Chapter 9: Organisational Communication Flashcards
What is communication?
Process by which information is exchanged and understood by two or more people with the intent to motivate or influence behaviour
What is lost in ineffective communication?
Time
Human effort
Money
What are the types of communication?
Interpersonal
Organisational
What is interpersonal communication?
Comm between 2 or more people
What is org. communication?
Comm taking place in org
What is the communication process?
Sender Encoding Message Channel Decode Receive Feedback
What is the sender?
Anyone conveying idea or concept
To seek information
Express a thought or emotion
What is encoding?
Conversion of message into symbolic forms
What is a message?
The purpose of the communication conveyed
The intent
What is the channel?
The medium in which message is sent
What is decoding?
To translate the received message
What is the receiver?
The person to whom message is sent
What is feedback?
To check on how successful a message has been transferred
When is the process repeated?
After feedback is given by receiver
Why is feedback important?
Clarify the message
Allow correction and refinement
Improves communication accuracy
Is feedback two-way?
Yes
What is perception?
Process by which people select organize and interpret their sensory impressions to make sense of their environment
How we perceive people greatly affects
How
What
Why
We communicate
What can perceptual differences do?
Distort messages by creating noise and interference
Communication is used in the stages of management. What are they?
Planning
Organising
Leading
Controlling
What is communicated in planning?
Org. Goals
What is communicated in organising?
Inform staff about job duties
What is communicated in leading?
Motivate staff to perform well to achieve goals
How is there communication is controlling?
Monitor staff performance and provide feedback
The communication channel is also known as the
Carrier
The channels are classified according to
Richness
We evaluate the capacity of a channel based on
ability to establish personal focus
Facilitate rapid 2 way communication
Handle multiple cues
Channels that are personal however tend to have
No record
Because channels are 2 way, messages are
Spontaneous
Channels that have fast feedback have
Poor dissemination
Channels that are one way often provides room for
Premeditation
The richest channel is
Face to face
The least rich Chanel is
Formal reports
Bulletins
The second most rich channel is
Telephone
How do you select the channel?
Routine
Non routine
What are routine messages?
Simple
Straightforward
What are non routine messages?
Ambiguous
Concern unique events
What channels do routine messages require?
Low in richness
What channels do non-routine messages require?
Rich
What are the types of communication is an organisation?
Formal
Informal
What is formal communication?
Follows official chain of command
Necessary to do ones job
What is informal communication?
Does not follow lines of authority
Follows patten of personal leadership
What are the types of informal communication in organisation?
Grapevine
Manager wandering around
What does a grapevine channel do?
Connects the informal org.
What are the advantages of grapevine?
Sends information speedily
Test reactions
Provides feedback
What are the disadvantages of grapevine?
Rumors
Reduces moral
Affects org effectiveness
What is management by wandering around?
Managers interact directly with workers to exchange info
How do managers interact directly?
Mingle
Develop positive relationship with employees
Learn directly about their views and reactions
In a formal organisation, what are the communication flows?
Downward
Upward
Horizontal
Diagonal
What is downward communication?
Flow from manager down the hierarchy to the subordinates
Why is downward communication necessary?
Communicate to get work done
Full commitment by informing them about mission, philosophy and policies
What are examples of downward communication?
Implementation of goals, strategies and objectives
Job instructions and rationale
Procedure and practices
Performance feedback
What is upward communication?
Someone in lower position in hierarchy passed message to someone higher up
What kind of messages are passed in upward communication?
Information
Suggestion
Opinions
Grievances
What is the ‘Mum’ effect
When employees are hesitant to pass bad news upwards
What are examples of upward communication?
Performance of report
Problems and expectations
Suggestion for improvement
Grievances and disputes
What is horizontal communication?
Communication that flows sideways amongst members of same work group/ personnel of same rank
What does horizontal communication require?
Cooperation
Coordination
What are examples of horizontal communication?
Peer communication within work groups
Coordination of activities
Communication among groups such as project groups, task force
What is diagonal communication?
Unique directional flow that dsregard the chain of command
What is the purpose of a diagonal communication?
Provide staff with advisory type of info
Improve org. efficiency and effectiveness
What are examples of diagonal communication?
Staff specialist provide advice and expert opinion to line staff
Manager bypassing supervisor, going direct to worker for urgent info
What are communication networks?
Patterns from combinations of vertical and horizontal organisational comm dimensions
What are the types of communication network?
Centralized
Decentralized
Both networks involve
Team members
What is a centralized network?
Team members communicate through one individual
What is a decentralized network?
Team members communicating with one another
Reach decisions together
Effectiveness of team communication network is calculated based on
High accracy
Fast solutions
For simple problems, what network is used?
centralized
Decentralised communication is used for what type of problems?
Complex
What are the barriers to organisational communication?
Organisational structure Specialization Different objectives Status of relationship Information overload Message competition Lack of trust
Specialisation occurs when
Professionals developer their jargon to simplify communication
People outside experience difficulty communicating with this group
When are there diff objectives?
Middle managers do not understand top managers general objectives
Develop their own objectives (tunnel vision)
What is status?
Persons social rank in a group
When does information overload occur?
Message volume or rate exceeds the capacity of receivers
When is there message competition?
Confronted with competing messages which demand attention
How does lack of trust make it risky?
Others may not respond in supportive or responsive way
What are the ways to overcome barriers?
Regulate flow of information Encourage feedback Simplify message language Listen actively Restrain negative emotions Build trust
When do you regulate flow of information?
When there is information overload
How to regulate flow of information?
Establish a system
Identify priority messages for immediate action
How do messages encourage feedback?
By following up to determine whether important messages have been understood
By paraphrasing
How to simplify message language?
Choose words receiver will understand
Avoid jargon
Listening actively is essential to managers along with
good senders of information
Why are negative emotions bad?
They distort the contents of the message
When do negative emotions come in?
When managers work under tremendous pressures and constraints
How do managers build trust?
They must be visible accessible share key information Communicate honesty Include employees in decision making
As organisations go global managers need
Cross cultural communication skills
Cross cultural communication skills include
Overcoming language barriers
Dealing with difference in cultural values
Adapting to new environment
Avoid projecting own cultures on others
