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1. INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION
THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS
Communication is social interaction through messages. Fiske (1992)
Communication is the simultaneous sharing and creating of meaning through
human symbolic interaction. Dimbleby (2000).
The word communication comes from the Latin word “communicare” which
means ‘to make common’ or ‘to share.’ Hence it is a search for common meaning.
According to Carey (1993) it is a symbolic process whereby reality is produced,
maintained, repaired and transformed.
It is a basic sequence which begins with a source, from which a message is passed
to a transmitter where it is encoded into a signal, which is subject to noise on its
way to a receiver, where it is decoded and then passed on to a destination.
Adler and Rodman add that it is a process of human beings responding to the
symbolic behaviour of other persons.
Human –animals do communicate but in this context the focus is humans who can
interact verbally and non-verbally.
Process – a process is a series of activities whose end is easily determined from the
beginning. It is not discreet, i.e. it does not just contain individual acts that are
unrelated. It is not like pictures in a photo album but like a motion picture.
Symbolic - symbols are used to represent things, processes, ideas or events in ways
that make communication possible. The most symbolic feature of symbols is their
arbitrary nature. This feature is easiest to see when we observe people who do not
follow linguistic conventions (children and immigrants).
Communication competence
It is the ability to take part in effective communication that is characterized by
skills and understandings that enable communication partners to exchange
messages successfully. For Adler and Rodman it involves achieving one’s goals in
a manner that, ideally, maintains or enhances the relationship in which it occurs.
Hence there is no ‘ideal’ way to communicate.
CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPETENT COMMUNICATION
Competence is situational – it is a mistake to think that communication
competence is a trait one either possesses or lacks.
Competence is relational – Communication is transactional, something we do with
others, not to others, behaviour that is competent in one relationship isn’t
necessarily competent in others.
Competence can be learned – communication is a set of skills that anyone can
learn. As children grow, their ability to communicate effectively develops.
CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPETENT COMMUNICATORS
Possess a wide range of behaviours
Have the ability to choose the most appropriate behaviour
Possess skill at performing behaviours
Empathy/Perspective taking
Cognitive complexity
Self monitoring
Commitment to the relationship
COMPONENTS OF COMMUNICATION
Although there is no exhaustive list of the components of communication, eight of
the most basic elements are worth examining in detail
SOURCE – is the creator of the message. Because communication usually
involves more than one person, more than one source of communication can exist
at one time. A receiver can also function as a source. The communication source
performs four roles. He/she determines the meaning of what is to be
communicated, encodes the meaning into a message, sends the message and
perceives and reacts to a listener’s response to the message. The source has to
bring into play his communication skills, knowledge, attitudes, and socio-cultural
background that make him or her a unique individual.
MESSAGE – is the stimulus that is produced by the source. It comprises words,
grammar, and organisation of thoughts, physical appearance, body movement,
voice, personality aspects, the self concept and personal style. The environment
and noise can also shape the message. Any stimulus that affects a receiver is a
message from the source, regardless of whether the source intended to send it.
Again each message is unique. Even if the same message were to be created over
and over again, it would differ in each instance because messages cannot be
repeated or received in exactly the same way or in the same context.
CODE – a code is a systematic arrangement of symbols used to create meanings in
the mind of another person or persons. Syntax (rules of arrangement in language)
and Grammar (rules of function in language) result in the “systematic
arrangement” that becomes a code. Words, phrases and sentences become
“symbols that are used to evoke images, thoughts and ideas” in the mind of others.
There are two types of codes, verbal codes and non-verbal codes. Verbal codes
consist of symbols and their grammatical arrangement. All languages are codes.
Non-verbal codes consist of all symbols that are not words. Encoding is the
act/process of putting/translating an idea or thought into a code.
INTERFERENCE – Noise refers to any interference in the encoding and
decoding processes that reduces message clarity. Interference can be external and
physical e.g. noise caused by a slammed door, the blasting of a stereo, unpleasant
environment, a smoke filled room, a room too hot, cold, a speech impediment or
clothing.
Interference can also be internal and psychological e.g. thoughts in a person’s
mind. A person who speaks in a loud voice to get someone’s attention may create
both physical and psychological interference. If the receiver perceives the loudness
as anger, the loud voice creates not only a distraction but also a distortion of
interpretation. If the receiver responds accordingly, the sender may be quite
surprised. Essentially, interference is anything that reduces or distorts the clarity,
accuracy, meaning, understanding or intention of a message.
CHANNEL – A channel is the means/route by which messages flow between
sources and receivers. The usual communication channels are light waves and
sound waves, which allow us to see and hear one another. When two people talk
face to face, light and sound waves in the air serve as the channel. We also receive
communication by smelling, touching and tasting. All five senses therefore
contribute as channels to communication.
RECEIVER – A receiver analyses and interprets messages, in effect translating
them into meaning. This process is called decoding i.e. the process of translating a
message into the thoughts or feelings that were communicated. It is the process of
assigning meaning to the idea or thought in a code. A receiver is also a source. As
one listens to another’s message they react with body movements, facial
expressions and even silence and the person sending the initial message receives
the information conveyed by the physical reactions. Like the source, the receiver
also has several roles: to receive (hear, see, touch, smell or taste) the message, to
attend to the message, to interpret and analyse the message; to store and recall the
message and to respond to the source, message, channel, environment and noise.
FEEDBACK – refers to the response to a message that a receiver sends back to a
source. Feedback enables a sender to determine whether the communication has
been received and understood as intended. Feedback is a natural extension of
effective receiving. Thus, feedback serves as a kind of control mechanism in the
communication process. Unfortunately we too often fail to monitor our own
communication, and more important, others’ reactions to it, so we are often not
heard or are misunderstood. Feedback helps us to learn about ourselves, adjust to
others and assess ourselves. *EXPERIMENT
ENVIRONMENT – Also referred to as the atmosphere. It is the psychological
and physical surroundings in which communication occurs. The environment
encompasses the attitudes, feelings, perceptions, relationships of the
communicators as well as the characteristics of the location in which
communication takes place e.g. the size, colour, arrangement, decoration and
temperature of the room. The environment affects the nature and quality of the
communication. It is easier to carry out an intimate conversation in a private, quiet
and comfortable setting than in a public, noisy and uncomfortable setting. Both
effective and ineffective communications are, in part, products of their
environments. Effective communication can occur anywhere and under most
circumstances but pleasing and comfortable environments are more likely to
produce positive exchanges.
CONTEXT – The broad circumstances or situation in which communication
occurs is called the context. Communication does not occur in a vacuum but in
formal and informal settings. The number of people, the type of communication
and the situation in which the communication occurs all lend themselves to the
context. Contexts also influence environment and vice versa and also help to
determine the type of communication that would be used.
PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATION
COMMUNICATION IS A PROCESS – Communication is considered a process
because it involves a series of actions that has no beginning or end and is
constantly changing. It is not an object that you can hold to examine or dissect. It is
an activity in which you participate. It also involves variables that can never be
duplicated. The interrelationships among people, environments, skills, attitudes,
status, experiences and feelings all determine communication at any given
moment.
No two relationships are developed in the same way and like the weather, some
relationships are cool and others warm. Communication is both ever-changing and
capable of effecting change. Furthermore, the communication and the changes it
produces might not have a clearly identifiable beginning or end. If you understand
that communication is a process, you will be able to see how events and
relationships constantly change and yet also have continuity.
COMMUNICATION IS A SYSTEM – In simple terms a system is a combination
of parts interdependently acting to form a whole. If your supervisor has had a fight
at home, that event may affect his relationship with the workers and he may be
irritable and snap at you and others. The communication process is a system and
occurs only when the necessary components interact. If components of
communication malfunction or are absent, communication is prevented or
ineffective.
COMMUNICATION IS BOTH INTERACTIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL –
The interactional and transactional aspects of communication are closely related
and should be considered together.
Interaction is an exchange of communication in which communicators take turns
sending and receiving messages. Each message is a separate action, like throwing a
ball or in a telephone conversation. Even though there is a reaction to each
message being sent, the reaction and message are not simultaneous.
Most face-to-face communication does not occur as a series of distinctly separate
actions. Thus the term transaction is used to extend the concept of interaction to
include simultaneous actions. Persons involved in transaction engage in sending
(encoding) and receiving (decoding) messages at the same time. This does not
necessarily mean that they are talking at the same time. For instance, a handshake
or teachers communicating with students.
COMMUNICATION IS CONTEXTUAL
COMMUNICATION IS DYNAMIC
COMMUNICATION CAN BE INTENTIONAL OR UNINTENTIONAL – When
one person communicates with another, he or she intends that specific messages
with specific purposes and meanings be received. Communication can occur,
however, regardless of whether it is intended. Intentional communication is a
message that is purposely sent to a specific receiver. Unintentional communication
is a message that is not intended to be sent or was not intended for the individual
who received it. On the basis of intent or lack of intent four possible
communication situations can occur.
a) Intentional Communicator and Intentional Receiver – both are willing parties to
the exchange.
b) Unintentional Communicator and Intentional Receiver – occurs when someone
reads more into a communication act than was intended by the source.
c) Intentional Communicator and Unintentional Receiver – here the source intends
to send a message but the receiver is not consciously or intentionally receiving it.
d) Unintentional Communicator and Unintentional Receiver – can occur without
anyone intentionally sending or receiving a message. It is usually non-verbal. The
clothing a person wears might not be worn to communicate any specific message,
and perhaps persons observing the clothing might not intentionally or consciously
receive any message through it, but they do see it. Thus, communication occurs
even though neither the person nor the observer has any intention of
communicating.
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT COMMUNICATION
Communication is a cure-all/will solve all problems
Quantity means quality/more communication is always better
Meaning is in the Words we use, not in people
We have a natural ability to communicate
Communication is reversible
Communication always requires complete understanding
Communication is always a good thing
Communication is simple
WHY STUDY COMMUNICATION
-Studying communication can improve the way you see yourself – because of the
relationship between thought (intrapersonal communication) and interaction with
others (interpersonal communication) we learn how to relate to others and gain
self-confidence.
-Studying communication can improve the way others see you – ‘impression
management’
-Studying communication can increase what you know about human relationships
– at all levels; social, economic and political.
-Studying communication can teach you important life-skills – critical thinking,
problem solving, decision making, public speaking and conflict resolution.
-Studying communication can help you exercise your constitutionally guaranteed
freedom of speech.
LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION
Types of communication are usually distinguished by the number of people
involved, by the purpose of the communication and by the degree of formality in
which it occurs. Each type of communication involves appropriate verbal and nonverbal behaviours.
INTRAPERSONAL COMMUNICATION – refers to the process of understanding
information within oneself. It is the process of understanding and sharing meaning
within the self. There are many things we must learn through our own experiences
and learn in no other way. Intrapersonal communication also occurs anytime we
evaluate our attempt to understand the interaction that occurs between us and
anything that communicates a message to us. We are involved in intrapersonal
communication as we receive, attend to, interpret and analyse, store and recall, or
respond in some fashion to any message. All messages we create/receive first
occur within us. Hence communication between two people is far more complex
than it appears on the surface. Intrapersonal communication also includes diverse
internal activities like thinking, problem solving, stress, conflict resolution,
planning, evaluation and relationship development. Intrapersonal communication
may occur without the presence of any other type of communication, but all the
other types of communication cannot occur without it.
INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION – Is the personal process of cocoordinating meaning between at least two people in a situation that allows mutual
opportunities for both speaking and listening. Like intrapersonal communication,
interpersonal communication occurs for a variety of reasons; to solve problems,
resolve conflicts, share information, to improve perception of yourself or to fulfill
social needs.
Dyadic and Small group communication are two subsets of interpersonal
communication. Social scientists call a two person interaction a dyad. It includes
interviews with an employer or teacher; talks with a parent, spouse or child.
Observations from a variety of settings ranging from playgrounds, train depots and
shopping malls reveal that most communication is dyadic in nature. Even
communication within larger groups (classrooms, parties and families) consists of
multiple, often shifting dyadic encounters.
SMALL GROUP COMMUNICATION – Is the interaction of a small group of
people to achieve an interdependent goal. In small group communication every
person can participate actively with the other members. Small groups are a
common fixture of everyday life. Your family is a group, so is the athletics team, a
collection of fellow workers or a group of students working on a class project.
Small groups possess characteristics that are not present in a dyad. For example,
two or more members can form a coalition to defend their position against other
members, whereas in a dyad the members face each other on their own, without
support from others. In a group the majority of members can pressure a minority to
conform, either consciously or unconsciously but in a dyad no such pressure exists.
With their greater size, groups also have the ability to be more creative than dyads.
Finally, communication in groups is affected strongly by the type of leader who is
in a position of authority.
PUBLIC COMMUNICATION – Public communication occurs when a group
becomes too large for all members to contribute. One characteristic of public
communication is an unequal amount of speaking. One or more people are likely to
deliver their remarks to the remaining members who act as an audience.
This leads to a second characteristic of public settings: limited verbal feedback.
The audience isn’t able to talk back in a two-way conversation as occurs in a dyad
or small group. This doesn’t mean feedback is totally absent; audiences have a
chance to ask questions and to offer brief comments. Public speakers usually have
a greater chance to plan and structure their remarks than do communicators in
smaller settings. Public communication most often informs or persuades, but it can
also entertain, introduce, announce, welcome or pay tribute.
MASS COMMUNICATION – Consists of messages transmitted to large,
widespread audiences via electronic and print media: newspapers, magazines,
television, radio etc.
Mediated communication is any form of communication that employs electronic
means.
Mass communication varies from interpersonal, small group and public varieties in
several ways;
a) Mass messages are aimed at a large audience without any personal contact
between sender and receivers.
b) Most of the messages sent via mass communication channels are developed, or
at least financed by large organizations. In this sense, mass communication is far
less personal and more of a product than the other types examined so far.
c) Mass communication is almost always controlled by many gatekeepers who
determine what messages will be delivered to consumers, how they will be
constructed and when they will be delivered. Sponsors, editors, producers,
reporters and executives all have the power to influence mass messages in ways
that don’t affect most other types.
ADVANTAGE – Multiplier effect
DISADVANTAGE - little or no feedback
MODELS OF COMMUNICATION
One way to understand more about what it means to communicate is to look at
some models that describe what happens when two or more people interact. A
model is a simulation of reality. In extension models are also metaphors since they
compare one thing in terms of another. The aim of individual models is not to
ignore complexity or to explain it away but rather to give order and coherence.
LINEAR/ TRANSMISSION MODEL – Also known as the action (inoculation
model). Until 50 years ago, researchers viewed communication as something that
one person “does” to another. In this linear communication model by Claude
Shannon and Warren Weaver, communication is like giving an injection: a sender
encodes ideas and feelings into some sort of message and then conveys them by
means of a channel (speech, writing, etc) into a receiver, who decodes the message.
It is also very much like a basketball being thrown around. The ball cannot be
thrown back until it is caught.
The linear model also introduces the concept of noise – a term used by social
scientists to describe any forces that interfere with effective communication.
Weaknesses- Shannon and Weaver highlight three main barriers, the technical,
semantic and effectiveness problems. They differentiate into the following;
-No provision for feedback “no shared meaning”
-Views communication as unidirectional and mechanistic
-The central role of the medium was ignored
-The linear model was also faulted for not revealing anything about how audiences
influence speakers.
-The model seems to depict a public speaking model.
-The model localizes noise
-Meaning is not always contained in a message, rather its interpretation.
-There is more to communicate than messages. Communication can also serve the
Phatic function.
-The model is technical and instrumental and presents a “craftsman mentality.”
INTERACTIONAL MODEL – Was put forward by Schramm and Osgood. This
model addresses most of the weaknesses of the linear model. There is a provision
for feedback, communication becomes a two way process where interactants take
turns to send and receive the messages.
Noise can occur at every stage of the communication process. Three types of noise
can disrupt communication, external, psychological and physiological.
1) External (physical) – Includes factors outside the receiver that make it difficult
to hear as well as many other kinds of distractions.
2) Physiological noise – involves biological factors in the receiver or sender that
interfere with accurate reception: illness, fatigue etc
3) Psychological noise – refers to forces within a communicator that interfere with
the ability to express or understand a message accurately.
The interactional model also shows that communicators often occupy different
environments – fields of experience that help them understand others’ behavior. In
communication terminology, environment refers not only to a physical location but
also to the personal experiences and cultural backgrounds that participants bring to
a conversation. The sender might belong to one ethnic group and the receiver to
another, rich/poor, passionate about subject/indifferent to it, long and eventful
life/young and inexperienced. Differing environments make understanding others
challenging but certainly not impossible. Hard work in communicating bridges the
gap that separates environments that are different. Recognizing that challenges
arise from dissimilar environments is important.
Differing environments make understanding others challenging but certainly not
impossible. Hard work in communicating bridges the gap that separates
environments that are different. Recognizing that challenges arise from dissimilar
environments is important.
Weaknesses
-The sender still assumes a dominant position
-importance of the medium ignored
-slows decision making
-favours extroverts as opposed to introverts
Distorts human communication by treating it as a series of causes and effects or
stimulus and response
-only applies in bilateral communication
-Assumes turn-taking in communication which is not always the case.
TRANSACTIONAL MODEL – Propounded by Barnlund and involves
simultaneous sending and receiving. Rather than act exclusively as senders or
receivers at any given time, the transaction model has communicators doing both at
the same time. Sending and receiving are no longer separate activities and they do
not occur one at a time. In this case there are many balls being thrown and received
at the same time. Even without the ball some productive activity occurs, off the
ball movement/running around in anticipation of a pass.
Communication is fluid, not static – it is difficult to isolate a single discreet “act”
of communication from the events that precede and follow it. We reiterate that
communication is relational, not individual – Communication isn’t something we
do to others, rather, it is something we do with them.
Weaknesses
-Assumes equality between communication partners which is not always the case.
-It encourages discussion/negotiation and not action
-Mass communication is unidirectional
-It is chaotic (the whole idea of people being simultaneous senders and receivers
means anarchy)
CONSTRUCTIVIST MODEL – The first three are mechanistic models that are
limited in that they simply show the direction of communication movement. In the
constructivist model the focus shifts to what occurs in the minds of the
communicators: interpreting meaning. The constructivist model posits that
receivers create their own reality in their minds. The sender’s words are symbols to
be interpreted and the receiver constructs his or her own meaning. However the
receiver may misinterpret the sender’s message. The only way to reach agreement
about the message is by discussing what the sender intended and what the receiver
interpreted. This is called negotiating meaning. In this model communication is no
longer an injection or ball. It becomes more confusing under this model, but in
reality communication isn’t as easy as the earlier models claim. Under the best of
communication circumstances the two people involved learn to manage meaning
by negotiating what each believes the message to be.
GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY – Offers the most complete description of
communication from a “process” point of view and originated from the work of
biologist L.von Bertalanffy. The General Systems Theory describes a system as a
whole which consists of several interrelated subsystems. A system may be clearly
distinguished from its environment but maintains important relationships with it in
that it receives inputs from the environment and provides outputs to the
environment. This view presents communication as a circular, rather than linear,
process and shows that the system is open, rather than closed.
Systems are goal-oriented and self maintaining and operate, through feedback,
within margins which set the norms for their proper functioning. Feedback derives
from output, since the latter shows conditions of the system input, in turn, reflects
system reaction to output. Basic to the operation of the system is the need to
maintain itself in a state of balance. This necessitates control and self-regulation.
The general Systems Theory places more emphasis on the mutual relationships
between the constituent parts of the system in general than on information flow and
information channels
ASSESSMENT
Approaches viewing communication as a “technical” process flowing between
interrelated parts of a system or between systems do not tell the full story of the
complex and multi-faceted nature of human communication all communication is
not geared to efficiency, nor is all communication concerned with the transmission
and exchange of information. The technical view oversimplifies the process of
communication, a shortcoming deriving from the assumption that the same general
principles apply to all things called SYSTEMS.
This detached view fails to inform us about real life. Its concern for the
maintenance of balance supports the status quo of systems, regardless of the human
consequences that their operation may have.
The most important sources of “malfunctioning” in a system is precisely the
actions of human beings as human beings. This is most clearly shown in
interpersonal communication which enables participants to express their
individuality and to [participate in an exchange of opinions with their partners. The
systemic view disregards the distinctive human nature of communication and
depicts communicating human beings as simply processing units.
COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
The list of possible areas of miscommunication is endless hence it is important to
familiarize with the most likely causes of communication breakdown. That
knowledge will prove useful when you are called upon to solve communication
problems, especially those concerned with socio-economic development.
Tichapondwa (2004) highlights the following barriers to communication in the
environment.
a) Power differences – these can be a barrier to communication. If the people at the
top disseminate ideas without going through community leaders, who are
themselves already knowledgeable, it is most likely they will use their influence to
discourage people from accepting change.
b) Negative timing in communicating the message can prevent its conveyance. For
example, experts obsessed with the urgency of particular development issues may
want to pressurize the people into adopting the ideas rather too fast. The chances of
resistance are high.
c) The immediacy of the message – people who live in a given cultural setting, and
are used to handling problems in certain ways will resist the imposition of an idea
they consider poorer than theirs. In other words, the message may not have an
immediate appeal.
d) The language issue – Language can prevent communication at two levels.
Firstly, for the not-so literate community, the use of English to convey ideas from
external sources can very easily meet with incomprehension. At the second level,
even when communication is carried out in familiar language, much will depend
on diction and how ideas are communicated. Language which creates the
impression that the encoder “knows it all,” begets resistance. This is especially true
when the tone is patronizing.
e) Lack of interest on the part of the receiver easily leads to the blockage of
communication. When a receiver is convinced that what he is reading about or
what he is listening to is cheap propaganda, he will close his mind to the message.
This is often true in situations where the encoder has little credibility in the eyes of
the receiver.
1. Lack of planning
2. Organisational structure
3. Size of the organisation
4. Semantic distortion or poorly expressed messages
More communication barriers in organizations
1. Information overload
2. Message complexity
3. Differing status
4. Lack of trust
5. Inadequate communication structures
6. Incorrect choice of medium
7. Closed communication climate
8. Unethical communication
9. Inefficient communication
10.Physical distractions
GROUP DYNAMICS
Dynamics – the way in which the feelings and attitudes of the groups evolves,
changes and develops over time because of the interaction of people. Within the
group attitudes vary because of;
1. culture
2. status
3. sex
4. values
5. history
HOW DO THESE FACTORS AFFECT GROUP DYNAMICS
GROUP DEVELOPMENT
Stages of Group Development
To what extent does Group Development lead to group splits or withdrawals by
other members of the group?
2. COMMUNICATION IN ORGANISATIONS
CORPORATE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS AND NETWORKS
Organisations are social collectives, or groups of people, in which activities are coordinated to achieve both individual and collective goals. Organizations exist
because people’s lives have become sufficiently complex that they must co-operate
with one another. The vast majority of us actually can do very little; we are
constantly at the mercy of electricians, bakers, tertiary institutions and landlords.
The study of organizational communication involves understanding how the
context of the organization influences communication processes and how the
symbolic nature of communication differentiates it from other forms of
organizational behaviour.
Hence ORGANISATIONAL COMMUNICATION refers to the ways in which
groups of people both maintain structure and order through their symbolic
interactions and allow individual actors the freedom to accomplish their goals. This
is because communication is not just interaction, it is also a process through which
we make sense out of our experiences, a complex system through which we
manage meanings that ultimately create and maintain organizational structures.
This concept is known as STRUCTURATION, the process of forming and
maintaining structures through verbal and non-verbal communication, which
establishes norms and rules governing members’ behaviours.
The point is, communication among members is what creates organizational rules
and operating procedures in the first place, and once they are established
communication tends to keep the rules and procedures in place.
Parsons (1963) provides a functional classification system of organizational types
based on the primary purposes for organizing and developing organizations within
society. He identifies four primary functions that organizations are constructed to
perform.
1) Economic production orientation – manufactures products and offer services for
consumers. These are “self sufficient” and profit oriented.
2) Political goals – generate and distribute power and control within society;
legislative bodies, government offices, local government, police, military.
3) Integration goals – help to mediate and resolve discord among members of
society; legal offices, court system, public interest groups.
4) Pattern maintenance goals – organizations promoting cultural and educational
development and regularity with society. They teach individuals how to participate
effectively in society (family, schools and religious organizations promote pattern
maintenance.) because they help preserve society by reducing health problems and
help the ill to return to their normal functioning within society, health care
organizations are oriented towards pattern maintenance.
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURES
The patterns of relations and practices created through the co-ordinated activities
of organizational members can be conceptualized as the organizational structure
(McPhee and Poole 2001). Most members of the organizations know what their
jobs are, how they are related to other jobs, who the boss is and who has what
organizational power. Communication practices often depend on knowledge of
these facts. Ideally, organizational structures allow productivity and achievement
of high quality outcomes.
PRODUCTIVITY – entails the ratio of input to output, as material and human
resource expended to achieve individual and organizational output decline,
productivity increases.
QUALITY – deals with levels of performance outcome measured in ability to meet
or exceed customer or other stakeholder expectations.
Organizational structure can take a wide variety of forms depending on the goals
and co-coordinating activities of organizational members. Harrison (1994)
classifies organizations structured under two broad types:
1) BUREAUCRACY - The word has come to symbolize red-tape, inefficiency and
insensitivity. In reality it is a term coined in the 1940s by Max Weber, a German
sociologist and describes organizational structures characterized by a division of
labour, rigid hierarchy of authority and downward communication that enforces
formalized rules and procedures for behaviour. Division of labour refers to how a
given amount of work is divided among the available human resources.
Bureaucratic structures assume that work can best be accomplished if employees
are assigned to a limited number of specialized tasks. By breaking down complex
tasks into specialized activities, worker productivity can be increased. Division of
labour works best when the organization has clear lines of authority, or a chain of
command. In bureaucratic structures jobs are arranged in a clearly defined
hierarchy of formal organizational authority based on the office held and the
expertise of individual office holders. Hierarchies help to direct interpersonal
relationships between organization members toward the accomplishment of
organizational tasks. Managers (i.e. superiors) are responsible for making decisions
and directing activities to accomplish primary organizational goals. One hallmark
of bureaucratic structures is an emphasis on downward communication which
occurs whenever superiors initiate messages to subordinates. Downward
communication focuses on enforcing formalized rules and procedures to guide
behaviour and accomplish tasks. Although the presence of bureaucracy is
undeniable, bureaucratic structures are often criticized for stifling workers through
their rigid hierarchies and rules, overemphasizing organizational goals and limited
participation in decision making.
2) PARTICIPATORY ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURES – Participatory
organizations are structured to value workplace democracy. Workplace democracy
is a system of governance which truly values individual goals and feelings (e.g.
equitable remuneration, the pursuit of enriching work, and the right to express
oneself) as well as typical organizational objectives (e.g. effectiveness and
efficiency) and actively fosters the connection between those two sets of concerns
by encouraging individual contributions to important organizational choices
(Cheney 1995). Democratic organizations can be classified in two groups which
promote the participation of diverse voices in open dialogue;
a) PARTICIPATION PROGRAMS IN EXISTING BUREAUCRATIC
STRUCTURES – within existing bureaucratic structures small groups are often
used to promote employee participation in decision making. Quality circles and
Self-managed work teams illustrate this approach to workplace democracy.
QUALITY CIRCLE – a small group of employees that meets regularly on
company time to recommend improvements to products and work procedures.
Companies can have quality circles to improve worker safety, create new products,
save production costs, improve current products and improve the quality of the
work environment (Barker 1999).
SELF-MANAGED WORK TEAMS – These are also called autonomous work
groups. These are groups of workers who are given the freedom to manage their
own work. For example, an automobile assembly team may be responsible for
assembling a car from start to finish as is done at Volvo and Nissan plants.
Workers are free to select their own team leaders and sometimes to hire and fire
their own members. Members of self-managed work teams are often cross-trained
so that each member can perform several tasks competently. This arrangement
gives the team tremendous flexibility to use workers’ skills most efficiently.
Alternative organizations also represent participatory structures. Cheney (1995)
defined alternative organizations as employing organizations that define
themselves at least somewhat in opposition to the mainstream and are established
and maintained with the principle of worker control.
3) CO-OPERATIVE – a business that is owned and democratically controlled by
its users. By the very nature of their organizational structure, co-operatives have
greater formal or legal rights to individual participation.
4) FEMINIST ORGANISATIONS – Ferree and Martin (1995) defined feminist
organizations as those that “embrace collectivist decision-making (i.e. decisions
made by the group), member empowerment and a political agenda of ending
women’s oppression.” Thousands of organizations including rape and abuse crisis
centers, women’s health clinics, women’s bookstores, churches, restaurants and
theatre groups operate form a feminist standpoint. These organizations are usually
staffed by and for women.
Harrison (1994) describes co-operatives and feminist organizations as created by
individuals who seek to construct economic and political “alternatives to
traditional bureaucratic organisation.” Alternative organizations have flattened
structures with few hierarchical levels. A large number of employees are placed at
the same level and their jobs are not ranked as being “above” or “below” other jobs
in the organisation. The short chain of command allows a relatively rapid
movement of messages throughout the organisation. By the very nature of their
structure alternative organizations promote horizontal communication among
people and provide space for employees to have an important voice in
organizational decision making.
INTERNAL ORGANISATIONAL COMMUNICATION
It is the symbolic interaction that occurs within organizations and among
organisation members. Regardless of our organizational role, position or level of
authority, the quality of our organizational experience is based in part on the
quality of internal communication. Our discussion of internal communication
focuses on communication networks and socialization process.
COMMUNICATIO NETWORKS – Are patterns of relationships through which
information flows in an organisation. Stohl (1995) describes communication
networks as capturing “the tapestry of relationships – the complex web of
affiliations among individuals and organizations as they are woven through the
collaborative threads of communication.” Communication networks emerge in
organizations based on FORMAL and INFORMAL communication.
Formal communication – consists of messages that follow prescribed channels of
communication throughout the organisation.
Organisational charts are visual depictions of formal communication networks that
are very common. Organizational charts provide clear guidelines of who is
responsible for a given task and which employees are responsible for others’
performance. Organizational charts demonstrate that communication can flow in
several directions.
1) DOWNWARD COMMUNICATION – also known as directive
communication. It occurs whenever superiors initiate messages to
subordinates. Ideally it should include such things as job instructions, job
rationale, policy and procedures, performance feedbacks and motivational
appeals.
ADVANTAGES
-emphasises organizational goals
-ideal when dealing with inexperienced subordinate staff
-time saving
DISADVANTAGES
-overload
-distortion and omission of information especially if channel is too long
-message complexity
-rigid hierarchy and rules stifle workers
-limited participation in decision making for subordinates
2) UPWARD COMMUNICATION – occurs when messages flow from
subordinates to superiors. Effective decision making depends on timely, accurate
and complete information travelling upward from subordinates. An open door
policy and suggestion boxes advance upward communication.
ADVANTAGES
-boosts morale among employees
-“open door” policy builds trust
-distrustful and scheming members can be converted into productive employees
-information exchange is made easier
-problems are easily discussed.
-solutions can be found for recurring conflicts
DISADVANTAGES
-less accurate as it comes from many sources
-victimisation (those of low status are cautious)
-downward overload may destroy upward feedback
3) Messages between members of an organisation with equal power are labeled
HORIZONTAL COMMUNICATION. It refers to inter-departmental liaison in a
given organization. It is communication between different individuals and
departments on the same organizational level.
Horizontal communication is important to organizational success when used to coordinate tasks, solve problems, share information and resolve conflict. It receives
much more attention in participatory organisation structures.
Specifically, lateral communication occurs among co-workers
-during staff meetings
-during informative presentations
-during shift changes
In short, lateral communication’s purpose is to keep organizational personnel
informed of all current practices, policies and procedures.
ADVANTAGES
CREATES A UNIFIED VISION AND DIRECTION – Vision is critical in any
organisation and incorporating departments in its formulation is key. Once the
vision is created, keep one another accountable to seeing the vision upheld and
maintained. Set up checks and balances between the departments to prevent people
from slackening or cutting corners
GENERATES ACCURATE FEEDBACK – status concerns do not constrain
departments from giving accurate feedback. Horizontal communication bridges the
gap between departments and allows for more accurate feedback. No pulling
punches or dictating.
IMPORTANT IN IMPLEMENTING CHANGE – When policy or procedure
changes occur departments need to be on the same page with the same outcome in
mind.
DISADVANTAGES
TERRITORIALITY – often occurs when members of an organisation “control task
related activity within a defined and fixed jurisdictional area” and as a result
“regard others’ involvement in that area as territorial encroachment.” Departments
value their turf and strive to protect it. This problem may be compounded through
interdepartmental rivalries arising from win/lose competition for rewards and
resources.
RIVALRY – occurs when the different levels of an organisation fail “to co-operate
with one another.”
SPECIALISATION – occurs when procedures or vocabulary used by departments
varies. Departments lacking uniformity (INTERGRATION) harbor communication
difficulties.
LACK OF MOTIVATION – lateral communication often fails because
organisation members are unwilling to expend the additional effort that it requires.
Lateral communication may require contact with people in units that are well
removed from our own and the channels and rules of interaction may be unclear.
We do not really know these people. The need to communicate with them makes
us uneasy or takes too much time, so we avoid or ignore it.
DIAGONAL COMMUNICATION – Occurs between people who are at different
levels of authority and who serve under different commands
PREVALENCE: This type of communication is common in tactical situations
requiring the quick transfer of information or advice, in hostage situations or cases
of civil unrest. Diagonal communication is usually verbal and thus is conducted by
telephone or radio.
RELEVANCE: Although vertical and horizontal communication continue to be
important, these terms no longer adequately capture communication needs and
flows in most modern organizations. The concept of diagonal communication was
introduced to capture new communication challenges associated with new
organization forms, such as matrix and project-based organizations. Quality circles
and self-managed work teams operate this way in existing bureaucracies.
ADVANTAGES
IT IS A MOST DIRECT METHOD OF COMMUNICATION
IT IS A MOST SELECTIVE METHOD OF COMMUNICATION
IT IS ONE OF THE FASTEST METHODS
IN CRITICAL SITUATIONS, IT WOULD SEEM THE MOST ESSENTIAL
AND LOGICAL TYPE OF COMMUNICATION
DISADVANTAGES
IT CAN DESTROY LINES OF AUTHORITY AND FORMAL CHAINS OF
COMMAND
IT CAN LEAVE IMMEDIATE SUPERIORS UNINFORMED OF WHAT THEIR
SUBORDINATES ARE DOING
IT CAN LEAD TO CONFLICTING ORDERS AND HENCE FURTHER
CONFUSION
IT IS USUALLY VERBAL, AND THUS IS UNTRACEABLE IF THINGS GO
WRONG
Informal communication – is generally considered to be any interaction that does
not generally follow the formal structure of the organisation but emerges out of
natural social interaction among organisation members. Informal messages do not
follow official lines and the concept of Emergent Organisational Networks reveals
the informal, naturally occurring patterns of communication relationships in
organizations. Informal networks often develop through accidents of spatial
arrangement, similarity of personalities or compatibilities of personal skill.
Additionally, Conrad and Poole (1998) argue, “Formal communication networks
allow people to handle predictable, routine situations but they are inefficient means
of meeting unanticipated communication needs, for managing crises, for dealing
with complex or detailed problems, showing personal information or exchanging
information rapidly.” To summarise, organizational members create emergent
networks because insufficient opportunities exist for formal communication and
because formal communication networks fail to do the job.
People refer to informal interactions as grapevine communication. Information
introduced into the grapevine travels quickly because messages are uninhibited by
structural constraints. Although we publicly tend to discredit grapevine, research
has consistently shown it to be amazingly accurate. Cauldron, (1998) puts the
accuracy figure in organizational settings at 78 – 90%. Many companies now
realize it is not a “time waster” but can do even more than formal communication
to build organizational success. Managers who listen carefully to informal
communication discover it is a useful source of information about employee
attitudes and concerns. Some managers actually leak new ideas or proposals to the
grapevine to test worker response. Businesses have also been known to leak secret
information in hopes that a competitor would react and waste both time and
money.
The types of rumours that can be spread through grapevine communication can be
classified into two groups,
SPONTANEOUS – spread by people who are stressed or in an untrustworthy
environment
PREMEDITATED – spread within a highly competitive environment
A second classification is by function
1.) Wish fulfillment
2.) Anxiety
3.) Wedge drivers
4.) Home stretchers
These types of rumours can also be spread through other types of informal
networks structures e.g. single strand chain, the cluster chain, the probability chain
and the gossip chain
ADVANTAGES
-Creates a social bond where none existed “People like to talk.” Helps build
teamwork and corporate identity.
-The grapevine fills a gap that is left when the official information is missing,
especially in chaotic or changing times. Even in organizations where management
is proactive about communication practices and keeping employees informed, the
grapevine helps to fill in the blanks.
-Ensures faster communication
-The grapevine in many ways helps keep people honest. It can dissuade people
from engaging behavior that they don’t want others to know about. This, though, is
a two edged sword. On the one hand people will think twice about taking what
they know is the wrong course of action. On the other hand they may also think
twice about taking a necessary risk and doing the right thing, fearful that
appearances may give rise to rumours.
DISADVANTAGES
-Much of the information that gets spread through the grapevine is not verified and
is often impossible to verify.
-We give credence to a rumour because it seems to match what we think about the
situation or person the rumour is about
-Grapevine communication is often used to spread more than rumours i.e. gossip.
Rumours affect organizations or groups of people while gossip pertains to more
personal matters.
-Reputations, careers and lives can be destroyed very rapidly.
DIFFERENTIATION –ORGANISATIONS ARE DIVIDED INTO SECTIONS
IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FUNCTIONS TO BE FULFILLED BY EACH
DEPARTMENT
INTEGRATION – ATTEMPTS TO UNIFY THE DIFFERENTIATED
STRUCTURAL LEVELS
The quality of collaboration between departments ensures organizational success.
The attempt to integrate departments is aimed at either preventing or dealing with
conflict.
3. NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION
Non Verbal Communication (NVC) – NVC includes all behaviours, attributes, or
objects that communicate messages that have social meaning. NVC includes tone
of voice, facial expressions, posture, gestures and appearance, all of which are used
to communicate messages. NVC supplements words, such as when tone of voice,
volume, or facial expressions adds emphasis to the meaning of a word.
Unfortunately NVC can also change the intended meaning of a message or make it
confusing or unclear. NVC can be intentional or unintentional, serving a variety of
functions.
Research indicates that in most situations, we spend more of our time
communicating non-verbally than verbally and that our non-verbal messages carry
more meaning than our verbal messages. In a normal two-person conversation 60
to 93% of communicative meaning is transmitted through non verbal behaviours.
CHARACTERISTICS
1.) NVC occurs constantly
2.) NVC depends on the context
3.) NVC is more believable than verbal communication
4.) NVC is a primary means of expression
5.) NVC is related to culture
6.) NVC is ambiguous
7.) NVC is primarily relational
WHY STUDY NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION
1.) Carries most of the meaning of a message, particularly feelings and attitudes
towards others.
2.) It is a frequent source of misunderstanding
3.) It is not governed by a set of universal rules
4.) It is not a language
5.) It is multi-channeled, complicated and ever-changing
6.) It is context and culture-bound
7.) It is more likely than verbal communication to be spontaneous and
unintentional
8.) It is powerful and more believable than verbal communication
9.) It is learned (not always consciously)
10.)
It is critical in relationship initiation, development and termination
CATEGORIES OF NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION
1. Kinesics – the term was first used by Ray Birdwhistell in 1952, an
anthropologist studying how people communicate through facial expression,
eye movement, gesture, posture, stance and movement. Posture refers to the
way we stand, sit or walk. It takes two dimensions, IMMEDIACY (degree of
closeness you feel to another). RELAXATION (demonstrates openness or
willingness to communicate). Echo-posture occurs when one copies the
posture of another he or she likes.
Facial expressions are configurations of the face that can reflect, augment,
contradict, or beunrelated to a speaker’s vocal delivery. Facial expressions are
windows to our emotions. According to Cicero, “The face is the image of the
soul.” Researchers have found that our faces show six different basic emotions
clearly from a rather early age; anger, fear, happiness, sadness, surprise and
disgust. The human face is however said to produce more than a thousand different
expressions. Emotions often occur in many combinations (e.g. joy tinged with
sorrow, surprise combined with fear.) we make judgements on others in regard to
facial expressions and even about personality e.g. tendency to be friendly or
unfriendly, harsh or kind based on facial expressions.
The UPPER FACE best expresses emotions of happiness, sadness and surprise.
The LOWER FACE best expresses happiness, surprise, friendliness and cooperation.
For gestures a distinction can be made between RESTRAINED CULTURES
and ANIMATED CULTURES. The latter rely heavily on gestures to
communicate while the latter are more composed when relaying messages.
The earlier feel the latter lack restraint and manners while the latter feel the
earlier lack emotion, life or interest.
Illustrators – used to show something, e.g. pointing in the direction of
something.
Effect displays- involve facial expressions that show happiness and sadness
through smiling and frowning
Adaptors- gestures which show internal feelings
Regulators- are gestures that control speaking (via eyes or hands)
ALL THESE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY WORDS
Emblems
2. Haptics – touching is referred to as either tactile communication or
HAPTICS. “Reach out and touch someone” is a slogan once used by a
national phone company it is one of the most primitive yet sensitive ways of
relating to others.
Haptics provides information about surfaces and textures
It is significant in encouragement, expressing tenderness, showing emotional
support (pat on the shoulder). The kind and amount of touch that are
appropriate vary according to the individuals, their relationship and the
situation.
Categories include 1. Functional professional 2. Social-polite 3. Friendshipwarmth 4. Love- intimacy 5. Sexual arousal.
According to Nancy Henly men have access to women’s bodies, but women
do not have the same access to men’s bodies. This, according to her, may be
a man’s way of exerting power because touch represents an invasion of
private space.
Can be with or without permission. The message communicated by touch
depends on how, who, when, and where you have been touched. Touch can
be of oneself (licking, holding or scratching) or of another. There are
TOUCH CULTURES and NON TOUCH CULTURES (Islam). Holding
hands, kissing, hugging, handshakes and a pat on the back all communicate
clear messages. Physical intimacy offers signs of showing that you love
someone e.g. kissing. Touch avoidance is a possible signifier that someone
has been abused before.
3. Oculesics – is the study of eye behavior or eye movement. Eye behavior is
the first and primary characteristic that people notice. During interactions
people spend about 45% of the time looking at each other’s eyes through eye
behavior we establish relationships with others as it conveys a variety of
important messages.
We notice a speaker’s eye contact, share mutual glances with friends and
feel uncomfortable when others stare at us. Dale Leathers, a communication
scholar, classifies 6 important communication functions of eyes;
They (a) influence attitude change and persuasion (b) indicate degree of
attentiveness, interest and arousal (c) express emotions (d) regulate
interaction (e) indicate power and status (f) form impressions in others.
4. Proxemics – The study of the use of space and of distance between
individuals when they are communicating. Edward T Hall’s four distance
zones explain this use of space;
a. Zone 1 Intimate Space (0-1,5 feet) this zone is most personal, open to
those who are well acquainted unless closeness is physically forced upon
us e.g. crowded train or elevator.
b. Zone 2 Personal Space (1,5-4 feet) for close friends and relatives.
Intrusion leads to feelings of discomfort and violation.
c. Zone 3 Social Space (4-12 feet) professional conversations and group
interactions e.g. meetings.
d. Zone 4 Public Space (12 feet plus)
The actual
Everyone is surrounded by a physical
bubble of space. The bubble contracts and contrasts depending on one’s
cultural background and emotional state. Space is divided into three; body
(area we regard as our own), home (physical area one regards as his home,
be it in a room or an office) and neutral space, (where someone claims the
right to own a certain territory which is not his or hers legally, “seat in a
kombi.”)
There are four territory zones observed by
;
a. Primary Territory – refers to an area that is associated with one who has
exclusive use of it. It may be a restricted/no go area e.g. office or
bedroom.
b. Secondary Territory – occupants have no legal/binding right to
occupancy but may feel some degree of ownership. E.g. Students and
seating places in a lecture.
c. Public Territory – area available to all, but for a given time, e.g. “parking
space” or “booking in internet café”
d. Interaction Territory – space provided by others when they are
interacting. (You walk around a group rather than through it as they are
talking, so as not to disturb.
e. Chronemics – Monochronic cultures (m-time) see time as a commodity
that can be controlled, that needs to be saved and not wasted. Time is
perceived as “linear.” Polychromic cultures (p-time) do not schedule their
time, “There is no hurry in Africa.” Establishing and maintaining a
relationship is more important than time. Time is “circular,” just like the
seasons.
f. Olfactics – the study of smell is important in our society. Much is spent
on perfumes, deodorants, air spray and soap. It is likely that when smells
are pleasant, we feel better about ourselves. Americans, according to
peter Abraham, have the most smell aversive culture in the world. “We
base many of our perceptions on smell, for example, when food smells
good to us, we assume that it will taste good as well. . .” However many
cultures consider natural odours to be normal, a person’s smell is an
extension of that person.
g. Paralanguage – can be divided into three categories; voice set, voice
quality and vocalization. Voice set captures the context in which the
speaker is speaking and considers factors such as age, mood, gender and
situation. Voice quality looks at volume, pitch, tempo, rhythm and
articulation. Vocalization exposes the emotions expressed while speaking
e.g. laughing, crying or yawning.
h. Environment
i. Somatotype- is comprised of a combination of height, weight and
masculinity.
j. Artifacts – these are personal adornments or possessions that
communicate information about us. Such things as cars, sunglasses,
clothing, hair, body piercing and tattoos can all communicate our age,
gender, status, role, class, importance, personality and relationships with
others. Effective communicators learn to adapt their use of artifacts to
specific situations and not to judge others by appearance alone. It is
important to use artifacts consistent with and which reinforce our
intended message. If a certain artifact is not reinforced by other things
then we risk being judgemental or wrong in our assessment.
k. Silence
l. Graphics? ? ?
FUNCTIONS OF NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION
NVC adds life to our exchanges by complementing, repeating, regulating and
substituting for our words. We even use it to deceive others.
COMPLEMENTING – completes, describes or accents a verbal message. A
person needs help immediately, so he yells as loudly as he can.
REPEATING – expresses a message identical to the verbal one, for emphasis
too. A person says yes and nods his head up and down. Giving street directions.
REGULATING – Controls flow of communication. A person shakes his head up
and down as a way of communicating “I am interested in what you are saying,”
implying “tell me more.”
SUBSTITUTING – Replaces a verbal message with non-verbal signs to
exchange thoughts. Occurs where verbal communication is impossible,
undesirable or inappropriate. Two people use hand signals to communicate
because it is too loud and noisy to hear each other’s voices.
DECEIVING – Non verbal cues that purposely disguise or mislead to create a
false impression. Doctor examining a patient diagnoses a serious problem, but the
doctor’s facial expressions remain neutral so as not to alarm the patient.
ACCENTING/EMPHASIS – Use of non verbal cues to strengthen your
message. It is used to escalate or tune down verbal messages. Hugging a friend
and telling him that you really care about him is a stronger statement than using
either words or bodily movement.
MODERATING CONTRADICTION – Occurs when your verbal and non verbal messages
conflict. This often occurs accidentally. It also occurs intentionally in humour
or sarcasm. A child angry at a teacher/parent, “I am fine.”
SENDING UNCOMFORTABLE MESSAGES – Dislike may be shown by
frowning while insults maybe shown by tongue-clicking.
*Complementation differs from repetition in that it goes beyond duplication of the
message in two channels. It is also not a substitution of one channel for another.
The verbal and non verbal codes add meaning to each other and expand on either
message alone.
DIFFERENCES
SINGLE VERSUS MULTIPLE CHANNELS – Most verbal messages – words,
sentences and paragraphs reach us one at a time. In fact, it is physically impossible
to speak more than one word at a time. But at the same moment simultaneous Non
Verbal messages can be sent at any given time; facial expression, posture, gesture,
clothing and distance.
DISCREET VERSUS CONTINUOUS – Verbal messages are digital, like a clock.
They come in discreet or separate items. Verbal messages form messages with clear
beginnings and endings. It is possible to see verbal communication by seeing if one
is speaking or writing. On the other hand Non Verbal Communication is endless and
continuous. Non verbal messages are analogical.
CONSCIOUS VERSUS UNCONSCIOUS – Whereas we usually think about what
we want to say before speaking or writing, most Non Verbal messages aren’t
deliberate. There are so many Non Verbal channels that it is impossible to think
about and control all of them. Our slumping shoulders might contradict our smiles;
our sweating palms might cancel out all the self-confidence of our firm handshakes.
THE TYPE OF CONTENT FOR WHICH THEY ARE BEST SUITED – Non verbal
messages are best for expressing emotions. Verbal messages can provide messages
with no emotion, to explain, argue, and tell a story. It can be self reflexive, or talk
about itself. It can distinguish tense (past, present and future). It can discuss absent
things or make reference to the negative of something.
NVC and Impression Management
SELF-CONCEPT – a set of relatively stable perceptions that each of us holds
about ourselves
SELF-ESTEEM – our evaluations of self-worth
FACEi - the socially approved and presented identity of an individual
Impression management is the creation of a positive image of oneself in order to
influence the perceptions of others. According to Goffman (1994) it is the control
(or lack of control) of the communication of information through a performance.
You have engaged in Impression Management all your life. You were rewarded for
it when you engaged in it and punished when you deviated from it. Impression
Management has many forms but most fall into two major categories.
SELF ENHANCEMENT – efforts to boost your own image
OTHER ENHANCEMENT – efforts to make a target person feel good in your
presence.
To better understand Impression Management, we have to know more about “self.”
Our PERCEIVED SELF is a reflection of our self concept. This self is the person
that we believe ourselves to be at any given moment of self-examination. There are
many aspects of our perceived self that we keep private because we don’t wish to
tell others e.g. regarding appearance, we might see ourselves as inept in social
settings with people we do not know well, or we might see ourselves as smarter
than everyone else. We might see ourselves as being too fat even though everyone
else sees us as too thin.
Our PRESENTING SELF is the public image or the way we want to appear to
others. Most of us seek to create an image that is socially acceptable, i.e. nice
person, good student, articulate, hardworking, friendly, ambitious, truthful, loyal
friend, likeable, competent and so o. when presenting characteristics of the self
males and females were similar in the following characteristics; able, active, proud
and responsible. Males listed wild, strong, smart, brave, capable and rough
whereas females more commonly presented qualities of bright, funny, independent,
sensible and warm. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR PRESENTING
SELF/
Specific tasks when presenting the self to others is referred to as facework.
FACEWORK is a term that was first used by Erving Goffman, a sociologist, to
describe the verbal and non-verbal ways we act to maintain our own presenting
image and the images of others. Goffman says that each of us creates various roles
or characters that we want others to believe about us. He suggests that we maintain
face by putting on a FRONT when we wish to impress others. The front consists of
our choice of behaviours and what we communicate when we are around others
that we want to impress. How do you behave and communicate differently when
at school, home, library, work, out on a first date, a job interview and so on when
you want to impress someone?
We also use facework enhancements to induce moods and reactions in others.
Among the most commonly used and most important of these is the use of flattery.
Flattery is a way of building another person’s self-concept, but it is also a way to
help promote a positive image for us. Flattery may involve heaping praise on other
people even if they don’t deserve it, expressing agreement with their views,
showing a high degree of interest in them (hanging on their every word), doing
small favours for them, asking for their advice and feedback, and expressing liking
for them, either verbally or non-verbally. Hence all these types of behaviours can
work, can cause the other person to experience, in almost all situations, positive
reactions to us. Thus through impression management, we can attempt to build a
positive self image and thereby strengthen our self concept.
In Goffman’s theory individuals are viewed as “actors” and interaction is seen as a
“performance” shaped by the context and situation and constructed to provide
others with “impressions” consistent with the desired goals of the actor. In
“performing,” “actors” monitor their act or performance and Goffman stresses two
kinds of monitors;
HIGH SELF MONITORS – individuals who are highly aware of their impression
management behaviours.
LOW SELF MONITORS – individuals who communicate with others with little
attention to the responses to their messages. (Unaware of impression
management’s importance).
PRINCIPLES
1. We strive to construct multiple identities – In the course of a single day most
people play a variety of roles; respectful student, joking friend, helpful
worker, stern neighbour etc. we even vary roles with the same person (to our
parents we can act as responsible adults and then helpless children). The
ability to construct multiple identities is one element of communication
competence
2. Identity management is collaborative – As we perform like actors trying to
create a front, our “audience” is made up of other actors who are trying to
create their own characters. Collaboration does not mean the same thing as
agreement or coercion in this case. Virtually all conversations provide an
arena in which communicators construct their identities in response to the
behavior of others.
3. Identity management can be conscious or unconscious – we can express
disgust with someone’s cooking only when they are present (with bad intent
of course). Facial mimicry operates in the same way.
4. People differ in their degree of identity management – Goffman has already
stressed low and high self monitors.
WHY ENGAGE IN IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT
1. Growing up consists of developing a set of manners for various occasions
2. Social rules govern our behavior in a variety of settings
3. To accomplish personal goals
4. To achieve social needs like affection, inclusion and control
HOW DO WE MANAGE IMPRESSIONS
Face to face impression management – In face to face interaction, communicators
can manage their front in three ways; manner, appearance and setting.
Manner – consists of a communicator’s words and non verbal actions. Because you
have to speak and act, the question isn’t whether or not your manner sends
messages but rather, whether or not these messages will be intentional.
Appearance – the personal items people use to shape an image. Clothing is key on
and off a job. A white lab coat or an officer’s uniform transmits messages. Some
dressers accent their sexuality, others hide it. Clothing can say “I am an athlete” or
“I am wealthy.” Hair too.
Setting – choice of setting can manage impressions. Setting relates to physical
items we use to influence how others view us. (Artifacts, cars, colours).
Barnlund’s Six People Theory
HIERARCHY OF SELF CONCEPT
General self concept
Self esteem
self image
Psychological self concept Social self concept Physical self concept
Intelligence sc Communicative sc Leadership sc Appearance sc Athletic sc
The GENERAL SELF CONCEPT consists of a set of beliefs we hold about
ourselves. They are well established and relatively hard to change or modify. The
further down the hierarchy the more specific and the more susceptible to change
the elements become. At the lowest level they actually change from situation to
situation and time to time. Communication affects our self-concept and our selfconcept affects how and what we communicate.
John Kinch (19630 illustrates the relationship between self-concept and
communication. Our self-concept is based on our communication with others. (P)=
our perception of how others see us and affects our self concept (S). Our self-
concept affects how we behave (B). Our behavior is directly related to how others
react to our behavior (A).
N.B. The actual responses of others relate to our perceptions of others’ responses
(P) and so we have a full circle.
P
A
S
B
P= perception of others’ response
S=self-concept
B=behavior
A=actual responses to others
Politeness Theory - We have an interest in Positive face (the desire to be liked and
respected) and Negative face (the desire to be free from constraint and imposition).
Positive face is threatened when we let someone know we disapprove their
behavior or them, while Negative face is threatened when we order other people to
do things or when we ask people to give up freedoms they would normally hold.
Generally people try to support both the Positive and Negative face of others
because they do not want the other person to feel embarrassed. When we witness
one person causing another to lose face, we feel embarrassed for the second person
and we may take action against the first.
POLITENESS, then, is comprised of our efforts to save face for others.
4. CONFLICT
Conflict is a “dynamic” subject matter that comprises of both positive and negative
attributes within its curriculum arena. Most conflicts arise from communication of
what one wants, needs and values to others. In most cases it is driven by the need
for change. But what is it?
CALVIN AND BRUMWELL (4th edition) – A process in which two or more
members in a family believe that their desires are incompatible with those of
others.
HOCKER AND WILMOT (1992) define it from a communication perspective as
“an expressed struggle between at least two interdependent parties who perceive
incompatible goals, scarce resources and interference from other parties from
achieving their goals.
GOLEMBIEWSKI (2001) – an interactive process manifested in incompatibility,
disagreement or dissonance within or between social entities.
DYER – a violation of expectation.
LONGMAN DICTIONARY OF CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH (1985) – a
state of disagreement between opposing groups of opposing ideas or principles.
CHIRAMBAGUWA (2010) – it expresses the deficit between a key goal and
reality.
Conflict differs in source, intensity, direction and level. Overt conflicts are visible
while covert conflicts are invisible.
VALUE CONFLICT –where individuals value their beliefs and argue along those
lines and are reluctant to change.
CONTENT CONFLICT-people argue on the subject under discussion. It is easy to
solve if personalities are not offended.
DATA CONFLICTSTRUCTURAL CONFLICTRELATIONSHIP CONFLICT Conflict falls into two categories, personal and social which can be further sub
divided into four levels
INTRAPERSONAL – Conflict can be between what you are saying and your
actions. Northcroft and Neale (1990; 270) divide intrapersonal goal conflict into 3
types. Approach-Approach occurs when one is forced to choose between two
equally attractive choices. Approach-Avoidance is when having to choose an
option with both good and bad outcomes. Avoidance-Avoidance occurs when two
equally unattractive choices both with negative effects are in consideration.
INTERPERSONAL – failure to communicate effectively or differences in
perceptions.
INTRAGROUP – There are three essential elements in a group
a) Members see themselves as belonging
b) They have a shared purpose
c) Accepting responsibility to work with others in a group
Therefore, when any one of these elements starts to disintegrate and become
corrupted conflict arises, since what is necessary to one in a group may be the
opposite of the other.
INTERGROUP – Any group will always try to undermine the other, gain power
and improve its image. Intergroup conflict arises from different policies, group
loyalties and competition of resources to be used since some groups may feel that
they are more superior to others. Such conflict is influenced by the zeal to jealously
guard and promote the brand of the company hence power, control and, conflict.
SOURCES OF CONFLICT
Conflict emanates from three main sources which can be categorized into three
main groups; Communication factors, structural factors and personal factors.
1.) Failure to respect other people’s values, beliefs, cultures, religion, ethics and
privacy.
2.) Resistance to the effecting of change.
3.) Different parties affiliation.
4.) Remuneration, allowances and salary increments.
5.) Scramble for leadership in any organization. POWER STRUGGLE.
6.) Leadership styles.
7.) Difference in goals.
8.) Personality conflicts.
9.) Unrealistic expectations.
10.)
Different rates of relational growth.
11.)
Overlapping responsibilities
Delegation of duties
Task interdependence
EFFECTS OF CONFLICT
Conflict varies in its speed of emergence and in the degree of its predictability. J.E.
Goldthorpe (3rd edition) pg34 says, “Some view conflict not as abnormal and
transitory, but as permanent and even necessary.” Therefore most scholars have
categorized conflict into two views, traditional and contemporary.
Conflict is usually associated with the following behaviours;
Heated emotions, shouting, uncontrolled arguing, swearing, “In your face”
behaviour, red faces, clenched fists, hot temper, intolerance and frustration.
Although these behaviours are associated with conflict in some relationships they
do not necessarily have to be present in all of them. You manage conflict by
engaging in it productively. PRODUCTIVE CONFLICT is based on issues rather
than on the participants’ personalities. It CAN and SHOULD be conducted without
any of these behaviours. Furthermore, when behaviours such as those listed are
present, the real purpose of conflict is weakened considerably. This is because the
focus of the conflict turns to individual variables and away from actual issues. A
focus on issues is the key to competent conflict management.
Traditional/Dysfunctional/Classical – views conflict as unnecessary and harmful
and as a sign of something wrong in an organization. Conflict is deemed disruptive
and preventing performance by creating a state of disorder. It also views conflict as
being caused by management errors in designating its management system.
Conflict implies the organization is not designed or structured correctly or
adequately. The task of the management in this view is to resolve, end or nullify
conflict. To “ZEROLISE CONFLICT” as one put it.
Downward communication is also prevalent. The dysfunctional school values
order, stability and represses all conflict.
Proposed remedies
-increased use of central power
-further elaboration of responsibilities, job description and authority
-separating conflicting members
-avoidance
Contemporary/Functional/Productive – views conflict as unavoidable and
necessary though much of it can harm an organization’s activities. Some conflicts
can make an organization more effective if resolved properly. Therefore the task of
the management is to manage the levels of conflict.
Conflict is seen as a “vital tool.” The key to organizational success is not in
structure, clarity and order but in creativity, responsiveness and adaptability.
CONSTRUCTIVE SIDE
1.) Conflict brings the problem clearly out in the open for discussion, therefore
people will begin to discuss in order for them to establish a common ground.
The GPA was a result of election conflict, leading to national healing,
economic recovery and national unity.
2.) Creates an opportunity to search for improved approaches that lead to better
results.
3.) It creates a room for new ideas and creativity.
4.) It creates a tolerant society where groups can be able to state their goals and
perhaps achieve them.
5.) It prevents hostilities and resentments from fostering.
6.) Removes dissociating elements from within a society and reestablishes
unity.
7.) Helps to clear organizational ambiguities.
8.) Keeps people on their toes
*This is only possible if it is properly diagnosed and resolved in a manner which
seeks to address and accommodate most and not all perceptions or views.
DESTRUCTIVE SIDE
1.) According to Sandra Cheary (2008; 45) Conflict leads to increased negative
regard for one’s opponents.
2.) It wastes energy which could have been better spent in other important areas.
3.) It creates setbacks i.e. in a company when a manager has a conflict with any
subordinates he may deliberately facilitate the firing of the subordinate thus
replacing the other subordinate which becomes costly and time consuming.
4.) Builds distrust.
5.) Motivational levels of employers and employees may be reduced.
PHASES OF CONFLICT
1.) Prelude to conflict
2.) Triggering event
3.) Initiation phase – one makes it known to the other
4.) Differentiation phase – issues raised and reasons for conflict pursued
5.) Integration phase/Resolution
CONFLICT DEVELOPMENT CYCLE
1. Latent stage – wherever we have two people there is potential for conflict.
2. Conflict emergence stage – there is usually a “triggering event” that sets off
the conflict that we knew would always arise.
3. Conflict escalation stage –
4. Hurting/Stalemate – “climax”
5. De-escalation stage –
6. Dispute settlement –
7. Post conflict/Peace Building Stage –
For Conrad and Poole (2001) conflicts move in five phases; Latent, Perceived,
Felt, Overt and Aftermath.
A third group, the human relations school sees conflict as a naturally occurring
phenomenon, something to be tolerated rather than totally expunged. It is seen as a
normal communication event.
ADDRESSING CONFLICT
The key to resolving conflict is to acknowledge the other party. Resolving conflict
is a process, not a static procedure. It requires flexibility and constant evaluation to
be truly productive and effective. According to Thomas and Kilmann (1976) about
five approaches maybe employed to addressing conflict
1.) Accommodation
2.) Avoidance
3.) Collaboration
4.) Compromise
5.) Competition
6.) Smoothing – persuading one party to give in.
7.) Majority rule
8.) Postponing
9.) Collective bargaining
CONFLICT OUTCOMES
We may think of managing conflict as bargaining, negotiating, debating or
arguing. Conflict produces the following outcomes;
1.) Win – Win – regarded as the best. Both parties benefit and mutual
understanding between parties is crucial. This process requires effective
listening, use of body language and asking questions for clarification. It is
quite difficult to achieve but it motivates the contending parties.
2.) Win – Lose – in this case one with authority overrides the weaker party. It is
effective for a short time but causes great dissension in future.
3.) Lose – Lose
4.) Avoidance – running away
5.) Postponing –
CONFLICT HURTS PEOPLE IN AT LEAST EIGHT WAYS
Social. Cultural. Material. Spiritual.
Humanitarian. Psychological.
Ecological.
Political.
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN HANDLING CONFLICT
High context and low context cultures manage conflict quite differently. High
context cultures are those in which communication is indirect, relies heavily on
non-verbal systems and gives a great deal of meaning to the relationships between
communicators e.g. Japanese, Afro-American and Latin America. Low context
cultures use more explicit language, are more direct in their meanings and stress
goals and outcomes more than relationships e.g. Germany, Sweden and England.
Conflict managers in high context cultures are more likely to emphasise
harmonious relations than personal goals. They will also attempt to maintain face.
Low context cultures manage conflict more directly by being more confrontational
and more goal-oriented and have less concern about saving face.
CONCLUSION
On an interesting note, the term conflict sounds highly controversial. Neo-Marxists
maintain that, “the conflict of today is the normality of tomorrow.” What is a
problem today will be a resolution tomorrow. In other words, these scholars say
conflict does not exist, if it does then it lives in the mind of those that feel
threatened when meetings occur in the workplace.
In a nutshell conflict is inevitable in an organization therefore it is imperative that
we work together to address it when it comes into motion and that we understand
our differences, desires, goals, priorities and ethics.
5. COMPUTER MEDIATED COMMUNICATION
Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) is human to human communication
using networked computer environments to facilitate interaction. Mediated
communication is any type of communication that employs electronic means.
CMC is different from mediated communication because human to human
interaction is interactive. Mass communication is primarily linear. Messages travel
in one direction from the sender to the receiver with limited feedback. In CMC
communication is transactional. Both people involved in the CMC event are
responsible for simultaneously sending and receiving messages. Although mass
communication and CMC are different forms of mediated communication they
share the common element of using electronic channels to facilitate
communication.
Most of the CMC mediums rely greatly on internet protocols because these are
readily available. There must be congruency between software protocols employed
by the sender as well as the receiver.
Although all CMC shares the concept of networking, the similarities in types of
CMC end there. CMC can be classified into two main categories;
SYNCHRONOUS COMMUNICATION – Members of the communication
interaction interact in real time, and each participant is simultaneously a sender and
receiver.
ASYNCHRONOUS COMMUNICATION – Delays occur in the communication
interaction and each participant must take turns being sender and receiver.
The INTERNET
Is a global network of interconnected computer networks that use the standard
Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) to serve billions of users worldwide. It is a
network of networks that consists of millions of private, academic, business and
government networks of local to global scope that are linked by a broad array of
electronic and optical networking technologies. The World Wide Web is a global
information system that allows users to access information from the Internet. Web
(many sites linked together) searches can provide a great wealth of information
quickly and easily.
Most traditional communications media, such as telephone and television services,
are reshaped or redefined using the technologies of the internet, giving rise to
services such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) and IPTV. Newspaper
publishing has been reshaped into Web Sites, blogging and web feeds. The internet
has enabled or accelerated the creation of new forms of human interactions through
instant messaging, internet forums and social networking sites.
The complex communications infrastructure of the internet consists of its hardware
components and a system of software layers that control various aspects of the
architecture. While the hardware can often be used to support other software
systems, it is the design and the rigorous standardization process of the software
architecture that characterizes the internet and provides the foundation for its
scalability and success.
The responsibility for the architectural design of the internet software system has
been delegated to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The IETF conducts
standard setting work groups; open to any individual, about the various aspects of
internet architecture. Resulting discussions and final standards are published in a
series of publications; each called a Request for Comments (RFC), freely available
on the IETF website. The principal methods of networking that enable the internet
are contained in specially designated RFCs that constitute the Internet Standards.
Other less rigorous documents are simply informative, experimental, or historical,
or they document the best current practices (BCP) when implementing internet
technologies.
The internet has also greatly facilitated personalized marketing which allows a
company to market a product to a specific person or a group. An example of a
personalized marketing which allows a company to market a product online
include MySpace, Orkit, Face book , Twitter and others.
The origins of the internet reach back to the 1960s when the United States funded
research projects of its military agencies to build robust, fault tolerant and welldistributed computer networks. This research and a period of civilian funding of a
new US backbone by the National Science Foundation spawned worldwide
participation in the development to new networking technologies. This also led to
the commercialization of an international network in the mid 1990s and resulted in
the following popularization of countless applications in virtually every aspect of
modern human life. As of 2009, an estimated quarter of the earth’s population uses
the services of the internet.
BENEFITS
- The internet has no centralized governance in either technological
implementation or policies for access and usage, each constituent network
sets its own standards.
- Newspaper publishing has been reshaped into Web sites, blogging and web
feeds.
- The internet has enabled or accelerated the creation of new forms of human
interaction through instant messaging, internet forums and social networking
sites.
- The internet is allowing greater flexibility in working hours and locations,
especially with the spread of unmetered high-speed connections and web
applications.
- The internet can now be accessed almost anywhere by numerous means,
especially through mobile internet devices.
- Business and project teams can share calendars as well as documents and
other information.
- The low cost and nearly instantaneous sharing of ideas, knowledge and skills
has made collaborative work dramatically easier.
- The World Wide Web has enabled the decenteralisation of information.
- Through keyword-driven internet research using search engines such as
Yahoo! and Google, users worldwide have easy and instant access to a vast
and diverse amount of online information.
- Advertising on popular web pages can be lucrative, and e-commerce or the
sale of products and services directly via the Web continues to grow.
- Data transfer – file sharing is an example of transferring large amounts of
data across the internet. A computer file can be e-mailed to customer,
colleagues and friends as an attachment.
- The printing publications, software products, news, music, film, video,
photography, graphics and other arts are found freely on the internet.
DISADVANTAGES
-
Overuse of the internet can lead to addiction
Information on Internet Facebook can be available publicly
Information on the Internet is not strictly edited
Practical research and learning is threatened as information is easily
accessed online.
- Human face-to-face interaction is and relationships are destroyed
- Dirty information unsuitable for minors is readily available
- Computer viruses can be found on the internet
But web information does not go through a review process, nor is it necessarily
fact-checked in any way, so material on a web page is most suspect than that
gathered from traditional sources. Critically weigh and verify the information you
find, because much of it is unreliable. To find information on the Web, one has to
conduct a search using one of the many available search engines there are topic
based searches and site-based searches.
They include (Lycos www.lycos.com, Alta Vista www.AltaVista.com, Yahoo
www.Yahoo.com, Excite www.Excite.com, Google www.Google.com or Infoseek
www2.infoseek.com).
When you find information on the Web, be sure to write the specific bibliographic
information; the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or address, date accessed, page
number, and author or producer.
A hyperlink is a link in a WWW document that leads to another website or to
another place within the same document. A web browser is a tool for viewing
pages on the WWW. Common Web browsers are Internet Explorer and Netscape.
Virtual Libraries are Websites that provide links to sites that have been reviewed
for relevance and usability. The Home Page is the first page on a Website.
Bookmarks are features found on most web browsers that store links for immediate
retrieval without entering the URL each time you want to access the site.
TOOLS FOR NARROWING YOUR WWW SEARCH
1) Word stemming – enter your search term with a single quote at the end. (‘)
INFORM (information, informal, informing)
2) Phrase searching – if you are looking for a phrase, put the phrase in quotation
marks. Simply putting PUBLIC SPEAKING retains all sites containing the two
words anywhere on the site. “Public speaking”
3) Boolean operators – Boolean operators allow you to specify logical arguments
for what you want returned in a list of matching items. For instance “tobacco AND
addictive,” “PowerPoint NOT Microsoft,” “Coke OR Pepsi.”
4) Parenthesis – Using parenthesis allows you to nest Boolean arguments. In the
following example the search argument will look for websites containing the terms
“media” and “Violence” but not “television.”
“(media AND violence)
NOT television”
Searching the Web can be interesting, entertaining, frustrating, addictive and
educational. Web information comes from a variety of sources. Some are reliable
and credible, and others are neither useful, credible, relevant, nor reliable.
EVALUATING WEB SOURCES
Elizabeth Kirk of the Milton S Eisenhower Library of the John Hopkins University
offers four basic evaluative criteria:
1) Author – Who wrote the material? Are they qualified? Can you contact the
author if you have questions?
2) Publishing body - Who “publishes” or sponsors the Website? Is there a header
or footer that shows connection to a larger website? Is there a link on the page
taking us to the homepage of the website?
What can you learn from the URL? Check the letters just to the left of the first
backslash (/)? Here are some abbreviations providing insight to a web source,
which are used for the URLs
.edu – refers to a college or university.
college
.cc (state) us – community
.org – non-profit organization or trade association
commercial enterprise
.com – a business or other
.gov – a government agency, official or organization
administration organization
.net – to a network
.mil – military site.
Beyond the backslash if you notice a tilde (~) or if the URL includes terms such as
“/users/” or “/people/,” you may be looking at an individual’s personal page within
the official pages of a larger website. With personal pages one cannot tell if the
views reflected represent the organization or if they are really credible.
3) Currency - How recently was the website published, created or updated? This
information should be at the bottom of the web page or homepage of the Website.
4) Purpose – Can you determine why the information is on the Web page? One
way to understand the motive of websites is to pay attention to the server. Does the
site provide information, give explanations, persuade, publicise, sell products or
entertain. Sometimes the URL will offer clues; part of it contains a function
indicator, such as (gov) or (com) that indicates the purpose.
.edu or .gov – provides factual information and explanations.
.com – promotes and sells products, or provides current news and information
.org – influences public opinion and advocates for particular issues
.net or .com – Entertains
.info – especially used to provide truly global general information
Finally, consider one question: How does the Web information compare with other
available resources.
INTRANET - An intranet is a private computer network that uses Internet
protocol technologies to securely share any part of an organisation’s information or
network operating systems within the organization. Sometimes the term refers
only to the organization’s internal website but may be a more extensive part of the
organisation’s information technology infrastructure. It may host multiple private
websites and constitute an important component and focal part of internal
communication and collaboration. It is asynchronous.
An intranet is built from the same concepts and technologies used for the internet.
Any of the well known internet protocols may be found in an Intranet such as
HTTP (web services), SMTP (e-mail) and FTP (file transfer). An Intranet may be
understood as a private analog of the Internet or as a private extension of the
internet confined to an organization. While extranets are generally restricted to
employees of the organization, they may also be accessed by customers, suppliers
or other approved parties. Extranets extend a private network onto the internet with
special provisions for access, authorization and authentication.
Intranets may provide gateways to the internet by means of a network gateway
with a firewall shielding the Intranet from unauthorized external access. The
gateway often also implements user authentication, encryption of messages and
often virtual private network (VPN) connecting for off-site employees to access
company information, computing resources and internal communications.
USES
- To deliver tools and applications e.g. Collaboration (to facilitate working
groups and teleconferencing) or sophisticated corporate directories, sales and
customer relationship management tools, project management and to
advance productivity.
- Used as corporate culture change platforms.
- Provide information to customers outside business via extranet
BENEFITS
-
Workforce productivity
Time saving
Facilitates communication (both vertical and horizontal)
Corporate knowledge maintained and easily accessed
Supports business operations and management
Cost effective
Promotes common corporate culture
Enhances collaboration
Immediate updates
DISADVANTAGES
- It is costly to set up when there are few resources.
- Virtual information can be lost through virus attacks and machine
breakdown.
- It does not allow a wide distribution of information. i.e. it is only accessed
by the people within the organization
- Inhibits direct human to human communication
- Information can be lost if viruses are present
SKYPE – Is a proprietary software application that allows users to make voice
calls over the internet. Skype uses a proprietary Internet telephone network called
the Skype protocol. Skype uses a voice over internet protocol. A protocol in this
context is a set of rules for communication. Signals are sent via both ways
ANALOG(telephone) and DIGITAL (computer binary signals 0-1).
Calls within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline
telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user
account system. Skype out allows for such calls beyond computers. Skype has also
become popular for its additional features which include instant messaging, file
transfer and video-conferencing. V-Skype is a further advance in technology which
allows the recording of video clips as well as operation of a web camera internally
or externally. It is synchronous.
One needs a computer connected to the internet, Skype software, a web camera
(for videos) and lastly to register as a Skype user.
Registered users of Skype are identified by a unique Skype Name and may be
listed on the Skype directory. Skype allows these registered users to communicate
through both instant messaging and voice chat. Voice chat allows calls between
pairs of users and conference calling and uses a proprietary audio codec.
The Skypein service allows Skype users to receive calls on their computers dialed
by regular phone subscribers to a local Skype phone number. Local numbers are
available in most First World countries.
Skype was founded in 2003 by the Swedish entrepreneur Niklas Zennstrom and the
Dane Janus Friis. The network is operated by accompany called Skype Limited,
headquartered in Luxembourg and partly owned by eBay. It has offices in Europe
the US and Asia.
Skype brings business people together. By overcoming the barriers of cost,
distance and technology, Skype helps you to do more work wherever you are in the
world. You will reach colleagues and customers for less; improve meetings with
face-to-face video calls and keeping in touch with instant messaging.
ADVANTAGES
- Skype allows quick decision making in business. For example, a business
meeting between groups of directors who are geographically separated, even
internationally, can allow for quick decisions to be made because it is
synchronous.
- Skype allows work to be done faster. Through free Skype to Skype video
and voice calls, orders and instructions can be conveyed to workers and the
work done according to plan and easily.
- Skype joins families together. Geographical separation sets families apart
but Skype remedies the problem. Through video calls family members can
see each other.
- Skype to Skype calls are free.
- Central management in an organization can use Skype to create employee
accounts, allocate Skype credit and assign features.
- It is a 24 hour service
- Transmits a full range of human communication.
- Fast and reliable
- Fits in both formal and informal situations.
- Allows full expression of verbal and non-verbal communication.
DISADVANTAGES
- Automatically discriminates computer illiterate people
- Call quality can suffer if you have a slower than average internet service
- Interference from other electronic devices can be disruptive
VIDEO CONFERENCING- Is an extension of teleconferencing that includes
picture and sound. Teleconferencing uses telephones and speakerphones to connect
people in different locations. Speakerphones enable people in different locations to
interact at one given location. Videoconferencing eliminates one limitation of
teleconferencing in that it allows people at different locations to see each other via
television, sometimes even sharing computer applications for collaboration.
Placing a video call is a lot like placing a telephone call. After you connect, you
see the other person in colour video on a TV screen and may be able to transfer
files or collaborate via options such as document sharing or white boarding.
A videoconferencing system requires the audiovisual equipment, which includes a
monitor, camera, microphone, and speaker and a means of transmission. Rather
than n Internet-based connection, a compressed video system on a dedicated
bandwidth provides smooth audio and video. The compressed video conferencing
may be transmitted via an Integrated Services digital Network (ISDNN) line or
over Internet Protocol (IP) lines.
The most significant distinction among videoconferencing systems is the method
of transmission. Transmission is important because two systems cannot connect if
they are using different transmission methods. In the past, most videoconferences
used ISDN lines; however many people are now using IP connections to save
costs.
There are a number of uses for videoconferencing. It allows people to collaborate
in making budgets.
Interviews may also be conducted through the use of videoconferencing.
Distance learning courses can also be conducted using videoconferencing.
It also makes supervision of students on work placements easier.
Administrators and managers working with colleagues to find solutions can
communicate easily
The main benefit of videoconferencing is the ability of those involved in the
discussion to hear and see everyone at all locations.
Secondly, educators and librarians from around the world report that
videoconferencing impacts students learning in several ways. Two way
videoconferences heighten students’ motivation and improve communication and
presentation skills. Additionally, a virtual field trip increases the depth of learning
and provides a forum for a greater connection with the outside world. A
videoconference can improve students’ memory retention by appealing to a variety
of different learning styles by including diverse media such as video and audio
clips, graphics, animation and computer applications. The visual connection and
interaction among participants enhance understanding and allow both the content
providers and the students to feel connected to one another.
Videoconferences also improve your green credentials. It allows people in different
areas to meet without travelling. In these green conscious times this is a vital,
environmentally responsible use of technology, helping to lower organizational
carbon output. Videoconferencing can play a key role in reducing an organisation’s
greenhouse gas emissions as well as drastically reducing the cost of travel and time
spent travelling.
With the development of efficient video technologies and high speed networks,
desktop and laptop videoconferencing enables face-to face sessions for teleworkers
and non-campus based students.
Videoconferencing helps organizations to have better meetings. A videoconference
is far more engaging and productive than a telephone conference because
participants are not only able to hear the conversation, but can also see each other’s
facial expressions and body language. It also increases meeting attendances by
participants who would otherwise be unable to join in. projects involving g
geographically dispersed colleagues are also managed more efficiently.
Videoconferencing facilitates short notice meetings between individuals in distant
locations as well as allowing people to make rapid solutions for urgent issues.
On the negative side is its cost and need for special equipment to allow both
picture and sound to be transmittable. Videoconferencing is also much more
vulnerable to extremely frustrating equipment failures than teleconferencing.
It also happens to distance people “physically” as there will be no need to meet
physically.
GROUPWARE – Groupware is referred to as a secure, dynamic collaboration
solution that offers both traditional and mobile means for NY
COMMUNICATION OVER INTRANETS, EXTRANETS AND THE
INTERNET. GROUPWARE IS ALSO DEFINED AS A COMBINATION OF
TECHNOLOGIES ENABLING AN ORGANISATION TO CREATE, SHARE,
AND ACCUMULATE A KNOWLEDGE BASE. THIRDLY, GROUPWARE IS
DESCRIBED AS A COMPUTER BASED SYSTEM THAT SUPPPORTS
GROUPS OF PEOPLE ENGAGED IN A COMMON TASK OR GOAL AND
THAT PROVIDE AN INTERFACE TO A SHARED ENVIRONMENT
Groupware’s origins can be traced to Plato Notes in 1973, a research prototype at
UIUC which runs on numerous systems. Iris Associates pioneered the concept of
Groupware based on Plato and released the product lotus notes in 1989. The
founders of Iris were the students that created Plato and iris was later bought out by
IBM.
Groupware can be classified through a matrix system. This is a time-space matrix,
or more generally a real-time/non real-time implementation. TABLE
Groupware functionaries represented by the diagram align time and place on
different axis. Electronic mail, calendaring, scheduling and workflow are examples
of different time and different place. Chat room, gaming, video-conferencing and
shared workspace are examples of same time and different places.
Groupware also involves architecture. Architecture of Groupware is a general view
of what a Groupware system looks like. It is also the foundation that enables
communication and collaboration across an organization. It includes content
exchange, authentication services and directory services. Access to the system
functions can be gained through mobile devices, internet browsers, or dedicated
client side interface or software. This can be shown diagrammatically as below:
Groupware can also be classified as commercial implementation. This involves
group outline viewing editor (GROVE), Microsoft exchange, novel groupware are
examples of commercial groupware.
Hardware failure is common in Groupware. Programming error is also another
cause of groupware failure. This is due to complex algorithms and unforeseen
sequence of events such as interleaving and delays. Scalability is also another
cause of Groupware failure.
INSTANT MESSAGING – Instant messaging (IM)is a text-based form of
synchronous (real time) communication which allows users (two or even more) to
connect to computers over the Internet and have a “conversation” through their
computers. It is a form of electronic communication involving correspondence
between people simultaneously.
Instant messaging requires specialized software, often free, that allows you to
contact other people and establish instant messaging. More advanced instant
messaging software allows enhanced modes of communication, such as live voice
or video calling.
One needs a personal computer as well as access to the internet. After that one has
to register as a user of IM. ICQ software is also required for IM to operate. It may
be necessary to alert whoever you are chatting with to facilitate a synchronous
exchange of messages.
ADVANTAGES
-messages are sent in real time and responses are instant.
-proper “conversations” can be held with another person without running the risk
of a large bill.
-files or pictures can be sent in instant messaging conversation.
-it is free to use and can be set up quickly.
-it is similar to talking to a person face-to-face.
-Instant messaging systems offer a safer environment than chat rooms.
-you can monitor who is allowed to contact you at any given time and people can
only “add” you if they know your exact hotmail or Instant message address.
-it is possible to talk to many people at once.
-work can be done in groups, and (if still in school or higher education) the instant
messaging system allows people to ask for help before going to their teacher.
-instant messaging systems allow people to talk to each other from different
countries, allowing friends to keep in touch if any of them moves away.
DISADVANTAGES
-people can send viruses through files sent on instant messaging servers.
-instant messaging destroys proper language and writing with the overuse of
shorthand.
-instant messaging systems are often used for gossip and rumour spreading.
-disturbs work
-prone to hacking (illegal entry by a person into your computer
E-MAIL – it is a system for exchanging written, voice and video messages
through a computer network. It is also like a cross between the postal system and
telephone answering system. In an e-mail system each user has a unique identity
called an e-mail address. To send someone an e-mail message one must use a
special e-mail program that works with the network in order to send or receive
messages.
Electronic mail is an asynchronous form of CMC. It uses the Internet or a
computer network to send addressable messages to another person connected to the
Internet or network. E-mail is a popular method of communication for both
organizations and individuals. Some companies actually encourage e-mail rather
than face-to-face interactions for internal communication because e-mail is more
efficient: “People spend less time talking about sport and gossip.”
When sending a message using e-mail, the recipient’s e-mail address is entered,
and then the message is typed. The message travels across the network to the
server, which stores the message that notifies the recipient that a new message has
arrived. The e-mail is a favourite communication tool of most web project
managers.
The key features with e-mail include the address book. This is where the user can
enter the name, address, e-mail address and additional comments in the address
book. The user can also view the same when required by clicking on the view
entries link.
Another feature of e-mail is the attachments which the user can manage in their
account through the view entries link. The user can also download all the
attachments.
Every e-mail account has a calendar. This calendar helps the user to prepare a
schedule and it also allows the user to add, edit or delete entries by clicking on a
specific link.
E-mail also allows the user to create a new e-mail account. The user can also
create, delete and rename folders and subfolders by clicking on a specific link
which is the folder options link.
E-mail also has a search feature. This option is extremely helpful for users who
have many e-mails. With the help of this search feature the user can delete, move,
read and forward the e-mail listed on the page.
E-mail has several ADVANTAGES in business communication. It can be used as
an advertising tool. Companies use it to showcase their products thus
communicating with potential customers.
e-mail is time saving and is a more efficient way of sending messages as it only
takes a few seconds for the recipient to receive his message. It is efficient in that
what you have written is exactly what is sent.
A single e-mail can be sent to several people at one go and can be received as
information that has been mailed to more than one person.
It is also a private and reliable maintaining personal accounts. All e-mails are
private and cannot be accessed easily by anyone but the intended receiver.
It is a useful advertising tool.
Allows for simultaneous sending and receiving.
DISADVANTAGES – e-mail messages are prone to viruses. These are computer
programs which have the potential to harm a computer system, which means they
can delete unsent messages thus affecting communications.
Misinterpretation is also another disadvantage as one has to be careful while
composing messages. If typed in a hurry the message can have mistakes thus
passing the wrong message.
Lengthy mail is also on the negative side as the reader may lose interest in reading,
thus failing to effectively communicate.
Messages arrive unnoticed. This can be detrimental when working with deadlines.
Discriminate against those who are not computer literate or those who do not have
“snobby” cell phones.
Junk mail – unsolicited mail can be problematic.
Often a time waster if overused. Productive time is lost
No privacy, it is prone to abuse.
Network controlled/determined
FAILURE TO CAPITALISE ON COMPUTER MEDIATED
COMMUNICATION PLATFORMS
1. Employee resistance – humans are a complex resource. They succumb to
fear of the unknown. Perspectives on technology differ greatly amongst
people.
2. Lack of financial capital base – organizations may lack the financial
leverage to initiate and maintain CMC operations. They can be very costly.
3. Computer literacy is very low – some have put it at 30% for Zimbabwe
which is still very low.
4. No national server – national satellites may be important for countries that
hope to strengthen CMC platforms. Hence infrastructural changes at national
level are important. In China many children are relinquishing formal
education opting to learn at home.
5. Generational conflict - Technophobia “New wine in old bottle skins”
6. Lack of proper training – workshops and training sessions to conscientise
people on the use and appreciation of CMC.
7. A low culture of collaboration in an organization disturbs CMC use. “It is
people who must make these things work.”
The introduction of CMC is usually vested in IT experts in an organization, but
they are not the people who will go on to use them. There is a misconception
within them that if the technology is there people are going to come and use it. As
they design staff portals, intranets and internet use they must have the users in
mind otherwise people will ignore these platforms and employ traditional ones.
The issue is ensuring that people flock to use these things.
6.ORAL AND WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
REPORTS
PROPOSALS
A proposal can be defined as a persuasive message written to get action.
It is a written offer to solve a problem
It allows you to offer your services to a client and compete in the marketplace, or
to present ideas to improve your company.
Proposals are based on facts and must not rely on emotive language
They must be well organized so that readers know, without any difficulties, what
the proposed action is.
It must have clear sections, a numbering system and effective headings.
The style must be clear, formal and simple.
Good proposals must give readers correct details of costs, timetables and dates.
The facts must be so well written that the reader is convinced that the proposed
action is reasonable and practically achievable.
Proposals vary in length. A short in-house proposal might be written as a
memorandum, while a brief out of the house proposal might be submitted as a
letter.
TYPES OF PROPOSALS
A proposal is set out like a report. If it is sent outside the organization, it must be
accompanied by a letter of transmittal, if sent within the organization then a
memorandum of transmittal will suffice.
Proposals can be divided into two categories; requested and non-requested
proposals. A requested proposal is asked for by a client. A non-requested proposal
is written when you wish to generate work for yourself. You see a problem and
propose action that will possibly resolve the problem.
FORMAT FOR PROPOSALS
A requested proposal must have the following sections;
1. Title page
2. Client’s instructions or terms of reference
3. Client’s objectives
4. Summary of proposal (it should include all key actions, costs and timing)
5. Background to the proposal. This should contain;
a. The need for the proposal
b. A statement of the problem to be solved
c. The need for a solution
d. Purposes of the proposal
e. Procedure used to set up the proposal
f. Plan of development of the proposal (how the proposal has been set out)
The detailed proposal should contain the following:
1. The scope of the problem (delimitation)
2. The boundaries of the proposals and what must be done within its confines
3. Limitations of the proposal
4. Methods to be used to put the proposal into action
5. Breakdown of tasks to be done and their timing
6. Time and work schedule
7. Detailed costing and proposed action
8. Cost and method of payment to proposer
The justification of the proposal should be persuasive and must include;
1. Benefits from the solution
2. Feasibility of the solution
3. Likelihood of success
Urge to action – this is a brief section which must reinforce the proposed action
Appendices or attachments – this contains;
1. Detailed figures to show how the proposed expenditure has been calculated.
2. Detailed calculations to back up any technical proposals
3. Detailed results of questionnaires or other surveys
4. The company’s employment policies and profiles.
5. Company’s success with other projects.
6. Company’s financial statements (if so required).
NON-REQUESTED PROPOSALS
It contains all of the features of the requested proposals but the difference is that
with non-requested proposals, proposers must sell themselves. In the background
to proposals, the writers should state what they do and include the following;
1. A brief description of the organisation
2. A brief description of the experience with projects
3. A brief description of staff experience and qualifications
4. Statement of the company’s financial position.
5. Description of employment practices
6. The company’s organizational chart
7. Physical location of the company
8. Descriptive and advertising literature
TECHNICAL SECTION
1. Statement of problem
2. Background clarifying the problem
3. Need for research
4. Objective of the project or specific solution proposed
5. Justification for undertaking the project
6. General statement of why funds are necessary and how they will be spent.
7. Feasibility of the project or solution.
8. Limitations of the proposal.
9. Product of the project “deliverables”
10.Methodologies
11.Summary of methods not chosen and why
MANAGERIAL SECTION
1. Personnel
2. Task/time schedule
3. Facilities and equipment available
4. Description of work previously completed or similar projects
5. Descriptive literature (provides information on your organization)
FINANCIAL SECTION
1. Budget for the project – describes all expenditures
2. Method of payment – suggests when and how payment will be made
LETTERS
T he most important quality to cultivate for letter writing is empathy. You need to
“stand in the shoes” of the recipient.
1. Address all the points raised in the incoming letter. There is always a danger
in a complex letter that some of the questions raised will be unanswered.
2. Reply letters as promptly as possible.
3. Keep the language as simple as possible particularly when you are writing to
a non-expert. But do not go too far lest the recipient feel he/she is being
treated like an idiot.
4. Avoid irrelevancy and triviality.
5. Check the letter carefully before it is signed and leaves the office. The letter
is an advertisement for the efficiency of your business.
6. Avoid making promises you cannot keep.
7. Avoid attacking other people or firms particularly by name. (publishing a
libel)
8. Be careful not to commit your organization to an unwanted course of action.
Letters in business generally fall into three categories.
ENQUIRY
Most business transactions develop out of an initial enquiry from a potential
customer. Letters of enquiry should be handled with care because they could be the
starting point for a long and mutually beneficial trading relationship. If sender and
receiver have met before some formalities may be ignored.
COLLECTION
When writing letters reminding customers of outstanding debts, it is always wise to
remind ourselves that without customers we have no business. It could take just
one thoughtless, careless word to lose them. However, we do expect to be paid.
Our job is to walk a tight-rope between being too tough and too soft. There are
various reasons why customers are slow to pay outstanding debts;
a. They genuinely forget that payment is due.
b. Cash-flow problems
c. Deliberately delay as they prefer to have money and keep it for as long as
possible.
d. Large companies like making their smaller suppliers wait, this improves
cash-flow considerably.
e. Serious financial difficulties – legal action would need to be taken
COMPLAINT
Letters expressing dissatisfaction fall in a separate category. Special thought and
care is required when you reply a customer’s complaint about goods or services
you have provided. People tend to be sensitive and emotional and it may not be
enough to simply placate or reassure the customer. Action is often more important.
CIRCULARS
The distinction between a letter and a circular is that the former is normally
addressed to an individual while the latter is sent in the same form to large
numbers of potential customers. Circulars are almost invariably a form of
advertising and as such need to be persuasive. They need to be carefully checked.
Any mistake made will be repeated as many times as the number of circulars
distributed. Many advertisers include free gifts in circulars to interest people in the
accompanying literature. Some ground rules for circulars include;
1. The presentation should be eye-catching
2. The message should be persuasive
3. The message should be simple and straightforward.
4. It should be easy for the recipient to respond (a prepaid envelope might be
enclosed).
7. PLAIN ENGLISH
Humans speak about ten thousand dialects. Although most of these sound different
from one another, all possess the same characteristic of language. Language is a
collection of symbols governed by rules and used to convey messages between
individuals.
THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE
Language is symbolic – all words are symbols – arbitrary constructions that
represent a communicator’s thoughts. Spoken and written words are not the only
forms of language. Sign language, as “spoken” by most deaf people, is symbolic in
nature and not the pantomine it might seem. Symbols are more than just labels:
They are the way we experience the world. “SALIVA” “SPIT”
Meanings are in people, not in words – A with physical symbols, the place to look
for meaning in language isn’t in the words themselves, but rather in the way people
make sense of them.
Linguistic theorists C.K. Ogden and I.A. Richards illustrated the fact that meanings
are social constructions in their well known “triangle of meaning.” This model
only shows that there’s only an indirect relationship (indicated by a broken line)
between a word and the thing it claims to represent.
Some of these “things” or referents do not exist in the physical world; (a unicorn is
mythical, a dead person is no longer tangible or abstract ideas like love). Problems
arise when people mistakenly assume that others use words in the same way they
do. So words don’t mean; people do – and often in widely different ways.
Despite this potential for linguistic problems, the situation isn’t hopeless. The key
to more accurate language is to avoid assuming that others interpret words the
same way we do. In truth, successful communication occurs when we negotiate the
meaning of a statement.
Language is rule governed
a. Phonological rules – govern how words sound when pronounced. The words
champagne, double and occasion are spelt identically in French and English
but are all pronounced differently.
Non-native speakers learning English are plagued by inconsistent
phonological rules.
b. Syntactic rules – govern the structure of language (the way symbols can be
arranged). For instance, correct English syntax requires that every word
contain at least one vowel. Although syntactic rules are not easy to describe,
it is easy to recognize their existence by noting how odd a statement that
violates them appears. “Have you the cookies bought?” is perfectly
acceptable word order in German.
-Instant messaging on the internet is forming its own syntactic rules.
c. Semantic rules – these deal with the meanings of specific words. Semantic
rules are what make it possible for us to agree that “bikes” are for riding and
“books” are for reading.
Without semantic rules, communication would be impossible, because each one
of us would use symbols in unique ways, unintelligible to one another.
d. Pragmatic rules – we use them to figure out what interpretation of a message
is appropriate in a given context. They help communicators make sense of a
message – and how the same statement can have quite different meanings
when communicators use different pragmatic rules. When mastering a new
language, learning vocabulary and syntactic rules is no guarantee of
linguistic proficiency.
THE POWER OF LANGUAGE
Beyond describing ideas, making requests and solving problems language is used
to influence others and reflect our attitudes in more subtle ways, as follows;
Language shapes attitudes
1. Naming – Julia in Romeo and Juliet quizzes, “Whats in a name?” The
answer is a great deal.
2. Credibility – Dr Fox’s hypothesis, “An apparently legitimate speaker who
utters an unintelligible message will be judged competent by an audience in
the speaker’s area of apparent expertise.”
3. Status – Decades of research have demonstrated that the power of speech to
influence status is a fact. Several factors combine to create positive or
negative impressions: accent, choice of words, speech rate and even the
apparent age of the speakers. Speakers of standard English are more
favourable than dialectical English and assume a loftier status in
employment circles.
4. Sexism and Racism – some aspects of language suggest women are of lower
status than men. Except for words referring to females by definition such as
mother and actress, English defines many non-sexual concepts as male.
Casey Miller and Kate Swift also argue that incorrect use of the pronoun
“he” to refer to both men and women can have damaging results. It is easy to
use non-sexist language, “manhood” can be replaced by “adulthood.”
“Mankind,” “man-made” and “manpower” can also be replaced.
Language reflects attitudes
1. Power
2. Affiliation
3. Attraction and interest
4. Responsibility
TROUBLESOME LANGUAGE
A The Language of Misunderstanding
1. Equivocal language – equivocal words have more than one dictionary
meaning
2. Relative words – relative words gain their meaning by comparison
3. Slang – is a language used by a group of people whose members belong to a
similar co-culture or other groups. Some slang is related to specialized
interests and activities
4. Jargon –
5. Abstract language
B Disruptive Language
At times people understand one another perfectly but still end up in conflict.
Eliminating three bad linguistic habits from your communication repertoire can
minimize clashes that don’t need to happen
1. Confusing facts and opinions
2. Confusing facts and inferences
3. Emotive language
C Evasive Language
Consists of language that deliberately misleads or antagonizes others. Euphemisms
and equivocations are used to avoid communicating clearly.
1. Euphemism
2. Equivocation
6.ORAL PRESENTATION SKILLS
Public Presentations – Making your ideas known to the world.
Sharing and influencing other people, to make them see the world as you see it.
1. Selecting a topic
2. Assessing appropriateness – (Interest, Audience, Knowledge, Appropriateness)
3. Narrowing the topic – each time you increase a topic you increase its potential
depth. This continual narrowing of the topic allows you to focus your research and
content development on a more clearly defined area of the topic. Speakers can
narrow the scope of a subject according to time limits, function, goals, location and
the requirements of a specific topic. Once the above is done one has to structure
their presentation well, hence a clear idea of the general purpose, specific purpose
and a specific thesis statement is needed.
General Purpose – it is the overasll goal of a speech, usually one of three
overlapping functions; to inform, to persuade or to entewrtaiin the General Purpose
of a speech provides direction for its content.
Informative speech- explains what something means, how something works
or how something is done.
Persuasive speech – Attempts to change or reinforce listeners’ attitudes or
behaviours by advocating or trying to gain acceptance of the speaker’s point of
view.
Entertainment speech – provides enjoyment and amusement. It has three key
qualities; it islight, original and appropriate to the situation.
Specific Purpose – it is a single phrase that defines precisely what is to be
accomplished in a speech. Once you have determined your general purpose (to
inform, persuade or to entertain) you are ready to determine your specific purpose.
The specific purpose identifies;
1. The General Purpose of the speech
2. The audience
3. The exact topic to be covered
-The Specific Purpose should include a verb form that describes the General
Purpose of the speech. The inclusion of the verb form clarifies the action the
speaker hopes to accomplish
-The Specific purpose should be limited to one distinct thought or idea. It is best to
select only one idea and refine it as the purpose.
- The Specific Purpose should not be a question. Although a question may indicate
the topic, it fails to specify the general purpose of the speech.
- The Specific Purpose should be concise and carefully worded. It should not be
too general and should state clearly what is to be achieved by the speech.
Thesis – a sentence that states specifically what is going to be discussed in a
speech. It states clearly what is in the content. It should not be in the form of a
question and should be clearly and concisely worded.
Order of main points
To ensure that the body of your speech is well organized, the content must be
divided into main points. The main points serve as the basis for the thesis
statement. Main points should;
1. Be specific
2. Use vivid language
3. Show relevance
4. Create parallel structure
The arrangement of main points can fall into several classes;
1. Time-sequence pattern – an order of presentation that begins at a particular
point in time and continues either forward or backward.
2. Spatial pattern – an order of presentation in which the content of a speech is
organized according to relationships in space (master bedroom, guest
bedroom, children’s bedroom” “goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, striker.”
3. Topical Pattern – an order of presentation in which the main topic is divided
into a series of related topics. Language can be misunderstood because of
bypassing, indiscrimination or polarization
4. Problem-Solution Pattern – includes 3 to 5 of the following
a. A definition and description of the problem, including its symptoms and
size.
b. A critical analysis of the problem; including causes, current actions and
requirements for a solution.
c. Suggestions of possible solutions, including a description of each
solution’s strengths and weaknesses.
d. A recommendation of the best solution, including a thorough justification
of its superiority over other proposed solutions.
e. A discussion of the best solution put into operation, including a
description of how the plan can be implemented
5. Cause-Effect pattern- explains the causes of an event, problem or issue and
then discusses its consequences.
6. Motivated sequence Pattern – Developed by Professor Alan H Monroe of
Purdue University in the 1930s and widely used for persuasive speech. The
pattern is specifically designed to help the speaker combine sound logic and
practical psychology. The motivated sequence is particularly effective
because it follows the human thinking process and motivates listeners to take
action.
AUDIENCE
“Whats in it for me?”
The audience refers to a group of people who have come together to watch or listen
to someone or something, such as to listen to a speech.
AUDIENCE ANALYSIS – is the collection and interpretation of data about
characteristics, attitudes, values and beliefs of an audience.
Gain attention
Arouse interest
State the purpose
Establish qualifications
Forecast development and organisation
An audience will judge what they hear on the basis of their past experience and the
relevance of the information presented.
The more you know about their past experience, knowledge of the subject,
relationship to the subject and the reason for being there, the easier it will be to
develop a meaningful speech for them.
An audience can be classified into two categories;
CAPTIVE PARTICIPANTS – Audience members required to hear/listen to a
particular speech. They have no choice but to attend. Some people may resist
participation more than others.
VOLUNTARY PARTICIPANTS – people who choose to hear/listen to a
particular speech because of interest or need. True volunteers attend only because
of what they expect to hear. There is no other motivation or force behind their
presence.
Demographic Analysis
-
Age
Gender
Cultural or ethnic background
Education
Occupation
Religion
Geographic origins
Group membership
Psychological Analysis
-
Attitudes and beliefs
Size of audience
Physical setting
Knowledge level
Relationship with speaker
Attitudes and values related to the topic – you cannot talk about
retirement/funeral policies to 17 year olds.
- Attitudes related to the situation
Ways to learn about the audience
1. Observation – a method of collecting information about an audience in
which the speaker watches audience members and notes their behaviours
and characteristics.
2. Survey interview – is a carefully planned and executed person-to-person
question and answer session during which the speaker tries to discover
specific information that will help in the preparation of a speech.
3. Questionnaire – a set of written questions that is distributed to respondents
to gather desired information
Demography analysis reveals the extent to which presenters will have to adjust
themselves as they present. It will imply the receptiveness of your audience. It is
essential to plan a speech centered on the audience.
STAGE FRIGHT
FACILITATIVE STAGE FRIGHT can help you improve your performance as
opposed to DEBILITATIVE STAGE FRIGHT which occurs when the level of
anxiety is intense, hence inhibiting effective self expression.
Sources of debilitative stage fright includes a belief in one or more of the following
fallacies;
1. The fallacy of catastrophic failure – something wrong is going to ruin this
presentation
2. The fallacy of perfection – a good speaker never does anything wrong
3. The fallacy of absolute approval – everyone has to like you/has to like what
you are going to say
4. The fallacy of overgeneralization – you always mess up speeches.
If speech anxiety is to be overcome one has to refute the irrational fallacies just
listed above. The other remedies include being receiver oriented, positive and
prepared.
There are four types of delivery;
1. Extemporaneous – includes short notes that are expanded on
2. Impromptu – no preparation.
3. Manuscript – you read throughout
4. Memorized – recited entirely without aids
In each the speaker must be concerned with both visual and auditory aspects of the
presentation.
Visual aspects include appearance, movement, posture, facial expression and eye
contact.
Auditory aspects include volume, rate, pitch and articulation. The four most
common articulation problems are deletion, substitution, addition and slurring of
word sounds.
General tips oral presentation
-Keep sentences short
-Use active words rather than passive terms
-Be specific rather than general
-Cut all redundant words
-Use simpler as opposed to complex words
-Cut down on jargon
INTERVIEWS
An interview is a somewhat formal discussion between two parties in which
information is exchanged. For a business willing to fill an open job position, an
employer may interview potential candidates to gain a better understanding of their
backgrounds, qualifications and skills. All job interviews have the same objective
but employers reach that objective in a variety of ways. Below is a discussion of
the types of interviews.
Meandering style - this approach is usually used by inexperienced interviewers.
The interviewers rely on you to lead the discussion. It might begin with a statement
like “tell me about yourself,” which you can use to your advantage. The
interviewer may ask you another broad, open-ended question before falling into
silence. This interview style allows you to tactfully guide the discussion in a way
that best serves you. In this type of interview one has to remain alert to the
interview and respectful to the interviewers’ role one should be prepared to use
their skills, qualities and experiences. Although this open format allows you to
shape the interview, running with your own agenda and dominating the
conversation means that you run the risk of missing important information about
the company and its needs.
Behavioural interview – Many companies increasingly rely on behavioural
interviews since they deem your current behavior will indicate your future
performance. In these interviews employers use standardized methods to mine
information relevant to your competence in a particular area or position.
Depending upon the responsibilities of the job and the working environment, you
might be asked to describe a time that required problem solving skills, adaptability,
leadership, conflict resolution, multi-tasking, initiative or stress management. You
will be asked how to deal with the situations.
Stress Interview - Astounding as it is, the Greek hazing system has made its way
into professional interviews. Either employers view the stress interviews as a
legitimate way of determining candidates’ aptness for a position or someone has
latent maniacal tendencies. You may be held in the room waiting for an hour
before the interviewer greets you. You might face long silence or cold stares. The
interviewer might openly challenge your beliefs or judgement or you might be
called to perform an impossible task. The interviewer may ask to exchange shoes
with you! Insults and miscommunication are common. All this is designed to see
whether you have the mettle to withstand the company culture, the clients or other
potential stress, and therefore, one should go into an interview relaxed and rested
and even when the interviewer is rude, remain calm and tactful.
Directive style –in this style the interviewer has a clear agenda that he or she
follows. Unflinchingly, sometimes companies use this rigid format to ensure parity
between interviewees. When interviewers ask each candidate the same series of
questions, they can more readily compare results. Directive interviews rely upon
their own questions and methods. You might feel like you are being steamrolled or
you might find the conversation develops naturally. Their style does not
necessarily mean that they have dominant issues, although you should keep an eye
open for these if the interviewer would be your supervisor. However, in this type
of an interview a person should flex with the interview and should not relinquish
complete control of the interview.
Informational Interview – this is underutilized by job seekers who might otherwise
consider themselves savvy to the merits of networking. Job seekers secure
informational meetings in order to seek the advice of someone in their current
desired field as well as to gain further references to people who can lend further
insight. Employers that like to stay appraised of available talent even when they do
not have current job openings, are often open to informational interviews,
especially if they like to share their knowledge, feel flattered by your interest, or
value the mutual friendship that connected you to them. During the informational
interview the job seeker and the employer exchange information and get to know
one another better without reference to a specific job opening.
The interview is structured as follows;
One is expected to enter the interview room smiling and looking confident and
being pleasant with everyone you meet. Offer to shake hands and do so firmly –
not like a piece of wet lettuce. You should remain standing until you are offered a
seat. Do not smoke even if invited to. Place your briefcase and/or handbag on the
floor beside your chair, this way you won’t be tempted to play with either of these.
Sit up straight, don’t “flop” in the chair or lean over the desk. Make eye contact
with whoever is asking the questions and show interest and enthusiasm in making
your response. Don’t mumble or speak with your hands in front of your mouth or
across your face. Try to be positive in everything you say and relate your responses
to the organisation you have applied. Emphasise the contribution which you can
make to the organisation.
If you don’t understand a question ask for a clarification, this is a much safer tactic
than trying to answer a question which you have not understood. Avoid answering
questions with a straight “yes” or “no.” these are real conversation stoppers and
may cause the interviewer to lose interest in you. Try to be informative by
indicating your achievement, but avoid boasting or giving lots of historical
background to your application.
Do not comment or make disparaging remarks about former or rival organizations
with which you have been involved. Be prepared to ask some questions but do not
interview the interviewer. Ask about the organisation and, if it is a job interview,
the duties you would be expected to undertake. Leave the question of wages and
holidays until last, but the chances are they will be provided long before the end of
the interview.
When the interview terminates check that you know what will happen next. How
long will it be before you know the outcome of the interview? Will they write or
phone? Leave promptly thanking the interviewers for their time and for the
interview.
COMMON GENERAL QUESTIONS
-Tell us about yourself
-tell us about your education
-why do you want to join this organisation
-what will you do to improve the organisation
-why do you think you are the best candidate for the job
-how do you feel about your progress to date
-what would you like to be doing five years from now
-what is your greatest strength
-what is your greatest weakness
-what goals have you set and how did you meet them
FACTORS LEADING TO REJECTION
1.) Negative personality or poor impression – more specifically, lack of
motivation, ambition, maturity, aggressiveness or enthusiasm
2.) Inability to communicate, poor communication skills.
3.) Lack of competence, inadequate training.
4.) Low grades, poor grades in major field
5.) Lack of specific goals
6.) Unrealistic expectations
7.) Lack of interest in type of work
8.) Unwillingness to travel or relocate
9.) Poor preparation for the interview
10.)
Lack of experience
ADVANTAGES
- They produce a higher response rate
- They are useful for untangling complex topics
- They are advantageous to the respondent who lacks reading skills and cannot
answer questionnaires
DISADVANTAGES
- They are time consuming
- The interviewer may be biased and ask closed questions
- They are not useful for selection from a large number of people
PERSUASION
Persuasive Communication
Fielding (1997) –An attempt by a person or a group to change attitudes, beliefs
or behavior of another person or group.
For Ronald Sparkman (1999) it is a process of changing people’s beliefs and
attitudes either immediately or at some time in the future.
It is a process in which verbal and non-verbal messages change, shape and
reinforce people’s beliefs and attitudes, Miller (2002).
Many communication tasks in business call for a persuasive approach. Press
releases, sales circulars, promotional leaflets, catalogues, factsheets and posters
all attempt to influence the reader in some way – to accept the image of the
company or organization or to purchase its products. Persuasive writing is an
exact and demanding science which depends on both marketing skills and
literary ability.
A persuasive speech follows the general rules of informative speaking, but it
organizes arguments and information in a way that elicits a desired response
from the receiver of the message. To be labeled persuasive, a communication
situation must involve a conscious attempt by one individual to change the
attitudes, beliefs or behavior of another individual or group through the
transmission of some message
Persuasion refers to the act of manipulating symbols in order to produce change
in others. The key to understanding persuasion is knowing the characteristics
that identify persuasion as a communication event.
1.) One individual (the persuader) must make a conscious, intended attempt to
influence one or more other individuals. “SENDER”
2.) The persuader generates and uses a variety of messages (both verbal and non
verbal) to accomplish this purpose. “CHANNEL”
3.) The activity of persuasion is a process in which both the persuader and
persuade are active participants. “TRANSACTION”
4.) The goal of persuasion is to change or reinforce the beliefs, attitudes or
behaviours of persuades. “COMMON UNDERSTANDING”
5.) At some level, the persuades must have a choice; they must opt to accept or
reject the persuader’s message. “FEEDBACK”
Persuasion, like communication, is an old art. Ptahhotpe “ta-ho-ta-pe” about 110
years ago advising King Isesi ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt said;
-When in doubt about what to say keep silent.
-Wait for the right moment to speak
-Restrain passionate words
-Speak fluently but with great deliberation
-Keep your tongue at one with your heart so that you speak the truth.
Greek philosophers/teachers’ advice on persuasive writing is summarized within
the context of 5 canons.
1.) INVENTION – discovering the content of the message (both issues/points
and supporting material).
2.) ARRANGEMENT – organizing the content into introduction, narration,
proof and conclusion.
3.) STYLE – putting the content into words in a way that meets such criteria as
correctness, clarity, ornamentation and propriety.
4.) MEMORY –developing and using techniques that allow the speaker to
remember the presentation after it has been prepared.
5.) DELIVERY - using voice and gestures to present a message effectively
PRINCIPLES OF PERSUASIVE WRITING – According to Stuart Sillars the
following principles are important with persuasion
1.) DEFINING YOUR AIM
2.) KNOW YOUR FACTS
3.) DEFINE YOUR MARKET
4.) DIRECT YOUR APPEAL
5.) HAVE A CLEAR MESSAGE
6.) DON’T OVERSELL
7.) KEEP IT SHORT
FORMS OF PERSUASIVE SPEAKING – Persuasive speaking has been
categorized based on speeches that advance four types of propositions or
arguments
1.) Proposition of fact – In speeches that affirm propositions of fact, you make
and support designative claims. You pose and answer the question, “Was
it/is it/will it be true?” the alleged fact that you want the audience to accept
as true can concern an individual, an event, a process, a condition, concept
or a fact. “The federal government has evidence that flying saucers are
real.” “Workers in smoky bars and restaurants face a great risk of lung
cancer.”
2.) Proposition of value – Speeches that affirm propositions of value make
evaluative claims. They answer the question “Of what worth is it?” in
speeches of this type, one seeks to convince an audience that something
meets or does not meet a specific value standard of goodness or quality.
“Lee Jones is the best salesperson in our firm.” “Nuclear weapons are
immoral.” “Organised religion has produced more harm than good.”
3.) Concern about a problem – In speeches that create concern about a problem,
you advance definitive claims. You answer the question “What is it?” the
speech designed to create concern about a problem asks an audience to agree
that specific conditions should be perceived as a problem requiring a
solution. In addition to presenting the problem the speech must also show
the impact of the problem. “The US’ sale of arms to other countries is a
cause for concern.” “Sexual harassment is a continuing problem on college
and university campuses.” “We should be concerned about the depiction of
violence on children’s television.”
4.) Proposition of policy – in speeches that affirm propositions of policy, you
make advocative claims. That is, you answer the question, “What course of
action should be pursued.” In addition to urging adoption of a new policy
or course of action, you can recommend either continuing or discontinuing
an existing policy or rejecting a proposed policy. “Federal regulation of the
airline industry should be stopped.” “Aborigines should have the same
rights as all Australians.” “Colleges and Universities should not adopt
speech codes.”
THEORIES OF PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATION
1. Attitude Change Theory – Research conducted by Yale University and C
Holand (1960) focused on the factors that influence a person to accept
things. Attitude plays a key part in acceptance. In order to change someone
one has to target their attitudes. Attitude implies a predisposition (positive or
negative) towards something. However attitude change does not always lead
to Behaviour Change.
2. Consistency Theory – based upon the premise that human beings do not like
inconsistencies. Three factors that aid this are;
a. Two different sets of images
b. Difference between a person’s existing attitudes and behaviour.
c. A difference between one’s behavior and the behavior that’s expected of
another.
The consistency theory predicts that behavior changes because of
inconsistencies.
TOULMIN’S MODEL
When you ask an audience to accept a proposition of fact, value, problem or policy
you do so by offering reasons. The analysis of English logician Stephen Toulmin
provides a useful approach to generating and evaluating “good reasons.” As
Toulmin describes it, when we give good reasons (an argument), we move from
data, through a warrant, to a claim.
Claim (C) – describes the conclusion you want the audience to accept. The claim
may be a fact, a value, a problem, or a policy, or it might be an intermediate claim
that supports your purpose. The claim is always potentially controversial and hence
requires support the audience will support.
Data (D) – answers the question, “What is the support/grounding for the claim.” It
includes forms of support like language, explanations, examples, statistics,
testimony and visuals. They can also include the credibility of the speaker or the
values, motives and beliefs of the audience.
Warrant (W) is the name Toulmin gives to the part of the argument that justifies
the “jump” involved in advancing from accepting data to accepting a controversial
claim. The warrant answers the question, “How do you get from the data to the
claim. The function of the warrant is to show that the data supports the claim as
true or acceptable.
Toulmin adds a second triad of components of an argument.
Backing (B) – provides support for a warrant when listeners are not willing to
accept a warrant at its face value. Support for a warrant (backing) can consist of a
single item or of an entire argument in itself complete with data and a claim.
Rebuttal (R) – is appended to the claim and recognizes conditions under which the
claim will be true or not true only in a qualified or restricted way. The rebuttal
anticipates objections that an audience might advance against the claim.
Qualifier (Q) – it expresses the degree of force that you as the speaker believe the
claim to possess. When you believe the claim to be incontrovertible, no qualifier is
necessary. When you do not possess conviction you can qualify the claim with
words such as “probably,” “usually” and “possibly.”
Traditionally forms of proof have been organized into three categories
MOTIVATIONAL PROOF (pathos) – proof based on the inner, drives, values or
aspirations of the audience. It asks an audience to accept a claim concerning a fact,
value, problem or policy on the grounds that the claim is consistent with the
listeners’ needs and values.
ETHICAL PROOF (ethos) – based on the credibility of the source of the message.
It asks an audience to accept a claim concerning a fact, value, problem or policy
because of the speaker’s competence, trustworthiness, dynamism, power, goodwill,
idealism or similarity to the audience.
LOGICAL PROOF (logos) – proof that asks an audience to accept a claim
concerning a fact, value, problem or policy because objective evidence supports
the claim. It is based on evidence, such as statistics and examples.
NEGOTIATION
According to Freeman (1992) it is the use of communication skills and bargaining
to manage conflict and reach mutually satisfying outcomes.
It is a process through which two or more parties move from their initially
divergent positions to a point where agreement is reached.
It is a process of trying to reach an agreement between two or more parties.
For Sandra Cleary (2002) negotiation is a process of focusing on a problem
between two or more parties in order to find a workable or sustainable solution.
According to Laurie Dicker (1997) negotiation is a process of changing the status
quo by exchanging one’s set of values for another.
Negotiation is part of everyday life it is based not on IQ but very much on
Emotional Qualities (EQ).
85% of your happiness in life is based on negotiation. When people negotiate they
employ economic policies of maximisation (benefits) and minimisation (of costs).
Negotiation is either MANIPULATIVE OR PRINCIPLED. Our focus is principled
negotiation.
Basic rules
a. Negotiators aim for one outcome, “win-win solution.”
b. It is important to separate people (personalities) from problems (issues).
c. Focus on interests and not with positions
d. Generate a number of options before arriving at the most appropriate
e. The end result must be arrived at on the basis of an objective criteria
f. Every situation has elements within it that are negotiable.
Strategy
It is a plan or policy put forward to reach an agreement or to have a successful
outcome. A strategy, in other words, is a means to an end. Strategies are also long
term directions taken during negotiation
Negotiation Strategies
These are plans or policies focusing on a problem between two or more parties to
secure agreement. Negotiation strategies can be seen as a process of give and take
in which both parties try to leave the bargaining table with what they perceive as a
“good deal” (win-win situation) which could form the basis of a long term
relationship.
Negotiation takes place upon the commitment of two or more parties concerned to
resolve the matter and come to an agreement. An important aspect in negotiation is
the opening offer. Opening offers, as Sandra Cleary (2002) notes, should always be
pitched well away from what you would expect to receive, ask for more than what
you expect to get and offer less than what you expect to give.
1. Distributive bargaining – negotiation that seeks to divide up a fixed amount
of resources, a win or lose situation. For example, you see a used car
advertised for sale in the newspaper. It appears to be just what you have
been looking for then you go out to see the car. It is great and the owner tells
you the asking price and you don’t want to pay that much. The two of you
then negotiate over the price. The most widely cited example of distributive
bargaining is in labour- management negotiations over wages.
2. Intergrative bargaining – negotiation that seeks one or more settlements that
can create a win/win situation. In contrast it tends to provide outcomes that
satisfy all parties and that build lasting relationships.
3. Third party negotiation – a mediator is a third party/neutral party who
facilitates a negotiated solution by using reasoning, persuasion and suggest
alternatives. It is widely used in labour/management disputes and in civil
court disputes. An arbitrator is a third party to a negotiation who has
authority to dictate an agreement. A conciliator is a trusted third party who
provides an informal communication link between the negotiator and his
opponent. A consultant is a skilled and impartial third party who attempts to
facilitate problem solving through communication and analysis, aided by a
knowledge of conflict management. The consultant’s role is not to settle the
issues but rather to improve relations between the conflicting parties so that
they can reach a settlement themselves.
Factors Contributing to a successful negotiation
1. Sufficient time to prepare – carry out a research about the parties you are
going to negotiate with e.g. their strengths and weaknesses and threats as
well.
2. Clear objectives – be clear on what you seek or want to achieve.
3. Knowledge of the subject – being aware of the aspects you are going to
negotiate about.
4. Use of appropriate negotiation tactics
5. Effective communication skills – be a competent communicator avoiding
use of technical jargon.
6. Willingness to be open by both parties involved in the negotiation process
7. Mutual respect for one another.
Benefits of negotiation
-Achievement of goals or objectives by both parties since an agreement is reached
after the negotiation process.
-Creates better relationships among colleagues through interactions
-Rewarding to the organization since organizational interests are met.
-Better services for clients
Principles of negotiation
1. Principle of reversal – mostly employed by lawyers in court. It involves
taking the point of view of the opponent, (empathy or perspective taking). It
helps you to notice the fears and concerns of the opponent. It helps you to
see where agreement and compromise are possible. It is linked to
reciprocity.
2. Principle of win-win or no deal/the principle of timing – there must be
something for everyone at the end of the day. For this outcome to hold
negotiators need to be relative and proactive.
3. Principle of walkaway – may be effective if honoured but care should be
taken to leave someone behind or the route to further negotiation still open.
Do not close all channels.
4. Principle of timing – 80% of the outcome in negotiation is based on the last
20% or 20 hours of timing when negotiating. The person exerting pressure in
negotiating is the one who, usually, is under pressure to reach a settlement.
Take your time and be deliberate. Use time to your advantage.
5. Principle of authority – negotiators should show the ability to reward or hurt
the opposition. When negotiating do not appear slighted or a weakling.
There are several types of power;
a. Power of commitment
b. Knowledge of the other
c. Power of indifference – demonstrate mild boredom or disinterestedness if
possible to exert authority.
d. Power of courage – speak forcefully and fearlessly
Negotiation stages
1. Setting In –both sides familiarize themselves with each other’s position and
the climate of the negotiations.
2. Consolidation – negotiations progress to more substantive discussions,
issues and resolution of minor issues.
3. Finalization – higher priority issues are tackled. Both parties push and pull to
reach a final agreement.
4. Mapping up- writing final agreements in a language checked and approved
by both sides concludes the four stages.
LEADERSHIP
A significant factor in the success of every small group is leadership.
LEADERSHIP is any behavior that helps clarify or guide the group to achieve its
goals.
It is the ability to exert influence over others.
A leader is a person assigned or selected, or who emerges from a group, to guide or
provide direction toward reaching the group’s goals. Leadership is a role that can
only be given by the group, and a leader can lead only with the group’s permission
IDENTIFYING A LEADER
1. He/she is the centre of the group’s attention. Like a teacher in a classroom.
2. By the behaviours a person displays in guiding a group to their specific goal.
If a person communicates a direction and the group members follow that
direction to reach that goal, then that person is demonstrating leadership.
3. A leader can be identified by his/her position or title. But this method of
identification requires caution. Even though a title signifies that a person is a
nominal leader, it does not mean that he or she has leadership skills.
Leaders must help to meet two sets of tasks found in all groups;
1.) Task needs- Are related to the content of the task, including defining and
assessing the task
i