Lecture Organizational behavior - Chapter 11: Power and politics

Chapter 11
Communication

Communicating for 
relationships and results


Chapter 11 Study
Questions

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What Is Communication?
What are Barriers to Effective Communication?
What Is the Nature of Communication in
Organizational Contexts?
What Is the Nature of Communication in
Relational Contexts?
Why is Feedback So Important?

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What is communication?


Communication
• A process of sending and receiving

messages with attached meanings.

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Figure 11.1 The Communication
Process

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What is communication?
Sender 
• A person or group trying to communicate with

someone else.

Encoding
• The process of translating an idea or though into a

message consisting of verbal, written, or nonverbal
symbols or some combination of them.

Communication Channels
• The pathways through which messages are

communicated.

Receiver
• Decodes the message into a perceived meaning.
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What is communication?

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What is communication?


Feedback 
• Communicates how one feels about something
that another person has done or said.

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What is communication?

Potential barriers to feedback in the workplace
Noise

•


Anything that interferes with the effectiveness of
communication.

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

What are Barriers to
Effective
Nonverbal communication
Communication?
• Takes place through facial expressions, body
position, eye contact, and other physical
gestures.
 Presence - the act of speaking without using
words.

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Figure 11.2 Furniture Placement and
Nonverbal Communication in the
Office

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What are the barriers to effective
communication?


Interpersonal barriers 

• Occur when individuals are not able to

objectively listen to the sender due to things
such as lack of trust, personality clashes, a
bad reputation, or stereotypes/prejudices.
 Selective listening – Individuals block out
information or only hear things that match
preconceived notions.
 Filter – Convey only parts of the
information (e.g., not to tell the “whole”

truth).
 Avoidance – Occurs when individuals ignore
or deny a problem rather than confront it.
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What are the barriers to
effective communication?



Physical distractions

• Another barrier that can interfere the

effectiveness of the communication
process.

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What are the barriers to
effective communication?


Semantic barriers

• Involves a poor choice or use of words

and mixed messages.
• Use the KISS principle of communication.
 “Keep it short and simple.”

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

What are Barriers to
Effective
Communication?
Cultural Barriers
• Ethnocentrism – the tendency to believe

one’s culture and its values are superior
to those of others.
• Parochialism – assumes that the ways of
your culture are the only ways of doing
things.

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What are Barriers to Effective
Communication?
Cross­Cultural Communication
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

Low – content cultures - message are expressed
mainly by the spoken and written word.
High – content cultures – words convey only part of
message while the rest of the message must be
inferred from body language and additional
contextual cues.

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What are Barriers to
Effective Communication?



Ethnocentrism

• The tendency to believe that one’s culture and

its values are superior to those of others.
• Cross-cultural communication challenges:
 Language differences

 Use of gestures


Parochialism
 The ways of your culture are the only ways of
doing things.

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What are Barriers to
Effective Communication?

Low­context cultures

• Members are very explicit in using the spoken

and written word.

High­context cultures
• Use words to convey only a limited part of the

message.
• The rest must be inferred or interpreted from
the context.

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What is the Nature of
Communication in
Organizational Contexts?


Formal channels
• Follow the chain of command established by an

organization’s hierarchy of authority.


Informal channels
• Do not adhere to the organization’s hierarchy of

authority.

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What is the Nature of
Communication in
Organizational Contexts?


Grapevine

• A network of friendships and

acquaintances through which rumors and
other unofficial information get passed
from person to person.

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What is the Nature of
Communication in
Organizational Contexts?


Channel richness
• The capacity of a communication

channel to convey information.

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Figure 11.3 Richness of
Communication Channels

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What is the Nature of
Communication in Organizational
Contexts?
Communication Flows
• Downward communication­ Follows the chain of
command from top to bottom.

• Lateral communication­ The flow of messages at the
same levels across organizations.

• Organizational ­Silos Unites that are isolated from one
another by strong departmental or divisional lines.



Upward Communication­ Differences between persons of

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higher and lower ranks.

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What is the Nature of
Communication in

Organizational Contexts?
Voice and Silence
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Voice
•



Involves speaking up to share ideas,
information, suggestions and concerns upward
in organizations. Confronting situations rather
than remaining silent.

Silence
•

Occurs when employees choose not to share
input that could be valuable.

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What is the Nature of
Communication in Relational
Contexts?


Relationships are a particular type of connection between
people who have dealings with one another.



Relationship Development 
• Relational Testing the process through which individuals make

disclosures and form opinions or attributions about the other
based on the disclosures.
• Disclosure an opening up or revelation to another of

something about oneself.
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What is the Nature of
Communication in Relational
Contexts?
Relationship Maintenance
 Relational Violation is a violation of the


“boundary” of acceptable behavior in a
relationship.
Relational Repair involves actions to return
the relationship to a positive state.

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