Communicatingin Teams and Organizations

McGraw-Hill/IrwinMcShane/Von Glinow OB 5e Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Communication Defined

The process by which information is transmitted and understood between two or more people

Effective communication• Transmitting intended meaning

(not just symbols)

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Importance of Communication

1. Coordinating work activities

2. Organizational learning and decision making

3. Employee well-being

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Receiver

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Sender

FormFormmessagemessage

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TransmitMessage

TransmitFeedback

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Communication Process Model

DecodeDecodemessagemessage

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Improving Communication Coding/Decoding

1. Both parties have motivation and ability to communicate through the channel

2. Both parties carry the same “codebook”

3. Both parties share similar mental models of the communication context

4. Sender is experienced at communicating the message topic

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How E-Mail has Altered Communication

Now preferred medium for coordinating work

Tends to increase communication volume

Significantly alters communication flow

Reduces some selective attention biases

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Problems with E-Mail

Communicates emotions poorly Reduces politeness and respect Inefficient for ambiguous, complex, novel situations Increases information overload

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Social Networking Communication

Social network communication clusters people around interests/expertise

Several types of social network communication• Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn• Online discussion forums• Avatar sites (e.g. Second Life)• Instant messaging• Wikis

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Nonverbal Communication

Actions, facial gestures, etc.

Influences meaning of verbal symbols

Less rule bound than verbal communication

Important part of emotional labor

Most is automatic and nonconscious

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Emotional Contagion

The automatic process of sharing another person’s emotions by mimicking their facial expressions and other nonverbal behavior

Serves three purposes:1. Provides continuous feedback to speaker

2. Increases emotional understanding of the other person’s experience

3. Communicates a collective sentiment -- sharing the experience

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Choosing the Best Communication Channel: Social Acceptance

How well the communication channel is approved and supported by the organization, team, and individual:

1. Communication channel norms

2. Individual communication channel preferences

3. Symbolic meaning of the communication channel

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Choosing the Best Communication Channel: Media Richness

The channel’s data-carrying capacity needs to be aligned with the communication activity

High richness when channel:

1. conveys multiple cues

2. allows timely feedback

3. allows customized message

4. permits complex symbols

Use rich communication media when the situation is nonroutine and ambiguous

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OversimplifiedZone

OverloadedZone

Nonroutine/Ambiguous

Rich

MediaRichness

Situation

Hierarchy of Media Richness

Lean

Routine/clear

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Factors that Override Media Richness

Ability to multi-communicate with lean channels

More varied proficiency levels

Social distractions of rich channels

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Persuasive Communication

Changing another person’s beliefs and attitudes. Spoken communication is more persuasive because:

1. accompanied by nonverbal communication, adding emotional punch to the message.

2. has high quality immediate feedback whether message is understood and accepted.

3. has high social presence, so receiver is more sensitive to message content and more motivated to accept the message.

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Communication Barriers

Perceptions

Filtering

Language• Jargon• Ambiguity

Information Overload

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Information Overload

Information Load

Episodes of information overload

Employee’s information processing

capacity

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Managing Information Overload Solution 1: Increase info processing capacity

• Learn to read faster• Scan through documents more efficiently• Remove distractions • Time management • Temporarily work longer hours

Solution 2: Reduce information load• Buffering• Omitting• Summarizing

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Cross-Cultural Communication

Verbal differences• Language• Voice intonation• Silence/conversational overlaps

Nonverbal differences• Interpreting nonverbal meaning• Importance of verbal versus

nonverbal

©Mark M. Lawrence/Corbis

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Men Women

Gives advice quickly and directly

Gives advice indirectly and reluctantly

Report talk Rapport talk

Conversations are negotiations of status

Conversations are bonding events

Less sensitive to nonverbal cues

More sensitive to nonverbal cues

Gender Communication Differences

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Getting Your Message Across

1. Empathize

2. Repeat the message

3. Use timing effectively

4. Be descriptive

Courtesy of Microsoft.

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ActiveActiveListeningListening

Active Listening Process & Strategies

SensingSensing• Postpone evaluation• Avoid interruptions• Maintain interest

EvaluatingEvaluating• Empathize• Organize information

RespondingResponding• Show interest• Clarify the message

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Communicating in Hierarchies Workspace design

• Clustering people in teams• Open office arrangements

Web-based organizational communication• Wikis -- collaborative document creation• Blogs -- personal news/opinion for sharing• E-zines -- rapid distribution of company news

Direct communication with management• Management by walking around (MBWA)• Town hall meetings

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Organizational Grapevine

Early research findings• Transmits information rapidly in all directions• Follows a cluster chain pattern• More active in homogeneous groups• Transmits some degree of truth

Changes due to internet• Email becoming the main grapevine medium• Social networks are now global• Public blogs and forums extends gossip to everyone

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Grapevine Benefits/Limitations

Benefits• Fills in missing information from formal sources• Strengthens corporate culture• Relieves anxiety• Signals that problems exist

Limitations• Distortions might escalate anxiety• Perceived lack of concern for employees when

company info is slower than grapevine

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