Organizational Behavior

Updated Eighteenth Edition, Global Edition

Chapter 4
Communication

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Learning Objectives
Describe the functions and process of communication.
Understand Channels of Communication
Identify Barriers in Effective Communication
Improve Interpersonal and Organizational Communication

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 3

Introduction
• Communication is the glue that holds organizations together.
• Communication assists organizational members to develop
long-range strategic plans, respond to changes in the
organizational environment, manage internal talent, and
engage in virtually all organizationally relevant behaviors.
• Improving our ability to communicate effectively should be a
top priority.

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The Importance of Communication
• Communication helps organizations.
– Accomplish individual and organizational goals.
– Implement and respond to organizational change.
– Coordinate activities.
– Engage in virtually all organizational relevant behaviors.

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4
Describe the Functions and Process
of Communication (1 of 7)
• Communication serves five major functions within a
group or organization:
– Management
– Feedback
– Emotional sharing
– Persuasion
– Information exchange

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Describe the Functions and Process
of Communication (2 of 7)
• Communication acts to manage member behavior in
several ways.
– Authority hierarchies and formal guidelines.
– Job descriptions and company policies.
– Workgroup teasing or harassing.

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Describe the Functions and Process
of Communication (3 of 7)
• Communication creates feedback by clarifying to
employees what they must do, how well they are doing it,
and how they can improve their performance.
– Formation of goals, feedback on progress, and reward
for desired behavior all require communication and
stimulate motivation.

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Describe the Functions and Process
of Communication (4 of 7)
• Communication within the group is a fundamental
mechanism by which members show satisfaction and
frustration.
• Communication, therefore, provides for the emotional
sharing of feelings and fulfillment of social needs.

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Describe the Functions and Process
of Communication (5 of 7)
• Like emotional sharing, persuasion can be good or bad
depending on if, say, a leader is trying to persuade a
workgroup to believe in the organization’s commitment to
corporate social responsibility (CSR) or to, conversely,
persuade the workgroup to break the law to meet an
organizational goal.
• Persuasion can benefit or harm an organization.

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Describe the Functions and Process
of Communication (6 of 7)
• The final function of communication is information
exchange to facilitate decision making.
– Communication provides the information individuals
and groups need to make decisions by transmitting
the data needed to identify and evaluate choices.

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Contrast Downward, Upward,
and Lateral Communication (1 of 7)
• Downward communication: flows from one level to a
lower level.
– Assign goals, provide instructions, communicate
policies and procedures, and provide feedback.
– Downward communication must explain the reasons
why a decision was made.
– One problem is the one-way nature of downward
communication.

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Contrast Downward, Upward,
and Lateral Communication (2 of 7)
• Upward communication: flows to a higher level in the
group or organization.
– Provide feedback to higher-ups, inform them of
progress, and relay current problems.
 Communicate in headlines, not paragraphs.
 Support your headlines with actionable items.
 Prepare an agenda to make sure you use your
boss’s attention well.

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Contrast Downward, Upward,
and Lateral Communication (3 of 7)
• Lateral communication: takes place among members of
the same work group, among members of work groups at
the same level, among managers at the same level, or
among any horizontally equivalent personnel.
– Often necessary to save time and facilitate coordination.
 May be formally sanctioned.
 Can create dysfunctional conflicts.

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Contrast Downward, Upward,
and Lateral Communication (4 of 7)
Exhibit 12-2 Three Common Small-Group Networks

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Contrast Downward, Upward,
and Lateral Communication (6 of 7)
• The informal communication network in a group or
organization is called the grapevine.
– It gives managers a feel for the morale of their
organization, identifies issues employees consider
important, and helps tap into employee anxieties.

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Contrast Oral, Written, and Nonverbal
Communication (1 of 7)
• Oral Communication
– The primary means of conveying messages. Speeches,
formal one-on-one and group discussions, and informal
rumor mills or grapevines are popular forms of oral
communication.
 Meetings
 Videoconferencing and conference calling
 Telephone

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Contrast Oral, Written, and Nonverbal
Communication (2 of 7)
• Written Communication
– Letters
– PowerPoint
– E-mail
– Instant Messaging
– Text Messaging
– Social Media
– Aps
– Blogs

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Contrast Oral, Written, and Nonverbal
Communication (5 of 7)
• Nonverbal Communication
– Includes body movements, the intonations or emphasis
we give to words, facial expressions, and the physical
distance between the sender and receiver.
 Body language can convey status, level of
engagement, and emotional state.

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Contrast Oral, Written, and Nonverbal
Communication (7 of 7)
• Physical distance also has meaning.
– What is considered proper spacing between people
largely depends on cultural norms.
 A businesslike distance in some European
countries feels intimate in many parts of North
America.
– Distance may indicate aggressiveness or sexual
interest, or it may signal disinterest or displeasure
with what is being said.

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Channel Richness and Choice
of Communication Channel (2 of 4)
• The choice of channel depends on whether the message
is routine.
– Routine messages tend to be straightforward and
have a minimum of ambiguity.
 Choose oral communication when you need to
gauge the receiver’s receptivity.
 Written communication is more reliable for
complex and lengthy communications.

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Persuasive Communication
• Automatic processing: a relatively superficial
consideration of evidence and information.
– It takes little time and low effort, but it lets us be
easily fooled by a variety of tricks, like a cute jingle
or glamorous photo.
• Controlled processing: a detailed consideration of
evidence and information relying on facts, figures, and
logic.
– Requires effort and energy, but it’s harder to fool
someone who engages in it.

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Identify Common Barriers to Effective
Communication
• Barriers to Effective Communication
– Filtering
– Selective perception
– Information overload
– Emotions
– Language
– Silence
– Communication apprehension
– Lying

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Overcoming Problems in Cross-
Cultural Communication (1 of 3)
• Cultural Barriers
– Caused by semantics – words mean different things to
different people.
– Caused by word connotations – words imply different
things in different languages.
– Caused by tone differences.
– Caused by differences in tolerance for conflict and
methods for resolving conflicts.

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 24

Techniques to Improve
Communications
– Following up. – Simplifying language.
– Empathy. – Utilizing feedback.
– Effective timing. – Encouraging mutual trust.
– Regulating information flow. – Using the grapevine.
– Repetition.

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Implications for Managers (1 of 2)
• Remember that your communication mode will partly
determine your communication effectiveness.
• Obtain feedback from your employees to make certain
your messages—however they are communicated—are
understood.
• Remember that written communication creates more
misunderstandings than oral communication; communicate
with employees through in-person meetings when
possible.

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Implications for Managers (2 of 2)
• Make sure you use communication strategies appropriate
to your audience and the type of message you’re sending.
• Keep in mind communication barriers such as gender and
culture.

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