managing relationships Flashcards
what are the types of communication?
oral communication: face to face, telephone, videoconference. provides immediate feedback and important for team spirit/relationships. important for mgrs to be proactive in oral comms with team members and other stakeholders.
written comms: almost always email, or internal memos. also letters/reports
non-verbal comms: makes communication more effective, non verbal signals must be consistent with verbal messages to avoid miscommunication. positive non-verbal actions include eye contact, smiling/being animated, nodding, tone of voice. what is acceptable as positive non-verbal comms will vary around the world and across cultures.
what are the stages in the communication process?
sender
coded message: sender must encode thoughts, to be understood by receiver. this may include words, numbers, gestures or non-verbal cues. output of encoding is the message. important point to consider is message needs to match medium used to transmit it.
channel
decoded message
receiver
feedback: important sender receives feedback to let them know message received. can be verbal, or non-verbal e.g. a smile/nod. cal allow sender to clarify message where receiver appears confused or doesn’t understand
throughout – noise: unlikely process of encoding, transmission and decoding are instantaneous, therefore possibility of interference distorting message.
what are the barriers to communication?
distortions from sender:
not being clear, omitting info, inaccurate coding, choosing words that provoke emotional responses, technical jargon, inappropriate medium, sending too much info to digest, mixed messages
distortions from receiver:
not being in appropriate state to receive message (e.g. concentrating on something else at the time), using selective hearing, filtering out elements they don’t want to deal with, having mindset that doesn’t admit substance of message and therefore prevents receiver from appreciating sender’s standpoint
what are the types of noise in communication?
environmental/physical - disrupts and prevents receiver from hearing/seeing clearly.
physiological noise - hearing loss/eyesight/speech impairments
semantic noise - different understanding of works, e.g. different dialects, jargon or literally words with several meanings
psychological noise - attitudes, anger/sadness leading to loss of focus, or feelings of prejudice
how can the sender overcome barriers to communication?
have definite clear objective, articulate what you want to achieve.
plan the communication
ensure all elements of communication fit with each other and subject matter
think about receiver and situation on receipt of message
anticipate reactions to message and manage outcomes if appropriate
practice sending effective communications
seek and work with feedback from recipients
how can the receiver overcome barriers to communication?
consider contribution they are making to communication by being aware of sender’s situation and prejudices they inevitably bring to receipt of message
listen attentively, actively decode and interpret verbal messages
check out anything not clearly understood
give feedback
what makes an effective meeting?
determine purpose
establish who needs to attend
determine agenda and distribute in advance
make suitable arrangements for location/time
facilitate discussion - mgr should allow ppts to lead discussions
manage plan of action
summarise
publish results/minutes
what are the roles members play during meetings?
facilitator
mgr - take responsibility for setting agenda and ensuring meeting achieves objective and all team members have had opportunity to ppt.
secretary
mgr should ensure secretary clearly briefed and has clear understanding of purpose and likely content/format of meeting
chair
ensure agenda followed, members can ppt equally, all views listened to
protagonist
positive supporters of issue under discussion. mgr must carefully assess reasons for positive support.
antagonist
disruptive to team meeting procedures through disagreement, may have negative attitude to other members. mgr must be aware of individual issues and be able to manage them
what problems can arise with meetings?
poor preparation - inappropriate chairperson.
selection should be based on someone with requisite range of comms skills
poor preparation - objectives undefined/unclear.
ensure agenda produced and circulated prior to meeting. during, chairperson should state objs and return focus of meeting to points on agenda
lack of enthusiasm
ensure only those with interest/those required are invited. for current meeting suggest short break/stress need to reach conclusion
attendees cannot reach an agreement concerning agenda issues
chairperson must exercise negotiation skills to try and bring meeting to some agreement. if not possible, action points may be required so more info obtained to allow agreement at next meeting
hostility between attendees
chairperson negotiates again. seating plans can help, as last resort, ask one or both parties to leave
action points from previous meeting not carried out
if minutes issued correctly, chairperson should obtain reasons actions not completed. for future, ensure each point has person identified as responsible for completing it. check minutes of meeting to ensure all action points included
minutes too long or too brief
ensure minutes are either minutes of resolution (contain agreed outcomes) or in case of minutes of narration, sufficiently edited to provide flavour of discussion without every detail
what are the characteristics of negotiation?
- conflict of interest between 2+ parties
- either no established set of rules for resolving conflict or parties prefer to work outside them to develop own solution
- parties prefer to reach agreement than fight openly/have one side yield/break off contact permanently/take dispute to higher authority
what the types of negotiation?
- win-winboth sides reconcile positions so end result is agreement under which both will benefit - therefore resultant agreement tends to be stable. good communication develops more value, hence interests of both parties can be satisfied. value negotiations focus on creating value and away from power
- win-loseeach party seeks maximum gains and impose maximum losses on other. individuals take up extreme positions, through haggling compromise reached, each side’s hope is that compromise goes their way
what are the phases of negotiation?
preparation
info gathering - knowing background to problem and likely constraints acting on each ppt
opening
both sides present starting positions. usually single most important opportunity to influence other side
bargaining
aim to narrow gap between two initial positions and persuade other side that your case is stronger. to do this, use clearly thought out and logical debate
closing
opportunity to capitalise on all work done in earlier phases. research done in prep phase, info gained since should guide. agreement reached
what can be done to facilitate the negotiation process?
- focus initially on each side’s primary objective - minor points can become distraction
- be prepared to settle for what’s fair - if agreement not seen to be fair, unlikely to be stable. maintain flexibility in own position, easier for other side to also be flexible
- listen to what other side wants and make efforts to compromise on main issues, so both sides can begin to attain goals.
- seek to trade off wins and losses, so each side gets something in return for what they gave up
what are the 6 principles of influence?
Cialdini’s 6 principles of influence (or weapons of influence)
reciprocity - people feel obliged to return favours
authority - more likely to influence if you have authority
social proof - humans influenced by peer pressure
commitment and consistency - may be influenced to follow through with support for something if shown initial interest in it
liking - nice/friendly/similar people influence us easier
scarcity - more likely to want something if availability is limited.
what did Daft identify in terms of negative impacts of organisational conflict?
diversion of effort
altered judement - less accurate when conflict intense
loser effects - losers may deny/distort reality of losing, withdraw or seek scapegoats
poor coordination - under intense conflict there is no coordination. group collaboration decreases, less contact/sympathy. achieving goals put to one side to try and defeat the enemy. no room for compromise
what are some positive outcomes of conflict?
positive outcomes of conflict can stimulate creative problem solving and generation of ideas and bring emotions into open. this can release hostile feelings and avoid complacency by challenging accepted/old fashioned ideas.
what are some symptoms of conflict?
- Problems, even trivial ones, being passed up the hierarchy because no one wants to take responsibility for them
- Hostility and jealousy between groups
- Poor communications up and down the hierarchy and between departments
- Widespread frustration and dissatisfaction because it is difficult to get even simple things done efficiently
- Problems constantly being polarised around people, usually in different groups, and personalities rather than issues
what is horizontal conflict?
between groups of depts at same level in heirarchy. horizontal coordination of some sort is needed to reduce conflict and achieve collaboration
what factors can create horizontal conflict?
opportunity to compare with others, and goals/values of groups appear mutually exclusive.
goal incompatibility- achievement of one dept interferes with one anothers, throwing them into conflict.
differentiation - differences in mgrs’ cognitive and emotional orientations in different depts.
underlying values/traits of personnel
incentives and rewards have similar impact on conflict between depts. when mgrs rewarded for achieving overall org goals rather than departmental, cooperation greater
environment - As the uncertainty and complexity of the environment increases, greater differences in skills, attitudes, power and operative goals develop among departments. Each department is differentiated from other organisational groups. increased competition also leads to lower prices, improved quality and better service.
size - Employees feel isolated from other people in the organisation. The lengthening hierarchy also heightens power and resource differences among departments.
technology - Technology determines task allocation among departments as well as interdependence among departments. Groups that have interdependent tasks interact more often and must share resources. Interdependence creates frequent situations that lead to conflict.
goals - Operative goals pursued by marketing, accounting, legal and personnel departments often seem mutually exclusive. Innovation goals cause more conflict than do goals of internal efficiency.
structure - The choice of a divisional structure, for example, means that divisions may be placed in competition for resources from headquarters and headquarters may devise pay incentives based on competition among divisions.
task interdependence - dependence of one unit on another for materials, resources or information. Pooled interdependence means little interaction; sequential interdependence means that the output of one department goes to the next department; and reciprocal interdependence means that departments mutually exchange materials and information. In the case of pooled interdependence, units have little need to interact. Conflict is at a minimum. Sequential and reciprocal interdependence require employees to spend time coordinating and sharing information.Greater interdependence means departments often exert pressure for a fast response because departmental work has to wait on other departments.
uncertainty - When factors in the environment are rapidly changing, or when problems arise that are poorly understood, departments may have to renegotiate their respective tasks. Managers have to sort out how new problems should be handled. The boundaries of a department’s territory or jurisdiction becomes indistinct. Members may reach out to take on more responsibility, only to find that other groups feel invaded. Generally, as uncertainty about departmental relationships increases, conflict can be expected to increase.
what is vertical conflict?
between groups at different levels of the vertical hierarchy. several same concepts as above, but group issues may be different
usually about power/powerlessness. status and power differences often greater than for horizontal conflict. part of reason vertical conflict occurs is to equalise power differences.
groundrules for this conflict usually defined by laws/regulations.
what are thomas’ conflict handling strategies based on?
- the degree of assertiveness in pursuit of one’s interests.
- the level of cooperation in attempting to satisfy others’ interests.
what are thomas’ 5 conflict handling strategies?
avoiding - low/low
suppress/ignore conflict, not recommended because no resolution
compromising - mid/mid
each gives something up, deal somewhere between two but both parties do lose something
collaborating - high/high
optimum solution, differences confronted and jointly resolved, novel solutions sought and win-win outcome achieved
accommodating - high interest in other
one party puts other’s interests first and suppresses own, in order to preserve stability and suppress conflict. if causes of conflict are endemic and lasting accommodation may not resolve anything, and accommodating party will lose out
competing - high interest in yourself
state where both or all don’t cooperate, but maximise own interests and goals. resulting conflict can prove damaging to the org as well as to at least one party so not recommended
what are some alternative methods of handling conflict?
alter context, e.g. introduce new dispute procedures, reduce dependence of one group on another, alter way in which work divided, etc
alter issue in dispute - e.g. break into smaller components and deal separately, or limit strength and scope of precendents
alter relationship directly - physically separate individuals, use integrators to help coordinate efforts towards common goal
alter individuals involved - transfers, dismissals. alternatively try to change attitudes and beh of conflicting parties
what does Handy suggest for having arguments that result in fruitful resolution of differences?
- Effective group dynamics enable the arguments to be constructive — this will typically involve shared leadership, confidence, trust, and challenging tasks for those involved.
- Everyone is arguing about the same thing and sufficient information is available to resolve the issue.
- Emotions and feelings can be expressed.
why might workers form unions (reflecting sources of vertical conflict)?
psychological distance - workers feel uninvolved
power and status - workers feel powerless
ideology - workers have diff opinion on goals/purpose
scarce resources - financial resources
