Communicating at Work

Ronald Adler

Santa Barbara City College

Jeanne Elmhorst

Albuquerque TVI Community College

Chapter 1
Communicating at Work

•     The Importance of Communication

•     The Nature of Communication

•     Ethical Dimensions of Communication

•     Using Communication Networks

•     Face-to-Face & Electronic      Communication Channels

The Importance of Communication

•     Communication skills:

–  are vital to personal success at work

–  are a major factor in job interviews

–  help determine success or failure for a company

–  are in use during 75% to 80% of your work day

–  determine life or death in some occupations

The Importance of Communication

The Nature of Communication

Communication is a process in which people who occupy differing environments exchange messages in a specific context via one or more channels and often respond to each other’s messages through verbal and nonverbal feedback.

– Sender

– Message

– Encoding

– Channel

– Receiver

– Decoding

– Feedback

– Noise

•    External (Physical) Noise

–  Example: Cell phone ringing

•    Physiological Noise

–  Example: Hearing disorder

•    Psychological Noise

–  Example: Defensiveness

The Process of Communication

Figure 1-1: Communication Model

•    Physical context

–  Setting of a situation

•    Social context

–  Nature of relationship of communicants

•    Chronological context

–  Time influences interaction

•    Cultural context

–  Both organizational and ethnic backgrounds

•    Communication is:

– unavoidable

– two-level

– irreversible

– a process

– not a panacea

Ethical Dimensions of Communication

•    Ethical frameworks

– The Categorical Imperative

– The Utilitarian Rule

– The Golden Rule

– The Professional Ethic

– The Publicity Test

Using Communication Networks

A communication network is a regular pattern of person-to-person relationships through which information flows in an organization.

Types of Communication Networks

•    Formal Networks

– Downward Communication

•  Superior to Subordinate

– Upward Communication

•  Subordinate to Superior

– Horizontal Communication

•  Employee to Employee

Using Communication Networks

Types of Communication Networks

•    Informal

•  Co-worker and personal friendships

•  Family

•  Personal Interests

•  Career Interests

•  Physical Proximity

•    Confirming formal messages

•    Expanding on formal messages

•    Expediting official messages

•    Contradicting official messages

•    Circumventing formal channels

Cultivating Personal Networks

•    View everyone as a networking prospect

•    Treat contacts with gratitude and respect

•    Help others

•    Get referrals to secondary sources

•    Seek a mentor

Face-to-Face and Electronic Communication Channels

•    Advantages

–  Richness

–  Speed

–  Control

•   Instantaneous Feedback

–  Personal quality

•     Disadvantages

–  Scheduling Difficulties

–  Expensive at times

–  Often time consuming

Electronic Communication Channels

•     Teleconferencing

–  Minimizes expense of face-to-face over large distances

•     Telephone and Voicemail

–  Minimizes cost and delays of face-to-face

–  Easier to initiate than teleconferencing

–  One-sided voice communication can shortcut conversational overhead and intermediaries

Face-to-Face and Electronic Communication Channels

•    Written communication

–  Permanent

–  Often easier to understand

–  Deals well with complex subjects

–  Permits time for composition

–  Less prone to errors

Electronic Communication Channels

•    E-mail

–  Instantaneous but asynchronous

–  Can bypass intermediaries

–  Can be one-to-one or one-to-many

–  Can become a drain on your productivity

–  Can facilitate routine communications

Electronic Communication Channels

•    Computer conferencing

–  Allows group development of documents in real-time

•    Instant messaging

–  Strong real-time element

–  Less disruptive than telephone

–  Can be a distraction

–  Permanent record possible

Which Channel to Use

When choosing a channel to use:

•    Consider the desired tone

–  Personal

–  Formal

•    Consider the organization’s culture

–  Department preference

–  Individual preference

•    Consider using multiple channels