Chapter 11 Communication Page
Chapter 11
Communication
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, students should be able to:
11-1. Describe the functions and process of communication.
small-group networks and the grapevine.
11-3. Contrast oral, written, and nonverbal communication.
method.
messages.
11-6. Identify common barriers to effective communication.
11-7. Discuss how to overcome the potential problems of
cross-cultural communication.
INSTRUCTOR’S RESOURCES
Instructors may wish to use the following resources when presenting this chapter.
Text Exercises
Career OBjectives: Isn’t This Disability Too Much to Accommodate?
Myth or Science?: “Today, Writing Skills Are More Important than Speaking
Skills”
MyLab Management
oPersonal Inventory Assessments: Communication Styles
oWatch It!: Communication (TWZ Role Play)
oTry It!: Diversity; Communication
An Ethical Choice: Using Employees in Organizational Social Media Strategy
Point/Counterpoint: We Should Use Employees’ Social Media Presence
Questions for Review
Experiential Exercise: Conveying Tone Through E-mail
Ethical Dilemma: BYOD
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Text Cases
Case Incident 1: Do Men and Women Speak the Same Language
Case Incident 2: Trying to Cut the Grapevine
Instructor’s Choice
This section presents an exercise that is NOT found in the student’s textbook. Instructor’s
Choice reinforces the text’s emphasis through various activities. Some Instructor’s
Choice activities are centered on debates, group exercises, Internet research, and student
experiences. Some can be used in class in their entirety, while others require some
additional work on the student’s part. The course instructor may choose to use these at
any time throughout the class—some may be more effective as icebreakers, while some
may be used to pull together various concepts covered in the chapter.
Web Exercises
and ideas for researching OB topics on the Internet. The exercises “Exploring OB Topics
on the Web” are set up so that you can simply photocopy the pages, distribute them to
your class, and make assignments accordingly. You may want to assign the exercises as
an out-of-class activity or as lab activities with your class.
Summary and Implications for Managers
You’ve probably discovered the link between communication and employee satisfaction
in this chapter: the less uncertainty, the greater the satisfaction. 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:
Remember that your communication mode will partly determine your
communication effectiveness.
Obtain feedback from your employees to make certain your messages—however
they are communicated—are understood.
Remember that written communication creates more misunderstandings than oral
communication; communicate with employees through in-person meetings when
possible.
Make sure you use communication strategies appropriate to your audience and the
type of message you’re sending.
Keep in mind communication barriers such as gender and culture.
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This chapter begins with a discussion of communication focusing on two cases in which how a message
was communicated was not how it was interpreted. As Rogers Communications and Oakhurst Dairy found,
unclear communication can cost an organization millions. In this chapter, we will explore communication
in the modern workplace. We will learn more about the communication process, and how this process can
go awry. We will also learn about types of communication, and how these types are shaped by recent
technologies.
Communication must include both the transfer and the understanding of meaning. Communicating is more
than merely imparting meaning; that meaning must also be understood. It is only thus that we can convey
information and ideas. In perfect communication, if it existed, a thought would be transmitted so the
receiver understood the same mental picture the sender intended. Though it sounds elementary, perfect
communication is never achieved in practice, for reasons we shall see.
BRIEF CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Functions of Communication
A. Communication serves five major functions within a group or organization:
1. Management
2. Feedback
3. Emotional sharing
4. Persuasion
5. Information exchange
II. The Communication Process (Exhibit 11-1)
conveyed is needed.
B. The message is encoded (converted to symbolic form) and is passed by way of
some medium (channel) to the receiver, who retranslates (decodes) the message
initiated by the sender.
F. The message is the actual physical product of the sender’s encoding.
G. When we speak, the speech is the message. When we write, the writing is the
our faces are the message.
H. The channel is the medium through which the message travels.
related to the professional activities of members.
2. Other forms of messages, such as personal or social, follow informal
channels, which are spontaneous and subject to individual choice.
message.
J. Noise represents communication barriers that distort the clarity of the message,
such as perceptual problems, information overload, semantic difficulties, or
cultural differences.
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III. Direction of Communication
A. Downward Communication
level is downward communication.
procedures, provide feedback, etc.
3. When engaging in downward communication, managers must explain the
reasons why a decision was made.
support of decisions.
4. Another problem in downward communication is its one-way nature;
opinions.
5. The best communicators explain the reasons behind their downward
communications but also solicit communication from the employees they
supervise.
B. Upward Communication
1. Upward communication flows to a higher level in the group or organization.
2. It is used to provide feedback to higher-ups, inform them of progress, and
relay current problems.
3. Managers also rely on upward communication for ideas on how conditions
can be improved.
a. It is also important for subordinates to give honest, authentic feedback
because, if managers are not given reasonable negative feedback about
allocating resources, they are more likely to make self-interested decisions
at the expense of their surbordinates.
4. To engage in effective upward communication, try to communicate in
headlines not paragraphs, support your headlines with actionable items, and
prepare an agenda to make sure you use your boss’s attention well.
C. Lateral Communication
1. When communication takes place among members of the same work group,
among members of work groups at the same level, among managers at the
lateral communication.
2. Lateral communications save time and facilitate coordination.
3. In some cases, these lateral relationships are formally sanctioned.
4. Often, they are informally created to short-circuit the vertical hierarchy and
expedite action.
without their knowledge.
IV. Organizational Communication
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A. Formal Small-Group Networks (Exhibit 11-2)
three-level organization.
b. The wheel relies on a central figure to act as the conduit for all group
communication; it simulates the communication network you would find
on a team with a strong leader.
takes on a leadership role.
3. As Exhibit 11-3 demonstrates, the effectiveness of each network depends on
the dependent variable that concerns you.
4. The structure of the wheel facilitates the emergence of a leader, the
all-channel network is best if you desire high member satisfaction, and the
all occasions.
B. The Grapevine
1. The informal communication network in a group or organization is called the
grapevine.
2. Rumors emerge as a response to situations that are important to us, when there
explains why rumors flourish in organizations.
3. The grapevine is an important part of any group or organization
communication network.
a. It gives managers a feel for the morale of their organization, identifies
issues employees consider important, and helps tap into employee
anxieties.
negative information is flowing through their organization.
a. While some consider gossiping to be deviant behavior, not all gossip is
malicious.
6. Managers should minimize the negative consequences of rumors by limiting
their range and impact. (Exhibit 11-4)
V. Modes of Communication
A. Oral Communication
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a. Advantages are speed and feedback.
b. A major disadvantage arises when the message must be passed through a
number of people: the more people, the more the potential for distortion.
2. Meetings—can be formal or informal, include two or more people, and take
place in almost any venue.
3. Videoconferencing and Conference Calling—videoconferencing permits
and can prompt immediate response.
B. Written Communication
1. Written communications include memos, letters, e-mail, instant messaging,
periodicals, and any other method that conveys written words or symbols.
2. Letters—the oldest and most enduring form of written communication.
complex ideas.
4. E-mail—has become so persuasive it’s hard to imagine life without it.
a. Many managers report that they spend too much time on e-mail. (Exhibit
11-5)
5. Instant Messaging—a synchronous technology, meaning that you need to be
there to receive the message.
alternative to phone calls.
7. Social Media—transformed communication.
applications.
forum of choice for the public.
9. Blogs—short for web log—a website about a single person or company.
10. Others—Flickr, Pinterest, Google+, and so on.
C. Nonverbal Communication
1. Every time we deliver a verbal message, we also impart a nonverbal message.
Sometimes the nonverbal component may stand alone.
2. No discussion of communication would thus be complete without
consideration of nonverbal communication—which includes body
movements, the intonations or emphasis we give to words, facial expressions,
and the physical distance between the sender and receiver. (Exhibit 11-6)
3. We could argue that every body movement has meaning, and no movement is
accidental (though some are unconscious).
4. Physical distance also has meaning.
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5. It’s important to be alert to these nonverbal aspects of communication and
look for nonverbal cues as well as the literal meaning of a sender’s words.
VI. Choice of Communication Channel
A. People choose one channel of communication over another for several reasons. A
model of media richness has been developed to explain channel selection among
managers.
B. Channel Richness
1. Channels differ in their capacity to convey information.
2. Some are rich in that they have the ability to:
a. Handle multiple cues simultaneously.
b. Facilitate rapid feedback.
c. Be very personal.
3. As Exhibit 11-7 illustrates, face-to-face conversation scores highest in
channel richness because it transmits the most information per
communication episode—multiple information cues (words, postures, facial
expressions, gestures, intonations), immediate feedback (both verbal and
nonverbal), and the personal touch of being present.
4. Others are lean in that they score low on these factors.
C. Choosing Communication Methods
1. The choice of one channel over another depends on whether the message is
routine.
2. Routine messages tend to be straightforward and have a minimum of
ambiguity.
informed.
3. Whenever you need to gauge the receiver’s receptivity, oral communication is
usually the better choice.
4. Written communication is generally the most reliable more for complex and
lengthy communications, and can be the most efficient for short messages as
well.
and verifiable.
a. People are usually forced to think more thoroughly about what they want
to convey in a written message than in a spoken one, so your written
communication can also be well thought out, logical, and clear.
6. Letters are used in business primarily for networking purposes and when
signatures need to be authentic.
messaging in business settings.
a. Texts are cheap to send and receive, and the willingness to be available for
quick communications from clients and managers is conducive to good
business.
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certain you are connected with all levels of management engaged in the
effort.
b. Use discretion about which social media platforms are acceptable for
business communications.
information with others.
11. It’s important to be alert to nonverbal aspects of communication and look for
nonverbal cues as well as the literal meaning of a sender’s words.
D. Information Security
sharing.
a. The recent adoption of cloud-based electronic data storage has brought a
new level of worry; 51 percent of managers in a recent survey were
considering cloud-based human resources software.
employees.
5. An organization can relieve employee concerns by engaging them in the
creation of information-security policies and giving them some control over
how their personal information is used.
VII. Persuasive Communications
A. Automatic and Controlled Processing
in Chapter 6.
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a. Automatic processing takes little time and low effort, so it makes sense to
much about.
b. The disadvantage is that it lets us be easily fooled by a variety of tricks,
like a cute jingle or glamorous photo.
3. Now consider the last time you chose a place to live. You probably did some
independent research among experts who know something about the area,
5. There are a few rules of thumb for determining what types of processing an
audience will use.
B. Interest Level
1. One of the best predictors of whether people will use an automatic or
in it.
2. Interest levels reflect the impact a decision is going to have on your life.
a. When people are very interested in the outcome of a decision, they’re
more likely to process information carefully.
C. Prior Knowledge
use controlled processing strategies.
2. On the other hand, people who are poorly informed about a topic can change
their minds more readily, even in the face of fairly superficial arguments
presented without a great deal of evidence.
D. Personality
E. Message Characteristics
1. Another factor that influences whether people use an automatic or controlled
processing strategy is the characteristics of the message itself.
a. Messages provided through relatively lean communication channels, with
little opportunity for users to interact with the content of the message, tend
to encourage automatic processing.
processing.
2. The most important implication of all this research is to match your persuasive
message to the type of processing your audience is likely to use.
a. When the audience is not especially interested in a persuasive message
topic, when they are poorly informed, when they are low in need for
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positive images with your preferred outcome.
c. On the other hand, when the audience is interested in a topic, when they
are high in need for cognition, or when the information is transmitted
through rich channels, then it is a better idea to focus on rational
arguments and evidence to make your case.
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