An organization is a collection of people who work together to achieve individual and organizational goals

Definition Organizational behaviour , is

Organizational Behavior (OB) is the study and application of knowledge about how people, individuals, and groups act in organizations. It does this by taking a system approach. That is, it interprets people-organization relationships in terms of the whole person, whole group, whole organization, and whole social system. Its purpose is to build better relationships by achieving human objectives, organizational objectives, and social objectives.

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Organizational behavior studies organizations from multiple viewpoints and levels, including behavior within the organization and in relation to other organizations.

Micro organizational behavior refers to individual and group dynamics in an organizational setting.

Macro organizational theory studies whole organizations and industries, including how they adapt, and the strategies, structures, and contingencies that guide them.

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OB highlights four central characteristics of the field: It is firmly grounded in the scientific method It studies individuals, groups, and organizations. It is interdisciplinary in nature. It is used as the basis for enhancing orgainsational effectiveness and

individual well-being.

The study of OB involves: Consideration of the interaction among the formal structure

(organizational context in which the process of management takes place) The technology employed and the methods of carrying out work The behaviour of people The process of management

The external environment

Interrelated dimensions influencing behaviour: The Individual – working environment should satisfy individual needs as

well as attainment of organizational goals The Group - formal and informal. Understanding of groups complements

a knowledge of individual behaviour. The Organisation – impact of organization structure and design, and

patterns of management, on behaviour. The Environment – technological and scientific development, economic

activity, and governmental actions.

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Provides a set of tools that allow: People to understand, analyze, and describe behavior in organizations Managers to improve, enhance, or change work behaviors so that

individuals, groups and the whole organization can achieve their goals

Generalisations about human behaviour:

> happy workers are productive workers. > Individuals are most productive when the boss is friendly, reliable and unassuming. > behaviour of good leaders is consistent irrespective of the situations they face. > Interviews are effective selection devices. > Everybody likes a challenging job > People will have to be bullied/intimidated to make them to do their jobs. > Money motivates all. > >People are more concerned about their own salaries than others’. >Members of effective groups do not quarrel among themselves.

A Short History of Organizational BehaviorThe Greek philosopher Plato wrote about the essence of leadership. Aristotle addressed the topic of persuasive communication. The writings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius in 500 BC are beginning to influence contemporary thinking about ethics and leadership. The writings of 16th century Italian philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli laid the foundation for contemporary work on organizational power and politics.

In 1776, Adam Smith advocated a new form of organizational structure based on the division of labour. One hundred years later, German sociologist Max Weber

wrote about rational organizations and initiated discussion of charismatic leadership.

Soon after, Frederick Winslow Taylor introduced the systematic use of goal setting and rewards to motivate employees. In the 1920s, Australian-born Harvard professor Elton Mayo and his colleagues conducted productivity studies at Western Electric's Hawthorne plant in the United States. They discovered the importance of formal and informal group dynamics in the work place, resulting in a dramatic shift towards the ‘human relations’ school of thought.

Though it traces its roots back to Max Weber and earlier, organizational studies is generally considered to have begun as an academic discipline with the advent of scientific management in the 1890s, with Taylorism representing the peak of this movement. Proponents of scientific management held that rationalizing the organization with precise sets of instructions and time-motion studies would lead to increased productivity. Studies of different compensation systems were carried out.

After the First World War, the focus of organizational studies shifted to analysis of how human factors and psychology affected organizations, a transformation propelled by the identification of the Hawthorne Effect . This Human Relations Movement focused on teams , motivation , and the actualization of the goals of individuals within organizations. Prominent early scholars included Chester Barnard , Henri Fayol , Frederick Herzberg , Abraham Maslow , David McClelland , and Victor Vroom.

The Second World War further shifted the field, as the invention of large-scale logistics and operations research led to a renewed interest in rationalist approaches to the study of organizations. Interest grew in theory and methods native to the sciences, including systems theory, the study of organizations with a complexity theory perspective and complexity strategy. Influential work was done by Herbert Alexander Simon and James G. March and the so-called " Carnegie School & quot; of organizational behavior

In the 1960s and 1970s, the field was strongly influenced by social psychology and the emphasis in academic study was on quantitative research . An explosion of theorizing, much of it at Stanford University and Carnegie Mellon, produced Bounded Rationality , Informal Organization , Contingency Theory , Resource Dependence , Institutional Theory , and Organizational Ecology theories, among many others. Starting in the 1980s, cultural explanations of organizations and change became an important part of study. Qualitative methods of study became more acceptable, informed by anthropology , psychology and sociology . A leading scholar was Karl Weick

Frederick Winslow Taylor Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856–1915) was the first person who attempted to study human behavior at work using a systematic approach. Taylor studied human characteristics, social environment, task, physical environment, capacity, speed, durability, cost and their interaction with each other. His overall objective was to reduce and/or remove human variability

Taylor worked to achieve his goal of making work behaviors stable and predictable so that maximum output could be achieved. He relied strongly upon monetary incentive systems, believing that humans are primarily motivated by money. He faced some strong criticism, including being accused of telling managers to treat workers as machines without minds, but his work was very productive and laid many foundation principles for modern management studies

Four Principles of Scientific Management

1. Study the way employees perform their tasks, gather informal job knowledge that employees possess, and experiment with ways of improving the way tasks are performed. 2. Codify the new methods of performing tasks into written rules and standard operating procedures.3. Carefully select employees so that they possess skills and abilities that match the needs of the task, and train them to perform the task according to the established rules and procedures. 4. Establish an acceptable level of performance for a task, and then develop a pay system that provides a reward for performance above the acceptable level.

The Hawthorne Studies Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Company near Chicago; 1924-1932 – these studies mark the starting point of the field of Organisational Behaviour Initiated as an attempt to investigate how characteristics of the work setting affect employee fatigue and performance (i.e., lighting). Found that productivity increased regardless of whether illumination was raised or lowered.

Started in 1924– to examine the relationship between light intensity and employee productivity – a test group and a control group were used – the test group initially did not show any increase or decrease in output in proportion to the increase/decrease in illumination. The control group with unchanged illumination increased output by the same amount overall by the test group. Subsequent phases brought the level of light down to moonlight intensity: the workers could barely see what they were doing, but productivity increased. The results baffled the researchers. Obviously, something besides the level of illumination was causing the change in productivity – the complex human variable.

Mary Parker Follett

Management must consider the human side Employees should be involved in job analysis Person with the knowledge should be in control of the work process regardless of position Cross-functioning teams used to accomplish projects

Douglas McGregor: Theory X and Theory Y Theory X Average employee is lazy, dislikes work, and will try to do as little as possible Manager’s task is to supervise closely and control employees through reward and punishment

Theory Y Employees will do what is good for the organization when committed Manager’s task is create a work setting that encourages commitment to organizational goals and provides opportunities for employees to be exercise initiative

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ATTITUDE

The attitude is the evaluative statements or judgments concerning objects, people, or events. More precisely attitudes can be defined as a persistent tendency to feel and behave in a particular way toward some object which may include events or individuals as well.

Attitude can be characterized in three ways: First, they tend to persist unless something is done to change them. Second, attitudes can fall anywhere along a continuum from very favorable

to very unfavorable. Third, attitudes are directed toward some object about which a person has

feelings (sometimes called “affect”) and beliefs.

Components of Attitudes The three basic components of attitude are Cognitive, Affective and Behavioural  part.

Cognitive Component of Attitude refers to opinion or belief part of attitude. When you form your opinion or judgment on the basis of available information and decide whether you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion on that, it the cognitive part of attitude we are talking about.

ex: My supervisor gave a promotion to a coworker who deserved it less than me. My supervisor is unfair.

Affective  Component of Attitude refers to the emotional aspect of attitude. This is perhaps the most often referred part of attitude and decides mostly the desirable or undesirable aspect attitude.ex: I dislike my supervisor!

Behavioral Component of Attitude refers to the behavioral part of attitude. If we have a positive attitude for a particular object, it is likely to be translated into a particular type of behavior, such as buying or procuring that object.ex: I’m looking for other work; I’ve complained about my supervisor to anyone who would listen.

Formation of AttitudeHow attitudes are formed? How do you develop your attitude? Essentially attitudes are the outward manifestation of your inner values and beliefs. These develop over time. As you grow you watch the significant people around you behaving in a particular way; you are being told to cherish certain things over others and you learn from your teachers and peers and come to value certain thins over other, thus forming your value system. These in turn give rise to development of your attitudes.

Attitudes help predict work behavior. The following example might help to illustrate it. After introducing a particular policy, it is found from an attitude survey, that the workers are not too happy about it. During the subsequent week it is found that the attendance of the employees drops sharply from the previous standard. Here management may conclude that a negative attitude toward new work rules led to increased absenteeism.

Attitudes help people to adapt to their work environment. An understanding of attitudes is also important because attitudes help the employees to get adjusted to their work. If the management can successfully develop a- positive attitude among the employees, they will be better adjusted to their work.

Functions of AttitudeAccording to Katz, attitudes serve four important functions from the viewpoint of organizational behaviour. These are as follows.

The Adjustment Function. Attitudes often help people to adjust to their work environment. Well-treated employees tend to develop a positive attitude towards their job, management and the organization in general while

berated and ill treated organizational members develop a negative attitude. In other words, attitudes help employees adjust to their environment and form a basis for future behaviour.

Ego-Defensive Function. Attitudes help people to retain their dignity and self- image. When a young faculty member who is full of fresh ideas and enthusiasm, joins the organization, the older members might feel somewhat threatened by him. But they tend to disapprove his creative ideas as ‘crazy’ and ‘impractical’ and dismiss him altogether.

The Value-Expressive Function. Attitudes provide individuals with a basis for expressing their values. For example, a manager who values hard and sincere work will be more vocal against an employee who is having a very casual approach towards work.

The Knowledge Function. Attitudes provide standards and frames of reference that allow people to understand,and perceive the world around him. If one has a strong negative attitude towards the management, whatever the management does, even employee welfare programmes can be perceived as something ‘bad’ and as actually against them.

Changing AttitudesEmployees’  attitudes can be • changed and sometimes it is in the best interests of managements to try to do so. For example, if employees believe that their employer does not look after their welfare, the management should try to change their attitude and help develop a more positive attitude in them. However, the process of changing the attitude is not always easy. There are some barriers wliich have to be overcome if one strives to change somebody’s attitude. There are two major categories of barriers that come in the way of changing attitudes:

1. Prior commitment when people feel a commitment towards a particular course of action that have already been agreed upon and thus it becomes difficult for them to change or accept the new ways of functioning.

2. Insufficient information also acts as a major barrier to change attitudes. Sometimes people simply see any reason to change their attitude due to unavailability of adequate information.

Some of the possible ways of changing attitudes are described below.

Providing New Information. Sometimes a dramatic change in attitude is possible only by providing relevant and adequate information to the person concerned. Scanty and incomplete information can be a major reason for brewing negative feeling and attitudes.

Use of Fear. Attitudes can be changed through the use of fear. People might resort to change their work habit for the fear of fear of unpleasant consequences. However, the degree of the arousal of fear will have to be taken into consideration as well.

Resolving Discrepancies: Whenever “people face “a dilemma or conflicting situation they feel confused in choosing a particular course of action. Like in the case where one is to choose from” between two alternative courses of action, it is often become difficult for him to decide which is right for him. Even when he chooses one over the other, he might still feel confused. If some one helps him in pointing out the positive points in favour of the chosen course of action, he person might resolve the his dilemma.

Influence of friends and peers A very effective way of changing one’s attitude is through his friends and colleagues. Their opinion and recommendation for something often proves to be more important. If for example, they are all praise for a particular policy introduced in the work place, chances are high that an individual will slowly accept that even when he had initial reservations for that.

Co-opting. If you want to change the attitude of some body who belongs to a different group, it is often becomes very effective if you can include him in your own group. Like in the case of the union leader who are all the time vehemently against any management decision, can be the person who takes active initiative in implementing a new policy when he had participated in that decision making process himself.________________________________________________________________

How Are Employee Attitudes Measured? The most popular method for getting information about employee attitudes

is through attitude surveys.

Using attitude surveys on a regular basis provides managers with valuable feedback on how employees perceive their working conditions. Managers present the employee with set statements or questions to obtain specific information. Individual Responses are then combined and analyzed

Important Attitudes Related to Organisations: Job Satisfaction – is a set of favorable or unfavorable feelings and

emotions with which employees view their work.

Job Involvement - the degrees to which a person identifies with a job, actively participates in it, and considers performance important to self-worth.

Organizational Commitment - the degree to which an employee identifies with a particular organizational and its goals and wishes to maintain membership in the organization.

JOB SATISFACTION

A collection of positive and/or negative feelings that an individual holds toward his or her job

A high level of job satisfaction equals positive attitudes toward the job and vice versa.

Employee attitudes and job satisfaction are frequently used interchangeably.

Often when people speak of “employee attitudes” they mean “employee job satisfaction.”

A pleasurable emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experiences (Locke, 1976). An employee’s cognitive and affective evaluation of his or her job

Determinants of Job Satisfaction: Personality (the enduring ways a person has of feeling, thinking, and

behaving) Work Situation (the work itself; coworkers, supervisors, and subordinates;

physical working conditions, and working hours, pay and job security) Values (intrinsic and extrinsic work values) Social Influence (coworkers, groups, and culture)

The Effect of Job Satisfaction on Employee Performance Job Performance

Satisfied workers are more productive AND more productive workers are more satisfied!

Worker productivity is higher in organizations with more satisfied workers.

Absenteeism Satisfied employees have fewer avoidable absences.

Turnover Satisfied employees are less likely to quit.

Organizations take actions to retain high performers and to weed out lower performers.

Customer Satisfaction Satisfied workers provide better customer service

Satisfied employees increase customer satisfaction because: They are more friendly, upbeat, and responsive. They are less likely to turnover, which helps build long-term customer

relationships

Organizational Citizenship behavior (OCB) Satisfied employees who feel fairly treated by and are trusting of the

organization are more willing to engage in behaviors that go beyond the normal expectations of their job.

Workplace Deviance Dissatisfied workers are more likely to unionize abuse substances, steal,

be tardy, and withdraw

Cognitive Dissonance A state of tension that is produced when an individual experiences conflict

between attitudes and behavior

Cognitive Dissonance Theory Leon Festinger Any Incompatibility between 2 or more attitudes or between behavior Internal state that results when individuals notice inconsistency between 2

or more of their attitudes or between their attitudes and their behavior

Self Perception Theory Daryl Bem Asserts that we develop our attitudes by observing our own behavior and

concluding what attitudes must have caused them

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PERCEPTION is the process by which organisms interpret and organize sensation to

produce a meaningful experience of the world (Lindsay & Norman, 1977).

Four Stages:1. Stimulation2. Registration3. Organization4. Interpretation

Broadbent (1958) addressed the concept of perceptual vigilance with his filter model. Broadbent argued that, on the one hand, due to limited capacity, a person must process information selectively and, therefore, when presented with information from two different channels (i.e., methods of delivery such as visual and auditory), an individual’s perceptual system processes only that which it believes to be most relevant. However, perceptual defense creates an internal barrier that limits the external stimuli passing through the perception process when it is not congruent with the person’s current beliefs, attitudes, motivation, etc. This is referred to as selective perception. Selective perception occurs when an individual limits the processing of external stimuli by selectively interpreting what he or she sees based on beliefs, experience, or attitudes (Sherif & Cantril, 1945).

Broadbent’s filter theory has been updated in recent years. A “Selectionfor-Action View” suggests that filtering is not just a consequence of capacity limitations, but

is driven by goal-directed actions (Allport, 1987, 1993; Neumann, 1987; Van der Heijden, 1992). The concept is that any action requires the selection of certain aspects of the environment that are action relevant and, at the same time, filtering other aspects that are action irrelevant. Therefore, when one is working toward a goal, one will skip over information that does not support one’s plan. Recent studies of the brain have also led to new models, suggesting multiple channels of processing (Pashler, 1989) and selective perception as a result of activation of cortical maps and neural networks (Rizzolatti & Craighero, 1998). In any case, people are selective in what they perceive and tend to filter information based on the capacity to absorb new data, combined with preconceived thoughts.

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Social PerceptionSocial perceptionis how an individual “sees” others and how others perceive an individual. This is accomplished through various means such asclassifying an individual based on a single characteristic (halo effect),evaluating a person’s characteristics by comparison to others (contrasteffect), perceiving others in ways that really reflect a perceiver’s own attitudes and beliefs (projection), judging someone on the basis of one’sperception of the group to which that person belongs (stereotyping),causing a person to act erroneously based on another person’s perception (pygmalion effect), or controlling another person’s perception ofoneself (impression management).

Halo EffectThe halo effect occurs when an individual draws a general impression aboutanother person based on a single characteristic, such as intelligence, sociability, or appearance. The perceiver may evaluate the other individualhigh on many traits because of his or her belief that the individual is highin one trait. For example, if an employee performs a difficult accountingtask well due to the manager’s belief of the employee’s high intelligence,then the manager may also erroneously perceive the employee as havingcompetencies in other areas such as management or technologyOpposite to the halo effect is the horn effect, whereby a person evaluates another as low on many traits because of a belief that the individualis low on one trait that is assumed to be critical (Thorndike, 1920). Astudy on obesity conducted with health professionals and researchers reflects the horn effect concept. Study participants were asked to complete an Implicit Associations Test to assess overall implicit weight bias(associating “obese people” and “thin people” with “good” vs “bad”)and three ranges of stereotypes: lazy–motivated, smart–stupid, and valuable–worthless. The study respondents were much quicker to pair “fat’’

with “lazy’’ and other negative traits and/or stereotypes (Schwartz,Chambliss, Brownell, Blair & Billington, 2003).

ProjectionWhereas, contrast effect is the perception of an individual based on thecomparison to others, projection is the attribution of one’s own attitudes and beliefs onto others. All of us are guilty of unconsciously projecting our own beliefs onto others. Sigmund Freud (1894), along withhis daughter Anna Freud (1936), suggested that projection was a defensive mechanism, where we attribute our own attitudes onto someoneelse as a defense against our feelings of anxiety or guilt.

StereotypingAs such, the term stereotype is defined to mean a conventional image applied to whole groups of people, and the treatment of groupsaccording to a fixed set of generalized traits or characteristics.Although stereotyping can be positive because it allows us to

Contrast EffectsResearch has provided evidence that perceptions are also subject to whatis termed perceptual contrast effects. Contrast effectsrelate to an individual’s evaluation of another person’s characteristics based on (or affectedby) comparisons with other people who rank higher or lower on the samecharacteristics. In other words, the contrast effect relates to how an individual is perceived in relation to others around himor her. The contrast effect not only applies to the perception of attractiveness, but it has also been shown to influence self-esteem, public selfconsciousness, and social anxiety (Thornton and Moore, 1993).

Pygmalion EffectThe pygmalion effect, or self-fulfilling prophecy, describes a person’s behavior that is consistent with another individual’s perception whether ornot it is accurate. In other words, once an expectation is made knownby another person, an individual will have the tendency to behave inways consistent with the expectation.

. Impression management incorporateswhat we do, how we do it, what we say, and how we say it as we try toinfluence the perceptions others have of us. Individuals will try to presentthemselves in ways that will lead to positive evaluations by others by highlighting their achievements and avoiding the disclosure of failures.

Workplace Communication

■ COMMUNICATION PROCESSFigure 4-1illustrates the communication process. It shows that the senderis a person, department, or unit of an organization or system who originates the message. A sender uses words and symbols to put forth information into a message for the receiver, the individual(s) receiving themessage. Messages are then received and decoded or interpreted by thereceiver. Decoding is affected by the receiver’s prior experiences andframes of reference. Accurate decoding of the message by the receiver iscritical to effective communication. The closer the decoded message getsto the intent of the sender, the more effective the communication. However,environmental and personal barriers can hamper the communicationprocess. Details on barriers are described in a later section. To ensuremessages are received as intended, feedback is a necessary component ofthe communication process. The receiver creates feedback to a messageand encodes it before transmitting it back to the sender. The sender receives and decodes the feedback. Feedback is the destination’s reactionto a message (Certo, 1992). It is an important element of communication since it allows for information to be shared between the receiver andsender in a two-way communication.

Feedback is any information that individuals receive about their behavior. Feedback can be information related to the productivity of groupsin an organization, or the performance of a particular individual.

■ FEEDBACKFeedback is any information that individuals receive about their behavior. Feedback can be information related to the productivity of Feedback 79SenderMessage• Create• EncodeSenderMessage• Receive• DecodeBarriers• Environment• PersonalFeedback

• Receive• DecodeFeedback• Create• EncodeFigure 4-1 The Communication ProcessSource:McShane, S.L., and Von Glinow, M.A. (2003) Organizational behavior: Emerging realities for the workplace revo

Descriptive feedback. Feedback that identifies or describes how aperson communicates. For instance, Manager A asks Manager B tocomment on her behavior at a staff meeting. B indicates that A wasspecific, clear, and instructive on introducing the staff to the computer database for managing patient accounts. B provides a descriptive feedback of A’s behavior at the staff meeting.• Evaluative feedback. Feedback that provides an assessment of theperson who communicates. In the above case, if Manager B evaluates Manager A’s behavior and concludes that she is instructive andhelpful, and that causes the staff to feel comfortable when going toA for help or asking questions, then B has provided positive evaluative feedback of A’s interaction with the staff.• Prescriptive feedback. Feedback that provides advice about howone should behave or communicate. For example, Manager A asksManager B how she could have made changes to better communicate her message to her staff. B suggests for A to be friendlier andmore cooperative by giving the staff specific times that A is available for help with the new computer database. This type of advice isprescriptive feedback.

Task or procedural feedback. Feedback at this level involves issuesof effectiveness and appropriateness. Specific issues that relate totask feedback include the quantity or quality of a group’s output.For instance, are patients satisfied with the new outpatient clinic?Did the group complete the project on time? Procedural feedback refers to whether a correct procedure was used appropriately at thetime by the group.Relational feedback. Feedback that provides information about interpersonal dynamics within a group. This level of feedback emphasizes how a group gets along while working together. It is effectivewhen it is combined with the descriptive and prescriptive forms offeedback.• Individual feedback. Feedback that focuses on a particular individual in a group. For example, is an individual in the group knowledgeable? Does he or she have the skills helpful to this group? Whatattitudes does he or she have toward the group as they work togetherto accomplish their tasks? Is the individual able to plan and organize

within a schedule that contributes to the group’s goal attainment?• Group feedback. Feedback that focuses on how well the group is performing. Like the questions raised at the individual feedback level,similar questions are asked for the group. Do team members withinthe group have adequate knowledge to complete a task? Have theydeveloped a communication network to facilitate their objectives?Feedback can be in the form of questionnaires, surveys, and audio

■ COMMUNICATION CHANNELSAnother important component of the communication process is selecting the appropriate communication channel. It is the means by whichmessages are transmitted. There are two types of channels: verbal and nonverbal. The various channels of communication and the amount of information transmitted through each type are illustrated in Figure 4-2.Verbal CommunicationVerbal communication relies on spoken or written words to share information with others. Dialogue is a form of verbal communication. Itis a discussion or conversation between people. It is a process in whichparticipants are exposed to new information. The process involves a series of meetings of organizational members that represent different viewson issues of mutual interest.

Computer-Aided CommunicationElectronic mail has revolutionized the way we communicate. E-mail allows messages to be rapidly created, changed, saved, and sent to manypeople at the same time. One can select any part of the message to readand skip to important parts of the message. E-mail is a preferred channel for coordinating work and schedules. Messages can be clearly defined through concrete and specific instructions rather than abstractwords or generalization

Other Computer-Aided CommunicationIn addition to e-mail technology, other forms of technology have infusedhealthcare organizations and directly enhance and impact the communication process.

Nonverbal CommunicationNonverbal communication is sharing information without using wordsto encode messages. There are four basic forms of nonverbal communication: proxemics, kinesics, facial and eye behavior, and paralanguage(Nelson & Quick, 2003). Proxemicsis the study of an individual’s perception and use of spaceKinesics refers to body language, which is used to convey meaningsand messages.

BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

As illustrated in Figure 4-1 (page 79), several forms of barriers can impede the communication process. Longest, Rakich, and Darr (2000) classify these barriers into two categories: environmental and personal.Environmental barriers are characteristic of the organization and its environmental setting. Personal barriers arise from the nature of individual

Environmental BarriersExamples of environmental barriers include competition for attentionand time between senders and receivers. Multiple and simultaneous demands cause messages to be incorrectly decoded. The receiver hears themessage, but does not understand it. Due to inadequate attention paidto the message, the receiver is not really “listening.” Listening is a processthat integrates physical, emotional, and intellectual inputs into the questfor meaning and understanding.

Personal BarriersPersonal barriers arise due to an individual’s frame of reference or beliefsand values. They are based on one’s socioeconomic background and priorexperiences and shape how messages are encoded and decoded. One mayalso consciously or unconsciously engage in selective perception or beinfluenced by fear or jealously.

Recognizing that environment and personal barriers exist is the first stepto effective communication. By becoming cognizant of their existence, onecan consciously minimize their impact. However, positive actions areneeded to overcome these barriers (see Table 4-1).Longest and coauthors (2000) provide us with several guidelines forovercoming barriers:1. Environmental barriers are reduced if receivers and senders ensurethat attention is given to their messages and that adequate time is devoted to listening to what is being communicated. 2. A management philosophy that encourages the free flow of communication is constructive. 3. Reducing the number of links (levels in the organizational hierarchyor steps between the sender in the healthcare organization and thereceiver who is an external stakeholder) reduces opportunities fordistortion. 4. The power/status barrier can be removed by consciously tailoringwords and symbols so that messages are understandable; reinforcing words with actions significantly improves communication amongdifferent power/status levels.

5. Using multiple channels to reinforce complex messages decreases thelikelihood of misunderstanding.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION FOR KNOWLEDGEMANAGEMENTCommunication plays an important role in knowledge management.Employees are the organization’s brain cells, and communication represents the nervous system that carries information and shared meaning tovital parts of the organizational body. Effective communication bringsknowledge into the organization and disseminates it to employees whorequire that information.

The following summarizes these key elements: • An effective communicator must have a desire to communicate,which is influenced both by one’s personal values and the expectation that the communication will be received in a meaningful way.• An effective communicator must have an understanding of howothers learn, which includes consideration of differences in howothers perceive and process information (e.g., analytic vs. intuitive,abstract vs. concrete, verbal vs. written). • The receiver of the message should be cued as to the purpose of themessage, that is, whether the message is to provide information,elicit a response or reaction, or arrive at a decision.

STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONStrategic communication is an intentional process of presenting ideas ina clear, concise, and persuasive way. A manager must make an intentional effort to master communication skills and use them strategically,that is, consistently with the organization’s values, mission, and strategy.To plan strategic communication, managers must develop a methodology for thinking through and effectively communicating with superiors,staff, and peers. Sperry and Whiteman (2003) provide us with a strategic communication plan, which consists of five components. 1. Outcome. The specific result that an individual wants to achieve.2. Context. The organizational importance of the communication.3. Messages. The key information that staff need to know.Strategic Communication 9347688_CH04_077_110.qxd 3/9/05 4:51 PM Page 934. Tactical reinforcement. Tactics or methods used to reinforce the message.

5. Feedback. The way the message is received and its impact on the individual, team, unit, or organization

FLOWS OF INTRAORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION

Communication can flow upward, downward, horizontally, and diagonally within organizations. Upward communication occurs betweensupervisors and subordinates. Downward communication primarily involves passing on information from supervisors to subordinates. Horizontal flow is from manager to manager or from co-worker to co-worker.Diagonal flow occurs between different levels of different departments.Longest et al. (2000) provides us with several forms of intraorganizational communication for healthcare organizations.Upward FlowThe purposes of upward communication flow are to provide managerswith information to make decisions, identify problem areas, collect datafor performance assessments, determine staff morale, and reveal employee thoughts and feelings about the organization. Upward flow becomes especially important with increased organizational complexity.

• Grievance procedure. This allows employees to make an appeal upward beyond their immediate supervisor. It protects the individualfrom arbitrary action by their direct supervisor and encouragescommunication about complaints. • Open door policy. The supervisor’s door is always open to subordinates. It is an invitation for subordinates to come in and talk to thesuperior about things that trouble them. 94 CHAPTER 4 WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION47688_CH04_077_110.qxd 3/9/05 4:51 PM Page 94• Counseling, questionnaires, and exit interviews. The department ofhuman resources in a healthcare organization can facilitatesubordinate-initiated communication by conducting confidentialcounseling, administering attitude questionnaires, and holding exitinterviews for those leaving the organization. Information gainedfrom these forms of communication can be used to make improvements.• Participative decision-making techniques. Through the use of informal involvement of subordinates or formal participation programssuch as quality improvement teams, union–management committees, and suggestion boxes, participative techniques can improveemployee performance and satisfaction. Since employees can partic

Ombudsperson. The use of an ombudsperson provides an outlet forpersons who feel they have been treated unfairly.

Downward FlowDownward communication involves passing information from supervisors to subordinates. This includes verbal and nonverbal communication, such as instructions for completing tasks, as well as communicationson a one-to-one basis. Downward communications include meeting with

employees, written memos, newsletters, bulletin boards, procedural manuals, and clinical and administration information systems.Horizontal FlowUpward and downward communications are inadequate for effective organizational performance. In complex healthcare organizations, horizontal flow or lateral communication must also occur. The purpose oflateral communication is the sharing of information among peers at similar levels to keep organizational staff informed of all current practices,policies, and procedures (Spillan et al., 2002). For example, coordinating the continuum of patient care requires communication among multiple units. Furthermore, committees, task forces, and cross-functionalproject teams are all useful forms of horizontal communication.Diagonal FlowThe least used channel of communication in healthcare organizations isdiagonal flow. Diagonal flows are growing in importance. While diagonalflow does not follow the typical hierarchical chain of command, diagonalflow is especially useful in health care for efficient communication and coordination of patient care.

COMMUNICATION NETWORKSFlows of communication can be combined into patterns called communication networks. These networks are interconnected by communication channels. A communication network is the interaction pattern betweenand among group members. A network creates structure for the groupbecause it controls who can and should talk to whom (Keyton, 2002).Groups generally develop two types of communication networks: centralized and decentralized (Figure 4-4).

Decentralized networks allow each group member to talk to everyother group member without restrictions. An open, all-channel or decentralized network is best used for group discussions, decision making,and problem solving. The all-channel network tends to be fast and accurate compared with the centralized network such as the chain or Y-patternnetworks (Longest et al., 2000). Nevertheless, a decentralized networkcan create communication overload, in which too much information ortoo complex communication may occur (Keyton, 2002). When a communication overload is produced, messages may conflict with each otherand result in confusion or disagreement. To reduce communication overload, a facilitator should be used to monitor group discussions.A centralized network restricts the number of people in the communication chain. In a group setting where a dominant leader takes overgroup discussions by controlling the number of messages and amount of

information being passed, group members do not interact except throughthe leader. Such a network can create communication underload, in whichtoo few or simple messages are transmitted. In this type of network, groupmembers feel isolated from group discussions and generally feel dissatisfied. In the chain network, communication occurs upward and downward and follows line authority relationships. An example is a staff nursewho reports to the charge nurse, who reports to the director of nursing,who reports to the vice president for clinical services, and who finally reports to the CEO of a large hospital. This network delineates the chainof command and shows clear lines of authority

■ INFORMAL COMMUNICATIONIn addition to formal communication flows and networks within healthcare organizations, there are informal communication flows, which havetheir own networks. Employees have always relied on the oldest communication channel—the corporate grapevine. The grapevine is an unstructured and informal network founded on social relationships rather thanorganizational charts or job descriptions. According to some estimates, 75percent of employees typically receive news from the grapevine before theyhear about it through formal channels (McShane & Von Glinow, 2003).