W&O ch.9 - Communication Flashcards
What is communication?
process by which information is transmitted and understood between two or more people
Why is communication important?
- vital for decision making
- achieve interdependence of organizations
- change behavior (directly or indirectly)
- support employee’s wellbeing (physical and psychological)
- fulfills drive to bond, validate self-worth and creates social identity
What is the model of communication?
- message is formed> encoded> transmitted> received> decoded…
- …feedback is formed> encoded> transmitted> received> decoded
- transmission is subjected to noise
What factors influence the efficiency of communication?
- similar codebooks (sender+receiver)
- encoding experience (sender)
- motivation and ability (s+r)
- shared mental models (s+r)
Similar codebooks - what does it mean?
- influences efficacy of communication
- dictionaries for symbols, expressions, language, gestures, …
- communication is more effective when in the coodebooks there is:
~ less need for redundancy (“as I said before…”)
~ less need for confirmation feedback (“so you’re saying that…”)
Encoding experience - what does it mean?
- influences efficacy of communication
- extent to which the sender can communicate clearly
- improves with practice (e.g. public speaking)
Motivation and Ability
- influences efficacy of communication
- efficacy dependent on whether sender and receiver both are capable and motivated to use chosen communication channel
- e.g. chosen channel is Teams
> are sender and receiver both motivated to use Teams?
> are sender and receiver both capable of using Teams?
Shared mental models (what are they and how do they affect communication)
- they are mental representations of external world (allows us to visualize elements and perceive their relationship)
- increase accuracy of and decrease need for communication
- e.g. more accurate and efficient communication about cable problem between two electricians compared to one electrician and one baker
How can the communication channels be?
- verbal
> written (better for details and accuracy of message - e.g. digital media)
> spoken (quicker and better to convey emotions) - nonverbal (intonation, gestures, loudness, …)
What is nonverbal communication?
- facial expressions, body postures, voice intonation, silence, …
- mostly helpful when “noise” + physical distance
- ads emotional meaning to verbal communication
How does nonverbal differ from verbal communication?
nonverbal communication is:
- less rule-bound (differences between cultures)
- automatic and nonconscious (emotional contagion*)
Emotional Contagion - what is it?
- sharing other’s emotions by mimicking their nonverbal behavior
- occurs because of mirror neurons (completely nonconscious)
What are the purposes of Emotional Contagion?
- provides continuous feedback
- shows our understanding of the situation
- e.g. if coworker hits his head we also make negative facial expression - increases strength of emotions felt
- it makes receiver experience stronger emotions in regard to the emotion that the sender was experiencing during the event being communicated
- e.g. if sender talks about an event that angered them -> we frown -> we experience stronger anger - fulfills drive to bond
- increases group identity and cohesion
Why is the use of digital communication media increasing?
- Covid-19
- Generational preferences (gen z was born with this technology)
- Emerging workplace factors (many digital media were only recently invented)
What are the benefits of digital communication media?
1- quicker=more efficient (can be writte, edited and transmitted quickly)
2- can be sent simultaneously to many people (no need for synchronicity)
3- increases upward communication (easier to talk to boss)
4- reduces status difference (there’s fewer cues about sender)
5- might reduce stereotypes and prejudices
6- more efficient in sending precise information to coordinate work (e.g. set up google calendar for meetings)
What are some problems with digital communication channels?
- faulty communication of emotions
- overestimation of how much/many emotions can be conveyed through it
- nonverbal behavior is fundamental in perceiving and conveying emotions - less politeness and respectfulness (flaming)
- because:
> digital media are more impersonal
> messages are so fast that there’s not enough time for emotions to subside (sink in)
> receivers interpret emotions in messages more harshly - they are inefficient for ambiguous, complex or novel situations
- information overload
How can digital media increase the convey of emotions in the messages? Why?
- through emojis
-> transmit rich emotional meaning (mostly positive)
-> strengthen meaning of message (easily perceived symbols)
-> improve interpersonal relations
What factors must be considered when choosing a communication channel?
- Synchronicity
- Social Presence
- Social Acceptance
- Media Richness
Synchronicity
extent to which sender and receiver are:
- required to be actively involved in conversation at the same time (synchronous)
- allowed to be actively involved in communication at different times (asynchronous)
~ e.g. face to face is synchronous, emails are asynchronous
What factors does the need for synchronicity depends on?
- time urgency (if matter is very urgent, channels high in synchronicity are best)
- complexity of the topic (if matter is very complex, channels high in synchronicity are best)
- cost of synchronicity (e.g. communicating with colleagues in different time zones can be hard-> is synchronicity really necessary?)
- whether receiver should be given time to reflect before responding (if they should reflect on matter before responding, synchronicity is not important)
Social Presence
- extent to which communication channel creates psychological closeness to others, awareness of humanness, appreciation for interpersonal relationships
- e.g. face to face interactions is usually the channel with the highest social presence
When is high social presence needed?
- need to influence others
> provides immediate feedback* - need to emphatize with others
> if sensitive topics are at stake
> if wanting to know interlocutor better
What factors can influence level of social presence in designated channel?
- sender’s style of communication (if casual syle, social presence is higher compared to formal style)
- sender’s conveyance of personal information
Social Acceptance
- extent to which channel is approved and supported by both sender and receiver
- e.g. “is everyone ok with using Teams when discussing this topic?”
What does social acceptance depend on?
- organizational and team norms for using specific channel (e.g. in this firm we use Zoom and not Teams)
- individual preferences (e.g. I prefer using gmail instead of Teams)
- channel’s symbolic meaning (based on what needs to be communicated)
Media Richness (and its theory)
- data-carrying capacity of media (volume and variety of information that media can transmit)
- high richness is important for ambiguous and novel situations, while lean media is preferred in routine situations
What are some features of media with high richness?
- conveyance of multiple cues (e.g. verbal and nonverbal information)
- allow for timely feedback
- allow for personalised messages
- allow for complex symbols (e.g. whether it allows sender to use words/phrases with many meanings)
Media richness of digital communication channels
- media richness models predicts that digital channels are low on media richness
- exceptions:
> ability to multicommunicate (have different conversations with different people at the same time)
> varied communication proficiency (big difference between beginners and proficient users of digital media)
> social presence effects (traditional media are subjected to more distractions and therefore less efficacy - e.g. during meeting focus on how we present ourselves to CEO instead of focus on message)
Persuasion
Attempt to change other person’s beliefs and behaviors through facts, logical arguments and emotions
What media channel is persuasion more effective with? Why?
- spoken interaction
> accompanied by nonverbal communication
> immediate feedback (allows to adjust persuasion techniques)
> more effective if high social presence
What are some barriers in communication? (noise)
1- language
2- perception
3- jargon
4- filtering
5- information overload
Language - when does it become a barrier to communication?
- often not same codebook used (especially if communicating with someone who has different mothertongue)
- ambiguous and obscure language often used to manipulate emotional responses
Perception - when does it become a barrier to communication?
- wrong perception of how much the receiver is listening and how well we are explaining
- overestimation of how much the message is understood
Jargon - what is it and why does it become a barrier to communication?
- special words or expressions used by a profession or group
- e.g. abbreviations and job-specific vocabulary
- usually makes communication more efficient, but often it hinders it
Filtering - why is it a barrier to communication?
- filtering out harsh expressions
- delaying conveyance of negative information
information overload - what is it and why is it a barrier to communication?
- information load exceedes processing capacity
- results in overlooking and misinterpretation of information
How can information overload be resolved?
- increase in processing capacity (not sustainable in long run)
- decrease information load
> buffering (e.g. assistant filters information for you beforehand)
> omitting (e.g. you decide to skip nonrelevant information)
> summarizing
Cross-cultural differences in communication
- language problems
- voice intonation
- silence and overlaps (different interpretation - e.g. in Japan overlaps are considered as rude, but in France they are a sign of interest)
- nonverbal differences (e.g. nodding to say no)
Gender differences in communication
- talk (M: report-facts, F: rapport-emotions)
- advice (M: direct, F: indirect)
- style (M: dominant, F: flexible)
- apologies (M: less, F: more)
- sensitivity to cues -e.g. nonverbal behavior (M: less, F: more)
How can interpersonal communication be improved?
- as sender: getting message across
- as receiver: active listening
How can you get your message across more efficiently?
- empathize
- avoid noise (e.g. use time efficiently)
- repeat the message
- be descriptive (focus on message and not on receiver - e.g. when delivering bad news)
Active listening model
- sensing
- postpone evaluation
- avoid interruptions
- keep focus on message (don’t get distracted, keep listening) - evaluating
- empathize
- organize information - responding
- show interest (“I see…”)
- clarify the message (“Oh so you mean…”)
Organization-wide communication strategies (how can communication be efficient at an organizational level?)
- workplace design
- digitally-based communication
- direct communication with top management
How can workplace design influence communication?
e.g. open offices
- benefit: allow sharing of knowledge and collaborations
- disadvantage: distractions and less privacy
How can direct communication with top management be achieved?
- town-hall meetings (large gatherings with most employees)
- roundtable forums (small gatherings with few employees)
- management by wandering around (MBWA)
MBWA (management by wandering around) - what + benefits
- boss chatting casually with employees on a regular basis
- benefits:
> less filtering
> more empathy for future decision making
> quicker and deeper understanding of organizational problem
Grapevine
- unstructured and informal communication network
- = gossiping
What are some benefits and limitations of grapevine?
- benefits:
> main mean of communication for organizational stories
> relieves anxiety
> fulfills drive to bond - limitations:
> negative emotions arise when management is slower than grapevine
> information is distorted (exaggerations or omissions)
