Ch 10-Slides

Chapter 10
Communicating
for Results
Microsoft clip art photos reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 10 | 2
Chapter Objectives
1. Identify each major link in the communication
process, explain the concept of media
richness, and specify guidelines for using the
five communication strategies.
2. Discuss the managerial importance of the
grapevine and nonverbal communication, and
explain how to encourage upward
communication.

Chapter Objectives (cont’d)
3. List two practical tips for each of the major
communication technologies (e-mail, cell
phones, and videoconferences), and
summarize the pros and cons of
telecommuting.
4. Specify at least three practical tips for
improving each of the following communication
skills: listening, writing, and running a meeting.

The Communication Process
• Communication
– The interpersonal transfer of
information and understanding
from one person to another.
• A linked social process of sender,
encoding, medium, decoding,
receiver, and feedback.

Figure 10.1 The Basic
Communication Process

The Communication Process (cont’d)
• Encoding
– Translating internal thought patterns into a language
or code the intended receiver of the message will
likely understand and/or pay attention to.
• Choice of words, gestures, or other symbols for encoding
depends on the nature of the message.
Technical or nontechnical
Emotional or factual
Visual or auditory
• Cultural diversity
can create encoding
challenges.

• Selecting a Medium
– Face-to-face
conversations
– Telephone calls
– E-mails
– Memorandums
– Letters
– Computer reports
– Photographs
– Bulletin boards
– Meetings
– Organizational
publications
– News releases
– Press conferences
– Advertising

• Media Selection in Cross-Cultural Settings
– Moving between low- and high-context cultures can
create appropriate media selection problems.
• In low-context cultures, the verbal content of the
message is more important than the medium through
which it is delivered.
• In high-context cultures, the context (setting) in which the
message is delivered is more important than the literal
words of the message.

A Contingency Approach
(Lengel and Daft)
• Media richness
– A given medium’s capacity to convey information
and promote learning.
– Characteristics of rich mediums
Provide simultaneous multiple information
cues.
Facilitate immediate feedback.
Have a personal focus.
– Characteristics of lean mediums
Convey limited information (few cues).
Provide no immediate feedback.
Are impersonal.

• Decoding
– Successful decoding depends on the receiver having
• a willingness to receive the message.
• knowledge of the language and terminology used in the
message.
• an understanding of the
sender’s purpose and
background situation.

• Feedback
– The choice factors for the form to provide feedback
are the same factors governing the encoding process.
– Feedback affects the form and content of follow-up
communication.
– Effective feedback is
timely, relevant, and
personal.

• Noise
– Noise: any interference with the normal flow of
communication.
– Understanding
decreases as noise
increases.
– Dealing with noise
• Make messages
more understandable.
• Minimize and neutralize
sources of interference.

Dynamics of Organizational
Communication
• Communication Strategies
– Spray & Pray
• Impersonal and one-way communications (lectures).
– Tell & Sell
• A restricted set of messages with explanations for their
importance and relevance.
– Underscore & Explore
• Information and issues that are keys to organizational
success are discussed and explained.

Communication (cont’d)
• Communication Strategies (cont’d)
– Identify & Reply
• Responding to employee concerns about prior
organizational communications.
– Withhold & Uphold
• Telling employees only what they need to know when you
think they need to know it.

Source: Phillip G. Clampitt, Robert J. DeKoch, and Thomas Cashman, "A Strategy for Communicating About Uncertainty,“
Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 14, November 2000, p. 48.
Figure 10.2 Clampitt’s Communication
Strategy Continuum

• Seeking a Middle-Ground (Communication
Strategy)
– Avoid Spray & Pray and Withhold & Uphold.
– Use Tell & Sell and Identify & Reply sparingly.
– Use Underscore & Explore as much as possible.
• Merging Communication Strategies and Media
Richness
– Managers need to select the richest medium possible
when employing Tell & Sell, Identify & Reply, and
Underscore & Explore strategies.

• The Grapevine
– The unofficial and informal
communication system in an
organization
• Managerial Attitudes Toward the
Grapevine
– Managers have predominately
negative feelings about the
grapevine.
– The grapevine is more prevalent at
lower-levels of the managerial
hierarchy.
– The grapevine appears to be more
influential in larger organizations.

• Coping with the Grapevine
– The grapevine cannot be
extinguished; attempts to
stifle the grapevine as likely
to stimulate it instead.
– Monitoring and officially
correcting grapevine
information is perhaps the best strategy for coping
with the grapevine.
– “Management by walking around” is an excellent
way to monitor the grapevine in a nonthreatening
manner.

Nonverbal Communication
• Body Language
– Nonverbal communication based on facial
expressions, posture, and appearance.
• Types of Body Language
– Facial
– Gestural
– Postural
• Receiving Nonverbal
Communication
– Awareness of nonverbal
cues can give insight into deep-seated emotions.

Upward Communication
• Upward Communication
– The process of encouraging employees to share their
feelings and ideas with management.
• Options for Improving Upward Communications
– Formal grievance procedures
– Employee attitude and opinion surveys
– Suggestion systems
– Open-door policy
– Informal meetings
– Internet chat rooms
– Exit interviews

Nonverbal Communication (cont’d)
• Giving Nonverbal Feedback
– Nonverbal feedback from authority figures
significantly affects employee behavior.
• Smiles, positive head nods, and eye contact
• Frowns, head shaking, and avoiding eye contact
– Positive feedback builds good interpersonal relations
– Sensitivity and cross-cultural training can reduce
nonverbal errors when working with individuals from
other cultures.

Communicating in
the Online Workplace
• Getting a Handle on E-mail
– Put short messages in the subject line.
– Be sparing with graphics and attachments.
– Never assume privacy with company e-mail.
– Workplace e-mail is for business only.
– Typing in ALL CAPS is considered shouting.
– Use bullet lists for brevity and clarity.
– Inform recipients when no reply is needed.
– Save only e-mail that is likely to be needed
again.
– Always include your name in the message.

Hello! Can We Talk?
• Cellular Telephones
– Advantages: mobility and convenience.
– Disadvantages: distracted drivers
and disturbing calls in public places,
and the risk of disclosing
private information.

Source: Five basic commandments excerpted from Dan Briody, “The Ten Commandments of Cell Phone Etiquette,”
InfoWorld, February 5, 2005, www.infoworld.com

Communicating in the
Online Workplace (cont’d)
• Video Conferences
– A live television exchange
between people in different
locations that reduces costly
travel time.
– Video conferencing tips:
• Test the system and the seating
setup beforehand.
• Dress for the occasion.
• Introduce everyone.
• Insure everyone can see and hear the content of the meeting.
• Directly address those in the same room as opposed to the camera.
• Avoid exaggerated physical movements.
• Pause longer than usual when waiting for replies.
• Keep background noises to a minimum.

Communicating in the
Online Workplace (cont’d)
• Telecommuting
– Sending work to and from one’s
office via a computer modem while
working at home.
– According to a recent study about
19 percent of companies permit
telecommuting by full-time
students down from a peak of 23
percent.
– Telecommuting will not become
the prevailing work mode anytime
soon, but it certainly is more than a
passing fad.

Becoming a Better Communicator
• Effective Listening
– Tolerate silence; keep listening.
– Ask stimulating, open-ended questions.
– Encourage the speaker with attentive eye contact,
alert posture, and verbal encouragers.
– Paraphrase what you have just heard.
– Show emotion to show your sympathy with speaker.
– Know your biases and prejudices.
– Avoid premature judgments.
– Summarize by reiterating what the speaker said.

Becoming a Better
Communicator (cont’d)
• Effective Writing
– Effective writing is the product
of regular practice
1. Keep words simple.
2. Don’t sacrifice communication
to rules of composition.
3. Write concisely.
4. Be specific.

Becoming a Better
Communicator (cont’d)
• Running Meetings
– Have a reason for the meeting.
– Distribute an agenda.
– Communicate expectations for attendees.
– Limit attendance to essential personnel.
– Open the meeting with a brief overview of the purpose of the
meeting.
– Deal with the most challenging items early while the energy level
is high.
– Encourage participation but keep to the agenda.
– Use visual aids.
– Insure everyone understands their responsibility for action items.
– Start and end the meeting on time and follow-up as necessary.

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