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Chapter 13 Communication Processes. Learning Goals. Explain the basic communication processes of organizations Understand the effects of verbal and nonverbal communication Distinguish between the functions and dysfunctions of organizational communication. Learning Goals (Cont.).
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Learning Goals • Explain the basic communication processes of organizations • Understand the effects of verbal and nonverbal communication • Distinguish between the functions and dysfunctions of organizational communication
Learning Goals (Cont.) • Discuss the features of listening, especially of active listening • Describe ways to make communication processes more effective • Understand the effects of new technology on communication • Describe communication networks and the roles that can emerge within a network
Overview • Introduction • The Basic Communication Process • Types of Communication • Functions of Organizational Communication • Dysfunctions of Organizational Communication • Listening
Overview (Cont.) • Active Listening • Improving Communication Effectiveness in Organizations • Technology and communication • Communication Roles in Organizations • Communication Networks • International Aspects of Communication • Ethical Issues in Communication
Introduction “The word communication will be used here in a very broad sense to include all of the procedures by which one mind may affect another. This, of course, involves not only written and oral speech, but also music, the pictorial arts, the theatre, the ballet, and in fact all human behavior.” View of communication
Introduction (Cont.) • Quotation from opening of a classic work describing an early communication theory • Heart of the definition is in the first sentence • Communication in organizations tries to affect behavior of at least one other person
Introduction (Cont.) • Organizational communication • Purpose, flow, and direction of messages and media used for those messages • Another view of behavior in organizations • “Message behavior”: sending, receiving, and giving meaning to messages
Introduction (Cont.) • Organizational communication (cont.) • Happens over a pathway called a network • Formal: defined by formal organizational positions; relationships among those positions • Informal: patterns of informal social interaction; informal groups in the organization
Introduction (Cont.) • Organizational communication (cont.) • Communication in any direction: downward, upward, horizontal • Communication networks: interdependent, interlocking, overlapping systems of interaction
The BasicCommunication Process • Sender • Decides what message to send • Encodes it using symbols he or she assumes the receiver will understand • Converts message to a signal • Sends message over communication channel to receiver See text book Figure 13.1
The BasicCommunication Process (Cont.) • Communication channel • Person's voice • Electronic device • Written medium • Video medium
The BasicCommunication Process (Cont.) • Receiver • Decodes message and interprets its meaning • Responds to message by acting in a manner consistent with that interpretation
The BasicCommunication Process (Cont.) • Communication media • Telephone • E-mail • Letter or memorandum • Videoconference • Face-to-face meeting • Internet chat rooms
The BasicCommunication Process (Cont.) • Choosing medium • Written media for formality and a clear message • Face-to-face meeting to convey a sense of teamwork • E-mail use is largely based on availability and ease of use to the receiver
The BasicCommunication Process (Cont.) • Feedback loop • Interdependence between sender and receiver during communication process • Sender interprets the receiver’s response • Can send an additional message for clarification
The BasicCommunication Process (Cont.) • Noise: distortions, errors, and foreign material often affect the quality of the signal • Additions to the signal not intended by the sender • Surrounds entire communication process • Can make communication less effective • Diversity, domestic and international, adds additional noise
Types of Communication • Verbal communication: oral, written, electronic, video • Nonverbal communication: eye movements, gestures, facial expressions • Adds much of the feeling and emotion that a sender wants to give to a message • Often has more effect than verbal on the meaning receivers give a message
Types of Communication (Cont.) • Verbal communication • Oral communication • All forms of speech between a sender and receiver • Leaves no permanent, retrievable record of the message and response unless recorded • More effective than written when trying to affect receiver's opinion on some matter • Nonverbal communication can affect the final interpretation of the message
Types of Communication (Cont.) • Verbal communication (cont.) • American Sign Language (ASL) • Uses patterns of hand and finger movements for communication • Includes facial expressions and body movements to express emotions and distinguish sentence types • Country and regional differences in signing systems
Types of Communication (Cont.) • Verbal communication (cont.) • Written communication • Any form of handwriting, printed memo, or report • Includes messages sent over an electronic medium • Receiver's response is more delayed in written than in oral communication • Receiver must first read the message before interpreting and responding to it
Types of Communication (Cont.) • Verbal communication (cont.) • Written communication (Cont.) • Advantages over oral communication • Retrievable • Almost permanent • Comprehension is better because of rereading
Types of Communication (Cont.) • Verbal communication (cont.) • Electronic or video communication • Electronic and video communication becoming more important • E-mail, computer networks, fax machines, computer conferencing, videoconferencing • All now available as desktop systems
Types of Communication (Cont.) • Verbal communication (cont.) • Electronic or video communication (cont.) • Advantages • High speed transmission and reception • Accurate transmission of a message • Easy dispersal of the same message to people in scattered locations • Direct interaction and quick feedback
Types of Communication (Cont.) • Nonverbal communication • Behavior that communicates but does not use written or spoken words • Gestures • Posture • Seating position • Pitch of voice • Speed of speech • Physical environment . . .
Types of Communication (Cont.) • Nonverbal communication (cont.) • Combine verbal and nonverbal communication • Create unique communication style, often unknowingly • Can contradict, amplify, or complement verbal communication
Types of Communication (Cont.) • Nonverbal communication (cont.) • Physical aspects of the person • Voice: speed, fluency, references to self • Facial expressions: smile, frown • Gestures: hand movements • Body movements: distance • Posture: leaning forward
Types of Communication (Cont.) • Nonverbal communication (cont.) • Physical environment of communication • All aspects of using space, including distance between sender and receiver (proxemics) • North America: 5 1/2 to 8 feet between speakers • Latin America: closer than North America See the “International Aspects”section for more information.
Types of Communication (Cont.) • Nonverbal communication (cont.) • Time • Orientation to and meaning of time • North America: punctual • Latin America: less punctual • Swiss: precisely punctual • Arab cultures: last person to arrive is the most important See the “International Aspects”section for more information.
Types of Communication (Cont.) • Nonverbal communication (cont.) • Communication with signs and signals • Turn signals on motor vehicles, traffic control signals, caution flags of highway workers • Hand signals for guiding aircraft • Special situation: landing on an aircraft carrier
Functions of Organizational Communication • Share information • Mission • Strategies • Policies • Tasks, duties, responsibilities • Both inside and outside the organization
Functions of Organizational Communication (Cont.) • Feedback about performance • Reduces uncertainty • Integration and coordination of various functions • Especially important in global operations
Functions of Organizational Communication (Cont.) • Persuasion • Affecting the behavior of others • Often the focus of improvement in communication skills • Related to business presentations • Emotional expression: let employees express their feelings • Innovation. Communicate innovations to those inside and outside the organization
Dysfunctions of Organizational Communication • Selective perception • Receiver filters a message and then gives meaning to it • Block out information a receiver does not want to hear • Semantic problems • Different people have different meanings for words • “Good,” “average,” “Do your best” • Jargon: “burden”, “metrology”
Dysfunctions of Organizational Communication (Cont.) • Distortion of messages: different frames of reference because of background • Filter messages • Intentional: sender is concerned about receiver’s reaction • Unintentional: sender does not fully know what she or he wants to say
Dysfunctions of Organizational Communication (Cont.) • Information overload • Too much information to process accurately • Related to time available • Message timing • Too short of time • Too early
Listening • Different from hearing • Hearing is a physiological process of detecting and processing sounds • Listening: mental process of assigning meaning to sounds • Communication professionals view it as a primary skill for success • People spend about 50 percent of their time listening
Listening (Cont.) • Intrapersonal and interpersonal activities • Person receives message from another person (interpersonal) • Tries to interpret it (intrapersonal) • Responds to other person to show meaning given to message (interpersonal)
Active Listening • Listener is responsible for the completeness of a speaker's message • Listener's role is not passive • Absorbing spoken message • Deriving meaning from it • Accurately hear facts in message • Understand speaker's feelings about message
Active Listening (Cont.) • Deliberate effort to understand a message from speaker's viewpoint • Meaning of message includes both content and speaker’s feelings • Listener attends to all verbal and nonverbal cues • Listener may ask questions for clarification • Listener may rephrase speaker’s message
ImprovingCommunication Effectiveness • Sender • Understand receiver’s background • Culture • Education • Social status • Professional or technical training
ImprovingCommunication Effectiveness (Cont.) • Sender (cont.) • Avoid jargon • Knowledge of receiver helps sender form messages with content that communicates • Take special care when communicating with people from other cultures • Applies to oral communication, written communication, and nonverbal communication
ImprovingCommunication Effectiveness (Cont.) • Sender (cont.) • Ask for oral or written feedback to a message • Gives sender observations on receiver's perception and interpretation of message • Formal training • Improve written and oral communication • Improve sender's effectiveness
ImprovingCommunication Effectiveness (Cont.) • Receiver • Knowing and understanding sender • Ask sender for clarification of jargon • Receiver's knowledge of self • Using jargon introduces noise • Can distort messages received
ImprovingCommunication Effectiveness (Cont.) • Receiver (cont.) • Receiver's perceptual process: alters sender’s meaning of messages • Ask sender to clarify message • State understanding of message; sender can react to that interpretation
ImprovingCommunication Effectiveness (Cont.) • Message • Simple concise messages • Language shared by sender and receiver • Problem: jargon, in-group language, foreign language Simple concise sentences, in language shared by thesender and receiver, are more effective than longcomplex messages riddled with jargon.
ImprovingCommunication Effectiveness (Cont.) • Message (Cont.) • Electronic message systems lack nonverbal communication • Emoticons ("smileys") add feelings and emotions to text messages
ImprovingCommunication Effectiveness (Cont.) • Medium • Little noise for effective communication • Multiple channels • Written memo follows an oral message • Meet with receiver to discuss memo
ImprovingCommunication Effectiveness (Cont.) • Medium (Cont.) • People perceive high-contrast objects faster than low-contrast objects (see Chapter 5) • Introduce high contrast into messages by using paper or ink of different colors than normal • Change the setting in which an oral message is sent
Technology and Communication • Major changes from fiber optics and new satellites • Digital cellular telephone: easy communication around the world • Wireless facsimile devices and modems • Laptop or notepad computers with digital cellular facsimile devices and modems • Unprecedented flexibility and mobility of communication