Topic: Communication

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Topic Communication
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Communication
A model of the communication process Source
Encoding Message Decoding Receiver
Medium
Feedback
Feedback - two-way communication vs. one-way
communication
NOTE efficient communication effective
communication
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Barriers to communication

• Filtering (status effects)
• Selective perception
• Emotions
• Language
• Non-verbal cues
• Gender (see earlier class notes)

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Media Richness

• Multiple cues simultaneously
• Rapid feedback
• Establish a personal focus

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Channels Available

• letter
• e-mail
• telephone
• teleconferencing
• voicemail
• face-to-face

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Highest
Physical presence
(face-to-face) Media
Interactive
media Richness
(phone, EM)
Personalized static

media (memos,
letters, tailored
computer
reports)
Impersonal static
media (flyers, bulleting)
Lowest
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Message Type Non-Routine
Routine - greater
potential
- simple, straightforward for
misunderstanding
rational, logical - often characterized
by (e.g.,
verifying assignments time pressure, ambiguity,
from
meeting) surprise - typified by novel events
(no common frame of reference for sender
receiver) - interpretation more susceptible to
personal feelings subjective beliefs (e.g.,
working out personality conflict between 2 VPs)
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Channel Influence

• Medium used for sending receiving affects
  meaning of the message.
• Medium can affect the effectiveness of
  communication

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Media Sensitivity

• Effective managers are more media sensitive
• Of managers classified as media sensitive 87
  rated as good performers
• Of managers classified as media insensitive 47
  rated as good performers
• Must choose media that has the capacity to engage
  both sender receiver in mutual understanding of
  message.

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Feedback A specific type of communication

• Information about a persons behavior
• Necessary for learning
• Positive and negative

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• Positive feedback
• Tells the person what he/she is doing right
• Praise, recognition
• Negative feedback
• Identifies areas of improvement
• Provides information on how to improve

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Guidelines for Providing Feedback

• Focus on specific behavior
• Keep it descriptive
• Keep it goal-oriented
• Make it well-timed
• Ensure understanding
• Keep amount limited
• Make sure behavior is controllable
• NOTE connection to reinforcement theory

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Negative Feedback

• Two questions before providing negative feedback
• Is negative feedback the best way to improve
  performance?
• Are you giving negative feedback in order to
  improve performance?

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Three necessary elements for negative feedback

• Employee must understand
• Specific
• Descriptive
• Direct
• Check for understanding
• Employee must be able to accept the feedback
• Trust
• Descriptive
• Timing
• Amount

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• Employee must be able to do something about it
• Identify desired action
• How can these desired actions be achieved
• Employees perspective
• Constraints
• Evaluate/Select alternative
• Determine a review or monitoring system

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A couple final thoughts on feedback

• Managers are generally reluctant to give negative
  feedback (reluctance vs. role demands)
• Very negative events
• Lower level negative events
• Employee solicited feedback

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Receiver Effective Listening

• Intensity
• Empathy
• Acceptance
• Responsibility

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Effective Listening

• be motivated
• eye contact
• show interest
• avoid distracting actions
• empathy
• whole picture
• ask questions

• paraphrase
• dont interrupt
• integrate
• dont overtalk
• confront your biases
• smooth transitions
• be natural