Chapter 3 - Communication

Chapter 3Communicat ion

PRESENTED BY:Cuevas, Cyra DCGalos, Wella O. Manalop, Rosemarie L.

Subject: HRM 2

Professor: Dr. Abelito T. Quiwa

OutlineOUTLINEI. CommunicationII. Types of CommunicationIII. Factors that Affect the Quality of CommunicationIV. Barriers to CommunicationV. Transactional AnalysisVI. Assertive CommunicationVII. Filipino Values and Communication

Learning ObjectivesLEARNING OBJECTIVES1.To be able to discuss the definition of communication;2.To be able to identify and explain the types of

communication;3.To be able to understand the factors that affect the

quality of communication;4.To be able to know the barriers to communication;5.To be able to understand the essence of transactional

analysis;6.To be able to discuss the assertive communication;

and7.To be able to know the Filipino values and

communication.

Defin i t i on and p rocessCommunication is a process which aims to transfer and implement the meaning of symbols from one person, group or organization to another.

Andersen considers it as “a

dynamic process in which man

consciously or unconsciously

affects the cognition of another

through materials or agencies

used in symbolic ways.

Defin i t i on and p rocess

Sender is the

communicator who can

be any person, group or

organization.

Sender encodes the message into appropriate symbols for

transmission.

Receiver likewise can

be an individual, group or

organization.

He decodes the symbols

to understand

the message.

TYPES OF COMMUNICAT ION

1.Number if people involved

a. Intrapersonal communication

This occurs when the sender and the receiver of

the message is one and the same person.

b) Interpersonal communication

This requires two people interacting

with each other. The supervisor and

the employee talking to each other

for instance can illustrate this type. The process involves several

people.

c) Group communicationThis takes place with an

indefinite number of people which some

would term as a faceless audience.

d) Mass communication

2. Level of sourcea) Downward

The message flows from top to bottom, from higher to lower authority.

The main motivation for this type of communication ... is to guide and direct the behavior of those individuals at the lower organization levels.

TYPES OF COMMUNICAT ION

This is the very opposite of the illustration.

The group below feels free to initiate and suggest new programs and projects which are welcomed by management.

b) Upwardc) Horizontal Horizontal communication is

communication across rather

than along the formal chain

of command. Individuals

communicate with others

who are on the same level.

Communication starts at any point or level; moves on to another point or level, moves back and forth in either formal or informal progression or retrogression

d) Circular

The direction of information

flow takes this type of

communication in inter-unit

exchanges or in co-orientation

activities. Again,

communication flows across

the chain of command

e) Cross-channel/Diagonal communication

Factors that affect the Quality of Communication

It is best to view communication in terms of a configuration of interacting elements. Communication should be designed so that the various elements complement rather than negate each other.

Goal Clarity

Ultimate goal of communication is

to share meanings, it is also to share

them in order to arrive at the outcome for

which communication is

intended.

Sender

The person of the sender—his qualities, characteristics, status, role---affects communication flow.

Receiver

The person or the recipient---his

qualities, characteristics,

status, role, emotional state---is a factor in the success or failure

of communication.

Share experience

Effective communication depends much

on the meanings perceived each

of the sharers of the

communication.

Symbol

Communication is largely SYMBOLIC. It is achieved through the use of symbols---both verbal (words) and non-verbal (pictures, actions or inactions).

VERBAL COMMUNICATION (written and oral) should be formulated with much care. Is the content pertinent and

relevant to the issue at hand or to the issue at hand or to the objectives of the

organization and those of its constituents? Is it in good

grammar, simple and easy to understand? Is it clean with

right paging, intention, paragraphing and in the

right type and size paper?

NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

occurs very frequently and

can be very expressive like

stop and go traffic lights, the way one walks or

talks, one’s clothes, house,

and food. In fact, anything about a person is saying

much of him.

MEDIUM- The message can take various forms; a typed letter, a bulletin board notice, a lecture, a demonstration, a projected transparency, a radio broadcast, a televised a program, a telephone call, a drawing, a painting, a song, ringing of a bell, ad infinitum.

PATHWAYS The passages through

which the message travels can either be clear

or clogged up with physical or psychological

disturbances. A clean, clear passage devoid of noise and breakdowns

makes for fast communication and thus

more and better transactions.

INFORMATION OVERLOAD- due to fast technological

processes of accumulating and transmitting information

thru the radio, television, satellite network,

telecommunications, newspapers, etc., many of

our “managers are drowning in a flood of numbers, data,

information, and indices, and their failure to cope effectively with such

information overload will have serious and even

disastrous consequences not only for their organizations

but for our entire economy.”

The reaction by the recipient to the

communication is, by and large, the

main criterion that determines its

success or failure. When the message

is received and taken in the very same context and purpose that it is

sent, communication is considered good

and successful.

Barriers to Communication

Anything that can impede the

flow of communication in any form and at any point is a

barrier to communication.

PHYSICAL BARRIERS- This

includes impediments in

relation to distance, timing,

efficiency of modes used like

telephone, telegraph, or

post office amenities.

SOCIAL BARRIERS- differences between

sender and receiver in certain factors like age,

financial status, educational and family

backgrounds, intellectual ability, religion, health

status may deter the flow or the understanding of messages that are sent.

PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS- the effective

mode is the most difficult area to tackle

in communication. Envy, jealousy,

unpleasant feelings, and emotions caused

by insecurity and conflict should be given outlets for expression and those in charge should know how to

manage these outbursts.

Transactional Analysis

An analysis of the verbal transaction between two persons is a very interesting process called Transactional Analysis.

TA was developed by Canadian-born US Psychiatrist

Eric Berne during the late

1950s.

Early Transactional Analysis Theory and Model

TRANSACTION STIMULUS - when two people encounter each other, one of them will speak to the other. TRANSACTION RESPONSE - the reaction from the other person.AGENT - the person sending the stimulus.RESPONDENT - the person who responds.

EGO STATES are sets of thoughts, feelings, behaviors, gestures, etc., that characterize the predominant condition

of the person at the moment of communication.

Berne said that each person is made up of three alter ego states:

• Parent• Adult• Child

PARENTOur ingrained voice of

authority, absorbed conditioning, learning

and attitudes from when we were young.

ADULTOur 'Adult' is our ability to think and determine

action for ourselves, based on received data.

CHILDOur internal reaction and

feelings to external events form the 'Child'.

Three Alter Ego States

In other words:• Parent is our 'Taught'

concept of life• Adult is our 'Thought'

concept of life• Child is our 'Felt' concept of

life

McAfee and Champagne Three Response Patterns

1. COMPLEMENTARY TRANSACTIONmessage sent to one ego state gets the predicted or expected response from the other individual.

2. CROSSED TRANSACTION occurs when a message addressed to one ego state gets an unexpected response from another ego state.

3. ULTERIOR TRANSACTION involves hidden meaning. In this situation, one message is on the observable, social level and one is on the hidden, psychological level.”

Assertive Communication

Three modes of behavior are displayed when

communicating with others: passiveness,

aggressiveness and assertiveness.

Assertive Communication “fails to express his

thoughts and feelings and does not stand up

for the rights being violated.”

“expressing your thoughts and feelings and defending your rights in a way that is usually inappropriate and often violates the rights of

others.”

“standing up for your rights and expressing your

thoughts and feelings in a direct appropriate way that

does not violate the rights of others.”

Assertive Communication Formula

There are four parts to effective assertive communication - Here is the formula:

when I feel , because . I need .

Correct Behavior Description Incorrect Behavior Description

1. When you sleep on your job. When you break company policies.

2. When you keep interrupting your

classmates when they are talking. When you are impolite and discourteous

to your classmates.

3. When you wake me up with your

noise upon entering the bedroom. When you do not respect others who are

already asleep.

The behavior description should be clear, specific and direct instead of being hazy, general and implicit. Below are examples of correct and incorrect behavior descriptions.

Training to become assertive is becoming more popular as the need is felt to help people overcome their hesitancy in expressing their true feelings, sentiments, opinions, ideas and values. They are given assistance in articulating themselves in appropriate ways and to ask for what they want or need.

Training to become Assertive

Dubrin enumerates the three goals of assertiveness training:

knowing how one feels;saying what one wants;

andgetting what one wants

Keen Observation and Reflective Listening Skills

The criterion to use in determining whether communication is successful or not is the way it is received by its recipient. Two ways of achieving this are through perspective observation and keen listening skills on the part of both the sender and receiver.

As Megginson, an Industrial Psychologist for Effective Counseling points out, “The first rule for a counselor is to keep his mouth shut; the second is to keep his ears open; the third is to keep his eyes open,…” the fourth rule as given by Walters is to keep his perception and intuition alert to ‘sense’ what is really bothering the subordinate. The counselor does not only listen to what the counselee says but must also listen for what he does not say.

FILIPINO VALUES AND COMMUNICATION

Certain artifacts are prized and cherished most by Filipinos like economic security, the family, group, education, and spiritual life. Of these, the desire to be part of a group stands out and it affects the communication process significantly.

The need to belong to a group is stronger than the need to assert one's individual identity. This is reflected in behavior that shows pakikisama (togetherness), Smooth Interpersonal Relationship (SIR), tayo-tayo (us and we-ness), and bayanihan (unity and cooperation). Nepotism in the work setting is practiced in the name of paternalism, tayo-tayo, bayanihan, palakaran, palakasan.

We are more groupistic than individualistic. Knowing this, business firms utilize our strong value of pakikisama to sell products. An example is a television advertisement with the theme, "Iba ang may pinagsamahan......"

In order not to hurt any person or group and be left alienated, the typical Filipino uses smooth interpersonal relations techniques like euphemisms.

As pointed out by Cesar M. Mercado, professional managers and supervisors, both local and foreign, are often perplexed by the Filipino worker's "strange" communication behaviors.

Being groupistic can facilitate team work. It has been observed that Filipino students perform better in group case analysis and presentation than their Western counterparts.

SUMMARY

Communication is a very important element in our relationship with others. It may facilitate or impede smooth transactions and processes with individuals, groups and organizations. It aims to convey and implement symbols of various kinds, verbal and non-verbal and its ultimate objective is to share meanings. Since it is the lifeblood of any organization, it behooves every number of it, from top to bottom levels, to foster effective communication.

The main elements of the communication process consist of the sender or source, symbol or message, the receiver or audience, its pathways and feedback. If any of these is deficient or misunderstood, communication is affected.

The most effective communication results when congruence exists between meanings of symbols as perceived by both sender and receiver. Shared experiences are a very important ingredient in successful communication. Barriers to communication can originate anywhere from sender so receiver. Usually, it would take plenty of hard work, must and patience on their part to remove or to overcome such barriers.

One of the most difficult impediments is culture incongruence, particularly on values, between management and labor or between foreign groups and Filipino nationals to multinational corporations. Seminars and workshops utilizing unstructured methodologies on coping with cultural differences help in alleviating this communication problem.

The process of communication can take any of the following routes: downward, upward, horizontal, circular, cross-channel/diagonal. The manner by which messages or symbols are transmitted can take various forms at three levels (top management, middle management and rank and file) through both formal and informal channels.