Week 8 Chapter 9 Communicating in teams and Organisations.

Question 1

The process by which information is transmitted and understood between two or more people

Answer 1

Communication defined

Question 2

Effective communication is

Answer 2

Transmitting intended meaning (not just symbols)

Question 3

The importance of communication

Answer 3

Coordinating work activities 
Organisational learning 
Decision making
Change behaviour 
Employee wellbeing

Question 4

Communication transmission is no longer affected by ‘noise’ T or F?

Answer 4

T

Question 5

_____ arises from the psychological, social and structural barriers that distort and obscure the sender’s message. Communication is not free flowing.

Answer 5

Noise

Question 6

The words we choose, how we sound and how we look when we speak all convey important information to the other person. Two important messages we convey are about _____, or how we perceive our power and others’ power and _____, or the degree to which we set ourselves as apart from others.

Answer 6

status, affiliation

Question 7

It is easier to have an argument on email than it is face-to-face. T or F?

Answer 7

T

Question 8

Social _____ refers to how well a communication channel is approved and supported by the organisation, teams and individuals. One factor in social acceptance is the organisation’s and teams norms regarding the use of specific ______ channels.

Answer 8

acceptance, communication

Question 9

The phrase, ‘you should do …’ is a way of expressing caring. T or F?

Answer 9

T

Question 10

_____ includes silence, but its use and meaning varies from one culture to another. In Japan silence is a way of _____ without upsetting harmony or offending the other person, and silence symbolises respect and indicates that the listener is thoughtfully contemplating what has just been said. In contrast, most people in the United States and many other cultures view silence as a _____ of communication and often interpret long breaks as a sign of disagreement.

Answer 10

Communication, disagreeing, lack

Question 11

Stand-up meetings between executives and staff are a fad that is now dead. T or F

Answer 11

F

Question 12

There are two main Communication channels

1. Verbal:
2. Non-verbal:

Answer 12

Verbal

Non-verbal

Question 13

uses words, and occurs through either written or spoken channels

Answer 13

Verbal Communication Channel

Question 14

any part of communication that does not use words

Answer 14

Non-verbal communication channel

Question 15

The _____ process model suggests communication ______ depends on the ability of the sender and receiver to efficiently and accurately ____ and decode information.

Answer 15

communication, effectiveness, encode

Question 16

There are four main factors that influence the effectiveness of the encoding-decoding process:

Answer 16

Communication Proficiency
Similar codebooks
Shared mental models of communication context
Experience encoding the message

Question 17

Communication is more effective when both parties are skilled and enjoy using the selected communication channel

Answer 17

Communication Proficiency

Question 18

Dictionaries of symbols, language, gestures, idioms and other tools to convey information

Answer 18

Similar codebooks

Question 19

Less communication is required to clarify meaning about the context

Answer 19

Shared mental models of communication context

Question 20

The more experience in communicating about a subject, the more people learn how to transmit information effectively to others.

Answer 20

Experience encoding the message

Question 21

• Internet-based communication

Email has become the medium of choice in most places because:

Answer 21

o Quickly written, edited and transmitted
o Asynchronous (sent and received at different times) so there is no need to coordinate communication sessions
o Reduces some face-to-face and telephone communication but increases communication with people further up the hierarchy

Question 22

some problems with email:

Answer 22

o Poor medium for communicating emotions
o Reduces politeness and respect
o Poor medium for ambiguous, complex and novel situations
o Contributes to information overload

Question 23

What is the essence of good communication?

Answer 23

Transmitting the sender’s intended meaning

Question 24

How does email reduce discrimination in the workplace?

Answer 24

It hides people’s physical characteristics

Question 25

_____ communication occurs when a receiver is able to receive and understand the message. To accomplish this difficult task the sender must learn to ____ with the receiver, _____ the message, choose an _____ time for the conversation and be descriptive rather than evaluative. Be descriptive, focus on the problem not the person, if you have negative information to convey. People tend to stop listening when the information attacks their self-esteem.

Answer 25

Effective, empathise, repeat, appropriate

Question 26

Communication _____ is likely to blur the richness of a communication medium when computer-mediated channels are used?

Answer 26

proficiency

Question 27

The automatic process of sharing another person’s emotions by mimicking their facial expressions and other non-verbal behaviour

Answer 27

Emotional Contagion

Question 28

Emotional contagion Serves three purposes:

Answer 28

Provides continuous feedback to speaker
Increases emotional understanding of the other person’s experience
Communicates a collective sentiment—sharing the experience as part of the drive to bond

Question 29

Decoding hidden messages: There are two important hidden messages:

Answer 29

Status: how we perceive our own and others’ power
Affiliation: the degree to which we set ourselves apart from others

Question 30

Choosing the best communication channel there is

Answer 30

Social acceptance and media richness

Question 31

Refers to how well the medium to approved and supported by the organisation, team and individuals

Answer 31

Social acceptance

Question 32

Social Acceptance depends partly on _____, but also on _____ preferences for specific communication channels

Answer 32

norms, individual

Question 33

a medium’s data-carrying capacity; that is, the volume and variety of information that can be transmitted during a specific time

Answer 33

Media Richness

Question 34

According to media richness theory, rich media are better than lean media when the communication situation is non-routine and _____.

Answer 34

ambiguous

Question 35

Choosing the wrong medium reduces communication _____

Answer 35

effectiveness.

Question 36

Research supports relevance of media richness for traditional channels (face-to-face meetings, written memos, etc.) but evidence is mixed when computer-mediated communication channels are considered. Three factors seem to override/blur medium’s richness:

Answer 36

1. Ability to multi-communicate with multiple people
2. Communication proficiency
3. Social presence effects: the benefits of media richness channels such as face-to-face communication may be offset by social distractions from the message content (e.g. in a meeting with a CEO, an employee may concentrate more on how they present themselves than on what the CEO is saying

Question 37

the use of facts, logical arguments and emotional appeals to change another person’s beliefs and attitudes, usually for the purpose of changing the person’s behaviou

Answer 37

Persuasion

Question 38

1. It is typically accompanied by non-verbal communication
2. It offers the sender high-quality, immediate feedback about whether the receiver understands and accepts the message which allows the sender to adjust the content and emotional tone
3. People are more persuaded under conditions of high social presence than low social presence
   However, written communication can offer more technical details which is valuable when the issue is important to the receiver.

Answer 38

Reasons why spoken communication is more persuasive than written communication

Question 39

Messages can get _____ on their way up or down the corporate hierarchy by deleting or delaying negative information or using less-harsh words.

Answer 39

filtered

Question 40

a condition in which the volume of information received exceeds the person’s capacity to process it. This can be minimised by increasing information processing capacity, reducing job’s information load, or a combination of both.

Answer 40

Information overload

Question 41

High richness is conveyed when channel:

Answer 41

conveys multiple cues
allows timely feedback
allows customised message
permits complex symbols

Question 42

Use rich communication media when the situation is non-routine and _____

Answer 42

ambiguous

Question 43

Spoken communication is more persuasive because it is accompanied by _____ communication and has high quality immediate feedback and has high _____ presence

Answer 43

non-verbal, social

Question 44

Communication Barriers

Answer 44

Perceptions
Filtering
Language
Jargon
Ambiguity
Information overload

Question 45

The 2 Solutions to Managing Information Overload

Answer 45

Increase information processing capacity

Reduce information load

Question 46

Ways to Increase information processing capacity

Answer 46

Learn to read faster
Scan through documents more efficiently
Remove distractions 
Time management 
Temporarily work longer hours

Question 47

Ways to Reduce Information load

Answer 47

Buffering
Omitting
Summarising

Question 48

Cross-cultural differences in communication

Answer 48

• Voice intonation: loudly, deeply and/or quickly
• Language
• Silence: different cultures are more/less silent
• Conversational overlaps: interrupting someone else’s speech
• Non-verbal
• Interpreting non-verbal meaning
• Importance of verbal versus non-verbal

Question 49

Men and women perceive functions of language differently. Men see conversations as ______ of relative power and status whereas women see conversations as opportunities to strengthen _____ bonds. Men’s use of language is also more task-oriented, and women are more sensitive to non-verbal cues.

Answer 49

negotiations, social

Question 50

Improving Interpersonal Communication

Answer 50

Empathise
Repeat the message
Use multiple communication channels
Use timing effectively
Be descriptive

Question 51

Ways of Improving workplace communication

Answer 51

Workspace design
Internet-based organisational communication
Direct communication with top management:

Question 52

Open space arrangements can increase , but they also have the potential to increase noise, distraction and loss of privacy

Answer 52

.

Question 53

Improving Workplace Communication

Answer 53

Internet-based organisational communication
- Wikis, collaborative document creation
Direct communication with management
- Management by walking around (MBWA)
- Town hall meetings
Work place design

Question 54

Organisational grapevine early research findings

Answer 54

Transmits information rapidly in all directions
Follows a cluster chain pattern
More active in homogeneous groups
Transmits some degree of truth

Question 55

Organisational grapevine - Changes due to internet

Answer 55

Email becoming the main grapevine medium
Social networks are now global
Public blogs and forums extend gossip to everyone

Question 56

Grapevine Benefits

Answer 56

Fills in missing information from formal sources
Strengthens corporate culture
Relieves anxiety
Signals that problems exist

Question 57

Grapevine Limitations

Answer 57

Distortions might escalate anxiety

Perceived lack of concern for employees when company informtation is slower than grapevine