Chapter 13 – Managing Communication & Information
CHAPTER
13
MANAGING
COMMUNICATION
AND
INFORMATION
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
13-1. Describe what managers need to know about communicating effectively.
13-2. Explain how technology affects managerial communication.
13-3. Discuss contemporary issues in communication.
Management Myth
MYTH: Managers should try to stifle the grapevine.
TRUTH: Astute managers acknowledge the existence of the grapevine and use it in beneficial
ways.
Teaching Tips:
As evidenced by Wiki Leaks, information can be a powerful tool. Organizations need to take
security issues seriously as leaked personal or account information would cause customers to
lose faith in the company.
Questions to think about include:
How do students protect the security of their Twitter accounts and e-mail accounts?
Are companies and individuals liable for any information distributed from one of their
hacked accounts?
I. HOW DO MANAGERS COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY?
A. Introduction
1. Everything a manager does involves communicating.
2. A manager can’t formulate a strategy or make a decision without information,
which has to be communicated.
3. Once a decision is made, communication must again take place.
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4. Good communication skills alone do not make a successful manager but
ineffective communication skills can lead to a continuous stream of problems for
the manager.
B. How Does the Communication Process Work?
1. Communication can be thought of as a process or flow.
a) Problems occur when there are deviations or blockages in that flow.
2. Communication requires a purpose, expressed as a message conveyed between a
source (the sender) and a receiver. It is encoded and is passed by some medium to
the receiver, who re-translates the message initiated by the sender. The result is a
transference of meaning from one person to another.
3. Exhibit 13-1 depicts the communication process.
4. The sender initiates a message by encoding a thought.
a) Four conditions affect the encoded message: skill, attitudes, knowledge, and the
social-cultural system.
1. One’s total communicative success includes speaking, reading, listening, and
reasoning skills.
2. Our attitudes influence our behavior. We hold predisposed ideas on numerous
topics, and our communications are affected by these attitudes.
3. We are restricted in our communicative activity by the extent of our
knowledge of the particular topic.
4. Finally, just as attitudes influence our behavior, so does our position in the
social-cultural system in which we exist.
(a) Your beliefs and values, all part of your culture, act to influence you as
a communicative source.
5. The message is the actual physical product from the source that conveys some
purpose.
a) Our message is affected by the code or group of symbols we use to transfer
meaning, the content of the message itself, and the decisions that we make in
selecting and arranging both codes and content.
6. The channel is the medium through which the message travels. It is selected by the
source.
a) Formal channels are established by the organization and transmit messages that
pertain to the job-related activities of members.
b) Other forms of messages, such as personal or social, follow the informal
channels in the organization.
7. The receiver is the person to whom the message is directed.
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8. The message must be translated into a form that can be understood by the receiver.
This is the decoding of the message.
a) Just as the encoder was limited by his or her skills, attitudes, knowledge, and
social-cultural system, the receiver is equally restricted.
9. The final link in the communication process is a feedback loop.
a) Feedback is the check on how successful we have been in transferring our
messages as originally intended. It determines whether or not understanding
has been achieved.
C. Are Written Communications More Effective Than Verbal Ones?
1. Written communications are tangible, verifiable, and more permanent than the oral
variety.
a) Typically, both sender and receiver have a record of the communication.
b) The message can be stored for an indefinite period of time.
c) If there are questions about the content of the message, it is available for later
reference.
d) A final benefit of written communication comes from the process itself.
1. More care is taken with the written word than with the spoken word.
2. Written messages have their drawbacks.
a) Writing consumes a great deal of time.
b) Lack of feedback.
D. Is the Grapevine an Effective Way to Communicate?
1. The grapevine is the unofficial way that communications take place in an
organization.
2. Information is spread by word of mouth—and even through electronic means
today.
a) Ironically this is a two-way process—good information passes between us
rapidly; bad information even faster.
3. The biggest question focuses on the accuracy of the rumors.
4. Research on this topic has been somewhat mixed.
a) But even then, although the information flowing is inaccurate, it still contains
some element of truth.
E. How Do Nonverbal Cues Affect Communication?
1. Some of the most meaningful communications are neither spoken nor written.
These are nonverbal communications.
2. Body language refers to gestures, facial configurations, and other movements of
the body.
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3. Verbal intonation refers to the emphasis someone gives to words or phrases.
4. The nonverbal component is likely to carry the greatest impact.
a) Research indicates that from 65-90 percent of the message of every
face-to-face conversation is interpreted through body language.
From the Past to the Present
One of the most famous studies of the grapevine was conducted by management researcher
Keith Davis who investigated the communication patterns among 67 managerial personnel. The
approach he used was to learn from each communication recipient how he or she first received a
given piece of information and then traced it back to its source. It was found that, while the
grapevine was an important source of information, only 10 percent of the executives acted as
liaison individuals (that is, passed the information on to more than one other person). For
example, when one executive decided to resign to enter the insurance business, 81 percent of the
executives knew about it, but only 11 percent transmitted this information to others. Recent
research by IBM and Massachusetts Institute of Technology using a similar type of analysis
focused more on people’s social networks of contacts at work rather than on how information
flowed through the organizational grapevine. However, what was noticeably interesting about
this study was that it found that employees who have strong communication ties with their
managers tend to bring in more money than those who steer clear of the boss.
Discuss This:
Why is it important for managers to understand social and communication networks
employees use?
What have been your experiences with the “grapevine” and what did you learn from
those experiences about dealing with the grapevine as a source of communication?
Teaching Tips:
A discussion of the way businesses and politics treat the grapevine could provide for some
interesting class interaction. It’s amazing how much information in the political realm is
transmitted informally. ‘Confidential sources’ have become a useful means for the news media to
find information about powerful decision makers. Another common technique for political
operatives is to ‘float’ a story and then see how it is picked up in the press and then gauge public
opinion.
F. What Barriers Keep Communication from Being Effective?
1. A number of interpersonal and intrapersonal barriers affect the decoding of a
message.
a) Exhibit 13-2 summarizes the more prominent barriers.
2. Filtering refers to manipulating information so that it will be seen more favorably
by the receiver.
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Chapter 13 – Managing Communication & Information
a) As information is passed up to senior executives, the personal interests and
perceptions of what is important to those doing the synthesizing are going to
cause filtering.
b) The extent of filtering tends to be a function of the number of vertical levels in
the organization and the organizational culture.
c) The ever-increasing use of e-mail to communicate in organizations reduces
filtering because communication is more direct as intermediaries are bypassed.
d) The organizational culture encourages or discourages filtering by the type of
behavior it rewards.
3. With selective perception, receivers see and hear based on their needs,
motivations, experience, background, and other personal characteristics.
4. Information overload happens when individuals have more information than they
can sort out and use; they tend to select out, ignore, pass over, or forget
information, etc.
5. Emotions—how a receiver feels when a message is received influences how he or
she interprets it.
6. Language—the meanings of words are not in the words; they are in us.
a) Employees come from diverse backgrounds and have different patterns of
speech.
b) Grouping of employees into departments creates specialists who develop their
own jargon or technical language.
7. How does gender affect communication?
a) Effective communication between the sexes is important for meeting
organizational goals.
1. To keep gender differences from becoming persistent barriers to effective
communication requires acceptance, understanding, and a commitment to
communicate adaptively.
8. Communication differences can also arise from the different languages that
individuals use to communicate and the national culture of which they are a part.
a) Owing to the emphasis on the individual in countries such as the United States,
communication patterns there are individual oriented and rather clearly spelled
out.
1. For instance, U.S. managers rely heavily on memoranda, announcements,
position papers, and other formal forms of communication to state their
positions on issues.
b) In collectivist countries such as Japan, there is more interaction for its own
sake and a more informal manner of interpersonal contact.
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1. The Japanese manager, in contrast to U.S. managers, engages in extensive
verbal consultation with employees over an issue first and only later will
draw up a formal document.
2. Face-to-face communication is encouraged.
G. How Can Managers Overcome Communication Barriers?
1. See Exhibit 13-3.
2. Why use feedback?
a) Many communication problems can be directly attributed to misunderstandings
and inaccuracies.
b) These problems are minimized if the manager uses the feedback loop.
c) Feedback can be verbal or nonverbal.
d) Feedback should include more than yes-or-no answers.
1. The manager can ask a set of questions.
2. The manager can ask the receiver to restate the message in his or her own
words.
3. General comments can give a manager a sense of the receiver’s reaction to
a message.
4. Actions may speak louder than words.
e) The sales manager example.
3. Why should simplified language be used?
a) Because language can be a barrier, managers should choose words and
structure their messages in ways that will make those messages clear and
understandable to the receiver.
b) Effective communication is achieved when a message is both received and
understood.
c) Jargon can facilitate understanding when it is used within a group of those who
know what it means, but it can cause problems when used outside that group.
4. Why must we listen actively?
a) Listening is an active search for meaning, whereas hearing is passive.
b) In listening, two people are thinking—the receiver and the sender.
c) Many of us are poor listeners because listening is difficult, and it’s usually
more satisfying to be the talker.
d) Listening—is often more tiring than talking.
e) Active listening is enhanced by developing empathy with the sender—that is,
by placing yourself in the sender’s position.
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5. Why must we constrain emotions?
a) They can severely cloud and distort the transference of meaning.
6. Why the emphasis on nonverbal cues?
a) Actions speak louder than words.
b) Nonverbal messages carry a great deal of weight.
II. TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGERIAL COMMUNICATION?
A. Information technology (IT) has radically changed the way organizational members
communicate.
1. Improves a manager’s ability to monitor individual and team performance.
2. Allows employees to have more complete information to make faster decisions.
3. Provides employees more opportunities to collaborate and share information.
4. Makes it possible for people in organizations to be fully accessible 24 hours a day,
7 days a week.
B. Networked Communication Applications
1. In a networked communication system organizational computers are linked
together through compatible hardware and software, creating an integrated
organizational network.
2. E-mail is the instantaneous transmission of messages on computers that are linked
together.
3. Instant messaging (IM)—interactive, real-time communication that takes place
among computer users who are logged on to the computer network at the same
time.
a) Information can be communicated instantaneously.
4. A voice-mail system digitizes a spoken message, transmits it over the network, and
stores the message on a disk for the receiver to retrieve later.
5. Facsimile or fax machines allow the transmission of documents containing both
text and graphics over ordinary telephone lines.
6. Electronic data interchange (EDI) is a way for organizations to exchange
business transaction documents such as invoices or purchase orders, using direct,
computer-to-computer networks.
7. Teleconferencing allows a group of people to confer simultaneously using
telephone or e-mail group communications software; videoconferencing allows for
meeting participants to see each other over video screens.
8. An organizational intranet is an organizational communication network that uses
Internet technology but is accessible only to organizational employees.
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9. An organizational extranet is an organizational communication network that uses
Internet technology and allows authorized users inside the organization to
communicate with certain outsiders such as customers or vendors.
10. Finally, the Internet is now being used for voice communication.
C. Wireless Communication
1. Employees no longer have to be at their desks with their computers plugged in and
turned on in order to communicate with others in the organization.
2. Managers and employees “keep in touch” using smartphones, tablet computers,
notebook computers, and mobile pocket devices.
3. And wireless communication works – anywhere.
Technology and the Manager’s Job
Office of Tomorrow
Summary
Technology is changing the way we communicate in the workplace. In the future, employees are
likely to carry a single device that combines telephone and texting technology with the Internet,
teleconferencing, and language translation. This new device is likely to be wearable technology
along the lines of Google Glass.
Discuss This:
Do you view communicating using technology as more of a help or a hindrance?
Explain.
What issues does wearable technology present in the workplace? What do you think
managers will need to do to deal with these issues?
Teaching Tip:
Discuss how wearable technology like FitBit has become mainstream in the world of
fitness.
Then ask students to research the latest examples of wearable technology for the office
and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the devices in the workplace.
III.WHAT COMMUNICATION ISSUES DO MANAGERS FACE TODAY?
A. Introduction
1. Effectively communicating means being connected to employees and customers and
having the ability to be connected to any of the organization’s stakeholders.
B. How Do We Manage Communication in an Internet World?
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1. The two main challenges created by new technology in the business world are legal
and security issues and lack of personal interaction.
a) Managers must be knowledgeable about potential legal problems that
can arise from misuse of technology, including inappropriate usage of e-mails and
blogs.
b) Software that enables real-time collaboration can be chosen to
ameliorate the lack of personal interaction posed by the Internet age.
C. How Does Knowledge Management Affect Communication?
1. Managers must deliberately manage the base of knowledge.
2. Knowledge management involves cultivating a learning culture in which
organizational members systematically gather knowledge and share it with
others in the organization so as to achieve better performance.
D. What Is Involved with Managing the Organization’s Knowledge Resources?
1. Create online information databases.
2. Create communities of practice, which are groups of people who share a
concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their
knowledge and expertise in that area by interacting on an ongoing basis.
E. What Role Does Communication Play in Customer Service?
1. The content of an organization’s communication and how this communication
takes place can have a significant impact on customer satisfaction.
a) The quality of the company’s personal interaction between employee and
customer has a significant impact on customer satisfaction.
F. How Can We Get Employee Input and Why Should We?
1. Organizations need to get input from employees, even if all they do is provide
a suggestion box for their employees. Employee suggestions can help with
such things as reducing costs, improving delivery time, etc.
2. Exhibit 13-4 lists some suggestions for letting employees know that their
opinions matter.
G. Why Should Managers Be Concerned with Communicating Ethically?
1. Ethical communication includes all relevant information, is true in every
sense, and is not deceptive in any way.
2. Unethical communication can take several forms including: omitting
information, selectively misquoting someone, misrepresenting numbers,
distorting visuals, and failing to respect privacy or information security needs.
3. In a global survey by the International Association of Business
Communicators, 70 percent of communication professionals said their
companies clearly define what is considered ethical and unethical behavior.
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4. If companies have no clear guidelines, then they should answer the following
questions:
a) Has the situation been defined fairly and accurately?
b) Why is the message being communicated?
c) How will the people who may be affected by the message or who
receive the message be impacted?
d) Does the message help achieve the greatest possible good while
minimizing possible harm?
e) Will this decision that appears to be ethical now seem so in the future?
f) How comfortable are you with your communication effort? What
would a person you admire think of it?
A Question of Ethics
Want to vent about your boss or your company? Now there are apps to do just that: Yik Yak,
Whisper, and Memo, among others. In these apps, users post anonymous messages about their
employers. Giving and receiving feedback can be a significant challenge for employees and
managers. Yes, providing the opportunity for employees to offer honest feedback about their
managers and workplace is commendable. But are the apps that provide a platform for
employees to do just that, but anonymously, the answer?
Discuss This:
How do these apps that let employees posy anonymous feedback benefit employees?
Managers?
What ethical dilemmas might arise because of these apps?
Teaching Tips:
It is almost impossible for managers to stop employees from venting about their boss or their
company, but talking around the water cooler is vastly different from posting comments to the
entire world. Not only do those who are the targets of criticism have no means of defending
themselves, these platforms effectively facilitate and legitimize what may be the unsubstantiated
complaints of a few, and can prompt a surge of negative feelings resulting in a hostile
environment of distrust and suspicion. On the other hand, the platforms may provide an
opportunity for managers to learn the true feelings of their employees and potentially make
beneficial changes to their own actions and behavior. Ask students if they have ever use these
apps to post complaints about their companies or managers. How did they feel about using
them? Did posting complaints change the way they felt about their jobs or the behavior of their
managers? Would they post complaints again? How would they feel if they were the recipient
of a complaint?
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