Definitions of Communication Techniques PDF

Past Quizzes / Tests Definitions & Key Terminology -​ Unit 2 communication -​ Unit 5 Planning & Control Quiz -​ Unit 4 Organization * The following definitions are the same definitions that were used from previous quizzes  Unit 2 Communication Page 1: What is Communicatio...

Past Quizzes / Tests Definitions & Key Terminology -​ Unit 2 communication -​ Unit 5 Planning & Control Quiz -​ Unit 4 Organization * The following definitions are the same definitions that were used from previous quizzes  Unit 2 Communication Page 1: What is Communication? ​ Definition: An interpersonal process of sending and receiving symbols with messages attached. Page 2: Key Elements of the Communication Process 1.​ Sender 2.​ Message 3.​ Communication Channel 4.​ Receiver 5.​ Interpreted Meaning 6.​ Feedback Page 3: The Interactive Two-Way Process of Interpersonal Communication ​ Emphasizes the dynamic nature of communication involving multiple participants. Page 4: Effective vs. 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, conveying a message in the least amount of time. Page 5: Trade-offs in Communication The potential trade-offs when considering efficient vs effective communication are… ​ m Page 6: Sources of Noise in Communication ​ Poor choice of channels ​ Poor written or oral expression ​ Failure to recognize nonverbal signals ​ Physical distractions Page 7: Channel Selection ​ The capacity of a communication channel to effectively carry information​ ex. Managers need to choose a channel with the appropriate richness for communication Page 8: Channel Richness Page 9: Low vs. High Richness Scenarios where managers may choose low or high richness channels are... Page 10: Channel Suitability ​ Written Channels: Work for messages that ○​ Are simple and easy to convey ○​ Require information to be spread 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 Page 11: Nonverbal vs. Mixed Messages ​ Nonverbal Communication: ○​ Includes gestures, facial expressions, body posture, eye contact, and interpersonal space. ​ Mixed Messages: ○​ Occur when verbal and nonverbal signals conflict. The growing use of communication technologies causes important nonverbal communication to be lost Page 14: Proxemics and Space Design ​ Proxemics: ○​ The use of space in communication. ​ Interpersonal space is an important nonverbal cue ​ Importance of workspace layout as a nonverbal communication form. Page 16: Distractions in Communication ​ Common distractions include interruptions from phones, visitors, and lack of privacy. ​ Can interfere with the effectiveness of a communication attempt ​ Can be avoided or at least minimized through proper planning Page 17: Status Effects ​ Barriers to effective communication due to organizational hierarchy. ​ Filtering: Intentional distortion of information. ​ Subordinates acting as "yes" people. Page 18: Perception Barriers to Communication ​ Perceptions can clearly influence how people communicate and how they actually behave toward others. ​ Key perceptual tendencies: 1.​ Stereotypes 2.​ Halo Effects 3.​ Selective Perception 4.​ Projection Page 19: Stereotypes ​ Assigning group attributes to individuals. Page 20: Halo Effects ​ Using one attribute to form an overall impression of a person, situation or product. Page 22: Selective Perception ​ Defining problems from a personal viewpoint and ignoring opposing information. Page 23: Projection ​ Assigning personal attributes to others, often inappropriately. Page 24: Improving Communication ​ Strategies to enhance communication effectiveness. Page 25: Active Listening ​ The process of taking action to help someone say exactly what he or she really means. Page 26: Five Rules for Good Listening 1.​ Listen for message content. 2.​ Listen for feelings. 3.​ Respond to feelings. 4.​ Note all cues. 5.​ Paraphrase and restate. Page 27: Feedback ​ Communicating feelings about actions or situations. Page 28: Constructive Feedback ​ Provides ideas for improvement. Page 29: Constructive Feedback Guidelines ​ Direct, specific, timely, valid, and in small doses. Page 30: Valuing Culture and Diversity ​ Ethnocentrism: Viewing one's culture as superior. ​ Consequences include poor listening and inappropriate stereotypes. Page 31: Technology Utilization ​ Role of information technologies in facilitating communication. ​ Risks of misinformation through electronic channels. ​ Functional if information is accurate and useful ​ Dysfunctional if information is false, distorted, or based on rumour ​ Email Privacy ​ Employer’s policy on personal email Page 32: Tips on Managing Email Strategies for effective email management and privacy awareness: ​ Read items once ​ Take-action immediately ​ Purge folders of useless messages ​ Send group mail/reply to all only when necessary ​ Remove yourself from distribution lists that don’t add value ​ Send short messages in the subject line ​ Put large files on websites Page 33: Keeping Communication Channels Open ​ Techniques for interactive management, including: ○​ Management by wandering around (MBWA) ○​ Open office hours ○​ Regular meetings ○​ Video conferences 10 Rules to Effective Communication 1.​ Don't multitask (be present and be in that moment)​ Be fully present and focused in the conversation, mentally and physically. 2.​ Don’t pontificate ​ True listening requires setting aside oneself. And sometimes that means setting aside your personal opinion. 3.​ Use open-ended questions​ Questions with who, what, when, where, why or how, Not yes or no questions (Not one word question) 4.​ Go with the flow ​ thoughts will come into your mind, let them go out of your mind 5.​ If you don't know, say that you don't know​ means that it's better to be honest and admit when you're unsure or don't have the answer 6.​ Don't equate your experience with others​ Recognize that everyone’s experiences are unique and not about you. 7.​ Try not to repeat yourself​ It's condescending, and it's really boring, and we tend to do it a lot. 8.​ Stay out of the weeds (they want everything to be perfect, but just go and do it)​ Focus on the big ideas instead of getting bogged down in irrelevant details. 9.​ Listen (most important skill to develop) (if your mouth's not open, your not learning)​ Be an active listener and truly understand the other person’s perspective without just waiting for your turn to speak. 10.​Be brief​ Keep your points concise to respect the other person's time and attention.  Unit 5/6 Planning & Control Quiz Key Words: Benchmarking Use of external and internal comparisons to plan for future improvements Ex. Coke compares their sales to Pepsi Budget All budgets link planned activities with the resources needed to accomplish them and is Useful for tracking and controlling performance Ex. financial, operating, non-monetary, fixed, flexible Business Strategy a plan for a particular area of the business or product/service Ex. product development, expansion, new information technologies Competitive advantage -​ A business's ability to do something better than their competitors -​ A sustainable competitive advantage is when they can maintain that advantage for a long period of time because it is difficult or costly to copy Ex. Cost leadership, Customer Service Concurrent control -​ Focus on what happens during the work process. -​ Monitor ongoing operations to make sure they are being done according to plan. -​ Can reduce waste in unacceptable finished products or services. Ex. At McDonald’s ever present shift leaders provide concurrent control through direct supervision. Contingency planning Identifying alternative courses of action that can be implemented to meet the needs of changing circumstances. They anticipate changing conditions and contain trigger points. Controlling Controlling is the management function of monitoring performance, comparing it to goals, and taking corrective action when necessary. 3 types of control: Feedforward, Concurrent & Feedback Core values They are the fundamental beliefs and principles that guide an organization's behavior and decision-making processes. Corporate strategy It’s a plan for the whole organization Facilities plans Part of the tactical plans, it outlines the physical resources and infrastructure needed to support an organization's operations and growth. Feedback control Take place after work is completed, helps improves future, and focuses on quality of end results, rather than on inputs and activities Ex. Restaurants ask how you liked a meal after it is eaten. Feedforward control Takes place before a work activity begins Ensures that: -​ Objectives are clear -​ Proper directions are established -​ Right resources are available to accomplish the objectives Fixed budget allocates a fixed amount of resources for a specific purpose Ex. $25,000 for equipment. Flexible budget allows the allocation of resources to vary in proportion with various levels of activity. Ex. you have the flexibility to hire temporary workers if needed. Forecasting Process of predicting what will happen in the future. All forecasts rely on human judgment. Functional planning/strategy It’s a plan for a particular function of the business Ex. marketing, human resources, finance Human Resource plans It outlines strategies for managing an organization's workforce, including recruitment, training, and retention. Marketing plans It details strategies and tactics for promoting products or services and reaching target customers. Long-range planning Higher management levels focus on longer time horizons. Long-range plans = 3 or more years Intermediate range planning involves planning for the short-term future Intermediate-range plans = 1 to 2 years Means-End Chain It’s a concept that links product attributes to consumer values, showing how products fulfill consumer needs. Mission (statement) It’s a concise description of an organization's purpose, goals, and values. Objectives Identify the specific results or desired outcomes that one intends to achieve Operational or tactical plans Operational It identifies short-term activities to implement strategic plans Tactical -​ helps to implement all or parts of a strategic plan -​ In business tactical plans often take the form of functional plans that describe how different operations within the organization will help advance the overall strategy. Operating objectives They are specific performance targets related to an organization's day-to-day operations. Organizational culture It refers to the shared values, beliefs, and practices that characterize a company and influence employee behavior. Planning The process of setting objectives and determining how to best accomplish them -​ Planning involves deciding on how to deal with the implications of a forecast *Planning steps 1.​ Define your objectives: identify desired outcomes/results 2.​ Determine where you stand in relation to objectives: evaluate current accomplishments relative to the desired results. 3.​ Develop premises regarding future conditions: anticipate future events; generate alternative scenarios for what may happen 4.​ Analyze alternatives and make a plan: List and evaluate possible actions; choose the best alternative; 5.​ Implement the plan and evaluate results: Take action and measure progress; revise plan as needed. Planning benefits Planning Improves Action Orientation, Planning improves coordination and control, & Focus and Flexibility Policies Standing plan that communicates broad guidelines for decisions and action. » Hiring, terminations, performance appraisals Procedures They are step-by-step instructions for carrying out specific tasks or activities. Production Plans They outline the processes, resources, and schedules required to manufacture products or deliver services. Projects They are one-time activities with many component tasks that must be completed in proper order, and according to budget. Qualitative forecasting Qualitative forecasting uses expert opinions. Quantitative forecasting Quantitative forecasting uses mathematical and statistical analysis. Rules or procedures Plans that describe exactly what actions are to be taken in specific situations. Scenario planning Identifies alternative future scenarios and makes plans to deal with each one *Single use plans (single one-time usage) Short range plans Lower management levels focus more on short-range plans that help achieve long-term objectives. Short-range plans = 1 year or less Stakeholders Stakeholders are individuals, groups, or organizations that have an interest in or are affected by a company's actions, objectives, and policies. Standing plans Standing plans are plans designed to be used again and again. Strategic plans They set broad, comprehensive, and longer-term action directions for the entire organization. SWOT analysis and its 4 main parts Zero based plan It allocates resources to a project or activity as if it were brand new, it is not based on past funding. It’s a technique for assessing these four aspects of your business. 1.​ Strengths: The goal is to identify the business's sustainable competitive advantage 2.​ Weaknesses: The goal is to analyze what aspects of the current company's business model and operations are holding it back from achieving its objectives 3.​ Opportunities: These are the external factors that present a company with the opportunity to grow and improve its performance 4.​ Threats: These are the external factors that present a company with the risk of decline or failure Zero-based Budget A zero-based budget allocates resources as if each budget were brand new Four Step Control 1.​ Establishing Objectives and Standards Output Standards Measure performance results in terms of quantity, quality, cost, or time. Input Standards Measure work efforts that go into a performance task. 2.​ Measuring Actual Performance Goal is accurate measurement of actual performance results and/or performance efforts. 3.​ Comparing Results with Objectives & Standards Need for action = Desired performance – Actual performance Comparison methods: ​Historical comparison (past experience becomes the baseline for evaluating current performance) ​Relative comparison (benchmark performance against that being achieved by other people, work units, or organizations) ​Engineering comparison (UPS: measure the routes and routines of its drivers to establish the times expected for each delivery; use of performance log) 4.​ Taking Corrective Action Take the action needed to correct problems or make improvements Management by Exception: -​ Focuses attention on substantial differences between actual and desired performance. -​ It saves time, energy, and other resources by focusing attention on high-priority areas. Types of Exceptions: Problem situation: performance is less than desired Opportunity situation: actual performance turns out higher than what was desired  UNIT 4 - Organization Term Definition Advantages Disadvantages A business organization is the business -​ Shared Costs -​ Profit Sharing Organization structure that defines ownership, control, -​ Knowledge -​ Personal Liability and management. -​ Expenses An organic design that uses horizontal -​ Faster decision making -​ Conflict Risk Adaptive structures with decentralized -​ Extremely flexible -​ Unclear roles organizations authority, fewer rules and procedures, less -​ Adaptable precise division of labour, and -​ Lively (Organic Design) wider spans of control Create adaptive organizations with cultures that encourage worker empowerment and teamwork Work well for organizations facing dynamic environments that demand flexibility in dealing with changing conditions Group together people who work on the -​ It creates more -​ Uneven performances Divisional same product or accountability and across the divisions Structure process, serve similar customers, and/or are transparency -​ Challenges in cross located in the -​ It gains local competitive divisional collaboration (Traditional same area or geographical region advantages -​ They can become Organizational Common in complex organizations -​ Improves company culture overlay focused 0n their Structure) Avoid problems associated with -​ Increases offering goals and priorities functional structures Efficiency -​ Oversusde in collaboration -​ Inefficiency An organizational design where employees -​ High productivity -​ Lack of flexibility Functional are grouped based on specialized functions -​ Increase autonomy / -​ The work can become Structure or roles (e.g., marketing, finance, empowerment one dimensional operations), with clear lines of authority -​ Flexible leaders -​ Employees may start to (Traditional and a hierarchical chain of command. -​ Action focused feel bored Organizational Structure) Eliminate internal boundaries among -​ Improve Flexibility -​ Potential for conflict Boundaryless subsystems and external boundaries with -​ Improve performance -​ Documentation gaps Organization the external environment. -​ Increase collaboration and (Horizontal communication Structure) A combination of team and network structures, with the addition of “temporariness.” Organizational needs are met by a shifting mix of outsourcing contracts and operating alliances that form and disband with changing circumstances Key requirements: Absence of hierarchy. Empowerment of team members. Technology utilization. Acceptance of impermanence. The line of authority that vertically links all -​ Consistency: -​ Slow Decision-Making: Centralized persons with successively -​ Clear Authority: -​ Reduced Employee Chain of higher levels of management (chain of Autonomy: control/comman command) d A decentralized organizational structure is -​ Faster Decision-Making: -​ Inconsistency: Decentralized where decision-making authority is spread -​ Employee Empowerment: -​ Coordination Chain of across various levels and divisions, Challenges: control/comman increasing employee autonomy and d responsiveness Departmentalization is a method of -​ n/a -​ n/a Departmentaliza dividing an organization into distinct units tion or departments to enhance efficiency and specialization by grouping together tasks, functions, or processes. Delegation is the process of entrusting -​ n/a -​ n/a Delegation work to others by giving them the right to make decisions and take action Employee empowerment is a management -​ n/a -​ n/a Empowerment philosophy that focuses on allowing an organization's employees to make independent decisions and to feel empowered to take action as they see fit. This is in contrast to micromanagement, which does not allow for independent decision making.  A formal communication channel transmits -​ n/a -​ n/a Formal organizational information, such as goals or communication policies and procedures. channel lack of communication and coordination -​ n/a -​ n/a Functional across functions Chimneys The unofficial, but often critical, working -​ Helping people accomplish -​ May work against best Informal relationships between organization their work interests of entire structure members (meeting for coffee, in exercise -​ Overcoming limits of organization groups, in friendship groups); formal structure -​ Susceptibility to rumor -​ Gaining access to -​ May carry inaccurate interpersonal networks information -​ Informal learning -​ May breed resistance to change -​ Diversion of work efforts from important objectives -​ Feeling of alienation by outsiders Combines functional and divisional -​ Open communication -​ Accountability and Matrix/Hybrid structures to gain advantages and -​ Helps create innovative authority Organization minimize disadvantages of each. ideas -​ More people in process (Traditional) Workers in a matrix structure belong to at -​ Increase employee which slows things least 2 formal groups at the same time - a development down functional group and a product, program or -​ Encourages employee -​ They have a lot of roles project team. motivation and responsibilities They report to 2 bosses. -​ Encourages collaboration -​ Leads to slower decision -​ Flexibility and adaptivity is making Used in: shown Manufacturing (eg. Aerospace, electronics, pharmaceuticals) Service industries (eg. Banking, retailing) Professional fields (eg. Accounting, advertising, law) Non-profit sector (eg. Hospitals, universities) Multinational corporations (eg. Nike, Coca-Cola) A mechanistic design is centralized, with -​ Efficiency: -​ Inflexibility: Mechanistic many rules and -​ Control: -​ Low Employee Morale: Design procedures, a clear-cut division of labour, -​ Predictability: -​ Slower narrow spans of control, Decision-Making: and formal coordination.  Work best for organizations doing routine tasks in stable environments Horizontal communication networks -​ Building confidence -​ Cost Network involve the exchange of messages among -​ Cost Savings -​ Security risks Structure people at the same level of hierarchy, such -​ Flexibility -​ Network failure (Horizontal) as peers, colleagues, or teams. -​ Faster Decision-Making -​ Quality Control -​ Access to Talent -​ Potential -​ Connectivity Communication Issues It is a flexible, decentralized organizational -​ Adaptability: -​ Role Ambiguity: Organic Design structure that encourages collaboration, -​ Innovation: -​ Conflict Potential: (Adaptive adaptability, and employee empowerment. -​ Employee Engagement: -​ Scalability Issues: organizations) *Shown Below n/a n/a Organizational chart *Shown Below n/a n/a Organization structure A shadow organization is a part of an n/a n/a Shadow organization that's hidden, unknown, or organization generally unspoken about. Often, the shadow side of an organization is inactive, and when it is it's generally harmless. But, when it becomes active, it can become a problem. a hierarchical framework commonly used -​ Adaptability: -​ Role Ambiguity: Traditional in businesses and -​ Innovation: -​ Conflict Potential: Organizational organizations. It is characterized by clear -​ Employee Engagement: -​ Scalability Issues: Structure lines of authority, defined roles, and a -​ top-down approach to management. Often uses departmentalization where people and jobs are placed into work units (the number of subordinates directly -​ Clear Hierarchy: -​ Inflexibility: Span of control reporting to a manager) which allows -​ Efficiency: -​ Limited Innovation: workers more empowerment and independence  Extensively use permanent and temporary -​ Engagement -​ Limited leadership Team structure teams to solve problems, -​ Enhanced flexibility opportunity (Horizontal) complete special projects, and accomplish -​ Reaction times -​ Increased workload for day-to-day tasks. -​ Cost saving employees Teams serve as the basic building blocks -​ Increased workload for Often use cross-functional teams which hr are composed of members from different areas of work responsibility. A 'Virtual Organization' is defined as a -​ Clear Supervision: -​ Communication Issues: Virtual group of companies forming an alliance, -​ Effective Communication: -​ Less Control: organization utilizing information technology to -​ Lower Costs:. collaborate towards a specific objective, -​ and disbanding once the objective is achieved. Organizational design chart: Formal Chart: