Organizational

Behavior

Chapter 11 15th Global Edition

Robbins and Judge

Communication

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 Chapter 11 Learning Objectives

After studying this chapter you should be able to:

1. Identify the main functions of communication.

2. Describe the communication process and distinguish between formal and

informal communication.

3. Contrast downward, upward, and lateral communication, and provide examples of each.

4. Contrast oral, written, and nonverbal communication.

5. Analyze the advantages and challenges of electronic communication.

6. Show how channel richness underlies the choice of communication channel.

7. Differentiate between automatic and controlled processing of persuasive messages.

8. Identify common barriers to effective communication.

9. Show how to overcome the potential problems in cross-cultural communication.

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 Identify the main functions
LO 1 of communication

 Functions of Communication
 Control
 Motivation
 Emotional Expression
 Information

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 Identify the main functions
LO 1 of communication

 Control - Organizations have authority

hierarchies
 Formal guidelines that employees are required
to follow.
 Informal communication also controls behavior.
 When work groups tease or harass a
member who produces too much, they are
informally communicating with, and
controlling, the member’s behavior.
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 Identify the main functions
LO 1 of communication

 Motivation
 Clarifies to employees what is to be done, how
well they are doing, and what can be done to
improve performance.
 The formation of specific goals, feedback on
progress toward the goals, and reinforcement
of desired behavior all stimulate motivation
and require communication.

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 Identify the main functions
LO 1 of communication

 Emotional Expression
 Provides a release for the emotional
expression of feelings and for fulfillment of
social needs.
 For many employees, their work group is a
primary source for social interaction.

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 Identify the main functions
LO 1 of communication

 Information
 Communication facilitates decision-making.
 It provides information by transmitting the data
to identify and evaluate optional choices.

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 Describe the communication process and
LO 2 distinguish between formal and
informal communication

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 Contrast downward, upward, and
LO 3 lateral communication,
and provide examples of each

 Downward Communication
 Flows from one level to a lower level.
 Purpose is to assign goals, provide
instructions, communicate policies and
procedures, provide feedback.
 Downward communicationmust explain the
reasons why a decision was made.
 It has a one-way nature.

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 Contrast downward, upward, and
LO 3 lateral communication,
and provide examples of each

 Upward Communication
 Flows to a higher level.
 Provide feedback to higher-ups, inform them of
progress, and relay current problems.
 To engage in effective upward communication.
 Try to reduce distractions.
 Communicate in headlines, not paragraphs.
 Prepare an agenda to make sure you use your
boss’s attention well.

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 Contrast downward, upward, and
LO 3 lateral communication,
and provide examples of each

 Lateral Communication
 When communication takes place among
members of the same work group, among
members of work groups at the same level,
among managers at the same level, or among
any horizontally equivalent personnel,
horizontal communications are often
necessary to save time and facilitate
coordination.

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 Contrast oral, written, and
LO 4 nonverbal communication

 Oral Communication
 The chief means of conveying messages.
Speeches, formal one-on-one and group
discussions, and informal rumor mill or
grapevine are popular forms of oral
communication.
 Advantages are speed and feedback.
 A disadvantage arises when the message
must be passed through a number of
peopleproducing distortion.
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 Contrast oral, written, and
LO 4 nonverbal communication

 Written Communication
 Include memos, letters, electronic mail, faxes,
periodicals, bulletin boards.
 Advantages include that they are tangible and
verifiable.
 Drawbacks include: time-consuming, lack of
feedback, and no guarantee of receipt.

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 Contrast oral, written, and
LO 4 nonverbal communication

 Nonverbal Communication
 We cannot NOT communicate nonverbally
 It includes body movements, the intonations or
emphasis we give to words, facial expressions,
and the physical distance between the sender
and receiver.

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 Contrast oral, written, and
LO 4 nonverbal communication

 Every body movement has meaning, and no

movement is accidental.
 We act out our state of being with body language.

 Most important messages body language are:

 the extent to which we like another and are
interested in his or her views.
 the perceived status between a sender and
receiver.
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 Contrast oral, written, and
LO 4 nonverbal communication

 We’re more likely to position ourselves closer to

people we like and touch them more often.
 A body position or movement can communicate
something of the emotion behind a message,
but when it is linked with spoken language, it
gives fuller meaning to a sender’s message.
 There is no record of nonverbal communication.

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 Contrast oral, written, and
LO 4 nonverbal communication

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 Contrast oral, written, and
LO 4 nonverbal communication

 Physical distance also has meaning.

 What is considered proper spacing between
people largely depends on cultural norms.
 A businesslike distance in some European
countries feels intimate in many parts of North
America.
 Distance may indicate aggressiveness or
sexual interest or it may signal disinterest or
displeasure with what is being said.
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 Contrast oral, written, and
LO 4 nonverbal communication

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 Contrast oral, written, and
LO 4 nonverbal communication

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 Contrast oral, written, and
LO 4 nonverbal communication

 The Grapevine
 A recent survey found that 75 percent of
employees hear about matters first through
rumors on the grapevine.
 A recent report shows that grapevine or word-
of-mouth information from peers about a
company has important effects on whether job
applicants join an organization.

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 Contrast oral, written, and
LO 4 nonverbal communication

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 Analyze the advantages and challenges of
LO 5 electronic communication

 Electronic Communication
 An indispensible–and in about 71 percent of
cases, the primary–medium of communication.
 Includes e-mail, text messaging, networking
software, bogs, and video conferencing.

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 Analyze the advantages and challenges of
LO 5 electronic communication

 E-mail
 Transmits and receives text and documents.
 Growth has been significant.
 Advantages to e-mail usage.
 Quickly written, edited, and stored.
 Distributed to one person or thousands.
 Recipients can read them at their own
convenience.
 Cost is a fraction of other methods.
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 Analyze the advantages and challenges of
LO 5 electronic communication

 Drawbacks to e-mail usage.

 Misinterpreting the message.
 Communicating negative messages.
 Time-consuming nature of e-mail.
 Limited expression of emotions.
 Privacy concerns.

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 Analyze the advantages and challenges of
LO 5 electronic communication

 Instant Messaging and Text Messaging

 Like e-mail, instant messaging (IM) and text
messaging (TM) use electronic media.
 Unlike e-mail, though, IM and TM either occur
in real time (IM) or use portable
communication devices (TM).
 The growth of TM has been spectacular.
 Despite their advantages, IM and TM aren’t
going to replace e-mail.
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 Analyze the advantages and challenges of
LO 5 electronic communication

 Social Networking
 Nowhere has communication been more
transformed than in networking.
 More than 600 million users have created
accounts at Facebook.
 The research and advisory firm Gartner Inc.
estimates that social networking will soon
replace e-mail as the primary form of business
communication for 20 percent or more of
business users.
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 Analyze the advantages and challenges of
LO 5 electronic communication

 Blogs
 A blog (Web log) is a Web site about a single
person or company.
 Twitter is a hybrid social networking service
that allows users to post “microblog” entries to
their subscribers about any topic, including
work.

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 Analyze the advantages and challenges of
LO 5 electronic communication

 Video Conferencing
 Video conferencing permits employees in an
organization to have meetings with people at
different locations.
 Video conferencing technology, in effect,
allows employees to conduct
interactive meetings without the necessity of
being physically in the same location.

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 Show how channel richness underlies
LO 6 the choice of communication channel

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 Differentiate between automatic and controlled
LO 6 processing of persuasive messages

 Automatic processing
 Arelatively superficial consideration of
evidence and information.
 It takes little time and low effort.
 Disadvantage
 It lets us be easily fooled by a variety of
tricks, like a cute jingle or glamorous
photo.

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 Differentiate between automatic and controlled
LO 6 processing of persuasive messages

 Controlled processing
 You do independent research among experts
who know something about the subject, gather
information about prices from a variety of
sources, and consider the costs and benefits
of renting versus buying.
 Controlled processing requires effort and
energy, but it’s harder to fool someone who
has taken the time and effort to engage in it.

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 Identify common barriers to
LO 8 effective communication

 Barriers to Effective Communication

 Filtering
 Selective Perception
 Information Overload

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 Identify common barriers to
LO 8 effective communication

 Barriers to Effective Communication

 Emotions
 Language
 Silence

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 Identify common barriers to
LO 8 effective communication

 Barriers to Effective Communication

 Communication Apprehension
 Lying

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 Show how to overcome the potential
LO 9 problems in cross-cultural communication

 Cultural Barriers:
 Caused by semantics. Words mean different
things to different people. Some words do not
translate between cultures.
 Caused by word connotations. Words imply
different things in different languages.
 Caused by tone differences.
 Caused by differences in tolerance for conflict
and methods for resolving conflicts.
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 Show how to overcome the potential
LO 9 problems in cross-cultural communication

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 Show how to overcome the potential
LO 9 problems in cross-cultural communication

 A Cultural Guide
 Assume differences until similarity is proven.
 Emphasize description rather than
interpretation or evaluation.
 Practice empathy. Put yourself in the
recipient’s shoes.
 Treat your interpretations as a working
hypothesis.

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 Summary and Implications for Managers

 Remember
 Uncertainty
 Distortion
 Ambiguity
 Incongruities
 Automatic vs Controlled
 Barriers to Communication

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of America.

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