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2. Management Communication
Chapter One: Management Communication in Transition
J. S. O’Rourke, University of Notre Dame

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Managerial Work
Remarkable similarity across jobs.
Jobs in the North American workplace cluster around core management roles:
Interpersonal
Informational
Decisional
Henry Mintzberg, The Nature of Managerial Work
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Managerial Roles
Figurehead.
Leader.
Liaison.
Monitor.
Disseminator.
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Managerial Roles
Spokesperson.
Entrepreneur.
Disturbance / Crisis Handler.
Resource Allocator.
Negotiator.
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6. Major Characteristics
Time is fragmented.
Values compete; the various roles are in tension.
The job is overloaded.
Efficiency is a core skill.
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7. What Varies? The Emphasis.
The entrepreneur role is gaining importance.
So is the leader role. Managers must be more sophisticated as strategists and mentors.
Managers must create a local vision as they help people grow.
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8. Management Skills Required
Technical Skills: Most valuable at the entry level; less valuable at more senior levels.
Relating Skills: Valuable across the managerial career span.
Conceptual Skills: Least valuable at the entry level; more valuable at more senior levels.
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Talk is the Work
Managers across industries spend 75% of their time in verbal interaction:
one-on-one / face-to-face;
telephone conversations;
video teleconferencing;
presentation to small groups;
public speaking to larger audiences.
Borden, The Business of Talk
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Talking and Listening
Meetings.
Telephone.
Electronic Mail.
One-on-one Conversations.
Interviews.
Tours and Informal Visits.
Social Events.
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The Role of Writing
The most important projects, decisions and ideas end up in writing.
Writing provides analysis, justification, documentation, and analytic discipline.
Writing can become a career sifter.
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The Role of Writing
Managers do most of their own writing and editing.
Very few people have time to assist you with data gathering, composition, and proofreading.
Documents take on lives of their own.
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13. Communication is Invention
Managers create meaning through communication.
Managers figure things out by talking about them as much as they talk about the things they have already figured out.
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14. Information is Socially Constructed
Information is created, shared and interpreted by people.
Information never speaks for itself.
Very little in life is self-explanatory.
Context always drives meaning.
A messenger always accompanies a message.
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15. Your Greatest Challenge
Every manager knows communication is vital to the organization and to him or her personally.
But every manager also knows that he or she is great at it (“Of course I’m good at this. Haven’t you seen my writing?”)
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How Good Are You?
Deep down, managers believe they are communicating effectively. In ten years of management consulting, we have never had a manager say to us that he or she was a poor communicator. They admit to the occasional screw-up, but overall, everyone, without exception, believes he or she is basically a good communicator Larkin, Communicating Change
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17. Your Task as a Professional
Recognize and understand your strengths and weaknesses as a communicator.
Improve existing skills.
Develop new skills.
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18. Your Task as a Professional
Acquire a knowledge base that will work for the 21st Century.
Develop the confidence you’ll need to succeed as a manager or executive.
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