| Chapter One – The Basics
Chapter Summary
The first chapter prepares the student for the more sophisticated discussions of communication issues found later in the text by defining several basic principles, forms, and functions of communication specific to the business world. Communication is defined as the internal (intrapersonal) and external (interpersonal) exchange of meaning through the use of various verbal, nonverbal, and cultural messages. Business communication is defined within this field as the exchange of message meaning between people who work together to meet organizational goals. In business, the communication issues that are most emphasized are listening skills, interpersonal communication, verbal (both oral and written), and collaborative communication (most notably, teamwork skills).
Chapter Outline
I. What is Communication: Creating a message meaning within a person and exchanging meaning between people.
II. Skills for 21st-Century Business: Twenty-first-century business communicators need multiple communication skills. a. Interpersonal or internal communication: Involves the internal processing of messages; what goes on inside an individual’s head while he or she thinks. It is also what happens before he or she externalizes a concept. It is the ideas, thoughts, knowledge, and opinions that we think about or sift through before we choose which words we believe will best suit our needs when communicating with others. The intrapersonal skills that are most important to business are listening, which is the process of internalizing an external oral message and using it to fuel new ideas (see Chapter 4), and reading, which is the process of internalizing an external written message for the same purpose. b. Business communication: Involves the design and exchange of messages between and among members to accomplish organizational goals.
c. Interpersonal or external communication: The interaction between at least two people who co-create a relationship. Interpersonal communication is the external expression of the ideas, thoughts, knowledge, and opinions from one mind to one or many others. The delivery and reception of these messages is complex, including simultaneous use by all parties of intrapersonal, verbal (spoken or written, depending on the situation), nonverbal (gesture or visual presentation), and listening skills. Interpersonal communication is the basis for all business interactions.
d. Small-group communication: Involves two or more people who join together to accomplish specific goals. Small-group communication involves interactions between two or more people working together to accomplish tasks. Successful small-group communication requires participation, cooperation, and collaboration among all members of the group (Chapter 13). Small groups may be subject to conflict, which can often result in stronger task resolutions (Chapter 14).
e. Verbal communication: The use of both spoken and written language to accomplish message goals.
f. Non-verbal communication: Non-verbal communication consists of messages delivered without speaking; smiling, fidgeting, stretching, or watching attentively. Non-verbal communications may or may not be intentional, but it is important in business situations to be aware of these communications because they influence the relationships we form and develop with our audience.
g. Public communication: Public speaking or lectures presented to a group audience. Public communication is the delivery of a message to a group audience. Individuals make public communications to audiences within an organization as well as to audiences outside of the organization. They include oral reports, presentations, and sales messages (Chapter Seven).
III. Basic Communication Principles
a. Communication is a process: The process of communication is a moving and evolving set of experiences that influence our present and future interactions.
b. Communication is contextual: Our interactions with others occur during specific social situations, in different physical environments, and for a variety of purposes.
c. Communication is continuous: From the moment we are born, we are always communicating, even if we do not talk, we still communicate nonverbally (includes body movements such as gestures, facial expressions, and vocal sounds that do not use words) .
d. Communication coordinates our relationships: Our relationships with other people are coordinated, negotiated, and maintained through communication.
e. Communication is symbolic: A symbol is a type of sign that has no natural connection to the idea, word, or object it represents.
f. Communication is culturally linked: Culture is a socially constructed way of thinking and behaving in the world. Intercultural communication focuses on the interactions between people from different cultural groups.
g. Communication is collaborative: When people work together to accomplish a business goal, they are collaborating. While collaborators may have different perspectives, attitudes, skills, and cultural values, they come together to solve problems, make decisions, and work toward the achievement of business goals.
h. Communication is ethical: To be ethical, business communication must be trustworthy and in the audience’s best interest. Business ethics involves a system of principles that guide the proper conduct of companies and individuals.
IV. How Does Communication Work? Illustrated in Figure 1.4. The primary goal of communication is to achieve mutual understanding of message meanings. When mutual understanding occurs, we achieve high fidelity (the achievement of mutual understanding), which is the ideal communication experience.
a. Is high fidelity hard to achieve? Noise (any interference that interrupts or affects the exchange of messages) can make high fidelity hard to achieve and it is the primary reason for communication breakdowns.
i. Internal noise: Can be any psychological or physiological interruption that makes the message difficult to design, receive, or interpret.
ii. External noise: Any environmental interference – such as loud sounds, strong odors, extreme temperatures, or even lighting conditions – that affects the exchange of messages.
iii. Message-based noise: Refers to design flaws or differences in meaning that can distort or confuse messages.
b. Components of the communication process:
i. Ideas: Generated at the point of perception, when information from the environment or from inside your mind stimulates and arouses your attention.
ii. Communication source and receiver: Each person in the communication process is both a message source (the originator and transmitter of the message) and a receiver (the recipient of the message, or the destination point) throughout a given interaction.
iii. Messages: Ideas encoded and designed into one or more symbols to communicate meaning.
iv. Communication channels: A medium that carries messages within and between people.
1. Human channels: Include thoughts, verbal communication, nonverbal behaviors, sound, sight, and smell.
2. Technological channels: Include radio, TV, telephone, fax, video, e-mail, and hand-held devices.
v. Encoding: All messages begin in the mind as an idea. The original idea is an abstract concept that has to be translated into a symbol that can be further developed intrapersonally or shared with others.
vi. Decoding: To perceive, translate, and interpret information received in a message. Selectivity allows us to attach concepts to one another according to our interests and what we already know. We then encode the new information we’ve identified through selectivity with symbols that have personal meaning for us, independent of the meaning they may have in a larger, more public context. The message we send ourselves, then, takes the form of an internal dialogue or a mental image.
vii. Message feedback: A special type of message designed as a response to a received message.
viii. Culture: Culture refers to a social structure that determines how an individual perceives the world. In business, especially in international business interactions, knowledge of the audience’s cultural background can be crucial if we are to design a meaningful and effective message. This is called intercultural communication (Chapter 12).
V. Communicating Intrapersonally: A private interaction within a single person who is the encoder, decoder, and transmitter of messages. From a cognitive perspective, intrapersonal communication is a mental activity that involves transforming symbols and sensations into meaning.
a. Encoding and Decoding Messages Intrapersonally: People receive information externally from their environment and internally from within themselves. Choosing certain information to focus on is called selectivity.
b. The Meaning of Symbols: While some literal meaning may be synonymous with our individual interpretation, we determine meaning based on intrapersonal, interpersonal, contextual, and social factors. Symbols have meanings that depend on a number of factors, including a shared experience, culture, and context. When the audience does not share the same experience, culture, or context as the person delivering the message, the symbol may fail to deliver the meaning that was intended (Chapter Five).
c. Sending Ourselves Messages: The three primary channels used in the transmission of intrapersonal communication are self-talk, mental imagery, and nonverbal behaviors.
VI. The Intrapersonal and Business Communication Connection: In the world of work as in life, the way we have learned to think is central to the way we communicate with others and ourselves. To communicate effectively with other professionals in business, we have to learn how to create clear messages.
a. Designing Business Communication: The construction of a given message is the domain of the communication designer, who skillfully plans and designs effective business messages.
b. What is a Communication Design Strategy? A design strategy offers options and techniques that enable a business communicator to design messages more effectively so they will accomplish communication goals. We rarely think about the intrapersonal process of communication because we do it automatically. The challenge can be effectively communicating the product of that process to others. While we understand the precise meanings we’ve attached to various symbols, others may not. In business, misunderstandings can be disastrous. For this reason, business people must become effective communication designers, designing message meanings that are clearly understood by receivers. Communication designers use a variety of design strategies to simplify this process. Design strategies offer receivers recognizable forms to help them understand the use of symbols in the message.
In Text Exercises
§ In a Nutshell: Walt Disney College Program.
Ask students about a recent trip to an amusement park: how did the attitudes and behaviors of the employees influence their enjoyment of the park and its attractions? Ask them whether they believe the training Disney cast members are given applies to other business interactions. Then ask students to give examples of such interactions and to explain why these Disney methods would be effective.
§ Creative Challenge: Winter Desert
The answer to the question, “Can you stop communicating completely?” is no. Even all alone in a wilderness, one must still communicate with oneself intrapersonally to complete survival tasks like building a fire or pitching a tent. The mind is constantly being flooded with sensory input that must be processed. And then, there is also the question of dreaming, which may be considered an unconscious form of intrapersonal communication.
§ Jump In!: CompuTalk
Translation: Ogden: Hey Majic! What’s up? [How are you?]
Majic: Hey Ogden. I just logged on to the Internet. I’m having problems with my computer today.
Ogden: What kinds of problems are you having?
Majic: My computer system keeps crashing. [becomes inoperative]
Ogden: That’s awful.
Majic: Yes, it is.
Ogden: By the way, have you heard about the latest computer virus named Goner?
Majic: Yes, I’ve downloaded an anti-virus program for it, too, just in case.
Ogden: Smart.
Majic: You can never be too prepared, in my humble opinion.
Ogden: Hang on, my mom’s calling me. Be right back.
Majic: Ok.
§ Ethics in Action: Economist Intelligence Unit
You can go online and research a business with an interesting approach to communicating ethical responsibility. However, you may also want to ask to students to try to find a business where there is an inconsistent message between what the sender was communicating and what the sender was actually doing. It would provide an interesting opportunity to discuss the importance of practicing and reinforcing your stated objectives.
§ Creative Challenge: Noise
Examples of external noise can take the form of anything that can be perceived by the five senses: sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. Encourage students to think of examples in as many of these categories as possible. Internal noise is generally something that others cannot readily perceive: having a cold, being distraught over a fight with a friend, or an intense like or dislike of a political or religious idea.
§ Jump In!: Trucker Notes
Translation: There is an inoperative truck on Route 66 near Flagstaff, Arizona. Tell Marc Johnson (owner) to get Maria Tannhauser (chief of operations) to the site to assess damage to the shipment. The truck’s driver, Joe, is on his way to a Las Vegas hospital. Call the California Highway Patrol (Flagstaff is near California) and the Flagstaff Police department to get accident reports. Call the company’s insurance agent to begin claim resolution. Call and notify Joe’s wife (need to find her number).
§ Word on the Web: Career Counselors
Career counselors work with clients to help them determine what they wish to do with their lives. This may be an opportunity for students to not only consider more seriously what their career goals are, but also to examine their own intrapersonal communication system.
§ Creative Challenge: Talking Without Thinking
Experiences like this usually result in embarrassment or arguments between two people who misunderstand one another. To prime students, it may be useful to refer to a scene in a television program or movie. [A classic example would be the death scene in Romeo and Juliet.]
§ Creative Challenge: Strategy to Reduce Internal Noise
Since we think a lot faster than we hear, it is always difficult to focus and pay attention. Have the students develop strategies that will help them reduce internal distractions and focus on a presentation or lecture. Helpful tips include pretending that you are taking notes for someone who was unable to attend the lecture, active listening, and participating in the discussion.
Business Communication Projects - Three communication skill strengths and two weaknesses should be identified. These can be intrapersonal (such as reading or listening) or interpersonal (writing, verbal, public, or small-group communication, or an aspect of these). The student should identify why he/she feels that each skill is a strong point or weakness, and provide steps to improve the weaker skills. It may be helpful to require that one of the strengths and weaknesses be writing related. Ask the student to explain why and how the assigned paper exemplifies those traits.
- The e-mail should be in appropriate business format (no typographical errors, proper punctuation, and capitalization, and include a greeting and appropriate signature). The goal of the e-mail is to persuade the manager to assign several people to work on the proposal, and should be written respectfully and persuasively. Key collaborative benefits listed should include time savings from work division, better decision making and problem solving, and higher quality work enabled by the use of different group members’ respective communication strengths. Answers may differ somewhat based on the assumed difficulty of the proposal and the size of the team selected.
- The answer should lay out a plan of how to handle this employee situation, and what channel should be used. Answers may vary according to the student’s management style. However, a good answer should emphasize fairness and problem resolution strategies (such as an accountability system or a “three strikes” warning). The answer should also focus on the importance of human communication channels, particularly when sensitive issues are being discussed.
- A list of ways that noise could have been avoided or eliminated will depend on the type of noise and the context of the communication. For example, if the noise was internal, caused by being too tired to stay awake during a lecture, a simple answer would be to use better time management and get more sleep. If the noise was external, such as failure to communicate clearly with a manager due to loud music at an office party, the solution may be to select a better time and/or place to convey the message.
- Deciding what to say in response to a message: encoding, feedback, and channel selection. Brainstorming for solutions to a problem: human channel, encoding. Laughing at a joke: encoding, feedback. Making sense out of a confusing statement: decoding and interpretation. Sending an e-mail message: encoding, technological channel, channel selection
- Answers should include different group members’ thoughts about the given symbol. Intrapersonal factors could be thoughts or feelings associated with the symbol, interpersonal factors may include ideas or associations that people have about the symbol relative to interaction, contextual factors include intentional or unintentional associations with the symbol, and social factors could include broader societal meanings or associations that have become shared by a broader culture.
- Reasons for turning off cell phones and pagers should focus on disruption of the meeting, professionalism, and the possible appearance of disrespect for colleagues. Reasons may also include broader social and ethical concerns such as etiquette and respect.
- The e-mail should be in appropriate business format (no typographical errors, proper punctuation and capitalization, and include a greeting and appropriate signature). Answers can be based on examples or general observations about preferred learning methods. Ways to improve abilities could include trying new or different methods (such as audio books, online classes, etc.), or simply a conscious effort to recognize a weaker learning area and focus more effort on learning that way (perhaps by reading more, for a student who strongly prefers active learning).
- The printed ads, sales letters that the students select will be written verbal channels. The primary channels that they will need to consider as options may be oral, verbal, radio, TV, e-mail, and interactive websites. Answers will differ based on the selected sales literature or ad, and the channel selected. Students should focus on how an appropriate message will change based on the selected channel.
- The format of this one-page written assignment should be as an essay or brief memo. The selected article will preferably be selected from an established and reliable source. The summary portion of the paper should be concise, and contain only pertinent facts. The description of why the action is unethical may be biased by personal convictions, but should be based on fairness and social responsibility.
- This assignment may be completed during class, although it may be beneficial to have only the presentation delivered during class. Answers will likely be based on past group experiences, but outside research on group dynamics should be encouraged. The presentation should be concise, and should list the pros and cons that the group came up with, and their conclusion as to whether or not group activities are beneficial.
Discussion questions
1. Why do business people need to learn about other cultures?
Since the process of encoding and decoding message meanings successfully depends on an exchange of shared symbols, it is necessary for communicators to use symbols that are recognizable to the receiver.
2. What channels of communication do you think are used most frequently in business—human or technological channels? Why?
There are many ways to answer this question, often dependent on the field under discussion. In some businesses, such as those that employ a workforce that completes its tasks from an off-site location, technological channels may be used more frequently. For other businesses, like direct sales, human channels may be more common. In general, both channels are used regularly in the completion of business communication tasks.
3. In what ways do you think communication is vital to the success of any business?
Effective communication is necessary to complete the goals of a business. Communication is used to coordinate the efforts of a work force, develop new ideas, solve problems, and make decisions.
4. How is communication used at your college or university? How do you learn about school activities, events, or cancellations?
In general, information at colleges and universities is disseminated using various print methods, like brochures, booklets, schedules, fliers, and school newspapers. However, there are other communication methods that are used regularly, including face-to-face communication with instructors (in or outside of the classroom) and other students, and institution-run radio, film, and television programming. College websites are another important source of information for students, faculty and visitors.
5. How can effective communication enhance employee morale and productivity?
A workforce that understands corporate goals clearly is better able to meet those goals. Individuals in such a workforce also understand the value of their contribution towards those goals.
6. How does feedback improve the communication process and help communicators reach mutual understanding?
Feedback enables the individual (source) of a message to determine whether that message has been effectively communicated to its intended receiver. It also allows the receiver to contribute suggestions, ideas, or concerns.
7. Why is intrapersonal communication important for a business communicator?
Before a successful message can be encoded into a form that will be recognized by a receiver, the source must understand as clearly as possible what it is that he or she wishes to communicate. This means processing the initial idea into a form that the source can work with, creating symbols that will be meaningful to the receiver.
8. Describe business situations that require each of these communication skills:
a. Intrapersonal communication. [Problem-solving, decision-making]
b. Organizational communication. [Inter- and inner corporate communication]
c. Interpersonal communication. [Face-to-face communication]
d. Small group and team communication. [Collaborative work]
e. Verbal communication. [Face-to-face; written documents; presentations]
f. Public communication. [Presentations; sales]
Examples vary greatly. A few concrete examples might include a small group determining a marketing strategy for a new product, or a presentation of a business plan to a group of investors.
9. When do you use predesigned communication strategies in your day-to-day life? When do you use integrated or situational strategies?
Predesigned communication strategies are often forms that are filled out in the process of completing a task at work, like sales or inventory rosters or progress reports. They are also forms like exams or exercises that are executed using a prescribed format. Predesigned strategies also include specific oral or written communication formulas. Integrated or situational strategies are more elaborate reports or communications of policy or change in the workplace, or essay exams or in-class discussions. Integrated or situational strategies may also be used when an unusual or unfamiliar communication event occurs.
Case development
Wal-Mart Goes to Germany
One direction the instructor can take when discussing or developing a written assignment based on this case is to focus on the break down of communication in this situation. Ask students to identify the message(s) that Wal-Mart was trying to send to its acquisitioned Wertkauf and Interspar chains. Also, ask them to identify the sender (Wal-Mart) and the receiver (Wertkauf, Interspar, the German consumer). Wal-Mart’s intrapersonal communication is a corporate one, but it may be worth investigating how Wal-Mart’s corporate officers made internal decisions before trying them out on the European marketplace. Students may also be asked to consider encoding problems: what cultural, political, or social signs did Wal-Mart corporate officers miss when adapting their American business model to Germany? Consider feedback as the response of the German marketplace and consumer to the new Wal-Mart model. Finally, students can offer a new communication process that takes into account the variances in symbol and meaning between Wal-Mart and its new subsidiaries that will avoid similar problems in the future.
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