© 2010 South-Western, Cengage Learning, Inc.
All rights reserved.
PowerPoint Presentation by Charlie Cook
The University of West Alabama
The Interpersonal Nature
of Organizations
• Interpersonal Dynamics
 Positive

When two parties know each other,
have mutual respect and affection,
and enjoy interacting with
one another.
 Negative

When two parties dislike one another,
do not have mutual respect, and do
not enjoy interacting with one another.
© 2010 South-Western, Cengage Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
18–2
The Interpersonal Nature
of Organizations (cont’d)
Outcomes of Interpersonal Behaviors
Satisfaction of
social needs
Social
support
© 2010 South-Western, Cengage Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
Source of
organizational
synergy
Source of
conflict
18–3
Communication and the Manager’s Job
• Communication
 The process of transmitting information from one
person to another.
• Effective Communication
 The process of sending a message in such a way that
the message received is as close in meaning as
possible to the message intended.
© 2010 South-Western, Cengage Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
18–4
The Role of Communication
in Management
Communication Roles
INTERPERSONAL
Figurehead
Leader
Liaison
INFORMATIONAL
Spokesperson
Monitor
Disseminator
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DECISIONAL
Entrepreneur
Disturbancehandler
Negotiator
18–5
The Communication Process
• Steps in the Communication Process
 Deciding to transmit a fact, idea, opinion, or other
information to the receiver.
 Encoding the meaning into a form appropriate to the
situation.
 Transmission through the appropriate channel or
medium.
 Decoding the message back into a form that has
meaning to the receiver.
 “Noise” is anything disrupting the communication
process.
© 2010 South-Western, Cengage Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
18–6
18.1 The Communication Process
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18–7
Interpersonal Communication
• Oral communication

Face-to-face conversations, group discussions, telephone
calls, and other situations in which the spoken work is used
to express meaning.
• Advantages
 Promotes prompt feedback
and interchange in the form
of verbal questions and
responses.
 Is easy to use and can be
done with little preparation.
© 2010 South-Western, Cengage Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
• Disadvantages
 Suffers from problems
with inaccuracy in
meaning and details.
 Leaves no time for
thought and consideration
and no permanent record
of what was said.
18–8
Interpersonal Communication (cont’d)
• Written Communication
 Memos, letters, reports, notes, and other methods in
which the written word is used to transmit meaning.
 Advantages



Is accurate and leaves a permanent record of the exchange.
Leaves for thought and consideration, can be referenced.
Is easy to use and can be done with little preparation.
 Disadvantages


Inhibits feedback and interchange due to burden of
the process of preparing a physical document.
Considerable delay can occur in clarifying message
meanings.
© 2010 South-Western, Cengage Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
18–9
Communication in Networks
and Work Teams
• Communication network
 The pattern through which the members of a group or
team communicate.
 Research suggests:

When the group’s task is simple and routine, centralized
networks perform with the greatest efficiency and accuracy.

When the group’s task is complex and nonroutine,
decentralized networks with open communications that foster
interaction and exchange of relevant information tend to be
most effective.
© 2010 South-Western, Cengage Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
18–10
18.2 Types of Communication Networks
2
2
3
1
4
1
5
5
1
4
5
Wheel
2
3
4
2
4
2
Circle
3
2
Y
1
2
3
1
3
5
Chain
5
4
All channel
© 2010 South-Western, Cengage Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
18–11
Management Challenge Questions
• What type of communication network is
represented by the following:
 Instant messaging
 Social networks (Facebook and MySpace)
 Text messaging
 Work blogs
 Twitter
• How can organizations use social networks to
their competitive advantage?
© 2010 South-Western, Cengage Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
18–12
Organizational Communication
• Formal Communications
 Follow the official reporting relationships between
managers and subordinates and/or prescribed
channels
 May involve several levels of the organization.
• Communication Pathways
 Upward communication
 Downward communication
 Horizontal communication
© 2010 South-Western, Cengage Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
18–13
18.3 Formal Communication in Organizations
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18–14
Communication in Organizations
• Electronic Communication
 Formal Information Systems

Accomplished (created) by either:
– A managerial approach (CIO)
– An operational approach
 Personal Electronic Technology

Corporate intranets, the Internet,
video conferences, e-mail, instant messaging

IT challenge: Dysfunctional employee behaviors

Telecommuting disadvantages: lack of face-to-face contact,
strong personal relationships, falling behind professionally,
and losing out in organizational politics.
© 2010 South-Western, Cengage Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
18–15
Communication in Organizations (cont’d)
• Informal Communications
 May or may not follow official reporting relationships
and/or prescribed organizational channels
 May have nothing to do with official organizational
business.
• Common Forms of Informal Communications
 The grapevine
 Management by wandering around
 Nonverbal communication
© 2010 South-Western, Cengage Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
18–16
18.4 Informal Communication in Organizations
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18–17
18.5 Common Grapevine Chains Found in Organizations
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18–18
Informal Personal Communications
• Nonverbal Communication
 Any communication exchange that
does not use words, or uses
words to carry more meaning
than the strict definition of
the words themselves.
 Facial expression
 Inflection and tone of voice
 Only a small portion of the
message content is due to the
words in the message.
© 2010 South-Western, Cengage Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
Words in
the message
7%
Inflection
and tone
38%
Facial
expression
55%
18–19
Informal Personal
Communications (cont’d)
Kinds of Nonverbal
Communications
Images
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Settings
Body Language
18–20
18.1 Barriers to Effective Communication
Individual Barriers
Organizational Barriers
Conflicting or inconsistent signals
Semantics
Credibility about the subject
Status or power differences
Reluctance to communicate
Different perceptions
Poor listening skills
Noise
Predispositions about the subject
Overload
Language differences
© 2010 South-Western, Cengage Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
18–21
18.2 Overcoming Barriers to Communication
Individual Skills
Organizational Skills
Develop good listening skills
Follow up
Encourage two-way communication
Regulate information flows
Be aware of language and meaning
Understand the richness of media
Maintain credibility
Be sensitive to receiver’s perspective
Be sensitive to sender’s perspective
© 2010 South-Western, Cengage Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
18–22
18.6 More and Less Effective Listening Skills
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18–23