Lecture 9: Organisational Communication

Question 1

what is encoding regarding communication ?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

what is encoding decoding communication ?

Answer 2

the receiver receives the encoded message and then decodes it which determines if the receiver properly receives what the communicator was trying to communicate

Question 3

what is the encoding and decoding process shaped by?

Answer 3

• environment, background, experiences
• values, attitudes, beliefs
• relationship between sender and receiver
• non verbal communication
• perceptual limitations (selective perception and selective retention) bounded rationality
• bias

Question 4

what does a functional perspective of communication suggest?

Answer 4

suggests a rational knock on effect in communication

Question 5

what are the 5 stages of the functional perspective of communication that need to be identified correctly to eliminate communication distortion?

Answer 5

1. function of the message
2. what network to use
3. what channel to use
4. what direction to send the message
5. how much and how often to send the message

Question 6

what are the 4 different categories of a message function (step 1 in the process)

Answer 6

1. organising - rules, regulations, getting people to do things, eg attend correct exam
2. relationships - to build relationships, networking
3. change - facilitating or managing change. learning, problem solving and adaption
4. design - need to craft your message to fit what is trying to be achieved

Question 7

what are the types of networks a manager can use to convey a message? (step 2)

Answer 7

informal, formal, technological

Question 8

what is a leaky network?

Answer 8

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

Question 9

what is “the grapevine?”

Answer 9

the gossip
- informal workplace dialogue in its purest form, is characterised by convos between employees and superiors that do not follow any prescribed strucutre

Question 10

how are channels (step 3) categorised?

Answer 10

1. richness - how much info can you communicate?
2. spontaneity - how quickly can it happen?
3. time commitment - how long it takes

Question 11

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

Answer 11

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

Question 12

what are the 4 ways that you can ‘direct’ your message? (step 4)

Answer 12

1. horizontal - colleague
2. upward - biss
3. downward - subordinates
4. external - media, customers

Question 13

what do you need to consider when thinking about too much or too little info? (step 5)

Answer 13

• how many messages does it take to get the message across?

- how detailed does the message need to be?

Question 14

what are the advantages of the functional theories to communication?

Answer 14

• logical approach
• helps managers choose between diff. ways of crafting a message
• identifies key aspects of the communication process where things can go wrong

Question 15

what are the disadvantages of the functional theories to communication?

Answer 15

• 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

Question 16

what does the meaning centred perspective of communication suggest?

Answer 16

people make their own meaning out of communication with others, not a straight line, but a shared process

Question 17

what are the key assumptions of meaning centred theories?

Answer 17

• 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

Question 18

based on the assumption that everything in an org communicates a message, what things “say something” about an org?

Answer 18

• 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)

Question 19

what is a metaphor ?

Answer 19

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"

Question 20

what are the 4 metaphors that mgmt can use to change the way staff act and think, and legitimise the orgs practices?

Answer 20

1. machine metaphor
2. developmental metaphor
3. transitional metaphor
4. transformational metaphor

Question 21

what is the machine metaphor?

Answer 21

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

Question 22

what is the developmental metaphor?

Answer 22

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

Question 23

what is the transitional metaphor?

Answer 23

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

Question 24

what is the transformational metaphor?

Answer 24

about rethinking the business, reinventing ourselves 
- charismatic power 
- intuitive decision making 
- risk taking culture 
roles: 
worker = liberate and recreate 
change agent = visionary creator

Question 25

compare functional and meaning centred theories

Answer 25

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