Doing effective business with other cultures requires some knowl- edge of context expectations.
active listening 133 context 137 displays 139 distancing 139 emblems 139 filtering 135 grapevine 141
high-context culture 142
key terms
horizontal
communication 141 illustrators 138 information
overload 132 intensity 138 low-context
culture 142 nonverbals 135
organizational communication 141 prejudice 133 red flag words 133 regulators 138 rumor mill 141 selective listening 132 vertical
communication 141
1. What is communication? In your definition, use an illustration from your own life.
2. Explain why your internal climate is so important to communicating effectively. Explain the importance of self-esteem to the communica- tion process.
3. Are you usually an active listener? If not, do you know anyone who is?
What qualities set an active listener apart from other people?
4. Think of people you have been around who are poor listeners. Do they all have certain qualities in common? If so, what are they?
5. How does nonverbal communication help people understand each other? How can nonverbal cues be negative, especially in the workplace?
6. What are the main differences between communication in the formal organization and in the informal organization? What cautions should you use in each area?
7. What is meant by filtering? Do you ever find yourself filtering a message being sent to you? How can one reduce the filtering of messages in the workplace?
8. What are the major differences between a high-context culture and a low-context culture? What steps could you take to prevent misunder- standings when dealing with a culture that is opposite in context from your own?
review questions
9. Do a brief self-evaluation. Ask yourself, “How effective am I at com- municating with people from cultures that are higher-context or lower- context than my own?” Have you ever been guilty of ignoring such differences? Most of us have been. If so, what were you doing that could be done more effectively?
10. Think of an incident in your life when someone you were listening to was sending nonverbal messages that seemed to contradict the verbal message. Perhaps it was a public speaker or someone on television.
What was your reaction to the mixed message?
critical thinking questions
GRAPEVINE OR RUMOR MILL?
School-to-Work Connection: Information Skills
This exercise graphically illustrates how quickly distortions of facts can take place, even when they are communicated in a controlled environment.
This exercise requires seven volunteers from the class. Six of the volunteers must leave the classroom, taking their places in the hallway. The other vol- unteer will remain in the classroom. The instructor will choose a very short story that contains several characters and a bit of action. The instructor first reads the story to the entire class, including the first volunteer. When the reading is finished, the second volunteer will be allowed to enter the room.
Volunteer number one will then retell the story he or she has just been read, without any coaching from either the instructor or the rest of the class. Then, one by one, each volunteer will be ushered into the room to hear the story retold by the last person who heard it. When volunteer number seven has heard the story, he or she must retell it to the rest of the class. Finally, the instructor will ask the seventh volunteer to read aloud the story in its original form, for the benefit of the volunteers who have gotten only distorted versions of it.
Although degrees of distortion will vary from class to class, you will read- ily see how messages become muddled, sometimes to ridiculous extremes.
If most of the facts are correct, but the story is incomplete, the class has cre- ated a grapevine example. A rumor mill example that includes gross distor- tions is much more likely.
Note: This exercise has also been done successfully with a photograph or draw- ing that contains many different elements and/or people to remember. The picture should be shown on a screen or copies should be distributed to all class members—except six of the seven participants. Let the first participant have one minute to observe the picture; follow the same procedure as for the story.
working it out 6.1
THE IMPORTANCE OF FEEDBACK
School-to-Work Connection: Information Skills
This exercise illustrates the importance of two-way communication that includes feedback from all communicators.
A volunteer from the class will study a geometrical figure provided by the authors of this textbook to the instructor. (The other class members will not be allowed to see the figure.) Then, with the student’s back to the class, he or she will describe the figure exactly enough so that each class member can reconstruct it on a piece of notebook paper. Fifteen minutes will be allowed for this portion of the exercise. During this phase, only the volunteer will be allowed to speak. No questions are allowed, except for one request to repeat each instruction. The volunteer is not allowed to explain any single descriptive instruction more than twice, and the second time is allowed only if requested by a class member.
The same volunteer will face the class and will describe the geometric figure, while classmates start over with another sheet of notebook paper.
This time, the members of the class are allowed to ask questions. They may ask any question that will help clarify an accurate drawing of the figure.
After 15 minutes, compare the results from the two phases. You will very likely see a vast improvement in the second part of the exercise. This is prob- ably because the person who gave the instructions was able to provide help- ful nonverbal clues while facing the class. Did the first exercise—with the student facing away—cause any frustration or confusion? If so, give specific examples. Perhaps the more complex instructions left a lot of people unsure the first time, but were somehow easier to comprehend the second time.
To the instructor: The geometrical pattern can be found in the Instructor’s Manual.
working it out 6.2
case study 6.1
The Mysterious Strangers
W hen Jan Wood came to work on Monday
morning, she noticed a group of people she had never seen before at the insurance company where she was a claims supervisor. “Who are those people?” she asked one of her co-workers. Nobody seemed to know. The presence of these strangers seemed especially suspicious because they were often seen talking quietly among themselves.
They would stop talking as Jan, or anyone, walked past them.
For a week, rumors spread throughout the building. Since Jan was a supervisor, her crew found it hard to believe that she didn’t know what was really happening. The more questions her employees asked her, the more frustrated she became. Although Jan approached her own man- ager, Ron Morris, several times, she was met only with vague answers.
Finally, on Friday morning, she caught Morris alone and demanded a straight answer. “I’m look- ing like a fool here, Ron,” Jan complained. “Now, come on; as a supervisor I really need something to tell my workers. It’s gotten so they spend more time talking about the mysterious visitors than they spend working on claims.” “Okay, Jan,” Ron replied. “The top brass have hired a management consulting firm. Mostly, they’re just looking at cost cutting. It wasn’t supposed to be a big deal.” “Does the cost cutting involve cutting people’s jobs, by any chance?” was Jan’s automatic response. “No,”
said Ron. “In fact, we’ve kept quiet about this because we were afraid a panic might start on that very issue.” “Well the panic has started any- way, and I think it’s time to get everyone calmed down,” said Jan, shaking her head.
The next morning, Jan Wood held a briefing with all of her workers in which she explained what Ron Morris had told her. Most of her 10 employees were still skeptical. They found it hard to understand why they hadn’t been told the truth from the start if, in fact, there was nothing to fear.
Top management had still not sent even a brief memo to all the employees telling them that no positions were being cut. After three more weeks, Jan’s two best claims workers left for other compa- nies. Three others told her that they are looking for work elsewhere.
Case Study Questions
1. How could the company have handled this situation differently? What principles of effec- tive communication have been broken in this case?
2. If you were Jan Wood, what would be your next step? Why?
3. If the company decides to explain the situa- tion, what form of communication should they use? Meetings, memos, personal letters?
Why?
usually looked down at the ground while talk- ing or interacting with others. He seldom smiled, and usually did not speak to people in the office unless they spoke to him first. His friend at work, David, offered to help him with practice inter- views to increase his prospects for promotions, but George was uncomfortable with the offer and declined.
Case Study Questions
1. How are George’s nonverbal behaviors contra- dicting the message he is trying to get across about wanting to be promoted? What is each message channel saying, and which will you most likely believe?
2. How do others likely respond to his nonverbal behaviors? How would you respond?
3. David may be able to convince George to do the practice interviews if he can convince George to listen to him. How might he work with George to help his active listening skills?
G eorge had been working for the same com-
pany, a local television cable installation business, for 11 years. During that time, he had completed an apprenticeship program and had made it through the required entry-level training programs. He had also applied for promotions four times—and had been passed over each time.
George simply could not understand why he was not getting promoted. He worked hard, was never late to work, and often helped others after his own assignments were finished. He thought of himself as competent and deserving of promotions, and he wanted more than anything to move into a supervisory office position.
What George didn’t know was that behind his back his co-workers called him “Gorgeous George”—but not because he was so good-looking.
His nickname came from the way he presented himself, which was the opposite of gorgeous.
George dressed more like he was getting ready to work in the yard than to work in an office. He also seldom made eye contact during conversa- tions. He had a tendency to mumble, and he
Un-Gorgeous George
case study 6.2
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7
L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
LO 7-1 Discuss the characteristics and purposes of formal and informal groups.
LO 7-2 Discuss development of groups.
LO 7-3 Examine barriers to group effectiveness and their resolutions.
LO 7-4 Define leadership, leadership styles, and types of power.
LO 7-5 Explain the steps in teambuilding.
LO 7-6 Improve the organizational climate of the workplace.
LO 7-7 Understand the new organizational or corporate culture.
S T R A T E G I E S F O R S U C C E S S
Strategy 7.1 Watching for Hidden Agendas Strategy 7.2 Building a Successful Team