Communicating in
Teams and
Organizations
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2013 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Communication at Zappos
Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh values
open communication with staff,
such as sending Twitter tweets,
writing blogs, and having an office
with no door.
9-2
Communication Defined
The process by which
information is transmitted
and understood between two
or more people
Effective communication
• Transmitting intended meaning
(not just symbols)
9-3
Importance of Communication
1. Coordinating work activities
2. Vehicle for organizational learning
3. Critical ingredient for decision making
4. Influencing others – changing their
behavior
5. Employee well-being
9-4
Communication Process Model
Sender
Form
message
Transmit
Message
Encode
message
Receiver
Receive
encoded
message
Decode
message
Encode
feedback
Form
feedback
Noise
Decode
feedback
Receive
feedback
Transmit
Feedback
9-5
Improving Communication
Coding/Decoding
1.
Communication channel proficiency
Sender/receiver have motivation and ability to use the
communication channel
2.
Similar codebooks
Both parties generate similar meaning from symbols,
language, etc
3.
Shared context mental models
Parties have a common understanding of the
environment
4.
Experience encoding the message
Sender is experienced at communicating the message
topic
9-6
Atos Origin Replaces Email with
Social Media Communication
European information
technology company Atos
Origin plans to replace email
completely with other Internetbased communication tools
within the next couple of years.
9-7
How Email has Altered Communication
Now preferred medium for
coordinating work
Tends to increase
communication volume
Significantly alters
communication flow
Reduces some selective
attention biases
9-8
Problems with Email
Communicates emotions
poorly
Reduces politeness and
respect (flaming)
Inefficient for ambiguous,
complex, novel situations
Increases information
overload
9-9
Communicating Through Social Media
User-generated content
• Users, not professionals, create the content
• Usually interactive -- viewer can respond
• Includes social sites -- Facebook, blogs, wikis,
tweets
Serves diverse functions
• Presenting individual’s identity, enabling
conversations, sharing information, sensing others’
online presence, maintaining relationships,
revealing status, supporting interest communities
9-10
Nonverbal Communication
Influences meaning of verbal symbols
Less rule bound than verbal communication
Most is automatic and nonconscious
Courtesy of Microsoft.
9-11
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 as part of drive to bond
9-12
Choosing Channels: Social
Acceptance
Do others support use of that communication
channel for that purpose?
Depends on:
1. Firm/team norms for using the channel
2.
Individual preferences for using the channel
3.
Symbolic meaning of the channel
9-13
I Love Rewards Gets
Media-Rich Quickly
Every day at 11:15 am,
employees at I Love Rewards
Inc. meet face-to-face for 10
minutes to communicate
priorities and coordinate their
efforts. These quick meetings
provide a personal connection
and highly interactive feedback.
9-14
Choosing Channels: 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
9-15
Hierarchy of Media Richness
Rich
Overloaded
Zone
Media
Richness
Oversimplified
Zone
Lean
Routine/clear
Situation
Nonroutine/
Ambiguous
9-16
Computer-Mediated Exceptions to
Media Richness
Media richness theory less applicable to
computer-mediated channels because:
1.Able
to multi-communicate through lean
channels
2.More varied proficiency levels
3.Lean channels have less social distraction than
do media rich channels
9-17
Persuasive Communication
Changing another person’s beliefs and
attitudes.
Spoken communication is more persuasive
because:
• accompanied by nonverbal communication
• has high quality immediate feedback
• has high social presence
9-18
Communication Barriers
Perceptions
Filtering
Language
• Jargon
• Ambiguity
Information Overload
9-19
Information Overload
Episodes of
information
overload
Information Load
Employee’s
information
processing
capacity
Time
9-20
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
9-21
Cross-Cultural Communication
Verbal differences
• Language
• Voice intonation
• Silence/conversational overlaps
Nonverbal differences
• Some nonverbal gestures are universal, but others
vary across cultures
9-22
Gender Communication Differences
Men consider more power, status,
functionality
• Report talk
• Give advice quickly
• Dominate conversation
Women consider more interpersonal
relations
• Rapport talk
• Indirect advice/requests
• Sensitive to nonverbal cues
9-23
Getting Your Message Across
1.
Empathize
2.
Repeat the message
3.
Use timing effectively
4.
Focus on the problem,
not the person
Courtesy of Microsoft.
9-24
Active Listening Process & Strategies
Sensing
• Postpone evaluation
• Avoid interruptions
• Maintain interest
Active
Listening
Responding
Evaluating
• Show interest
• Clarify the message
• Empathize
• Organize information
9-25
Communicating in Hierarchies
Workspace design
• Open offices – consider noise, distractions
• Clustering people in teams
Web-based organizational communication
• Wikis -- collaborative document creation
• E-zines -- rapid distribution of company news
Direct communication with management
• Management by walking around (MBWA)
• Town hall meetings
9-26
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, social networking, tweets are becoming the
main grapevine media
• Social networks are now global
9-27
Grapevine Benefits/Limitations
Benefits
• Fills in missing information from formal sources
• Strengthens corporate culture
• Relieves anxiety
• Associated with the drive to bond
Limitations
• Distortions might escalate anxiety
• Perceived lack of concern for employees when
company info is slower than grapevine
9-28
Communicating in
Teams and
Organizations
Power and
Influence in the
Workplace
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2013 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Power of Managing Your Boss
Managing your boss is the
process of improving the
relationship with your manager for
the benefit of both of you and the
organization. It includes
developing bases of power that
enable you to influence the
manager and thereby achieve
organizational objectives. Most
executives say it is a key factor in
everyone’s career success.
10-2
The Meaning of Power
Power is the capacity of a
person, team, or organization
to influence others.
• Potential, not actual use
• People have power they don’t
use -- may not know they
possess
• A perception, not necessarily
reality
10-3
Power and Dependence
Person B’s
countervailing
power over
Person A
Person A
Person A is
perceived as
controlling resources
that help or hinder
Person B’s goal
achievement.
Person B’s
Goal
Person B
Person A’s
power over
Person B
10-4
Model of Power in Organizations
Sources
of Power
Legitimate
Reward
Coercive
Expert
Referent
Power
over others
Contingencies
of Power
10-5
Deference to Authority:
Le Jeu de la Mort
French reality television recently
revealed how far people are willing
to submit to authority. Only 16 of
the 80 contestants refused to
administer the strongest shocks
(460 volts – enough to kill a
person) when another contestant
gave the wrong answers.
Fortunately, the other contestant
was an actor whose screams were
fake; he did not actually receive
the shocks.
10-6
Legitimate Power
Agreement that people in certain
roles can request certain
behaviors of others
Based on job descriptions and
mutual agreement
Legitimate power range (zone of
indifference) varies across
national and org cultures.
Norm of reciprocity – legitimate
power as a felt obligation to help
others who helped you in the past
10-7
Legitimate Power: Right to Control
Information Flow
Wheel
formation
This person has high
information control
All-channels
formation
These people individually
have low information control
10-8
Reward and Coercive Power
Reward Power
• Ability to control the allocation of rewards valued
by others and to remove negative sanctions
Coercive Power
• Ability to apply punishment
• Peer pressure is a form of coercive power
Reward and coercive power exist upward as
well as downward in hierarchies.
10-9
Expert Power
The capacity to influence others by
possessing knowledge or skills that they
value
Coping with uncertainty
• Organizations operate better in predictable
environments
• People gain power by using their expertise to:
- Prevent environmental changes
- Forecast environmental changes
- Absorb environmental changes
10-10
Referent Power
Occurs when others identify with, like, or
otherwise respect the person
Associated with charismatic leadership
10-11
Contingencies of Power
Sources
of Power
Power
over others
Contingencies
of Power
Substitutability
Centrality
Discretion
Visibility
10-12
The Power of Nonsubstitutability
Your personal brand improves career success when you
offer something that is valued and nonsubstitutable. “Be
unique about something. Be a specialist in something. Be
known for something,” advises Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
CEO Barry Salzberg (center).
10-13
Increasing Nonsubstitutability
Few/no alternatives to the resource
Increase nonsubstitutability by controlling the
resource
• exclusive right to perform medical procedures
• control over skilled labor
• exclusive knowledge to repair equipment
Differentiate resource from others (i.e. be
unique)
10-14
Centrality
Degree and nature of interdependence
between the powerholder and others (reflects
the person’s importance to others)
Centrality is a function of:
• How many others are affected by you
• How quickly others are affected by you
10-15
Discretion and Visibility
Discretion
• The freedom to exercise judgment
• Rules limit discretion, limit power
• Also a perception – acting as if you have discretion
Visibility
• Make others aware of your presence –more face
time, locate office near busy routes
• Symbols communicate your power source(s)
- Educational diplomas
- Clothing etc (stethoscope around neck)
10-16
Power and Influence Through
Social Networks
Social networks – people connected to each
other through forms of interdependence
Generate power through social capital -goodwill and resulting resources shared
among members in a social network
Three power resources through social
networks
• Knowledge sharing
• Visibility
• Referent power
10-17
Social Network Ties
Strong ties:
• Close-knit relationships (frequent interaction,
high volume sharing, multiple roles)
• Offer resources more quickly/plentifully,
but less unique
Weak ties
• Acquaintances
• Offer unique resources not held by us or
people in other networks
Many ties
• Resources increase with number of ties
• Limits on number of weak/strong ties one can create
10-18
Social Network Centrality
Person’s importance in a network
Three factors in centrality:
A
1. Betweenness – extent you are located between
others in the network (i.e. information gatekeeper)
2. Degree centrality -- Number of people connected
to you
3. Closeness – stronger relationships (faster/plentiful
resources)
B
Example: “A” has highest network centrality due
to all three factors; “B” has lowest centrality
10-19
Influencing Others
Influence -- any behavior that
attempts to alter someone’s
attitudes or behavior
Applies one or more power
bases
Process through which
people achieve organizational
objectives
Operates up, down, and
across the organizational
hierarchy
10-20
Types of Influence
Silent
Authority
• Following requests without overt influence
• Based on legitimate power, role modeling
• Common in high power distance cultures
Assertiveness • Actively applying legitimate and coercive
power (“vocal authority”)
• Reminding, confronting, checking,
threatening
more
10-21
Types of Influence (con’t)
Information
Control
• Manipulating others’ access to information
• Withholding, filtering, re-arranging
information
Coalition
Formation
• Group forms to gain more power than
individuals alone
1. Pools resources/power
2. Legitimizes the issue
3. Power through social identity
more
10-22
Types of Influence (con’t)
Upward
Appeal
• Appealing to higher authority
• Includes appealing to firm’s goals
• Alliance or perceived alliance with higher
status person
Persuasion
• Logic, facts, emotional appeals
• Depends on persuader, message content,
message medium, audience
more
10-23
Types of Influence (con’t)
Ingratiation/
Impress. Mgt.
Exchange
• Increase liking by, or perceived similarity to
the target person
• Promising or reminding of past benefits in
exchange for compliance
• Includes negotiation and networking
10-24
Consequences of Influence Tactics
people oppose the behavior desired by the influencer
motivated by external sources
(rewards) to implement request
identify with and
highly motivated to
implement request
Resistance
Compliance
Commitment
10-25
Consequences of Influence Tactics
Hard Influence
Tactics
Soft Influence
Tactics
Silent authority
Persuasion
Upward appeal
Coalition formation
Ingratiation &
impression mgt
Information control
Exchange
Assertiveness
Resistance
Compliance
Commitment
10-26
Contingencies of Influence Tactics
“Soft” tactics generally more acceptable than
“hard” tactics
Appropriate influence tactic depends on:
• Influencer’s power base
• Organizational position
• Cultural values and expectations
10-27
Organizational Politics
Behaviors that others perceive as self-serving tactics for
personal gain at the expense of other people and
possibly the organization.
10-28
Conditions that Encourage
Organizational Politics
•
Scarce resources – to safeguard own resources
•
Ambiguous resource allocation decisions
•
Organizational change – due to uncertainty, ambiguity
10-29
Minimizing Political Behavior
Introduce clear rules for scarce resources
Effective organizational change practices
Suppress norms that support or tolerate
self-serving behavior
Leaders role model organizational
citizenship
Give employees more control over their
work
Keep employees informed
10-30
Power and
Influence in the
Workplace
UNIT V STUDY GUIDE
Team Communication & Power and
Influence
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit V
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. Explain why communication is important in organizations and the four influences on effective
communication encoding and decoding.
2. Compare and contrast the advantages of and problems with electronic mail, other verbal
communication media, and nonverbal communication.
3. Explain how social acceptance and media richness influence the preferred communication channel.
4. Determine effective communication strategies in organizational hierarchies and the role and
relevance of the organizational grapevine.
5. Elaborate on the dependence model of power as well as the five sources of power in organizations.
6. Discuss the four contingencies of power.
7. Explain how people and work units gain power through social networks.
Reading Assignment
Chapter 9:
Communicating in Teams and Organizations
Chapter 10:
Power and Influence in the Workplace, pp. 288-301
Unit Lesson
Effective Communication
The interdependence of organizational departments or any organizational setup is highly dependent on
communication. There are many influences on communication. Body language and eye contact are among
the physical ones. With virtual teams, however, we have to consider other factors to accommodate for the
unstated intent or feeling/tone of our message. Still other factors, such as integrity and care for ensuring the
process is effective, are helpful to efficacy.
During this unit, we will discuss the advantages of email and social media, for instance, and ways it expedites
communication that is transactional in nature. We will also uncover the value of non-electronic communication
– simply put, the need for face-to-face communication. We will consider what is lost when we use electronic
mail and other technologies. What is missing from these communications? While emoticons can help suggest
emotion, there are countless facial expressions and other types of body language that add texture to the art of
human communications that are simply lost when we do not talk to people in person. Also, culture and
customs might not be respected with a lack of human contact or too much human contact. Social and
business norms are also considerations when we consider the inherent and unavoidable communication
break-downs in an organization.
Thus, improving communications of any type, whether verbal, face-to-face, media-supported, or nonverbal is
every company’s quest. As we examine the ways communications are transmitted, we will also need to
consider the role of social acceptance. Is it safe for a teacher or security guard to be texting while it is their
duty to supervise or provide surveillance? Was the telephone, an auditory device, a better method because it
did not take away their visual contact with their duty?
BBA 3451, Organizational Theory and Behavior
1
Organizations must determine effective communication strategies and, in doing so, consider many factors
such as media richness, which is a theory that helps us to choose and assess proficient communication tools.
We see barriers in many situations. For example, a person working in a busy call center might communicate
better in a live chat because a verbal discussion would be interrupted by the background noise.
Depending on the organizational hierarchy or design, communication processes can be formal or informal.
Management by walking around (MBWA) was coined by managers at Hewlett Packard who discovered that
the live presence of communications with employees helped propel effective two-way communications among
managers to subordinates. The organizational grapevine is known to be the fastest form of communications. It
can lead to the rumor mill, or it can act as a conduit of factual organizational stories and values. There are
benefits and limitations to the grapevine, but managers who understand it is motivated by the need of
subordinates to bond, will not fear the grapevine, but instead allow it to be an opportunity to spread intended
messages. Do you think the grapevine can be used purposefully? Consider the Debating Point on page 279
in the textbook.
Power is gained in the organization on many levels, including bridging issues via social networks and cliques
(McShane & Von Glinow, 2013). Leadership and subordinates must have a shared understanding of power.
While respect and trust are optimal, the process of relationship is subsequent to clear expectations of both the
lines of authority and the power of the communication structures. Consider your current or past workplace.
Who has the power?
Reference
McShane, S. L., & Von Glinow, M. A. (2013). Organizational behavior (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGrawHill/Irwin.
Suggested Reading
Click here for the Chapter 9 Presentation in PowerPoint form. Click here to access a PDF version of the
presentation.
Click here for the Chapter 10 Presentation in PowerPoint form. Click here to access a PDF version of the
presentation.
Using the CSU Online Library, locate and read the following article. Look for this article using the Academic
OneFile Database:
Patterson, P. D., Pfeiffer, A. J., Weaver, M. D., Krackhardt, D., Arnold, R. M., Yealy, D. M., & Lave, J. R.
(2013). Network analysis of team communication in a busy emergency department. BMC Health
Services Research, 13, 109.
Learning Activities (Non-Graded)
Active Listening Exercise
(Adapted from McShane & VonGlinlow, 2013, p. 284)
This exercise is designed to help you understand the dynamics of active listening in conversations and to
develop active listening skills.
For each of the two vignettes presented below, compose three statements that demonstrate active listening.
One statement will indicate that you show empathy for the situation; the second will ask for clarification and
detail in a nonjudgmental way; and the third statement will provide non-evaluative feedback to the speaker.
Here are some details about each of these three types of responses:
Showing empathy: Acknowledge feelings. Sometimes it sounds like a speaker wants you to agree
with him or her, but in reality the speaker mainly wants you to understand how he or she feels.
“Acknowledging feelings” involves taking in the speaker's statements while looking at the “whole
BBA 3451, Organizational Theory and Behavior
2
message,” including body language, tone of voice, and level of arousal, and trying to determine what
emotion the speaker is conveying. Then you let the speaker know that you realize what he or she is
feeling by acknowledging it in a sentence.
Asking for clarification and detail while withholding judgment and opinions. This step conveys that you
are trying to understand and not just trying to push your opinions onto the speaker. To formulate a
relevant question in asking for more clarification, you will have to listen carefully to what the speaker
says. Frame your question as someone trying to understand in more detail; often asking for a specific
example is useful. This also helps the speaker evaluate his or her own opinions and perspective.
Providing non-evaluative feedback: Feeding back the message you heard. This will allow the speaker
to determine if he or she has conveyed the message to you and will help prevent troublesome
miscommunication. It will also help the speaker become more aware of how he or she is coming
across to another person (self-evaluation). Just think about what the speaker is conveying;
paraphrase it in your own words, and say it back to the speaker (without judging the correctness or
merit of what was said), asking him or her if that is what was meant.
After you have prepared the three statements for each vignette, explain how these statements satisfy the
active listening criteria.
Vignette 1: A colleague stops by your desk and says, “I am tired of the lack of leadership around here. The
boss is so wishy-washy; he can't get tough with some of the slackers around here. They just keep milking the
company, living off the rest of us. Why doesn't management do something about these guys? And you are
always so supportive of the boss; he's not as good as you make him out to be.”
Develop three statements that respond to the speaker in this vignette by (a) showing empathy, (b) seeking
clarification, and (c) providing non-evaluative feedback.
Vignette 2: Your subordinate comes into your office in a state of agitation, asking if she can talk to you. She
is polite and sits down. She seems calm and does not have an angry look on her face. However, she says, “It
seems like you consistently make up lousy schedules; you are unfair and unrealistic in the kinds of
assignments you give certain people, me included. Everyone else is so intimidated they don't complain, but I
think you need to know that this isn't right and it's got to change.”
Develop three statements that respond to the speaker in this vignette by (a) showing empathy, (b) seeking
clarification, and (c) providing non-evaluative feedback.
Submit your answers in APA essay format with headings to separate each part of your response
Non-graded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to
submit them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information.
BBA 3451, Organizational Theory and Behavior
3
Purchase answer to see full
attachment