Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Communicating in Teams and Organizations

8-2 Receiver Encodefeedback Formfeedback Sender Formmessage Encodemessage Transmit Message Transmit Feedback Noise Communication Process Model DecodemessageReceiveencodedmessage DecodefeedbackReceivefeedback

8-3 Improving Communication Coding/Decoding  Both parties have motivation and ability to communicate through the channel  Both parties have similar “codebooks”  Both parties share similar mental models of the communication context  Sender is experienced at communicating the message topic

8-4 Problems with  Communicates emotions poorly  Reduces politeness and respect (increased cyber bullying)  Inefficient for ambiguous, complex, novel situations  Increases information overload

8-5 Emotional Contagion  The automatic process of sharing another person’s emotions by mimicking their facial expressions and other nonverbal behavior  Serves three purposes: 1. Provides continuous feedback to speaker 2. Increases emotional understanding of the other person’s experience 3. Communicates a collective sentiment -- sharing the experience as part of drive to bond

8-6 Choosing Channels: Social Acceptance How well the communication channel is approved and supported by others: 1. Communication channel norms 2. Individual communication channel preferences 3. Symbolic meaning of the communication channel

8-7 Choosing Channels: Media Richness The channel’s data-carrying capacity needs to be aligned with the communication activity High richness when channel: 1. conveys multiple cues 2. allows timely feedback 3. allows customized message 4. permits complex symbols Use rich communication media when the situation is nonroutine and ambiguous

8-8 Computer-Mediated Exceptions to Media Richness  Media richness theory less applicable to computer-mediated media because: Able to multi-communicate through lean channels More varied proficiency levels Less social distraction than with rich channels

8-9 Persuasive Communication  Changing another person’s beliefs and attitudes.  Spoken communication is more persuasive because: accompanied by nonverbal communication has high quality immediate feedback has high social presence

8-10 Managing Information Overload  Solution 1: Increase info processing capacity Learn to read faster Scan through documents more efficiently Remove distractions Time management Temporarily work longer hours  Solution 2: Reduce information load Buffering Omitting Summarizing

8-11 Cross-Cultural Communication  Verbal differences Language Voice intonation Silence/conversational overlaps  Nonverbal differences Interpreting nonverbal meaning Importance of verbal versus nonverbal

8-12 Gender Communication Differences  Men consider more power, status, functionality Report talk Give advice quickly Dominate conversation  Women consider more interpersonal relations Rapport talk Indirect advice/requests Sensitive to nonverbal cues

8-13 ActiveListening Active Listening Process & Strategies Sensing Postpone evaluation Avoid interruptions Maintain interest Evaluating Empathize Organise informationResponding Show interest Clarify the message

8-14 Communicating in Hierarchies  Workspace design Clustering people in teams Open office arrangements  Web-based organizational communication Wikis -- collaborative document creation Blogs -- personal news/opinion for sharing E-zines -- rapid distribution of company news  Direct communication with management Management by walking around (MBWA) Town hall meetings

8-15 Grapevine Benefits/Limitations  Benefits Fills in missing information from formal sources Strengthens corporate culture Relieves anxiety Signals that problems exist  Limitations Distortions might escalate anxiety Perceived lack of concern for employees when company info is slower than grapevine