Communication

1. Communication Module 12 LIS 580: Spring 2006 Instructor- Michael Crandall

2. Roadmap • The communication process • Barriers to communication • Interpersonal communication • Negotiation • Organizational communication • Barriers to organizational communication • Electronic communication • Conflict LIS580- Spring 2006

3. Communication • Creating joint meanings and shared understanding • Coordinating (the coordination of) behavior • The exchange of information • Information as a common basis of human relationships, understanding, and feeling Prentice Hall, 2002 LIS580- Spring 2006

4. Emotional Intelligence Again • In “Leading by Feel” several leaders discuss emotional intelligence and its impact in organizations • What common themes did you see in these short pieces? • How does paying attention to emotional intelligence help in communication? • Is it only the leader’s emotional intelligence that matters? • Why do you think communication is so difficult in organizations? LIS580- Spring 2006

5. The Communication Process FIGURE 12–1 G.Dessler, 2003 LIS580- Spring 2006

6. Barriers to Effective Communication • Ambiguous, Muddled Messages • Semantics • Physical Barriers • Loss of Transmission • Failing to Communicate • Competition Barriers • Cultural, Linguistic, and Diversity Barriers • Not Listening G.Dessler, 2003 LIS580- Spring 2006

7. Nonverbal Communication • Nonverbal Communication • The nonspoken aspects of communication, such as a person’s manner of speaking, facial expressions, or body posture, that express meaning to others. • Nonverbal communication can complicate the task of communicating internationally. • The nonverbal part of communicating is more important in some societies than in others. • In many societies, the context (or setting) in which a message is delivered, with its nonverbal cues, has far more meaning than the words of the message itself. G.Dessler, 2003 LIS580- Spring 2006

8. Psychological Barriers • Perception • Selectivity/exposure filtering out of unpleasant things and focusing on or recalling things not heard. • Retention filtering of things that feel good, and the tendency to forget those things that are painful. • Experiential Barriers • The difficulty in understanding things not personally experienced. • Emotions • Emotions influence both what is said and what is heard. • Defensiveness • Adjustments people make to avoid acknowledging personal inadequacies that might reduce their self-esteem. G.Dessler, 2003 LIS580- Spring 2006

9. Interpersonal Communications • Interpersonal communication • Communication that occurs between two individuals. • Methods for Improving Interpersonal Communications • Pay attention • Make yourself clear • Be an active listener • Don’t attack the person’s defenses • Get feedback G.Dessler, 2003 LIS580- Spring 2006

10. Checklist 12.1Active Listening • Listen for total meaning. • Reflect feelings. • Note all cues. • Give the person your full attention. • Show that you are listening with an open mind. • Encourage the speaker to give complete information. G.Dessler, 2003 LIS580- Spring 2006

11. Negotiation • Negotiation defined • A process in which two or more parties who have different preference must make a joint decision and come to an agreement • Distributive bargaining • Negotiation under zero-sum conditions, in which the gains by one party involve losses by the other party • Integrative bargaining • Negotiation in which there is at least one settlement that involves no loss to either party Prentice Hall, 2002 LIS580- Spring 2006

12. Determining the Bargaining Zone Prentice Hall, 2002 LIS580- Spring 2006

13. How to Improve Your Negotiating Skills • Mistakes to avoid when negotiating: • Neglecting the other side’s problems. • Letting price overwhelm other interests. • Searching too hard for common ground. • Failing to consider BANTRAs (best alternative to a negotiated agreement). • Negotiating Tactics (Using Leverage) • Necessity • Desire • Competition • Time G.Dessler, 2003 LIS580- Spring 2006

14. Checklist 12.2How to be More Persuasive • Establish your credibility. • Frame for common ground. • Connect emotionally. • Provide evidence. • Use peer power whenever it’s available. • Have the person make the commitment active, public, and voluntary. G.Dessler, 2003 LIS580- Spring 2006

15. Organizational Communication • Organizational Communication • Communication that occurs among several individuals or groups. • Downward communications go from superior to subordinate. • Lateral (horizontal) communications move between departments or between people in the same department. • Upward communications move from subordinates to superiors. G.Dessler, 2003 LIS580- Spring 2006

16. Formal vs. Social Structure Rarely do the communication patterns match the formal structure Cross, Rob. A bird's-eye view: Using social network analysis to improve knowledge creation and sharing. IBM Executive strategy report  04Jun2002 http://www-1.ibm.com/services/us/index.wss/xs/imc/a1001262 LIS580- Spring 2006

17. Multiple Network Dimensions Four dimensional analysis- knowledge, access, engagement and safety Knowledge Network analyzed on only one dimension- knowledge Cross, Rob. A bird's-eye view: Using social network analysis to improve knowledge creation and sharing. IBM Executive strategy report  04Jun2002 http://www-1.ibm.com/services/us/index.wss/xs/imc/a1001262 LIS580- Spring 2006

18. The Four Dimensions Rob Cross LIS580- Spring 2006

19. Another View • The work network • With whom do you exchange information as part of your daily work routines? • The social network • With whom do you “check in”, inside and outside the organization to find out what is going on? • The innovation network • With whom do you collaborate or kick around new ideas? • The expert knowledge network • To whom do you turn for expertise or advice? • The career guidance or strategic network • Whom do you go to for advice about the future? • The learning network • Whom do you work with to improve existing processes or methods? Kleiner, Art. Karen Stephenson’s Quantum Theory of Trust. strategy+business, 4th quarter, 2002. LIS580- Spring 2006

20. Energy • Do you weave relationship development into work and day-to-day interactions? • Do you do what you say you are going to do? • Do you address tough issues with integrity? • Do you look for possibilities or just identify constraints? • When you disagree with someone, do you focus attention on the issue at hand rather than the individual? • Are you cognitively and physically engaged in meetings and conversations? • Are you flexible in your thinking or do you force others to come to your way of thinking? • Do you use your own expertise appropriately? Cross, R., Baker, W. & Parker, A. (2003). What Creates Energy in Organizations? Sloan Management Review 44(4), pp. 51-57. LIS580- Spring 2006

21. Special Barriers to Organizational Communication • Interpersonal Barriers • Authority • Task • Political • Identity • Organizational Culture • Organization Structures Free Speech? G.Dessler, 2003 LIS580- Spring 2006

22. Getting Upward Feedback • Request feedback from people whom you trust and who will be honest with you. • If the feedback is too general, ask for examples of specific, recent behavior. • Don’t be defensive, make excuses, or blame others when you hear criticism. • Do not overreact or underreact to feedback. • Once the feedback is complete, summarize what the speaker said to make sure that you understand. • Explain what you are going to do in response to the feedback, do it, evaluate the consequences on performance, and then let the feedback-giver know of the outcome. • Thank the person for his or her concern and advice. FIGURE 12–2 Source: Adapted from Paula J. Caproni, The Practical Coach (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001), p. 21. G.Dessler, 2003 LIS580- Spring 2006

23. Social gatherings Union publications Regular meetings Performance appraisal meetings Grievances Attitude surveys A suggestion system An open door policy Indirect measures E-Mail Fostering Upward Organizational Communication G.Dessler, 2003 LIS580- Spring 2006

24. Improving Downward Communication • Open-Book Management • A management style in which a company opens its books to the employees, sharing financial data, explaining numbers, and rewarding workers for improvement. G.Dessler, 2003 LIS580- Spring 2006

25. Appoint Liaison Personnel Organize Committees and Task Forces HorizontalCommunications Use Independent Integrators Improving Horizontal Communication G.Dessler, 2003 LIS580- Spring 2006

26. Emphasize Informality Maintain Communication Intensity Informal Communications Provide Physical Support Improving Informal Communications G.Dessler, 2003 LIS580- Spring 2006

27. Hierarchy of Media Richness and Application for Managerial Applications Source: Adapted from Richard L. Daft and Robert H. Lengel, “Information Richness: A New Approach to Managerial Information Processing and Organization Design,” in Barry Staw and Larry L. Cummings, eds., Research in Organizational Behavior, vol. 6 (Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1984), pp. 191–233. Reprinted from R. Daft and R. Steers, Organizations: A Micro/Macro Approach (Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1986) p. 532. FIGURE 12–5 G.Dessler, 2003 LIS580- Spring 2006

28. Managing Conflict • Conflict defined • Perceived differences resulting in interference or opposition • Functional conflict • Conflict over what best supports an organization’s goals • Dysfunctional conflict • Conflict that prevents an organization from achieving its goals Prentice Hall, 2002 LIS580- Spring 2006

29. Three Views of Conflict • Traditional view • Assumed that conflict was bad and would always have a negative impact on an organization • Human relations view • Argued that conflict was a natural and inevitable occurrence in all organizations; rationalized the existence of conflict and advocated its acceptance • Interactionist view • Encourages mangers to maintain ongoing minimum level of conflict sufficient to keep organizational units viable, self-critical, and creative Prentice Hall, 2002 LIS580- Spring 2006

30. Conflict & Organizational Performance Prentice Hall, 2002 LIS580- Spring 2006

31. Sources of Conflict • Communication differences • Arising from semantic difficulties, misunderstandings, and noise in the communication channels • Structural differences • Horizontal and vertical differentiation creates problems of integration leading to disagreements over goals, decision alternatives, performance criteria, and resource allocations in organizations • Personal differences • Individual idiosyncrasies and personal value systems create conflicts Prentice Hall, 2002 LIS580- Spring 2006

32. Dimensions of Conflict • Based on work of Kenneth W. Thomas at the Naval Postgraduate School Graduate School of Business and Public Policy http://research.nps.navy.mil/cgi-bin/vita.cgi?p=display_vita&id=1023567855 • Cooperativeness • The degree to which an individual will attempt to rectify a conflict by satisfying the other person’s concerns • Assertiveness • The degree to which an individual will attempt to rectify the conflict to satisfy his or her own concerns Prentice Hall, 2002 LIS580- Spring 2006

33. Thomas’ Conflict Model Thomas, K. W. and Kilmann,R. H. Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument. March 19, 2001 http://www.acer.edu.au/publications/acerpress/onlinetesting/documents/TKI.pdf LIS580- Spring 2006

34. Next Time • Managing groups and teams and more • Read Chapter 13 and the assigned articles • Discussion questions: • These lessons were derived from the military. How much do you think can be transferred to other environments? • How do you think a similar examination of leadership behaviors on a basketball team would compare? • Given our discussions over the last week about leadership, do you think the “Big 12” behaviors would be effective for team and individual leadership in a library? Why or why not? • Is there something missing in this list? If so, what is it? LIS580- Spring 2006