Lecture # 18

Chapter 14 – Managerial Communication

Types of Communication

Communication: exchange of messages between people to achieve common meanings.

1.Verbal communication: written or oral use of words to communicate.

2.Non-verbal communication: communication done by means of elements and behaviors that are not coded into words.

Kinesic behavior: body movements such as gestures, facial expressions, eye movements and postures.

Proxemics: influence of proximity and space on communication.

Paralanguage: vocal aspects of communication that relate to how something is said rather than to what is said.

Object language: communicative use of material things, including clothing, cosmetics, furniture and architecture.

Components of Communication Process

Sender: initiator of the message Encode: process of translating an intended

message into words and gestures. Message: encoding process outcome

consisting of verbal and non-verbal symbols developed to convey meaning to the receiver.

Medium: method used to convey the message to the intended receiver.

Receiver: person with whom the message is exchanged.

Decode: process of translating symbols into the interpreted message.

Noise: any factor in the communication process creating disturbance.

Feedback: receiver’s basic response to the interpreted message.

One-way communication: when communication process does not allow for feedback.

Two-way communication: when communication process allows for feedback.

Perceptual processes

Perception: is the process of acquiring and making sense of information.

3 main stages:

I. Selecting: filtering stimuli so only some information receives our attention.

II.Organizing: patterning of information from the selection stage.

III.Interpreting: giving meaning to the selected and organized information.

Distortions to managerial communication

Stereotyping: tendency to attribute charactertics to an individual on the basis of an assessment of the group to which they belong.

Halo effect: tendency to use a general impression based on one or a few charactertics of an individual to judge other charactertics of that same individual.

Projection: tendency of an individual to assume others share your thoughts, feelings and charactertics.

Perceptual defense: tendency to block out or distort information one finds threatening.

Attribution processes

Attribution theory: theory attempting to explain how individuals make judgments about the causes of other’s or their own behavior.

Fundamental attribution error: tendency to underestimate importance of situational influences and overestimate the importance of dispositional influences.

Self-serving bias: tendency to perceive oneself as responsible for successes and others as responsible for failures.

SemanticsSemantics: study of meanings and word choices. Semantic net: network of words and word

meanings a given individual has available for recall.

Semantic blocks: blockages or communication difficulties arising from word choices.

Cultural context

High-context cultures: culture where the emphasis is on establishing and strengthening relationships in the course of exchanging information.

Low-context cultures: culture where the emphasis is on exchanging information and is focused on building relationships.

Communication skills

Active listening: process in which a listener actively participates in attempting to grasp facts and feelings being expressed by the speaker.

Feedback

Group communication networks

Communication network: pattern of information flow among task-group members.

Centralized networks: Y network Wheel network Chain network

Decentralized networks: Circle network All-channel network

Organizational communication channels

Communication channels: patterns of organizational flow representing potential established passage through which managers and other organization members can send and receive information.

Vertical communication

Vertical communication: communication involving a message exchange between two or more levels of the organizational hierarchy.

Downward communication: vertical communication flowing from higher to lower levels in the organization.

Upward communication: vertical communication flowing from lower to higher levels in the organization.

Horizontal communication

Horizontal communication: lateral or diagonal message exchange either work-unit boundaries, involving peers reporting to the same supervisor, or across work-unit boundaries, involving individuals who report to different supervisors.

Formal Vs. Informal

Formal communication: vertical and horizontal communication which follows paths specified by the official hierarchical organization structure and related task requirements.

Informal communication or grapevine: which takes place without regard to hierarchical or task requirements.

Electronic communication Electronic mail system: mail system allowing

high-speed exchange of written messages by use of computerized text processing and networks.

Voice mail: recording system providing senders with opportunity to leave messages for receivers by telephone.

Teleconferencing: simultaneous communication among a group of individuals by telephone or via computer.

Videoconferencing: holding meetings with individuals in two or more locations by means of closed-circuit television.