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Communicating for Success

Making WorkWork Out

Mignon S. TanMarketing and PromotionsCalayan Educational Foundation, Inc.

Communication

The success of an organization depends on the communication skills of all its employees

People who understand how communication functions in an organization, who have developed a wide repertory of written and oral communicative skills, and who have learned when and how to use those skills seem to have more successful careers and contribute more fully to their organizations than people who have not done so. (Conrad and Poole, 1998)

Did you know?• Subscribers to the HARVARD BUSINESS

REVIEW rated “the ability to communicate” the most important factor in making an executive “promotable” more important than ambition, education and the capacity for hard work.

• William Schaffer of Sun Microsystems, is emphatic in saying “ if there’s one skill that’s required for success in this industry, it’s communication skills.”

• LAPD cited “bad communication” among the most common reasons for errors in shooting by its officers.

• After two studies indicated that physicians with poor communication skills are more likely to be sued, an editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association called for more communication classes for doctors.

Did you know?

• One study based on responses from over 1,000 employees in Fortune 1000 companies found that workers send and receive an average of 178 messages each day via telephone, e-mail, faxes, pagers and face-to-face communication.

• Experts estimated that the average business executive spends 75 to 80 percent of the time communicating – about 45 minutes of every hour.

• A survey of 150 executives from 1,000 large companies found that 14% of each 40-hour workweek is wasted because of poor communication between staff and managers – amounting to a stunning 7 weeks a year.

C o m m u n I c a t I o n

The process of people sharing thoughts,

ideas and feelings with each other in commonlyunderstandable ways.

C o m m u n i c a t i o n

Communication Effectiveness

The degree to which someone tells others something and ensures they understand what was said.

Communication Effectiveness

Empathizing

Receiving

Clarifying

Understanding

Reading non-verbal clues

Feedback giving

Transmitting your message

Communication and Organizational Success

1. Communication is CENTRAL.

2. Communication is a PERVASIVE ACTIVITY.

• Organizations function by operating interdependently

• Organizations must relay information about job expectations and procedures, be prepared to receive responses to the messages they communicate, and respond intelligently to the feedback in a timely way

• Poor internal communication can result in bruised interpersonal relationships that directly or indirectly undermine the efficiency of an organization

3. Organizational Communication is MULTIDIMENSIONAL.

Formal & Non-formal CommunicationFORMAL Communication

Occurs through established lines of authority. Written or Oral.

Communication may travel down, cross, or up lines of authority.

INFORMAL Communication

Does not follow established lines of authority. Written or oral.

Sharing interests over lunch or during breaks and socializing after work.

Referred to as Grapevine, usually a rapid communication channel, although not always an accurate one.

Downward CommunicationOccurs when superiors initiate

messages to their subordinates. • Job Instruction

directions on what to do/how to do it.• Job Rationale

explanations of how one task relates to others tasks.

• Procedures and Practicesinformation about rules, regulations and policies.

• Feedbackinformation about how effectively a person is doing.

• Indoctrinationinformation at motivating employees by impressing the organization’s mission upon them and specifying how they can relate to it.

Upward Communication

Messages flowing from subordinates to superiors.

Virtually every organization claims to seek out upward messages, but many aren’t as open to employees opinions as they claim to be.

• What subordinates are doing.

• Unsolved work problems.

• Suggestions for improvement.

• How subordinates feel about each other and the job

Horizontal Communication

Messages between members of an organization with equal power.

• Task Coordination

• Problem Solving

• Sharing Information

• Conflict Resolution

• Building Rapport

Use Face-to-Face when

o Immediate feedback needed

o Permanent record not needed

o Topic emotional or complex; Discussion required

o Message important and new

o Confidence and trust need developing

o Convenient and economical to assemble audience

Send Written Message when

o Immediate feedback not needed

o Permanent, verifiable record needed

o Exact wording important; careful planning required

o Follow-up to face-to-face meeting needed

o Content more important than feelings

o Audience large and geographically dispersed

Send Electronic Message when

o Immediate feedback not needed, but speed important

o Permanent record not needed, but wish to overcome time-zone barrier

o Message explicit, little interpretation needed, transferred quickly

o Information used to support or expand face-to-face meeting

o Speed, cost, or convenience crucial

o Audience large and geographically dispersed but speedy back-and-forth messages important

Information as it travels through channels Written by the Board of Directors

100%

Received by the Vice-President

63%

Received by the Gen. Supervisor

56%

Received by the Plant Manager

40%

Received by the General Foreman

30%

Received by the Worker 20%

A Communication Fallacy

o LEVELED some details are lost

o CONDENSED the message becomes shorter and simpler

o SHARPENED some details are highlighted, thereby becoming more important

o ASSIMILATEDambiguities are clarified and interpreted to conform to past messages and future expectations from individual frames of reference.

o EMBELLISHED Details are added.

A Story of Four A Story of Four PeoplePeople

This is a story about 4 people namedEVERYBODY, SOMEBODY, ANYBODY and NOBODY. There was an important job to be done andEVERYBODY was sure SOMEBODY would do it.ANYBODY could have done it but NOBODY did it.

SOMEBODY got angry about thatbecause it was EVERYBODYs job. EVERY thought ANYBODY could do itbut NOBODY realized that EVERYBODY would not do it. It ended that EVERYBODY blamed SOMEBODYwhen NOBODY did what ANYBODY could have done.

WADING THROUGH THE CORPORATE FOGWADING THROUGH THE CORPORATE FOG

ORIGINAL MESSAGEAs per your subject memo, we are researching the history of price promotion #18B to establish why the new price sheets were not received by the sales force in advance of the effective date of the promotion. It is unclear from your memo how widespread the problem was or it was just isolated in certain geographies. Therefore, we will need additional facts on where you think the problem occurred. As you know, we have gotten complaints from salespeople in the past that they did not receive the promotions, only to find out later that they had lost them due to his own disorganization.


TRANSLATIONWe screwed things up, but we’re not about to admit it.


IMPROVED MESSAGEThanks for bringing the problem with this promotion to my attention. It looks like we screwed up at this end in getting the proofs to the printer on schedule. My staff and I feel so badly about this and will take steps to provide better service.

PRUNING THE GRAPEVINE

Proper Use Of Informal Communication

Considering the OPEN SHARING of information with relevant groups.

EXPLAIN DECISIONS and ACTIONS that could seem inconsistent or secretive.

ANNOUNCE TIMETABLES for important, upcoming events.

Acknowledge any DOWNSIDES to decisions to the affected groups.

Openly discuss even the WORST CASE SCENARIO.

REFUTE A RUMOR in several ways.Use truthful statements.Use appropriate spokesperson (perhaps CEO). Consider a town meeting format if the rumor is creating great problems.

Four Primary Communication Styles

DIRECTIVE COMMUNICATION STYLE

Communication is a one-way activity.

Seldom ask questions; Never pause for people to “get a word in”.

Provide little information

Rely on authority; Give specific directions to subordinates.

Expect their subordinates to follow directions to the letter

Little tolerance for people who do things their own way.


ANALYTIC COMMUNICATION STYLE

Communication is one-way activity.

Expect subordinates to do exactly what they are told.

Differ from DIRECTIVE Style in the amount of information they present.

Rely on superior knowledge of the subject. Know more.

Use more info to convince subordinates to do things their way.


CONSULTATIVE COMMUNICATION STYLE

Use large amounts of information like ANALYTIC style.

Communication is a two-way activity.

Participate in extended conversations.

Use information to help members find solutions, not to dominate.

Content to explain the purpose or direction of activity.

Let subordinates figure out the best way to get things done.


BEHAVIORAL COMMUNICATION STYLE

Communication is a two-way activity

Skilled at involving others.

They differ from CONSULTATIVE communicators in contributing relatively little information to the conversation.

Focus on the behavior of the participants.

More concerned with developing relationships than accomplishing task.

Average Communication Style Scores

STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES - Communication Styles

DIRECTIVE STYLE

WEAKNESSES

Because subordinates are given specific directions with few opportunities to do things their own way, they don’t develop initiative or responsibility.

Subordinates are never given a chance to grow or develop their own skills

STRENGTHS

Best used when time is limited, risk is great.

Appropriate when dealing with unskilled employees in situations where initiative is not expected nor required.

Used when managers have complete power over employees, no reason to experiment with other approaches.


ANALYTIC STYLE

WEAKNESSES

Subordinates don’t develop their own approaches.

Lose advantage of speed due to time used in presenting large

amounts of information

STRENGTHS

Ideal approach to educating new workers who benefit from the information presented.

Useful way of persuading /influencing others when a manager doesn’t have sufficient power or authority.


CONSULTATIVE STYLE

WEAKNESSES STRENGTHS

Allow subordinates to develop their own approaches, encourage initiative

Contributes to subordinates’ feelings of ownership

Helpful when subordinates encounter task-related problems.


BEHAVIORAL STYLE

WEAKNESSES STRENGTHS

Allow subordinates to develop their own approaches, encourage initiatives

Contributes to subordinates’ feelings of ownership

Helpful when subordinates encounter problems focusing on

relationships

Myths and Misconceptions about Communication in Organization

Myth #1 Meanings are in Words.

Myth #2 Communication is a Verbal Process.

Myth #3 Telling is Communicating.

Myth #4 Communication will Solve all our Problems.

Myth # 5 Communication is a Good Thing.

Myth #6 The More Communication, the Better.

Myth # 7 Communication can Break Down.

Myth #8 Communication is a Natural Ability.

Thank you.