What is communication Communication is the process of

What is communication? • Communication is the process of sending and receiving messages – Sender (idea) – Message (encoded) – Channel (transmission format) – Receiver (decodes) – Feedback (reaction)

Globalization and Communication • Encourages businesses to cross national boundaries • Diversifies the work force • Requires businesspeople to understand the laws, customs, and business practices of many countries

Formal communication channels • Horizontal communication – Flows from dept to dept, peer to peer, and helps employees do their jobs more efficiently • Upward communication – Helps managers monitor performance and obtain ideas, make decisions • Downward communication – Lets managers direct activities of employees – The official channels of communication are defined by the official chain of command

Informal Communication channel • This channel has no hierarchical path • This channel reflects the organization’s actual communication practices • This channel is often called the grapevine

Communication Barrier • A communication barrier (or noise) is any interference in the communication process that distorts or obscures the sender’s meaning.

Perceptual Interference • • • Language Culture Background Age Education Social status Economic position Religion Life experience

Communication Distractions • Physical distractions (lighting, discomfort, bad connections, illegible copy, health) • Poor listening • Emotions • Information overload

Effective Communicator • Traits: – Perception – Precision – Credibility – Control – Congeniality

Ethical communication • Ethics: the principles of conduct that govern a person or group • Ethical dilemma: involves choosing among alternatives that are not clear cut • Ethical lapse: involves making a clearly unethical or illegal choice

How is your ethics? • Is it legal? Does it comply with the law? • Is it balanced? Is it fair to all concerned? • Is it a message you can live with? Does it make you feel good about yourself? • Is it feasible? Can it work in the real world?

Ethical dilemma • The boss says, “Change it” and you have reservations, what should you do? – You just completed a proposal promising delivery of a product to a customer by April 15. Your boss looks at the proposal and tell you to change the date of delivery to April 1 because the competition can meet that deadline. You seriously doubt whether you can meet the delivery deadline without sacrificing quality. • Should you change the proposal?

Basic Skills • • Listening Speaking Reading Writing – Thinking is intertwined in these basic skills

Listening Activities • • • Receiving Interpreting Remembering Evaluating Responding

Nonverbal Categories • • • Facial expression Gesture and posture Vocal characteristics Personal appearance Touching behavior Use of time and space

Nonverbal Languages • Sign Language – What speed are you going? How do you know which restroom to use? • Action Language – What is the sign for victory? Is it the same everywhere? What about the gesture to indicate everything is “okay”? Is it the same everywhere? • Object Language – What about the clothes one wears, the car one drives, the part of town in which one lives, the watch one wears, the corner office one has at work?

What is intercultural communication? • The process of sending and receiving messages between people whose cultural backgrounds lead them to interpret verbal and nonverbal signs differently.

What is culture? • A shared system of symbols, beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations, and behaviors. • What is a subculture? – Distinct groups that exist within a major culture – Examples: • • • Mormons Wrestling fans Harvard graduates Russian immigrants CSLA business students

Cultural context • Cultural context is the pattern of physical cues, environmental stimuli, and implicit understanding that convey meaning between two members of the same culture. – High context cultures (Japanese, Chinese, Arab, Greek, Mexican, Spanish) tend to rely less on verbal communication and more on the context of nonverbal actions and environmental setting to convey meaning – Low-context cultures (German, Scandinavian, North American, English, French) tend to rely more on verbal communication and less on circumstances and cues to convey meaning.

Low and High Context Cultures • Low context values: – The written word – Written agreements as binding – Strict adherence to the law • High context values: – Less emphasis on written word – Personal pledges more important than contracts – More flexibility with the law

Ethnocentrism vs. Stereotyping • Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s own cultural background is superior • Stereotyping is predicting individual behavior on the basis of membership in a group or class