Chapter 14
Managing Communication
Without communication, nothing would ever get done in organizations. Managers are
concerned with two types of communication: interpersonal and organizational. We look
at both in this chapter and the role they play in a manager’s ability to be efficient and
effective. Focus on the following learning objectives as you read and study this chapter.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
2. Compare and contrast methods of interpersonal communication.
4. Explain how communication can flow most effectively in organizations.
6. Discuss contemporary issues in communication.
It’s Your Career
He Says…She Says
Do men and women have different conversational styles that can potentially interfere
with their ability to understand each other? The evidence (and maybe even your own
1. Don’t assume that men and women necessarily use language in the same
2. Expect men to emphasize status in their communications. Men speak and
3. Women use communication to seek connection and intimacy.
5. Women tend to be subtle, which can often be interpreted as vague or
CHAPTER OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION
Communication between managers and employees provides the information
necessary to get work done effectively and efficiently in organizations. Chapter
14 presents basic managerial communication concepts including the
14.1 THE NATURE AND FUNCTION OF COMMUNICATION
The importance of effective communication cannot be overemphasized because
everything a manager does involves communicating.
A. What Is Communication?
Communication is the transfer and understanding of meaning.
1. If no information or ideas have been conveyed or transferred,
communication has not taken place.
3. Good communication does not require agreement with the
message—only a clear understanding of the message.
B. Functions of Communication
Effective communication serves four major functions: control, motivation,
emotional expression, and information.
14.2 METHODS OF INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
Exhibit 14-1 illustrates the seven elements of the communication process: the
communication source (the sender), the message, encoding, the channel,
decoding, the receiver, and feedback. Note that the entire process is susceptible
to noise—any disturbances that interfere with the transmission, receipt, or
feedback of a message.
A. Methods of Communicating Interpersonally. Exhibit 14-2 provides a
comparison of various methods of communication.
1. Feedback—How quickly can the receiver respond to the
message?
messages are received only by the intended audience?
5. Encoding ease—Can senders easily and quickly use this
channel?
6. Decoding ease—Can receivers easily and quickly decode
messages?
7. Time-space constraint—Do senders and receivers need to
10. Formality—Does this method have the needed amount of
formality?
11. Scanability—Does this method allow the message to be easily
B. Nonverbal Communication is communication transmitted without words.
The best-known types of nonverbal communication are body language
and verbal intonation.
1. Body language refers to gestures, facial expressions, and other
LEADER MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Zappo’s CEO Tony Hsieh understands the power of communication. Tony
communicates well and frequently the company’s values and that corporate culture is
“the number one priority.” At the company’s headquarters, employees use only one
entrance and exit to encourage them to “literally run into” each other in the lobby. Hsieh
believes that’s a way to encourage opportune interactions to share ideas. Tony’s next
project is to revitalizing downtown Las Vegas by using his own money to buy property,
subsidize schools, and fund new business ventures.
What can you learn from this leader making a difference?
14.3 EFFECTIVE INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
A. Barriers to Communication.
1. Filtering is the deliberate manipulation of information to make it
appear more favorable to the receiver.
a. As information is communicated upward through the
organizational levels, senders condense and synthesize it
so that top managers will not experience information
2. Emotions influence how a receiver interprets a message when it is
3. Information overload occurs when the information we have to
work with exceeds our processing capacity.
a. Receivers tend to select out, ignore, pass over, or forget
information and less effective communication.
4. People become defensive when they feel threatened, and they
5. With a diverse workforce, different words mean different things to
different people, even when they speak the same language.
a. Age, education, and cultural background can influence
6. National culture can affect the way a manager chooses to
communicate.
B. Overcoming Barriers to Effective Interpersonal Communication
2. Simplify language.
a. The manager should consider characteristics of the
3. Listen actively.
a. In listening, two people are engaged in thinking: the
receiver as well as the sender. Listening is an active
4. Constrain emotions. A manager should strive to refrain from
communicating until he or she has regained composure.
5. Watch nonverbal cues. Actions speak louder than words, so the
14.4 ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION
A. Formal Versus Informal Communication
1. Formal communication is communication that follows the official
chain of command or is required to do one’s job.
2. Informal communication is communication that is not defined by
the organization’s structural hierarchy.
a. Informal communication systems permit employees to
satisfy their need for social interaction.
B. Direction of Communication Flow
1. Downward communication is communication that flows
2. Upward communication is communication that flows upward
from employees to managers.
a. Upward communication can be used to keep managers
aware of how employees feel about their jobs, their
coworkers, and the organization in general.
b. The organizational culture influences the extent of upward
3. Lateral communication is communication that takes place
among any employees on the same organizational level.
4. Diagonal communication is communication that cuts across
work areas and organizational levels.
a. The increased use of e-mail facilitates diagonal
communication in an organization.
C. Organizational Communication Networks
1. Exhibit 14-4 illustrates three common types of communication
networks.
a. The chain network represents communication flowing
according to the formal chain of command, both downward
and upward.
2. The grapevine is the informal organizational communication
network.
a. The grapevine is active in almost every organization. One
D. Workplace Design and Communication
1. How office workspace is designed and configured can affect the
2. Research shows that a workplace design should successfully
3. As managers design the physical work environment, two common
design elements have the greatest impact on communication.
a. First, the enclosures and barriers used in the workspace.
FUTURE VISION: Office of Tomorrow
What will the office of tomorrow look like? It’s difficult to tell, but some patterns are
emerging. First, the way in which we communicate is likely to change. Employees will
rely on multiple channels of communication with heavy reliance on social networks, text
messaging, and instant messaging. Smartphones will be as powerful as today’s
mainframes, meaning employees will be able to do heavy computing on the go. Software
will be able to track where employees are and blend that data with information about
current projects and suggest potential collaborators. E-mail is likely to decline in
popularity, largely because other channels are faster, more fluid, and more immediate.
Technology will change in that a single device will have multiple functions (like the
smartphones of today, but only smarter). And business travel will decrease as computer
mediated groupware allows employees to conduct meetings that feel real to life.
The following discussion questions are posed:
Talk About It 1: Do you view communicating using technology as more of a help or a
hindrance? Explain.
Talk About It 2: What issues does wearable tech present in the workplace? What do you
think managers will need to do to deal with these issues?
Student answers to these questions will vary.
14.5 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATION
A. How Technology Affects Managerial Communication
Two developments in information technology have a significant impact on
current managerial communication: networked computer systems and
wireless capabilities.
1. In a networked computer system, a company links its computers
2. The term wireless capabilities refers to wireless communication
that depends on signals sent through air or space without the
B. How Information Technology Affects Organizations
1. Since communication and the exchange of information among
2. However, managers must remember to address the possibility of
psychological drawbacks. For example: What is the psychological
cost of an employee being continuously accessible? Would
employees feel pressured to “check in” even during off hours?
14.6 COMMUNICATION ISSUES IN TODAY’S ORGANIZATIONS
Effectively communicating means being connected to employees and customers
and having the ability to be connected to any of the organization’s stakeholders.
A. Managing Communication in an Internet World
The two main challenges created by new technology in the business
world are legal and security issues and lack of personal interaction.
1. Managers must be knowledgeable about potential legal problems
2. Software that enables real-time collaboration can be chosen to
ameliorate the lack of personal interaction posed by the Internet
age.
B. Managing the Organization’s Knowledge Resources
Managers need to facilitate communication among employees in order to
encourage the sharing of their knowledge with one another. Managers
can achieve this goal in several ways, including the following:
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.
C. The Role of Communication in Customer Service
D. Getting Employee Input
1. Organizations need to get input from employees, even if all they
2. Exhibit 14-5 lists some suggestions for letting employees know
that their opinions matter
E. 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:
3. In a global survey by the International Association of Business
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
ANSWERS TO REVIEW AND DISCUSSION
QUESTIONS
Student answers to these questions will vary.
14-1. Define communication, interpersonal communication, and organizational
communication. Why isn’t effective communication synonymous with agreement?
Communication is the transfer and understanding of meaning. Interpersonal
14-2. What are the functions of communication?
14-3. Explain the components in the communication process.
Before communication can take place, a purpose, expressed as a message to be
conveyed, must exist. It passes between a source (the sender) and a receiver. The
14-4. What are the various communication methods managers can use? What criteria
can managers use to evaluate those communication methods?
14-5. Contrast formal and informal communication.
Formal communication is communication that takes place within prescribed
14-6. Explain communication flow, the three common communication networks, and how
managers should handle the grapevine.
Communication in an organization can flow downward, upward, laterally, and diagonally.
14-7. Discuss the five contemporary communication issues facing managers.
The two main challenges of managing communication in an Internet world are the legal
and security issues and the lack of personal interaction.
14-8. Which do you think is more important for a manager: speaking accurately or
listening actively? Why?
Students’ reactions may vary; however, they need to make a strong case for their
answer. A strong case can be made for each of the two responses. As students have
PERSONAL INVENTORY ASSESSMENTS
Student answers to these questions will vary.
Student answers to these questions will vary.
In this chapter’s ethical dilemma, students are to consider what happens when
colleagues or even your boss wants to “friend” you on a social network site. Is it okay to
provide people you know in a professional sense a “window into your personal life?”
What ethical issues might arise in such a situation? In this chapter, the distinction is
14-11. What do you think? Is it okay to provide people you know in a professional sense
a “window into your personal life?”
14-12. What ethical issues might arise in such a situation?
SKILLS EXERCISE: DEVELOPING YOUR ACTIVE
LISTENING SKILL
Whether you are a manager and need to gain information from others, or an employee
who wants to communicate better with customers, co-workers, or managers, active
listening is an important skill. This exercise gives eight steps in helping to learn to be a
better listener. After going over the steps, students should ask a friend to tell him/her
about their day and listen without interrupting. When your friend has finished speaking,
ask two or three questions if needed to obtain more clarity and detail. Students should
listen carefully to the answers and then summarize their friend’s day in no more than five
In this exercise students are asked about the usage of funny online videos for work
reasons. Students should consider the purpose of these videos, and any possible
advantages and drawbacks of using online video. As students are broken into groups of
three or four, it might be interesting to have some students consider the advantages and
other students consider their disadvantages. Students’ discussion should cover the
obvious reasons for company-sponsored videos – the hopes that a ‘viral’ video could
serve as an inexpensive way to promote products or services. Such videos could also
MY TURN TO BE A MANAGER
• Research the characteristics of a good communicator. What are they? Now
practice being a good communicator—as both a sender and a listener. (LO: 1,
Define the nature and function of communication, AACSB: Analytical thinking)
• For one day, keep track of the types of communication you use (see Exhibit 14-2
for a list of various types). Which do you use most? Least? Were your choices of
communication methods effective? Why or why not? Could they have been
• For one day, track nonverbal communication that you notice in others. What
types did you observe? Was the nonverbal communication always consistent
• Research new types of IT devices. Write a report describing these devices (at
least three) and their applicability to employees and organizations. Be sure to
• Complete the skill-building module Active Listening found in mymanagementlab.
• Survey five different managers for their advice on being a good communicator.
Put this information in a bulleted list format and be prepared to present it in class.
• Steve’s and Mary’s recommended readings: Phillip G. Clampitt, Communicating
for Managerial Effectiveness, 3rd edition (Sage Publications, 2005); John
Baldoni, Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders (McGraw-Hill, 2003);
Robert Mai and Alan Akerson, The Leader as Communicator (AMACOM, 2003);
Boyd Clarke, The Leader’s Voice: How Communication Can Inspire Action and
Get Results! (Select Books, 2002); and Jo-Ellan Dimitrius and Mark Mazzarella,
most effectively in organizations, AACSB: Analytical thinking) (LO: 5, Describe
how technology affects managerial communication and organizations, AACSB:
• Survey 10 office workers. Ask them (1) how many e-mail messages they receive
daily, on average; (2) how many times in one day they check their e-mail; and (3)
• Choose one of the four topics addressed in the section “Communication Issues in
Today’s Organizations” and do some additional research. Put your findings in a
bulleted list and be prepared to discuss in class. Be sure to cite your sources!
• In your own words, write down three things you learned in this chapter about
being a good manager. (LO: 1, Define the nature and function of communication,
• Self-knowledge can be a powerful learning tool. Go to mymanagementlab and
complete these self–assessment exercises: What’s My Face–to-Face
Communication Style? How Good Are My Listening Skills? and How Good Am I
at Giving Performance Feedback? Using the results of your assessments,
identify personal strengths and weaknesses. What will you do to reinforce your
ANSWERS TO CASE APPLICATION 1
QUESTIONS
Student answers to these questions will vary.
E-Mail Ban
14-13. What do you think of this? Do you agree that e-mail can be unproductive in the
workplace?
14–14. Were you surprised at the volume of e-mail an average employee receives daily?
What are the challenges of dealing with this volume of e-mail? How much e-mail would
you say you receive daily? Has your volume of e-mail increased? Have you had to
change your e-mail habits?
Student answers to these questions will vary. Some students may be heavy e-mail
14–15. What do you think of the e-mail “replacement” some businesses are using—
more of a social media tool? In what ways might it be better? Worse?
Students should be able to answer this question better than most faculty members
because they use social media every day (and night). In general, social media has the
14-16. What implications can you see for managers and communication from this story?
Students should note that managers are serious about improving the productivity of their
ANSWERS TO CASE APPLICATION 2
QUESTIONS
Student answers to these questions will vary.
Delivery Disaster
14-17. Beyond its being vulgar and disgusting, what do you think of this situation from
the perspective of managing communications?
14–18. Why do you think Domino’s executives took a wait–and-see attitude? Why was
this response a problem?
It can be difficult to determine what makes a video on the Internet go ‘viral.’ In this case,
14–19. How could this type of communication problem be prevented at other Domino’s
Pizza restaurants?
14–20. Do incidents like this one and the possibility of them happening anywhere,
anytime, mean that all forms of social media should be banned from workplaces? What
are the implications for policies regarding communication technology? Discuss.
Research shows that men and women tend to have different communication styles.
Deborah Tannen’s research shows that men use “talk” to emphasize status, whereas
women use “talk” to create connection. Essentially, many differences in communication