ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION. LECTURE 9
What is Communication?
Communication is the transfer and exchange of information and understanding
from one person to another through meaningful symbols.
It involves sending, receiving and sharing ideas, attitudes, values, opinions, and facts.
Communication requires a sender (who begins the process) and a receiver (who completes the communication link). The receiver must also provide feedback so as to make the communication cycle complete.
It involves sending, receiving and sharing ideas, attitudes, values, opinions, and facts.
Communication requires a sender (who begins the process) and a receiver (who completes the communication link). The receiver must also provide feedback so as to make the communication cycle complete.
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Organizational Communication
In performing the four management functions of planning, organizing, leading and controlling, managers use the communication process.
Effective managers build networks of contacts who facilitate information gathering, interpretation, and dissemination.
Ineffective managers often leave employees in the dark about what is happening.
Role of the Sender& Receiver
The Sender (Encoder)
The sender is the source of information and the initiator of the communication process.
Encoding translates thoughts or feelings into a medium –written, visual, or spoken –that conveys the meaning intended. To increase encoding accuracy, the following principles may be useful:
i.Relevance. The message should be meaningful and significant.
ii.Simplicity. Put the message in the most simple terms to communicate your thoughts and feelings.
iii.Organization. Arrange the message as series of points to foster understanding.
iv.Repetition. Restate key points of the message at least twice.
v.Focus. Focus on the essential aspects, or key points, of the message. 5
Role of the Sender & Receiver
The Receiver (Decoder)
The receiver is the person who receives and decodes (or interprets) the sender’s message.
Decoding translates messages into a form that has meaning to the receiver.
Both encoding and decoding are influenced by personal factors, such as education, personality, socioeconomic, family, work history, culture, and gender.
The receiver of the information must have good listening skills and must be attentive to the message as well.
Noise refers to any disturbance that interfere with the transmission, receipt and feedback of a message. 6
The Message
The message contains the verbal symbols and non-verbal cues representing the
information that the sender wants to convey to the receiver.
Non-Verbal Messages: All messages not spoken or written constitute nonverbal messages. They involve the use of facial expressions, eye contact, body movement, gestures, and physical contact to convey meaning. During face-to-face communication, about 60% of the content of the message is nonverbal.
The meaning of non-verbal communication varies by cultures.
Generally non-verbal code systems are classified according to the type of activity used in the code:
a.Proxemics or use of space
b.Kinesics or body activities
c.Physical appearance
d.Chronemicsor the use of time
e.Vocalicsor the use of voice
Proxemics is the study of ways that people use physical space to convey messages.
Kinesics, a term originated by Birdwhistell (1970), a linguistic anthropologist, is concerned with abstracting from the continuous muscular shifts which are characteristic are of significance to particular social groups. It is generally referred to as body language. It is often observed in eye movements, hand movements, facial expressions.
Physical appearance. A communicator’s personal appearance may help in establishing his or her social identity. Physical appearance may also include: body shape, posture, physique, body or breath odours, height, skin colour, etc.
Chronemics. This reflects the use of time in a culture. In a culture with monochromic time schedules, things are done in a linear manner, i.e., one activity at a time. With polychromic time schedules, people tend to do several things at the same time.
Vocalics. Aspects of a person’s voice such as tone, volume, and speech rate may communicate confidence or nervousness. Laughing, yawning, crying and the use of paralinguistic features like “oh”, “um”, “ah”, “eish”, “wow”.
Verbal Messages: In verbal messages, emphasis is given to words or phrases that convey meaning.
Written Messages: Such messages are most appropriate when information has to be collected from or distributed to many people at scattered locations and when keeping a record of what was sent is necessary.
Direction of Communication Flow
Downward… Upward … Laterally … Diagonally
Downward Communication: This is communication that flows downward from a manager to employees. It is used to inform, direct, coordinate, and evaluate employees. Downward communication is also used to disseminate information on job descriptions, informing employee of organizational policies and procedures, and pointing out problems that need attention.
Upward Communication: This is communication that flows from employees to managers. It keeps managers aware of how employees feel about their jobs, their coworkers, and the organization in general. Examples of upward communication include performance reports prepared by employees, suggestion boxes, employee attitude surveys, grievance procedures, and informal group sessions in which employees have the opportunity to discuss problems with their manager.
Lateral Communication: This is communication that takes place among employees on the same organizational level. It is also called horizontal communication, and it is needed to save time and facilitate coordination. Cross-functional teams rely heavily on this form of communication. Conflicts may however arise I employees don’t keep their managers informed about decisions made.
Diagonal Communication: This is communication that crosses both work areas and organizational levels. In many organizations, employees can communicate with any other employee regardless of organizational work area or level. Diagonal communication also has the potential to create problems if employees don’t keep their managers informed.
Barriers to Communication
Filtering: This is the deliberate manipulation of information to make it appear more favourable to the receiver. Eg., telling a manager what he wants to hear.
Emotions: How a receiver feels when a message is received influences how he or she interprets it.
Information Overload: This is when information exceeds our processing capacity.
Language: Words mean different things to different people. Jargons used in communication may not be understood.
Defensiveness: When people feel they are being threatened, they tend to react in ways that hinder effective communication and reduce their ability to achieve mutual understanding.
Overcoming the Barriers
Use Feedback: Many communication problems are directly attributed to misunderstanding and inaccuracies. Thus feedback helps to gain mutual understanding.
Simplify Language: Lessen the jargons and use language that can be understood by the receiver of the information.
Listen Actively: Active listening means listening for full meaning without making premature judgments or interpretations. Listening is an active search for meaning, whereas hearing is passive.
Constrain Emotions: Emotions can cloud and distort communication. Simply calm down and get emotions under control before communicating.
Watch Nonverbal Cues: Actions speak louder than words.
Non-Verbal Messages: All messages not spoken or written constitute nonverbal messages. They involve the use of facial expressions, eye contact, body movement, gestures, and physical contact to convey meaning. During face-to-face communication, about 60% of the content of the message is nonverbal.
The meaning of non-verbal communication varies by cultures.
Generally non-verbal code systems are classified according to the type of activity used in the code:
a.Proxemics or use of space
b.Kinesics or body activities
c.Physical appearance
d.Chronemicsor the use of time
e.Vocalicsor the use of voice
Proxemics is the study of ways that people use physical space to convey messages.
Kinesics, a term originated by Birdwhistell (1970), a linguistic anthropologist, is concerned with abstracting from the continuous muscular shifts which are characteristic are of significance to particular social groups. It is generally referred to as body language. It is often observed in eye movements, hand movements, facial expressions.
Physical appearance. A communicator’s personal appearance may help in establishing his or her social identity. Physical appearance may also include: body shape, posture, physique, body or breath odours, height, skin colour, etc.
Chronemics. This reflects the use of time in a culture. In a culture with monochromic time schedules, things are done in a linear manner, i.e., one activity at a time. With polychromic time schedules, people tend to do several things at the same time.
Vocalics. Aspects of a person’s voice such as tone, volume, and speech rate may communicate confidence or nervousness. Laughing, yawning, crying and the use of paralinguistic features like “oh”, “um”, “ah”, “eish”, “wow”.
Verbal Messages: In verbal messages, emphasis is given to words or phrases that convey meaning.
Written Messages: Such messages are most appropriate when information has to be collected from or distributed to many people at scattered locations and when keeping a record of what was sent is necessary.
Direction of Communication Flow
Downward… Upward … Laterally … Diagonally
Downward Communication: This is communication that flows downward from a manager to employees. It is used to inform, direct, coordinate, and evaluate employees. Downward communication is also used to disseminate information on job descriptions, informing employee of organizational policies and procedures, and pointing out problems that need attention.
Upward Communication: This is communication that flows from employees to managers. It keeps managers aware of how employees feel about their jobs, their coworkers, and the organization in general. Examples of upward communication include performance reports prepared by employees, suggestion boxes, employee attitude surveys, grievance procedures, and informal group sessions in which employees have the opportunity to discuss problems with their manager.
Lateral Communication: This is communication that takes place among employees on the same organizational level. It is also called horizontal communication, and it is needed to save time and facilitate coordination. Cross-functional teams rely heavily on this form of communication. Conflicts may however arise I employees don’t keep their managers informed about decisions made.
Diagonal Communication: This is communication that crosses both work areas and organizational levels. In many organizations, employees can communicate with any other employee regardless of organizational work area or level. Diagonal communication also has the potential to create problems if employees don’t keep their managers informed.
Barriers to Communication
Filtering: This is the deliberate manipulation of information to make it appear more favourable to the receiver. Eg., telling a manager what he wants to hear.
Emotions: How a receiver feels when a message is received influences how he or she interprets it.
Information Overload: This is when information exceeds our processing capacity.
Language: Words mean different things to different people. Jargons used in communication may not be understood.
Defensiveness: When people feel they are being threatened, they tend to react in ways that hinder effective communication and reduce their ability to achieve mutual understanding.
Overcoming the Barriers
Use Feedback: Many communication problems are directly attributed to misunderstanding and inaccuracies. Thus feedback helps to gain mutual understanding.
Simplify Language: Lessen the jargons and use language that can be understood by the receiver of the information.
Listen Actively: Active listening means listening for full meaning without making premature judgments or interpretations. Listening is an active search for meaning, whereas hearing is passive.
Constrain Emotions: Emotions can cloud and distort communication. Simply calm down and get emotions under control before communicating.
Watch Nonverbal Cues: Actions speak louder than words.