ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR SUMMARY

Keane Indira Nariswari

CHAPTER 11
COMMUNICATION

 Communication  The transfer and understanding of meaning.

 Communication serves four major functions within a group or organization: control,
motivation, emotional expression, and information.
a. Control  Organizations have authority hierarchies and formal guidelines
employees are required to follow. Informal communication controls behavior
too. When work groups tease or harass a member who produces too much,
they are informally communicating, and controlling, the member’s behavior.
b. Motivation  Clarifying to employees what they must do, how well they are
doing it, and how they can improve if performance is subpar.
c. Emotional expression  For many employees, work group is a primary
source of social interaction (to express feelings and fulfillment).
Communication within the group is a fundamental mechanism by which
members show their satisfaction and frustrations.
d. Information  Communication provides the information individuals and
groups need to make decisions by transmitting the data needed to identify and
evaluate choices.
 The Communication Process

a. Formal channels  established by the organization and transmit messages related to

the professional activities of members (follow the authority chain).
b. Informal channels  spontaneous and emerge as a response to individual choices
(personal or social).
 Direction of Communication
a. Downward  Flows from one level of a group or organization to a lower level.
Group leaders and managers use it to assign goals, provide job instructions, explain
policies and procedures, point out problems that need attention, and offer feedback
about performance.
b. Upward  flows to a higher level in the group or organization. used to provide
feedback to higher-ups, inform them of progress toward goals, and relay current
problems. keeps managers aware of how employees feel about their jobs, co-workers,
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR SUMMARY
Keane Indira Nariswari

and the organization in general.

c. Lateral  takes place among members of the same work group, members of work
groups at the same level, managers at the same level, or any other horizontally
equivalent workers. It saves time and facilitates coordination.
 Interpersonal Communication
a. Oral  Speeches, formal one-on-one and group discussions, and the informal rumor
mill or grapevine.
b. Written  memos, letters, fax transmissions, e-mail, instant messaging,
organizational periodicals, notices placed on bulletin boards.
c. Non-Verbal  body movements, the intonations or emphasis we give to words, facial
expressions, and the physical distance between the sender and receiver.
 Organizational Communication
a. Formal Small-Group Networks

-Chain: rigidly follows the formal chain of command.

-Wheel: relies on a central figure to act as the conduit for all the group’s
communication.
- All-channel: all group members actively communicate with each other.
b. The Grapevine (Informal communication network in organization)

Reducing the negative consequences of rumors:

1. Provide information.
2. Explain actions and decisions that may appear inconsistent.
3. Refrain from shooting the messenger.
4. Maintain open communication channels.
c. Electronic Communication
1. E-mail
The advantages: quickly written, edited, and stored, easily distributed, low
cost.
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR SUMMARY
Keane Indira Nariswari

The drawbacks:
- Risk of misinterpreting the message
- Drawbacks for communicating negative messages.
- Time-consuming nature.
- Limited expression of emotions.
- Privacy concerns.
2. Instant Messaging and Text Messages
Advantages: “real time” e-mail transmitted straight to the receiver’s desktop.
Disadvantages: can be intrusive and distracting.
3. Social Networking
4. Blogs
5. Video Conferencing
 Managing Information
Information overload  A condition in which information inflow exceeds an
individual’s processing capacity.
Threats to information security.
 Choice of Communication Channel

Channel richness  The amount of information that can be transmitted during a

communication episode.

 Persuasive Communications
a. Automatic and Controlled Processing
Automatic processing  A relatively superficial consideration of evidence and
information making use of heuristics.
Controlled processing  A detailed consideration of evidence and information
relying on facts, figures, and logic.
b. Interest Level  the higher interest, the more careful the info is processed
c. Prior Knowledge  the more well informed, the more likely to use controlled
processing strategies.
d. Personality  Need for cognition: a personality trait of individuals who are most
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR SUMMARY
Keane Indira Nariswari

likely to be persuaded by evidence and facts.

e. Message Characteristics  Messages provided through relatively lean
communication channels, with little opportunity for users to interact with the content
of the message, tend to encourage automatic processing.
 Barriers to Effective Communication
a. Filtering  A sender’s manipulation of information so that it will be seen
more favorably by the receiver.
b. Selective Perception
c. Information Overload
d. Emotions
e. Language
f. Silence
g. Communication Apprehension  Undue tension and anxiety about oral
communication, written communication, or both.
h. Lying
 Global Implications
a. Cultural Barriers
b. Cultural Context
High-Context Cultures: Cultures that rely heavily on nonverbal and subtle
situational cues in communication.
Low-Context Cultures: Cultures that rely heavily on words to convey meaning
in communication.
 A Cultural Guide
a. Assume differences until similarity is proven.
b. Emphasize description rather than interpretation.
c. Practice empathy.
d. Treat your interpretations as a working hypothesis.