Chapter 12
MANAGERIAL
COMMUNICATION
AND INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
11-1
Learning Objectives
You should learn to:
1,Define communication and explain why it is
important to managers.
2,Explain the interpersonal communication process
3,Tell how nonverbal communication affects managers
4,Explain the barriers to effective interpersonal
communication and how to overcome them
5,Contrast the different organizational communication
flows and networks
6, Discuss how information technology affects
communication
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Understanding Managerial Communication
1,Define communication and explain why it is important to
managers.
Communication: the transfer and understanding of meaning,
if information hasn’t been conveyed, communication has
not occurred.
Importance: --everything that a manager does involves
communicating
--effective communication does not equal agreement
--ineffective communication is the basis for many
managerial problems
– interpersonal communication - occurs between
people
– organizational communication - all the patterns,
networks, and systems of communication in an
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organization
2,Process Of Interpersonal Communication
Elements of the Process
– message - expresses the purpose of the communication
– encoding编码 - converting the message into symbolic form
将信息转化为信号形式
• affected by the skills, attitudes, and knowledge of the
sender, and by the culture of the organization
– channel - medium for conveying the message
– decoding - retranslating symbols into a message
• affected by personal characteristics of the receiver
– noise - disturbances that interfere with the transmission,
receipt, or feedback of a message
• message itself and channel can distort communications
• feedback also subject to same sources of noise反馈信息也面临
失真的问题
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The Interpersonal Communication Process
Message
Medium
Encoding
Receiver
Decoding
Noise
Sender
Message
Feedback
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3,Methods of Communicating Interpersonally
nonverbal communication - communication
without words
• types
– body language - gestures, facial expressions,
and other body movements that convey
meaning
– verbal intonation - emphasis someone gives to
words or phrases that conveys meaning
• every oral communication is accompanied by a
nonverbal message
• nonverbal component usually carries the greatest
impact
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Facial Expressions Convey Emotions
11-7
4,Explain the barriers to effective interpersonal
communication and how to overcome them
1)Filtering过滤- the deliberate manipulation操纵of information to
make it appear more favorable to the receiver
• upward communication is condensed浓缩by senders to
avoid information overload by top-level receivers
• extent of filtering affected by:
– the number of vertical levels in the organization
– culture of the organization
2)Selective Perception选择性理解 - what people see and hear
influenced by their attitudes, background, and experience
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Process Of Interpersonal Communication (cont.)
Barriers to Effective Interpersonal
Communication (cont.)
3)Emotions - interpretation of a message
affected by the way the receiver feels
• extreme emotions likely to hinder
effective communication
4)Information Overload - information
available exceeds processing capacity
• frequent complaint of executives经理人员
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Barriers to Effective Communication (cont.)
5)Defensiveness防卫- behaviors that result from feeling
threatened感到受到威胁时做出的行为
• hinders effective communication
6)Language - meaning of words differs among people
with diverse backgrounds
• jargon行话- specialized terminology used by a group
• even those who speak the same language may use
it quite differently
7)National Culture - cultural values affect the way
people communicate
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Overcoming the Barriers to Effective Interpersonal
Communication
1）Use Feedback - ask a set of questions about a message
to determine whether it was understood as intended故意地
ask receivers to restate the message in their own words
2）Simplify Language简化用语 - tailor the language to the
audience for whom the message is intended
• jargon can facilitate understanding when used in
appropriate groups
3）Listen Actively - listen for full meaning
• restrain premature judgments or interpretations
• enhanced by developing empathy with sender
发展对信息发送者的共鸣
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Active Listening Behaviors
Avoid interrupting
the speaker
Be empathetic
(put your feeling)
Make eye
contact
Paraphrase
Don’t overtalk
Avoid distracting
actions or
Gestures
避免分心的举动或手势
Active
Listening
Ask questions
Exhibit affirmative
head nods and
appropriate
facial expressions
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Overcoming Communication Barriers (cont.)
4）Constrain Emotions – when emotions
despair , distort the transference of meaning
• refrain from 制止communicating until one
regains her/his composure暂停进一步的沟通直至恢复平静
5）Watch Nonverbal Cues注意非言语提示 - actions
should be aligned with words
• nonverbal message should reinforce verbal
message
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5,Contrast the different organizational communication flows
and networks
Formal Communication
– communication that follows the official chain of
command or is communication required to do one’s
job
– takes place within prescribed organizational work
arrangements发生于组织中既定的工作安排场合的沟通
Informal Communication
– not defined by the organization’s structural hierarchy
– fulfills two purposes
• permits employees to satisfy their needs for social
interaction
• creates alternative, and frequently faster and more
efficient, channels of communication
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Organizational Communication (cont.)
Direction of Communication Flow
– Downward下行沟通 - flows from a manager to
subordinates
• used to inform, direct, coordinate, and evaluate
employees
– Upward上行沟通 - flows from subordinates to managers
• keeps managers aware of employees’ feelings
• source for ideas on improving operations
• degree of upward communication affected by the
culture of the organization
– trust and empowerment increase upward flow
– mechanistic and authoritarian environment
decrease upward flow
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Organizational Communication (cont.)
Direction of Communication Flow (cont.)
– Diagonal斜向沟通 - cuts沟通across both work
areas and organizational levels
• benefits efficiency and speed有益于效率和速度
• e-mail facilitates diagonal communication
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Organizational Communication Networks
Organizational Communication Networks
– combination of vertical and horizontal flows into a
variety of patterns
– Types of Networks
• chain链式 - communication flows according to the
formal chain of command
• wheel轮式- flows between a clearly identifiable
and strong leader and others in a work group or
team
• all-channel全通道式 - flows freely among all
members of a work team
– no single network is best for all situations
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Three Common Organizations Communication
Networks and How They Rate on Effectiveness Criteria
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Organizational Communication (cont.)
grapevine小道消息- an informal network that is
important in almost every organization
• important source of information
• identifies issues that employees consider
important and anxiety producing
• can use the grapevine to disseminate传播
important information
• grapevine cannot be abolished杜绝
–rumors谣言can never be eliminated
entirely
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6, How Technology Affects Managerial Communication
– information technology has changed organizational
communication
• disseminates more complete information
• provides more opportunities for collaboration
• employees are fully accessible可联系的
– Networked Computer Systems - linking computers
through compatible hardware and software
• e-mail - instantaneous transmission of written
messages书面信息的瞬间传递方式
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Networked Computer Systems - (cont.)
• instant messaging (IM)即时信息 - interactive realtime communication互动的实时沟通
– requires groups to be logged on the computer
network at the same time
– leaves network open to security breaches.(打破)
开放性带来了网络安全问题
– IM software is currently incompatible with
important business applications software
– 即时信息软件与重要的商业应用软件并不兼容
• voice-mail - digitizes a spoken message
– transmits message over the network
– stores the message for later retrieval使用
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Networked Computer Systems (cont.)
• Fax - allows transmission of documents
containing both text and graphics over ordinary
telephone lines
• Electronic data interchange (EDI) - permits
the exchange of standard business transaction
documents
• Teleconferencing - permits simultaneous
conferral授予 using telephone or e-mail group
communications software
– videoconferencing可视会议 - participants can
see each other
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Networked Computer Systems (cont.)
• Intranet - Internet technology that links
organizational employees
• Extranet - Internet technology that links an
organization with customers and suppliers
• Internet-based voice communication - allows
users to talk with each other
– Wireless Capabilities无线通信技术 - depends on signals
sent through space without any physical connection
物质连接
• based on microwave signals, satellites, radio
waves, or infrared light rays红外线
– communications among organizational members are
no longer constrained by geography or time
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