PowerPoint Presentation

to Accompany
Management, 9/e
John R. Schermerhorn, Jr.

Chapter 17:
Communication, Conflict, and
Negotiation

Prepared by: Jim LoPresti

University of Colorado, Boulder
Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Planning Ahead — Chapter 17 Study Questions

What is the communication process?

How can communication be improved?

How can we deal positively with conflict?

How can we negotiate successful
agreements?

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 2

Study Question 1: What is the communication
process?

Communication.
 An interpersonal process of sending and
receiving symbols with messages attached to
them.

Key elements of the communication
process:
 Sender.
 Message.
 Communication channel.
 Receiver.
 Interpreted meaning.
 Feedback.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 3

Figure 17.1 The interactive two-way process of
interpersonal communication.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 4

Study Question 1: What is the communication
process?

Effective and efficient communication:

 Effective communication
 Occurs when the intended meaning of the
sender is identical to the interpreted
meaning of the receiver.
 Efficient communication
 Occurs at a minimum resource cost.
 Potential trade-offs between effectiveness
and efficiency must be recognized.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 5

Study Question 1: What is the communication
process?

Persuasion and credibility in

communication.
 Communication is used for sharing information
and influencing other people.
 Persuasion is getting someone else to support
the message being presented.
 Horizontal structures and empowerment are
important contexts for persuasion.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 6

Study Question 1: What is the communication
process?

Persuasion and credibility in

communication
 Expert power and referent power are
essential for persuasion.
 Credibility involves trust, respect, and
integrity in the eyes of others.
 Credibility can be built through
expertise and relationships.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 7

Study Question 1: What is the communication
process?

Sources of noise in communication:

 Poor choice of channels.
 Poor written or oral expression.
 Failure to recognize nonverbal signals.
 Physical distractions.
 Status effects.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 8

Study Question 1: What is the communication
process?

Poor choice of channels.

 Choose the channel that works best.
 Written channels work for messages that:
 Are simple and easy to convey.

 Require extensive dissemination quickly.

 Convey formal policy or authoritative directives.

 Spoken channels work best for messages that:

 Are complex or difficult to convey where
immediate feedback is needed.
 Attempt to create a supportive, even
inspirational, climate.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 9

Study Question 1: What is the communication
process?

Guidelines for making oral presentations:

 Be prepared.
 Set the right tone.
 Sequence points.
 Support your points.
 Accent the presentation.
 Add the right amount of polish.
 Check your technology.
 Don’t bet on the Internet.
 Be professional.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 10

Study Question 1: What is the communication
process?

Failure to recognize nonverbal signals.

 Nonverbal communication takes place through
gestures, facial expressions, body posture, eye
contact, and use of interpersonal space.
 Mixed messages occur when a person’s words
and nonverbal signals communicate different
things.
 The growing use of communication
technologies causes important nonverbal
communication to be lost.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 11

Study Question 1: What is the communication
process?

Physical distractions.
 Include interruptions from telephone
calls, drop-in visitors, a lack of privacy,
etc.
 Can interfere with the effectiveness of
a communication attempt.
 Can be avoided or at least minimized
through proper planning.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 12

Study Question 1: What is the communication
process?

Status effects.
 Occur when an organization’s hierarchy
of authority creates a barrier to
effective communication.
 Status effects include:
 Filtering — the intentional distortion of
information to make it appear favorable
to the recipient.
 Subordinates acting as “yes men.”

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 13

Study Question 2: How can communication be
improved?

Active listening.
 The process of taking action to help someone
say exactly what he or she really means.

Rules for active listening:
 Listen for message content.
 Listen for feelings.
 Respond to feelings.
 Note all cues, verbal and nonverbal.
 Paraphrase and restate.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 14

Study Question 2: How can communication be
improved?

Ten steps for good listening:

 Stop talking.
 Put the other person at ease.
 Show that you want to listen.
 Remove any potential distractions.
 Empathize with the other person.
 Don’t respond too quickly; be patient.
 Don’t get mad; hold your temper.
 Go easy on argument and criticism.
 Ask questions.
 Stop talking.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 15

Study Question 2: How can communication be
improved?

Feedback.
 The process of telling others how you feel
about something they did or said, or about the
situation in general.

Constructive feedback guidelines:
 Give it directly.
 Make it specific.
 Give it when the receiver is willing/able to
accept it.
 Make sure it is valid.
 Give it in small doses.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 16

Study Question 2: How can communication be
improved?

Use of communication channels.

 Channel richness is the capacity of a
communication channel to carry
information in an effective manner.
 Low channel richness is impersonal, one-
way, and fast.
 High channel richness is personal, two-
way, and slow.
 Managers need to choose a channel
with the appropriate richness for the
communication.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 17

Figure 17.2 Channel richness and the use of
communication media.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 18

Study Question 2: How can communication be
improved?

Ways to keep communication channels

open through interactive management.
 Management by wandering around (MBWA).
 Open office hours.
 Regular employee group meetings.
 Computer-mediated meetings and video
conferences.
 Employee advisory councils.
 Communication consultants.
 360-degree feedback.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 19

Study Question 2: How can communication be
improved?

Proxemics and space design.

 Proxemics is the use of interpersonal
space.
 Interpersonal space is an important
nonverbal cue.
 Workspace layout is often overlooked
as a form of nonverbal communication
but is being increasingly recognized for
its impact on communication and
behavior.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 20

Study Question 2: How can communication be
improved?

Technology utilization.
 Information technologies facilitate
communication.
 The electronic grapevine speeds messages and
information from person to person.
 Functional if information is accurate and useful.

 Dysfunctional if information is false, distorted, or

based on rumor.
 E-mail privacy.
 Employer’s policy on personal e-mail.
 Don’t assume that e-mail privacy exists at work..

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 21

Study Question 2: How can communication be
improved?

Valuing culture and diversity.

 Ethnocentrism is the tendency to
consider one’s culture superior to any
and all others.
 Ethnocentrism can cause people to:
 Not listen to others.
 Address or speak to others in ways that
alienate them.
 Use inappropriate stereotypes in dealing
with someone from another culture.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 22

Study Question 3: How can we deal positively with
conflict?

Conflict.
 A disagreement between people on:
 Substantive issues regarding goals and
tasks, allocation of resources,
distribution of rewards, policies and
procedures, and job assignments.
 Emotional issues arising from feelings of
anger, distrust, dislike, fear, and
resentment, as well as personality
clashes.
 Conflict that is well managed can help
promote creativity and high performance.
Management 9/e - Chapter 17 23
Study Question 3: How can we deal positively with
conflict?

Functional conflict.
 Moderately intense conflict.
 Constructive and stimulates people
toward greater work efforts,
cooperation, and creativity.

Dysfunctional conflict.
 Low-intensity and very high-intensity
conflict.
 Destructive and hurts task performance.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 24

Figure 17.3 The relationship between conflict and
performance.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 25

Study Question 3: How can we deal positively with
conflict?

Causes of conflict:
 Role ambiguities.
 Resource scarcities.
 Task interdependencies.
 Competing objectives.
 Structural differentiation.
 Unresolved prior conflicts.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 26

Study Question 3: How can we deal positively with
conflict?

Structural approaches for resolving

conflicts:
 Appealing to superordinate goals.
 Making more resources available.
 Changing the people.
 Altering the physical environment.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 27

Study Question 3: How can we deal positively with
conflict?

Integrative devices for resolving

conflicts:
 Using liaison personnel, special task
forces, cross-functional teams, or a
matrix organization.
 Changing reward systems.
 Changing policies and procedures.
 Training in interpersonal skills.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 28

Study Question 3: How can we deal positively with
conflict?

People’s conflict management styles

reflect different combinations of
cooperative and assertive behavior.
 Cooperativeness is the desire to satisfy
the other party’s needs and concerns.
 Assertiveness is the desire to satisfy
one’s own needs and concerns.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 29

Study Question 3: How can we deal positively with
conflict?

Conflict management styles:

 Avoidance (withdrawal).
 Uncooperative and unassertive.

 Accommodation (smoothing).
 Cooperative and assertive.

 Competition (authoritative command).

 Uncooperative and assertive.

 Compromise.
 Moderately cooperative and assertive.

 Collaboration (problem solving).

 Cooperative and assertive.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 30

Figure 17.4 Alternative conflict management styles.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 31

Study Question 3: How can we deal positively with
conflict?

Conflict management styles:

 Lose-lose conflict.
 Management by avoidance or
accommodation.
 Win-lose conflict.
 Management by competition and
compromise.
 Win-win conflict.
 Management by collaboration.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 32

Study Question 4: How can we negotiate successful
agreements?

Negotiation is the process of making

joint decisions when the parties
involved have different preferences.

All negotiation situations are
susceptible to conflict and require
exceptional communication and
interpersonal skills.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 33

 Study Question 4: How can we negotiate successful
agreements?

Negotiation goals and approaches:

 Substance goals.
 Concerned with outcomes.
 Tied to the “content” issues of negotiation.

 Relationship goals.
 Concerned with processes.
 Tied to the way people work together.

 Effective negotiations occur when:

 Issues of substance are resolved.
 Working relationships are maintained or
improved.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 34

Study Question 4: How can we negotiate successful
agreements?

Criteria for effective negotiation:

 Quality.
 Negotiating a “wise” agreement that is
truly satisfactory to all sides.
 Cost.
 Negotiating efficiently, using minimum
resources and time.
 Harmony.
 Negotiating in a way that fosters
interpersonal relationships.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 35

 Study Question 4: How can we negotiate successful
agreements?

Types of negotiation:
 Distributive negotiation
 Focuses on claims made by each
party.
 Leads to win-lose outcomes.

 Principled (or integrative)

negotiation …
 Goal is to base the outcome on the
merits of individual claims.
 Leads to win-win outcomes.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 36

Study Question 4: How can we negotiate successful
agreements?

Gaining integrative agreements:

 Separate the people from the problem.

 Focus on interests, not on positions.

 Generate many alternatives before

deciding what to do.
 Insist that results are based on some
objective standard.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 37

Figure 17.6 The bargaining zone in classic two-party
negotiation.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 38

Study Question 4: How can we negotiate successful
agreements?

Common negotiation pitfalls:

 Falling prey to the myth of the
“fixed pie.”
 Nonrational escalation of conflict.
 Overconfidence and ignoring
other’s needs.
 Too much “telling” and too little
“hearing.”

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 39

 Study Question 4: How can we negotiate successful
agreements?

Approaches to avoiding negotiation

pitfalls:
 Mediation
Involves a neutral third party who
tries to improve communication
between negotiating parties and keep
them focused on relevant issues.
 Arbitration
 Involves a neutral third party who acts
as a judge and issues a binding
decision.
Management 9/e - Chapter 17 40
 Study Question 4: How can we negotiate successful
agreements?

Approaches to dispute resolution when

integrative agreements cannot be
achieved:
 Mediation.
 Involves a neutral third party who tries to
improve communication between
negotiating parties and keep them focused
on relevant issues.
 Arbitration.
 Involves a neutral third party who acts as a
“judge” and and issues a binding decision.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 41

Study Question 4: How can we negotiate successful
agreements?

Ethical issues in negotiation

 High ethical standards should be
maintained.
 Profit motive and the competitive
desire to win sometimes lead to
unethical behavior.
 Unethical negotiating behavior
can lead to short-term gains but
long-term losses.

Management 9/e - Chapter 17 42

 COPYRIGHT

Copyright 2008 © John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights

reserved. Reproduction or translation of this work
beyond that named in Section 117 of the United States
Copyright Act without the express written permission of
the copyright owner is unlawful. Requests for further
information should be addressed to the Permissions
Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. The purchaser may
make back-up copies for his/her own use only and not for
distribution or resale. The Publisher assumes no
responsibility for errors, omissions, or damages, caused
by the use of these programs or from the use of the
information contained herein.