Summary John R. Schemerhorn Management - Chapter 18 - Communication, Conflict and Negotiation

Chapter 18 Communication, conflict and negotiation

Takeaway 1: The Communication Process

Effective Communication
 An interpersonal process of sending and receiving symbols with messages attached to them
 Key elements of the communication process:
 Sender
 Message
 Communication channel
 Receiver
 Interpreted meaning
 Feedback
 Effective communication – Occurs when the intended meaning of the sender is fully
understood by the receiver
 Efficient communication – Occurs at a minimum resource cost
 Potential trade-offs between effectiveness and efficiency must be recognized

The interactive two-way process of interpersonal communication:




Persuasion and credibility in communication
 Communication is used for sharing information and influencing other people
 Persuasion – is getting someone else to support the message being presented
 Horizontal structures and empowerment are important contexts for persuasion
 Expert power and referent power are essential for persuasion
 Credible communication – earns trust, respect and integrity in the eyes of others
 Credibility can be built through expertise (be knowledgeable about the subject) and
relationships

Communication Barriers
 Noise – anything that interferes with the effectiveness of communication
 Downsides of noise, shown as anything that interferes with the effectiveness of the
communication process

, Information filtering
 Informational filtering – Intentional distortion of information to make it more favorable to the
recipient
 Subordinates may hide unfavorable news from the manager or make it sound better than it
really is

Poor choice of channels
 Communication channel – is the pathway through which a message moves from sender to
receiver
 Choose the channel that works best

Written channels work for messages that: Spoken channels work best for messages that:
 Can be paper or electronic  Face to face or virtual meetings
 Are simple and easy to convey  Are complex or difficult to convey
 Require extensive dissemination where immediate feedback is needed
quickly  Attempt to create a supportive, even
 Convey formal policy or authoritative inspirational, climate
directives

Poor written or oral expression
 Communication only effective when the sender expresses the message in a way understood by
receiver
 Chose words wisely

Failure to recognize nonverbal signals
 Nonverbal communication – takes place through gestures, facial expressions, body posture,
eye contact, and use of interpersonal space
 Mixed messages – occur when a person’s words and nonverbal signals communicate different
things
 The growing use of communication technologies causes important nonverbal communication
to be lost

Physical distractions
 Include interruptions from telephone calls, drop-in visitors, a lack of privacy, etc.
 Can interfere with the effectiveness of a communication attempt
 Can be avoided or at least minimized through proper planning

Cross-cultural communication
 Global economy frequently creates the need to communicate with colleagues in other
countries with different cultures
 Ethnocentrism – Tendency to consider one’s culture superior to any and all others

Takeaway 2: Improving Collaboration Through Communication

Transparency and openness
 Communication transparency – involves sharing honest and complete information about the
organization and workplace
 Open book management – Managers provide employees with important financial information
about their companies

Use of electronic media
 Information technologies facilitate communication