Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Chapter 1 Acetates
© 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
1
Chapter 1
COMMUNICATING IN TODAY’S
WORKPLACE
Building Career Success
Strong communication skills are
● Necessary for hiring
● Top skill set sought by employers
● Essential for effective job performance
● Critical for promotion
● More important now as result of technology
● Learned through instruction and practice
Thriving as Knowledge Worker
In today’s Information Age, you can expect to
● Work with words, figures, data
● Think critically
● Make decisions
● Take charge of your career
● Continue learning throughout your lifetime
Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Chapter 1 Acetates
© 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
Sharpening Your Skills for
Critical Thinking, Problem
Solving, and Decision Making
When faced with a problem,
1. Identify and clarify the problem.
2. Gather information.
3. Evaluate the evidence.
4. Consider alternatives and implications.
5. Choose the best alternative and test it.
Factors Affecting You
in Today’s Workplace
● Heightened global competition
● Flattened management hierarchies
● Expanded team-based management
● Innovative communication technologies
● New work environments
● Increasingly diverse workforce
2
Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Chapter 1 Acetates
© 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
The Communication Process
Basic Model
3
Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Chapter 1 Acetates
© 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
4
The Communication Process
Expanded Model
Understanding
Shaped by
Organizational
Barriers
Other
Barriers
Communication
climate
Context and setting
Background,
experience
Knowledge, mood
Values, beliefs, culture
Closed climate
Top-heavy structure
Lack of trust
Rivalry, competition
Turf wars
Fear of reprisal
Limited frame of
reference
Bypassing
Lack of communication
skills
Emotional interference
Discussion: Do the roles of sender and receiver remain constant? In what parts of the
communication process are barriers working? Can communicators reasonably expect
100 percent success in communication? How can they improve their chances of success?
Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Chapter 1 Acetates
© 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
Obstacles That Create
Misunderstanding
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Bypassing
Differing frames of reference
Lack of language skills
Lack of listening skills
Emotional interference
Physical distractions
Behaviors That Overcome
the Obstacles
● Realize that communication
is imperfect.
● Adapt the message to the
receiver.
● Improve your language and
listening skills.
● Question your preconceptions.
● Encourage feedback.
5
Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Chapter 1 Acetates
© 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
6
Organizational Communication
● Functions:
● New emphasis:
● Forms:
Internal and external
Interactive, mobile, and
instant communication
Oral and written
Flow of Information
Formal Channels
● Downward Flow
Job plans, policies, instructions, procedures.
Flows from decision makers down to workers.
● Upward Flow
Feedback, progress, problems, suggestions.
Flows from employees up to decision makers.
● Horizontal Flow
Shared information to coordinate tasks, solve
problems, resolve conflict
Flows sideways among workers at same level.
Informal Channels
The grapevine; carries unofficial messages.
Flows haphazardly.
Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Chapter 1 Acetates
© 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
Obstacles to the Flow
of Organizational Information
● Lack of trust, turf wars, fear of reprisal
● Uneven reward systems
● Closed communication climate
● Top-heavy organizational structure
● Long lines of communication
● Filtering, prejudice, ego involvement
● Poor communication skills
7
Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Chapter 1 Acetates
© 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
8
Miscommunication
in Product Evolvement
Discussion: What interpersonal and organizational communication barriers were working
here? Consider bypassing, frames of reference of receivers and senders, language and
listening skills, organizational structure (long lines of communication, filtering, and other
barriers.
Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Chapter 1 Acetates
© 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
9
Message Distortion
Downward Communication
Through Five Levels of Management
Discussion: How is it possible for so much of a message to be lost when traveling through
an organization?
Filtering takes place. Messages are leveled (details are lost), condensed (facts are
simplified), sharpened (selected details are highlighted), assimilated (confusions are
clarified and interpreted), and embellished (details are added).
Source: Adapted with permission from Communicating for Results, 7e, Cheryl Hamilton.
© 2005 Wordsworth, Inc.
Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Chapter 1 Acetates
© 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
10
Surmounting Obstacles
to Effective Communication
● Encourage open, trusting environment for
interaction and feedback.
● Flatten the organizational structure.
● Provide more information through formal
channels.
● Train managers and employees to improve
communication skills.
● Establish hotline and ombudsman programs.
● Implement equitable reward system for individual
and team achievements.
● Encourage full participation in teams.
Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Chapter 1 Acetates
© 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
11
What Is Ethical Behavior?
Doing the right thing given the circumstances.
Five Common Ethical Traps
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The false-necessity trap
Convincing yourself that no other choice exists
●
The doctrine-of-relative-filth trap
Comparing your unethical behavior with
someone else’s even more unethical behavior
●
The rationalization trap
Justifying unethical actions with excuses
●
The self-deception trap
Persuading yourself, for example, that a lie
is not really a lie
●
The ends-justify-the-means trap
Using unethical methods to accomplish a
desirable goal
Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 6e
Chapter 1 Acetates
© 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
12
Goals of Ethical
Business Communicators
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Abide by the law.
Tell the truth.
Label opinions.
Be objective.
Communicate clearly.
Use inclusive language.
Give credit.
Tools for Doing the Right Thing
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Is the action you are considering legal?
How would you see the problem if you were on
the opposite side?
What are alternate solutions?
Can you discuss the problem with someone you
trust?
How would you feel if your family, friends,
employer, or coworkers learned of your
action?