Communication in Modern Organization

in modern organization

+DENPONG SOODPHAKDEE, Ph.D.VP.ACAD.IT @KKU

Proper Communication

Demography: Era and People

• Traditionalists: born prior to 1946• Brand and retail store loyal, gone through the depression and war

• Baby Boomers: born 1946-64• Reminded to eat the plate clean. Into home and kitchens upgrade; enjoys gourmet

food

• Generation X: born 1965-81• Likes to be educated and informed; no major enduring hard economical times

• Gen Y, Net-Geners/Millenials: born 1982-2000 (14 -32)• Live, breath, shop, link up on the web. Well informed.

• Our students on campus

• Gen Z: born after 2001 (below 13)• Group activities

• Multi-cultural, experiential, media-savvy

Gen Y

•Tech savvy• Continually connected with IM,

SMS

• Socially connected with devices

•Cosmopolitan• Influenced by peers

•Short attention span• Skim text and information

quickly

•Achievement oriented

• Seek recognition, fame and feedback

• Wants meaningful work and a solid learning curve

•Team-Oriented• Value teamwork and seek the

input and affirmation of others

• Loyal, committed and wants to be included and involved

Down Memory Lane

Today

Can be defined as the process by which information is exchanged and understood by two or more people, usually with the intent to motivate or influence behavior.

Communication

© 2006 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.

Downward, Upward, and Horizontal Communication in Organizations

SOURCE: Adopted from Richard L. Daft and

Richard M. Steers, Organizations; A Micro-

Macro Approach, 538 Copyright 1986 by

Scott, Foresman and Company, Used by

permission.

Vertical and Horizontal Communication

Vertical Communication

The flow of information both up

and down the chain of

command

Formal communication

Recognized as official

Status and power are not equal

among participants in vertical

communication

Horizontal Communication

• The flow of information between

colleagues and peers

• Informal communication

• Does not follow the chain of

command

• Not recognized as official

© 2006 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.

Downward Communication

Messages sent from top management down to

subordinates.

Most familiar and obvious flow of formal

communication.

Major problem is drop off.

Another concern, distortion.

© 2006 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.

Upward Communication

Messages that flow from the lower to the higher levels in the

organizations.

Upward communications mechanisms:

1. Suggestion boxes.

2. Employee surveys.

3. MIS reports.

4. Face to face conversations.

© 2006 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.

Horizontal Communication

Lateral or diagonal exchange of messages among peers or

coworkers.

Horizontal communication’s three categories:

1. Intradepartmental problem solving.

2. Interdepartmental coordination.

3. Change initiatives and improvements.

Receiver

Encode

feedback

Form

feedback

Sender

Form

message

Encode

message

TransmitMessage

TransmitFeedback

Noise

Communication Process Model

Decode

message

Receive

encoded

message

Decode

feedback

Receive

feedback

Improving Communication Coding/Decoding

1. Both parties have motivation and ability to communicate

through the channel

2. Both parties carry the same “codebook”

3. Both parties share similar mental models of the

communication context

4. Sender is experienced at communicating the message topic

How E-Mail has Altered Communication

Now preferred medium for coordinating work

Tends to increase communication volume

Significantly alters communication flow

Reduces some selective attention biases

Problems with E-Mail

Communicates emotions poorly

Reduces politeness and respect

Inefficient for ambiguous, complex, novel situations

Increases information overload

Social Networking Communication

Social network communication clusters people around

interests/expertise

Several types of social network communication

• Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn

• Online discussion forums

• Avatar sites (e.g. Second Life)

• Instant messaging

• Wikis

Nonverbal Communication

Actions, facial gestures, etc.

Influences meaning of verbal symbols

Less rule bound than verbal communication

Important part of emotional labor

Most is automatic and nonconscious

Emotional Contagion

The automatic process of sharing another person’s

emotions by mimicking their facial expressions and

other nonverbal behavior

Serves three purposes:

1. Provides continuous feedback to speaker

2. Increases emotional understanding of the other person’s

experience

3. Communicates a collective sentiment -- sharing the

experience

Choosing the Best Communication Channel: Social Acceptance

How well the communication

channel is approved and supported

by the organization, team, and

individual:

1. Communication channel norms

2. Individual communication channel

preferences

3. Symbolic meaning of the

communication channel

Choosing the Best Communication Channel: Media Richness

The channel’s data-carrying capacity needs

to be aligned with the communication activity

High richness when channel:

1. conveys multiple cues

2. allows timely feedback

3. allows customized message

4. permits complex symbols

Use rich communication media when the

situation is nonroutine and ambiguous

Oversimplified

Zone

Overloaded

Zone

Nonroutine/

Ambiguous

Rich

Media

Richness

Situation

Hierarchy of Media Richness

Routine/clear

Lean

Factors that Override Media Richness

Ability to multi-communicate with lean channels

More varied proficiency levels

Social distractions of rich channels

Persuasive Communication

Changing another person’s beliefs and attitudes.

Spoken communication is more persuasive because:

1. accompanied by nonverbal communication, adding

emotional punch to the message.

2. has high quality immediate feedback whether message is

understood and accepted.

3. has high social presence, so receiver is more sensitive to

message content and more motivated to accept the

message.

Communication Barriers

Perceptions

Filtering

Language

• Jargon

• Ambiguity

Information Overload

Information Overload

Information Load

Episodes of

information

overload

Employee’s

information

processing

capacity

Time

Managing Information Overload

Solution 1: Increase info processing capacity• Learn to read faster

• Scan through documents more efficiently

• Remove distractions

• Time management

• Temporarily work longer hours

Solution 2: Reduce information load• Buffering

• Omitting

• Summarizing

Cross-Cultural Communication

Verbal differences

• Language

• Voice intonation

• Silence/conversational overlaps

Nonverbal differences

• Interpreting nonverbal meaning

• Importance of verbal versus nonverbal

©Mark M. Lawrence/Corbis

Getting Your Message Across

1. Empathize

2. Repeat the message

3. Use timing effectively

4. Be descriptive

Courtesy of Microsoft.

Active

Listening

Active Listening Process & Strategies

Sensing• Postpone evaluation

• Avoid interruptions

• Maintain interest

Evaluating• Empathize

• Organize information

Responding• Show interest

• Clarify the message

Communicating in Hierarchies

Workspace design• Clustering people in teams

• Open office arrangements

Web-based organizational communication• Wikis -- collaborative document creation

• Blogs -- personal news/opinion for sharing

• E-zines -- rapid distribution of company news

Direct communication with management• Management by walking around (MBWA)

• Town hall meetings

Organizational Grapevine

Early research findings• Transmits information rapidly in all directions

• Follows a cluster chain pattern

• More active in homogeneous groups

• Transmits some degree of truth

Changes due to internet• Email becoming the main grapevine medium

• Social networks are now global

• Public blogs and forums extends gossip to everyone

© 2006 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.

The Grapevine

Will always exist in organizations.

Used to fill in information gaps.

Tends to be more active during periods of change.

About 80% of topics are business related.

About 70-90% of details of grapevine are accurate.

Grapevine Benefits/Limitations

Benefits• Fills in missing information from formal sources

• Strengthens corporate culture

• Relieves anxiety

• Signals that problems exist

Limitations• Distortions might escalate anxiety

• Perceived lack of concern for employees when company

info is slower than grapevine

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