Chapter 11 Flashcards
In the OB context there are 4 functions that communication fulfills.
- control,
- emotional expression,
- motivation
- information
Explain the following 4 functions of communication in OB context
- control,
- emotional expression,
- motivation
- information
- communication aims at controlling one’s behaviour – think of e.g. an employee required to report work progresses.
- communication as an emotional expression helps in social interactions to express our feelings, moods, emotions, and attitudes.
- communication enhances motivation – all motivational techniques require communication.
- Lastly, communication provides information that is a must in decision- making processes and managerial tools.
Formal small-group networks
Three possible networks are: chain, wheel and all channel. The communication in chain is strictly operating in a chain of command. Its strongest point is accuracy. The wheel network is dependent on a person that coordinates communication between people. This type often happens in teams with strong leaders. All-channel network permits free communication between network’s members. Everyone talks to everyone. Its strongest point is high member satisfaction. It often takes place in self-managed teams.
The Grapevine
organization’s informal communication network. The fact that it is not formal, does not refer to meaningfulness of messages communicated. This network has 3 main features: it is not controlled, it is seen as very trustworthy source of information, it is often used for the vested-interest of individuals. It was estimated that 75% of information passed though the grapevine is accurate, true. Grapevine effects are reinforced by news’ importance, ambiguity and created by them anxiety. Grapevines fulfill also social and security needs. However, there are negative consequences to grapevines that managers should eliminate.
Knowledge Management (KM)
It is a concept that comprises a range of practices used by organizations to identify, create, represent, distribute and enable adoption of what it knows, how it knows it and how/to whom it is communicated. KM makes people in the organization aware of how and what information may be revealed. Thanks to this, it makes the organization competitive for longer. For KM to work effectively, the right corporate culture needs to be in place. The culture that promotes information sharing, transparency. KM should be the motivator for employees to share information with other employees and third parties. KM also regulates the leak-tightness of the organization making it more hermetic in case of unwanted information leaks.
Filtering
sender manipulates the information so the receiver takes it as more favorable. Telling what others want to hear. It happens more often in case of status differences and in organizations with higher hierarchical ladders.
Selective Perception
we select and interpret information we are exposed to. Not everything that sender is transmitting, is received by receiver because the receiver picks the information he values, is interested in, etc…
Information Overload
– we cannot process each and every information that is sent to us. We are not capable of that (imagine processing each ad you are exposed to every day). And thus we select, pick and ignore some information.
7 Communication barriers
- Filtering
- Selective Perception
- Information Overload
- Emotions
- Language
- Communication Apprehension – fear/anxiety felt about oral or/and written communication e.g. public speeches, calling on a phone, writing formal letters.
- Gender differences – researches showed that in communication men emphasize status and position, while women try to make connection.
- “Politically correct” communication
“Politically correct” communication
carefully expressing opinions in a way that does not offense anyone, while loosing some of the message’s meaning and can hamper effective communication.
Global consequences
A) Cultural Barriers (4)
- barriers caused by semantics
- barriers caused by word connotations
- barriers caused by differences among perceptions
- barriers caused by tone differences
Global consequences
B) Cultural Context
high and low context cultures: the importance of non-verbal language in the culture.
Global consequences
C) Cultural Guide
try to understand, put yourself in shoes of people you are talking/listening to; if you are not sure whether the interlocutor is culturally similar to you first assume a difference and check if it true; when explaining something try to describe, not interpret; if you have created theory that is based on your interpretation, try to confirm it and research on it more.
