Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved Chapter 12 Communicating in the Internet Age

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved Chapter Outline The Communication Process u Encoding u Selecting a Medium u Decoding u Feedback u Noise

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved Chapter Outline (continued) Dynamics of Organizational Communications u Needed: More Coordinated Communication u The Grapevine u Nonverbal Communication u Upward Communication

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved Chapter Outline (continued) Communication Problems and Promises in the Computer Age u Barriers to Communication u Sexist and Racist Communication u Communicating in the Online Workplace

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved Chapter Outline (continued) Becoming a Better Communicator u Effective Listening u Effective Writing u Running a Meeting

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS Communication: “the transfer of information and understanding from one person to another person.”

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS (continued) Key Elements of the Basic Communication Process u Encoding (by sender) u Selecting a medium (by sender) Media richness: a medium’s capacity to convey information and promote learning. u Decoding (by receiver) u Feedback (from receiver to sender)

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS (continued) Noise: any interference with normal flow of communication

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS (continued) For Discussion: In face-to-face communication (a rich medium), which link in the communication process is most vital? Why?

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS (continued) Conclusion from a recent survey of 10,000 U.S. companies: “Although senior managers cite communications as a top business priority that they plan to devote more time to, they are focused on technological solutions (for example, electronic mail and Internet connections) when the answers have more to do with words and thoughts than tools.”

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS (continued) For Discussion: What does this mean to you? What recommendations would you make to management?

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION Body language: nonverbal communication based on facial expressions, posture, and appearance. Three Kinds of Body Language 1.Facial 2.Gestural 3.Postural

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION (continued) “One expert contends that only 7 percent of the impact of our face-to-face communication comes from the words we utter; the other 93 percent comes from our vocal intonations, facial expressions, posture, and appearance.”

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION (continued) For Discussion: 1.Is dressing for success a career booster, or simply an excuse for showing off? 2.Which form of body language -- facial, gestural, postural -- tends to influence you most in face-to-face communication? 3.What is your most expressive form of body language: facial, gestural, or postural? Will it help to hinder you as a manger?

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved UPWARD COMMUNICATION Upward communication: process of systematically encouraging lower-level employees to share with management their feelings and ideas.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved UPWARD COMMUNICATION (continued) Types of Upward Communications u Formal grievance procedures u Employee attitude and opinion surveys u Suggestion systems u Open-door policy u Informal meetings u Internet chat rooms u Exit interviews

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved UPWARD COMMUNICATION (continued) For Discussion: 1.All things considered, which type of upward communication probably is the most useful for today’s busy managers? 2.How would you respond to a manager who made this statement? “An open-door policy is an open invitation to a lot of junk visits.”

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION Process Barriers u Sender barrier u Encoding barrier u Medium barrier u Decoding barrier u Receiver barrier u Feedback barrier

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION (continued) Physical Barriers Semantic Barriers Semantics: the study of meaning of words. Psychosocial Barriers

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION (continued) For Discussion: Which barrier is management’s most challenging problem? Explain.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved HOW TO COMPOSE A CLEAR MESSAGE Table 12.2 C oncise(simple conversational language ) L ogical(context plus logical steps) E mpathetic (identify with your reader) A ction-Oriented (explain what you want the reader to do) R ight (all key facts; correct spelling)

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved EFFECTIVE LISTENING “Listening is the forgotten stepchild in communications skill training.”

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved EFFECTIVE LISTENING (continued) Tips for More Effective Listening: u Tolerate silence. Listeners who rush to fill momentary silences cease being listeners. u Ask stimulating open-ended questions, ones that require more than merely a yes or no answer. u Encourage the speaker with attentive eye contact, alert posture, and verbal encourages such as “um- hum,” “yes,” and “I see.” Occasionally repeating the speaker’s last few words also helps.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved EFFECTIVE LISTENING (continued) u Paraphrase. Periodically restate in your own words what you have just heard. u Show emotion to demonstrate that you are a sympathetic listener. u Know your biases and prejudices and attempt to correct for them. u Avoid premature judgments about what is being said. u Summarize. Briefly highlight what the speaker has just finished saying to bring out possible misunderstandings.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved EFFECTIVE LISTENING (continued) For Discussion: 1.Are you a good listener? Why or why not? If not, what do you need to do to improve? 2.Which of the above tips is most difficult to implement? Why?

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE WRITING 1.Keep words simple. 2.Don’t sacrifice communication to rules of composition. 3.Write concisely. 4.Be specific.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE WRITING (continued) For Discussion: 1.Do you consider yourself a good writer, as far as business communication is concerned? Why or why not? If not, how can you improve? 2.Have multiple-choice exams and computer taken a toll on your writing skills? Explain. 3.What would you say to a student who made these statements? “Standard rules of writing and grammar aren’t important in today’s world of voice mail and the Internet. Quickly get the idea across; that’s the point.”

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved RUNNING A MEETING u Prepare ahead of time. u Have a reason for the meeting. u Distribute an agenda before the meeting. u Give participants at least a day’s notice. u Participants should come prepared. u Limit attendance and designate a leader.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved RUNNING A MEETING (continued) u Start and end on time. u Encourage broad discussion but stick to the agenda. u Foster rigorous debate and brainstorming. u Use visual aids. u Follow up with notification of outcomes.