Organization and Management

1. Communication in Organizations
Chapter
12

2. Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.
2
Communication
 How manager’s job require communication
 What is communication?
 A model of communication
 Communication channels
 Communicating to persuade and influence others
 Communicating with candour
Topics
Chapter 12

3. Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.
Personal Networking
 Is an important skill for managers because it
enables them to get things done more rapidly
than they could do in isolation.
3

4. Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.
4
The Manager as
Communication Champion
Strategic conversation refers to people talking across boundaries and hierarchical levels about
the team or organization's vision, critical strategic themes and the values that help achieve
important goals
External
Information
Internal
Information
Manager as
Communication Champion
Purpose-Directed
Direct attention to
vision, values, desired
outcomes
Influence employee
behavior
Strategic Conversations
Open communication
Listening
Dialogue
Feedback
Methods
Rich channels
Upward, downward,
& horizontal channels
Nonverbal
communication
Personal networks

5. Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.
5
Communication
 In today’s turbulent environment, crisis
communication is at the top of
everyone’s needed-skills list.
 Effective communication, both within the
organization and with people outside the
company, is a major challenge and
responsibility for managers

6. Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.
6
What is Communication?
 Process by which information is exchanged
and understood by two or more people, usually
with the intent to motivate or influence behavior
 Manager = 80% every working day in direct
communication with others – 48 min/hour
 Manager = 20% every working day in
communication in the form of reading and writing -
12 min/hour

7. Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.
7
Communication Process Model
Noise
Sender
Encodes
Message
Receiver
Decodes
Message
Channel
Feedback Loop
(Return message
decoded)
(Return message
encoded)
Channel

8. Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.
8
Open Communication Climate
 Open Communication - sharing all types of
information throughout the company, across
functional and hierarchical levels
 Recent trend - reflects manager’s increased
emphasis on
– Empowering employees
– Building trust and commitment
– Enhancing collaboration

9. Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.
9
Types of communication network
 Centralized network – A team
communication structure in which team
members communicate through one
individual to solve problems or make
decisions.
 Decentralized network – A team
communication structure in which team
members can communicate freely with each
other and arrive at decisions together

10. Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.
Communication Channels
 Face to face
 Telephone call
 Text message
 Email
 Memo or letter
 Company blog
10

11. Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.
11
Channel Richness
Information amount can be transmitted during communication episode

12. Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.
Selecting the appropriate channel
12
Non routine messages – typically are
ambiguous, concern novel events and involve
great potential for misunderstanding. They often
are characterised by time pressure and
surprise.
Routine messages – are simple and straight
forward. They convey data into or statistics or
simply put into words what managers already
agree on and understand.

13. Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.
13
Persuasion and Influence
 Businesses are run largely by cross-
functional teams who are actively involved
in making decisions
 Ability to persuade and influence others is
even more critical today than ever before
 To persuade and influence, managers
have to communicate frequently and easily
with others
Experiential Exercise: Personal Assessment of Communication Apprehension

14. Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.
Communicating with candour
 Being direct , honest and clear about what
employees need to do to meet objectives,
while also expressing respect for others and
not making people feel slighted, controlled or
exploited.
14