Chapter 1
Communicating at Work

 

Changes Affecting the Workplace

•      Heightened global competition

•      Flattened management hierarchies

•      Expanded team-based management

•      Innovative communication technologies

•      New work environments

•      Increasingly diverse workforce

 

The Communication Process

•      Sender Has Idea – This is influenced by their mood, frame of reference, background, culture, and physical make-up.  It is shaped by assumptions the sender makes.

•      Sender Encodes Idea in Message – This means converting the idea into words or gestures that will convey meaning.   When misunderstandings result from missed meanings, bypassing has occurred. 

•      Message Travels Over Channel – This is the medium the message physically travels over (e-mail, letter, face-to-face, memo, etc.).  Anything that interrupts the message is called noise.

•      Receiver Decodes Message – This means translating the message from its symbols into meaning. 

•      Feedback Travels to Sender – The verbal and nonverbal responses of the receiver.

 

Barriers to Interpersonal Communication

•      Bypassing

•      Limited frame of reference

•      Lack of language skills

•      Lack of listening skills

•      Emotional interference

•      Physical distractions

Understanding is shaped by

•             Communication climate

•             Context and setting

•             Background, experiences

•             Knowledge, mood

•             Values, beliefs, culture

Barriers That Block the Flow of Information in Organizations

•      Closed communication climate

•      Top-heavy organizational structure

•      Long lines of communication

•      Lack of trust between management and employees

•      Competition for power, status, rewards

 Additional Communication Barriers

•      Fear of reprisal for honest communication

•      Differing frames of reference among communicators

•      Lack of communication skills

•      Ego involvement

•      Turf wars    

Overcoming Communication Barriers

•      Realize that communication is imperfect.

•      Adapt the message to the receiver.

•      Improve your language and listening skills.

•      Question your preconceptions.

•      Plan for feedback.

Organizational Communication

•      Functions:  internal and external

•      Form:  oral and written

•      Form:  channel selection dependent on

•    Message content

•    Need for immediate response

•    Audience size and distance

•    Audience reaction

•    Need to show empathy, friendliness, formality

•      Flow:

•    Formal:  down, up, horizontal

•    Informal:  grapevine

Communication Flowing Through Formal Channels

Downward

Management directives

Job plans, policies

Company goals

Mission statements

Horizontal