Planning Ahead — Study Questions What is the communication process? How can communication be improved? How does perception influence communication? How can we deal positively with conflict? How can we negotiate successful agreements?

Communication “Pass the message game” Listen to the message given, then pass it on to the next person

Contemporary Communication Issues the ‘blame game’ - communication as a scapegoat purposeful miscommunication (trying to be ambiguous – double speak) nonverbal communication cross-gender communication cross-cultural communication semantics, word connotations, tones, perceptions,

Study Question 1: What is the communication process? An interpersonal process of sending and receiving symbols with messages attached to them. Key elements of the communication process: Sender. Message. Communication channel. Receiver. Interpreted meaning. Feedback.

Study Question 1 involves a sender’s transmitting a message and a receiver’s understanding of it One-way Sender Encodes Channel Decoding Receiver Two-way communication

Study Question 1: What is the communication process? Effective and efficient communication: Effective communication Occurs when the intended meaning of the sender is identical to the interpreted meaning of the receiver. Efficient communication Occurs at a minimum resource cost. Potential trade-offs between effectiveness and efficiency must be recognized.

Study Question 1: What is the communication process? First Law of Leadership: If you don’t believe in the messenger, You won’t believe the message Persuasion and credibility in communication. Communication is used for sharing information and influencing other people. Persuasion is getting someone else to support the message being presented. Expert power and referent power are essential for persuasion. Credibility involves trust, respect, and integrity in the eyes of others.

Study Question 1: What is the communication process? Sources of noise in communication: Poor choice of channels. Poor written or oral expression. Failure to recognize nonverbal signals. Physical distractions. Status effects.

Study Question 1: What is the communication process? Poor choice of channels. Choose the channel that works best. Written channels work for messages that: Are simple and easy to convey. Require extensive dissemination quickly. Convey formal policy or authoritative directives. Spoken channels work best for messages that: Are complex or difficult to convey where immediate feedback is needed. Attempt to create a supportive, even inspirational, climate.

Study Question 1: What is the communication process? Failure to recognize nonverbal signals. Nonverbal communication takes place through gestures, facial expressions, body posture, eye contact, and use of interpersonal space. Mixed messages occur when a person’s words and nonverbal signals communicate different things. The growing use of communication technologies causes important nonverbal communication to be lost.

Study Question 1: What is the communication process? Physical distractions. Include interruptions from telephone calls, drop-in visitors, a lack of privacy, etc. Can interfere with the effectiveness of a communication attempt. Can be avoided or at least minimized through proper planning.

Study Question 1: What is the communication process? Status effects. Occur when an organization’s hierarchy of authority creates a barrier to effective communication. Status effects include: Filtering — the intentional distortion of information to make it appear favorable to the recipient. Subordinates acting as “yes men.”

Study Question 2: How can communication be improved? Active listening. The process of taking action to help someone say exactly what he or she really means. Rules for active listening: Listen for message content. Listen for feelings. Respond to feelings. Note all cues, verbal and nonverbal. Paraphrase and restate.

Study Question 2: How can communication be improved? Ten steps for good listening: Stop talking. Put the other person at ease. Show that you want to listen. Remove any potential distractions. Empathize with the other person. Don’t respond too quickly; be patient. Don’t get mad; hold your temper. Go easy on argument and criticism. Ask questions.

Q.2 Effective Listening practice time Effective Listening Techniques 1) Restating (exactly as said) 2) Bridging (nods, yes) 3) Paraphrasing (reflecting and rewording) 4) Inviting clarification (probing/elaboration) In groups of 3 - speaker, listener, observer

Active Listening Speaker with active listener have a dialogue Observer then comments Rotate roles Speaker Active Listener Observer Two-way

Study Question 2: How can communication be improved? Feedback. The process of telling others how you feel about something they did or said, or about the situation in general. Constructive feedback guidelines: Give it directly. Make it specific. Give it when the receiver is willing/able to accept it. Make sure it is valid. Give it in small doses. Praise Evaluation

Study Question 2: How can communication be improved? Ways to keep communication channels open through interactive management. Management by wandering around (MBWA). Open office hours. Regular employee group meetings. Computer-mediated meetings and video conferences. Employee advisory councils. Communication consultants. 360-degree feedback. Over communicate

Study Question 2: How can communication be improved? Technology utilization. Information technologies facilitate communication. The electronic grapevine speeds messages and information from person to person. Functional if information is accurate and useful. Dysfunctional if information is false, distorted, or based on rumor. E-mail privacy. Employer’s policy on personal e-mail. Don’t assume that e-mail privacy exists at work.

Study Question 3: How does perception influence communication? The process through which people receive and interpret information from the environment. People can perceive the same things or situations differently. People behave on the basis of their perceptions.

Study Question 3: How does perception influence communication? Perception and attribution. Attribution The process of developing explanations for events. Fundamental attribution error Occurs when observers blame another’s performance failures or problems on internal factors rather than external factors. Self-serving bias Occurs because individuals blame their personal performance failures or problems on external factors and attribute their successes to internal factors.

Study Question 3: How does perception influence communication? Perceptual tendencies and distortions: Stereotypes. Occur when someone is identified with a group or category, and then oversimplified attributes associated with the group or category are used to describe the individual. Halo effects. Occur when one attribute is used to develop an overall impression of a person or situation.

Study Question 3: How does perception influence communication? Perceptual tendencies and distortions (cont.): Selective perception. The tendency to single out for attention those aspects of a situation or attributes of a person that reinforce or appear consistent with one’s existing beliefs, values, or needs. Projection. The assignment of personal attributes to other individuals.

Study Question 4: How can we deal positively with conflict? A disagreement between people on: Substantive issues regarding goals and tasks, allocation of resources, distribution of rewards, policies and procedures, and job assignments. Emotional issues arising from feelings of anger, distrust, dislike, fear, and resentment, as well as personality clashes. Conflict that is well managed can help promote creativity and high performance.

Study Question 4: How can we deal positively with conflict? Functional conflict. Moderately intense conflict. Constructive and stimulates people toward greater work efforts, cooperation, and creativity. Dysfunctional conflict. Low-intensity and very high-intensity conflict. Destructive and hurts task performance.

Conflict Management Functional conflict - helps to stimulate thought, actions, deeds. Dysfunctional conflict - destructive and negative or none offered. H Org. Performance L Level of Conflict H L

Study Question 4: How can we deal positively with conflict? Causes of conflict: Role ambiguities. Resource scarcities. Task interdependencies. Competing objectives. Structural differentiation. Unresolved prior conflicts.

Approaches to Conflict Avoidance - withdrawal from conflict Accommodation - place other’s needs first Forcing / Competition - place one’s needs first Compromise - each gives up something of value Collaboration - seek solution which is advantageous to all parties

Conflict Management Styles high Forcing / Competition Collaborate Satisfy own concern (Assertive) Compromise Avoidance Accommodate low Desire to satisfy other’s concern (Cooperate) high low

When to use Avoidance – unimportant issue / unimportant relationship Accommodation – unimportant issue / important relationship (chips in the bank) Forcing / Competition – issue important / relationship not Compromise – both are moderately important (and time is tight) Collaboration – both are very important (this takes lots of time)

Study Question 5: How can we negotiate successful agreements? Negotiation is the process of making joint decisions when the parties involved have different preferences. All negotiation situations are susceptible to conflict and require exceptional communication and interpersonal skills.

Study Question 5: How can we negotiate successful agreements? Types of negotiation: Distributive negotiation … Focuses on claims made by each party. Leads to win-lose outcomes. Principled (or integrative) negotiation … Goal is to base the outcome on the merits of individual claims. Leads to win-win outcomes.

Study Question 5: How can we negotiate successful agreements? Common negotiation pitfalls: Falling prey to the myth of the “fixed pie.” Nonrational escalation of conflict. Overconfidence and ignoring other’s needs. Too much “telling” and too little “hearing.”

Exam Case Format One page ‘ helper’ sheet 100 minutes