Robbins et al., Fundamentals of Management, 4th Canadian Edition ©2005 Pearson Education Canada, Inc. 1 Chapter 3 Communication and Interpersonal Skills

Robbins et al., Fundamentals of Management, 4th Canadian Edition ©2005 Pearson Education Canada, Inc. 2 What is Communication? It is the transfer and understanding of meaning To be successful, the meaning of what a person wants to convey must be understood

The Communication Process (Exhibit 3-1) Sender MessageMediumReceiver Encoding Noise Feedback Message Decoding Robbins et al., Fundamentals of Management, 4th Canadian Edition ©2005 Pearson Education Canada, Inc. FOM 3.7 Source: Management, Seventh Canadian Edition, by Stephen P. Robbins, Mary Coulter, and Robin Stuart-Kotze, page 239. Copyright © Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Robbins et al., Fundamentals of Management, 4th Canadian Edition ©2005 Pearson Education Canada, Inc. 4 Barriers to Effective Communication Filtering - the deliberate manipulation of information to make it appear more favorable to the receiver Selective Perception - what people see and hear influenced by their attitudes, background, and experience (continued)

Robbins et al., Fundamentals of Management, 4th Canadian Edition ©2005 Pearson Education Canada, Inc. 5 Barriers to Effective Communication (continued) Information Overload - information available exceeds processing capacity Emotions - interpretation of a message affected by the way the receiver feels (continued)

Robbins et al., Fundamentals of Management, 4th Canadian Edition ©2005 Pearson Education Canada, Inc. 6 Barriers to Effective Communication (continued) Language - meaning of words differs among people with diverse backgrounds jargon - specialized terminology used by a group Gender - interpretation of a message affected by a person’s gender National Culture - cultural values affect the way people communicate

Robbins et al., Fundamentals of Management, 4th Canadian Edition ©2005 Pearson Education Canada, Inc. 7 Overcoming Communication Barriers Use Feedback - ask a set of questions about a message to determine whether it was understood as intended Simplify Language - tailor the language to the audience for whom the message is intended Listen Actively - listen for full meaning (continued)

Robbins et al., Fundamentals of Management, 4th Canadian Edition ©2005 Pearson Education Canada, Inc. 8 Overcoming Communication Barriers (continued) Constrain emotions - stop communicating until composure has been restored Emphasize non-verbal cues - ensure that actions align with words

Robbins et al., Fundamentals of Management, 4th Canadian Edition ©2005 Pearson Education Canada, Inc. 9 Communications and Information Technology Information technology has changed organizational communication Communications among organizational members are no longer constrained by geography or time

Active Listening Behaviours Paraphrase Don’t overtalk Be empathetic Make eye contact Exhibit affirmative head nods and appropriate facial expressions Active Listening Avoid distracting actions or gestures Avoid interrupting the speaker Ask questions © Prentice Hall, 2002 FOM 3.16 Robbins et al., Fundamentals of Management, 4th Canadian Edition ©2005 Pearson Education Canada, Inc.

Robbins et al., Fundamentals of Management, 4th Canadian Edition ©2005 Pearson Education Canada, Inc. 11 Conflict Management Conflict must be PERCEIVED to exist Exists when one person (party) PERCEIVES that another person (party) has deliberately blocked (or about to block) their goals A process that begins when one party perceives that another party has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect something that the first party cares about (continued)

Robbins et al., Fundamentals of Management, 4th Canadian Edition ©2005 Pearson Education Canada, Inc. 12 Conflict Management (continued) Is a struggle or contest Can be functional or dysfunctional Happens whenever people work, play or live together

Conflict-Handling Styles UncooperativeCooperative Cooperativeness Assertiveness Unassertive Assertive Forcing Resolving conflicts by satisfying one’s own needs at the expense of another’s Avoiding Resolving conflicts by withdrawing from or suppressing them Collaborating Rewarding conflict by seeking an advantageous solution for all parties Compromising Resolving conflict by each party giving up something of value Accommodating Resolving conflicts by placing another’s needs and concerns above your own Robbins et al., Fundamentals of Management, 4th Canadian Edition ©2005 Pearson Education Canada, Inc. FOM 3.32

Robbins et al., Fundamentals of Management, 4th Canadian Edition ©2005 Pearson Education Canada, Inc. 14 Negotiation Skills DISTRIBUTIVE Zero-sum Any gain is at the expense of the other party Aggressive Win-lose INTEGRATIVE Long-term relationships Shared information Flexibility Open and honest Win-win

Robbins et al., Fundamentals of Management, 4th Canadian Edition ©2005 Pearson Education Canada, Inc. 15 Effective Negotiation Skills Research the other party Begin with a positive overture Address problems Little attention to first offers Focus on win-win Be open to accepting help from others

Robbins et al., Fundamentals of Management, 4th Canadian Edition ©2005 Pearson Education Canada, Inc. 16 Presentation Skills Prepare Opening comments Points Conclusion Questions