Chapter 7. Communication

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• Communication is central to understanding organizational behavior
• Communication is improved if you are able to “feel” what others are feeling
• Social Intelligence Manage relationships by understanding and appreciating the thoughts and feelings of others
• Social awareness what we sense about others
• Social Facility how we act on that awareness
• Social awareness has Primal Empathy, Attunement, Empathic Accuracy, Social Cognition
• Social facility has Synchrony, Self-preservation, Influence, Concern
• The Allen Curve To understand how proximity and distance affect interpersonal communication patterns
• Interpersonal communication Direct communication between people where they exchange information, feelings, thoughts f2f or other media
• Communication process understand how information and meaning are exchanged through the coding and decoding of messages, and how it fails.
• Communication involves Transmission of Information and Meaning
• Coding Stage in interpersonal communication process where the recipient interprets a message transmitted to them by someone else
• Decoding Stage in the interpersonal communication process where the recipient interprets a message transmitted to them by someone else
• Perceptual Filters Individual characteristics, predispositions, and preoccupations that interfere with the effective transmission and receipt and messages
• Noise Factors outside communication process which interfere, distract attention from transmission and reception of the intended meaning.
• Noise consists of Coding and decoding errors, perceptual filters
• Feedback Processes where the transmitter of a message detects whether and how the message detects and the message has been received and decoded.
• Barriers to effective organizational communication Power differences, Gender differences, Physical surroundings, Language, Cultural diversity
• Questioning Techniques Used to get information we want from a conversation, it distinguishes between open and closed questions
• Types of questions open, closed, probe, reflective, multiple, leading, hypothetical
• Conversation is controlled with conscious and unconscious verbal and non-verbal signals
• Conversation controls Lubricators, inhibitors, bridges, pauses (1, 2, 3)
• Nonverbal Behavior(NVB) The process of coding meaning through behaviors such as facial expressions, lib gestures and body posture. (Body language)
• Verbal communication is always complemented by Non-verbal behavior
• Functions of NVB Reveal personal attributes, exercise social control establish hierarchy, promote social functioning, develop good relationships, emptional displays
• Modes of NVB Kinesics, appearance, oculesics, haptics, paralanguage, olfactics, proxemics, chronemics, environment and artifacts
• Power Tells Non-verbal signals that indicate to others how important and dominant someone is, or how powerful they would like us to think they are
• High Context Culture Culture whose members rely heavily on a range of social and non-verbal clues when communicating with others and interpreting their messages
• Low Context Culture Culture whose members focus on the written and spoken word when communicating with others and interpreting their messages
• Impression Management The process through which we control the image or impression that others have of us
• Impression management tactics Ingratiation, self-promotion, exemplification, intimidation, supplication
• Manipulate the behavior of others Impression management
• Conscious impression management More effective
• Unconscious impression management Less effective, misleading
• Emotional Intelligence (EQ) The ability to identify, understand and reflectively manage one’s own and other people’s feelings
• Key source of motivation Emotions
• Five dimensions of emotional intelligence Self-awereness, Regulating feelings, motivation, empathy, social skills
• Information richness The ability to handle much information at same time, availability of rapid feedback, ability of making personal contact
• The Media Richness Hierarchy To decide which media channel or channels to use for routine and non-routine communications
• Communication Climate The prevailing atmosphere in an organization- open or closed- in which ideas and information are exchanged
• Open, supportive communication climate Descriptive, Solution-oriented, Open and honest, Caring Egalitarian, Forgiving, Feedback
• Closed, defensive communication climate Judgemental, Controlling, Deceptive, Non-caring, Superior, Dogmatic, Hostile
• Employee Voice The ability of employees to express their views, opinions, concerns and suggestions, and for these to influence decisions at work
• Social media improves two-way communications between management and employees

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