a. individuals telling considerably more.
b. Compounded across a large organization, this is an enormous amount of
deception happening every single day!
2. Evidence also shows that people are more comfortable lying over the phone
than face-to-face and more comfortable lying in e-mails than when they have
to write with pen and paper.
3. Research generally suggests most people are not very good at detecting
deception in others.
a. The problem is, there are no nonverbal or verbal cues unique to lying—
averting your gaze, pausing, and shifting your posture can also be signals
of nervousness, shyness, or doubt.
b. Most people who lie take a number of steps to guard against being
detected, so they might deliberately look a person in the eye when lying
because they know that direct eye contact is (incorrectly) assumed to be a
sign of truthfulness.
c. Finally, many lies are embedded in truths; liars usually give a somewhat
true account with just enough details changed to avoid detection.
d. In sum, the frequency of lying and the difficulty in detecting liars makes
this an especially strong barrier to effective communication in
organizations.
II. Cultural Factors
A. Introduction
1. Effective communication is difficult under the best of conditions.
a. Cross-cultural factors clearly create the potential for increased
communication problems.
b. A gesture that is well-understood and acceptable in one culture can be
meaningless or lewd in another.
2. Only 18 percent of companies have documented strategies for communicating
with employees across cultures, and only 31 percent require that corporate
messages be customized for consumption in other cultures.
B. Cultural Barriers
1. First, there are barriers caused by semantics. Words mean different things to
different people. Some words do not translate between cultures.
a. Finnish—the word sisu is untranslatable into English. It means something
akin to “guts” or “dogged persistence.”
b. English terms such as efficiency, free market, and regulation are not
directly translatable into Russian.
2. Second, there are barriers caused by word connotations. Words imply
different things in different languages.
a. The Japanese word hai means “yes,” but may mean “yes, I’m listening,”
not “yes, I agree.”
3. Third, there are barriers caused by tone differences. In some cultures,
language is formal; in others, it is informal. The tone changes depending on
the context.
4. Fourth, there are differences in tolerance for conflict and methods for
resolving conflicts.
a. Individuals from individualist cultures tend to be more comfortable with
direct conflicts and will make the source of their disagreements overt.
b. Collectivists are more likely to acknowledge conflict only implicitly and
avoid emotionally charged disputes.
c. They may attribute conflicts to the situation more than to the individuals
and therefore may not require explicit apologies to repair relationships,
whereas individualists prefer explicit statements accepting responsibility
for conflicts and public apologies to restore relationships.
C. Cultural Context (Exhibit 11-8)
1. Cultures tend to differ in the importance to which context influences meaning.
a. Countries like China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, are high-context
cultures.
b. They rely heavily on nonverbal and subtle situational cues when
communicating with others.
c. What is not said may be more significant than what is said.
d. A person’s official status, place in society, and reputation carry
considerable weight.
2. People from Europe and North America reflect their low-context cultures.
a. They rely essentially on words to convey meaning.
b. Body language or formal titles are secondary to spoken and written words.
3. Communication in high-context cultures implies considerably more trust by
both parties.
4. Oral agreements imply strong commitments in high-text cultures.
5. Who you are—your age, seniority, rank in the organization—is highly valued
and heavily influence your credibility.
6. In low-context cultures, enforceable contracts will tend to be in writing,
precisely worded, and highly legalistic. Similarly, low-context cultures value
directness.
D. A Cultural Guide
1. Know yourself. Recognizing your own cultural identity and biases is critical
to then understanding the unique viewpoint of other people.
2. Foster a climate of mutual respect, fairness, and democracy. Clearly
establish an environment of equality and mutual concern. This will be your
“third culture” context for effective intercultural communication that
transcends each person’s cultural norms.
3. State facts, not your interpretation. Interpreting or evaluating what someone
has said or done draws more on your own culture and background than on the
observed situation. If you state only facts, you will have the opportunity to
benefit from the other person’s interpretation. Delay judgment until you’ve
had sufficient time to observe and interpret the situation from the differing
perspectives of all concerned.
4. Consider the other person’s viewpoint. Before sending a message, put
yourself in the recipient’s shoes. What are his or her values, experiences, and
frames of reference? What do you know about his or her education,
upbringing, and background that can give you added insight? Try to see the
people in the group as they really are first, and take a collaborative
problem-solving approach whenever potential conflicts arise.
5. Proactively maintain the identity of the group. Like any culture, the
establishment of a common-ground “third culture” for effective intercultural
communication takes time and nurturing. Remind members of the group of
your common goals, mutual respect, and need to adapt to individual
communication preferences.
III. Summary and Implications for Managers
A. You’ve probably discovered the link between communication and employee
satisfaction in this chapter: the less uncertainty, the greater the satisfaction.
B. Distortions, ambiguities, and incongruities between verbal and nonverbal
messages all increase uncertainty and reduce satisfaction. Careful attention to the
methods and modes for each communication better ensures that the message is
properly interpreted by the receiver. Specific implications for managers are
below:
1. Remember that your communication mode will partly determine your
communication effectiveness.
2. Obtain feedback from your employees to make certain your messages—
however they are communicated—are understood.
3. Remember that written communication creates more misunderstandings than
oral communication; communicate with employees through in-person
meetings when possible.
4. Make sure you use communication strategies appropriate to your audience and
the type of message you’re sending.
5. Keep in mind communication barriers such as gender and culture.
Career OBjectives
Isn’t this disability too much to accommodate?
This exercise contributes to:
Learning Objective: Describe the functions and process of communication
Learning Outcome: Describe the factors influencing effective communication in organizations
AACSB: Written and oral communication; Diverse and multicultural work environments; Reflective
thinking
I thought it was a good, responsible move when my manager hired a guy who is
hearing-impaired . . . but now I’m not so sure. We do okay in communicating with him,
mostly thanks to e-mail and texting. None of us knows sign language but sometimes we
spell out words with our hands. The problem is that the guy makes a LOT of
inappropriate noises—farts, burps, coughs, moans, you name it. Isn’t this too much to put
up with? — Jackie
Dear Jackie:
In short: No. Workplace accommodation means more than simply tolerating a disabled
worker’s presence. Perhaps you might consider this from your deaf coworker’s point of
view (by the way, “deaf” is the preferred term, according to the National Association of
the Deaf):
• How are the communication conditions for him to work? Are you being sure to include
him in discussions by, say, assigning one of you to write down the important points for
him and ask his opinions in meetings? Search for “10 Annoying Habits of Hearing
People” online to get a glimpse of his perspective.
• Do you know what he thinks about your “hand spelling?” You may not know that
American Sign Language (ASL) is not simply English. Your coworker probably doesn’t
appreciate your “pigeon” sign language and may be offended by your attempts, but he
would likely appreciate an effort for the group to learn some ASL and/or use a translator.
There are apps and online translators where you can type in a phrase and see someone
sign your words on the screen, for instance. Similarly, new technology from
MotionSavvy translates signs into written speech.
• It seems you might be attributing emotions to your coworker when he makes noises,
emotions he may not feel. Do you think he is uncaring about his listening coworkers? It’s
much more likely that he simply doesn’t realize he is making noises or thinks they are
quieter than they are. Consider what it’s like when you are in a loud room; you’re
probably less aware of your sounds than when you’re in a quiet room where everyone can
react. If you can get past the barrier of thinking about how he should accommodate
himself to your environment and instead show him how your group is willing to work to
communicate with him, you may begin to develop an understanding of one another. Then,
and only then, it would make sense to approach the noise problem respectfully and
kindly, with a non-offensive one-on-one. But before you do, search the Internet for tips
on communicating with the deaf, and show him some respect.
Sources: C. Swinbourne, “The 10 Annoying Habits of Hearing People,” The Huffington Post, September 17, 2013,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charlie-swinbourne/the-10-annoying-habits-of_b_3618327.html; National Association of the Deaf
website, www.nad.org, accessed June 30, 2015; and R. Walker, “An Office Distraction,” The New York Times, March 22, 2015, 8.
Myth or Science?
“Today, Writing Skills Are More Important than
Speaking Skills”
This exercise contributes to:
Learning Objective: Contrast oral, written, and nonverbal communication
Learning Outcome: Describe the factors influencing effective communication in organizations
AACSB: Written and oral communication; Reflective thinking
Never before have the writing skills of managers and employees been more on display.
Whether we are tapping a keyboard or thumbing a screen, our communication with others
is also often unedited. (Thank goodness for spellcheck.) With all the written
communication methods we currently employ, it would be easy to think upper
management values writing skills over speaking skills. However, evidence suggests this
is not the case.
As we discussed in Chapter 1, soft skills matter most to employers, regardless of industry.
According to Nick Schultz of the American Enterprise Institute, “Considerable evidence
suggests that many employers would be happy just to find applicants who have the sort of
‘soft’ skills that used to be almost taken for granted.” Though soft skills refer to all
interpersonal skills evident through speaking and writing, they are most on display in
one-on-one discussions, interviews, meetings, and presentations. The ability to speak
well, particularly English, has become a job prerequisite for many multinational
corporations.
The good news is that speaking ability—knowledge of when to speak, how to speak, how
to sound, what to say—can be improved through training. According to leadership coach
and author Kristi Hedges, most people can train on their own and do not need formal
presentation classes. Speaking well hinges on clarity and sincerity of expression, so you
can make significant improvements by researching speaking techniques, watching videos
of practice sessions, and practicing new techniques in meetings. If learning to speak a
foreign language fluently is a problem, full immersion through overseas assignments to
native-speaking territories can be helpful if it is an option, as well as listening to and
mimicking television and radio broadcasts in the other language. Speaking well hinges on
clarity and sincerity of expression.
Therefore, while it is a mistake to believe writing skills have become more important
than speaking skills, we can all make significant improvements in our verbal
communications relatively quickly.
Sources: R. J. Aldrick and J. Kasuku, “Escaping from American Intelligence: Culture, Ethnocentrism and the Anglosphere,”
International Affairs (September 2012), pp. 1009–-1028; K. Hedges, “Confessions of a Former Public Speaking Trainer: Don’t Waste
Your Money,” Forbes (April 19, 2012),
http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/04/19/public-speaking-trainer-confesses-dont-waste-your-money-on-this/; and N.
Schultz, “Hard Unemployment Truths About ‘Soft’ Skills,” The Wall Street Journal (September 20, 2012), p. A15.
Class Exercise
1. Divide students into small groups of three to five.
2. Ask students to recall situations in which they have observed poor written
communications in a business setting.
3. Then ask each group to find courses on business writing at their university, online
universities, and other universities nearby or in their hometowns.
4. Each group should explore the topics covered in the classes and develop a
presentation of why the topics are relevant in the business world.
5. Have each group present their findings to the class.
Teaching Notes
This exercise is applicable to face-to-face classes or synchronous online classes such as
BlackBoard 9.1, Breeze, WIMBA, and Second Life Virtual Classrooms. See
http://www.baclass.panam.edu/imob/SecondLife for more information.
Personal Inventory Assessments
Communication Styles
What is your preferred communication style? Take this PIA to learn more about our
communication styles.
An Ethical Choice
Using Employees in Organizational Social Media
Strategy
This exercise contributes to:
Learning Objective: Describe how channel richness underlies the choice of communication channel
Learning Outcome: Describe the factors influencing effective communication in organizations
AACSB: Written and oral communication; Ethical understanding and reasoning; Reflective thinking
Social media are good for business communication, but their use is an ethical minefield
for employers and employees. In a recent study of 24 industries in 115 countries, 63
percent of managers believed social media will be important to their businesses in 3
years. Research suggests that social media use is an indicator of profitability firm equity
value. Companies at the forefront include McDonald’s, IBM, Salesforce, SAP, and
Yammer. Social media can turn oblivious customers into fans through increased,
personalized communication, and quick and appropriate response to customers’
communication can turn those fans—and employees—into spokespeople for the brand.
The key is forming emotional bonds or capitalizing on current relationships to spread the
good word about the company to potential clients.
Social media sites pose a host of ethical concerns. Employees with a huge online
presence who use it for both personal and company promotion (known as co-branded
employees) become a liability if they leak corporate information, present a bad image, or
leave the company. There are also ethical concerns about employees’ privacy and right to
free speech: if an employee who monitors the company Twitter feed and wins a customer
over later tweets from her personal account, “Score for us: another happy customer,” that
may present no concern. But she would hurt the company if she tweeted instead, “Epic
fail: we blew it again.”
Other employer tasks with few tested ethical guidelines include ensuring employees
make proper use of company time, compensating them for time they spend promoting the
company through their personal social media connection, clarifying who should own the
personal devices used for company promotion, setting limits on company expectations of
employees’ promotion, dealing with permissions/attributions, and clearing any legal
hurdles.
Experts advise organizations to draft social media policies that reflect their company
ethics rather than seek to “cover all the bases” of their potential liability. While an
organization could require job applicants to share their online passwords, for instance,
this may violate trust and personal privacy rules. Policies that define ethical expectations
for employee online behavior, discuss monitoring, define consequences for
nonconformance, and explain the logic of the guidelines will be the most effective. Even
still, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) finds many corporate policies aimed at
the ethics of social media usage violate the National Labor Relations Act. A good social
media policy can affirm the ethical expectations of the corporation and improve
organizational culture.
Sources: S. F. Gale, “Policies Must Score a Mutual Like,” Workforce Management (August 2012), p. 18; B. Giamanco and K.
Gregoire, “Tweet Me, Friend Me, Make Me Buy,” Harvard Business Review (July–-August 2012), pp. 88–-93; D. Kiron, D. Palmer,
A. N Phillips, and N. Kruschwitz, “What Managers Really Think About Social Business,” MIT Sloan Management Review (Summer
2012), pp. 51–-60; X. Luo, J. Zhang, and W. Duan, “Social Media and Firm Equity Value,” Information Systems Research (March
2013), pp. 146–-163; C. M. Sashi, “Customer Engagement, Buyer-Seller Relationships, and Social Media,” Management Decision, 50
(2012), pp. 253–-272; and A. Smith, “NLRB Finds Social Media Policies Unlawful,” HR Magazine (August 2012), p. 18.
Class Exercise
1. Divide the class into small groups of about five students.
2. Then ask students to use the following links to explore legal and ethical issues
related to the use of social media in the workplace.
http://www.chron.com/opinion/outlook/article/Social-media-in-the-workplace-
4106313.php
http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130415114432-17102372-social
-media-etiquette-in-the-workplace
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2012/06/10/social-media-in-the-office-
two-truths-and-a-lie/
3. Ask students to choose an issue from one of the three websites and prepare a case
both supporting and criticizing the use of social media in the particular situation.
4. Each group should present their cases to the class.
5. As a class, draw some conclusions about each case and discuss the benefits and
drawbacks of social media in the workplace.
Teaching Notes
This exercise is applicable to face-to-face classes or synchronous online classes such as
BlackBoard 9.1, Breeze, WIMBA, and Second Life Virtual Classrooms. See
http://www.baclass.panam.edu/imob/SecondLife for more information.
Point/Counterpoint
We Should Use Employees’ Social Media Presence
This exercise contributes to:
Learning Objectives: Contrast oral, written, and nonverbal communication; Describe how channel
richness underlies the choice of communication channel; Describe the functions and process of
communication; Describe the functions and process of communication
Learning Outcome: Describe the factors influencing effective communication in organizations
AACSB: Written and oral communication; Reflective thinking
Point
Everyone uses social media. Well, almost everyone. A recent Pew Research Study found
that the highest percentage of adults who use social networking sites was in Israel at 53
percent, followed by 50 percent in the United States, 43 percent in Russia and Britain,
and 42 percent in Spain.
Business is social, and using employees’ social contacts to increase business has always
been a facet of marketing. Organizations that don’t follow their employees’ social media
presence are missing an opportunity to expand their business and strengthen their
workforce. Employees are key representatives of their companies to the outside world.
With social media, the potential scope of that influence is hugely increased, and the
company can monitor and identify employees with the best endorsement potential. The
Honda employee who once told 30 friends that Honda is best can now tell 300 Facebook
friends and 500 Twitter followers about the latest model. Employees savvy about social
media can have a substantial positive effect on the bottom line.
Monitoring employees’ social media presence can also strengthen the workforce by
identifying the best talent. Managers can look for potential online celebrities—frequent
bloggers and Twitter users with many followers—to approach for co-branding
partnerships. Scrutiny can also help employers spot problems. For example, consider the
employee who is fired one day and turns violent. A manager who had been monitoring
the employee’s social media posts may have been able to detect warning signs. A human
resources department monitoring employees’ social media activity may be able to identify
a substance abuse problem and provide help for the employee through the company’s
intervention policies.
A job candidate’s social media presence provides one more input to hiring and retention
decisions that many companies already take advantage of. In reality, there is no
difference between the employee and the person – they are one and the same, on or off
working hours.
Employers that monitor social media can also identify employees who use their platforms
to send out bad press or who leak proprietary information. For this reason, managers may
someday be required to monitor employees’ social media postings, and to act upon
infringements of company policies. Many do so already.
Managers should therefore develop enforceable social media policies and create a
corporate infrastructure to regularly research and monitor social media activity. The
potential increase in business and limit on liability is ample return for dedicating staff and
work hours to building a successful monitoring program.
Counterpoint
There is little to be gained and much to be lost when organizations follow candidates’ and
employees’ presence on social media. Managers may be able to learn more about
individuals through their online activity, and organizations may be able to catch some
good press from employee postings, but the risk of liability for this intrusion on privacy is
inescapable. Managers are ill-equipped to monitor, interpret, and act upon employees’
social media postings, and few have any experience with relating the medium to business
use.
Managers may also easily misinterpret information they find. Few companies have
training programs for the proper use of social media; only 40 percent have social media
policies of any kind. Those that do are skating on thin ice because monitoring policies
can conflict with privacy regulations.
An employee’s online image doesn’t reveal much that is relevant to the job, certainly not
enough to warrant the time and money a business would spend on monitoring. Most users
view social media as a private, recreational venue, and their membership on Facebook
and other sites should be regarded with the same respect as would membership in a club.
In this light, monitoring employees’ social media accounts is an unethical violation of
their right to privacy.
Equal Employment Opportunity laws require companies to hire without respect to race,
age, religion, national origin, or disability. But managers who check into candidates’
social media postings often find out more than the candidate wanted to share, and then
there is no way to keep that information from affecting the hiring decision. Searching
through social media can, therefore, expose a company to a costly discrimination claim.
Using employees’ personal social media presence as a marketing tool through
company-supportive postings is unethical from many standpoints. First, it is unethical to
expect employees to expand the company’s client base through their personal contacts.
Second, it is unreasonable to expect them to endorse the company after working hours.
And the practice of asking employees for their social media passwords is an obvious
intrusion into their personal lives.
In sum, people have a right to a professional and a private image. Unless the employee is
offering to “friend” the company in a social media partnership, there is no question that
employers should stay out of their personal business.
Sources: S. F. Gale, “Policies Must Score a Mutual Like,” Workforce Management (August 2012); R. Huggins and S. Ward,
“Countries with the Highest Percentage of Adults who Use Social Networking Sites,” USA Today (February 8, 2012), p. 1A; A.
L. Kavanaugh et al., “Social Media Use by Government: From the Routine to the Critical,” Government Information Quarterly
(October 2012), pp. 480–-491; and S. Johnson, “Those Facebook Posts Could Cost You a Job,” San Jose Mercury News (January
16, 2012), http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_19754451.
Class Exercise
1. Divide the class into paired teams of three to five students each.
2. Ask one of each pair to take the Point view and the other to take the Counterpoint
view.
3. Have each group develop addition support for its viewpoint.
4. Have representatives from each paired group debate the Point/Counterpoint
before the class.
5. Ask the class to vote on the view that was most successfully supported.