IE 001
Engineering Man-
agement
Communication
and
Information Technology
COMMUNICATION
INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1. Define the nature & function of communi-
cation.
2. Compare & contrast the methods of
interpersonal communication.
3. Explain the barriers to effective interper-
sonal communication and how to over-
come them.
4. Explain how communication can flow most
effectively in organizations.
5. Explain how communication can flow most
effectively in organizations.
6. Discuss contemporary issues in communi-
cation.
COMMUNICATION
What is Communication?
- the transfer and understanding of meaning.
● Interpersonal communication:
- Communication between two or more
people.
● Organizational communication
- All the patterns, network, and systems of
communications within an organi-
zation.
COMMUNICATION
Functions of Communication:
1. Control
- Formal & informal communications act to control
individuals’ behaviors in organizations.
2. Motivation
- Communications clarify for employees what is to
be done, how well they have done it, and what can
be done to improve performance.
3. Emotional Expression
- Social interaction in the form of work group
communications provides a way for employees
to express themselves.
4. Information
- Individuals and work groups need information to
make decisions or to do their work.
COMMUNICATION
The Interpersonal Communication
Process:
COMMUNICATION
Seven (7) Elements of the Communica-
tion Process:
1. Communication source or sender
2. Message – the purpose to be conveyed,
sender’s intended meaning
3. Encoding – message converted to symbolic
form
4. Channel – medium thru which the mes-
sage travels.
5. Decoding – receiver’s retranslation of the
message.
6. Receiver
7. Feedback
COMMUNICATION
Evaluating Communication Meth-
ods:
1. Feedback How quickly can the receiver
respond to the message?
2. Complexity capacity Can the method
effectively process complex messages?
3. Breadth potential How many different
messages can be transmitted using this
method?
4. Confidentiality Can communicators be
reasonably sure their messages are re-
ceived only by those for whom they’re in-
tended?
5. Encoding ease Can the sender easily and
COMMUNICATION
6. Decoding ease Can the receiver easily
and quickly decode messages?
7. Time–space constraint Do senders & re-
ceivers need to communicate at the same
time and in the same space?
8. Cost How much does it cost to use this
method?
9. Interpersonal warmth How well does this
method convey interpersonal warmth?
10.Formality Does this method have the
needed amount of formality?
COMMUNICATION
11.Scanability Does this method allow the
message to be easily browsed or
scanned for relevant information?
12.Time of consumption Does the sender or
receiver exercise the most control over
when the message is dealt with?
COMMUNICATION
Interpersonal Communication
Methods:
COMMUNICATION
Comparison of Interpersonal Communication
Methods:
COMMUNICATION
Non-Verbal Communication:
- Communication that is transmitted without
words.
● sounds, images
● situational behaviors
● clothing & physical surroundings
- The most common type of non-verbal
comm:
● Body language - gestures, facial expres-
sions, and other body movements that
convey meaning.
● Verbal intonation (paralinguistics) - em-
phasis that a speaker gives to certain
words or phrases that conveys mean-
COMMUNICATION
Interpersonal Communication Barriers:
COMMUNICATION
Barriers to Effective Interpersonal
Communication:
1. Filtering – is the deliberate manipulation of
information to make it appear more
favorable to the receiver.
2. Emotions - disregarding rational and objec-
tive thinking processes and substituting
emotional judgments when interpreting
messages.
3. Information Overload - being confronted
with a quantity of information that ex-
ceeds an individual’s capacity to
process it.
COMMUNICATION
4. Selective Perception - individuals interpret
“reality” based on their own needs,
motivations, experience, background, and
other personal characteristics.
5. Defensiveness - when threatened, reacting
in a way that reduces the ability to achieve
mutual understanding.
6. Language - the different meanings of and
specialized ways (jargon) in which
senders use words can cause receivers to
misinterpret their messages.
COMMUNICATION
7. National Culture - culture influences the
form, formality, openness, patterns, and
use of information in communica-
tions.
COMMUNICATION
Overcoming the Barriers to Effective In-
terpersonal Communication:
COMMUNICATION
Active Listening Behaviors:
COMMUNICATION
Types of Organizational Communica-
tion:
1. Formal Communication
- Communication that follows the official
chain of command or is part of the com-
munication required to do one’s job.
2. Informal Communication
- Communication that is not defined by the
organization’s 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.
COMMUNICATION
Direction of Communication Flow:
1. Downward
- Communications that flow from man-
agers to employees to inform, direct, co-
ordinate, and evaluate employees.
2. Upward
- Communications that flow from employ-
ees up to managers to keep them aware
of employee needs and how things
can be improved to create a cli-
mate of trust and respect.
COMMUNICATION
3. Lateral (Horizontal) Communication
- Communication that takes place among
employees on the same level in
the organization to save time and fa-
cilitate coordination.
4. Diagonal Communication
- Communication that cuts across both
work areas and organizational levels in the
interest of efficiency and speed.
COMMUNICATION
Types of Communication Network:
1. Chain Network
- Communication flows according
to the formal chain of command,
both upward and down-
ward.
2. Wheel Network
- All communication flows in and
out through the group leader
(hub) to others in the group.
3. All-Channel Network
- Communication flows freely among all
members of the work team.
COMMUNICATION
Organizational Communication Networks
and How They Rate on Effectiveness Cri-
teria:
COMMUNICATION
The Grapevine:
- An informal organizational communication
network that is active in almost
every organization.
● Provides a channel for issues not suit-
able for formal communication channels.
● The impact of information passed along
the grapevine can be countered by open
and honest communication with employees.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Benefits of Information Technology
(IT)
1. Increased ability to monitor individual and
team performance.
2. Better decision making based on more
complete information.
3. More collaboration and
sharing of information
4. Greater accessibility
to co-workers.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Networked Computer Systems:
- Linking individual computers to create an
organizational network for com-
munication and information sharing.
● E-mail
● Instant messaging
● Voice-mail and fax
● Electronic data exchange (EDI)
● Teleconferencing and
videoconferencing
●Intranets and extranets
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Tips for Sending Emails:
1. Always use the subject line.
2. Be careful using emoticons and acronyms
for business communication.
3. Write clearly and briefly.
4. Copy e-mails to others only if they really
need the information.
5. Sleep on angry e-mails before sending.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Types of Network Systems
1. Intranet - an internal network that uses In-
ternet technology and is accessible only to
employees.
2. Extranet - an internal network that uses In-
ternet technology and allows authorized
users inside the organization to communi-
cate with certain outsiders, such as cus-
tomers and vendors.
3. Wireless capabilities - wireless communi-
cation depends on signals sent through air
or space without any physical connection,
using things such as microwave signals,
satellites, radio waves and radio antennas,
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
How IT Affects Organizations:
1. Removes the constraints of time and dis-
tance
– Allows widely dispersed employees to
work together.
2. Provides for the sharing of information
– Increases effectiveness and efficiency
3. Integrates decision making and work
– Provides more complete information and
participation for better decisions
4. Creates problems of constant accessibility
to employees
– Blurs the line between work and per-
sonal lives
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Ethical Concerns for E-mail and
Voice-mail Use:
1. Not necessarily private
- Employer has access to them.
2. Many private sector employees are not
covered by privacy legislation.
3. Managers need to clearly convey:
- Whether communications will be moni-
tored
- Company policies on personal Internet
and e-mail use
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Current Communication Issues:
1. Being Connected Versus Being Concerned
- Managing Internet gripe sites is a valu-
able resource for unique insights into the
organization
● Employee complaints (“hot-button” issues)
● Customer complaints
- Responding to Internet gripe sites
● Recognize them as a valuable source of infor-
mation
● Post messages that clarify misinformation
● Take action to correct problems noted on the
site
● Set up an internal gripe site
● Continue to monitor the public gripe site
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
2. Managing the Organization’s Knowledge
Resources
- Build on-line information databases that
employees can access
- Create “communities of practice” for
groups of people who share a concern,
share expertise, and interact with each other
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Communication & Customer Ser-
vice:
Communicating Effectively with Customers
- Recognize the three components of the
customer service delivery
process:
● The customer
● The service organization
● The service provider
- Develop a strong service culture
focused on the personalization
of service to each customer
● Listen and respond to the customer
● Provide access to needed service infor-
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
“Politically Correct” Communica-
tion:
- Do not use words or phrases that
stereotype, intimidate, or offend
individuals based on their differ-
ences
- Choose words carefully to maintain
as much clarity as possible in
communications
