CHAPTER 20



CHAPTER 19COMMUNICATIONLearning ObjectivesAfter reading this chapter, the student should be able to:Describe how effective and ineffective communication can influence an organization.Outline the components of interpersonal communication and describe different styles of communication.Explain how managers build credibility in an organization and how communication is used to persuade teams.Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the different mediums and channels of communication.Describe the ways in which communication processes should be modified or adapted to fit different cultural situations.Chapter OutlineIntroduction Interpersonal CommunicationVerbal and Nonverbal CommunicationCommunication StylesGender Differences in CommunicationImproving Interpersonal CommunicationUsing Communication to PersuadeStorytellingOrganizational CommunicationCommunication MediaCommunication ChannelsCommunication NetworksCommunication BreakdownsCross-Cultural CommunicationSummarySelf-Reflection: Evaluate Your Communication Skills This self-reflection is designed to assess the effectiveness of students’ communication skills. The assessment accentuates communication as an important management skill and serves as a vehicle for planning, inspiring, and directing behavior.This assessment is based upon a 5-point scale; fifty points is the highest possible score.Self-Reflection QuestionCommunication SkillQ1 Am an active listener.Q2Knows how to use nonverbal cues to communicate.Q3Excels at interpersonal communication.Q4Builds a compelling case for a stance through written communication and the use of data.Q5Aware of cultural differences and adapts communication style in cross-cultural interactions.Q6Adapts vocal tone to the communication situation.Q7Communicates in a professional manner when using email and social media.Q8Excels at making speeches.Q9Aware of the importance of managing impressions when communicating with others.Q10Knows how to probe and ask questions when communicating with others.After completing the assessment, students can reflect upon which communication skills they would like to improveComprehensive Lecture OutlineI.Introduction. Great leaders are able to articulate a strategy and vision that is compelling to a group of followers. Long-term success depends on building and reinforcing a collective purpose or shared vision which in turn depends on clear, persistent, and meaningful messages. Communication consists of using sounds, words, pictures, symbols, gestures, and body language to exchange information. It is a two-way process of conveying, exchanging, processing, and evaluating information.Class Activity: Use the case below as an opportunity to allow students to apply concepts from the chapter. Suggestion: You could ask them to do this case as individuals or in teams as a class activity. Have the students read the case presented in the text and answer the included questions.Case In Point: Oprah Winfrey What life experiences and aspirations influenced Oprah Winfrey’s communication style?As a teen, Oprah Winfrey’s career goal was to become a journalist. When she won a contest, Oprah was offered a job as a newscaster because she was able to read the news with ease and clarity. Why does Oprah Winfery’s communication style resonate with her audience?Oprah Winfrery’s communication style resonates with her audience because she is willing to relate with her guests and show her vulnerability. In addition, she shares her passions and encourages viewers to take control of their lives by appreciating themselves and developing strategies for handling life’s challenges.Why was community building a core aspect of Oprah Winfrey’s communication style?Community building was a core aspect of Oprah Winfrey’s communication style because it enabled her to connect viewers to new ideas and to one another. This created an interactive experience for the audience and motivated positive actions.How was Oprah Winfrery’s communication style a source of innovation that transformed the viewing of television programs?Oprah Winfrery’s open, direct, and empathetic style enabled her to communicate with a broad array of constituents. This opened up new windows for viewers because they could identify with Oprah.II.Interpersonal Communication. Communication that occurs in one-on-one or small group settings and relies on a number of personal characteristics, including the ability to be self-aware, to relate well to others, to be persuasive, to listen, and to reflect. A.Verbal and Nonverbal Communication. Verbal: the use of sounds, letters, words, pictures, and symbols to convey a message. Nonverbal: the use of body language, vocal qualities, and space and objects to convey meaning to messages. BCommunication Styles. The ways in which someone interacts with and delivers information to others when communicating, 1.Openness. The ease with which individuals show emotions and are emotionally accessible to other people when they communicate. 2.Directness. The amount of control an individual attempts to exercise in organizational situations. 3.Listening. The extent to which the receiver of the message hears what the speaker/sender intended. Types of listeners are as follows.a.Passive listeners refrain from making any verbal or nonverbal responses when someone else is talking. b.Attentive listeners consciously try to focus on what the speaker is saying by not letting their minds wander. c.Interactive listeners react verbally and nonverbally to what theyare hearing. d.Empathetic listeners are both reactive and participative. They attempt to share with the speaker the feelings and concerns that underlie the message by counseling the speaker.C.Gender Differences in Communication. Studies of communication styles and approaches of men and women have revealed some significant differences. 1.In general, men tend to value status and hierarchy more than women do; they tend to prefer speaking opportunities that accentuate their positionof power. Men tend to avoid situations that place them at a disadvantage or in a lower-status position, which may explain why men often refrain from asking questions or seeking information from others.2.Women tend to pay less attention to power dynamics in their communication, preferring to focus on building rapport and collaboration among individuals. Women focus on relationship building and do so by asking questions, sharing information, and expressing interest in others. They tend to be more democratic in their leadership approach; consequently, they do not always take or are not always given credit for what they do. Compared to men, women also tend to spend more time communicating up in an organization.D.Improving Interpersonal Communication. To communicate more effectively with others, Goffman proposed that all communicators learn to “save the show.” The following must be done in an effort to save the show. 1.Employees must make themselves understood and ask for clarification when messages are unclear.2.We need to ask the right questions, make suggestions, and be open to other people’s opinions and perspectives. 3.Our internal biases and expectations often make it easy to jump to conclusions about what is being communicated. Everyone has a mental model of how and why people act the way they do. Unfortunately, our mental models are sometimes based on faulty logic. People unconsciously go through the following 7-step process called the ladder of influence to draw conclusions.a.People look at observable data (that is, the way an individual acts in a certain situation).b.They select and focus on some aspect of the data.c.They add meaning to this data based on their mental model of the world, which can include cultural and personal impressions.d.They make assumptions about the data based on the meaningsthat were added.e.They draw conclusions from these assumptions.f.They adopt beliefs and make generalizations from these conclusions.g.They take actions based on these beliefs and generalizations.4.The ladder enables an individual to quickly process information and make connections based on past experiences or knowledge. 5.One key way to avoid the dangers associated with the ladder of inference is to engage in active listening and supportive communication. a.Active listening involves two primary activities: seeking to understand the perspective of the speaker and reflecting that understanding back to him or her. b.Supportive communication includes offering advice and suggestions (advising), relating similar experiences (deflecting),asking follow-up questions for clarification (probing), and reiterating the main points (reflecting).III.Using Communication to Persuade. Persuasion: A process by which an individual or a group captures an audience and influences, changes, or reinforces their perspectives, opinions, and behaviors. The following are guidelines for enhancing the use of persuasion.Keep messages simple.Make the message real and give others the information they need to make a decision.Listen before speaking.Channel fear into excitement by encouraging others to provide input.Repeat the message personally and consistently.Choose your words carefully.The art of persuasion dates back to the early days of democracy and Aristotle. The three essential elements of communication to be logos, pathos, and ethos. Logos refers to the logic used in a message or the facts that need to be conveyed. In essence, it is the rationale for action. Pathos is the passion demonstrated for the argument. The goal of pathos is to make an emotional connection with the audience; in other words, it is to appeal to their hearts,not just their minds. Ethos refers to the credibility of the speaker or communicator. Ethos is the extent to which the audience trusts and respects the person who is speaking. Ethos is derivedfrom a person’s reputation A.Storytelling. One of the most compelling ways to build a personal connection is through storytelling. The use of stories, metaphors, or analogies to convey certain messages or themes is a way to build an emotional connection betweenthe speaker and the audience.The Leadership Development JourneyFor this assignment, students are asked to consider storytelling as an effective leadership technique. Students should reflect upon a time when they have used storytelling as a vehicle for communicating and respond to the following questions.What was the setting for the story?Who were the main characters in the story?What was the plot of the story?How did you integrate the setting, characters, and plot to convey a message?How was the story received by your audience?Based upon their reflections, students should describe how they would use storytelling to communicate as a leader.anizational Communication. Communication systems are the formal and informal structures that facilitate how communication is transmitted throughout an organization. munication Media. The formats used to convey messages, including oral, written, and electronic. Network etiquette, or “netiquette" is defined as the following.1. Think before writing. Wait to respond to emotionally charged messages. 2.Avoid all capital letters in messages. This conveys yelling or screaming at the recipient.3.Read messages carefully before sending them. Check grammar, spelling, and tone.4.Be crisp and on point. E-mail is most effective when it is succinct.A Different View: Crisis Communication For this chapter’s A Different View, we recommend that the professor facilitate a discussion around how organizations communicate in a crisis situation. After this discussion, students can answer the following questions.What steps can be taken to handle a crisis situation?Identify an organization that faced negative publicity but has subsequently maintained their good reputation. What did they do right?Identify an organization that failed to successfully respond to a crisis. What should they have done different?munication Channels. The conduits used to deliver oral, written/print, and electronic media. The two types of communication channels in organizations today are vertical channels and horizontal channels. munication Networks. Formal and informal connections through which individuals use their relationships with others to send and receive messages.1.By size. Whole systems, cliques, and personal networks.2.By function. Production, maintenance, social connection, and innovation.3.By centrality and dominance. Formal with gatekeepers and informal as a grapevine.Class Activity: A film clip from The Paper has a scene that shows dysfunctional organizational communication in a newspaper office. The scene is titled: "Best Scene from the Paper" and can be found at . Have students evaluate the communication in the scene, using concepts and terms from the chapter.munication Breakdowns. Breakdowns in organizational communication can relate to how well the communication system has been designed to accommodate stress. An organization can employ specific strategies to preventor productively address breakdowns in communication systems, including an audit of communication protocols. A communication audit allows organizations to improve the way in which they respond to routine, nonroutine, or crisiscircumstances. An effective communication audit includes the following.1.Employee focus groups or interviews. 2.Questionnaires and surveys. work analysis.munication logs.5.Content analysis of publications, manuals, and handbooks. 6.Technology or media analysis. V.Cross-Cultural Communication. A person needs to be mindful of the cultural differences in cross-cultural communication. For communication to be effective, the words, pictures, and symbols must be intelligible for everyone involved. To bridge linguistic and communication differences, individuals can:1.Enunciate and speak slower.2.Avoid slang, colloquialisms, and profanity.3.Be careful about telling jokes that may be culturally sensitive.4.Use plenty of white space in e-mail communications.5.Use correct titles and given names.6.Be careful about numbers. For example, the numbers 1 and 7 are written differently in different countries.7.Be careful with dates. Some countries write the day of the month first, while others write the month first (for example, 1 March 2012 versus March 1, 2012; 01/03/12 versus 03/01/12).8.Be sincere and communicate openly with someone you trust when you are unclear of linguistic or cultural standards.Discussion TopicsWhat can individuals do to reduce "noise" in a communication exchange?How does the situational context impact the way in which messages are delivered and received? Consider different situational contexts—start-up situations, crises, business turnarounds. In what ways, if any, should a leader change his or her communication style? Under what situation is it better to be more direct or to be more self-contained?What non-verbal communication tools can an individual use to convey meaning to his or her message? On the receiving end, what can the listener do both verbally and non-verbally to signal comprehension? Many studies have highlighted the differences in the way in which men and women communicate. What accounts for these differences? Why do both men and women hold negative perceptions about women who attempt to speak more in meetings? Why is that not the case for men? Do you think that this will change? If so, how?How can the ladder of inference lead to miscommunications and misunderstandings? In what ways can an individual ensure that his or her impact (what is conveyed or interpreted by the receiver) matches his or her intent (what he or she hopes to convey)? In what ways can one enhance his or her credibility as a speaker?Why are stories such a powerful form of communication? Think of a story that has resonated with you. Why did it have an impact? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different mediums of communication—oral, written, and electronic? As companies rely more and more on social media, what should concern them? What are the potential communication challenges with social media? What are the advantages? In what ways is gossip helpful in communicating a company's culture or values? If you were designing a communications’ training program for a company that is embarking on a global strategy, how would you approach the task? What would you include in the training program? How would you measure success?AssignmentsManagement ResearchFor this assignment, students should find a written speech that includes data (e.g., financial, productivity, sales, or trends) and was delivered by the leader of an organization. Students should discuss the following.Who was the audience for the speech?How did the leader use and interpret the data?What conclusions did the leader make about the data?Did the leader build trust or use expertise to persuade the audience?How would you evaluate the effectiveness of the speech?For this assignment, students should research a recent crisis and assess how the leaders communicated during the crisis situation. Their analysis should discuss the following.The organization took responsibility for the crisis.The organization built trust with stakeholders.The organization communicated a plan for resolving the crisis.In the FieldFor this assignment, students should conduct a communication audit of their university and evaluate the following components of the university’s communication practices.News and event notifications.Inspirational and persuasive anizational change and strategic initiative announcements.Students, staff, and faculty inter-communication.External stakeholder messaging.Social media usage. Stakeholder opinion surveys and questionnaires. Based on this audit, students should discuss what they learned about the university’s communication strategy and develop a set of recommendations. This page intentionally left blank. ................
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