The Art Of Managerial Communication

Transcription

1 The Art Of Managerial Communication A manager can be described as many different things. In the simplest form of a definition, the word can be described as a person who manages others, although this definition doesn t elaborate very well on what exactly a manager does. In the book Organizational Communication Perspectives and Trends, the authors give various descriptions of the word. One of their definitions referring to managers says, This industry includes people who teach communication concepts and skills to organization members, evaluate the effectiveness of organizational communication, and help to improve interpersonal, group, and public communication processes in organizational settings (Papa, Daniels, Spiker 5). Another way to define a manager would be someone who evaluates and accomplishes organizational objectives by using the right resources. Or as the Ultimate Business Dictionary says, A manager can have responsibilities in one or more of five key areas: managing activities, managing resources, managing information, managing people, and managing him- or herself at the same time as working within the context of the organizational, political and economic business environments... It is the capability to harness resources that largely distinguishes a manager from a nonmanager"( Simon 13). Those two definitions, although accurate, are still complex and broad with their references, Bill Tiffan gave an even simpler definition in Best Job Fit: Manager or Individual Contributor? He said that a Manager is someone who gets things done through and with other people. His or her work involves directing, guiding, advising people and planning and 1 P a g e

2 overseeing work to be done by others. Managers are accountable for what their people do. The manager's real job is managing others to achieve their goals. The manager's success is directly tied to theirs (92). With these three definitions in mind, I interviewed two managers from different companies to see what types of communication they each used and what they had found did and didn t work. These companies although different, both used some of the four different types of structures discussed in Organizational Communication Perspectives and Trends: downward, upward, horizontal, and diagonal communication. The structures they used not only affected their business success, but also affected their view of communication within their workplaces. Kathy Hopkins, a manager for Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachia, discussed how 35-40% of her job consisted of communication and that she used all methods of communication each day with fax, , internet, and phone access. She also mentioned that her company had just gone through a huge merger with two other councils across the state and what having three offices for one company had been like: This has been a real challenge and communication has been extremely difficult during this transition. It is difficult to have a conference call with people you do not even know. You have no idea how these other people respond (tone, length of sentence, etc.) Ms. Hopkins shared that their company uses the traditional model to operate but also has some of the human relations model incorporated to make the employees feel valued (Papa, 85, 90). She said that although she used all sorts of media to communicate, that face to face interaction was the best way 2 P a g e

3 to communicate efficiently, You can experience all of the facial and body language as well as influx of the voice. This is important so that they can understand my thoughts as well as I can understand theirs. She also said that being appreciative of others and showing them that someone cared about them was a good way to open the lines of communication. She said that by doing little things for people you could motivate them to do better as well as boost their self-esteem and make them want to do better for themselves. She talked about how the company used the traditional approach with downward and upward communication within the levels of the organization s hierarchy (Papa 50-54). Even though the company had this hierarchy, they tried to use some interpretive approaches by developing communication networks after the merger to help the employees get to know each other and to connect all three of the councils as one. Despite all of the effort to unite the companies, she said at times things have still been difficult, We have driven many miles trying to have as many face to face meetings so that all of the employees would get to know each other. Each office operated a different way, and all of the policy and procedures had to be rewritten. Many people do not like change and the communication was very difficult when they did not like what was being changed. Ms. Hopkins said that even though it has been tough at times to get all the members to corporate, that they will continue to keep trying and that with each day things get a little bit better than they were the day before. I also interviewed Lisa Saffell, a bridal consultant with Enchanted Details Event Boutique. This company was very different from the last, being it consisted of a very small staff, who used various different methods to serve tons of brides all over Knoxville and had been named one of the best wedding planners in the area. Ms. Saffell shared that their 3 P a g e

4 company operated under McGregor s Theory Z, a systems approach where the traditional, human relations, and human resources models were all combined and used together (Papa, ). She said that her company was in the process of major growth with their business, but their main staff consists of three women. These three women, Ms. Saffell said, tend to use grapevine communication with each other and see their industry as a huge communication network, where it isn t necessarily what you know, although that is important too, but who you know (Papa, 62-64). Enchanted Details Event Boutique s communication was more of a flat structure than the Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachia. Ms. Staffell said she was on an equal level as the other two women that she worked with in the company. She said that their business believed in open communication with each other and that they were able to build off of each other s experiences and even other wedding vendors in the area, when they are faced with a situation they may not know how to handle. This is similar to what was discussed in the interpretive section of chapter three in Organizational Communication Perspectives and Trends, All communication that takes place in organizations is important to consider because it is through communication that we develop shared meanings (Papa, 70). She said that they found that the communication that worked best with their company was mainly , but that they also used the phone and sometimes Skype. She said that ing worked the best because it was a written form of communication and whether with brides or vendors the information was always there so that they could reference back to it, that way both you and the client has it in front of you in case there were to be any questions about something being said or not said. 4 P a g e

5 Ms. Saffell said that their company tries to give their employees, the people they hire to come and help set up the weddings and events, special individual treatment and to let them know that they are valued and important. She said, We try to always take our employees and volunteers to Starbucks before an event and we will take vendors homemade baked goods as well to show appreciation. She said that she thought that by doing this it made each person feel important and special. By showing that they cared she said that it motivated people to work with them, knowing that they would be treated well. After examining these company s communication practices and comparing and contrasting them with each other there were many similarities and differences, but each had found the method of communication structure that was best suited to their businesses, whether that be the hierarchy, traditional method or the flatter more interpretive method (Papa, 50-75). By using that method or a combination of methods they pressed onward towards communication. As Ms. Hopkins said, what each person has to keep in mind is that, The best way to improve communication is to do more listening and less talking, and when you listen if you are in person you can listen with your eyes as well. This will help have a better understanding of what the person is trying to say. It is better at our company...but effective communication is a work in progress. 5 P a g e

6 Bibliography Hopkins, Kathy. Personal interview. 11 Sept General Manager. Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachia. Knoxville, TN. Papa, Michael J., Tom D Daniels, and Barry K. Spiker. Organizational Communication Perspectives and Trends. Los Angeles: Sage Publications Inc, Saffell, Lisa. Personal Interview. 15 Spet Co-Founder/Owner. Enchanted Details Event Boutique. Knoxville, TN. Simon, Carol. "How Can You Be A Manager? You're A Solo!" Information Outlook 9.3 (2005): 13+. General OneFile. Web. 11 Sept Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=IPS&docId=A &source=gale&srcprod=I TOF&userGroupName=tel_middleten&version=1.0 Tiffan, Bill. "Best Job Fit: Manager Or Individual Contributor?" Physician Executive 35.6 (2009): 92+. Academic OneFile. Web. 11 Sept retrieve&tabid=t002&prodid=aone&docid=a &source=gale&srcprod=aone&usergrou pname=tel_middleten&version= P a g e