communication in organisations


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COMMUNICATION IN ORGANISATIONS The Unit aims to develop the learner’s awareness of organisational, personal, team and external communications. Communication practices, systems, styles and tools are explored and how they support individual and group’s commitment to organisations and their objectives. Interpersonal communication with an emphasis on analysing the learner’s own personal style to empower and improve personal communication skills is central to the unit. For this purpose learners should obtain feedback on their input at meetings, presentations, interviews and in discussions with peers and tutors.

1.

ANALYSE COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS

The learning outcomes are: 1.1 Understand the importance of effective communications in organisations. 1.2 Identify and explain communication practices and systems that allow organisation policy and procedures to be understood and followed; and how ideas, new initiatives and developments can be shared. 1.3 Evaluate how workforce commitment to organisational change can be achieved using different communication practices. 1.4 Analyse communication barriers and weaknesses and remedies to such problems.

1.1 Effective communications Communications is universally recognised as being important. There is also a strong link between leadership and communications. The classic definition of communications is the transmission of information between a sender and a recipient. “At the ground of a good function of the organization and, in general, of the society is communication. Communication is the most important aspect a leader, a manager or a speaking person needs to have in order to succeed. If the manager or the leader knows how to communicate with the subordinates or with the persons around then the results and the performances are high.” Raducan i (2014; 813) There are two primary forms the written word and the spoken word. These might include handwritten notes, electronic documents, telephone conversations, minutes of meetings, voicemails transcriptions or interactive videos. Ideally, everybody should be able to communicate. This unit looks at elective communication. This is defined as the ability to transmit relevant meaning to your audience in a dynamic, fluid and two-way process. This means that communications is a transaction between two or more people and that everyone has an active part to play.

When it comes to communication, listening and understanding is just as important, if not more so, than talking. In fact, the person listens can be understood as taking delivery of the message for this to happen. They have to be an active listeners. In other words, effective communication takes place when the listener understands the message that the speaker intends to send.

1.2 Communications Practice and Models There are three basic models of communications. The first of these and the earliest is the linear model. This was established by Lasswell 1948 and is based on five questions;

Who said?

What?

In what channel?

To whom?

With What effect?

Shannon and Weaver’sii (1949) model includes noise or interference that distorts understanding between the speaker and the listener. The issue with these early models is that they were one way forms of communication and they imply that the listener not discuss or respond to any the communications taking place. With Shannon and Weaver's little allowance is made for relationships between people as communicators especially their differences in power. Nor does the model accommodate model make no allowance for dynamic change over time In other words the earlier models assumed that the listener was passive rather than an active participant. The interactive models introduce the idea that the receiver provides feedback to the sender or the speaker and that the speaker response. In other words, both parties, the speaker and the listener take their turn to speak and to listen to each other and to give feedback either verbally or nonverbally. The Schramm Model 1955 iiiis often used as depicting two circles. The source field and the receiver field and identifying the encoders and decoders within the messages.

Figure 1.1: Interact Model Transactional models means that communications is ongoing and continually changing process. In this model, everybody involved can be expected to respond in a different way. There are a range of factors or barriers that might influence the response. These might include, amongst other things, physical barriers relating to the room or the environment, a language barriers, including flying jargon and accents, body language, organisational barriers and cultural barriers. Come back to these

later on. The important thing with the transactional model is that it takes into account the background noise or interference. So you have an outer circle which shows what happens if both parties share the communications and you also have another circle for personal and shared experiences. (Woodiv ,J, T 2009) 1.1 Reflective Exercise

Based on an organisation that you are familiar with assess the features relative advantages of the linear, interactive and transaction models of communication. Analyse the forms communication and the background noise that takes place with a club or social group that you are familiar with.

1.3 Workforce commitments and communication practices Work force communications can be formal or informal but they can go in a number of different directions. Downward communication tends to be directive; it goes from the manager to the staff. Staff are told what needs to be done, they are given the information to undertake the task and it is expected that they proceed to complete that task. Upward communications transfers from the staff back up to the management. It can also include communications from law management to middle management or to upper management. The important thing about upward communications is that it encompasses the reporting of information that helps facilitate problem-solving or decision-making. Lateral communications occurs between managers or team leaders at the same level and often between departments that tend to be at the same hierarchical level. Diagonal communication involves individuals at different levels in the hierarchy and, like lateral communication, involves information sharing discussion and negotiation. Within the workforce there is also another direction of communications; the informal channel. This is sometimes known as the grapevine and it is one typically within which distortions (Chinese whispers) can occur. Within the in formal channel there can be deliberate or an intentional distortion of information along with contradictory messages. The important thing to note about the informal channel is the issue of accountability; no one is likely to take responsibility for communications within an informal channel. The issue with the direction of communications is that there is a tendency for distortion to occur – especially where the communications process is complicated in sending receiving and responding to messages. Every organisation is defined by its culture, that is its customs and norms and expectations. These shape the behaviour of individuals and have an impact on the direction and the complexity of the communication processes. Communications has a major impact on organisational effectiveness – especially the relationship between formal and informal modes of communications.

Farley (1989) outlined six aspects of organisational communication that affect interactions and the way in which information is exchanged. These are accessibility, communication channel, organisational structure, clarity of message, flow and control of information and communication effectiveness. 1.2 Reflective Exercise

Use Farley’s six aspects of organisational communication to assess their individual impact on interaction within an organisation that you are familiar with.

The key questions that arise from each of these are outlined below:

1.4 Communication barriers The reason why communications in organisations may not be effective can be attributed to “noise”. This can be described as the background interferences that cause this message to be unconsciously misunderstood by an audience. There are a number of different types of noise that act as communication barriers. Figure 1.3 Barriers in organisational communications

Physical barriers Language barriers Body language barriers Cultural barriers Subject barriers It is evident that not all communications is effective. This means that there are barriers to effective communications and these are listed above. The physical barriers are perhaps the least important and it is more the “environmental barriers” that include language culture and subject barriers that inhibit organisational communications.

Going in deeper there is another level to the barriers that can be described as background “noise”. This is the interference to any message that you sent to be interpreted differently from the sender to the receiver. For example, you may be presenting to an audience of five people and each of those people may have a different interpretation of what you are meaning. There are a number of reasons why “noise” can occur. 1.3 Reflective Exercise

Using Figure 1.3, analyse the forms communication and the background noise that takes place with a club or social group that you are familiar with.

The question of semantics is important here. Semantics is the study of how words are processed at a verbal level. Semantic processing is the way in which people apply meanings to words and then compare related other words with similar meanings. Specifically semantics is reflecting the intended structure and meaning Given that communication is about transmitting information from one person to another and that information forms patterns then the construction of sentences that forms words is important – especially since different words can have different meaning. Semantic noise is a type of noise that exists as a result of an unconscious mis-interpretation of information. Another form of noise can be described as psychological processes are linked with the different way that people think and the different way that people learn. This can also include psychological impairment.

2.

UNDERSTANDING AND DEVELOPING INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS

The Learning outcomes are: 2.1 Explain interpersonal communications and communication styles. 2.2 Show awareness of personal interpersonal communication skills and provide evidence of your skills including presentation style, meetings management and networking. 2.3 Apply approaches to improve personal communication style.

2.1 Interpersonal communications and communication styles. It can be argued that the more important the message of the communication the more intimate the mode should be. For example the most delicate of issues should be communicated face-to-face.

This topic explore the range of skills required for effective interpersonal communications including:     

Formal and informal communication levels Body language Assertive communication Ego states Transactional Analysis

Interpersonal communication plays an important role in developing constructive working relationships. There are various aspects you will need to consider when considering interpersonal communications:   

The type of interpersonal communication The message to be transmitted The body language used

Interpersonal communications methods include:    

Active listening Questioning Body language Assertiveness

It is important to plan your communications to develop effective working relationships. Planning communication:     

Are they written or verbal? Is the communication difficult or straightforward? Who is the audience? What would be the appropriate channel? When should it be done?

Workplace communications can operate on different levels, both formally and informally.  

Formal – interviews, briefings, meetings, presentations. Informal – discussion with colleagues about either work or non-work related matters

Meta-Communications As noted by Rubinv “studies of communication relational levels, communication rules, situations, verbal and nonverbal language, social influence, and relationship development typify the scope of how interpersonal communication occurs in everyday life.” Within the field of machine communications the concept of metacommunications has become increasingly important. Metacommunication is an abstract concept that centres on communicating language. It is a high level language, and a metamessage is a message about a message. A simple example of non-verbal metamessage is the emoticon, sometimes used in email to express a feeling of an emotion. Examples of metacommunication might include: “You look really uncomfortable, are you OK to continue this discussion”. “What I say sounds critical, but I’m only telling you this so you can improve your assignment writing”. “The next model is important, it will help you prepare for the exam.” Metacommunication is both verbal and nonverbal. Metacommunication can be used to create shared understanding. This is being adopted in process automation and solution software that is becoming available for collaborative workgroups. It is being adopted in sector such as marketing, creative, publishing, prepress and print. Unspoken communication can be as powerful as the spoken word. You can often tell more about the meaning of a message by watching someone’s body language than by listening to the words. Examples of these behaviours might include eye contact, voice tone, inflection of the voice gestures of the shoulders arms or hands, body posture, dress, appearance and head or facial movements. Put simply the sender may be giving a verbal message which is incongruent with the non-verbal message in this means that the recipient has difficulty in interpreting the intended meaning. Within the contemporary work environment the non-verbal communications – especially the tone – could have the effect of misrepresenting an intended message. You may be in a hurry so the message maybe blunt and ineffective 2.1 Reflective exercise

Think about any specific non- verbal language used that could tell you how a person is feeling when delivering or receiving communication. Make notes in your notepad. The signs of non-verbal communication may include facial expression, eye c ontact,

gesture, posture or proximity

Consider any situations in the past where cultural differences might have someone to misinterpret a message you were trying to transmit. Note these down.

Cultural variations to be aware of in non-verbal communication:   

Simple hand gestures Shaking the head to say “No” Touching, or being too close to someone

When interpreting the meaning of a communication through body language, it may only be valid when the communicators share the same culture. 2.2 Reflective exercise

Find someone from a different culture background either in or outside your workplace and try to convey a message using gestures. Get feedback from the other person on how they felt the message was conveyed.

There are different intensities that you can communicate: Passive – where you don’t directly express your feelings Aggressive – where you can intimidate others Assertive – where you stand up for the rights and feelings of others To effectively communicate you need to be assertive, although being assertive is about how you listen and respond to others as well as how you express yourself. You can access the Barriers to Interpersonal Communications activity in Learner Support.

2.3 Reflective exercise

Think about your last two communications with your team, for example, either at a meeting or oneto-one discussion. See if you can identify which types of life position different people played – including yourself! How did this make you feel?

2.2 Presenting at meetings management and networking.

When presenting information, it is useful to make a distinction between the different forms of knowledge that exist with the organisational domain. The starting point is to qualify as information (rather than mere data), the figures we use as: Meaningful (to the user of the information) Accurate (sufficiently for the purpose) Timely (appropriately for the purpose) Presented according to the needs of the user – eg. graphically, tabulated, with ease of use in mind. If we look at every piece of data presented to us every week we will be overwhelmed and will be unable to ‘see the wood for the trees’. Furthermore, there is little point in examining every single aspect of our performance every time if most of the measures are showing results that are on-track. So it is common to summarise information, and to identify only variance from target (or )track. Managing variance Variance, as a general management term, means the amount of variation from a nominal value that you can expect from a given form of signal communication. For example cultural variances might lead to ineffectual communications performance. One interpretation of this is to view culture as unwritten and written principles and laws that guide how an individual interacts within a business. Members of a culture can be identified by the fact that they share some similarity. They may be united by religion, by geography, by race or ethnicity. In this way culture can influences the words we speak and how our behaviours are interpreted by people outside an organisation. Actual performance

Variance

Time

Planned performance

This makes the management job much more straightforward and gives us back time to spend managing our teams.

2.3 Approaches to improve personal communication style. According to Heron 1975vi, interventions can be used to address wider issues of cultural miscommunications.

Prescriptive Informative Confronting Cathartic anger Catalytic and feelings

-

giving advice or instructions, being critical or directive imparting new knowledge, instructing or interpreting challenging a restrictive attitude or behaviour, giving direct feedback. seeking to release emotion in the form of weeping, laughter, trembling or

- encouraging the patient to discover and explore his own latent thoughts

Supportive

- offering comfort and approval, affirming the patient’s intrinsic value.

Each type of intervention can be looked at separately during training sessions as options throughout the consultation. Putting it in Writing The days when ‘writing to a customer’ meant nothing more than a formal letter are over! There are many different types of written communications which you might sometimes need to produce or send. These include letters, memos, e-mails, reports, brochures, manuals, handbooks and legal documents. 2.4 Reflective Exercise

Do you make use of the full range of types of written communication available to you? Are your communications easily readable and written in plain English? Do you use words like ‘you’ ‘I’ and ‘we’ frequently in your communications? Do you research information and plan out documents in rough before drafting the?

Before you start to draft any document, it is important that you establish what is required, its purpose and its intended use. Think of an e-mail which you may have to send. Start by setting yourself some objectives, i.e. what are you trying to achieve? And, what kind of impression do you want to make? Consider the best method for achieving this: Think about the person you’re sending the communication to. Try to build up a picture of them Consider the content of your communication. What information does the customer need? Think about the tone. Is it formal or informal, friendly or businesslike? Consider using guidelines of the plain English campaign or plain language commission Everyone hates jargon. Avoid it! Use words which everyone can understand Cut out any ‘waffle’ (things which don’t add any meaning) Keep sentences short and punchy! Put ‘people’ in your writing… use ‘I’ ’me’ and ’you’ to make the communication more.

The process for producing most documents is basically the same. It can usually be broken down into a number of stages: Identify the purpose behind the document and how it is to be used. Find out what information you need to gather to go into the document. Research the information you have identified. Select suitable layouts for the document. Prepare sample documents showing layout and content. Review prepared samples with the person who made the request. Agree the final layout and contents with the person who made the request. Prepare final document. Check for errors and omissions. Amend where necessary. Submit final document for approval. Of course, it won’t be necessary to go through each of these stages every time you prepare a document – but they can be used as a useful guide. While some customers still prefer to write letters, many others are now using e-mail as their preferred method of communication. In some ways, there’s little difference between emails and letters. In both cases, you need to think about objectives and the best way of achieving a result. You may also have come across a strange new word: ‘netiquette’. This is what it means: ‘Using technology to effectively communicate with others both personally and professionally with knowledge, understanding and courtesy’. 2.5 Reflective Exercise

Tips for e-mail: Test your configuration by sending mail to yourself Remember to keep your replies in context. Use subject headers E.G. ‘Order query 15/5’ Keep your replies to messages to the point. Only include the important comments and questions from the original message Don’t use capitals – IT LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE SHOUTING Colours like red and bright purple have a similar jarring effect. Don’t use them! Keep signatures to a minimum and try not to attach any graphics – or use unnecessary wallpaper which takes the customer too long to retrieve As in other aspects of life, it never hurts to be polite and courteous when sending e-mail

3.

EVALUATE THE MANAGEMENT OF INTERNAL & EXTERNAL WORKPLACE

COMMUNICATIONS The learning outcomes are: 3.1 Identify and explain how management can support teams and other groups, departments or sections within and outside an organisation to communicate effectively. 3.2 Investigate organisational practices that support internal and external workplace communications. 3.3 Evaluate communication tools, approaches and practices that support effective internal and external communications. 3.4 Plan improvements in workplace communications and implement the plan.

3.1 Supporting workplace communications This topic will investigate the way in which information flows within an organisation. There are two types of communication; formal communications can be described as being arranged, official or approved. Informal communications can be seen to be unofficial and unplanned communication outside the organisation’s formal channels. Formal communications Formal communication is where teams operate within a larger organisation and are influenced by the communication climate and networks within the organisation itself. Formal communication flows downwards, upwards, and laterally. As all organisations have a hierarchy and structure, different sections and departments will have different areas of responsibility. This requires formal communication to ensure all departments are in tune with each other. Informal Communication An informal communication networks can threatens or undermine the power of management to control the flow of information. The most common informal network is the grapevine which provides rapid, flexible, and usually accurate information. The course text BUSN 7 by Kelly and Williams (2015) identifies the following:

3.1 Reflective Exercise

Think of a recent instance when you may have used the grapevine to communicate a message. What do you think the implications were? Jot down your thoughts

3.2 Putting practices into place Within an organisation group communication will tend to operate as “structured”. These can be seen to be centralised or decentralised, where each structure is suited to solving certain types of problems. In a centralised system the communication flow is controlled by a leader and individual members may only have restricted access to others’ ideas and opinions. These forms of communications can be visualised as the chain and the wheel. The wheel is more efficient and more accurate, but can be slow to adapt the group to changed circumstances. The chain is slow and least effective. As the person in the central position tends to become leader decisions are taken more quickly, and these centralised structures are best suited to solving simple problems. The morale of the group members further away from the central position are lower. In a decentralised system all group members have full access to others’ opinions and ideas, and are referred to as circle structures As all members of the group are involved, decentralised structures make higher quality decisions, and the morale of the group tends to be the same.

The circle is the best for satisfying group members and adapting to changing circumstances. Chain The morale of the group members further away from the central position will be lower. Wheel As the person in the central position tends to become leader decisions are taken more quickly, and these centralised structures are best suited to solving simple problems. The wheel is more efficient and more accurate, but the one-on-one communication is slow to adapt the group to changed circumstances. Circle In a decentralised system all group members have full access to others’ opinions and ideas. As all members of the group are involved, higher quality decisions can be made and group morale tends to be the same.

Downward communication Downward communication ensures that communication includes all official messages that come from the top level, down to the people who will carry out the tasks. In this mode the staff is instructed about what needs to be achieved or given information to facilitate the task. Downward communication is important in the overall success of the organisation, as most messages are geared towards ensuring staff do their jobs. It is more successful when it takes the receiver’s values, beliefs and current situation into account. For successful downward communication, you must consider the timing of messages, as poor timing can suggest a hidden meaning, and it must be accurate. If it is inaccurate in any way, it can undermine the credibility of management. A third form is lateral communication which is between the peer groups. This occurs between individuals in a department at the same level of a hierarchy. The information must be definite so that the recipient understands the message within its context, and should be kept brief where possible. Make sure that you always allow the opportunity for feedback from staff. Upward communication Upward communication includes all messages that flow from lower level employees to their supervisors. Examples of upwards communications might include counselling, grievance systems, suggestion boxes, staff meetings, team briefings, social gatherings and open-door policies. For successful upward communication flows it is necessary for: 

face to face contact between supervisors and their team

 

recognition of achievement for solving a problem reward for solving a problem

Managers and supervisors should ideally be effective listeners, not be condescending to ideas presented, and also act upon promises made. 3.1 Reflective question

Does your organisation provide a setting for successful upward communication?

Lateral or horizontal communication Lateral or horizontal communication ensures the flow from one department to another – sometimes known as keeping everyone in the loop. Lateral communication has the following functions:   

problem solving conflict resolution co-ordination

Lateral communication tends to be more accurate, faster, and less threatening than vertical communication. However, organisations may discourage lateral communication as it can contribute to message overload, and disrupt the hierarchy system. 3.2 Reflective question

Write down some situations in your organisation where downward, upward and lateral communication takes place – use two examples for each flow system. Take into consideration how this impacts on message overload.

3.3 Tools to evaluate workplace communications Transactional Analysis Transactional Analysis (TA) is a method of explaining the dynamics of interpersonal communication. It has three main components:   

Awareness– the ability to live in the present with sensitivity to both internal and external stimuli Spontaneity– the freedom to choose from options, and express wants and feelings. Intimacy– the capacity for straight open responses, without defence or manipulation

Bernevii (1964) recognised that people can interact from three ego states; parent, adult and child. He suggested that someone can shift from one ego state to another at different times. Understanding the ego states can improve the quality and interaction of Communication.

Parent – behaviour which concerns the attitudes, feelings and behaviour learnt from external sources, usually parents (caring for other people). Parent can be nurturing or controlling Adult – behaviour which concerns thought processes and the processing of facts and information (objective, rational) Child – behaviour which demonstrates the feelings remembered as a child (fun, impulsiveness, rebelliousness). Child can be free or adapted Transactional analysis is based on the assumption that human beings are relationship seeking. In this respect, we can think of a unit of recognition by the term: “stroke”. A relationship is manifested by its stroke exchanges. An exchange of strokes is called a transaction. The ideal workplace communication here is adult –adult. In any one transaction an individual may take on any of the three states. For example a parent might be seen to be a doctor and a child might be seen to be a patient. This scenario is not the advantage of either party. A conflict will occur if the child does not except the position of the parent and, takes an adult stance. By becoming more aware of transactional analysis, you can help to improve communications by assisting in interpreting a person’s ego state. You can then form a state which will most likely produce the most appropriate response. TA is a complex subject, and to understand the interactions occurring in the workplace, you should research this further, identifying the four types of life position: 1. I’m OK: You’re OK 2. I’m Not OK: You’re OK 3. I’m OK: You’re not OK 4. I’m Not OK: You’re Not OK

3.4 Improvements to workplace communications The term “integrative decision-making” is a mode of thinking that focuses on the solving of problems rather than the end of problems. It involves identifying alternative solutions and allowing an organisational group to come to a consensus on the solution to a problem. This is often used in the avoidance and management of conflict in the workplace. Managing conflicts can be divided into five different modesviii; Competing environment places emphasis is on making expedient decisions without taking into account all the impacts and costs. Whilst this may not sound like a valid strategy it is often expedient for situations during which there is limited time for collaboration. In other words is an expedient but potentially unpopular mode of decision making. Collaboration involves shared and mutual consideration of problems in which the views and abilities of different people in the group are accommodated. In this mode the emphasis is on solving problems rather than making a quick decision. The goal is usually to keep both

parties engaged and is especially important when different views and perspectives may need to be accommodated. Avoidance is a boarding which the participants do not actively acknowledge that an issue exists. This might occur within highly cohesive and internalised groups. In this mode the group would actively avoid disagreement because they do not want any extraneous activity to divert them from the goals that they have in mind. Accommodation is the ideal although a difficult mode to achieve. Accommodation can be used to preserve group harmony and to accommodate their nested interests that may be important to the other party. In this mode an individual may underplay their position in order to accommodate the concerns of others in the group. When it comes to planning improvements in the workplace a distinction can be made between four different techniques. These are suppression, withdrawal, soothing and forcing and their collective characteristic is that they tend to postpone rather than resolve a conflict within the work place. 

Suppression would involve the elimination or neutralisation of one of the conflicts of parties through either termination of contract or a transfer to another part of an organisation.



Withdrawal would mean that one party would choose to pull out of a dispute making it possible for the situation to be resolved, in the short term. The issue here is that the issue remains outstanding and it may resurface sometime in the near future.



Smoothing is a more sophisticated tool which focuses on downplaying differences and concentrating on the minor areas of disagreement.



Forcing is a most immediate form of conflict resolution but like the other methods can leave issues unresolved. In this context the leader will resort to issuing an order that the subordinate will need to follow..

Negotiation Negotiation is the management technique in which both parties are expected to give and to take on the issues that are in dispute. In a negotiating situation the aim is to achieve agreement accepting that consensus will never be reached by both parties. Whilst negotiation is very closely linked to effective communications it is still one single approach which is best used for the resolution of conflict and ensuring an effective workplace. Levenstein 1984 ixlists 10 “commandments” for effective negotiation; 1. Clarify the common purpose 2. Keep the discussion relevant 3. Get agreement on terminology 4 avoid abstract principles and concentrate on the known facts. 5. Look for potential trade-offs 6. Avoid debating tactics. 7. Keep in mind the personal element. 8. Use logic. 9. Look for solutions that satisfy the other person’s interest.

This form of approach comes under the category of consultation models and these are the types of models that are often favoured in patient-centred clinical environment. In concluding this discussion on effective communications it is important to note that it is the managers role and their ability to communicate effectively that determines his or her success as a leader. It can be argued that managers who engage in open two-way discussions, those who are aware of non-verbal communications and those who listen insensitive to others will be more effective leaders. Communicating with subordinates Within any given organisation the manager’s responsibility can include such things as counselling, discipline, managing complaints, resolution settling, interviewing and evaluating. But, giving direction is not implicit in communicating with a member of staff who works for you. There are a number of techniques that can improve the effectiveness of direction communications. Clarity and context. It is important to be clear about what information somebody needs to carry out a task and what the outcome will be if that task is completed effectively.. Positivity. Avoid extraneous background noise that interferes with effective listening. The receiver needs simple positive instructions that highlight the reasons, give justification and indicate the importance of the task to be achieved. Being concise. Give the receiver the information that they require and follow step-by-step procedure to make sure that this is understood. Verification. Make sure that the deceivers understood the task and follow-up on any discussion that you had to ensure that instructions have been understood. You may wish to access the following: Michael Crom, Executive Vice President, Dale Carnegie Training® shares his insights on effective listening: http://boston.dalecarnegie.com/effective_listening_skills/

4.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Specimen Questions

Core Text Please refer to the course text: Kelly Williams (2015) BUSN 7, Business Communications, Chapter 5, Cengage

Much of the material for this unit has been drawn from the following text: Huber, D., (2013) Leadership and Nursing Care Management, Elsevier, Chap 7 pp111 - 124 ISBN: 978-1-4557-4071-0 Stanton, N., (2013) Mastering Communications, 5th Edition, Palgrave, ISBN: 0-333-69343-4 West, R., Turner, L., (2009) Understanding Interpersonal Communication 2nd edition, Cengage

Additional Reading Guirdham, M.,(2011) Communicating Across Cultures at Work, 3rd edition, Palgrave Macmillan. Fitzpatrick, L., Valskov, K., (2014) Internal Communications: A manual for practitioners, Kogan Page. Hargie, O and Tourish, D (2009), Auditing Organizational Communication, A Handbook of Research, Theory and Practice, Routledge. Hargie, O and Tourish, D (2009), Auditing Organizational Communication, A Handbook of Research, Theory and Practice, Routledge. McKay, M., Davies, M., Fanning, P., (2009) Messages: The Communication Skills Book, New Harbinger Publications, Inc Răducan, R., & Răducan, R. (2014). Communication Styles of Leadership Tools. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 149, 813–818

Schramm, W. (1955). How communication works. In W. Schramm (Ed.). The process and effects of mass communication. Urbana: University of Illinois Press Wood, J. T. (2009). Communication in our Lives! (4th edition.), Belmont, ThomsonHadsworth

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References and commentaries

Răducan, R., & Răducan, R. (2014). Communication Styles of Leadership Tools. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 149, 813–818. ii Shannon, Claude E. & Warren Weaver (1949): A Mathematical Model of Communication. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press iii Schramm, W. (1955). How communication works. In W. Schramm (Ed.). The process and effects of mass communication. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. iv Wood, J. T. (2009). Communication in our Lives ! (4th edition.), Belmont, Thomson-Hadsworth. v Rubin, R., Perse, E., Barbata C., (1988) Conceptualization and Measurement of Interpersonal Communication Motives, Human Communication Research, Vol. 14 No. 4, Summer 1988 vi Heron 1975 vii Berne (1964) viii Conflict management modes is adapted from Thomas 1992. ix Levenstein 1984 x