1. Management, 7e Schermerhorn Prepared by Michael K. McCuddy Valparaiso University John Wiley & Sons, Inc

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3. Schermerhorn - Chapter 173 Chapter 17 Communication and Interpersonal Skills  Planning ahead—study questions –What is the communication process? –How can communication be improved? –How does perception influence communication? –How can we deal positively with conflict? –How can we negotiate successful agreements?

4. Schermerhorn - Chapter 174 What is the communication process?  Communication is essential for … –Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships. –Listening to others. –Gaining the information needed to create an inspirational workplace. –Handling conflict. –Negotiating successfully. –Leading successfully.

5. Schermerhorn - Chapter 175 What is the communication process?  Communication – An interpersonal process of sending and receiving symbols with messages attached to them.  Key elements of the communication process: – Sender – Message – Channel – Receiver – Interpreted meaning

6. Schermerhorn - Chapter 176 What is the communication process?  Effective and efficient communication –Effective communication Occurs when the intended meaning of the sender is identical to the interpreted meaning of the receiver. –Efficient communication Occurs at a minimum resource cost. –Potential trade-offs between effectiveness and efficiency must be recognized.

7. Schermerhorn - Chapter 177 What is the communication process?  Sources of noise in communication: –Poor choice of channels –Poor written or oral expression –Failure to recognize nonverbal signals –Physical distractions –Status effects

8. Schermerhorn - Chapter 178 What is the communication process?  Poor choice of channels … –Choose the channel that works best. –Written channels work for messages that: Are simple and easy to convey. Require extensive dissemination quickly. Convey formal policy or authoritative directives. –Oral channels work best for messages that: Are complex or difficult to convey where immediate feedback is needed. Attempt to create a supportive, even inspirational, climate.

9. Schermerhorn - Chapter 179 What is the communication process?  Poor written or oral expression … –Semantic barriers occur as: Encoding errors Decoding errors Mixed messages –Managers need to speak and write clearly.

10. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1710 What is the communication process?  Guidelines for making oral presentations: –Be prepared –Set the right tone –Sequence points –Support your points –Accent the presentation –Add the right amount of polish –Check your technology –Don’t bet on the Internet –Be professional

11. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1711 What is the communication process?  Failure to recognize nonverbal signals … –Mixed messages occur when a person’s words communicate one message while his/her nonverbal signals communicate something else. –The growing use of communication technologies causes important nonverbal communication to be lost.

12. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1712 What is the communication process?  Physical distractions … –Include interruptions from telephone calls and drop-in visitors. –Can interfere with the effectiveness of a communication attempt. –Can be avoided or at least minimized through proper planning.

13. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1713 What is the communication process?  Status effects … –Occur when an organization’s hierarchy of authority creates a barrier to effective communication. –Status effects include: Filtering—the intentional distortion of information to make it appear favorable to the recipient. Subordinates acting as “yes men.”

14. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1714 How can communication be improved?  Active listening – The process of taking action to help the source of a message say what he or she really means.  Rules for active listening: –Listen for message content. –Listen for feelings. –Respond to feelings. –Note all cues, verbal and nonverbal. –Paraphrase and restate.

15. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1715 How can communication be improved?  Ten steps for good listening … –Stop talking. –Put the other person at ease. –Show that you want to listen. –Remove any potential distractions. –Empathize with the other person. –Don’t respond too quickly; be patient. –Don’t get mad; hold your temper. –Go easy on argument and criticism. –Ask questions. –Stop talking.

16. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1716 How can communication be improved?  Feedback – The process of telling others how you feel about something they did or said, or about the situation in general.  Constructive feedback guidelines: –Give it directly. –Make it specific. –Give it when the receiver is willing/able to accept it. –Make sure it is valid. –Give it in small doses.

17. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1717 How can communication be improved?  Ways to keep communication channels open … –Management by wandering around (MBWA) –Open office hours –Formal employee group meetings –Employee advisory councils –Suggestion boxes –Communication consultants –360-degree feedback

18. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1718 How can communication be improved?  Proxemics and space design … –Proxemics is the use of interpersonal space. –Interpersonal space is an important nonverbal cue. –Workspace layout is often overlooked as a form of nonverbal communication but is being increasingly recognized for its impact on communication and behavior.

19. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1719 How can communication be improved?  Technology utilization … –New information technologies facilitate communication and are growing in importance in organizations. –Computers and computer technology can: Empower lower-level workers with more and better information. Enable managers to achieve improved control and accountability. Undermine the personal side of group decision making. –Managers must be able to use information technology while maintaining good interpersonal relations.

20. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1720 How can communication be improved?  Valuing culture and diversity … –Ethnocentrism is the tendency to consider one’s culture superior to any and all others. –Ethnocentrism can cause people to: Not listen to others. Address or speak to others in ways that alienate them. Use inappropriate stereotypes in dealing with someone from another culture.

21. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1721 How does perception influence communication?  Perception … –The process through which people receive and interpret information from the environment. –People can perceive the same things or situations differently. –People behave on the basis of their perceptions.

22. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1722 How does perception influence communication?  Perception and attribution –Attribution The process of developing explanations for events. –Fundamental attribution error Occurs when observers blame another’s performance failures or problems on internal factors rather than external factors. –Self-serving bias Occurs because individuals blame their personal performance failures or problems on external factors and attribute their successes to internal factors.

23. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1723 How does perception influence communication?  Perceptual tendencies and distortions … –Stereotypes Occur when someone is identified with a group or category, and then oversimplified attributes associated with the group or category are linked back to the individual. –Halo effects Occur when one attribute is used to develop an overall impression of a person or situation.

24. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1724 How does perception influence communication?  Perceptual tendencies and distortions … –Selectivity The tendency to single out for attention those aspects of a situation or attributes of a person that reinforce or appear consistent with one’s existing beliefs, values, or needs. –Projection The assignment of personal attributes to other individuals.

25. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1725 How can we deal positively with conflict?  Conflict – A disagreement between people on: Substantive issues regarding goals, allocation of resources, distribution of rewards, policies and procedures, and job assignments. Emotional issues arising from feelings of anger, distrust, dislike, fear, and resentment, as well as personality clashes. –Conflict that is well managed can help promote high performance, creativity, and innovation.

26. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1726 How can we deal positively with conflict?  Functional conflict … – Moderately intense conflict. – Constructive and stimulates people toward greater work efforts, cooperation, and creativity.  Dysfunctional conflict … – Low-intensity and very high-intensity conflict. –Destructive and hurts task performance.

27. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1727 How can we deal positively with conflict?  Causes of conflict: –Role ambiguities –Resource scarcities –Task interdependencies –Competing objectives –Structural differentiation –Unresolved prior conflicts

28. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1728 How can we deal positively with conflict?  Structural approaches for resolving conflicts: –Appealing to superordinate goals. –Making more resources available to everyone. –Replacing or transferring one or more of the conflicting parties. –Altering the physical environment.

29. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1729 How can we deal positively with conflict?  Integrative devices for resolving conflicts: –Using liaison personnel, special task forces, cross-functional teams, or a matrix organization to change interaction patterns. –Changing reward systems. –Using policies and procedures to direct behavior. –Training people in interpersonal skills.

30. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1730 How can we deal positively with conflict?  Conflict management styles –People’s conflict management styles reflect different combinations of assertive and cooperative behavior. Assertiveness is the desire to satisfy your own needs and concerns. Cooperativeness is the desire to satisfy the other party’s needs and concerns.

31. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1731 How can we deal positively with conflict?  Conflict management styles: –Avoidance Uncooperative and unassertive –Accommodation (smoothing) Cooperative and assertive –Competition (authoritative command) Uncooperative and assertive –Compromise Moderately cooperative and assertive –Collaboration (problem solving) Cooperative and assertive

32. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1732 How can we deal positively with conflict?  Conflict management styles: –Lose-lose conflict Management by avoidance or accommodation –Win-lose conflict Management by competition and compromise –Win-win conflict Management by collaboration

33. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1733 How can we negotiate successful agreements?  Negotiation is the process of making joint decisions when the parties involved have different preferences.  All negotiation situations are susceptible to conflict and require exceptional communication skills.

34. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1734 How can we negotiate successful agreements?  Negotiation goals and approaches –Substance goals Concerned with outcomes Tied to the “content” issues of negotiation –Relationship goals Concerned with processes Tied to the way people work together –Effective negotiations occur when … Issues of substance are resolved. Working relationships are maintained or improved.

35. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1735 How can we negotiate successful agreements?  Criteria for effective negotiation: –Quality Negotiating a “wise” agreement that is truly satisfactory to all sides. –Cost Negotiating efficiently, using minimum resources and time. –Harmony Negotiating in a way that fosters interpersonal relationships.

36. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1736 How can we negotiate successful agreements?  Types of negotiation: –Distributive negotiation … Focuses on claims made by each party. Leads to win-lose outcomes. –Principled (or integrative) negotiation … Goal is to base the outcome on the merits of individual claims. Leads to win-win outcomes.

37. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1737 How can we negotiate successful agreements?  Gaining integrative agreements: –Separate the people from the problem. –Focus on interests, not on positions. –Generate many alternatives before deciding what to do. –Insist that results are based on some objective standard.

38. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1738 How can we negotiate successful agreements?  Common negotiation pitfalls: –Falling prey to the myth of the “fixed pie.” –Nonrational escalation of conflict. –Overconfidence and ignoring other’s needs. –Too much “telling” and too little “hearing.”

39. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1739 How can we negotiate successful agreements?  Approaches to avoiding negotiation pitfalls: – Mediation Involves a neutral third party who tries to improve communication among negotiating parties and keep them focused on relevant issues. – Arbitration Involves a neutral third party who acts as a judge and issues a binding decision.

40. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1740 How can we negotiate successful agreements?  Approaches to avoiding negotiation pitfalls: – Alternative dispute resolution Utilizes mediation and/or arbitration but only after direct attempts to negotiate agreements among conflicting parties have failed. Often uses an ombudsperson as a neutral third party.

41. Schermerhorn - Chapter 1741 How can we negotiate successful agreements?  Ethical issues in negotiation … –High ethical standards should be maintained. –Profit motive and the competitive desire to win sometimes lead to unethical behavior. –Unethical negotiating behavior can lead to short-term gains but long-term losses.