2. ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION
DEFINED
• Organizational Communication Definitions -
Handout
• “Communication is the basis for the way in which
an organization functions”
• Communication plays a critical role in most every
aspect of organizational life
• A business is a group of people organized around a
common goal
• Organization - Greek origins
– Organon - “tool” or “instrument”
– Communication is both the means by which the tool or
instrument (the organization) is created and sustained
and the prime coordinating mechanism for activity
designed to attain personal and organizational goals.
3. ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION DEFINED
• “…the process of creating, exchanging, interpreting
(correctly or incorrectly), and storing messages
within a system of human interrelationships.”
• “…the exchange of oral, nonverbal, and written
messages within (and across the boundaries of) a
system of interrelated and interdependent people
working to accomplish common tasks and goals
within an organization.”
• MESSAGE-CENTERED DEFINITION
4. MESSAGES
• “…nonrandom verbal symbolizations.”
• “…a use of language (written or spoken)
that the recipient interprets as having
been created intentionally.”
5. ASSUMPTIONS AND FEATURES OF
ORGANIZATIONAL
COMMUNICATION
• Communication is central to the existence
of the organization
• Organizational communication is a
complex process (creating, exchanging,
interpreting, and storing messages)
• Misunderstandings occur
6. WHAT IS AN ORGANIZATION?
“AN ORGANIZATION IS A GROUP OF PEOPLE WORKING TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE A COMMOL GOAL, “
BE IT :
POLITICAL,
PROFESSIONAL,
RELIGIOUS,
ATHLETIC,
SOCIAL, OR
ANY OTHER PURPOSE
WHOSE ACTIVITIES REQUIRE THEM TO INTERACT – COMMUNICATE.
INDEED COMMUNICATION MUST HAVE OCCURRED BEFORE A
COMMON GOAL COULD EVEN BE ESTABLISHED
7. WHAT IS AN ORGANIZATION?
A WALK THROUGH THE HALLS OF A CONTEMPORARY
ORGANIZATION SHOWS MANAGERS / ADMINSTRATORS
AND EMPLOYEES :
READING REPORTS
DRAFTING e-MAIL MESSAGES – DICTATING CORRESPONDENCE
ATTENDING MEETINGS
CONDUCTING INTERVIEWS
TALKING ON THE PHONE
CONFERING WITH SUBORDINATES
MAKING PRESENTATIONS
8. WHAT IS AN ORGANIZATION?
IN SHORT PEOPLE ARE SEEN COMMUNICATING -
ORGANIZATIONS FACILITATE :
EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION,
GENERATION OFIDEAS,
MAKING OF PLANS,
ORDERING OF SUPPLIES,
TAKING DECISIONS,
FOLLOWING RULES AND PROCEEDURES,
MAKING PROPOSALS,
SUGNING CONTRACTS AND
REACHING AGREEMENTS ETC.
9. COMMON THEMES IN ORGANIZATIONAL
COMMUNICATION
• “The use of language as a symbolic means of inducing
cooperation in beings that by nature respond to symbols,
constitutes our disciplinary foundation . . . A concern with
collective action, agency, messages, symbols, and discourse.”
Mumby & Stohl
• How messages are sent and understood through the use of
language, forms the basis of communication in general and
organizational communication specifically.
10. ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION:
WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?
• Better equipped to address contemporary workplace
issues.
– Development of a temporary workforce
– Implementation of teams
– Adoption of new technologies
– Multiculturalism
• Trained to focus on the complex and collaborative
nature of communicating, organizing and knowing.
11. ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION:
WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?
• More articulate about ideas.
• Understand the task of organizing
individuals, groups, projects, and thoughts.
• Knowing/Learning how to learn.
12. PREVALENCE OF
MISUNDERSTANDINGS
• Paradigms
• More levels of hierarchy
• More work teams with more members
• Cultural, age, sex, gender, religious, and value differences
• Power struggles
• Sub- and counter organizational cultures
• Competition for scarce resources
• Impersonal communication media
13. ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION
EVERY MANAGEMENT FUNCTION AND ACTIVITY :
PLANNING, FORECASTING
CONTROLLING, PLANNING PLANNING
DECISION MAKING, ORGANISING ORGANISING
LEADERSHIP AND DIRECTING INSTRUCTING
STAFFING, COORDINATING COORDINATING
BUDGETING CONTROLLING
CAN BE CONSIDERED COMMUNICATION – ORGANIZATIONAL
PERFORMANCE CORRELATES DIRECTLY WITH THE QUALITY OF
COMMUNICATION.
AN AVERAGE MANAGER SPENDS MORE TIME IN COMMUNICATING THAN
DOING ANYTHING ELSE.
14. ORGANISATIONAL BENEFITS OF EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATIONS
– INCREASES PRODUCTIVITY
– HELPS ANTICIPATE PROBLEMS
– ENCOURAGES DECISION MAKING
– ASSISTS COORDINATE WORKFLOW
– IMPROVES SUPERVISION
– STRENGTHENS RELATIONSHIPS
– IMPROVES UNDERSTANDING IN THE WORKPLACE IN GENERAL
15. INFLUENCE OF ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE
ON COMMUNICATION
• ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE
– FORMALLY PRESCRIBED PATTERN OF INTER-
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE VARIOUS UNITS OF AN
ORGANIZATION
– THE NATURE AND FORM OF COMMUNICATION
VARVARIES GREATLY AS A FUNCTION OF PEOPLE’S
RELATIVE POSITION WITH AN ORGANIZATION
• ORGANIZATION CHART
– DIAGRAM SHOWING THE FORMAL STRUCTURE OF AN
ORGANIZATION AND INDICATING WHO IS TO
COMMUNICATE WITH WHOM
16. INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
• DETERMINATION OF TASKS, PRINCIPLES AND
OBJECTIVES
• ANALYSIS OF THE EMPLOYEES’ KNOWLEDGE AND
IMAGE OF THE ORGANIZATION
• DETERMINATION OF FOCUS AREAS IN DEVELOPING
COMMUNICATION
• RESPONSIBILITIES AND RESOURCES
18. THE ROLE OF COMMUNICATION IN
ORGANIZATIONS
key purposes:
• Direct action: to get others to behave in
desired fashion
• Achieve coordinated action
Systematic sharing of information
+ interpersonal side with the focus on
interpersonal relations between people
19. COMMUNICATION
• The social glue … that continues to keep the
organization tied together
• The essence of organization
• A key process underlying all aspects of
organizational operations
Properly managing communication processes
is central to organizational functioning
20. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE:
DIRECTING THE FLOW OF MESSAGES
Organizational structure:
• The formally prescribed pattern of
interrelationships existing between the
various units of an organization
• Dictating who may and may not
communicate with whom
• Abstract construction
• Depicted in Organizational Charts
22. ORGANIZATION CHART AND FORMAL
COMMUNICATIONS
SECRETARY Instructions
Information and Directives
Downward Communication
AS Sr. JS/JS
Upward Communication
DS DS DS DS
SO SO
Horizontal Communication
Efforts at Coordination
23. FORMAL COMMUNICATION
• The process of sharing official
information with others who need to
know it.
• According to the prescribed patterns
depicted in an organization chart.
24. FORMAL COMMUNICATION
President
Instructions and directives
Information
Vice Vice
President President
Manager Manager Manager Manager
Efforts at coordination
25. FORMAL COMMUNICATION
• Downward communication:
– instructions, directions, orders
– feedback
• Upward communication:
– data required to complete projects
– status reports
– suggestions for improvement, new ideas
• Horizontal communication:
– coordination of cooperation
26. CENTRALIZED NETWORKS
• One central person
• Unequal access to information
• Central person is at the “crossroads” of the
information flow
33. INFORMAL COMMUNICATION
STRUCTURES
• Deviation from the planned communication
structure
– Direction of the flow of information
– Leaving out people in the communication line
– Integrating people into the communication line
34. Informal Networks
E
C
K
H
Y G I
X
F B D
J
D E
G
J
D F H I B I
C C A
B J Probability
B A K D
Gossip C F
A Cluster A
Chain
37. INFORMAL COMMUNICATION
information shared without any formally imposed obligations or
restrictions
if an organization’s formal communication represents its
skeleton, its informal communication constitutes its central
nervous system
“grapevine“
– An organization’s informal channels of communication,
based mainly on friendship or acquaintance
– origin: American Civil War [grapevine telegraphs]
38. “Grapevine“
1. a secret means of spreading or
receiving information
2. the informal transmission of
(unofficial) information, gossip
or rumor from person-to-person ->
"to hear about something through
the grapevine"
3. a rumor: unfounded report; hearsay
39. GRAPEVINE CHARACTERISTICS
• Oral mostly undocumented
• Open to change
• Fast (hours instead of days)
• Crossing organizational boundaries
40. GRAPEVINE CHARACTERISTICS
• Inaccuracy:
– Levelling
Deletion of crucial details
– Sharpening
Exaggeration of the most dramatic details
while the grapevine generally carries the
truth it seldom carries the whole truth
41. GRAPEVINE FIGURES
• 70% of all organizational communication
occurs at the grapevine level
• Estimated accuracy rates: 75-90%
• The incorrect part might change the meaning
of the whole message though
• An estimated 80% of grapevine information is
oriented toward the individual while 20%
concerns the company
42. Factors Influencing Grapevine Activity
I
According to Gordon Allport:
• Importance of the subject for both listener and speaker
• Ambiguousness of the facts
Formula:
R=ixa
“R“: intensity of the rumor
“i“: importance of the rumor to the persons
“a“: ambiguity of the facts associated with the rumor
43. FACTORS INFLUENCING GRAPEVINE
ACTIVITY II
Employees rely on the grapevine when:
• They feel threatened,
• Insecure,
• Under stress
• When there is pending change
• When communication from management is
limited
44. Positive Aspects of the Grapevine
• Social function
• Reduction of anxiety
• Release mechanism for stress
• Identification of pending problems
• Early warning system for organizational change
• Vehicle for creating a common organizational culture
• Desired information can be circulated quickly to a large
group of subordinates (inofficially!)
45. COPING OR MANAGING THE
GRAPEVINE
“the grapevine cannot be abolished,
rubbed out, hidden under a basket,
chopped down, tied up, or stopped“
Don‘t try to control or restrict it
Use it to supplement formal channels
46. “TAPPING“ THE GRAPEVINE
• Identify and make use of key communicators
( bridgers)
• Monitor what is happening in the
organization
• Use the grapevine to give new ideas a “trial
run“
47. PREVENTING RUMORS
• Provide information through the formal
system of communication on the issues
important to the employees
• Supply employees with a steady flow of
clear, accurate and timely information
• Present full facts
• Keep formal communication lines open
and the process as short as possible
48. IMPROVING UPWARD COMMUNICATION
• FORMAL GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES
• EMPLOYEE ATTITUDE AND OPINION SURVEYS
• SUGGESTION SYSTEMS
• OPEN-DOOR POLICY
• INFORMAL GRIPE SESSIONS
• TASK FORCES
• EXIT INTERVIEWS
49. THREE SKILLS NEEDED TO BE A GOOD MANAGER
Interpersonal Skills
Oral Presentation
Managerial Skills
Writing
50. Max Weber: Theory of Bureaucracy
• Organization is a system of purposeful
interpersonal activity designed to
coordinate tasks.
• Power is the ability of a person to
influence others and overcome resistance.
• Legitimate authority is power authorized
formally by the organization.
• Bureaucratic authority is power vested in
supervisors and managers by virtue of
rules.
51. THEORETICAL PRIORITIES IN
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION
• 1940s: What effects do downward directed communications
have upon employees?
• 1950s: How do small-group networks affect organizational
performance and members’ attitudes and behaviors?
• 1960s: What do organizational members perceive to be
communication correlates of “good” supervision?
• 1970s: What are the communication components and
correlates of organizational communication climates?
What are the characteristics and distribution of “key”
communication roles within organizational networks?
• ‘til now: Organizations are a system of interdependent
variables.
– What are the strategic parts of the system?
– What is the nature of their mutual dependency?
– What are the main processes in the system which link the parts
together and facilitate their adjustment to each other?
– What are the goals sought by the system?
52. GORDON LIPPITT’S ORGANIZATIONAL HEALTH
• Task dimensions
– Goal focus
– Communication adequacy
– Optimum power utilization
• Social dimensions
– Resource utilization
– Cohesiveness
– Morale
• Growth dimensions
– Innovativeness
– Autonomy
– Adaptation
– Problem-solving adequacy
53.
54. PETER F. DRUCKER’S KEY LEADERSHIP
• Key leadership tasks must be done if the
organization is to be successful.
• On the other hand, the organization
cannot function unless the routine tasks
are taken care of as well.
• The answer, of course, is effective
delegation of these routine tasks so the
key leaders have time for their genuinely
more important responsibilities.
55. Key Leadership Tasks
• Thinking through the mission of the
organization
• Setting the standards and good examples
• Building the human organization
• Relating to the “public”
• Perform “ceremonial” functions
• Attend to crisis after crisis whenever
necessary
56. REQUIREMENTS FOR KEY LEADERSHIP
• Analysis of key leadership tasks
• Key leadership tasks assigned
• Key leadership team
• Delegation of operating tasks
57. Motivation
• Motivation an be defined as the will to do, the urge to
achieve goals, the drive to excel.
• It is also the degree to which a person wants and
chooses to engage in certain behaviours. All
behaviour is motivated the performance of a task is
the product of ability and motivation.
• Motivation is concerned both with why people
choose to do one thing rather than another and also
with the amount of effort or intensity of action that
people put into their activities.
58. INFLUENCES OF MOTIVAION
• VALUES: They affect the types of activity that people will find
appealing and secondly they influence people`s motivation
towards specific outcomes such as money, power and prestige.
• BELIEFS: people must believe that what is required of them is
possible to achieve and also they need to believe that by
performing well, they will personally benefit from their efforts.
• ATTITUDES: A person with a positive attitude towards the
organisation will be more likely to come to work regularly.
• NEEDS
• GOALS: A goal provides a target to am at,something to aspire
to and goals provide a standard of performance.
59. THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
• CONTENT THEORIES: Content theories are sometimes
known as “need” theories and focus on the needs served
by work. The motivation of a person depends on the
strength of their needs.
Motivating Force Activity Goal Achieved
Perceived
(Tension)
needs
Main content theories are:
• Maslow`s Needs Hierarchy
• Herzberg`s two-factor theory
• McClelland`s achievement motivation
60. THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
• PROCESS THEORIES: process theories focus on the goals
and processes by which workers are motivated. They
attempt to explain and describe how people start, sustain
and direct behaviour aimed at the satisfaction of needs or
the elimination or reduction of inner tension.
Main process theories are:
• Victor Vroom-Expectancy theory
• Adam`s Equity theory
• McGregor`s Theory X and Theory Y
• Ouchi`s theory Z
62. MASLOW’S THEORY
“We each have a hierarchy of needs that ranges
from "lower" to "higher." As lower needs are
fulfilled there is a tendency for other, higher
needs to emerge.”
Daniels, 2004
63. MASLOW’S THEORY
Maslow’s theory maintains that a person
does not feel a higher need until the needs of
the current level have been satisfied.
Maslow's basic needs are as follows:
64. Basic Human Needs
• Food
• Air
• Water
• Clothing
• Sex
Physiological Needs
69. MASLOW`S THEORY
He identified a hierarchy of human needs which individuals
pursue in a predicted sequence. Maslow showed how an
individual`s emphasis moved from basic to the higher needs as
satisfaction at the lower level occurred.
• BASIC NEEDS
• SAFETY NEEDS
• SOCIAL NEEDS
• EGO NEEDS
• SELF-FULFILMENT NEEDS
70. HERTZBERG`S THEORY OF MOTIVATION
• In the late 1950s he developed his 2-factor theory from interviewing 200
engineers and accountants about events at work. The replies led him to
conclude that there are two important factors in work situations:
1. Satisfiers (or Motivators)
2. Dissatisfiers (or Hygiene factors)
• He pointed out that the motivating factors were related to the content f
works while hygiene factors relate to the context of work. Hygiene actors
are purely preventive.
Motivating Factors Hygiene factors
•Achievement •Company policy& Information
•Recognition •Salary and working condition
•The work itself •Interpersonal relations
•Responsibility •Technical aspects of supervision
•Advancement
72. VICTOR VROOM-EXPECTANCY THEORY
• Vroom believes that people will be motivated to do things to
reach a goal if they believe in the worth of that goal and if they
can see that what they do will help them in achieving it.
FORCE = VALANCE EXPECTANCY, Where FORCE is the strength of a person`s
motivation.
Valance =The strength of an individual`s preference for an outcome.
Expectancy =The probability that a particular action will lead to a desired
outcome.
When a person is indifferent about achieving a certain goal, a valance of
zero occurs. Likewise, a person would have no motivation to achieve a goal
if the expectancy were zero.
The heart of the theory is that an individual`s performance is the result f a
number of factors –perception about the situation, the worker`s place in
the organisation and their role etc.
73. ADAM`S EQUITY THEORY
• Equity theory focuses on people`s feelings of how fairly they
have been treated in comparison with the treatment
received by others.
• Adam`s argues that inequities exist whenever people feel
that the rewards obtained for their efforts are unequal to
those received by others. Unequities can led followng
situation:
1. Changing work input
2. Changing reward received
3. Leaving the situation
4. Changing the reference group
5. Psychologically distorting the comparisons
74. MCGREGO`S THEORY X AND THEORY Y
• Theory X-assumes that the average human being has
an inherent dislike of work and will avoid it if
possible. Therefore, they prefer to be directed, wishes
to avoid responsibility, less ambition.
• Theory Y is the integration of individual and
organisational goals. It focuses on:
*Expenditure of physical and mental efforts
*Commitment to objectives
*High degree of imagination
* Self-direction and self-control
75. OUCHI`S THEORY Z
Theory Z type of company developed based on findings
from American owned and Japanese owned
multinationals. main Characteristics are:
• Long-term employment
• Slow evaluation and promotion
• Moderately specialised careers-which may not change
• Consensual decision making
• Individual responsibility
• Implicit informal control –but with very explicit measures
• Concern for the employee
76. STAFF MOTIVATION
• PARTICIPATION
• QUALITY OF WORK LIFE
• JOB DESIGN
• JOB ENRICHMENT
• JOB ENLARGEMENT
• JOB ROTATION
• RECOGNITION
• ENCOURAGEMENT
78. INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
THE ABILITY TO RELATE TO
COLLEAGUES
•CUSTOMERS,
•INSPIRE OTHERS,
•RESOLVE CONFLICTS,
•BE TACTFUL,
•UNDERSTAND CULTURES,
•AND SHOW DIPLOMACY.
79. INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
THIS REQUIRES
UNDERSTANDING THE ABILITY OF PEOPLE.
ABILITY TO RESOLVE CONFLICT IN WAYS THAT PROVIDE
OPPORTUNITIES FOR POSITIVE
GROWTH.
ABILITY TO GET ALONGWITH PEOPLE.
ABILITY TO MAINTAIN AN OPENNESS TO NEW IDEAS.
ABILITY TO WORK COOPERATIVELY WITH
OTHERS.
80. INTERPERSONAL SKILLS AND THE ORGANIZATION
IN TODAY’S BUSINESS WORLD ORGANIZATIONS
DO NOT COMPETE WITH THEIR PRODUCTS
THEY COMPETE THROUGH USING THEIR MOST
VALUABLE RESOURCE, THEIR PEOPLE, TO
MAXIMUM EFFECT
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS ARE VITAL TO ALLOW
THIS TO HAPPEN
81. ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
• THE ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT OF HOW
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS ARE USED CAN BE
SHOWN BY THE VAST NUMBER OF
INTERPERSONAL INTERACTIONS SUCH AS:
Meetings Coaching
Delegation Problem Solving
Motivation Selling
Facilitation Leading
82. INTERPERSONAL SKILLS AND THE
ORGANIZATION
Working Together
Technical & Emotional
Competence
Traditional Assets
Emotional Capital
Knowledge Capital
83. WORKING TOGETHER
• THE SUCCESS OF AN ORGANIZATION IS
DEPENDENT UPON THE PEOPLE WITHIN IT
WORKING WELL TOGETHER
• INTERNALLY
– IN TEAMS
– ACROSS TEAMS
– WITHIN AND BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS AND
BUSINESS UNITS
• EXTERNALLY
– WITH SUPPLIERS
– WITH CUSTOMERS
84. WORKING TOGETHER
• TAKE THE RELATIONSHIP VIEWPOINT:
– EFFECTIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN THE
ORGANIZATION
– EFFECTIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH SUPPLIERS
– EFFECTIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH COMPETITORS
• TO GAIN REAL COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
THROUGH SUCH RELATIONSHIPS IN THE
LONG TERM IS DEPENDENT UPON ONES
LEVEL OF INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
85. TECHNICAL V EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE
• TECHNICAL COMPETENCE ALLOWS YOU TO GET
TO THE STARTING LINE IN TERMS OF DEALING
WITH:
– CUSTOMERS
– COLLEAGUES
– SUPPLIERS
TECHNICAL COMPETENCE IS AN ‘EXPECTED’
• EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE -THE ABILITY TO
READ, UNDERSTAND AND INTERACT WITH
PEOPLE IS WHAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE IN THE
LONG TERM
86. Tactful Conversations
T = Think before you speak
A = Apologize quickly when you blunder
C = Converse, don’t compete
T = Time your comments
F = Focus on behavior – not personality
U = Uncover hidden feelings
L = Listen to feedback
87. A Matter of Attitude
Go For It Let’s Both Win
Let’s Trade
Confidence
Run Away Yes Boss
Confidence
88. INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION RAINBOW
Socratic
HIGH direction
I facilitating teaching
N discussion
T
E brainstorming demonstrating
R
A
C process
monitoring presenting
T
I
O
N
Contribution to Content
LOW HIGH
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