Chapter 2
Communicating and
managing communication
( 7 Readings)
Reading -1 The communication climate
• How good and effective we are at communication ?
• Communication:-
1- Includes the way in which ideas, information and feelings are communicated
within organizations and the interpersonal skills required.
2- Is an important component in good leadership and management.
3- Influence employee’s motivation , satisfaction ,productivity and commitment.
4- Communication climate directly influences whether working relationships will be
cooperative and whether information flow will be smooth.
5- Communication climate can be ‘Open’ or ‘Closed’.
A. In an open climate people can speak freely without fear of being criticized;
suggestions are welcomed and acted on , mistakes are used as an opportunity to
learn. In this climate, behaviors will convey to people that they are valued,
recognized and acknowledged.
B. In a closed climate the environment is often highly political where employees
can become possessive about the information they have access to and to use it as
a source of power. Information is given or withheld to reinforce person’s position
rather than to contribute to effective working. In such a climate , communication
between individuals is minimal, defensive and focused on relationships rather than
on work objectives. Here, behaviors result in defensiveness where people protect
themselves from attack often by verbally attacking critics, by distorting
information, by avoiding information, by pretending not to care about it or by
simply ignoring relevant information .
Open climate behaviors Closed climate behaviors
Descriptive : describes a complaint in Evaluative : judgmental assessments of other
behavioral terms rather than being s’ behavior Example: You shouldn’t have done
judgmental (avoids blaming). Ex. : I wish you that.
hadn’t done that before discussing it first.
Solution-oriented : the focus on working Controlling : an attempt to impose a solution
together to resolve problems. or outcome . Example: Do it this way
Empathetic : identification with the situation Neutral : indifference towards the other
or emotions of another person. Ex. I know person. Example: How could you have
how hard you worked to meet the deadline forgotten to spell check the report?
but I think you spelled check report in rush
Spontaneous : there is no attempt to Strategic : an attempt to manipulate or
manipulate the other person. deceive the other person.
Equal : the other person is worthy of respect Superior : the other person is not worthy of
Example: I did like your views on this. respect .
Provisional : a willingness to consider the Certain : the speaker’s view is correct
other person’s situation or view. Example: I already know the answer
Ways to improve the communication climate
• Ed Robertson (2005) maintains that an organization’s communication
climate will be only ‘as strong as the multiple work groups or micro
communication climates that comprise it’.
• In their work group managers need to communicate:
1. Job information.
2. Personal information.
3. Operational information.
4. Strategic information.
5. Information to their managers.
• At the same time, manager’s direct reports need:
1. To notice explanations of policy and answers to questions.
2. To notice job performance expectations to be set out clearly.
3. To notice changes from official sources.
4. To notice freedom to make suggestions and to make complaints.
6. Supervisor efforts to understand their feelings and problems.
Key areas to improve communication climate
1- Information needs : Employees need informal and formal
information (reports). Managers need to consider what they
are communicating, how, how much, and to whom. They
need to assess two fundamental aspects of communication:
a. Adequacy : refers to the amount and quality of what is
communicated. Inaccurate or incomplete information may
lead to misunderstandings, mistakes and frustration .
Conversely, too much accurate and complete information can
cause information overload.
b. Flow : refers to the way information flows vertically
and horizontally in an organization, allowing the exchange of
ideas , issues and opinions .
2- Feeling valued : A manager can help staff to feel valued by
treating them with respect, by listening to them and
acknowledging their opinions, even if suggestions are not
used. This helps staff to feel engaged and committed and this
is vital in fostering creativity and innovation .
3- Trust: With lack of trust, employees rarely admit making a
mistake and are less willing to take risks or tolerate change. As
a result, they will not be offered the proper support needed
and their productivity may suffer. Manager’s first reaction to
mistakes should be understanding and forgiving. A manager
can create an atmosphere of trust in two ways:-
A. First to be trustworthy himself.
B. Second to ensure that when a report admits a mistake,
the focus is placed on putting it right or prevent repeating it.
4- Conflict: Conflict is inevitable and should be dealt with it
constructively. Conflicts raise due to different perspectives or
views . Exploring these perspectives lead to better solutions.
Managers need to invite conversation with staff, to listen
carefully and to look for areas of agreement. They need to
encourage staff to disagree, to raise questions about what
they are doing and to think about ways of improving .
5- Grievances: Occurs when staff feel
being treated unfairly. Staff need to be
sure that grievances will be listened to ,
treated and that serious attempt is
adopted to deal with their source.
6- Continual Feedback: ( positive and
negative ) is vital to maintain and
improve staff performance. A
constructive approach is to ask the
person to assess the outcome himself.
Reading -2 Theories of communication
1- The information model of communication
• Developed by Shannon and Weaver (1949).To them communication
is seen as a linear process in which a sender develops a message,
then transmits it over a channel to a receiver.
• The model has three basic components: ( next slide)
1 . A sender or source of an encoded message – for example, a
computer or a television camera.
2 . A medium or channel of transmission – for example, signals
running along cables or sound waves travelling through the air.
3. A receiver which decodes the message – for example,
another computer, a television or a radio receiver.
• An additional feature is the noise in the channel which restricts the
amount and quality of information that can be transmitted.
However, this model misses human components . That is how the
same message can be interpreted differently by different people
depending on prior knowledge , experience, beliefs, values , culture.
2- The constructivist model of communication
• This model sees people as constructing meanings and mental
models to understand and make sense of the world.
• In creating and developing mental models language ,
experience , listening and talking to others are essential.
• This theory suggests that we need empathy ( i.e. the use of
intellect and emotions to understand another person’s view).
Empathy involves :
1 .Having an emotional response to another person . It involves
being capable of feeling and sharing the same emotions as this
person.
2. The mental capacity to take the position or perspective of
another person. This may also involve understanding the
context that might have led to a person’s actions and beliefs.
3. Self-regulation processes that prevent confusion between
one’s own feelings and views and those of the other person.
• Six steps to perspective-taking and empathy :
1 . Assume difference: Seek out differences between your and other
individual views for a situation.
2 . Know self: Realize that your own view is just a view out of many
views that will increase your knowledge or understanding.
3. Suspend self: That is the need to put your own ideas aside and try to
see the world of the other person.
4. Allow guided judgment: Because understanding of other views is
partial, you need a feedback on yours. Ex. ask the person ‘So your
view is …’ and allow him to correct you.
5. Allow empathetic experience: With information given, you can
construct an alternative view of another person. This knowledge is
valuable when you need to predict how the person responds to a
future situation.
6. Re-establish self: Now return to your own view of a situation where it
is likely has been changed because you incorporated new knowledge
while attempting to understand someone else’s view .
How similar, how different? Do we always have to practice the six
steps to communicate effectively?
The width of the inverted triangle represents the effort required to achieve proper
communication. Also judgments about how much effort to put into communication will need to
take into consideration the effort needed to correct misunderstandings and repair poor
relationships if initial effort proves insufficient.
Reading -4 Barriers to communication
• Some barriers can be removed or lowered, others are accepted.
• Barriers categories are:
1- Physical barriers and distractions.
2- Perceptual barriers : ex. our assumptions . We may assume that a
person knows or understands or sees things like we do.
3- Emotional barriers: ex. fear of criticism, of negative reactions or of an
angry response . Lack of trust may make people reluctant to
communicate thoughts , feelings and ideas.
4- Cultural ( ethnic) barriers : are similar to perceptual barriers
.Cultural differences may extend to values (ex. valuing individual
assertiveness over relationships and group work ) , what is
acceptable practice in the workplace , how good performance is
rewarded and how poor performance is treated.
5- Language barriers.
6. Gender and status barriers: Gender and status differences
often occur simultaneously in societies where one gender is
considered to possess a higher status over the other. Status
has a major impact on group communication. In general :
a- Leaders and men speak more than women in a group.
b- Men interrupt women more often than they do for men.
c- Men allow men to interrupt more than they do for
females.
d-Men are likely to change topics after a women has spoken.
• Status power & gender may result in unequal contribution
to discussion which result in less opportunity to share
knowledge and ideas.
7. Interpersonal barriers. Personality clashes arise when
relationships between people are not strong & in harmony.
Reading-6 Communication skills
• To understand another’s point of view, to build relationships and to acquire
information , certain skills are needed :
(1) Active listening and (2) Questioning.
1. Active listening : Three types of active listening mostly used:-
a. Support listening: is to encourage others to say what they think or feel.
Manager should not distract speaker or put forward his views unless necessary.
b. Responding listening: focuses on establishing a relationship with another
person. It helps to show that you are interested with what they says.
c. Retention listening : is required when seeking information (in group situations).
• Above three types require the following skills : To: (1) Pay attention/ concentrate
(2) Signal that you are listening (3) Encourage the speaker to say more & to
expand and (4) Check and reflect back what you think you have heard or
understood.
• Pitfalls in listening include: selective listening , interrupting the speaker , wanting
to put forward your own opinion , becoming frustrated with the way something is
being communicated rather than focusing on content , pretending to listen.
2. Questioning: It complements effective listening skill. It increases
manager’s control over gathering information process . Questions
need to be systematic , logical and appropriately timed. It requires
the manager to:
(1) Understand what’s being said.
(2) Decide what further information is needed.
(3) Consider what kind of question is most likely to produce the
information needed .
(4) Select the type of question that will strengthen the relationship
with the speaker.
• There are various categories of questions :
1. Closed questions: Requires a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ response . It allows
little or no freedom in choosing the response . They are not
appropriate when detailed response is needed. They can be
frustrating to the respondent, who may have information to provide
but not being invited or encouraged to participate in a dialogue.
However, they allow to retain control of the dialogue.
2. Open questions : Allow freedom in making responses. They require the
respondent to do the talking . However, they can be unnecessary if they produce
more detail than what is needed and respondents can move away from the
subject . Further, the questioner may be influenced by how articulate the
respondent rather than by content.
3. Direct questions : useful when a limited amount of information is needed.
4. Probing questions: open questions that guide the conversation from general
specific, with the aim of encouraging respondents to provide additional details.
5. Leading questions : Normally suggest what the desired response should be. Ex.
‘Don’t you think it’s important that we talk to Hani about this now? Expected
answer is ‘Yes’.
6. Loaded questions : Similar to leading questions but they employ emotive language.
Ex. ‘What do you think of this ridiculous decision?. It very obvious what the
response is.
7. Hypothetical questions: “What if” questions. Useful to test ones ideas against
others
8. Mirror or reflective questions : Serve to summarize and clarify what a speaker has
said . The listener might ask: ‘So you think there is a lack of clarity about what the
task involves?’ Such questions are useful in establishing shared understanding.
9. Answering a question with a question: This is primarily a response technique and
used in two main ways: (1)to keep control of a conversation or interview (2) to
encourage people to resolve problems themselves. Such questions can help to
build confidence and morale.
Reading -8 What are meetings for?
• Face-to-face meetings are particularly suitable for handling unclear
problems or situations , but the cost can be high. Meetings are likely
to serve one or more of the following purposes: to bring together a
range of knowledge and experience , to gather or give information ,
to explore effects of proposed changes , to make or assist in
decisions , to allocate resources, to aid problem-solving , to develop
cooperation & commitment , to allocate tasks and agree actions.
Types of formal meetings :
1. Briefing meetings : purpose to inform people what has already been
planned and decided and what is expected of them.
2. Business meetings: information is shared, issues are discussed and
decisions are made , are formal with standard agenda.
3. Planning meetings and working groups: Detailed meeting , focus on
communication and participation, often people from different parts
of the organization are involved or from different organizations.
4. Consultation meetings : Ex. consultations with staff, with customers
or general public. These can be a planning tool.
5. Staff meetings: They have range of purposes from reporting on
developments to the discussion of interpersonal issues.
6. Review and evaluation meetings : Can be regular or occasional
Purpose is to review progress towards organizational or individual
goals or of a project team progress.
• Meeting Styles : Meetings can vary along two dimensions :-
1- The formal–informal dimension : refers to terms of reference
(purposes, functions, group responsibilities), procedures and formal
roles required (chair, secretary).
2- The adversarial– consensual dimension : refers to the type of
debate. In adversarial meetings there is challenge, disagreement
and opposition, whereas in consensual meetings there is emphasis
on what people agrees . Which style is used depends on the degree
to which individuals share similar values, beliefs and goals.
• Each style presents its own opportunities and limitations to members. The
formal–adversarial meeting encourages individual achievement and
requires political skills. It is important to prepare for such a meeting by
studying other members, and preparing for the arguments of opponents.
• Both the formal– and the informal–consensual meeting place great
emphasis on group achievement through group effort. The member
qualities demanded in a consensual meeting are good listening skills, clear,
assertive presentation, openness and honesty, respect for and interest in
other points of view, and an understanding of decision-making process.