, and the meaning we attach to them
cause many communication barriers. The problem is semantic, or the meaning of the
words we use. The same word may mean different things to different people. Words and
phrases such as efficiency, increased productivity, management prerogatives, and just
cause may mean one thing to a school administrator, and something entirely different to a
staff member.
Technology also plays a part in semantic barriers to communication. Today's
complex school systems are highly specialized. Schools have staff and technical experts
developing and using specialized terminology—jargon that only other similar staff and
FRED C. LUNENBURG
____________________________________________________________________________________5
technical experts can understand. And if people don't understand the words, they cannot
understand the message.
Psychosocial Barriers
Three important concepts are associated with psychological and social barriers:
fields of experience, filtering, and psychological distance (Antos, 2011)). Fields of
experience include people's backgrounds, perceptions, values, biases, needs, and
expectations. Senders can encode and receivers decode messages only in the context of
their fields of experience. When the sender's field of experience overlaps very little with
the receiver's, communication becomes difficult. Filtering means that more often than not
we see and hear what we are emotionally tuned in to see and hear. Filtering is caused by
our own needs and interests, which guide our listening. Psychosocial barriers often
involve a psychological distance between people that is similar to actual physical
distance. For example, the school administrator talks down to a staff member, who
resents this attitude, and this resentment separates them, thereby blocking opportunity for
effective communication.
Successful communication by school administrators is the essence of a productive
school organization. However, as discussed previously, communications do break down.
Several communication theorists (Abrell, 2004; Auer, 2011; Larson, 2011; Shettleworth,
2010; Weiss, 2011) have focused on the major areas where failures in communication
most frequently occur. The following are the major areas where communication
breakdowns most frequently occur in schools:
• Sincerity. Nearly all communication theorists assert that sincerity is the
foundation on which all true communication rests. Without sincerity—honesty,
straightforwardness, and authenticity—all attempts at communication are destined to fail.
• Empathy. Research shows that lack of empathy is one of the major obstacles to
effective communication. Empathy is the ability to put one's self into another's shoes. The
empathetic person is able to see the world through the eyes of the other person.
• Self-perception. How we see ourselves affects our ability to communicate
effectively. A healthy but realistic self-perception is a necessary ingredient in
communicating with others.
• Role perception. Unless people know what their role is, the importance of their
role, and what is expected of them, they will not know what to communicate, when to
communicate, or to whom to communicate.
• Efforts to distort the message. Pitfalls in communication often occur in our
efforts—both consciously and unconsciously—to distort messages.
• Images. Another obstacle to successful communication is the sender's image of
the receiver and vice versa. For example, on the one hand, school administrators are
sometimes viewed as not too well informed about teaching, seen as out of touch with the
classroom, and looked on as paper shufflers. On the other hand, some school
administrators view teachers as lazy, inconsiderate of administrative problems, and
unrealistic about the strengths and weaknesses of their students. Such views lead to a
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"we-they" attitude.
• Vehicle for message. The vehicle by which we choose to send messages is
important in successful communication. In most cases, the vehicle to be used is defined
by the situation.
• Ability to communicate. Some of the ways we communicate raise barriers by
inhibiting discussion or causing others to feel inferior, angry, hostile, dependent,
compliant, or subservient.
• Listening ability. Frequently, people fail to appreciate the importance of listening,
do not care enough to become actively involved with what others are saying, and are not
sufficiently motivated to develop the skills necessary to acquire the art of listening.
• Culture. Our cultural heritage, biases, and prejudices often serve as barriers to
communication. The fact that we are African-American or white, young or old, male or
female have all proved to be obstacles in communicating effectively.
• Tradition. Past practice in a school helps determine how, when, and what we send
and receive. For example, a school administrator who has an authoritative style may find
that his staff will not share information readily. If a new administrator with a
collaborative style replaces the authoritarian one, the new administrator may find that it
takes a while for his colleagues to speak out on important issues.
• Conditioning. The manner in which communication is conditioned by the
environment influences the accuracy of messages sent and received. If we work for
administrators who set a climate in which we are encouraged to share information, we
soon become conditioned to communicate accordingly.
• Noise. A major barrier to communication is what communication experts call
noise. Noise consists of the external factors in the channels and the internal perceptions
and experiences within the source and the receiver that affect communication.
• Feedback. Faculty and staff tell their leaders that they want feedback. However,
feedback improperly given can impede communication rather than improve it.
Administrators and followers both need more training in how to use feedback more
productively.
Improving Communication Effectiveness
Effective communication is a two-way process that requires effort and skill by
both sender and receiver. Administrators will at times assume each of these roles in the
communication process. In this section, I discuss guidelines for improving
communication effectiveness, including senders’ and receivers’ responsibilities, and
listening.
Sender's Responsibilities
Several communication theorists (Cheney, 2011; Keyton, 2011; Tourish, 2010)
have gleaned ten commandments of good communication, which are particularly
applicable to the sender. These commandments, together with a basic understanding of
the communication process itself, should provide a good foundation for developing and
maintaining an effective set of interpersonal communication skills, which school
FRED C. LUNENBURG
____________________________________________________________________________________7
administrators can use when communicating with various school stakeholders.
1. School administrators need to clarify their ideas before communicating. The
more systematically administrators analyze the problem or idea to be communicated, the
clearer it becomes. This is the first step toward effective communication. Many
communications fail because of inadequate planning. Good planning must consider the
goals, attitudes, and needs of those who will receive the communication and those who
will be affected by it.
2. Administrators need to examine the true purpose of each communication. Before
administrators communicate, they must ask themselves what they really want to
accomplish with their message—obtain information, initiate action, or change another
person's attitude? Administrators need to identify their most important goal and then
adapt their language, tone, and total approach to serve that specific objective.
Administrators should not try to accomplish too much with each communication. The
sharper the focus of their message, the greater its chances of success.
3. Administrators need to consider the total physical and human setting. Meaning
and intent are conveyed by more than words alone. Many other factors influence the
overall impact of a communication, and administrators must be sensitive to the total
setting in which they communicate: the circumstances under which an announcement or
decision is made; the physical setting—whether the communication is made in private or
otherwise; the social climate that pervades work relationships within the school or
department and sets the tone of its communications; custom and practice—the degree to
which the communication conforms to, or departs from, the expectations of the audience.
Be constantly aware of the total setting in which you communicate. Like all living things,
communication must be capable of adapting to its environment.
4. Administrators need to consult with others, when appropriate, in planning
communications. Frequently, it is desirable or necessary to seek the participation of
others in planning a communication or in developing the facts on which to base the
communication. Such consultation often lends additional insight and objectivity to the
message. Moreover, those who have helped plan the communication will give it their
active support.
5. Administrators need to be mindful, while communicating, of the overtones as
well as the basic content of the message. The administrator’s tone of voice, expression,
and apparent receptiveness to the responses of others all have tremendous impact on
those the administrator wishes to reach. Frequently overlooked, these subtleties of
communication often affect a listener's reaction to a message even more than its basic
content. Similarly, the administrator’s choice of language—particularly her awareness of
the fine shades of meaning and emotion in the words used—predetermine in large part
the reactions of the listeners.
6. Administrators need to take the opportunity, when it arises, to convey something
of help or value to the receiver. Consideration of the other person's interests and needs—
trying to look at things from the other person's point of view—frequently points up
opportunities to convey something of immediate benefit or long-range value to the other
person. Staff members are most responsive to administrators whose messages take staff
interests into account.
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7. Administrators need to follow up their communication. An administrator’s best
efforts at communication may be wasted, and she may never know whether she has
succeeded in expressing her true meaning and intent if she does not follow up to see how
well she has put her message across. An administrator can do this by asking questions, by
encouraging the receiver to express his or her reactions, by follow-up contacts, and by
subsequent review of performance. An administrator needs to make certain that every
important communication has feedback so that complete understanding and appropriate
action result.
8. Administrators need to communicate for tomorrow as well as today. Although
communications may be aimed primarily at meeting the demands of an immediate
situation, they must be planned with the past in mind if they are to maintain consistency
in the receiver's view. Most important, however, communications must be consistent with
long-range interests and goals. For example, it is not easy to communicate frankly on
such matters as poor performance or the shortcomings of a loyal staff member, but
postponing disagreeable communications makes these matters more difficult in the long
run and is actually unfair to your staff and your school organization.
9. Administrators need to be sure that their actions support their communications.
In the final analysis, the most persuasive kind of communication is not what
administrators say, but what they do. When leaders’ actions or attitudes contradict their
words, others tend to discount what they have said. For every administrator, this means
that good supervisory practices—such as clear assignment of responsibility and authority,
fair rewards for effort, and sound policy enforcement—serve to communicate more than
all the gifts of oratory.
10. Administrators need to seek, not only to be understood, but to understand—be a
good listener. When an administrator starts talking, he often ceases to listen, at least in
that larger sense of being attuned to the other person's unspoken reactions and attitudes.
Even more serious is the occasional inattentiveness a leader may be guilty of when others
are attempting to communicate with him. Listening is one of the most important, most
difficult, and most neglected skills in communication. It demands that the administrator
concentrate not only on the explicit meanings another person is expressing, but also on
the implicit meanings, unspoken words, and undertones that may be far more significant.
Thus, an administrator must learn to listen with the inner ear if he is to know the inner
person.
Receiver's Responsibilities
Communication depends on the ability not only to send but also to receive
messages. So the ability to listen effectively greatly enhances the communication process.
But many of us are not good listeners. Effective listening skills can be developed,
however. Summarized following are ten rules for good listening (Kneen, 2011)):
1. Stop talking. You cannot listen if you are talking. For example, Polonius in
Hamlet said: "Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice."
2. Put the talker at ease. Help a person feel free to talk. This is often called a
permissive environment.
FRED C. LUNENBURG
____________________________________________________________________________________9
3. Show a talker that you want to listen. Look and act interested. Do not read your
mail while someone talks. Listen to understand rather than to oppose.
4. Remove distractions. Don't doodle, tap, or shuffle papers. Will it be quieter if you
shut the door?
5. Empathize with talkers. Try to help yourself see the other person's point of view.
6. Be patient. Allow plenty of time. Do not interrupt a talker. Don't start for the door
or walk away.
7. Hold your temper. An angry person takes the wrong meaning from words.
8. Go easy on argument and criticism. These put people on the defensive, and they
may clam up or become angry. Do not argue: Even if you win, you lose.
9. Ask questions. This encourages a talker and shows that you are listening. It helps
to develop points further.
10. Stop talking. This is first and last, because all other guides depend on it. You
cannot do an effective listening job while you are talking.
Nature gave people two ears but only one tongue, which is a gentle hint that they
should listen more than they talk. Listening requires two ears, one for meaning and one
for feeling. Leaders who do not listen have less information for making sound decisions.
Active Listening
Active listening is a term popularized by the work of Carl Rogers and Richard
Farson (n.d.) and advocated by counselors and therapists (Brownell, 2009; Burstein,
2010). The concept recognizes that a sender's message contains both verbal and
nonverbal content as well as a feeling component. The receiver should be aware of both
components in order to comprehend the total meaning of the message. For instance, when
a staff member says to her supervisor, "Next time you ask me to prepare a report, please
give me some advance notice." The content conveys that the staff member needs time,
but the feeling component may indicate resentment for being pressured to meet a
deadline with such short notice. The supervisor, therefore, must recognize this feeling to
understand the staff member's message. There are five guidelines that can help school
administrators to become more active listeners (Rogers & Farson, n.d.).
1. Listen for message content. The receiver must try to hear exactly what the sender
is saying in the message.
2. Listen for feelings. The receiver must try to identify how the sender feels in terms
of the message content. This can be done by asking: "What is he trying to say?"
3. Respond to feelings. The receiver must let the sender know that her feelings, as
well as the message content are recognized.
4. Note all cues, verbal and nonverbal. The receiver must be sensitive to the
nonverbal messages as well as the verbal ones. If the receiver identifies mixed messages,
he may ask for clarification.
5. Rephrase the sender's message. The receiver may restate or paraphrase the verbal
and nonverbal messages as feedback to the sender. The receiver can do this by allowing
the sender to respond with further information.
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The last guideline is one of the most powerful of the active listening techniques
and is used regularly by counselors and therapists. It helps the receiver avoid passing
judgment or giving advice, and encourages the sender to provide more information about
what is really the problem.
Conclusion
Communication is the process of transmitting information and common
understanding from one person to another. The elements of the communication process
are the sender, encoding the message, transmitting the message through a medium,
receiving the message, decoding the message, feedback, and noise.
A number of barriers retard effective communication. These can be divided into
four categories: process barriers, physical barriers, semantic barriers, and psychosocial
barriers. To improve the effectiveness of communications, schools must develop an
awareness of the importance of sender's and receiver's responsibilities and adhere to
active listening skills.
References
Abrell, R. (2004). Preventing communication breakdowns. Reston, VA: National
Association of Secondary School Principals.
Antos, G. (2011). Handbook of interpersonal communication. The Hague, The
Netherlands: Mouton De Gruyter.
Auer, P. (2011). Theories and methods. The Hague, The Netherlands: Mouton De
Gruyter.
Brownell, J. (2009). Listening: Attitudes, principles, and skills. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Brun, J. P. (2010). Missing pieces: 7 ways to improve employee well-being and
organizational effectiveness. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Burstein, J. (2010). Have you heard?: Active listening. New York, NY: Crabtree
Publishing.
Canary, H. (2011). Communication and organizational knowledge: Contemporary issues
for theory and practice. Florence, KY: Taylor & Francis.
Cheney, G. (2011). Organizational communication in an age of globalization: Issues,
reflections, practices. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.
Eisenberg, E. M. (2010). Organizational communication: Balancing creativity and
constraint. New York, NY: Saint Martin’s.
Green, R. L. (2010). The four dimensions of principal leadership: A framework for
leading 21 st century schools. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Keyton, J. (2010). Case studies for organizational communication: Understanding
communication processes. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Keyton, J. (2011). Communication and organizational culture: A key to understanding
work experience. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Kneen, J. (2011). Essential skills: Essential speaking and listening skills. New York, NY:
Oxford University Press.
FRED C. LUNENBURG
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Larson, R. K. (2011). The evolution of human language: Biolinguistic perspectives. New
York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Lunenburg, F.C,& Irby, B. J. (2006). The principalship: Vision to action. Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth/Cengage.
Lutgen-Sandvik, P. (2010). Destructive organizational communication: Processes,
consequences, and constructive ways of organizing. New York, NY: Routledge.
Matthews, L. J., & G. M. Crow (2010). The principalship: New roles in a professional
learning community. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Pauley, J. A. (2010). Communication: The key to effective leadership. Milwaukee, WI:
ASQ Quality Press.
Rogers, C. R., & Farson, R. F. (n.d.). Active listening. Chicago, IL; Industrial Relations
Center, University of Chicago.
Sergiovanni, T. J. (2009). The principalship: A reflective practice perspective. Boson,
MA: Pearson.
Shaw, G. B. (2011). The wit and wisdom of George Bernard Shaw. Mineola, NY; Dover
Publications.
Shettleworth, S. J. (2010). Cognition, evolution, and behavior. New York, NY: Oxford
University Press.
Summers, D. C. (2010). Quality management: Creating and sustaining organizational
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Tareilo, J. (2011). Other side of the desk: A 20/20 look at the principalship. Lanham,
MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Tourish, D. (2010). Auditing organizational communication: A handbook of research,
theory, and practice. New York, NY: Routledge.
Ubben, G. C., Hughes, L. W., & Norris, C. J. (2010). The principal: Creative leadership
for excellence in schools (7 th
ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Weiss, B. (2011). How to understand language: A philosophical inquiry. Montreal, QUE:
McGill University Press.
Yate, M. (2009). Hiring the best: A manager’s guide to effective interviewing and
recruiting. Cincinnati, OH: F & W Media.
Essay Support Session
How to write an essay?
Outline
| Part 1 | General Information |
| Part 2 | Practical Examples |
| Part 3 | More Tips: Sources and Supporting Documents |
| Part 4 | Excursus: Referencing |
General Information
Submission and Feedback
Your submission
You need to submit your essay at 23:59 on Wednesday, 9th May 2021.
You need to submit an extended essay of 1500 words (+/-20%) on process barriers in internal communication processes of multinational companies.
Marking and Feedback
Score will become available at 20:00 on Friday, 28th May 2021.
Don’t just see your score, open the file in TurnitinUK and review the feedbacks (in-text and overall feedback).
Reflect and plan 3-5 things to improve on your next assignments.
Fails are double marked, additionally 20% of the whole class are double marked.
Critically discuss the relevance of process barriers to communication in multinational companies. Choose one real life organisational example and demonstrate how the organisation deals with this kind of communication barrier.
The Task
Marking Criteria
Focus (10% weighting).
Knowledge and Understanding (50% weighting).
Argument and Critical Analysis (25% weighting).
Sources and Referencing (10% weighting).
Presentation, Structure and Writing Style (5% weighting).
1. Focus
For example:
Focus on key features of communication barriers (in particular process barriers of communication) and communication process.
Apply these on a carefully chosen organisation (it needs to be a multinational company!).
Case should be appropriate and help to develop your argument.
Consider benefits and drawbacks of means to manage those communication barriers in your application.
Establish links with wider organisational environment.
2. Knowledge and Understanding
For example:
Definition and explanation of communication process, communication barriers and process barriers of communication.
Explanation of how communication barriers may influence the communication process.
Describe relevant elements of your case in order to be able to apply the concepts.
Address the impact of changes in organisational environment on the application of those models.
3. Argument and Critical Analysis
For example:
Presentation of evidence to support your explanations.
Consider different ways of how process barriers may interfere in the communication process.
Discuss whether different communication barriers amplify existing problems of the communication process.
Compare and contrast different managerial approaches to those barriers.
Evaluate benefits and drawbacks of those approaches.
4. Sources and Referencing
For example:
Draw from balanced range of sources including Academic textbooks, Academic journals, Reputable news references. Remember, you need at least two of each (whereby it is possible to replace textbooks and news sources with journal articles).
Apply GIC referencing guidelines (available in “Management: Essay Preparation” section on VLE “FC714 Management”), for example:
Huczynski, A. A. and Buchanan, D. A. (2017). Organizational Behaviour. 9th Edition. Harlow: Pearson.
Steers R.M., Mowday, R.T. and Shapiro D.L. (2004). The future of work motivation. The Academy of Management Review. 29 (3): 379-387
Huczynski and Buchanan (2017: 100) argue that […].
5. Presentation, Structure and Writing Styles
Logically structured
Well written, fluent and coherent
Use a title page and number pages
| Follow these Formatting Guidelines! | |
| font size for text body 12 pts and regular formatting (headings & subheading can vary) one of the following font types are allowed: Times New Roman, Calibri or Arial referencing according to GIC referencing guide font colour: black | background colour: white margin of at least 3 cm to the left, the right and to the top and bottom of your page spacing between paragraphs: 6 pts line spacing: 1.5 text alignment: left or justified |
Cheating and Plagiarism
Cheating and Plagiarism is going to be punished
Don’t use ghost writing services!
Use Turnitin to check your similarity!
Make sure that you upload the final draft before the deadline!
Practical Examples
Good Stuff!
Good Stuff is characterised by…
Use multiple, credible, scholarly references.
Elaborate or explain your points. Word limit? Focus on 1-2 points but elaborate them.
Always back your arguments up by using some kind of data / evidence / reference.
Ensure you pay attention to the assignment brief and answer the question.
Think about balance of points, e.g. Strengths 5, Weakness 5.
Plan ahead: Allocate word limits to different sections – break it down. More words to more important points, fewer to less important ones.
Critical Evaluation!
Use Signposts!
Now, the bad stuff…
Argument
Formatting
Referencing
Bad Stuff: Very busy paragraph!
Bad Stuff: Awkward sentences!
Bad Stuff: Strange, extravagant words!
Bad Stuff: Jumping to conclusions!
Now, the bad stuff…
Argument
Formatting
Referencing
Bad Stuff: Formatting error!
Now, the bad stuff…
Argument
Formatting
Referencing
Bad stuffs – where are the citations???
Bad Stuff: Unreliable sources!
Bad Stuff: Reference formatting error!
Bad Stuff: Not in alphabetical order!
Things to avoid!
Compose your essay in your language and then translate it into English. Worse? Without further proofreading after that!
Busy paragraph, awkward sentence, strange / extravagant terms.
Superficial, jumping conclusion, no evidence provided. Putting facts before academic opinion!
Easy-to-spot errors: Typo, different fonts, no title page, wrong title (EA Games)…
No / over reliance in one source, unreliable sources (UKEssays, Business Case Study, etc.), written not in correct format!
Your reference list doesn't cover all of your in-text citations and vice versa.
More Tips: Sources and Supporting Documents
Check VLE to… find more help
Here you can find tips on how to find literature, how to structure your essay and how to manage the time for your writing process.
Check VLE to… find sources!
More Sources on VLE (“Essay Preparation”)
Boddy, D. (2011) Management. An Introduction. 5th Edition. Harlow: Pearson Education, 462-511.
Cacciattolo, K. (2015) Defining Organisational Communication. European Scientific Journal, 11 (20), pp. 79-87.
Huczynski, A. A. and Buchanan, D. A. (2017). Organizational Behaviour. 9th Edition. Harlow: Pearson Education, 212-248.
Lunenburg, F. C. (2010) Communication: The Process, Barriers, And Improving Effectiveness. Schooling, 1 (1), 1-10.
Mullins, L. J. (2010). Management & Organisational Behaviour. 9th Edition. Harlow: Pearson Education, 208-251.
Robbins, S. P. and Coulter, M. (2012) Management.11th Edition. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 402-427.
Robbins, S. P. and Judge, T. A. (2013) Organizational Behaviour.15th Edition. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 335-365.
Personality is defined as ………………
Two important points:
Personality is what distinguishes us from others
Sense that personality is enduring
BUT there is increasing evidence that personality is subject to change
Check VLE to… get the referencing right
Excursus: Referencing
Where to find the referencing presentation?
IMPORTANT: The referencing presentation provides the same content as the following slides!
Personality is defined as ………………
Two important points:
Personality is what distinguishes us from others
Sense that personality is enduring
BUT there is increasing evidence that personality is subject to change
Outline
| Part A | Why referencing? |
| Part B | Consequences |
| Part C | How to reference? |
This lecture is divided in six parts….
Why referencing?
How would you characterise the two individuals?
One is friendly, happy, talkative. The other is shy and timid.
The concept of personality underpins the unique character of individuals and differences between individuals.
Personality is a measure of personal characteristic and difference.
We will first look at where personality fits in with the five strands of OB.
Transparency
it clarifies where you got you the individual (!) ideas from
it clarifies which sources you used in order to get this information
it helps the reader to trace back how you developed your argument
it fulfils standards of good academic practice: it gives credit to the originators of your information
Personality is defined as ………………
Two important points:
Personality is what distinguishes us from others
Sense that personality is enduring
BUT there is increasing evidence that personality is subject to change
Reliability
you provide evidence for your claims (otherwise it can be assumed you made it up)
you demonstrate that the sources are credible (e.g. academic literature or reputable news sources) and can be relied upon
not everything must be referenced: if your information is commonly known (e.g. Edinburgh is capital of Scotland), you don’t need to provide a reference
Personality is defined as ………………
Two important points:
Personality is what distinguishes us from others
Sense that personality is enduring
BUT there is increasing evidence that personality is subject to change
Consequences
What factors influence how we perceive things?
Different factors influence how they perceive. Our perception might be influenced by what we see and hear, but also by our background, experience.
No references, no pass!
not providing referenced may be considered as a case of plagiarism
not providing references will invalidate the information you provide and the argument you make
not providing enough (or credible!) sources will AT LEAST significantly weaken your argument
Personality is defined as ………………
Two important points:
Personality is what distinguishes us from others
Sense that personality is enduring
BUT there is increasing evidence that personality is subject to change
You were already penalised!
we will deduct scores in the categories of “Knowledge and Understanding”, “Referencing” and “Analysis” depending how severe the lack of references has been
reason for deducting points:
It’s unclear whether your thoughts and claims are displayed or somebody else's.
It’s unclear whether your claims and arguments are made up or evidence based.
points are deducted proportionally, the deduction of points are worth between 5% to 30% of your overall mark
Personality is defined as ………………
Two important points:
Personality is what distinguishes us from others
Sense that personality is enduring
BUT there is increasing evidence that personality is subject to change
How to reference?
Researchers have studied a number of perceptual problems. Essentially problems all come back to the fact that the individual is evaluating perception rather than reality. Remember we have said that what you see as real is defined by your perception.
Referencing Systems
there are different referencing systems (e.g. Harvard referencing, Vancouver etc.), you need to use the referencing system required by your institution (e.g. University, Faculty etc.)
in GIC we use APA referencing system (as described in “Referencing Guide (APA)”, available on VLE)
you need to make sure that you familiarise yourself about the referencing system used, if you e.g. enrol in seminars provided by different institutes they may have different referencing requirements
Personality is defined as ………………
Two important points:
Personality is what distinguishes us from others
Sense that personality is enduring
BUT there is increasing evidence that personality is subject to change
In-text references I
you need to provide a reference for each idea, claim or information you got from a source
even if you used just one source for all information in one paragraph, you need to provide the same reference several times
repeating a reference is normally done by (ibid.)
direct quotes require you to always provide the page number (if the is a page number)
page number also need to be provided if a claim or an idea is located on a particular page rather than in the source as a whole
usual format is (family name, year of publication, page number if applicable), e.g. (Ludwicki-Ziegler, 2020) or (Ludwicki-Ziegler, 2020, p. 3)
Personality is defined as ………………
Two important points:
Personality is what distinguishes us from others
Sense that personality is enduring
BUT there is increasing evidence that personality is subject to change
In-text references II
if you use several sources, you can provide them one after the other (you need to separate them with a semi-colon), for example (Ludwicki-Ziegler, 2020; Henderson and MacVicar, 2019)
if you mention the name of the author already, you don’t need repeat the name in the reference directly afterwards, for example…
Instead of: Ludwicki-Ziegler (Ludwicki-Ziegler, 2020) claimed that referencing is important.
You can use: Ludwicki-Ziegler (2020) claimed that referencing is important.
if you use the same source over and over again, without using any other source in-between, you can use (ibid.), for example…
Ludwicki-Ziegler (2020) claimed that referencing is important. It is highlighted in the presentation, that not referencing may have severe consequences (ibid.). Additionally, information about the re-submission procedure has been provided (ibid.).
Personality is defined as ………………
Two important points:
Personality is what distinguishes us from others
Sense that personality is enduring
BUT there is increasing evidence that personality is subject to change
In-text references III
if you have more than three authors, you use just the family name of the first author and add “et al.”, for example…
Instead of: Ludwicki-Ziegler, Antony, MacVicar and Henderson (2020) claimed that referencing is important.
You can use: Ludwicki-Ziegler et al. (2020) claimed that referencing is important.
Instead of: Referencing is important (Ludwicki-Ziegler, Antony, MacVicar and Henderson, 2020).
You can use: Referencing is important (Ludwicki-Ziegler et al., 2020).
if you use lots of sources, you may want to acquire referencing software (e.g. Endnote or Mendeley), some of it is for free and in some occasions training is provided by the University Library
Personality is defined as ………………
Two important points:
Personality is what distinguishes us from others
Sense that personality is enduring
BUT there is increasing evidence that personality is subject to change
In-text references IV
direct quotes need to be indicated by quotation marks
references for those quotes need to be provided and they need to show the exact place of origin, you normally need to provide a page number
you should shorten the quote by using […] instead of the irrelevant information, but don’t alter the meaning by leaving out important information (!)
Instead of: According to Henderson, Ludwicki-Ziegler highlighted “that referencing is – even though students tend to think otherwise – important” (Henderson, 2020, p. 2).
You can use: According to Henderson, Ludwicki-Ziegler highlighted “that referencing is […] important” (Henderson, 2020, p. 2).
try to avoid direct quotes, rather paraphrase (use your own words), BUT…
if the quote already expresses the thought in the best possible way (this is rare), you can keep it
replacing individual words with synonyms and changing the word order (or the tenses) IS NOT paraphrasing
you need to summarise and express the same thought in your OWN way of wording
Personality is defined as ………………
Two important points:
Personality is what distinguishes us from others
Sense that personality is enduring
BUT there is increasing evidence that personality is subject to change
Referencing List
you need to provide full bibliographic information about the sources you used
online journals are referenced as hard copies if they are made available as hard copies and in pdf format, there is no need to provide the URL
you need to sort your referencing list in alphabetical order
check the referencing guideline about the formats for the individual types of sources
provide the doi for journals
Examples:
Green, D. (2020) Referencing and its importance. In: Dendrinos, P. (ed.) Referencing systems around the world. Glasgow: Kaplan International, pp. 1-11.
Henderson, G. (2019) Your guideline to direct quotes. Retrieved 3rd March 2020 from: http://www.quotesandmore.com/referencing.
Ludwicki-Ziegler, S. (2020) Referencing. Glasgow: Kaplan International.
Ludwicki-Ziegler, S. and Henderson, G. (2019) How to reference. Glasgow: Kaplan International.
Ludwicki-Ziegler, S. and Meadowcroft, J. (2018) Why referencing?. Referencing Journal, 1 (1), p. 1-11. doi: 10.1080/00405840903435733.
Personality is defined as ………………
Two important points:
Personality is what distinguishes us from others
Sense that personality is enduring
BUT there is increasing evidence that personality is subject to change
Your Questions?
Individual Support
Please come forward if you have any question concerning your essay. Please remember that other people may also have questions, so keep your questions short and be prepared.
Don’t ask us to review your whole essay!
We won’t give additional help on the content of your essay via email if you didn’t do the reading!
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TOPIC: |
Critically discuss the relevance of process barriers to communication in multinational companies. Choose one real life organizational example and demonstrate how the organization deals with this kind of communication barrier. |
IMPORTANT!
· Submit on time (via Turnitin). Deadline: 9th May 2021, 23:59
· Make sure you keep to the word limit (1500 words +/-20%).
· Don’t plagiarise! You can check the similarity score of your essay on Turnitin.
· Revise the lecture slides, reading and your seminar notes.
· Use at least 6 currently published sources (two academic books, two journal articles, two reputable news sources; you can replace those books and news sources with journal articles).
· Read AND apply the APA referencing conventions (see document “Referencing Guide” on VLE).
· Make sure you show your essay plan (at least!) two weeks before the submission to your subject tutor. Finish a first draft of your essay (at the latest) one week before the submission (so that you have enough time to revise).
· Try to make an appointment with your Learning Advisor in the week before the submission and speak with him / her about your draft.
How to get over 50% in the assignment?
· Please have a look on the marking criteria. They are published on VLE.
· You need at least 50% to obtain a progression grade for this module (40% for the KIC Award pass mark). The essay is going to contribute 50% of the overall module mark.
· To get at least 50% for your essay you are expected to:
· Produce a focused essay. Don’t waste time and resources on too much background or description; deliver the information necessary in order to understand your argument.
· Demonstrate that you have understood the topic and that you are able to explain relevant concepts and models without mistakes or significant misunderstandings.
· Develop a clear line of argument with good analysis and make sure the, the sections of your essay are clearly linked throughout the essay.
· Use the required minimum number of sources and you understood those works.
· Produce a logical structure and ensure that it is clearly written.
Recommended Literature
· You should start to look for appropriate literature using the search engine of the University library! (Please have a look on the advanced search tips: https://eleanor.lib.gla.ac.uk/!) Use databases (e.g. Jstor) or (free) online repositories (e.g. Academia.edu) to identify appropriate journal articles.
· Have a look at the final reference list of the articles and books you have found; the authors might have used valuable sources.
· Your own research does not mean you use the first 5 results on Google: Google Scholar & Google Search is complementary but shouldn’t be your main tool to identify appropriate sources.
· You could check blogs from websites of research institutes and universities who do relevant research projects (e.g., LSE, Yale, Harvard etc.). It might be also a good idea to have a look on conference websites (e.g., Academy of Management Conference, International Conference on Economics, Business and Management) and to check past papers.
· Watch the short videos available on VLE (section on “Essay Preparation”) on how to find sources.
Suggested Reading
Boddy, D. (2011) Management. An Introduction. 5th Edition. Harlow: Pearson Education, 462-511.
Cacciattolo, K. (2015) Defining Organisational Communication. European Scientific Journal, 11 (20), pp. 79-87.
Huczynski, A. A. and Buchanan, D. A. (2017). Organizational Behaviour. 9th Edition. Harlow: Pearson Education, 212-248.
Lunenburg, F. C. (2010) Communication: The Process, Barriers, And Improving Effectiveness. Schooling, 1 (1), 1-10.
Mullins, L. J. (2010). Management & Organisational Behaviour. 9th Edition. Harlow: Pearson Education, 208-251.
Robbins, S. P. and Coulter, M. (2012) Management.11th Edition. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 402-427.
Robbins, S. P. and Judge, T. A. (2013) Organizational Behaviour.15th Edition. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 335-365.
Guidance notes for the structure of your essay
Introduction
Start with the general importance of the topic and the rationale for the essay question:
· Why is the topic of communication in organizational environments important?
· Why are communication barriers relevant in organizational environments?
· You need to give a clear thesis statement and overview of essay structure
2. Barriers
1. Communication Process
· What is communication and how is communication done?
· What is difference from organizational communication to communication in other social contexts and between internal and external communication?
· What are process barriers of communication? Explain with reference to the communication process.
· Why are communication barriers important (for organizations)? How can those barriers be prevented and dealt with? You may want to focus on particular barriers.
Possible sections for the Main Body
3. Your Cases
4. Your (Academic!) opinion?
· What is your opinion on the topic?
· What are your recommendations to organizations?
· Are there open questions concerning gender barriers in the literature, which need further research?
· Link your argument with the general importance of communication strategies for managers.
· Identify one suitable case1 (justify your selection) for the given barriers.
· Explain how those communication barriers are dealt with.
· What was the outcome of the proposed solutions: Did it create new problems? Which costs did they create? Did they tackle the identified problems? Is there space for improvement?
· How did other companies under the similar conditions deal with those communication barriers?
Conclusion
In the conclusion of your essay briefly summarize your argument (refer to your thesis statement) and your conclusion, you might want to show potential points which are worth to be considered in future discussions with regards to the relevance of applying strategies for preventing and responding to process barriers of communication in multinational companies.
1 You can choose real life organization OR you can pick one case study about organizations of a particular sector where you apply this barrier.
Recommended Time Schedule
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3 weeks before submission |
· Start with the basic reading on communication. Revise lecture slides and seminar notes. Identify key terms. Make notes from your reading. · Look for journal articles and relevant books in the library. Do more reading and don’t forget making notes. · Start to order and categorize your notes, don’t forget to write down the references for each note. · Develop a structured plan and start to match the notes with the sections of your essay. · Make an appointment with your Learning Advisor for the week before the deadline! · Show the plan of your essay and literature you identified to your subject tutor. Make notes about his/her comments and apply the given feedback.
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2 weeks before submission |
· Use your notes for the individual sections and start writing the actual essay. Make sure that you connect the different sections and that you have covered the most relevant aspects of this topic. · Make sure that you take your time, write a little every day rather than a lot in 2 days. · Try to finish a draft to discuss with Learning Advisor within one week. Make sure that this draft is not the first draft: Try to finish the first draft few days before the meeting and revise it on your own, discuss the revised draft with your Learning Advisor.
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1 week before submission |
· Meet you Learning Advisor and make notes about his feedback, start revising your essay on the same day that you don’t forget aspects mentioned in your meeting. · Go through your essay and make sure, that you have enough references. Upload a draft on Turnitin and make sure, that the similarity score is as low as possible (~20%). Revise your draft accordingly. · Make sure you finish the second last draft few days before the deadline.
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3 days before submission |
· Read your draft again and make the final adjustments. Remember: Is the structure clear? Is the argument understandable? You might want to speak with your friends or family about it too (but don’t copy from them!). · Make sure you correct any writing mistakes. Don’t make your argument too complicated. Don’t use complicated grammatical structures unless you are sure you know how; keep your sentences simple and short!
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Submission day!
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· Submit your essay at first on Turnitin several hours before the deadline. You need to have enough time to contact somebody for help in-case any IT problems occur!
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Guidelines for Writing Style at GIC
These are some guidelines for ensuring that your writing follows academic writing convention.
Please note that some disciplines can have their own particular academic writing style which could be more or less formal and this can be confirmed by your subject tutors.
1) Personal pronouns (I, you, we etc.) or phrases like “in my opinion” should be avoided.
2) Contractions should not be used, e.g. “do not” instead of “don’t”.
3) Direct questions should not be used, e.g. “what can be done to lower costs?” could be rewritten as “It is necessary to consider how costs may be lowered”.
4) Vague language, such as people, things etc. should be avoided and more precise terms used, e.g. instead of “people are spending less due to the recession” you could use “consumers are spending less due to the recession”.
5) Emotional or extreme language, such as “huge”, “fantastic” etc. should be avoided. “Significant” and “considerable” are acceptable alternatives.
6) Hedging language should be used e.g. modal verbs (may, might), adverbs (possibly) and verbs (seem, appear, suggest) to avoid making definite statements unless there is very strong evidence. Avoid phrases like “it is undeniable”
7) Phrasal verbs should be avoided as much as possible (unless there is no formal equivalent).
8) Informal verbs like “get” should be avoided and formal equivalents like “become” and “obtain” should be used.
9) Nominalisation: Noun rather verb phrases can make your writing sound more academic, e.g. “Studies were increasing and the researchers were becoming more and more interested in the field” could be rewritten as “the rapid increase in studies indicated a rise in interest among researchers in the field”.
10) Introductions to essays should include a clear thesis statement or purpose statement. A thesis statement should not be too general and should show a clear stance on the subject. For example: “this essay will argue that there are some advantages and disadvantages to renewable energy” is too vague and unlikely to support a clear position. In some cases, essays may have a statement of purpose rather than a thesis statement. For example, “this essay will examine/ analyse A and evaluate B”.
11) Paragraphs should include topic sentences which identifies the central idea of the paragraph which develops this idea. There should be clear linking within the paragraph and also to the previous paragraph(s).
12) Where it is required to use sources in writing tasks, students should use the same referencing system consistently throughout your work, such as the Harvard referencing system or APA. In GIC we have the GIC referencing guide which needs to be followed.
13) You always need to provide the sources and reference the origins of the information and ideas you present in your essay. However, information considered as common knowledge don’t need to be referenced To identify whether this applies to the information you present you need to apply the “Byres Road Rule”: If you could ask ten random people on Byres Road and they would know the information you present, you may not need to reference it.
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Assessment Task Information
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Assessment title: |
Summative essay |
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Module Name: |
Management |
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Module Code: |
FC714 |
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Tutor’s Name: |
Sebastian Ludwicki-Ziegler (Module Coordinator) |
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Assessment will be set in: |
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Assessment is due in: |
9th May 2021 |
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Assessment weighting: |
25% |
Assessment Task Instructions:
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Core Task: You are required to write an essay on the following topic:
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Theory and/or task resources required for the assessment: It is recommended that you start your reading with the sources provided by the module coordinator (separately uploaded on VLE) and your seminar reading on communication. However, you are not allowed to reference more than two of those sources who are already provided. |
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Assessment reference style: Your referencing and your referencing list must comply with APA referencing conventions (see “Referencing Guide” document). |
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Expected word count: You are expected to write 1500 words (+/-20%). |
Learning Outcomes Assessed:
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The following learning outcomes are assessed in this task: 1. Define and explain key theories, concepts and characteristics of the contemporary business environment 2. Identify and analyse a variety of business practices and the challenges with which organisations operating in the contemporary business environment are presented
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Submission Requirements:
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Academic Integrity & Misconduct Information: Please use this link to access more information on academic integrity and misconduct: https://pathways.kaplaninternational.com/course/view.php?id=1940 Submission Guidelines: Submit an electronic copy of your assignment through Turnitin on the FC714 -A VLE page by 9th May 2021 at 23:59. If you have any technical difficulties please email your assignment to [email protected] with a screen shot of the error message you received. Please include your full name, student number, module code, group number and class teacher’s full name in the email. Alternative submissions will not be accepted after the deadline has passed. Prior to the deadline you may submit to Turnitin as many times as you wish. Late Submission: Late submissions should be submitted to the late submission Turnitin assignment on the FC714 -A VLE page. Penalties for Work Submitted late:
You must follow the following formatting guidelines:
· font size for text body 12 pts and regular formatting (headings & subheading can vary) · one of the following font types are allowed: Times New Roman, Calibri or Arial · referencing according to GIC referencing guide · font colour: black · background colour: white · margin of at least 3 cm to the left, the right and to the top and bottom of your page · spacing between paragraphs: 6 pts · line spacing: 1.5 · text alignment left or justified
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Assessment Mark:
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The assessment will be marked using six marking criteria: · Focus – Focus on key features of the communication process and barriers to communication, an appropriate case study is chosen. (10%) · Knowledge and understanding – Understanding of the communication process and the impact of communication barriers in the organisational context is demonstrated and appropriately exemplified (in general and in the case study). (50%) · Argument and critical analysis – Viewpoints are supported with appropriate examples and evidence. Concepts are applied and the actions of the organisation to deal with communication barriers critically evaluated. (25%) · Sources and referencing – The sources used are up to date and appropriately academic; referencing follows the GIC referencing guidelines. The number of sources used reflects a genuine research process. (10%) · Presentation, structure and writing style – How clearly and appropriately you use language to express your ideas, how effectively you use subject-specific vocabulary and how clearly you organise the ideas in your essay. (5%) |
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