1.
II. 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:
effectiveness.
they are communicated—are understood.
3. Remember that written communication creates more misunderstandings than oral
possible.
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.
• 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
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?
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
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,
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
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, 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-don
September 20, 2012, p. A15.
Class Exercise
1. Divide students into small groups of three to five.
communications in a business setting.
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.wimba.com/solutions/higher-education/wimba_classroom_for_higher_education),
(http://go.secondlife.com/landing/education/) and
(http://docplayer.net/19442732-Effective-use-of-collaboration-tools-for-online-learning-jennifer-pontano-ke-anna-sk
ipwith-drexel-university-e-learning-2-0-conference-march-2011.html) for more information.
MyLab Management
Watch It!
Communication (TWZ Role Play)
If your instructor has assigned this activity, go to www.pearson.com/mylab/management to
complete the video exercise.
MyLab Management
Personal Inventory Assessments
Communication Styles
What is your preferred communication style? Take this PIA to learn more about our
communication styles.
MyLab Management
Try It!
Diversity; Communication
complete the video exercise.
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
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
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
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
improve organizational culture.
Sources: S. F. Gale, “Policies Must Score a Mutual Like,” Workforce Management, August 2012, 18; B. Giamanco and K. Gregoire, “Tweet Me,
Friend Me, Make Me Buy,” Harvard Business Review, July–-August 2012, 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, 51–-60; X. Luo, J. Zhang, and W. Duan,
“Social Media and Firm Equity Value,” Information Systems Research, March 2013, 146–-163; C. M. Sashi, “Customer Engagement,
Unlawful,” HR Magazine, August 2012, 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
Chron, “Social Media in the Workplace”
http://www.chron.com/opinion/outlook/article/Social-media-in-the-workplace-410631
3.php
LinkedIn, “Social Media ‘Etiquette’ in the Workplace”
-etiquette-in-the-workplace
Forbes’ “Social Media in the Office: Two Truths and a Lie”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2012/06/10/social-media-in-the-office-two-tru
ths-and-a-lie/
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.wimba.com/solutions/higher-education/wimba_classroom_for_higher_education),
(http://go.secondlife.com/landing/education/) and
(http://docplayer.net/19442732-Effective-use-of-collaboration-tools-for-online-learning-jennifer-pontano-ke-anna-sk
ipwith-drexel-university-e-learning-2-0-conference-march-2011.html) 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
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
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
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
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.
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.
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
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.
class.
5. Ask the class to vote on the view that was most successfully supported.