COMMUNICATION

The sharing of information between two or more

people to achieve a common understanding about
an object or situation.

Intrapersonal communication: When a person

communicates with himself to develop new and
useful ideas.

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION
Successful Communication
occurs when the person receiving the message
understands it in the way that the sender intended.
Communication is a Process
The steps between a source and a receiver that
result in the transference and understanding of
meaning.
COMMUNICATION PROCESS

Encoding the process whereby a sender translates

the information he or she wishes to send in a
message

Channel the manner in which a message is

conveyed.

Decoding the process whereby a receiver

perceives a sent message and interprets its
meaning.

Feedback the process whereby a receiver encodes

the message receive and sends it or a response to
it back to the original maker.

Purpose: to facilitate the achievement of organizations

goals.
Functions of Communication
1. Include sharing information
2. Providing performance feedback
3. Integrating and coordinating parts of
the organization
4. Persuading others
5. Expressing emotion
6. Innovating
COMMUNICATION NETWORKS

Networks Characterization
1. Sparse networks
a communication network in which most or all members
communicate with only a few other members. (wheel, y and
chain)
2. Dense networks
TYPES OF COMMUNICATION

Organizational communication: It is a kind of

communication which is used in a business
enterprise. It encompasses generations or
collection of data, collation and dissemination of
information, decision making and implementation,
and managing the conflict etc.
Interpersonal communication: It is one that takes
place between two persons. It is characterized by
active interaction.

a communication network in which most or all network

members communicate with many others. (all channel-all
connected network)
3. Centralized networks
a communication network in which one or a few network
members dominate communications.
(wheel, y networks)
4. Decentralize networks

a communication network in which no single network

member dominates communications.(all channel)
Sparse and highly centralize networks such as the wheel
and the Y an be effective in accomplishing simple tasks.
These structures promote efficiency, speed and accuracy
by communication through a central person. While Dense
network with some degree of centralization role might be
more effective in accomplishing complex task.
Brokerage
For example if member B does not communicate with
member C but member A communicates with both of them,
then member A is said to be a broker of B-C relationship.
DIRECTION OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION

INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
involves a direct verbal or non verbal interaction between
two or more active participants.
Forms:

Formal communication

Communication that follows the formal structure of

the organization (e.g. superior to subordinate and entails
organizationally sanctioned information.)

Informal Communication

Communication that involves spontaneous

interaction between two or more people outside the formal
organization structure. (e.g. communication between peers
during coffee break)
DOWNSIDE TO INFORMAL COMMUNICATION
Rumors- unsubstantiated information of universal interest.
People often create and communicate rumors to deal with
uncertainty.

Downward Communication
which refers to communication from senior
managers to junior managers and from junior managers to
associates, is necessary to provide job instructions,
information on organization policies and performance
feedback.
Upward Communication
which flows from associates to junior managers
and from junior managers to senior managers is necessary
to provide feedback on downward communication and to
provide ideas and information.
Examples: Departmental meetings, Open door policies,
Suggestion boxes, Exit interviews and Attitude surveys
Horizontal Communication
which takes place between and among people at
the same level, is also important but is frequently
overlooked in the design of organizations.
Examples: 360-degree multi-rater feedback to evaluate
senior managers. Feedback includes performance
appraisal from peers (lateral communication) sub ordinates
(upward) and superior (downward).

For example, in 2000, the Coca-Cola Company Undertook

a major restructuring to overcome its lagging financial
performance. During this period, persistent (and untrue)
rumors flourished-such as Coke is leaving Atlanta,
Theyre removing the flagpoles so that the American flag
doesnt fly over the company. and The CEO is leaving.
These rumors resulted in dissatisfaction, loss of morale,
and turn over, and senior management had to spend great
deal of time overcoming and eliminating them.
Gossip- information that is presumed to be factual and is
communicated in private or intimate settings. Often, gossip
is not specifically work-related and focuses on private or
intimate things such as others personal lives. Furthermore,
gossip usually reflects information that is third-hand, fourthhand and even farther removed from the person passing it
along. Gossip can cause problems in the organization,
reduce focus to work, ruins reputation, create stress and
lead to legal problems.)
NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION
Communication that takes place without using spoken or
written language such as communication through facial
expressions and body language.

Advantages: Supports other communications and

provides observable expression of emotions and
feelings.

Disadvantage: Misperception of body language or

gestures can influence receivers interpretation of
message.

BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Organizational barriers
1. Information Overload

frequently occur in large organizations because

so much information flows through those
networks or due to power outages, brought by
calamities or when malware affects the intranet
servers.

A condition in which information inflow exceeds an

individuals processing capacity.
Occurs due to:
Organization face higher levels of uncertainty because of
escalating change and turbulence
Increasing complexity of task and organizational structures
creates a need for information
2. Information Distortion
it is common for information to be distorted
intentionally or unintentionally. Unintentionally
because of an honest mistakes or time
pressure. Intentional distortion often occurs
because of competition between work units in
an organization.
3. Specialty Area Jargon
One problem in large, complex organizations
concerns the proliferation of specialist.
Specialist are highly knowledgeable within their
own fields but often have limited understanding
of other fields.
4. Time Pressure
In most organizations, work needs to be done
under deadlines, which create time pressure
and constrain an individuals ability to
communicate.
5. Cross Cultural Barriers
involve lack of language fluency or a broader
lack of cultural fluency.

INDIVIDUAL BARRIERS
1. Differing perceptions occurs when the sender
has one perception of message and the
receiver has another.
2. Semantic Differences refers to the meaning
people attach to symbols, such as words and
gestures. Because the same words may have
different meanings to different people,
semantic
differences
can
create
communication problems
3. Status Differences
Organizations create status difference
through titles, offices and support resources,
but individuals attribute meaning to these
differences.
Example:
subordinates are reluctant to
express an opinion that is different from their
managers because of time pressures or
arrogance-may strengthen status barriers by
not being open to feedback or other forms of
upward communications.
4. Personal Space
when someone enters that space, we
feel uncomfortable.
Women seem to have smaller personal space
than men. Similarly the typical personal space
in some cultures. Personal space affects for
example how close together people stand
when conversing.
5. Poor listening Skills
A frequent problem in communication
rests not with the sender but with the receiver.
The receiver must listen in order to hear and
understand the senders message, just as the
sender must listen to feedback from the
receiver.
OVERCOMING COMMUNICATION BARRIERS

6. Network Breakdowns

Conduct Communication Audits

An analysis of an organizations internal and

external communication to assess communication
practices and capabilities and to determine needs.
Can be conducted in-house (for example the
Human Resource Management department) or by
external consulting firms.

Promote and cultivate feedback, but dont try to

force it

Reward those who provide feedback and use the

feedback received.

Respond to feedback, indicating whether its

correct. In other words, obtain feedback, use it and
then feed it back to the recipients.

The following is a recommended method for conducting a

communication audit:

Hold a planning meeting with all the major parties

to determine a specific approach and gain
commitment to it
Conduct interview with top management
Collect, inventory and analyze communication
material
Conduct associate interviews
Prepare and administer questionnaire to measure
attitudes toward communications
Communicate survey results

Encourage Individual Actions

5. Listen Actively
Listening is not a passive, naturally
occurring activity. People must actively and consciously
listen to others in order to be effective communicators.
Steps to Effective Listening
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Stop Talking
Pay attention
Listen empathetically
Hear before evaluating
Listen to the whole message
Send Feedback

1. Know your Audience

me to me to me communication (Virgil Scudder)

********************************************************************

Scudder is describing communicating with others as if you

were communicating with yourself.

DECISION MAKING

Example: An It Professional teaching how to use a new

program to his technologically unsophisticated colleagues.
He may use a jargon that they do not understand but he
believes that he has done his job.
To communicate effectively people must know their
audience, including the audience experience, frames of
references and motivations.

Decisions are choices of actions from among multiple

feasible alternatives.
We tend to make decisions that are strategic in nature,
such as adding or deleting products and services. Making
decisions is one of the primary activities for senior
managers.
BASIC STEPS IN DECISION MAKING

2. Select an Appropriate Communication Medium

When messages are complex and/or important, use of rich
media, such as face to face communication should be
considered. It can be also beneficial using several media.
3. Regulate Information Flow and Timing
involves discarding information of marginal importance and
conveying only significant information. Proper timing of
message is also important.
4. Encourage Feedback related to Understanding
Guidelines:

Ask recipients to repeat what they have heard

GROUP DECISION MAKING

(also known as collaborative decision-making) is a
situation faced when individuals collectively make a choice
from the alternatives before them. The decision is then no

longer attributable to any single individual who is a member

of the group.

Arrive at preferred solution to a problem and make

use of the decision making process.

Groups are made up of multiple individuals

resulting in dynamics and interpersonal processes
that make group decision making different from
decision making of an individual.

For instance some members will arrive with their

own expectations, problem definitions and
predetermined solutions.

GROUP DECISION MAKING PITFALLS

1. GROUP THINK

A situation in which group members maintain or

seek consensus at the expense of identifying and
debating honest disagreements.
Self censorship
Shared stereotypes
Beliefs in groups morality
Like one another and therefore do not criticize
ideas
Have high regard with the groups collected wisdom
and ideas of the leader
Try to prevent the group from serious division.

At least eight specific symptoms are associated with group

think:
1. Self Censorship-group members who
recognize flaws or errors in the group position
tend to remain quiet during group discussion
and avoid issues that might upset the group.
2. Pressure- Group members apply pressure to
any member who express opinions that
threaten group consensus and harmony.
3. Unanimity- Censorship and pressure lead to
the illusion of unanimous support for the final
group decision. Members who are quiet are
assumed to be in complete agreement, which
further discourages consideration of other
decision alternatives.
4. Rationalization- many group members build
complex rationales that effectively discount
warnings or information that conflict with their
thinking. Thus, sources of negative information
are discredited in group discussions. Such
action often narrow the decision alternatives
considered.
5. Invulnerability- Group members may develop
an illusion of invulnerability, which causes them
to ignore any dangers. As a result, they
become overly optimistic and take unwarranted

risks; the group seriously overestimates its

collective wisdom.
6. Mindguards- Certain group members take on
the social role of mindguard. They attempt to
shield the group from any facts, criticism, or
evaluation that may alter the illusion of
unanimity and invulnerability.
7. Morality- Most group members believe in the
morality of the groups position. The members
may even speak about the inherent morality of
what they are doing and the immorality of
opposing views. This can result in decision that
ignore ethical and legal issues as viewed by
the broader society and lead to negative
consequences for others.
8. Stereotype- Group members may develop
negative stereotypes of other people and
groups. These stereotypes can protect their
own position and block the possibility of
reasonable negotiations with outsiders.
2. COMMON INFORMATION BIAS
A bias in which group members overemphasize
information held by a majority of the entire group
while failing to be mindful of information held by
one group members or a few members.
3. DIVERSITY-BASED INFIGHTING
A situation in which group members engage in
unproductive, negative conflict over differing views.
4. RISKY SHIFT
A process by which group members collectively
make a more risky choice than most or all of the
individuals would have made working alone.
GROUP DECISION MAKING TECHNIQUES
1. Brainstorming
A process in which a large number of
ideas are generated while evaluation of the ideas is
suspended.
Brainstorming has the following basic features:
1. Imagination is encourage
2. Using or building on the ideas of others is
encourage
3. There is no criticism of any idea, no matter how
bad it may seem at the time.
4. Evaluation is postponed until the group can no
longer think of any ideas.
2. Nominal Group Technique

A process for group decision making in

which discussion is structured and the final solution
is decided by silent vote.

Group involvement in decisions leads to a higher

level and greater satisfaction

Group decision making can result in growth for

members of the group

This technique share some features of

brain writing and electronic brainstorming.
Follows four procedural rules:
1. Individuals seated around a table write down
their ideas silently without discussion.
2. Each member presents one idea to the group.
After the initial round has been completed, each
members presents a second idea. The process is
repeated until all the ideas were presented
3. After the ideas have been recorder, tabulated or
in a computer database for projection. The
members discuss them to clarify and evaluate.
4. The meeting concludes with a silent and
independent vote or ranking of the alternative
choices.

DISADVANTAGES OF GROUP DECISION MAKING

Groups take more time to reach decisions than do

individuals.

Group social interactions may lead to premature

compromise and failure to consider all alternatives
fully.

Groups are sometimes dominated by one or two

decision leaders which may reduce acceptance,
satisfaction and quality

Managers may rely too much on the group

decisions, leading to loss of their own decision and
implementation skills.

3. Delphi Technique
A highly structured decision making
process in which participants are surveyed
regarding their opinions or best judgment.
Groups using Delphi Technique do not meet faceto face. Instead, members are solicited for their
judgments at their various homes or places of
business. Members respond to a questionnaire
about the issue of interest.
4. Dialectical Inquiry
A group decision-making technique that
relies on debate between two subgroups that have
developed different recommendations based on
different assumptions.

Managers must consider the importance of time in their

decisions, as well as the potential quality of the
decisions. Some decisions must be made immediately.
In other situations, time may be availabale for decision
making. When time is an important consideration, the
manager may elect to do one of the following.

Make the decision alone.

Use the group for advice only.
Use an already-existing group to minimize the
arrangement of time.
Use a majority-decision rule rather than requiring
unanimity.
Use the nominal group technique to reduce lengthy
discussion time.

5. Devils Advocacy
A group decision-making techniques that
relies on a critique of a recommended action and
its underlying assumptions
ADVANTAGES OF GROUP DECISION MAKING

Groups can accumulate more knowledge and facts

and thus generate more and better alternatives
Groups often display superior judgment when
evaluating alternatives, especially for complex
problems.

References:
Collela. A., Hitt. M., Miller, C. (2011) Organizational
Behavior 3rd ed.
Champoux. (1996) Organizational Behavior: Integrating
Individuals, Groups and Organizations
Reported by:
Marry Jane R. Sioson, MP-CP
February 7, 2015