Chapter 9: Communication in the Workplace Flashcards
This refers to all the ways a company and its representatives communicate.
Organizational communication.
Four (4) types of organizational communication.
- Upward communication
- Downward communication
- Business communication
- Informal communication
This refers to how subordinates communicate to superiors or someone of higher rank; bottom-to-top.
Upward communication.
This is used to limit the number of people communicating directly with the top executive.
Serial communication.
This is when an external consultant conducts an annual survey where employees are asked to rate their views on different factors regarding work or the workplace.
Attitude surveys.
A meeting between an outside consultant and current employees to gather opinions and/or suggestions.
Focus groups.
An interview with a departing employee.
Exit interviews.
This allows employees to communicate their thoughts with a sense of anonymity.
Suggestion boxes.
This is having third-party individuals who handle employee complaints and suggestions and then collaborate directly with management to resolve issues.
Third-party facilitators.
The communication of superiors to subordinates, or management to employees; top-to-bottom.
Downward communication.
Its main use is to communicate non-work related information.
Bulletin boards.
The place for posting important changes in policy or procedure.
Policy manuals.
Designed to boost employee morale.
Newsletters.
Organization-wide versions of the internet.
Intranet.
This refers to sharing business information among staff, managers, and customers.
Business communication.
One of the most common methods of business communication and has the advantage of providing detailed information quickly to many people.
Memorandums (memos).
Connects one caller to another.
Telephone calls.
These are primarily used to ask questions and exchange general and/or timely information.
Email and voicemail.
This type of communication is transmitted through the “grapevine” and is often distorted.
Informal communication.
Informal communication has two (2) types of information, which are?
- Gossip
- Rumor
Three (3) characteristics of gossip.
- Primarily focuses on individuals
- Content lacks significance to those gossiping
- Serves to entertain and provide social information
Three (3) characteristics of rumor.
- Can be about individuals or other topics
- Contains information significant to the lives of those communicating it
- Serves the function of helping to make sense of ambiguous information and of helping manage potential threats
Four (4) grapevine patterns.
- Single strand grapevine
- Gossip grapevine
- Probability grapevine
- Cluster grapevine
Employee category; those who received less than half of the information.
Isolates.
Employee category; those who both received most of the information and passed it on to others.
Liaisons.
Employee category; those who heard most of the information but seldom passed it.
Dead-enders.
This involves the exchanging of a message across a communication channel from one person to another.
Interpersonal communication.
Three (3) solutions to interpersonal communication problems.
- Thinking about what you want to communicate
- Practice what you want to communicate
- Learn better communication skills
The interference that affects proper reception of a message.
Noise.
How we move and position our body.
Body language.
Provides nonverbal cues about their feelings and personality.
Use of space.
Punctuality and tardiness.
Use of time.
This refers to the way we say things and consists of variables such as tone, tempo, volume, number and duration of pauses, and rate of speech.
Paralanguage.
This is the concern on the objects that a person wears or with which they surround themselves.
Artifacts.
This refers to when unimportant details in the information are removed.
Level.
This refers to when interesting and unusual information is kept.
Sharpen.
This refers to when information is modified to fit your existing beliefs and knowledge.
Assimilate.
Six (6) reactions to communications overload.
- Omission
- Error
- Queuing
- Escape
- Use of a gatekeeper
- Use of multiple channels
Message received vs. message interpreted is affected by four (4) factors, which are?
- Listening skills
- Emotional state
- Cognitive ability
- Bias
A style of listening wherein you only listen for words that indicate pleasure.
Leisure listening.
A style of listening wherein you listen for the main ideas behind any communication.
Inclusive listening.
A style of listening wherein you listen to the way the communication is presented.
Stylistic listening.
A style of listening wherein you hear and retain large amounts of details, but do not hear the meaning of those details.
Technical listening.
A style of listening wherein you hear tunes into the feelings of the speaker and most likely pay attention to nonverbal cues.
Empathetic listening.
A style of listening wherein you attend only to information that is consistent with your way of thinking.
Nonconforming listening.
