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Management, 9/eJohn R. Schermerhorn, Jr.

Prepared by: Jim LoPresti University of Colorado, Boulder

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Chapter 17: Communication, Conflict, and

Negotiation

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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Study Question 1: What is the communication process?

Persuasion and credibility in communicationExpert 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Figure 17.2 Channel richness and the use of communication media.

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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.

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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.

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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..

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.”

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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.

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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.