CHAPTER 18
Managing Interpersonal Relations
and Communication
CHAPTER SUMMARY
This chapter explores interpersonal relations and communication in organizations. It opens with
a discussion of interpersonal relations then relates communication to the manager’s job. Interpersonal,
organizational, and informal communication are then introduced and discussed. Finally, the chapter
concludes with a discussion of how communication can be managed.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After covering this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Describe the interpersonal nature of organizations.
2. Describe the role and importance of communication in the manager’s job.
The opening case describes the “do’s” and “don’ts” of phone interviews, which are becoming
increasingly popular because of time and cost savings. While most people think that phone interviews
are easier to do as a job candidate than face-to–face interviews, this is not always true. How you respond
matters as much in a phone interview as in a face-to-face interview.
LECTURE OUTLINE
I. THE INTERPERSONAL NATURE OF ORGANIZATIONS
Much of what goes on in organizations results from interactions among people.
Chapter 18: Managing Interpersonal Relations and Communication
Cross-Reference: As noted in Chapter 1, most of a manager’s time is devoted to scheduled and
unscheduled meetings and telephone calls. Increasingly, work-related email is also taking a large
amount of time as well.
A. Interpersonal Dynamics
The nature of interpersonal relations generally falls on two continua between personal and
impersonal, and positive and negative.
II. COMMUNICATION AND THE MANAGER’S JOB
Interesting Quote: “Real communication takes countless hours of eyeball to eyeball, back and forth.
It means more listening than talking.” (Jack Welch, CEO of General Electric, Harvard Business Review,
Teaching Tip: Stress the critical differences between simple communication and effective
communication. The differences in the two are subtle but important.
B. The Role of Communication in Management
Managers use communication in order to fulfill all of the roles they enact and to carry out the
basic management functions.
Teaching Tip: Stress the fact that communication is a major ingredient in all management functions—
planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
C. The Communication Process
1. The communication process begins when one person (the sender) wants to transmit a
fact, idea, opinion, or other information to someone else (the receiver).
path.
Discussion Starter: Ask students to identify other examples of noise that they may have encountered.
Chapter 18: Managing Interpersonal Relations and Communication
Extra Example: Other contemporary examples of noise include erasing a telephone message tape
before a message is heard and addressing an email message to the wrong recipient.
III. FORMS OF COMMUNICATION IN ORGANIZATIONS
A. Interpersonal Communication
1. Oral communication takes place in face-to-face conversations, group discussions, telephone
calls, and other circumstances in which the spoken word is used to express meaning.
receiver can take time reviewing it. It provides a permanent written record.
Discussion Starter: Ask students whether they prefer to use oral or written communication.
Extra Example: Note that this book is a form of written communication through which a professor
of Management at Texas A&M University is communicating with your students.
Discussion Starter: Ask students to recall the last five times they needed to communicate information
to someone else. Then ask them what method they used and why.
B. Communication in Networks and Work Teams
A communication network is the pattern through which the members of a group communicate.
Chapter 18: Managing Interpersonal Relations and Communication
C. Organizational Communication
1. Vertical communication flows both up and down the organization.
2. Horizontal communication involves colleagues and peers at the same level of the
organization. It facilitates coordination and helps in problem solving.
Cross-Reference: In Chapter 10 we described several coordination techniques. Note the role and
importance of horizontal communication as a part of coordination.
Global Connection: Language barriers are often a complication in horizontal communication within
multinational organizations.
D. Electronic Communication
Electronic communication includes teleconferences, electronic mail, databases,
telecommuting, cellular phones, and fax machines.
1. Formal information systems link various areas of the organization by computer; they can
While electronic communication helps workers stay in touch and is convenient, it can add to stress because
workers are never unavailable for work demands. Another risk is that electronic communication comes at
the expense of face-to-face meetings and conversations, making it hard to build a strong culture, develop
solid working relationships, and create a mutually supportive atmosphere of trust and cooperativeness.
Cross-Reference: Formal information systems are discussed in more detail in Chapter 22.
Discussion Starter: Poll your students to see how many of them use email regularly. Ask them for
their views as to its advantages and disadvantages.
IV. INFORMAL COMMUNICATION IN ORGANIZATIONS
A. The Grapevine
The grapevine is an informal communication network that can permeate an entire
Chapter 18: Managing Interpersonal Relations and Communication
Extra Example: Students use grapevines to transmit information about specific classes and instructors
(e.g., who is easy, which course is interesting, etc.).
Discussion Starter: Solicit student examples of when the aforementioned types of information
transmitted through the grapevine have been both accurate and inaccurate.
B. Management by Wandering Around
Another form of informal communication is management by wandering around, in which managers
keep in touch with what’s going on by wandering around the company and talking to people.
1. Images are created by the kinds of words people elect to us.
Teaching Tip: Use images from current publications to illustrate and discuss different forms of
nonverbal communication.
2. Settings refer to where the communication takes place.
V. MANAGING ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION
A. Barriers to Communication
1. Individual barriers are associated with individuals and include the following types.
a) Conflicting or inconsistent cues.
b) Lack of credibility about the subject.
Extra Example: During a meeting with an important client, a partner in a consulting firm walked up
Chapter 18: Managing Interpersonal Relations and Communication
c) Reluctance to communicate.
e) Negative predispositions about the subject.
2. Organizational barriers are associated with the organization itself and include the
following types.
a) Semantics.
Extra Example: In one example of the semantics barrier, an older male manager happily shouted at
a younger female employee, “You’re so hot today!” What he meant to convey was that he was
impressed with her speed in accomplishing a task, but she interpreted the remark as a sexual invitation.
b) Status or power differences.
Discussion Starter: Ask students to recall instances in which they have encountered one or more of the
individual barriers to effective communication.
Discussion Starter: Ask students to recall instances in which they have encountered one or more of the
organizational barriers to effective communication.
B. Improving Communication Effectiveness
Discussion Starter: Ask students to characterize themselves in terms of the listening skills illustrated
in Figure 18.6, titled “More and Less Effective Listening Skills”.
b) Encourage two-way communication.
Discussion Starter: Ask students to recall people with whom they have trouble communicating.
Then ask them to explain the factors that led to their difficulties.
Discussion Starter: Ask students to recall situations in which they used one or more of the suggested
individual methods for improving communication effectiveness.
2. Organizations can also use certain techniques to enhance communication effectiveness.
a) Follow up to ensure that the message was received and understood.
c) Understand the richness of different media and use appropriate media.
Chapter 18: Managing Interpersonal Relations and Communication
END OF CHAPTER QUESTIONS
Questions for Review
1. Describe the difference between communication and effective communication. How can a sender verify
that a communication was effective? How can a receiver verify that a communication was effective?
Communication is the process of transmitting information from one person to another. Effective
2. Which form of interpersonal communication is best for long-term retention? Why? Which form
is best for getting across subtle nuances of meaning? Why?
Written communication is probably best for long-term retention. The receiver has a written record
3. What are the similarities and differences of oral and written communication? What kinds
of situations call for the use of oral methods? What situations call for written communication?
Both oral and written communication be done one-to-one or in large groups, and both involve the
4. Describe the individual and organizational barriers to effective communication. For each barrier,
describe one action that a manager could take to reduce the problems caused by that barrier.
Individual barriers include conflicting cues such as when a manager says two things that disagree.
To reduce conflicting cues, managers can work carefully to ensure that their messages are
Questions for Analysis
5. “Personal friendships have no place at work.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement, and why?
Students’ opinions will vary, of course. Students that agree with the statement are likely to point out
Chapter 18: Managing Interpersonal Relations and Communication
6. At what points in the communication process can problems occur? Give examples of how noise can
interfere with the communication process. What can managers do to reduce problems and noise?
Problems can occur at any step in the communication process. Static on a cell phone connection,
mumbling, garbled fax transmission, lost letters, email sent to the wrong receiver, interruptions, and
7. How are electronic communication devices (cell phones, e-mail, and websites) likely to affect the
communication process in the future? Describe both the advantages and the disadvantages of these
three devices over traditional communication methods, such as face-to-face conversations, written
notes, and phone calls.
It seems clear that communication devices will continue to evolve and that communication will soon
be possible from virtually anywhere on the planet. Internet connectivity will soon be available
Questions for Application
8. What forms of communication have you experienced today? What form of communication is
involved in a face-to-face conversation with a friend? A telephone call from a customer? A traffic
light or crossing signal? A picture of a cigarette in a circle with a slash across it? An area around
machinery defined by a yellow line painted on the floor?
Students should provide examples of oral communication (for example, discussions, lectures,
9. Keep track of your own activities over the course of a few hours of leisure time to determine what
forms of communication you encounter. Which forms were most common? If you had been tracking
your communications while at work, how would the list be different? Explain why the differences
occur.
Of course, responses will vary, but students are likely to find that they encounter a number of
Chapter 18: Managing Interpersonal Relations and Communication
10. For each of the following situations, tell which form of communication you would use. Then ask the
same question of someone who has been in the workforce for at least ten years. For any differences
that occur, ask the worker to explain why his or her choice is better than yours. Do you agree with
his or her assessment? Why or why not?
• Describing complex changes in how health-care benefits are calculated and administered
to every employee of a large firm.
END OF CHAPTER EXERCISES
Building Effective Technical Skills
I. Purpose
The students will gather information relevant to an organizational task to practice using the Internet
as source of communication.
II. Format
This technical skills exercise will require between 30 and 45 minutes to complete.
III. Follow-Up
Chapter 18: Managing Interpersonal Relations and Communication
C. Continuing to use the Internet, find out as much as you can about each of the three or four
Building Effective Interpersonal Skills
I. Purpose
This in-class exercise builds students interpersonal skills by asking them to analyze nonverbal and
verbal communication.
II. Format
Viewing the video segments in this in-class exercise should take about 10 minutes, and discussion
should take about 20 minutes more.
III. Follow-Up
Pair the volunteers. Give each pair one box from a written scenario (see below) and ask them to
improvise an interaction around that scenario. Encourage them to use body language, gesture, tone
of voice, and so on, as well as words. They should have some time to plan the improvisation before
they are filmed.
Outside of class time, film each pair’s improvisation. If the improvisation doesn’t go well or doesn’t
contain enough expression, give feedback to the students and ask them to perform again.
Scenario A
A new employee has just arrived for the first day at a new job. The supervisor gives them a brief
overview of the organization before starting work.
Your role: the new employee
Chapter 18: Managing Interpersonal Relations and Communication
Scenario A
A new employee has just arrived for the first day at a new job. The supervisor gives them a brief
overview of the organization before starting work.
Your role: the supervisor
yourself!
Scenario B
Smith and Jones have worked together before and don’t like each other. They must now work closely
on a project that will require months of togetherness. This is the initial planning meeting in which a
schedule for the rest of the project must be agreed upon.
Scenario B
Smith and Jones have worked together before and don’t like each other. They must now work closely
on a project that will require months of togetherness. This is the initial planning meeting in which a
schedule for the rest of the project must be agreed upon.
Scenario C
A customer purchased a product that didn’t perform as advertised. The employee was not at fault but is
responsible for satisfying the customer now.
Chapter 18: Managing Interpersonal Relations and Communication
Scenario C
A customer purchased a product that didn’t perform as advertised. The employee was not at fault but is
responsible for satisfying the customer now.
Your role: the employee
A. Observe the silent video segments that your professor shows to the class. For each segment,
describe the nature of the relationship and interaction between the two individuals. What
nonverbal clues did you use in reaching your conclusions?
C. How accurate were your assessments when you had only visual information? Explain why you
were or were not accurate in your assessment of the situation.
D. What does this exercise show you about the nature of nonverbal factors in interpersonal
communication? What advice would you now give managers about the importance of these
factors?
Teaching Tip: You can ask the students to share with the class additional examples of the impact of
nonverbal cues. Students may recall how a shouting tone of voice gets attention during an emergency
or how a professor’s frown communicates displeasure to students or how a glance from a stranger at a
party can be flirtatious.
MANAGEMENT AT WORK
¿QUÉ PASA IN THE AD AGENCY?
Advertising to the growing Hispanic population in the United States means taking the commercial
prepared for the mainstream and adapting it for this market. The case gives many examples of how
companies such as Fox Sports Net, Energizer, and Southwest Airlines have been successful in
communicating to the Hispanic market.
1. Case Question 1: You’re assistant director of marketing for a maker of upscale furniture, and your
company is preparing to enter new markets in California and the Southwest. Entering new markets,
especially one of this size, is expensive, and your boss has decided to forgo Spanish-language
advertising as part of the firm’s market entry strategy. You’re inclined to disagree. What might you
say to your boss to change her mind?
As the case points out, there are 50 million Hispanics in the U.S. and they have tremendous buying
Chapter 18: Managing Interpersonal Relations and Communication
opportunity. It is important to communicate to the Spanish market in their language.
2. Case Question 2: You’re a top manager in a large factory whose workforce is approximately
40 percent Hispanic. Business is down because of the recession, and you’ve learned that there’s a
rumor about layoffs circulating in the grapevine. In particular, a lot of Hispanic-speaking
employees seem to think that they’ll be laid off first. How should you deal with the rumor?
The chapter gives pointers on how managers should deal with rumors that travel through the
3. Case Question 3: Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Austrian-born ex-governor of California, which
is home to 13.6 million Hispanics, advised Latino immigrants that if they want to learn English
more quickly, “You’ve got to turn off Spanish[-language] television. . . . I know that when I came
to this country, I very rarely spoke German to anyone.” Do you agree with Schwarzenegger’s advice
to immigrants on learning English in the United States? Why or why not?
Student opinions will vary depending on whether they adhere to the melting pot idea or oppose it.