7 | Communication, emotion and decision making

Question 1

What is communication?

Answer 1

The process by which information and views are exchanged.

Communication in the workplace is important because itboosts employee morale, engagement, productivity, and satisfaction; it is a key for better team collaboration and cooperation.

Question 2

What are the 3 types of organizational communication?

Answer 2

Sending or receiving information

Sharing knowledge

Informal communication

Question 3

What is information sharing?

Answer 3

= describes the exchange of data between various people, organizations and technologies.

Generally information involves facts, data, schedules, processes, etc - it can be separated from the person and communicated through mediums such as emails, spreadsheets etc.

people engage in info. sharing in interdependent tasks

Question 4

Examples of information sharing

Answer 4

“company policy about holidays”

involves facts, data, schedules - “What is the deadline for the project?”

interdependence - “I need the sales data to run my analysis”

Question 5

What are challenges of information sharing?

Answer 5

recognising different meanings

sharing implications of information

interpreting emotions

establishing trust

Question 6

What is knowledge sharing?

Answer 6

knowledge (info, skills, expertise) is exchanged among people within or between orgs

• individuals learn or teach from another person
• diffcult to share knowledge by sending or recieving info only. Often you should work together over a period of time and help someone else learn.

Question 7

Examples of knowledge sharing

Answer 7

learning: “How did you develop this model of sales growth?
Can you show me how you estimated customer acquisition so we can update our supply chain for future production?”

teach: “Sure, let me talk you through the parameters of the model and how I estimated them.”

Question 8

What is the difference between information sharing and knowledge sharing?

Answer 8

information sharing is merely giving peopple something, or getting something from them.
Knowledge sharing occurs when people are genuinely intereted in helping one another develop

Peter Senge, MIT

Question 9

What are some challenges to knowledge sharing?

Answer 9

lack of time
resistance to change
lack of motivation
obsolete tech or unnecessarily complicated tools
anxieties about job security

Question 10

What is informal/social communication?

Answer 10

interpersonal rels

doesn’t follow any rules that formal comms does

opposite of formal communciation

multi-dimensional - moves freely within the organization and is not bound by pre-defined channels; is quick; is more relational than formal; a very natural; it moves faster and does not have a paper trail.

Question 11

Examples of informal communciation

Answer 11

lunchtime at cafeteria
chatting in the lift
gossip

Question 12

What is employee voice?

Answer 12

the ability of of employees to express their views, opinions, concerns and suggestions, and for these to influence decisions at work (CIPD, 2019)

• allow people opportunity to provide inputs
• Linked to fairness/justice perceptions in organisation procedures
• Impacts on commitment, trust, satisfaction, citizenship, engagement

Question 13

The importance of non-verbal communication - stats

Answer 13

55% of in-person cmm comes from non-verbal cues; facial expresions, tone, body language

miscommunication is more likely to happen through information –> like email bc of the importance of non-verbal comm in comprehension

Question 14

Good feedback characteristics

Answer 14

Should be based on facts not subjective opinion (describing events without judging them)

*Should be backed up with evidence and examples (related to actual events, observed behaviours or actions)

*Specific not general

*Not personal (focusing on behaviour not a person)
*Not public

*Balance positives with negatives

*Friendly language

Question 15

What are some drawbacks of instant feedback?

Answer 15

• anonymous so might encourage ‘backbiting’
• instant knee-jerk reactions (with all the subjective biases it can involve) and not thought out or reflective
• trolling; online harrassment
• feedback may be on just one part of the job and the overall work - fragmentary
• may discourage cooperation, teamwork, risk/innovation
• does not create trust, cooperation, trust – can be perceived as aggressive

Question 16

What is emotional intelligence?

Answer 16

popularized in 1990s

= The ability to understand and manage your own emotions.
People who possess this trait also have the ability to understand and influence the emotions/bhvs of others

Question 17

What is IQ (Analytical Intelligence)?

Answer 17

rational and logic based verbal and quantitative intelligence

Question 18

What is SQ (Social Intelligence)?

Answer 18

A person’s capacity to perform actions with and through others (Gradner, 1993)

Question 19

What is EQ (Emotional Intelligence)?

Answer 19

a person’s capacity to understand and convey human emotion (Goleman, 1995)

Question 20

What is CQ (Cultual Intelligence)?

Answer 20

Explains why some intelligent people with good social skills associated with high emotional maturity can still have some problems adjusting properly to a new culture or work in multicultural teams

Question 21

What is the role of emotional intelligence?

Answer 21

People use this type of intelligence to:
- understand and regulate their own mood and emotions
- recognize how other people feel and empathize with them
- solve problemsand get their needs met
- influence others

Question 22

What is rational decision making and what is the process?

Answer 22

multi-step process for making choices between alternatives

• favours logic, objectivity and analysis (over subjectivity and insight)
• assumes that people completely understand the dcision, know all available options, hav no perceptual biases, they want to make optimal decisions

Question 23

What is irrational decision making?

Answer 23

counters logic
there are many factors that affect DM abilities causing people to make irrational decisions or contradictory choices

• decisions made in haste, outcomes not considiered
• peple lack knowledge, make unrealistic assumptions

Question 24

What are the 3 types of decisions?

Answer 24

1. Strategic - set the course of the org
2. Tactical - about how something will get done
3. Operational - decisions that employees make to make the organisation run

Question 25

Examples of strategic decisions, and who are they typically made by?

Answer 25

“Should we merge with another company?”

“Should we downsize our org?”

“Pursue a new product line?”

These types of decisions are usually made top management - CEOs, Board of Directors

Question 26

Examples of tactical decisions, and who are they typically made by?

Answer 26

“What should we do to help facilitate employees from the two companies working together?”

“Who should be let go when we downsize?”

“How should we market the new product line?”

Typcally made by managers

Question 27

Examples of operational decisions, and who are they typically made by?

Answer 27

“How often should I communicate with my new coworkers?”

“How will I balance my new work demands?”

“What should I say to customers about our new products?”

Made by employees throughout the org.

Question 28

What is the bounded rationality decision-making model?

Answer 28

individuals knowingly limit their options to a manageable set and choose the first acceptable alternative without conducting an exhaustive search for alternatives.

Question 29

What is the intuitive decision-making model?

Answer 29

arriving at decisions w/o conscious reasoning - use ‘intuition’; a gut feeling or sensation when making decisions

Question 30

Elements of the creative decision-making model

Answer 30

1) Fluency - number of ideas a person can generate

2) Flexibility - how different these ideas are

3) Originality - unique the ideas are