Management

The Nature and Function of Communication

•Define communication, interpersonal communication
and organizational communication
•Discuss the functions of communication.
Methods of Interpersonal Communication
•Describe the components of the communication
process.
• Discuss the criteria that managers can use to
evaluate
the various communication methods.
•List the communication methods managers might use.
Effective Interpersonal Communication
• Explain the barriers to effective interpersonal
• Discuss ways to overcome the barriers to effective
interpersonal communication.
Organizational Communication
• Contrast formal and informal communication.
• Explain communication flow in an organization.
• Describe the three common communication
networks.
• Discuss how managers should handle the grapevine.
Information Technology and Communication
•Describe how technology affects managerial
communication.
•Explain how information technology affects organizations.
Communication Issues In Today’s Organization
•Discuss the challenges of managing communication in an
Internet world.
•Explain how organizations can manage knowledge.
•Explain why communicating with customers is an
important managerial issue.
•Explain how political correctness is affecting
communication.
*Communication
*The transfer and understanding of meaning.
*Transfer means the message was received in a form that
can be interpreted by the receiver.
*Understanding the message is not the same as the
receiver agreeing with the message.
*Interpersonal Communication
*Communication between two or more people
*Organizational Communication
*All the patterns, network, and systems of
communications within an organization
 Control Motivation

Functions of
Communication

Emotional
Information
Expression
*Emotional Expression
*Social interaction in the form of work
group communications provides a way
for employees to express themselves.
*Information
*Individuals and work groups need
information to make decisions or to do
their work.
*Message
*Source: sender’s intended meaning
*Encoding
*The message converted to symbolic form
*Channel
*The medium through which the message travels
*Decoding
*The receiver’s retranslation of the message
*Noise
*Disturbances that interfere with communications
* Message Encoding
* The effect of the skills, attitudes, and knowledge of the sender on
the process of encoding the message
* The social-cultural system of the sender
* The Message
* Symbols used to convey the message’s meaning
* The content of the message itself
* The choice of message format
* Noise interfering with the message
* The Channel
* The sender’s choice of the appropriate channel or multiple
channels for conveying the message
* Receiver
* The effect of skills, attitudes, and knowledge of the receiver on
the process of decoding the message
* The social-cultural system of the receiver
* Feedback Loop
* Communication channel distortions affecting the return
message from receiver to sender
*Face-to-face *Hotlines
*Telephone *E-mail
*Group meetings *Computer conferencing
*Formal presentations *Voice mail
*Memos *Teleconferences
*Traditional Mail *Videoconferences
*Fax machines
*Employee publications
*Bulletin boards
*Audio- and videotapes
* Feedback * Time-space constraint
* Complexity capacity * Cost
* Breadth potential * Interpersonal warmth
* Confidentiality * Formality
* Encoding ease * Scanability
* Decoding ease * Time consumption
* Nonverbal Communication
* Communication that is transmitted without words.
* Sounds with specific meanings or warnings
* Images that control or encourage behaviors
* Situational behaviors that convey meanings
* Clothing and physical surroundings that imply status
* Body language: gestures, facial expressions, and other body
movements that convey meaning.
* Verbal intonation: emphasis that a speaker gives to certain
words or phrases that conveys meaning.
 Filtering
National
Culture Emotions

Language Interpersonal Information

Communication Overload

Defensiveness
*Filtering
*The deliberate manipulation of information to make
it appear more favorable to the receiver.
*Emotions
*Disregarding rational and objective thinking
processes and substituting emotional judgments
when interpreting messages.
*Information Overload
*Being confronted with a quantity of information that
exceeds an individual’s capacity to process it.
*Defensiveness
*When threatened, reacting in a way that reduces the
ability to achieve mutual understanding.
*Language
*The different meanings of and specialized ways
(jargon) in which senders use words can cause
receivers to misinterpret their messages.
*National Culture
*Culture influences the form, formality, openness,
patterns, and use of information in communications.
 * Use Feedback
* Simplify Language
* Listen Actively
*Constrain Emotions
*Watch Nonverbal Cues
Source: Based on P.L. Hunsaker, Training in Management
Skills (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001).
*Formal Communication
*Communication that follows the official chain of
command or is part of the communication required to do
one’s job.
*Informal Communication
*Communication that is not defined by the organization’s
structural hierarchy.
*Permits employees to satisfy their need for social
interaction.
*Can improve an organization’s performance by
creating faster and more effective channels of
communication.
 nal
o
iag
D
U D
p o
w Lateral w
a n
w
r a
d r
d
*Downward
*Communications that flow from managers to
employees to inform, direct, coordinate, and
evaluate employees.
*Upward
*Communications that flow from employees up
to managers to keep them aware of employee
needs and how things can be improved to
create a climate of trust and respect.
*Lateral (Horizontal) Communication
*Communication that takes place among
employees on the same level in the
organization to save time and facilitate
coordination.
*Diagonal Communication
*Communication that cuts across both work
areas and organizational levels in the interest
of efficiency and speed.
* Chain Network
* Communication flows according to the formal chain of
command, both upward and downward.
* Wheel Network
* All communication flows in and out through the group leader
(hub) to others in the group.
* All-Channel Network
* Communications flow freely among all members of the work
team.
* An informal organizational communication
network that is active in almost every
organization.
* Provides a channel for issues not suitable for
formal communication channels.
* The impact of information passed along the
grapevine can be countered by open and honest
communication with employees.
*communication *body language
*interpersonal *verbal intonation
communication *filtering
*organizational *selective perception
communication
*information overload
*message
*jargon
*encoding
*active listening
*channel
*formal communication
*decoding
*informal communication
*communication process
*downward
*noise communication
*nonverbal communication *upward communication
*lateral communication *teleconferencing
*diagonal communication *videoconferencing
*communication networks *Web conferencing
*grapevine *intranet
*e-mail *extranet
*instant messaging (IM)
*communities of practice
*blog
*wiki
*voicemail
*fax
*electronic data
interchange (EDI)