Relational Contexts for Organizational Communication

Transcription

1 Chapter 9: Relational Contexts for Organizational Communication Chapter Overview This chapter considers the interpersonal communication challenges involved in the new social contract. It has been said that the old social contract, which promised lifelong employment in exchange for job commitment and involvement, no longer exists. Therefore, Chapter 9 first describes the communicative implications of a new social contract; these involve strategies for maintaining economic viability in a changing job market as well as communication issues related to coping with inevitable organizational changes. Second, the chapter discusses the specific types of communication that are most effective with superiors, subordinates, peers, customers, and suppliers. Third, the authors present the special communication challenges of multicultural work. And finally, they consider some new directions for organizational theory and research. Chapter Outline I. Interpersonal relationships are the key to organizational and individual success under the new social contract. A. Effective interpersonal communication is essential to helping victims and survivors alike cope with change. B. The ACE model of managerial work depicts how managers can excel in three communicative areas. 1. Advocacy, or making winning arguments to the boss. 2. Cross-functional communication, or forging connections across departments and professional boundaries. 3. Empowerment of subordinates. II. Supervisors spend from one-third to two-thirds of their time communicating with subordinates, and most of this is verbal and in person. (This section is focused on communication from the perspective of the subordinate,) If this is true, what happens when (or IF) we go to a model of telecommuting, or as companies outsource more of their activities? Do we need people who don t need or desire human contact, or will we develop a new system of providing this face time? 1

2 A. Semantic information distance refers to the gap in understanding between supervisors and subordinates because they tend to hold dramatically different perceptions of relevant organizational issues. B. Upward distortion happens when people in positions of low power distort the information they send upward, particularly when it reflects negatively on themselves. Pyramid model of communication, with each layer smaller than the one below it. 1. Four common types of upward distortion: a. Gatekeeping means that some but not all of the information that has been received is passed upward. b. Summarization is changing the emphasis given to various parts of a message. c. Withholding is keeping things from superiors by being selective. d. General distortion is completely changing the message to suit one s own motives or agenda. 2. Subordinates who are ambitious and have high security needs are more likely to participate in upward distortion. 3. Subordinates withhold information from supervisors they do not trust, or when they see supervisors actively withholding information. C. Managing the boss refers to the informal upward influence tactics used by subordinates to maintain a positive relationship with the boss. 1. Employees use four different approaches when managing the boss. a. Shotgun: The employee uses all available approaches. b. Ingratiation: The employee is warm and friendly. c. Tactician: The employee uses reason. d. Bystander: The employee avoids all approaches in general. 2. When managing the boss, no one approach will work for every supervisor. The subordinate must learn to adapt his or her approach to the supervisor s goals and attitudes. 3. One primary skill in managing the boss is advocacy the process of championing ideas, proposals, actions, or people to those above you in the organization. D. The relationship between superiors and subordinates is characterized by mystery and transgression. 2

3 1. The traditional hierarchy works best when subordinates buy into the mystery and pursue it up the organizational ladder. 2. Transgression occurs when a subordinate behaves like a supervisor. III. There are many approaches to communicating with subordinates. (This section focuses on the perspective of the superiors.) A. A positive relationship exists between supervisor openness in terms of message sending and receiving and subordinate satisfaction. B. Effective supervisors strive to communicate in ways that simultaneously promote task accomplishment, show concern for the relationship, and demonstrate respect for the individual. C. Motivation refers to the personal commitment a person has toward the accomplishment of a specific activity or goal. The motivating effect comes from the manager s ability to endorse particular interpretations of reality through communication with subordinates. 1. Goal-setting theory suggests that employees conscious objectives are most likely to influence their performance. 2. Expectancy theory considers how an employee perceives the likeliness of success. 3. Equity theory focuses on the discrepancy employees may feel between the rewards they are receiving for their efforts when compared to their co-workers level of work and rewards. 4. Compliance-gaining research suggests that supervisors who rely on traditional lines of authority and punitive approaches are less effective than supervisors who use a variety of influence tactics catered to the individual and the setting. Motivation is a difficult task. What drives, or motivates, one person (like money or recognition) may have no impact on another person. A good manager knows her or his employees well enough to have a sense of what motivates each person. D. In the past few years, an increased movement toward democratization and empowerment in superior-subordinate relationships has occurred. 3

4 1. Empowerment requires that an employee feel capable of performing a job and have the authority to make the decisions required to do the job well. 2. Empowerment is both pragmatic and paradoxical. a. It is pragmatic because organizations are more successful and individuals are more satisfied and productive when they have real authority and control over their work. b. It is paradoxical because there is something contradictory about supervisors requiring empowerment, since this stance reinforces existing power differentials. IV. Peer communication provides social support, and informal work group norms enhance or inhibit morale and commitment. A. Within-group communication refers to an intact work group or team. B. Cross-functional communication, which is the need to communicate across departmental boundaries, is increasingly important in contemporary organizations. 1. Since most work actually takes place between functions, or in the organizational chart white spaces, horizontal work flow processes must be implemented. In other words, organizations must be active in managing the white spaces. This means that some one or some unit or work team within the organization must take responsibility and accountability for the task or project or problem. The attitude of It s not my problem or That s not the responsibility of our area will not work. 2. Internal customers are people within the organization who depend on other s work as input to their jobs or tasks. C. Unstructured peer communication takes place in informal work settings, such as in the mailroom, in the car pool, at the water cooler, or over lunch. This type of communication provides a source of social support and identification. Many organizations try to suppress this informal network, or grapevine, but it is not in the best interests of an organization to do so. This communication allows the venting of frustrations, the bridging of unit areas, the mutual supporting of employees, and the vocalizations of hopes, fears, ambitions, and the building of a sense of community. 4

5 V. The work process doesn t stop or start at the doors of most companies but rather is part of a network or chain of internal and external customers and suppliers. A. A customer service revolution as described by Karl Albrecht and Tom Peters claims that successful companies must communicate with and satisfy customers by listening to and understanding customers needs and requirements. B. Much of customer service is emotional work because employees must display emotions that differ from their true feelings in order to satisfy customers. Perhaps a better word would be stressful rather than emotional. Stress results from having to bite their tongues or agreeing to work late on a project when other responsibilities (home, family) must be postponed. C. Boundary spanners (boundary role occupants) are responsible for communicating with customers and suppliers. Suppliers are increasingly becoming part of the team. Boundary spanners try to establish good, accountable working relationships with everyone who supplies the company with parts and service. VI. Intercultural contexts are important in workplace communication. A. Three areas of cultural understanding are important to consider when communicating across cultures. 1. Recognize that different cultures have different understandings of how knowledge is gained, i.e., from concepts, or firsthand experience, or intuition. Consider that some people do not believe that man has walked on the moon. It is not possible in their social system of thought. Some American Indian cultures believe that you must walk a long, chemically-altered journey in order to be enlightened. Some cultures (that we Americans mistakenly often refer to as primitive ) cannot understand photography or video... and fear that it is stealing their souls. 2. Understand that the ways tasks are done is culturally driven. Some cultures do their farming or hunting in a way that pays respect to the land and to nature. Japanese business is conducted over drinks after work. In the US, discussions on the golf course often determine the path a business may take. 3. Explore the different approaches cultures have in dealing with big questions regarding life and the universe. 5

6 B. Nonverbal dimensions of intercultural communication can be more important than verbal communication. 1. Signs of respect and reverence for authority or position are communicated nonverbally as well as verbally. My two students from Saudi Arabia. Japanese students at Elon University. 2. When dealing with workers who do not share your culture, tone of voice and eye contact are very important. C. New intercultural thinking suggests that what is needed is an appreciation for the middle ground of negotiated meanings between members of all cultures. VII. Contemporary researchers define leadership as a system of relationships through which individuals motivate followers toward performing desired behaviors. A. The history of leadership reveals a developing awareness of the importance of interpersonal relationships and communication. 1. Earlier leadership theories focused on the trait conception of leadership. 2. These were replaced by situational approaches, which spawned contingency theories of leadership wherein leaders could be task-oriented or relationship-oriented. Some call this task and maintenance behaviors, and argue that both are needed to create and sustain a successful work team or group. (Or family!) 3. The transactional approach focuses on followers perceptions of the leader. 4. The transformational leader recasts leadership as the manager of meaning, offering interpretations and new visions for the organization. B. To be an effective leader, a person must have a variety of experiences and be willing to accept and meet challenging assignments. C. The Center for Creative Leadership (or CCL) has determined three attributes that link leadership to organizational effectiveness. 1. Innate skills include resourcefulness, decisiveness, and determination. 6

7 2. The ability to lead includes such skills as delegating effectively to employees, setting a developmental or learning climate, being able to confront problem employees and act fairly, having a strong team orientation, and hiring a talented staff. 3. Personal communication attributes include straightforwardness and composure, acting with flexibility, and having the ability to build and mend relationships. In other words, the leader would have strong interpersonal sensitivities and abilities and an equally strong sense of one s self. D. Two issues emerged from the CCL research. 1. How can organizations grow leaders? Leadership can be fostered in organizations that respect the needs of people to have a variety of work experiences and to learn from being placed in challenging situations. CNN in Atlanta as well as a number of other organizations trains it s employees for the two positions above their current position. At CNN one to two hours of each shift is spent in this training. 2. How long does it take to develop leaders? There is no one answer to this question. It takes time to develop leadership from a variety of challenging experiences. VIII, To understand intimacy in work relationships requires an understanding of organizational romance and sexual harassment. A. Organizational romances start for a variety of complex reasons. That romances result in lower individual productivity in more myth than fact. However, the negative perceptions of co-workers toward those involved are very real. B. Romance and sexuality in organizations are predictable sites for the use and abuse of power. Sexual harassment is one manifestation of this abuse. 1. Many persons experience harassment while they are students or as teenagers on their first jobs, and accepting harassing behavior as ordinary may become a pattern in their lives. 2. Confronting a harasser at work is difficult because the person being harassed (typically, but certainly not always a woman) must weigh multiple factors, such as the chance of losing a job or promotion, attitudes of co-workers and friends, the economic necessity of employment, and so on. 7

8 IX. Two themes about relationships emerge in this chapter and relate to the dialectic of creativity and constraint. A. First, good relationships are good business. Organizations foster certain working relationships so that internal work problems are minimized and customers and suppliers are convinced to come back. B. Second, good relationships make work more enjoyable. Supportive working relationships creatively emerge, adding to the quality of an individual s work life. 8