Chapter 13
Communication Processes
Learning Goals
• Explain the basic communication processes
of organizations
• Understand the effects of verbal and
nonverbal communication
• Distinguish between the functions and
dysfunctions of organizational
communication
Learning Goals (Cont.)
• Discuss the features of listening, especially
of active listening
• Describe ways to make communication
processes more effective
• Understand the effects of new technology
on communication
• Describe communication networks and the
roles that can emerge within a network
Overview
•
•
•
•
Introduction
The Basic Communication Process
Types of Communication
Functions of Organizational
Communication
• Dysfunctions of Organizational
Communication
• Listening
Overview (Cont.)
• Active Listening
• Improving Communication Effectiveness in
Organizations
• Technology and communication
• Communication Roles in Organizations
• Communication Networks
• International Aspects of Communication
• Ethical Issues in Communication
Introduction
“The word communication will be used here
in a very broad sense to include all of the
procedures by which one mind may affect
another. This, of course, involves not only
written and oral speech, but also music, the
pictorial arts, the theatre, the ballet, and in
fact all human behavior.”
View of communication
Introduction (Cont.)
• Quotation from opening of a classic work
describing an early communication theory
• Heart of the definition is in the first
sentence
• Communication in organizations tries to
affect behavior of at least one other person
Introduction (Cont.)
• Organizational communication
– Purpose, flow, and direction of messages and
media used for those messages
– Another view of behavior in organizations
– “Message behavior”: sending, receiving, and
giving meaning to messages
Introduction (Cont.)
• Organizational communication
(cont.)
– Happens over a pathway called a network
– Formal: defined by formal organizational
positions; relationships among those positions
– Informal: patterns of informal social
interaction; informal groups in the organization
Introduction (Cont.)
• Organizational communication
(cont.)
– Communication in any direction: downward,
upward, horizontal
– Communication networks: interdependent,
interlocking, overlapping systems of interaction
The Basic
Communication Process
• Sender
– Decides what message to send
– Encodes it using symbols he or she assumes the
receiver will understand
– Converts message to a signal
– Sends message over communication channel to
receiver
See text book Figure 13.1
The Basic
Communication Process (Cont.)
• Communication channel
–
–
–
–
Person's voice
Electronic device
Written medium
Video medium
The Basic
Communication Process (Cont.)
• Receiver
– Decodes message and interprets its meaning
– Responds to message by acting in a manner
consistent with that interpretation
The Basic
Communication Process (Cont.)
• Communication media
–
–
–
–
–
–
Telephone
E-mail
Letter or memorandum
Videoconference
Face-to-face meeting
Internet chat rooms
The Basic
Communication Process (Cont.)
• Choosing medium
– Written media for formality and a clear
message
– Face-to-face meeting to convey a sense of
teamwork
– E-mail use is largely based on availability and
ease of use to the receiver
The Basic
Communication Process (Cont.)
• Feedback loop
– Interdependence between sender and receiver
during communication process
– Sender interprets the receiver’s response
– Can send an additional message for clarification
The Basic
Communication Process (Cont.)
• Noise: distortions, errors, and foreign
material often affect the quality of the signal
• Additions to the signal not intended by the
sender
• Surrounds entire communication process
• Can make communication less effective
• Diversity, domestic and international, adds
additional noise
Types of Communication
• Verbal communication: oral, written,
electronic, video
• Nonverbal communication: eye
movements, gestures, facial expressions
– Adds much of the feeling and emotion that a
sender wants to give to a message
– Often has more effect than verbal on the
meaning receivers give a message
Types of Communication (Cont.)
• Verbal communication
– Oral communication
• All forms of speech between a sender and receiver
• Leaves no permanent, retrievable record of the
message and response unless recorded
• More effective than written when trying to affect
receiver's opinion on some matter
• Nonverbal communication can affect the final
interpretation of the message
Types of Communication (Cont.)
• Verbal communication (cont.)
– American Sign Language (ASL)
• Uses patterns of hand and finger movements for
communication
• Includes facial expressions and body movements to
express emotions and distinguish sentence types
• Country and regional differences in signing systems
Types of Communication (Cont.)
• Verbal communication (cont.)
– Written communication
• Any form of handwriting, printed memo, or report
• Includes messages sent over an electronic medium
• Receiver's response is more delayed in written than
in oral communication
• Receiver must first read the message before
interpreting and responding to it
Types of Communication (Cont.)
• Verbal communication (cont.)
– Written communication (Cont.)
• Advantages over oral communication
– Retrievable
– Almost permanent
– Comprehension is better because of rereading
Types of Communication (Cont.)
• Verbal communication (cont.)
– Electronic or video communication
• Electronic and video communication becoming
more important
• E-mail, computer networks, fax machines, computer
conferencing, videoconferencing
• All now available as desktop systems
Types of Communication (Cont.)
• Verbal communication (cont.)
– Electronic or video communication (cont.)
• Advantages
– High speed transmission and reception
– Accurate transmission of a message
– Easy dispersal of the same message to people in
scattered locations
– Direct interaction and quick feedback
Types of Communication (Cont.)
• Nonverbal communication
– Behavior that communicates but does not use
written or spoken words
•
•
•
•
•
•
Gestures
Posture
Seating position
Pitch of voice
Speed of speech
Physical environment . . .
Types of Communication (Cont.)
• Nonverbal communication (cont.)
– Combine verbal and nonverbal communication
– Create unique communication style, often
unknowingly
– Can contradict, amplify, or complement verbal
communication
Types of Communication (Cont.)
• Nonverbal communication (cont.)
– Physical aspects of the person
•
•
•
•
•
Voice: speed, fluency, references to self
Facial expressions: smile, frown
Gestures: hand movements
Body movements: distance
Posture: leaning forward
Types of Communication (Cont.)
• Nonverbal communication (cont.)
– Physical environment of communication
• All aspects of using space, including distance
between sender and receiver (proxemics)
– North America: 5 1/2 to 8 feet between speakers
– Latin America: closer than North America
See the “International Aspects”
section for more information.
Types of Communication (Cont.)
• Nonverbal communication (cont.)
– Time
• Orientation to and meaning of time
– North America: punctual
– Latin America: less punctual
– Swiss: precisely punctual
– Arab cultures: last person to arrive is the most
important
See the “International Aspects”
section for more information.
Types of Communication (Cont.)
• Nonverbal communication (cont.)
– Communication with signs and signals
• Turn signals on motor vehicles, traffic control
signals, caution flags of highway workers
• Hand signals for guiding aircraft
• Special situation: landing on an aircraft carrier
Functions of Organizational
Communication
• Share information
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–
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Mission
Strategies
Policies
Tasks, duties, responsibilities
Both inside and outside the organization
Functions of Organizational
Communication (Cont.)
• Feedback about performance
– Reduces uncertainty
– Integration and coordination of various
functions
– Especially important in global operations
Functions of Organizational
Communication (Cont.)
• Persuasion
– Affecting the behavior of others
– Often the focus of improvement in
communication skills
– Related to business presentations
• Emotional expression: let employees
express their feelings
• Innovation. Communicate innovations to
those inside and outside the organization
Dysfunctions of Organizational
Communication
• Selective perception
– Receiver filters a message and then gives
meaning to it
– Block out information a receiver does not want
to hear
• Semantic problems
– Different people have different meanings for
words
• “Good,” “average,” “Do your best”
• Jargon: “burden”, “metrology”
Dysfunctions of Organizational
Communication (Cont.)
• Distortion of messages: different frames
of reference because of background
• Filter messages
– Intentional: sender is concerned about
receiver’s reaction
– Unintentional: sender does not fully know
what she or he wants to say
Dysfunctions of Organizational
Communication (Cont.)
• Information overload
– Too much information to process accurately
– Related to time available
• Message timing
– Too short of time
– Too early
Listening
• Different from hearing
• Hearing is a physiological process of
detecting and processing sounds
• Listening: mental process of assigning
meaning to sounds
• Communication professionals view it as a
primary skill for success
• People spend about 50 percent of their time
listening
Listening (Cont.)
• Intrapersonal and interpersonal activities
– Person receives message from another person
(interpersonal)
– Tries to interpret it (intrapersonal)
– Responds to other person to show meaning
given to message (interpersonal)
Active Listening
• Listener is responsible for the completeness
of a speaker's message
• Listener's role is not passive
– Absorbing spoken message
– Deriving meaning from it
• Accurately hear facts in message
• Understand speaker's feelings about
message
Active Listening (Cont.)
• Deliberate effort to understand a message
from speaker's viewpoint
• Meaning of message includes both content
and speaker’s feelings
• Listener attends to all verbal and nonverbal
cues
• Listener may ask questions for clarification
• Listener may rephrase speaker’s message
Improving
Communication Effectiveness
• Sender
– Understand receiver’s background
•
•
•
•
Culture
Education
Social status
Professional or technical training
Improving
Communication Effectiveness
(Cont.)
• Sender (cont.)
– Avoid jargon
– Knowledge of receiver helps sender form
messages with content that communicates
– Take special care when communicating with
people from other cultures
– Applies to oral communication, written
communication, and nonverbal communication
Improving
Communication Effectiveness
(Cont.)
• Sender (cont.)
– Ask for oral or written feedback to a message
– Gives sender observations on receiver's
perception and interpretation of message
– Formal training
• Improve written and oral communication
• Improve sender's effectiveness
Improving
Communication Effectiveness
(Cont.)
• Receiver
– Knowing and understanding sender
– Ask sender for clarification of jargon
– Receiver's knowledge of self
• Using jargon introduces noise
• Can distort messages received
Improving
Communication Effectiveness
(Cont.)
• Receiver (cont.)
– Receiver's perceptual process: alters sender’s
meaning of messages
– Ask sender to clarify message
– State understanding of message; sender can
react to that interpretation
Improving
Communication Effectiveness
(Cont.)
• Message
– Simple concise messages
– Language shared by sender and receiver
– Problem: jargon, in-group language, foreign
language
Simple concise sentences, in language shared by the
sender and receiver, are more effective than long
complex messages riddled with jargon.
Improving
Communication Effectiveness
(Cont.)
• Message (Cont.)
– Electronic message systems lack nonverbal
communication
– Emoticons ("smileys") add feelings and
emotions to text messages
Improving
Communication Effectiveness
(Cont.)
• Medium
– Little noise for effective communication
– Multiple channels
• Written memo follows an oral message
• Meet with receiver to discuss memo
Improving
Communication Effectiveness
(Cont.)
• Medium (Cont.)
– People perceive high-contrast objects faster
than low-contrast objects (see Chapter 5)
– Introduce high contrast into messages by using
paper or ink of different colors than normal
– Change the setting in which an oral message is
sent
Technology and Communication
• Major changes from fiber optics and new
satellites
• Digital cellular telephone: easy
communication around the world
• Wireless facsimile devices and modems
• Laptop or notepad computers with digital
cellular facsimile devices and modems
• Unprecedented flexibility and mobility of
communication
Technology and Communication
(Cont.)
• Distributed computing
• Digital technology and data on a network
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Text
Images
Audio
Video
Numeric
Technology and Communication
(Cont.)
• Satellites, fiber optics, Internet, personal
computers
– High-speed connections among networks
– Global operations: move all forms of
information quickly to distant places
– Internet commerce
Technology and Communication
(Cont.)
• Satellites, fiber optics, Internet, Personal
computers (cont.)
– Students in different countries interact to
complete course work
– Transmit almost any media
– Lessen effects of time zone differences
Technology and Communication
(Cont.)
• Videoconferencing
– Face-to-face communication over almost any
distance
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•
•
•
See each other
Speak to each other
Show graphic images
Send documents
– Substitutes for traveling to distant sites for
meetings
Technology and Communication
(Cont.)
• Desktop videoconferencing
– Two-way video and audio interaction
– Window on each person's computer screen lets
them see each other
– Text or graphics show on screen
– Interact to revise material for an upcoming joint
business presentation
Technology and Communication
(Cont.)
• Multimedia personal computers
– Manage information media of any form
– Computer features
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•
•
•
Scanners
Sound boards
Presentation software
CD-ROMs
– Animation software
– Make large audience communication more
dramatic than in past
Communication Roles
in Organizations
• Initiators: start communications; send
more messages than they receive or pass on
• Relayers: receive and pass on more
messages than they start or end
• Liaison
– Connects two parts of an organization; not a
member of either part
– Helps coordinate organizational functions
– Can hinder message flow if they become
bottlenecks
Communication Roles in
Organizations (Cont.)
• Passive communication roles
– Terminators
• At end of a communication network
• Mainly receive messages
• Infrequently send or relay messages to others
• Isolates
– Usually outside normal communication process
– Send, receive, or relay only a few messages
Communication Networks
• Structured communication system in
organizations
• Formal organizational design defines some
networks
• Informal social interaction defines others
• All communication forms: face-to-face,
electronic media, video media
Communication Networks
(Cont.)
• Pair-wise communication: Oral or written
communication between two people
– Each person in a pair focuses attention on the
other party
– Direction: top-down, bottom-up, lateral
Communication Networks
(Cont.)
• Small group communication
– Three or more people interacting
– Face-to-face or widely dispersed
– Occurs within departments, work units, teams,
informal groups
– Communication interaction rotates among
members; a structured or a random pattern
– Within a centralized or a decentralized network
Communication Networks
(Cont.)
• Centralized communication
– Single person is a key figure in sending and
receiving messages
– Only one or a few parts of the network get
information
– Faster and fewer errors when solving simple
problems
– Less effective with complex problems
Communication Networks
(Cont.)
• Decentralized communication
– Freely flowing communication
– Spread potential to get information throughout
the network
– No person in network depends exclusively on
anyone else
– Faster and more accurate with complex
problems than with simple problems
– Process more messages
– Higher satisfaction among network members
Communication Networks
(Cont.)
• Large audience communication
– Get a message from one person or a few people
to many people
– Sender designs message before sending it
– Usually sent continuously with no interruption
from audience
– Examples: department meetings, briefing
sessions, training programs
International Aspects of
Organizational Communication
• Nonverbal communication: a major role
across cultures
– Distance between people
• North Americans: stand 5 1/2 to 8 feet apart
• Latin American cultures: people stand much closer
– Reactions
• Latin American moves close to the North American
• North American backs away
• Latin American might perceive the North American
as cold and distant
International Aspects of
Organizational Communication
(Cont.)
• Time orientation
– Latin Americans view time more casually than
North Americans
– Swiss strongly emphasize promptness in
keeping appointments
– Egyptians usually do not look to the future
International Aspects of
Organizational Communication
(Cont.)
• Time orientation (cont.)
– South Asians view the long term as centuries
– Sioux Indians of the United States do not have
words for "time" or "wait" in their native
language
– Potential misunderstandings are large
Ethical Issues in
Organizational Communication
• Communication processes and an
organization's ethical image
• Internal and external
– Internal processes
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•
•
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Newsletters
Satellite television broadcasts
Direct mailings
Bulletin boards
Ethical Issues in Organizational
Communication (Cont.)
• Communication processes and an
organization's ethical image (cont)
– External processes
• Annual reports
• Press releases
• Public statements by executives
• What does the organization say and not say
about ethical behavior?
• Organization’s ethical image
Ethical Issues in Organizational
Communication (Cont.)
• Manage external impressions
– Offering own accounts of behavior that
protesters say was unethical
– Communication in any form designed to affect
the perception of others
– Tries to make the organization, or individual
members, look more ethical than charged
Ethical Issues in Organizational
Communication (Cont.)
• Disclosure to employees, customers,
suppliers, community
– Does the organization have an ethical
obligation to reveal negative information about
its plans to employees?
– How much should an organization tell its
customers or clients about product safety?
– Should an organization tell its suppliers how it
chooses among them?
Ethical Issues in Organizational
Communication (Cont.)
• Communication privacy
– Do employees have the right to private
communications in the work setting?
– Existing software lets network managers and
senior managers read employees' E-mail
• Do people's privacy rights extend to
computer surveillance?