Fundamentals of Management

Sixth Edition

Robbins and DeCenzo

with contributions from Henry Moon
C H AP T E R

12
2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.
All rights reserved.

Part IV: Leading

Communication and
Interpersonal Skills
PowerPoint Presentation by Charlie Cook
The University of West Alabama

Communication Process Terms

Encoding
The conversion of a

message into some

symbolic form

Message
A purpose to be conveyed

Channel
The medium by which a

Feedback
The degree to which

carrying out the work

activities require by a job
results in the individuals
obtaining direct and clear
information about the
effectiveness of his her
performance

message travels

Decoding
A receivers translation of

a senders message

2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All

122

Written Versus Verbal Communications

Written

Verbal

Tangible

Less secure

Verifiable

Known receipt

More permanent

Quicker response

More precise

Consumes less

More care taken

time
Quicker feedback

with the written

word

2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All

123

The Grapevine
The grapevine motto: Good information passes
among people fairly rapidlybad information,
even faster!
Grapevine
An unofficial channel of communication that is neither

authorized nor supported by the organization.

2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All

124

Nonverbal Communications
Body Language
Nonverbal communication cues such as facial

expressions, gestures, and other body

movements

Verbal Intonation
An emphasis given to word or phrases that

conveys meaning

2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All

125

Information Technology (IT)

E-mail
Is the instantaneous transmission of messages on

computers that are linked together.

Instant Messaging (IM)

Is interactive, real-time communication among users

logged on the computer network at the same time.

Voice Mail
A system that digitizes a spoken message, transmits

it over the network, and stores the message for the

receiver to retrieve later.

2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All

126

Information Technology (contd)

Fax
Allows for the transmission of documents containing

both text and graphics over telephone lines.

Electronic Data Interchange EDI

An exchange of documents with vendors, suppliers,

and customers using direct, computer-to-computer

networks.

Teleconferencing
Allows groups to confer simultaneously using

telephone or e-mail group communications software.

2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All

127

Information Technology (contd)

Teleconferencing
Allows groups to confer simultaneously using

telephone or e-mail group communications software.

Videoconferencing
Is a simultaneous conference during which meeting

participants in different locations can see each other

over video screens.

2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All

128

Information Technology (contd)

Intranets
An organizational communication network that uses

Internet technology but is accessible only to

organizational employees.

Extranets
An organizational communication network that uses

Internet technology and allows authorized users

inside the organization to communicate with certain
outsiders such as customers or vendors.

2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All

129

Information Technology (contd)

Wireless Communications
Allow users to send and receive information from

anywhere as signals sent without a direct physical

connection to a hard-wired network system.

Knowledge Management
Includes cultivating a learning culture in which

employees systematically gather knowledge and

share it through computer-based networks and
community of interest teams.

2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All

1210

Developing Interpersonal Skills

Listening Requires:
Paying attention.
Interpreting.
Remembering sound stimuli.

Active Listening Requires:

Listening attentively (intensely) to the speaker.
Developing empathy for what the speaker is saying.
Accepting by listening without judging content.
Taking responsibility for completeness in getting the

full meaning from the speakers communication.

2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All

1211

Characteristics of Feedback
Positive Feedback
Is more readily and accurately perceived than

negative feedback.
Is almost always accepted, whereas negative

feedback often meets resistance.

Negative Feedback
Is most likely to be accepted when it comes from a

credible source or if it is objective.

Carries weight only when it comes from a person

with high status and credibility.

2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All

1212

What Are Empowerment Skills?

Forces Driving Empowerment
Need for quick decisions by those most knowledge

about the issue.

Downsizing has lead to the necessity for lower-level
employees to make decisions.

Delegation
Is the assignment of authority to another person to

carry out specific activities while retaining the

ultimate responsibility for the activities.

2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All

1213

Empowerment through Delegation

Proper delegation is not abdication and
requires:
Clarifying the exact job to be done
Setting the range of the employees discretion
Defining the expected level of performance
Setting the time frame for the task to be completed
Allowing employees to participate
Establishing feedback controls

2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All

1214

Managing Conflict
Conflict
Is perceived differences resulting in interference or

opposition.

Functional Conflict
Supports an organizations goals.

Dysfunctional Conflict
Prevents and organization from achieving its goals

2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All

1215

Three Views of Conflict

Traditional View
Assumed that conflict was bad and would always

have a negative impact on an organization.

Human Relations View

Argued that conflict was a natural and inevitable

occurrence in all organizations; rationalized the

existence of conflict and advocated its acceptance.

Interactionist View
Encourages mangers to maintain ongoing minimum

level of conflict sufficient to keep organizational units

viable, self-critical, and creative.
2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All

1216

Dimensions of Conflict (Thomas)

Cooperativeness
The degree to which an individual will attempt to

rectify a conflict by satisfying the other persons

concerns.

Assertiveness
The degree to which an individual will attempt to

rectify the conflict to satisfy his or her own concerns.

2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All

1217

Dimensions of Conflict (contd)

Conflict-handling techniques derived from
Thomas cooperative and assertiveness
dimensions:
Competing (assertive but uncooperative)
Collaborating (assertive and cooperative)
Avoiding (unassertive and uncooperative)
Accommodating (unassertive but cooperative)
Compromising (midrange on assertiveness and

cooperativeness

2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All

1218

How To Stimulate Functional Conflict

Convey to employees the message that conflict has its
legitimate place.
Use hot-button communications while maintaining
plausible deniability.
Issue ambiguous or threatening messages.
Bring in outsiders.
Centralize decisions, realign work groups, increase
formalization and interdependencies between units.
Appoint a devils advocate to purposely present
arguments that run counter to those proposed by the
majority or against current practices.
2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All

1219

What Are Negotiation Skills?

Negotiation
Is a process in which two or more parties who have

different preference must make a joint decision and

come to an agreement
Distributive bargaining

Negotiation under zero-sum conditions, in which the gains

by one party involve losses by the other party.

Integrative bargaining

Negotiation in which there is at least one settlement that

involves no loss to either party.

2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All

1220

Developing Effective Negotiation Skills

Research the individual with whom youll be
negotiating.
Begin with a positive overture.
Address problems, not personalities.
Pay little attention to initial offers.
Emphasize win-win solutions.
Create an open and trusting climate.
If needed, be open to accepting third-party
assistance.

2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All

1221

Making an Effective Presentation?

Prepare for the presentation.
Make your opening comments.
Make your points.
End the presentation.
Answer questions.

2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All

1222