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MANAGING COMMUNICATIONS , KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION

MANAGING COMMUNICATIONS , KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION. Lecturer: Donna O’Connor Lesson 2. MANAGING COMMUNICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION. LO3: Be able to develop communication processes. The Basic Syllabus. Understand how to assess information and knowledge needs

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MANAGING COMMUNICATIONS , KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION

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  1. MANAGING COMMUNICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION Lecturer: Donna O’Connor Lesson 2

  2. MANAGING COMMUNICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION LO3: Be able to develop communication processes O'Connor

  3. The Basic Syllabus • Understand how to assess information and knowledge needs • Be able to create strategies to increase personal networking to widen involvement in the decision-making process • Be able to develop communication processes to improve the gathering and dissemination of information and organisational knowledge • Be able to design and improve appropriate systems for the collection, storage and dissemination of and access to the information and knowledge gathered O'Connor

  4. Objectives • Describe the functions of organizational communication • Explain the basic communication processes of organizations • Understand the effects of verbal and nonverbal communication • Distinguish between the functions and dysfunctions of organizational communication O'Connor

  5. Objectives • Discuss the features of listening, especially of active listening • Describe ways to make communication processes more effective • Understand the effects of new technology on communication O'Connor

  6. The Importance of Communication Skills • Ninety-four percent of over 2,000 surveyed executives ranked “communicating well” as the most important skill for success. --NFI Research • Companies included in BusinessWeek’s list of best places to work cited communication skills the most important trait in a job candidate—more desirable than any other trait besides college major. --BusinessWeek O'Connor

  7. Even More Evidence of Importance • Employers surveyed for the Job Outlook 2009 cited communication skills along with related traits such as a strong work ethic, ability to work in a team, and initiative as highly prized qualities in job applicants. --National Association of Colleges and Employers • Recruiters who assessed MBA programs gave “communication and interpersonal skills” more ratings of “very important” than any other attribute. --The Wall StreetJournal O'Connor

  8. Functions of Communication • Communication serves four major functions within a group or organization: • Control • motivation • emotional expression • Information O'Connor

  9. Functions of Communication • Control • Communication acts to control member behavior in several ways. • Organizations have authority hierarchies and formal guidelines that employees are required to follow. • Informal communication also controls behavior. • Motivation • Communication fosters motivation by clarifying to employees what is to be done, how well they are doing and what can be done to improve performance if it’s subpar. • The formation of specific goals, feedback on progress toward the goals, and reinforcement of desired behavior all stimulate motivation and require communication. O'Connor

  10. Functions of Communication • Emotional expression • For many employees, their work group is a primary source for social interaction. The communication that takes place within the group is a fundamental mechanism by which members show their frustration and feelings of satisfaction. Communication therefore provides release for the emotional expression of feelings and for fulfillment of social needs. • Information • The final function that communication perms relates to its role in facilitating decision making. It provides the information that individuals and groups need to make decisions by transmitting the data to identify and evaluate alternative choices. • No one of these four functions should be seen as being more important than the others. O'Connor

  11. Communication Networks • Formal Network • Well-established, usually along operational lines • Depends on certain established forms or “genres” in the company • Planned and managed • Informal Network • Complex • Ever changing O'Connor

  12. Framework for Understanding Communications • Communication is defined as the transmission of mutual understanding through the use of symbols • If mutual understanding does not result from the transmission of symbols, there is no communication • The elements in the process of communication are: • Sender • Encoding • Message • Medium • Decoding • Receiver • Noise • Feedback O'Connor

  13. The Communication Process Model Communication Process The steps between a source and a receiver that result in the transference and understanding of meaning O'Connor

  14. Direction of Communication Upward Downward Lateral O'Connor

  15. Formal Channels • The three formal channels of communication are downward, upward, and horizontal • Downward • Flows from higher to lower levels • Key aspect—subordinates react most effectively to those matters judged to be of the greatest interest to the boss • Selective screening is a problem • Example forms: job instructions, memos, policies, procedures, manuals, etc. O'Connor

  16. Formal Channels • Upward • Flows from lower to higher levels • Most ineffective of the three channels • Employees need opportunities to be: • Heard • Anonymous • Example devices: suggestion boxes, group meetings, participative decision making, grievance procedures, etc. • Horizontal • Flows from one level to an equal level • Necessary for coordination of diverse organizational functions • Most effective of the three channels • Example devices: Internet, corporate intranets O'Connor

  17. Informal Channels • Communications within organizations do not necessarily follow the formal pathways • Many organizations have extensive networks of informal communications • Since they are ingrained into organizational life, managers should heed and use them to benefit programs, policies, or plans • Elements of informal channels are: • Grapevine—75% accurate • Rumor—unverified belief in general circulation O'Connor

  18. Interpersonal Communication • Interpersonal communication travels from person to person in face-to-face and group settings • It is the primary means (75%) of managerial communication • Communication problems can be traced to perceptual and interpersonal style differences O'Connor

  19. Interpersonal Communication • Interpersonal styles—the way in which an individual prefers to relate to others—differ among individuals • Good communicators learn to recognize their style and others’ styles as well as how to modify their style for effective communication O'Connor

  20. Interpersonal Communication • Since interpersonal communications is largely focused on transmitting information from one person to another, the different combinations of knowing and not knowing the necessary facts affects communication. The four combinations of information known and unknown by self and others are: • The arena • The area most conducive to effective interpersonal relationships and communications • All information is known to both the sender and receiver O'Connor

  21. Interpersonal Communication • The blind spot • Information is known to receiver but not to sender • Selective perception is related to blind-spot problems • The façade • Information is known to sender but unknown to receiver • The unknown • Information is unknown by everyone • Interpersonal communications can be improved by using: • Exposure—be open and honest in sharing information • Feedback—sender must listen and receiver must respond O'Connor

  22. Types of Interpersonal Communication • Two types of interpersonal communication: • Verbal • Oral communication • Conversations in person, telephone, etc. • Major benefits—ideas can be interchanged, prompt feedback can be provided, allows use of gestures, facial expressions, and other emotions such as tone or voice • Can result in poor communication—immediacy, not well thought out, not clearly encoded, noise in the process O'Connor

  23. Types of Interpersonal Communication • Written communication • Major benefits—allows sender to think about message, reread it, have others review it, provides a record of the communication • Major drawbacks—takes more time to prepare, no interaction, no immediate feedback, discourages open communication • Non-verbal • Sending and receiving messages by some medium other than verbal or written • 93% of message is via non-verbal content • Examples: voice, face, body, proxemics O'Connor

  24. Why Communications Break Down • Problems occur both in formal organizational communications and in interpersonal communications • Breakdown can occur whenever any one of the elements of communication is defective (sender, encoding, medium, decoding, receiver, feedback) O'Connor

  25. Why Communications Break Down • Conflicting frames of reference • People interpret the same communication differently depending on their previous experiences • Selective perception • People block out information if it conflicts with what they believe • Value judgments • People assign an overall worth to a message prior to receiving the entire communication O'Connor

  26. Why Communications Break Down • Status differences • Status in the organization is determined by position, title, pay, office size, etc. • Security • Security of the channel is an increasingly important consideration for employees • Source credibility • The amount of trust, confidence, and/or faith the receiver has in the words and actions of the communicator O'Connor

  27. Why Communications Break Down • Time pressures • Managers don’t have the time to communicate frequently with every subordinate • Information overload • Managers often are deluged by information and data • Semantic problems • The same words may mean entirely different things to different people O'Connor

  28. Why Communications Break Down • Poor listening skills • Most individuals listen at only a 25% level of efficiency O'Connor

  29. How Communications Can Be Improved • To become better communicators, managers must: • Improve their messages • Improve their own understanding of what other people are trying to communicate • Effective listening • Managers must listen with understanding • Following up • Managers should attempt to determine whether their intended meaning was actually received O'Connor

  30. How Communications Can Be Improved • Regulating information flow • Only significant deviations from policies and procedures should be brought to the managers • Utilizing feedback • Managers should determine whether their messages have been received and if they have produced the intended responses • Empathy • Managers should put themselves into the other person’s role and assume the viewpoints and emotions of that person O'Connor

  31. How Communications Can Be Improved • Simplifying language • Managers must encode messages in words, appeals, and symbols that are meaningful to the receiver • Organizational stories • Using narrative allows managers to forge relationships with diverse audiences well beyond those afforded by a technical argument O'Connor

  32. Listening • Different from hearing • Hearing is a physiological process of detecting and processing sounds • Listening: mental process of assigning meaning to sounds • Communication professionals view it as a primary skill for success • People spend about 50 percent of their time listening O'Connor

  33. Listening • Intrapersonal and interpersonal activities • Person receives message from another person (interpersonal) • Tries to interpret it (intrapersonal) • Responds to other person to show meaning given to message (interpersonal) O'Connor

  34. Active Listening • Listener is responsible for the completeness of a speaker's message • Listener's role is not passive • Absorbing spoken message • Deriving meaning from it • Accurately hear facts in message • Understand speaker's feelings about message O'Connor

  35. Active Listening • Deliberate effort to understand a message from speaker's viewpoint • Meaning of message includes both content and speaker’s feelings • Listener attends to all verbal and nonverbal cues • Listener may ask questions for clarification • Listener may rephrase speaker’s message O'Connor

  36. Technology and Communication • Major changes from fiber optics and new satellites • Digital cellular telephone: easy communication around the world • Wireless facsimile devices and modems • Laptop or notepad computers with digital cellular facsimile devices and modems • Unprecedented flexibility and mobility of communication O'Connor

  37. Technology and Communication • Distributed computing • Digital technology and data on a network • Text • Images • Audio • Video • Numeric O'Connor

  38. Technology and Communication • Satellites, fiber optics, Internet, personal computers • High-speed connections among networks • Global operations: move all forms of information quickly to distant places • Internet commerce O'Connor

  39. Technology and Communication • Satellites, fiber optics, Internet, Personal computers (cont.) • Students in different countries interact to complete course work • Transmit almost any media • Lessen effects of time zone differences O'Connor

  40. Technology and Communication • Videoconferencing • Face-to-face communication over almost any distance • See each other • Speak to each other • Show graphic images • Send documents • Substitutes for traveling to distant sites for meetings O'Connor

  41. Technology and Communication • Desktop videoconferencing • Two-way video and audio interaction • Window on each person's computer screen lets them see each other • Text or graphics show on screen • Interact to revise material for an upcoming joint business presentation O'Connor

  42. Technology and Communication • Multimedia personal computers • Manage information media of any form • Computer features • Scanners • Sound boards • Presentation software • CD-ROMs • Animation software • Make large audience communication more dramatic than in past O'Connor

  43. Review Questions • Business communication has four main goals. Discuss each goal briefly. Which is the most important goal and why? • What is a communication barrier? List at least five (5) communication barriers and briefly discuss them. • Discuss how e-mail and the use of electronic communication has affected the workplace and the practice of organizational communication. State the pros and cons. O'Connor

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