MHR 405 Final Exam Notes
Topics to be covered:
● Communication ✓
● Decision Making ✓
● Power, Politics, and Ethics ✓
● Conflict & Stress ✓
Week 9 - Communication
Communication is important bc:
● Organizations consist of ppl working interdependently towards a common goal
● It’s key to organizational learning
● It’s important for decision making
● We can influence other people through comm.
● It contributes to employee well-being
Effective communication occurs when:
● The right people receive information in a timely manner
● BUT, miscommunication may occur
Communication Process
● There is a sender and a receiver
● Between them is what is known as feedback
● Feedback consists of:
○ Thinking, Encoding, Transmitting, Perceiving, Decoding, Understanding
● The sender forms a message and encodes it into words, gestures, voice intonations, and
other symbols and signs
● The encoded message is transmitted to the intended receiver through one or more
communication channels (media)
● Receiver senses the incoming message and decodes it into something meaningful
● Sender looks for evidence that the receiver received and understood the transmitted
message (feedback)
● Intended feedback is encoded, transmitted, received, and decoded from the receiver to
the sender of the original message
Influences on Effective Encoding and Decoding
Similar codebooks
● Sender and receiver rely on codebooks which are dictionaries of symbols, languages,
gestures, idioms, and other tools used to convey info
Message encoding proficiency
● Even with the same codebooks, some people are better than others at communication
because of their experience; they have learned which words and gestures transmit the
message best
Communication channel motivation and ability
● Encoding-decoding process depends on the sender’s and receivers motivation and
ability to use the selected channel
, Shared mental models of the communication context
● Mental models are internal representations of the external world that allow us to visualize
elements of a setting and relationships among these elements
Formal Communication
● Chain of command - the lines of authority and formal reporting relationships in an org.
○ Downward, Upward, Horizontal
● Informal communication - not considered by chain of command models
● Slowness - especially slow for horizontal communication
● Filtering - tendency for a message to be watered down or stopped during transmission,
increases with the number of links on the communication chain
What causes communication problems between managers and employees?
● Voice - the constructive expression of disagreement or concern about work unit or
organizational practices
● Silence - withholding relevant info
● Mum effect - tendency to communicate unfavourable news to others, contributes to
silence (versus voice)
Informal Communication
Advantages:
● Can help keep employees informed about important organizational matters
● Enhances organizational cohesiveness and culture
● Fulfils the need for social inclusion
● Provides a test of employee reactions to proposed changes without formal commitments
● Can be a potent informal recruiting source
● Conveys info rapidly
Disadvantages
● Can spread false info
● May reduce employee anxiety, BUT sometimes only enhances it
● May contribute to negative perception of organization (if it’s slower formal
communication system)
● Rumours spread fastest and furthest when:
○ Info is ambiguous
○ Content of the info is important to the people involved
○ Rumour seems credible
○ Recipient is anxious
Communication Channels
● Verbal
○ Through words (both spoken and written)
○ Ex: email
● Nonverbal
○ Does not use words
○ Ex: body language, facial expressions, eye contact, clothing, signs & symbols
Topics to be covered:
● Communication ✓
● Decision Making ✓
● Power, Politics, and Ethics ✓
● Conflict & Stress ✓
Week 9 - Communication
Communication is important bc:
● Organizations consist of ppl working interdependently towards a common goal
● It’s key to organizational learning
● It’s important for decision making
● We can influence other people through comm.
● It contributes to employee well-being
Effective communication occurs when:
● The right people receive information in a timely manner
● BUT, miscommunication may occur
Communication Process
● There is a sender and a receiver
● Between them is what is known as feedback
● Feedback consists of:
○ Thinking, Encoding, Transmitting, Perceiving, Decoding, Understanding
● The sender forms a message and encodes it into words, gestures, voice intonations, and
other symbols and signs
● The encoded message is transmitted to the intended receiver through one or more
communication channels (media)
● Receiver senses the incoming message and decodes it into something meaningful
● Sender looks for evidence that the receiver received and understood the transmitted
message (feedback)
● Intended feedback is encoded, transmitted, received, and decoded from the receiver to
the sender of the original message
Influences on Effective Encoding and Decoding
Similar codebooks
● Sender and receiver rely on codebooks which are dictionaries of symbols, languages,
gestures, idioms, and other tools used to convey info
Message encoding proficiency
● Even with the same codebooks, some people are better than others at communication
because of their experience; they have learned which words and gestures transmit the
message best
Communication channel motivation and ability
● Encoding-decoding process depends on the sender’s and receivers motivation and
ability to use the selected channel
, Shared mental models of the communication context
● Mental models are internal representations of the external world that allow us to visualize
elements of a setting and relationships among these elements
Formal Communication
● Chain of command - the lines of authority and formal reporting relationships in an org.
○ Downward, Upward, Horizontal
● Informal communication - not considered by chain of command models
● Slowness - especially slow for horizontal communication
● Filtering - tendency for a message to be watered down or stopped during transmission,
increases with the number of links on the communication chain
What causes communication problems between managers and employees?
● Voice - the constructive expression of disagreement or concern about work unit or
organizational practices
● Silence - withholding relevant info
● Mum effect - tendency to communicate unfavourable news to others, contributes to
silence (versus voice)
Informal Communication
Advantages:
● Can help keep employees informed about important organizational matters
● Enhances organizational cohesiveness and culture
● Fulfils the need for social inclusion
● Provides a test of employee reactions to proposed changes without formal commitments
● Can be a potent informal recruiting source
● Conveys info rapidly
Disadvantages
● Can spread false info
● May reduce employee anxiety, BUT sometimes only enhances it
● May contribute to negative perception of organization (if it’s slower formal
communication system)
● Rumours spread fastest and furthest when:
○ Info is ambiguous
○ Content of the info is important to the people involved
○ Rumour seems credible
○ Recipient is anxious
Communication Channels
● Verbal
○ Through words (both spoken and written)
○ Ex: email
● Nonverbal
○ Does not use words
○ Ex: body language, facial expressions, eye contact, clothing, signs & symbols
