2. © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.17
chapter
Communication
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Principles of Management
© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

3. Learning Objectives
Outline the main elements of a communication system.
Explain why it is important to match media to a message.
Discuss the formal and informal channels through which information flows in organizations.
Identify the sources of noise that lead to miscommunication within organizations.
Discuss the steps managers can take to counteract noise and improve communication within their organizations.

4. Communication
The process by which information is exchanged and understood between people
Transmitting the sender’s intended meaning is the essence of good communication
Learning Objective 1: Outline the main elements of a communication system.
See Text Page: 428

5. Managers Use Communication to:
Transmit information about their goals, strategies, expectations, management philosophy, and values
Build commitment among subordinates to their programs and policies, convince allies in their network to support them, persuade their bosses that they are performing well, and influence stakeholders
Achieve coordination between different units within an organization, such as R&D, marketing, and production
Help shape the image of themselves that they present to the world
Learning Objective 1: Outline the main elements of a communication system.
See Text Page: 428

6. Professional Business Communication Advice
Don’t interrupt – this is really looked down upon
Use meetings to get to know your co-workers
Let speakers in meetings speak freely about their needs
Americans value time, so stick to the issues on the agenda
Avoid personal confrontations
Don’t tell foreign jokes, they don’t work in translation
Learning Objective 1: Outline the main elements of a communication system.
Professional Business Communication Advice
This slide presents advice to students when communicating in a professional business environment.
Students will need to understand to adapt their communication style when at a business meeting or at a social event.
Ask the students – Have they ever been in a situation where they said or did something that was not perceived as appropriate by other individuals? Have they violated any of these advice in their communication? Explain.
Source:
Source:

7. Model of the Communication Process
Sender Receiver
Transit message
Noise
Transit feedback
Receive encoded message
Encode message
Form message
Decode message
Learning Objective 1: Outline the main elements of a communication system.
See Text Page: 429
Receive encoded feedback
Decode feedback
Form feedback
Encode feedback

8. Communication Channels
Verbal Communication
Nonverbal Communication
Learning Objective 1: Outline the main elements of a communication system.
See Text Pages:

9. Verbal Communication
Any oral or written means of transmitting meaning through words including face-to-face meetings, telephone conversations, written memos, and messages
Media richness – The volume and variety of information that a sender and receiver can transmit during a specific time
Flaming – The act of sending an emotionally charged message to others
Learning Objective 1: Outline the main elements of a communication system.
See Text Page: 430

10. Europe Heads for the E-mail
Company
Audience Reach* 5/04
Country
1. Google
36.7%
U.S.
2. MSN
35.7%
3. Microsoft.com
33.3%
4. Ebay
20.7%
5. Yahoo!
19.7%
6. Wanadoo**
13.2%
France
7. Tiscali**
10.1%
Italy
8. Lycos Europe**
9.8%
Spain
9. Amazon
9.6%
10. T-Online**
9.3%
Germany
Learning Objective 1: Outline the main elements of a communication system.
Europe Heads for the
*percent of total online population that visits the site at least once per month
1. This slide presents the market share of companies in Europe in the telecommunications industry.
2. U.S. companies are dominating the European companies in this industry in Europe. The dominance of U.S. companies will ultimately restrict European companies from becoming a web giant like Google.
3. Ask the students – What is their favorite internet company? How does their favorite internet company fair in Europe? What are some reasons for their success/lack of success in both markets?
Source: Business Week, July 12, 2004
Source: Business Week, July 12, 2004

11. Nonverbal Communication
Any part of communication that does not use words
Messages sent through human actions and behavior rather than words
Facial gestures, voice intonation, posture, physical distance, and silence
Emotional contagion – the automatic process of “catching” or sharing another person’s emotions by mimicking that person’s facial expressions and other nonverbal behavior
Learning Objective 1: Outline the main elements of a communication system.
See Text Pages:

12. Media Richness
Rich media simultaneously use multiple communication methods
Rich media such as face-to-face communication allow immediate feedback from receiver to sender, whereas feedback in lean media, such as written reports, is delayed or nonexistent
Rich media let the sender customize the message to the receiver. Most face-to-face conversations are developed specifically for one or a few people.
Learning Objective 2: Explain why it is important to match media to a message.
See Text Page: 432

13. Question
______ media allows immediate feedback, whereas feedback from _____ media is delayed or nonexistent.
Rich; lean
Routine; ambiguous
Lean; rich
Ambiguous; rich
Learning Objective 2: Explain why it is important to match media to a message.
See Text Page: 432
Answer: A

14. Matching Media to the Situation
Rich
Medium
Richness of the
Communication
Lean
Routine/ Communication situation Nonroutine/
clear ambiguous
Overload zone
Face-to-face
Video conference
Telephone
Instant massaging
Web-logs
Newsletters
Financial statement
Learning Objective 2: Explain why it is important to match media to a message.
See Text Page: 433
Oversimplified zone

15. Can We Talk? Face-to-face meetings can trump technology
The CEO of PBD Worldwide Fulfillment Services in Alpharetta, GA., launched a “no Fridays” policy
He suspected that overdependence on at PBD, which offers services like a call center management and distribution, was hurting productivity and perhaps sales
In less than four months, the simple directive has resulted in quicker problem-solving, better team-work, and best of all, happier customers.
Recent research suggests that the perils of are greater than many assume.
Learning Objective 2: Explain why it is important to match media to a message.
Can We Talk?
This slide presents a company’s initiative to improve their organization’s performance by reducing the usage of s.
The adoption of the “no Fridays” policy at PBD Worldwide Fulfillment Services is a great example of how one organization changed their corporate culture, reverted back to a lost form of communication, and reaped the benefits from their unconventional decision.
Ask the students – What form of communication do they prefer? Is this form the most effective form to convey their message?
Ask the students - What is the greatest peril of using s?
Source: Business Week
Source: Business Week, December 4, 2006

16. Writing Skills Matter
Business undergraduates facing challenge — writing mature research papers for general courses and expressing themselves clearly, confidently, and concisely for a professional audience
Only 51% of all high school students who took the college entrance exams are prepared for college-level reading, according to a report released last month by the American College Testing Program (ACT)
Strong writing skills are crucial for business majors looking to enter the corporate world.
Top of the list of recruiting companies’ desired traits: The ability to communicate
Learning Objective 2: Explain why it is important to match media to a message.
Writing Skills Matter
This slide presents the growing concern over students being unprepared to meet the challenges of the business world after graduation.
Strong writing skills are crucial to the success of students in the business world, however a majority of students have not developed the proper writing skills. B-schools are starting to integrate heavy writing courses early in a business programs to prepare students.
Ask the students – Do they think their writing skills are equivalent to that of business professionals? What steps can or should they take to improve? (Visiting the writing center on campus, seeking help of professors, taking additional coaching, etc.)
Ask the students - How important do you think writing skills is in relation to other skills?
Source: Business Week Online, April 26, 2006
Source: Business Week Online, April 26, 2006

17. Organizational Communication
Informal Communication Channels
Formal Communication Channels
Learning Objective 3: Discuss the formal and informal channels through which information flows in organizations.
See Text Pages:

18. Formal Communication
Systems of officially sanctioned channels within an organization that are used regularly to communicate information
Downward communication – occurs when information flows from higher levels within an organization hierarchy
Upward communication – occurs when information flows from lower to higher levels within an organization hierarchy
Horizontal communication – relationships between individuals
Learning Objective 3: Discuss the formal and informal channels through which information flows in organizations.
See Text Pages:

19. Informal Communication
Unofficial communication channels not formally established by managers
Personal networks – relationships between individuals
Grapevine –the spread of unsanctioned information (rumor or gossip) through personal networks
Learning Objective 3: Discuss the formal and informal channels through which information flows in organizations.
See Text Pages:

20. Communication Barriers & Breakdowns (Noise)
Language Barriers
Perceptions
Filtering
Learning Objective 4: Identify the sources of noise that lead to miscommunication within organizations.
See Text Pages:
Information Overload
Cultural Differences
Gender Differences

21. Fundamental Attribution Error
Perceptions
The process of attending to, interpreting, and organizing information
Attribution Process
Selective Perception
Stereotyping
Learning Objective 4: Identify the sources of noise that lead to miscommunication within organizations.
See Text Pages:
Fundamental Attribution Error
Self-Serving Bias
Recency Effect

22. Vague Resume Statements
The online consultant, ResumeDoctor.com, looked at 160,000 resumes and found the most common vague statements (% of resumes):
12.6 Communication skills
7.2 Team player
5.5 Interpersonal skills
4.8 Interpersonal skills
4.3 Driven
4.2 Detail-oriented
3.8 Results-oriented
3.8 Self-motivated
3.2 Problem solver
3.1 Highly motivated
Learning Objective 4: Identify the sources of noise that lead to miscommunication within organizations.
Vague Resume Statements
This slide presents the most common “vague” statements used on resumes without justifications or explanations.
For example, 12.6 percent of resumes had the phrase communication skills. Students need to learn not to use vague statements on their resume to express their abilities, because these phrases are meaningless to an employer.
Ask the students – How many of their resumes currently use these words to describe themselves? How would you re-word “communication” on a resume to have meaning to an employer? Provide a statement on what was done which is more useful.
Source: Business Week, July 12, 2004
Source: Business Week, July 12, 2004

23. Language Barriers
Jargon – technical language and acronyms as well as recognized words with specialized meaning in specific organizations or social groups
Drop-off – distortion in the content of a message as it passes through a communication system
Learning Objective 4: Identify the sources of noise that lead to miscommunication within organizations.
See Text Pages:

24. Question
In order to effectively communicate with others, you should adapt your jargon to meet the situation. Do you agree? Explain.
Learning Objective 4: Identify the sources of noise that lead to miscommunication within organizations.
Question
Students should be able to argue for this point. It is important to emphasize that in different situations, individuals may not be able to understand the same jargon as you are using, and thus will have to adapt in order to effectively convey your message.

25. Information Overload
Episodes of information overload
Employee’s information processing capacity
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Information Load
Learning Objective 4: Identify the sources of noise that lead to miscommunication within organizations.
See Text Pages: 440
Time

26. Improving Communication
Facilitate communication through workspace design
Engage in active listening
Communicate directly with employees
IMPROVING COMMUNICATION
Proactively use the grapevine
Reduce information overload
Learning Objective 5: Discuss the steps managers can take to counteract noise and improve communication within their organizations.
See Text Pages:
Match media to message
Get your message across

27. Active Listening
Sensing *Postpone evaluation *Avoid interruptions *Maintain interest
Active Listening
Learning Objective 5: Discuss the steps managers can take to counteract noise and improve communication within their organizations.
See Text Page: 444
Responding *Show interest *Clarify the message
Evaluating *Empathize *Organize information

28. Communicate Directly With Employees
Management By Walking Around
effective way to counteracting filtering, and it can teach the manager things that might not be transmitted upward through formal channels
Learning Objective 5: Discuss the steps managers can take to counteract noise and improve communication within their organizations.
See Text Page: 445