1. Introduction to Organisational Behaviour and Application to Management
The Group – Communication

2. What is communication? The transference and understanding of meaning
Information, knowledge or ideas can be communicated in many different ways between individuals and groups.
Groups are defined as two or more individuals who come together to achieve a set goal. There are two main types of groups. The first is a formal group where the organisation establishes the group with defined work tasks and outcomes. The second group is an information group that is not part of the organisational structure. They are often established in reaction to a need for social interaction and form naturally. Informal groups can have a significant influence on behavior and performance.
(c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.

4. Ways to communicate Oral Communication Advantages: Speed and feedback
Disadvantage: Distortion of the message
Written Communication
Advantages: Tangible and verifiable
Disadvantages: Time consuming and lacks feedback
Nonverbal Communication
Advantages: Supports other communications and provides observable expression of emotions and feelings
Disadvantage: Misperception of body language or gestures can influence receiver’s interpretation of message

5. Communication Process (Shannon and Weaver)

6. Communication Process
The Sender – initiates message
Encoding – translating thought to message
The Message – what is communicated
The Channel – the medium the message travels through
Decoding – the receiver’s action in making sense of the message
The Receiver – person who gets the message
Noise – things that interfere with the message
Feedback – a return message regarding the initial communication

7. Channels of Communication
How the sender sends the message to the receiver.
Types of Channels
Formal Channels
Are established by the organisation and transmit messages that are related to the professional activities of members
Informal Channels
Used to transmit personal or social messages in the organisation. These informal channels are spontaneous and emerge as a response to individual choices

8. Communication in an organisation
CEO VP
Mgr

9. Directions of communication
Downward
Upward
Lateral
What examples of this type of communication have you experienced at University?

10. Networks of communication
Chain:
Rigidly follows the chain of command
Wheel:
Relies on a central figure to act as the conduit for all communication
Team with a strong leader
All Channel:
All group members communicate actively with each other
Self-managed teams

11. The Grapevine (rumours)
Three main Grapevine characteristics
Informal, not controlled by management
Perceived by most employees as being more believable and reliable than formal communications
Largely used to serve the self-interests of those who use it
Results from:
Desire for information about important situations
Ambiguous conditions
Conditions that cause anxiety
Insightful to managers
Serves employee’s social needs

12. Reducing rumours Announce timetables for making important decisions
Explain decisions and behaviors that may appear inconsistent or secretive
Emphasize the downside, as well as the upside, of current decisions and future plans
Openly discuss worst-case possibilities—they are almost never as anxiety-provoking as the unspoken fantasy

13. Methods of communication
Common forms of structured communication within an organisation include:
newsletters
appraisals
meetings
message boards s
telephone conversations
posters
blogs
intranet

14. Activity
What are the advantages and disadvantages of each of the forms of communication tools?

15. Barriers to effective communication
Filtering
A sender’s manipulation of information so that it will be seen more favorably by the receiver
Selective Perception
People selectively interpret what they see on the basis of their interests, background, experience, and attitudes
Information Overload
A condition in which information inflow exceeds an individual’s processing capacity
Emotions
How a receiver feels at the time a message is received will influence how the message is interpreted

16. More barriers Language
Words have different meanings to different people
Communication Apprehension
Undue tension and anxiety about oral communication, written communication, or both
Gender Differences
Men tend to talk to emphasize status while women talk to create connections

17. Cultural Implications
Cross-cultural factors increase communication difficulties
Cultural Barriers:
Semantics: some words aren’t translatable
Word Connotations: some words imply multiple meanings beyond their definitions
Tone Differences: the acceptable level of formality of language
Perception Differences: language affects worldview
Cultural Context:
The importance of social context to meaning
Low-context cultures (like the U.S.) rely on words for meaning
High-context cultures gain meaning from the whole situation

18. The cost of poor communication
Failed communication can be costly. Consider this example of The Accident Group:
and the Cerner Corporation:

19. Reflection Think about communication in your presentation teams.
How do you communicate?
What model do you use?
What tools do you use?

20. The Dabbawallahs What makes them unique? How do they manage teams?
What motivations do their members have?
How do they communicate?
What tools do they use?
What could we learn from them?

21. The Dabbawalahs
You can also read more about the Dabbawalahs here:

22. Introduction to Organisational Behaviour and Application to Management
The Group –Leadership

23. Leadership and management
The ability to influence a group toward the achievement of goals
Management
Use of authority inherent in designated formal rank to obtain compliance from organisational members
Both are necessary for organisational success

24. Are Leaders born or made?
Trait theory: leadership is inherent, so we must identify the leader based on his or her traits
Behavioral theory: leadership is a skill set and can be taught to anyone, so we must identify the proper behaviors to teach potential leaders

25. Essential leadership qualities
Extroversion
Conscientiousness
Openness
Emotional Intelligence
Do you agree?
Are there any others you think are essential?

26. Contingency theory of leadership
While trait and behavior theories do help us understand leadership, an important component is missing: the environment in which the leader exists
Contingency Theory adds this additional aspect to our understanding leadership effectiveness studies
Four key theories:
Fiedler’s Model
Situational Leadership Theory
Path-Goal Theory
Leader Participation

27. Fiedler Model Assumes that leadership style is fixed
For effective leadership: must change to a leader who fits the situation or change the situational variables to fit the current leader
Considers Three Situational Factors:
Leader-member relations: degree of confidence and trust in the leader
Task structure: degree of structure in the jobs
Position power: leader’s ability to hire, fire, and reward

28. Situational leadership
Followers can accept or reject the leader
Effectiveness depends on the followers’ response to the leader’s actions
“Readiness” is the extent to which people have the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific task

29. Path-Goal Theory
Leaders provide followers with information, support, and resources to help them achieve their goals
Leaders help clarify the “path” to the worker’s goals
Leaders can display multiple leadership types
Four types of leaders:
Directive: focuses on the work to be done
Supportive: focuses on the well-being of the worker
Participative: consults with employees in decision making
Achievement-Oriented: sets challenging goals

30. Leader Participation Model
How a leader makes decisions is as important as what is decided
Leader behaviors must adjust to the way tasks are structured in the organisation.
Complicated model which has not been proven

31. Styles of leadership
Charismatic
Transformational (and transactional)

32. Charismatic Vision Unconventional Behavior Sensitivity to Followers
Personal Risk
Sensitivity to Followers
Unconventional Behavior

33. Charismatic leaders influence by…
Articulate a Vision
Create a Vision Statement
Create a new set of Values
Demonstrate the Vision

34. Transformational leaders
Inspire followers to transcend their self-interests for the good of the organisation
Contingent Reward
Management by Exception (active)
Management by Exception (passive)
Laissez-Faire
Transactional
Idealized Influence
Inspirational Motivation
Intellectual Stimulation
Individualized Consideration
Transformational

35. Transformational approaches
Transaction Approaches
Laissez-Faire
Management by Exception
Contingent Reward
Transformational Approaches
Individualized Consideration
Intellectual Stimulation
Inspirational Motivation
Idealized Influence

36. What style of leader are you?
Look at your Myers-Briggs and your Belbin results
Think about your experiences of when you have taken the lead in an activity
What style of leadership suits you best?

37. Other factors Authenticity Ethics Culture
Authentic leaders know who they are, what they believe in and value, and act upon those values and beliefs.
Ethics
Leadership is not free from values. When we assess leadership, we must assess not just the goals themselves but also the means by which those goals are achieved.
Culture
Different cultures value different leadership traits more than others

38. Trust
Trust – a psychological state that exists when you agree to make yourself vulnerable to another because you have a positive expectation for how things are going to turn out.
Key attribute associated with leadership
Followers who trust their leader will align their actions and attitudes with the leader’s behaviors/requests

39. How is trust developed?
Leadership Action: Integrity, Benevolence, Ability
Trust occurs (hopefully)
Action: Risk Taking, Information Sharing, Group Effectiveness, and Productivity

40. Reflection What leaders do you know who are charismatic?
Are there any leaders which you trust?
What sort of leader would you like to have?
Have a look at this list of famous leaders. Are there any you do/don’t want to be like?

41. Mentoring
Mentoring is the more experienced (mentor) helping the less experienced (protégé)

42. Effective leaders How do you find and select leaders?
How can you train leaders?
What are your ideas?