1. MANAGING COMMUNICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION
Lecturer: Donna O’Connor
Lesson 2

2. MANAGING COMMUNICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION
LO3: Be able to develop communication processes
September - October 2014
O'Connor

3. The Basic Syllabus
Understand how to assess information and knowledge needs
Be able to create strategies to increase personal networking to widen involvement in the decision-making process
Be able to develop communication processes to improve the gathering and dissemination of information and organisational knowledge
Be able to design and improve appropriate systems for the collection, storage and dissemination of and access to the information and knowledge gathered
September - October 2014
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4. Objectives Describe the functions of organizational communication
Explain the basic communication processes of organizations
Understand the effects of verbal and nonverbal communication
Distinguish between the functions and dysfunctions of organizational communication
September - October 2014
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5. Objectives
Discuss the features of listening, especially of active listening
Describe ways to make communication processes more effective
Understand the effects of new technology on communication
September - October 2014
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6. The Importance of Communication Skills
Ninety-four percent of over 2,000 surveyed executives ranked “communicating well” as the most important skill for success.
--NFI Research
Companies included in BusinessWeek’s list of best places to work cited communication skills the most important trait in a job candidate—more desirable than any other trait besides college major.
--BusinessWeek
September - October 2014
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7. Even More Evidence of Importance
Employers surveyed for the Job Outlook 2009 cited communication skills along with related traits such as a strong work ethic, ability to work in a team, and initiative as highly prized qualities in job applicants.
--National Association of Colleges and Employers
Recruiters who assessed MBA programs gave “communication and interpersonal skills” more ratings of “very important” than any other attribute.
--The Wall Street Journal
September - October 2014
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8. Functions of Communication
Communication serves four major functions within a group or organization:
Control
motivation
emotional expression
Information
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9. Functions of Communication
Control
Communication acts to control member behavior in several ways.
Organizations have authority hierarchies and formal guidelines that employees are required to follow.
Informal communication also controls behavior.
Motivation
Communication fosters motivation by clarifying to employees what is to be done, how well they are doing and what can be done to improve performance if it’s subpar.
The formation of specific goals, feedback on progress toward the goals, and reinforcement of desired behavior all stimulate motivation and require communication.
September - October 2014
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10. Functions of Communication
Emotional expression
For many employees, their work group is a primary source for social interaction. The communication that takes place within the group is a fundamental mechanism by which members show their frustration and feelings of satisfaction. Communication therefore provides release for the emotional expression of feelings and for fulfillment of social needs.
Information
The final function that communication perms relates to its role in facilitating decision making. It provides the information that individuals and groups need to make decisions by transmitting the data to identify and evaluate alternative choices.
No one of these four functions should be seen as being more important than the others.
September - October 2014
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11. Communication Networks
Formal Network
Well-established, usually along operational lines
Depends on certain established forms or “genres” in the company
Planned and managed
Informal Network
Complex
Ever changing
September - October 2014
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12. Framework for Understanding Communications
Communication is defined as the transmission of mutual understanding through the use of symbols
If mutual understanding does not result from the transmission of symbols, there is no communication
The elements in the process of communication are:
Sender
Encoding
Message
Medium
Decoding
Receiver
Noise
Feedback
September - October 2014
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13. The Communication Process Model
The steps between a source and a receiver that result in the transference and understanding of meaning
September - October 2014
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14. Direction of Communication
Upward
Lateral
Downward
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15. Formal Channels
The three formal channels of communication are downward, upward, and horizontal
Downward
Flows from higher to lower levels
Key aspect—subordinates react most effectively to those matters judged to be of the greatest interest to the boss
Selective screening is a problem
Example forms: job instructions, memos, policies, procedures, manuals, etc.
September - October 2014
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16. Formal Channels Upward Horizontal Flows from lower to higher levels
Most ineffective of the three channels
Employees need opportunities to be:
Heard
Anonymous
Example devices: suggestion boxes, group meetings, participative decision making, grievance procedures, etc.
Horizontal
Flows from one level to an equal level
Necessary for coordination of diverse organizational functions
Most effective of the three channels
Example devices: Internet, corporate intranets
September - October 2014
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17. Informal Channels
Communications within organizations do not necessarily follow the formal pathways
Many organizations have extensive networks of informal communications
Since they are ingrained into organizational life, managers should heed and use them to benefit programs, policies, or plans
Elements of informal channels are:
Grapevine—75% accurate
Rumor—unverified belief in general circulation
September - October 2014
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18. Interpersonal Communication
Interpersonal communication travels from person to person in face-to-face and group settings
It is the primary means (75%) of managerial communication
Communication problems can be traced to perceptual and interpersonal style differences
September - October 2014
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19. Interpersonal Communication
Interpersonal styles—the way in which an individual prefers to relate to others—differ among individuals
Good communicators learn to recognize their style and others’ styles as well as how to modify their style for effective communication
September - October 2014
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20. Interpersonal Communication
Since interpersonal communications is largely focused on transmitting information from one person to another, the different combinations of knowing and not knowing the necessary facts affects communication. The four combinations of information known and unknown by self and others are:
The arena
The area most conducive to effective interpersonal relationships and communications
All information is known to both the sender and receiver
September - October 2014
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21. Interpersonal Communication
The blind spot
Information is known to receiver but not to sender
Selective perception is related to blind-spot problems
The façade
Information is known to sender but unknown to receiver
The unknown
Information is unknown by everyone
Interpersonal communications can be improved by using:
Exposure—be open and honest in sharing information
Feedback—sender must listen and receiver must respond
September - October 2014
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22. Types of Interpersonal Communication
Two types of interpersonal communication:
Verbal
Oral communication
Conversations in person, telephone, etc.
Major benefits—ideas can be interchanged, prompt feedback can be provided, allows use of gestures, facial expressions, and other emotions such as tone or voice
Can result in poor communication—immediacy, not well thought out, not clearly encoded, noise in the process
September - October 2014
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23. Types of Interpersonal Communication
Written communication
Major benefits—allows sender to think about message, reread it, have others review it, provides a record of the communication
Major drawbacks—takes more time to prepare, no interaction, no immediate feedback, discourages open communication
Non-verbal
Sending and receiving messages by some medium other than verbal or written
93% of message is via non-verbal content
Examples: voice, face, body, proxemics
September - October 2014
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24. Why Communications Break Down
Problems occur both in formal organizational communications and in interpersonal communications
Breakdown can occur whenever any one of the elements of communication is defective (sender, encoding, medium, decoding, receiver, feedback)
September - October 2014
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25. Why Communications Break Down
Conflicting frames of reference
People interpret the same communication differently depending on their previous experiences
Selective perception
People block out information if it conflicts with what they believe
Value judgments
People assign an overall worth to a message prior to receiving the entire communication
September - October 2014
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26. Why Communications Break Down
Status differences
Status in the organization is determined by position, title, pay, office size, etc.
Security
Security of the channel is an increasingly important consideration for employees
Source credibility
The amount of trust, confidence, and/or faith the receiver has in the words and actions of the communicator
September - October 2014
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27. Why Communications Break Down
Time pressures
Managers don’t have the time to communicate frequently with every subordinate
Information overload
Managers often are deluged by information and data
Semantic problems
The same words may mean entirely different things to different people
September - October 2014
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28. Why Communications Break Down
Poor listening skills
Most individuals listen at only a 25% level of efficiency
September - October 2014
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29. How Communications Can Be Improved
To become better communicators, managers must:
Improve their messages
Improve their own understanding of what other people are trying to communicate
Effective listening
Managers must listen with understanding
Following up
Managers should attempt to determine whether their intended meaning was actually received
September - October 2014
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30. How Communications Can Be Improved
Regulating information flow
Only significant deviations from policies and procedures should be brought to the managers
Utilizing feedback
Managers should determine whether their messages have been received and if they have produced the intended responses
Empathy
Managers should put themselves into the other person’s role and assume the viewpoints and emotions of that person
September - October 2014
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31. How Communications Can Be Improved
Simplifying language
Managers must encode messages in words, appeals, and symbols that are meaningful to the receiver
Organizational stories
Using narrative allows managers to forge relationships with diverse audiences well beyond those afforded by a technical argument
September - October 2014
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32. Listening Different from hearing
Hearing is a physiological process of detecting and processing sounds
Listening: mental process of assigning meaning to sounds
Communication professionals view it as a primary skill for success
People spend about 50 percent of their time listening
September - October 2014
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33. Listening Intrapersonal and interpersonal activities
Person receives message from another person (interpersonal)
Tries to interpret it (intrapersonal)
Responds to other person to show meaning given to message (interpersonal)
September - October 2014
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34. Active Listening
Listener is responsible for the completeness of a speaker's message
Listener's role is not passive
Absorbing spoken message
Deriving meaning from it
Accurately hear facts in message
Understand speaker's feelings about message
September - October 2014
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35. Active Listening
Deliberate effort to understand a message from speaker's viewpoint
Meaning of message includes both content and speaker’s feelings
Listener attends to all verbal and nonverbal cues
Listener may ask questions for clarification
Listener may rephrase speaker’s message
September - October 2014
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36. Technology and Communication
Major changes from fiber optics and new satellites
Digital cellular telephone: easy communication around the world
Wireless facsimile devices and modems
Laptop or notepad computers with digital cellular facsimile devices and modems
Unprecedented flexibility and mobility of communication
September - October 2014
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37. Technology and Communication
Distributed computing
Digital technology and data on a network
Text
Images
Audio
Video
Numeric
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38. Technology and Communication
Satellites, fiber optics, Internet, personal computers
High-speed connections among networks
Global operations: move all forms of information quickly to distant places
Internet commerce
September - October 2014
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39. Technology and Communication
Satellites, fiber optics, Internet, Personal computers (cont.)
Students in different countries interact to complete course work
Transmit almost any media
Lessen effects of time zone differences
September - October 2014
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40. Technology and Communication
Videoconferencing
Face-to-face communication over almost any distance
See each other
Speak to each other
Show graphic images
Send documents
Substitutes for traveling to distant sites for meetings
September - October 2014
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41. Technology and Communication
Desktop videoconferencing
Two-way video and audio interaction
Window on each person's computer screen lets them see each other
Text or graphics show on screen
Interact to revise material for an upcoming joint business presentation
September - October 2014
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42. Technology and Communication
Multimedia personal computers
Manage information media of any form
Computer features
Scanners
Sound boards
Presentation software
CD-ROMs
Animation software
Make large audience communication more dramatic than in past
September - October 2014
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43. Review Questions
Business communication has four main goals. Discuss each goal briefly. Which is the most important goal and why?
What is a communication barrier? List at least five (5) communication barriers and briefly discuss them.
Discuss how and the use of electronic communication has affected the workplace and the practice of organizational communication. State the pros and cons.
September - October 2014
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