Lecture 9: Organisational Communication Flashcards
what is encoding regarding communication ?
the communication choosing how to communicate this message is the process of encoding.
eg, how they say it, what word choices are used, tone of voice, accent, emphasis using body lang. etc
what is encoding decoding communication ?
the receiver receives the encoded message and then decodes it which determines if the receiver properly receives what the communicator was trying to communicate
what is the encoding and decoding process shaped by?
- environment, background, experiences
- values, attitudes, beliefs
- relationship between sender and receiver
- non verbal communication
- perceptual limitations (selective perception and selective retention) bounded rationality
- bias
what does a functional perspective of communication suggest?
suggests a rational knock on effect in communication
what are the 5 stages of the functional perspective of communication that need to be identified correctly to eliminate communication distortion?
- function of the message
- what network to use
- what channel to use
- what direction to send the message
- how much and how often to send the message
what are the 4 different categories of a message function (step 1 in the process)
- organising - rules, regulations, getting people to do things, eg attend correct exam
- relationships - to build relationships, networking
- change - facilitating or managing change. learning, problem solving and adaption
- design - need to craft your message to fit what is trying to be achieved
what are the types of networks a manager can use to convey a message? (step 2)
informal, formal, technological
what is a leaky network?
comm via one network can leak into another
eg, org send company wide email informing they are going to be shutting down a factory - this extends to the corridors where people discuss this. it was formal communication but they end up talking about it in informal ways
what is “the grapevine?”
the gossip
- informal workplace dialogue in its purest form, is characterised by convos between employees and superiors that do not follow any prescribed strucutre
how are channels (step 3) categorised?
- richness - how much info can you communicate?
- spontaneity - how quickly can it happen?
- time commitment - how long it takes
what are the richness, spontaneity and time commitment characteristics of the below channels? email phone written reports face to face, scheduled face to face, hall talk vid conferencing
email: low, high, mod
phone: mod, high, mod
written reports: mod, low, high
face to face, scheduled: high, low, high
face to face, hall talk: high, high, mod
vid conferencing: high, low, high
what are the 4 ways that you can ‘direct’ your message? (step 4)
- horizontal - colleague
- upward - biss
- downward - subordinates
- external - media, customers
what do you need to consider when thinking about too much or too little info? (step 5)
- how many messages does it take to get the message across?
- how detailed does the message need to be?
what are the advantages of the functional theories to communication?
- logical approach
- helps managers choose between diff. ways of crafting a message
- identifies key aspects of the communication process where things can go wrong
what are the disadvantages of the functional theories to communication?
- assumes too much rationality, does not deal well with complexity
- comm can take place intentionally or unintentionally, even without deliberately creating and passing on a message
- meanings are not passed on, but shared
- comm has effects beyond the receiver understanding the “what” of my message
what does the meaning centred perspective of communication suggest?
people make their own meaning out of communication with others, not a straight line, but a shared process
what are the key assumptions of meaning centred theories?
- all human interaction is communicative whether intended or not
- through constant communication, shared understandings/meanings develop
- these shared meanings shape our experience of what we believe the organisation is/what it represents
based on the assumption that everything in an org communicates a message, what things “say something” about an org?
- the way things are organised and decisions are made (centralised v participative)
- the way power is used to influence others (autocratic v democratic… enforcing rules v empowerment)
- the way a culture is created through socialising people (conformity v compliance)
- what is said and how it is said, eg. metaphors etc (using metaphors, role modelling, telling stories, writing a mission or vision statement)
what is a metaphor ?
figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. eg. "time is money moving the goal posts we're kicking goals we're going into battle"
what are the 4 metaphors that mgmt can use to change the way staff act and think, and legitimise the orgs practices?
- machine metaphor
- developmental metaphor
- transitional metaphor
- transformational metaphor
what is the machine metaphor?
a complex system of cogs and wheels where everyone has to play their part
- authoritarian power
- centralised decision making
- punitive culture
roles:
worker = fix and maintain your part of the org
change agent= have experts come to fix issues
what is the developmental metaphor?
legitimises the idea that we’re building and growing something together, coming together
- egalitarian power
- participative decision making
- safe, encouraging culture
roles:
worker = build and develop
change agent = coach, assist, supportive, making sure you have what you need to succeed
what is the transitional metaphor?
its about moving or relocating your org from one place to another… need to transform into something new
- top down power
- planned, adaptive decision making
- analytical culture
roles:
worker = move and relocate
change agent = explorer, guide, ships captain looking toward future
what is the transformational metaphor?
about rethinking the business, reinventing ourselves - charismatic power - intuitive decision making - risk taking culture roles: worker = liberate and recreate change agent = visionary creator
compare functional and meaning centred theories
Functional:
focuses on who communicates what, how they do it, to whom and why? easier to manage as it is rule based and logical but is potentially over simplistic for the real world situations
Meaning centred:
asks how communication affects organising, decision making, power and influence and socialisation and culture.
richer insights but harder to implement
