Organisations and Communication

1
Organisations andCommunication
2
Communication as a process
A process which conveys information and meaning
(consensus or otherwise) between senders and
recipients

• message
• media
• sender
• audience
• context
• noise, distortion

• Organisational functioning
• Human initiation, interaction, interpretation and
  impact
• Coordination
• Control
• Adoption of technical devices

3
Hard and soft communications

• What is being communicated?
• Content and process
• Functional information coordinates
• Policies, procedures, programmes, targets
• Transaction processing - documents, data, flows,
  processing, records rules
• Allocations, budgets budgeting
• Grape vine rumour
• Mgt information, analysis reports
• Complexity, certainty, timeliness, accuracy,
  completeness
• Vertical, lateral networked
• up/down, cascade, mining, filtering
• Feelings based communication
• Sensitive data - confidentiality, privacy,
  intellectual capital
• Enterprise intelligence the K-based
  organisation

Oi, Hello, is there anybody there
4
Information flows (manufacturing) supply chain
Marketing
market research data
Customers
Design
design information
Competitors
orders
Sales
Purchasing
Regulatory bodies
orders
Inward logistics
orders
Production planning
Government
delivery notes
Production control
JIT data
invoices
intelligence data
Quality control
Delivery
Legal environment
invoices
Suppliers
Finance
payments
share prices
After-sales
Accounting Standards
Relationship management
Stock exchange
dividends
Shareholders
5
Perceptual, conceptual related capacities

• Perceptual - Sensing, measuring, judging
• Colour, sound, texture, smell. Interpreting
  smells, noises, signals
• Monitoring sounds, vibrations, data, information
• Frames of reference - vantage point
• Conceptual - associating, abstracting,
  formulating, calculating, inferring
• Understanding processes in the abstract
• Hypothesising predicting from associated,
  comparative information
• Depends on knowledge - range, depth and level
• Dealing with symbolic information
• Relating - Ego alter oriented
• Needs for achievement, power, affiliation
• sensitivity empathy, identification
  association, objective-subjective, attitudes
  values
• Physical
• Storage, access, processing transmission
  capacity, security, privacy

6
Perception

• Context
• Stimulus strength
• Selective
• Horns, halo
• Expectancy predisposition
• Wishful thinking
• Stereotyping distortion

7
Changing Impressions
8
Modelling some elements of perception
previous experience
store
constancy rules
scan
store
Nature and content of stimulus
select group to form precept
What are the problems of this type of
explanation??
scan
Sensation awareness
match
Rules of selection
inner needs
contiguity form
Yes Recognise Ah Ha!
mental state
situation
self-concept
role
culture
mind set
values
9
Johari Window (Luft 1961)
What you see in me
What you do not see in me
Open self open, known information
understanding
Private self
What I see in me
Leakage, disclosure
Feedback, disclosure
Unknown Neither has much information or insight
What I don't see in me
Blind self
10
Communications effectiveness?

• Communication research
• How do we communicate to our customers?
• What do we communicate?
• How do they see us, our products, services?
• Trust, reliability, mutuality
• What information do they want and need that we
  are not giving?
• How can we improve our information sharing
  relationships?
• Diagnosis of problems, joint solutions, advisory
  consultancy services
• Value-added, Quality and Just-in-time
• Benchmarking competitive superiority
• Mutual increases in profitability
• Security and safety
• Marketing information system effectiveness

• Market Research
• Who are we selling to?
• Who else is selling to our customers
• Competitively? Non-competitively?
• Who are our customers selling to?
• How do we sell?
• How effectively?
• How much?
• How do our customers buy?
• What do they buy from us?
• When where?
• Why?
• Why do we sell what we do?

11
Marketing Communication Model
Its not the product its the presentation

• Communication
• Channels
• Promotion mix
• Advertising
• Personal selling
• Sales promotion
• Publicity
• Other elements
• Product, sourcing of supply, brand, package,
  price,
• Distribution
• Hard soft data information

Promotion budget, objectives, messages
Marketer Tx
Consumer Audiences Rx

• Results
• sales
• communication
• attitudes

12
Communication and Purchase Order Processing/Buying
Data collection and evaluation to analysing requirements
Decide features, quantity and quality
Specification and tendering
Sourcing and supplier appraisal
Contracting and purchase method
Order routines and transactions
Delivery scheduling receiving
Accounts payable processing
Auditing
Supplier collaborations
Evaluation of performance
Data flows Sources/sinks Data stores Processes Eve
nts acting on
Communication between marketing sales?
Wisdom/expertise Knowledge Information Capta Data
Checkland Howells
13
Communications elements
idea
meaning
code
decode
method
channel/media
receiver
sender
14
Communications elements (Shannon Weaver)
Perception of Tx the information, opinions,
predispositions, impressions, capacities
facts, opinions, emotions, intentions evaluation
of Rx
Noise physical, psychological
Rx
Tx
Code
Decode
channel - method/medium

• Purposes
• Simplex, half-duplex, duplex
• Complexity of information GIGO
• Situational factors
• Channel capacities audience
• Selectivity (out/in filtering)
• Sequencing (good news/bad news)
• Feedback

• Other Barriers
• Richness of medium
• Message overload
• Message formulation
• Perception

• Symbols
• Rules for use
• Technology
• Culture

15
Social interaction elements
Feedback
Feedback
Person A perception personality motivation attitud
es
Person B perception personality motivation attitud
es
B's social behaviour
A's social behaviour

• What is said and tone of voice
• Eye contact
• Posture and body contact
• Proximity and positioning
• Physical appearance
• Facial movements and gestures

Situational factors e.g. history, role
requirements, norms, ideology, place, technology
16
Send reinforcements. We're going to advance!

• Confused presentation
• Differences in status
• Affective relationships
• Unfamiliar language
• Noise - physical/environmental, psychological
• Assumptions and interpretations
• Overload
• Interpersonal tension

Known from experience. Is there any need to
research this further?
17
Grapevine and rumour

• Personal promotion
• Safety valves, fears, anxieties fantasies
• Natural speculation and prophesy, wishful
  thinking
• Power of being 'in the know'
• Informal or underground channel (unattributed
  sources)
• Spin doctoring leaks
• Political - shaping and positioning
• Dirty tricks, misinformation, wedge-drivers
• Unverified, uncertainty, emotional resilience

Nice to
Should
Must
18
Channel characteristics
simplex channel
one way only
half-duplex channel
two way but not at the same time
Full-duplex channel
Both ways at the same time
19
Take your partners for a negotiation

• Suspicion Face. NAch, NControl, NAffl
• Distributive, integrative intra-organisational
  bargaining
• Rapid, analytical thinking objective, neutral,
  self-resilient, cool, patient
• empathy tact, clarifying, targeting, confidence
  trust
• problem analysis, listening, questioning
• Strategy, tactics.
• Adjourning reformulating. Win-win, win-lose.

20
Impression management
Group membership Life-styles Stereotypic
premature judgment
21
Task Maintenance Functions in Groups
Task Functions Maintenance functions
Initiating Harmonising
Opinion seeking Compromising
Opinion giving Gate-keeping (opening/closing)
Information seeking Encouraging
Information giving Diagnosing
Clarifying Standard setting
Elaborating Standard testing
Summarising
Consensus testing undermining processes?
22
Meetings and agendas

• Advisory meeting
• Command
• Committee
• Negotiating
• Collegiate

Membership Purposes Interactive
processes Expectations Information sharing
processing Authority Accountability Agenda
setting
Planning Pre-notification Preparation Processing R
ecording
23
Observing meeting processes?

• Chair person
• Abdicates position?
• Clarifies problem or decision?
• Summarises or relates topic?
• Asks for, supplies information?
• Guides or controls discussion?
• Protects minority, low participators?
• Gate opening/closing?
• Balances discussion?
• Reflects feelings?
• Expresses own views?

• Members
• Encourage others, conciliating
• Ask questions
• Supply ideas, information
• Tension release, humour
• Review or summarise
• Help to guide discussion
• Disrupt, interjection, hold the ball, snubbing,
  antagonism, exasperation
• Sleep, low participators
• Criticise after the meeting

24
Non-verbal communication

• Body contact proximity (acceptable, expected,
  taboos, cultural norms)
• Posture (attitudes, orientation)
• Head nods, Gutterals and grunts
• Facial expressions (control? misinterpret?)
• Gestures (supportive, emphatic, defensive,
  aggressive)
• Eye contact (acknowledgement, stare)
• Appearance self-presentation
• Non-verbal speech - tone, pitch, stress
• Content of speech - imperatives power words,
  questions

How are these developed nurtured?

• Signalling
• Interpretation
• meaning
• Synchronisation
• Feedback
• Attentiveness
• Interpersonal reaction
• Emotional states
• Replacement of verbals

25
Communication New Organisational Imperatives

• Flat, lean organisations stripped to the core
  essentials
• Absence of hierarchy
• Stick to the knitting, non-core, support
  functions are outsourced
• Project team culture - temporary 'structures'
• Distributed groups - brought together for
  particular projects
• Connected by ICTs and work collaboratively
• Fast reaction to environmental changes
• Empowered, autonomous, enthusiastic people
• A Learning Organisation?

26
Towards the Virtual Organisation?

• Discuss the following assumptions
• All required messages can be transmitted
  electronically.
• Most people are willing to use E-forms of
  communication.
• An increase in e-communication links overcomes
  barriers to communication and improves
  participation.
• E-networking enables more autonomous flexible
  working.
• Work using communication technologies support the
  achievement of management goals

Symon G, 2000, Information communication
technologies and the networked organisation - a
critical analysis, J. of Occupational
Organisational Psychology 73 (4)
27
Skills of Interviewing
More than just a conversation ". A specific
form of two-way communication conducted for a
task-related purpose."

• Key skill activity for managers
• Cognition/information processing
• Perception (selective)
• Preparation, enactment, interpretation
• Problem-analysis decision-making (managerial
  behaviour)
• Information generated through the interview
  provides data for decision-making
• Proposition training enhances performance both
  as an interviewer and interviewee

28
Interview Experience

• What is the best worst experience that you have
  had
• As an interviewer?
• As an interviewee?
• What made these experiences best/worst?
• What would have prevented improved the worst
  experience?

29
Types of interview

• Research/information gathering
• Selection
• Counselling/support
• Appraisal
• Development
• Complaint/grievance
• Disciplinary
• Exit

• Approaches situations
• Unstructured
• Semi-structured
• Structured
• Fixed question
• One-to-one
• Group
• On-line
• Stress (validity?)
• Private, public (e.g.press, radio, TV)

30
Issues

• Role as an actor, trigger, interpreter,
  decision-maker/actor
• Interview objectives
• Structure content
• Environment (physical psychological)
• Interviewer and interviewee NPower, NAch,
  NAffiliation
• Data collection processing strategies
• Communication exchange (interviewer-interviewee)
  explicit, implicit, verbal non-verbal
• Objectivity-subjectivity
• Social action interpretation
• Story-telling

31
Selection Interview

• Psychometric-Objective Assumptions
• Eternal optimism
• Smooth programmed administration
• Measured, controlled, predictable, systematic
  search often using psychometric techniques
• Match evidence of qualities to job
• Compare with social process approach
• Interplay between selection events
• Social ritual aspects. Audition. Power vetting
• Candidate selector feelings/responses
• Intra organisational negotiation adjustment
• Candidate - given fair opportunity

32
The GASP Interview

• Greeting
• Acquiring Information
• Supplying Information
• Parting

33
GASP Greeting rapport

• Genuine positive regard Move towards
• Calm, neutral, no interruptions, safe.
• Maintain rapport
• seating voice, eye contact, warmth and body
  posture.....NVC
• Preparation contract of interest
  expectation
• Smooth gear change

34
GASP - Acquiring Information

• Listen more - talk less.
• Objectivity, bias, stereotyping premature
  judgement
• Not adversarial.
• Halo, horns and doppleganger
• Taking notes
• Questioning preparation
• well-structured, open questions
• closed
• probe link
• direct, leading, intrusive
• trick and taboo questions
• Mental agility
• Interview flow control
• Summarising and closure

• Strategies
• Frank friendly
• Interrogation stress
• Biographical journey
• Problem-scenario
• Individual panel

35
GASP Supplying Information

• cutting it short (horns/halo, premature
  judgement)
• equal opportunity to all candidates
• intimation of acceptance (verbal non-verbal)
• potential for misunderstanding. No promises.
• communicating a decision
• hints to attractive candidates (in a competitive
  situation)
• intra-organisational bargaining
• the decision in writing
• subject to references
• Career advice to rejected candidates? Culture?

36
GASP Parting

• signal closure - NVC plus
• maintain concentration
• clarify future steps - the selection schedule
• verify
• dates - holidays and availabilities
• phone, post
• stand up, move, parting courtesies

37
Anderson and Shackleton, Successful Selection
Interviewing, Blackwell, 1993 pp 69
Reliability?

• Utilised properly depending on its exact
  purpose, the interview emerges as a valid
  reliable tool in candidate assessment. ..... its
  flexibility to .... as a medium for mutual
  preview or as a final stage for negotiation
  between the parties, renders the interview more
  useful in selection than narrowly focused
  definitions of validity reliability can convey

38
Validity and Reliability Issues

• Premature decision
• tentative pre-determined views seldom altered at
  interview
• accept/reject within 3-4 min. Evidence to confirm
  first impression
• Weak candidates make average candidates look good
• Propositions
• practice alone does not improve performance
• training and performance review does
• The drama may not reflect the job
• Panel interviews - defer to influential members
• Poor correlation of views when choice is
  confidential
• Psycho tests - strong, belief and practice (cf
  evidence).

39
Types of interview Appraisal

• Appraisal interview
• One person (usually a manager) appraises job
  performance of another (usually a subordinate)
  meeting with them to review, give feedback,
  evaluate and target
• Approaches
• Tell
• Tell and listen
• Tell and sell
• Joint problem-solving
• Mixed model interview
• 360 degree

40
The appraisal process

• Manager as counsellor skilled?
• Operational vs. personal counselling
• Directive ç è Non-directive
• Dependency, confusion responsibility
• Trust genuine positive regard
• Mixed strategy - unstructured component

• Establishing the agenda
• Pre-interview form filling
• The Interview
• Action planning
• Handling disagreements e.g. grand parenting

• Opening up expressing concerns (both)
• Defining "problems" how interviewee sees them
• Testing reality assumptions
• Support
• Closure follow-up

41
Types of Interviews COMPLAINT/GRIEVANCE

• Moan, gripe, complaint
• Grievance - a formal complaint made by an
  employee against a colleague or the organisation
• Problems of "policy and procedure"
• Problem perception, information and power/status
• I'm OK, You're not OK. "Now I've got you, you
  SOS"
• Neutral processing
• Rescue the managers establish KARMA

• Verifying the claim right
• Importance of shared, agreed information
• Procedural safeguards, formality of interview
• Recognising "the person" - perception of self
  acting on the problem
• Equity complainant and the "accused"
  discrimination issue

42
Types of interview DISCIPLINE - 1

• Disciplinary action
• Formally sanctioned, organisational action.
  Individual informed that work-related behaviour
  is not acceptable.
• Rights not to be unfairly dismissed
• Natural justice reasonableness in procedure
• "Fair" dismissal"Conduct, capability,
  redundancy, statutory rule, some other big reason
• Informal, prior supervisory communication
  guidance
• Minor conduct counter to contract
• Gross misconduct (severed root)

• Importance of evidence
• Defendant rights law natural justice
• Equitable procedure
• Formal, systematic interviews
• Representation
• Corrective versus punitive action
• Interview tension, reaction "afront"
• Recording communication

43
Dissertation Ideas

• The management of sales communications
• Communicating managing redundancies
• Auditing organisational communication
• Counselling and mentoring
• The phenomenon of email
• Communicating corporate strategy - case
  investigation
• Communication for new product research
• Environmental management and public relations
• Brand communication and evaluation
• Training and self-improvement for interviewing