This document discusses communication, interpersonal relationships, and influence within organizations. It provides examples of how positive relationships through effective communication can benefit organizations by increasing commitment, task performance, and well-being among coworkers. Building influence requires developing personal expertise and position power. The three methods of influence discussed are retribution, reciprocity, and reason, each with strengths and weaknesses depending on the situation. Maintaining open communication and positive relationships are keys to organizational success.

1. Communication & Influence
Team Members:
Brandon Luong Matt Brown
Brian Turner Russell Veals
Gene White Victoria Landrum

2. Interpersonal
Relationships

3. Positive Interpersonal Relationships
s What are they?
– Encounters that create positive energy in an organization
s Benefits:
– Higher commitment and information exchange among
coworkers
– Expanded intellectual capacity
– Better task performance
– More positive emotions
– Physical well-being

4. Positive Interpersonal Relationships
s Organizational example:
Business Student Ambassadors
s What we do:
– Work with each other within our organization as student
officers by sharing responsibilities
– Build relationships by holding socials
– Be open, friendly, and welcoming to new students
s How it helps:
– High sense of accomplishment
– More feelings of camaraderie
– Mutual trust and responsibility
– Attractive to new or unsociable students

5. Positive Interpersonal Relationships
s Organizational example:
Lewis Landscaping
s What we do:
– Support coworkers by finishing their tasks for them
– Converse about similar topics of interest while working
– Spend time with each other while working to be able to
recognize emotional ups and downs
s How it helps:
– Faster task completion
– Fun, supportive working environment
– Higher level of “team spirit”

6. Effective
Communication

7. Effective Communication
s What is communication?
– The act of conveying information by, to or between people or
groups
s Importance of Effective Communication
– The most important skill in building and strengthening
positive relationships giving the people an enhanced feeling
of trust, openness and support.
– In studies, communication problems are identified as the
single largest impediment to positive relationships and
positive performance in organizations.

8. Effective Communication
s Reasons for difficulties include:
– People are often given an abundance of information that
was poorly presented, as a result information gets lost
– Lack of context, often times information lacks significant
meaning to the person receiving the messages
– Last, the effective interpretation and use of the information
still depends on the relationship the recipient has with the
sender
s Results
– Misunderstandings
– Lack of Information
– Decrease in employee performance
– Decrease in profitability or productivity for an organization

9. Example of Ineffective
Communication
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBKKgtsWqZQ

10. Example of Effective
Communication
s Organizational example:
– Global Foundation (GF)
s Had communication problems: officers did not
understand roles, duties, obligations, etc.
s MGMT 389 skills applied = more effective group
s Results:
– Work gets done on a timely manner
– Information is flowed without interruption
– More support and group efforts
– Stronger board members

11. Before After

12. Power and Influence

13. Building a Strong Power Base
s What are power and influence?
– Power is the ability of a person, team or organization to
influence others
– Influence is the affect power can have on others’ behavior
– Power is necessary to influence people, but not all powerful
people are capable of influence
s Two power sources:
– Personal power
– Position power

14. Building a Strong Power Base
s Personal Power:
– The traits that make up this source of power are:
– Expertise - Task-relevant knowledge or experience
– Personal Attraction - Desirable characteristics associated
with friendship
– Effort - Dependability and reliability
– Legitimacy - Behavior consistent with
key organizational values

15. Building a Strong Power Base
s Position Power:
– The traits that make up this source of power are:
– Centrality - Being in the middle of communication
– Latitude/Job Flexibility - Freedom to exercise one’s own
judgment
– Visibility - Whether or not influential people in the company
see how well or poorly you are performing
– Relevance - Being directly related to the central objectives
and issues in an organization

16. Building a Strong Power Base
s Organizational example:

17. Using Influence Wisely
s Three methods of influence:
– The three influence strategies or “three Rs” are Retribution,
Reciprocity, and Reason
– Each of these strategies have strengths and weaknesses,
and it is important to know in which situations they are
acceptable for use

18. Using Influence Wisely
s Retribution:
– The strategy of forcing others to do as you say
– The direct method uses coercion; the indirect method uses
intimidation
– It is useful when quick results are required, but the drawback
is that it can cause employees to resent their superiors
s Reciprocity
– The strategy of convincing others to want to do what you say
– The direct method uses bargaining; the indirect method uses
the approach of making others feel obligated to agree
– The drawback is that this strategy can lead to people
believing that terms of assignments, etc. are open for debate

19. Using Influence Wisely
s Reason:
– The strategy of showing others that it makes sense to do as
you say
– The direct method requires the presenting of facts to
strengthen your argument; the indirect method involves
appeal to other personal values
– The drawback is that this strategy can take a while to build
trust with others and that it requires that they share common
goals and values with the influential person

20. Using Influence Wisely
s Organizational example:

21. The End
Thanks for listening!

22. Works Cited
s Luong, Brandon. Personal Interview. 19
Sep 2010.