3. Demography: Era and People
• Traditionalists: born prior to 1946
• Brand and retail store loyal, gone through the depression and war
• Baby Boomers: born 1946-64
• Reminded to eat the plate clean. Into home and kitchens upgrade; enjoys gourmet
food
• Generation X: born 1965-81
• Likes to be educated and informed; no major enduring hard economical times
• Gen Y, Net-Geners/Millenials: born 1982-2000 (14 -32)
• Live, breath, shop, link up on the web. Well informed.
• Our students on campus
• Gen Z: born after 2001 (below 13)
• Group activities
• Multi-cultural, experiential, media-savvy
4. Gen Y
•Tech savvy
• Continually connected with IM,
SMS
• Socially connected with devices
•Cosmopolitan
• Influenced by peers
•Short attention span
• Skim text and information
quickly
•Achievement
oriented
• Seek recognition, fame and
feedback
• Wants meaningful work and a
solid learning curve
•Team-Oriented
• Value teamwork and seek the
input and affirmation of others
• Loyal, committed and wants to
be included and involved
12. Can be defined as the process by which
information is exchanged and understood by two
or more people, usually with the intent to
motivate or influence behavior.
Communication
16. Vertical and Horizontal Communication
Vertical Communication
The flow of information both up
and down the chain of
command
Formal communication
Recognized as official
Status and power are not equal
among participants in vertical
communication
Horizontal Communication
• The flow of information between
colleagues and peers
• Informal communication
• Does not follow the chain of
command
• Not recognized as official
21. Improving Communication Coding/Decoding
1. Both parties have motivation and ability to communicate
through the channel
2. Both parties carry the same “codebook”
3. Both parties share similar mental models of the
communication context
4. Sender is experienced at communicating the message topic
22. How E-Mail has Altered Communication
Now preferred medium for coordinating work
Tends to increase communication volume
Significantly alters communication flow
Reduces some selective attention biases
23. Problems with E-Mail
Communicates emotions poorly
Reduces politeness and respect
Inefficient for ambiguous, complex, novel situations
Increases information overload
24. Social Networking Communication
Social network communication clusters people around
interests/expertise
Several types of social network communication
• Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn
• Online discussion forums
• Avatar sites (e.g. Second Life)
• Instant messaging
• Wikis
25. Nonverbal Communication
Actions, facial gestures, etc.
Influences meaning of verbal symbols
Less rule bound than verbal communication
Important part of emotional labor
Most is automatic and nonconscious
26. Emotional Contagion
The automatic process of sharing another person’s
emotions by mimicking their facial expressions and
other nonverbal behavior
Serves three purposes:
1. Provides continuous feedback to speaker
2. Increases emotional understanding of the other person’s
experience
3. Communicates a collective sentiment -- sharing the
experience
27. Choosing the Best Communication Channel: Social
Acceptance
How well the communication
channel is approved and supported
by the organization, team, and
individual:
1. Communication channel norms
2. Individual communication channel
preferences
3. Symbolic meaning of the
communication channel
28. Choosing the Best Communication Channel: Media
Richness
The channel’s data-carrying capacity needs
to be aligned with the communication activity
High richness when channel:
1. conveys multiple cues
2. allows timely feedback
3. allows customized message
4. permits complex symbols
Use rich communication media when the
situation is nonroutine and ambiguous
30. Factors that Override Media Richness
Ability to multi-communicate with lean channels
More varied proficiency levels
Social distractions of rich channels
31. Persuasive Communication
Changing another person’s beliefs and attitudes.
Spoken communication is more persuasive because:
1. accompanied by nonverbal communication, adding
emotional punch to the message.
2. has high quality immediate feedback whether message is
understood and accepted.
3. has high social presence, so receiver is more sensitive to
message content and more motivated to accept the
message.
36. Getting Your Message Across
1. Empathize
2. Repeat the message
3. Use timing effectively
4. Be descriptive
Courtesy of Microsoft.
37. Active
Listening
Active Listening Process & Strategies
Sensing
• Postpone evaluation
• Avoid interruptions
• Maintain interest
Evaluating
• Empathize
• Organize information
Responding
• Show interest
• Clarify the message
38. Communicating in Hierarchies
Workspace design
• Clustering people in teams
• Open office arrangements
Web-based organizational communication
• Wikis -- collaborative document creation
• Blogs -- personal news/opinion for sharing
• E-zines -- rapid distribution of company news
Direct communication with management
• Management by walking around (MBWA)
• Town hall meetings
39. Organizational Grapevine
Early research findings
• Transmits information rapidly in all directions
• Follows a cluster chain pattern
• More active in homogeneous groups
• Transmits some degree of truth
Changes due to internet
• Email becoming the main grapevine medium
• Social networks are now global
• Public blogs and forums extends gossip to everyone
41. Grapevine Benefits/Limitations
Benefits
• Fills in missing information from formal sources
• Strengthens corporate culture
• Relieves anxiety
• Signals that problems exist
Limitations
• Distortions might escalate anxiety
• Perceived lack of concern for employees when company
info is slower than grapevine
