Module 11 Managerial Communication, Teamwork and Managing Groups

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Module 11Managerial Communication, Teamwork
and Managing Groups
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Topics

• Nature of managerial communication
• Influences on individual communication
  interpersonal processes
• Group communication networks
• Organisational communication channels
• Managing groups and teams

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Managerial Communication

• Nature of communication
• Exchange of messages between people to achieve
  common meanings.
• Unless meanings are shared, managers cannot
  influence others.
• Therefore communication is critical to a
  managers job.
• Managers spend up to 85 of their time
  communicating.

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Managerial Communication Preferences
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Managerial Communication

• Types of communication
• Verbal
• Written or oral use of words to communicate
• Non-verbal
• Communication by means of elements and
  behaviours that are not coded into words

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Managerial Communication

• Non-verbal communication
• Studies estimate 65 to 93 per cent of what is
  communicated is non-verbal.
• What is non-verbal communication?
• Ex Body language such as gestures, facial
  expressions, eye movements and posture.
• Proxemics influence of proximity and
  space on communication
• What else?

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Managerial Communication

• Components of communication
• Sender initiator of the message
• Encoding process of translating an intended
  message into words and gestures
• Message encoding process-outcome
• Medium method used to convey the message to the
  intended receiver
• Receiver person with whom the message is
  exchanged
• Decoding process of translating symbols into the
  interpreted message
• Noise factors in the process interfering with
  message exchange and achieving common meaning.
• Feedback receivers response to the message
  interpreted

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Managerial Communication
Sender/receiver
Noise
Noise
Encoding message
Feedback
Medium
Feedback
Decoding message
Sender/receiver
Noise
Noise
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Barriers to Effective Interpersonal Communication

• How is it that some people get a particular
  communication and others do not? While
  miscommunications may be caused by misdirected
  mail and lost messages, they may also result from
  individual factors influencing organisational
  communication.

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Barriers to Effective Interpersonal Communication

• Filtering, ex. Tell the boss what the boss wants
  to hear
• Selective perception selectively interpret what
  they see or hear on the basis of their interests,
  background, experiences and attitudes.
• Emotions
• Information overload
• Defensiveness feel being threatened, the
  response
• Language, jargon
• Cultural differences
• Noise and distraction
• Organisational barriers

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Source James, A. 2001, Principles of Management
Study Guide, AMC, Launceston
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Source James, A. 2001, Principles of Management
Study Guide, AMC, Launceston
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Barriers to Effective Interpersonal Communication

• Many factors affect individuals perceptions,
  such as experiences, needs, personality, culture
  and education. Therefore, peoples perceptions of
  situations and messages differ.
• Some distortions apply to managerial
  communication and interactions.

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Barriers to Effective Interpersonal Communication

• Distortions
• Stereotyping
• Tendency to attribute characteristics to an
  individual on the basis of an assessment of the
  group to which they belong
• Halo effect
• Tendency to use a general impression based on
  one or a few characteristics of an individual
• Projection
• Tendency of an individual to assume others
  share their thoughts, feelings and
  characteristics
• Perceptual defence
• Tendency to block out or distort information
  one finds threatening or which challenges ones
  beliefs
• shoot the bearer of bad news

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Managing Diversity Culture context

• Cultural context
• Culture also influences communication and
  interpersonal processes.
• High-context cultures
• Emphasis in communication process is the
  establishment strengthening of relationships
• Low-context cultures
• Emphasis is on exchanging information

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• Continuum of low-context and high-context cultures

Saudi Arabia
China
France
Asia
Australia
Latin America
US
Germany
Low context countries
High context countries
Read the article intercultural nonverbal
communication
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Individual Communication Interpersonal Processes

• Communication skills

Active listening listener actively
participates in attempting to grasp facts the
speakers feelings
Effective communication
Feedback both giving receiving is
important. Deal with specific, observable
behaviour, not generalities. Importance of
seeking customer feedback Constrain
emotion Simplify language
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Basic Communication Skills

• Regulating skill
• Open the conversation and set goals to pursue
  efficient communication
• Listening skills
• Active listening (facial expression, eye contact,
  body posture, encouraging posture)
• Feedback (asking question, paraphrasing,
  reflection of emotions, concreteness and
  summarising, being minimal encouragers)

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Basic Communication Skills

• Sender skills
• initiative
• Giving information (structure, simplicity of
  style, conciseness, attractiveness)
• Making requests and giving Instructions
  (subassertive, aggressive, assertive means)
• Giving criticism (justified)
• Situation clarification
• Reactive
• Refusing
• Reacting to criticism of your opinion and
  behaviour

Source Van der Molen and Gramsbergen-Hoogland
2005, Communication in Organisations
Basic Skills and Conversation Models,1st edn,
Psychology Press, Hove.
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Examples

• Personal problems interview

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Group Communication Networks

• Pattern of information flow among task-group
  members
• Centralised networks most messages pass through
  one person. Thy are applicable to simple and
  routine work and result in faster and accurate
  message conveyance.
• Decentralised networks applicable to complex
  works, free exchange of information in the circle
  and all channel facilitates the process and
  creativity.

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Organisational Communication Channels

• Communication channels
• Vertical communication
• Horizontal communication
• Informal communication

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Organisational Communication Channels

• Vertical communication
• Message exchange between two or more levels of
  the organisational hierarchy.

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Organisational Communication Channels

• Vertical communication
• Downward communication
• Can be distorted by
• faulty message due to sender error (poor
  communication skills, difficulties encoding a
  message clearly, carelessness)
• Managers overuse downward communication (one-way
  communication) have little possible immediate
  receiver feedback
• Deliberately or accidentally filter
  communications by withholding, screening or
  manipulating information
• Upward communication
• Can be distorted by only favourable messages
  going up
• Managers dont encourage upward flow

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Organisational Communication Channels

• Horizontal communication
• Lateral or diagonal message exchange within
  work-unit boundaries, involving peers reporting
  to the same supervisor, or across work-unit
  boundaries, involving individuals who report to
  different supervisors.
• Impeding factors
• Rivalry
• Indifference to work of others
• Low motivation due to discouragement of
  horizontal communication

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Forms of Communication

• Magazine
• Newsletter
• Website
• Periodically e-news bulletin
• forum
• .?

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Organisational Communication Channels

• Informal communication (grapevine)
• Communication which takes place without regard
  to hierarchical or task requirements
• Problems
• Can carry gossip/distorted information
• Benefits
• Valuable tool for continuation/propagation of
  culture

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ORGANISATIONAL COMMUNICATION CHANNELS
Electronic mail
Instant Message
Electronic communication
Internet
EDI
Voice mail
Videoconferencing
Teleconferencing
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Managing groupsFormal groups

• Groups officially created by an organisation
• for a specific purpose.
• Command/functional
• traditional work groups determined by formal
  authority relationships and depicted on the
  organisational chart, such as manager
  subordinates. Ex flight centre
• Task groups created for a specific purpose,
  supplementing or replacing work normally done by
  command groups
• Permanent standing committee or team
• Temporary task force

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Informal groups

• Groups established by employees (not the
• organisation) to serve members interests or
• social needs
• Interest groups
• Friendship groups meet employee social needs

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Types of work groups
Command or functional groups
Permanent task groups
Formal groups
Task groups
Work groups
Temporary task groups
Interest groups
Informal groups
Friendship groups
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How work groups operate

• A general model of work-group behaviour

PROCESSES Group norms Cohesiveness Group
conflict Development
INPUTS Group composition Member roles Group size
OUTCOMES Performance Need satisfaction Future
work group compatibility
External conditions Imposed on the group
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How work groups operate Work-group Inputs

• Work group composition (diversity)
• Two crucial selection factors are potential
  member characteristics and reasons for their
  attraction to the group.
• Member characteristics
• Task-relevant skills
• Appropriate interpersonal skills
• Contribution to group diversity
• Attraction to the group
• Identification of reason for wanting to join
  group as being appropriate to group task

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Work-group Inputs

• Member roles a set of behaviour patterns
  attributed to someone occupying a given position
  in a social unit.
• Group task roles are roles helping a group
  develop and accomplish its goals
• For examples, Initiator-contributor, information
  giver, coordinator, energiser.
• Group maintenance roles helping foster group
  unity, positive interpersonal relations among
  group members and development of their ability to
  work effectively together.
• for example, encourager, harmoniser, gatekeeper,
  standard setter, group observer, follower

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Work-group Inputs

• Self-oriented roles roles related to the
  personal needs of group members and often
  negatively influencing group effectiveness.
• for example, aggressor, blocker, recognition
  seeker, and dominator

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Work-group Inputs

• Group size
• Size group interaction
• Group size affects interaction
• Size performance
• free rider tendency free riding the larger the
  group size, the higher.

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Effects of group size on performance
Group performance
large
small
Group Size
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How work groups operateWork-group Processes

• Why do some groups accomplish little, while
  others with similar inputs, a great deal?
• Rely on group process the dynamic inner workings
  of the group
• As group members work, some energy goes into
  group development and operations. This is
  diverted from the task, and is known as process
  loss, as it is lost energy which could have been
  devoted to the task.

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Work-group Processes

• Positive Synergy
• Force resulting when combined gains from group
  interactions are greater than group-process
  losses
• Negative synergy
• Force resulting when group-process losses are
  greater than gains achieved from combining the
  forces of the group

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Factors influencing Work-group Processes

• Group norms
• Expected behaviours sanctioned by a group that
  regulate and foster uniform member behaviour.
• Group cohesiveness
• Degree to which members are attracted to a
  group, are motivated to remain in it, and are
  mutually influenced by one another.

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Factors influencing Work-group Processes

• Group norms
• Consequences of group cohesion
• Organisational citizenship behaviours
• Determinants of group cohesiveness
• Similar attitudes values
• Mutual understandings
• External threats
• Size of group

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Factors influencing Work-group Processes

• Group conflict will impact the performance
• Conflict is not always bad.
• Optimal and functional conflict will lead to high
  group performance (innovative)

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Promoting Innovation Using Task Forces Teams

• Task force
• Temporary task group formed to recommend on a
  specific issue.
• (MAY BE ad hoc committee)
• (Work) Team
• Temporary or ongoing task group with members
  charged to work together to identify problems,
  identify approach and implement necessary actions
  to achieve a goal.
• (MAY BE entrepreneurial, self-managing, virtual)

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Why are work teams popular?

• A recent study shows that 80 per cent of
  organisations with over 100 employees reported
  that half their employees were on at least one
  team (Beyerlein and Harris 1998)
• Create esprit de corps
• Increase flexibility
• Allow managers to do more strategic management
• Take advantage of workforce diversity
• Increase performance

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Characteristics of a Team

• Purpose product development, problem solving,
  reengineering, any other organisational purposes
  desired
• Duration permanent or temporary
• Membership functional or cross-functional
• Structure
• Self-leading
• supervised

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Types of teams

• Entrepreneurial (cross functional) team
• Group of individuals with diverse expertise and
  backgrounds brought together to develop
  implement innovative ideas aimed to create new
  products or services or significantly improve
  existing ones.

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Types of teams

• Self-managing team
• Work group with responsibility for a task area
  without supervision, and given authority to
  influence and control group membership and
  behaviour.

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Developing and Managing Effective Teams

• Clear goals
• Relevant skills
• Mutual trust
• Unified commitment
• Good communication
• Negotiating skills
• Appropriate leadership
• Internal and external support

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How to Manage Teams

• Planning
• Organising
• Leading
• Controlling

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Activity

• Do review activity question 4 on page 11.24 of
  your study guide.