CMST 2061Final Exam Study Guide

Chapter 8 Difference between Leader & Manager –

Leadership involves looking for the next development or opportunity for growth and change that might lead to increased organizational growth, profitability, and market share. Leaders look toward tomorrow to create the new status quo. That is, they engage in foresight more than present-sight. The manager’s focus is on the here and now or what is whereas the leader’s focus is on tomorrow and what can be.

Managers generally do the “telling” (e.g., “This is the way we want you to do the job”) whereas leaders generally do the “selling” (e.g., “If we were to change this process, how would you do things differently”). The manager’s primary responsibility is to organize labor whereas the leader’s primary responsibility is to inspire labor. The reaction to information also highlights important differences between leaders and managers. Managers tend to be reactive to new information in an effort to maintain the status quo, whereas leaders tend to be proactive in that they use the untested and uncertain nature of new information as an opportunity for growth. The same is true with regard to vision. The manager will see the future through the prism of the past and present, whereas the leader will see the present through the future. A final important difference between managers and leaders is the power that they use to get things done. Managers tend to use legitimate power, or power that is officially granted to them by the organization, as opposed to leaders, who use referent power, or the ability to get followers to act because the followers like the leader and believe in his or her vision

Leadership styles –To measure effective leadership, we must consider the goal of the leader and organization. Leaders of a for-profit company (e.g., Walmart) and a not-for-profit (e.g., American Heart Association) are subject to different measures of success. Specifically, a for-profit company one gauges success by quarterly revenue, whereas a not-for- profit organization measures success by the amount of donations (in dollars) received.

Trait- The trait leadership perspective holds that people either possess the attributes of a leader or they do not. This type of effort is known as the great man theory of leadership. Ralph Stodgill believed that leadership qualities are part of a person’s personality. There are several traits associated with leadership. First, leaders possess the trait of narcissism, which is the belief that they, as opposed to someone else, are qualified to lead. This trait assumes a higher level of self-confidence and self-efficacy than those levels found in followers. Second, the trait of charisma reflects the leader’s ability to display a high degree of communication competence, the ability to inspire confidence, the ability to inspire subordinates, as well as the ability to convince subordinates to “buy into” the leader’s vision. It is important to remember that leaders possess charisma regardless of whether their intent is for good or evil.

Interpretation of events also distinguishes effective leaders from ineffective leaders. Locus of control is a trait that concerns how people attribute causes to outcomes in life. Carl Anderson and Craig Schneier found that people who exhibit an internal locus of control (i.e., see outcomes as being a function of their own behavior) are more likely to be leaders than people who exhibit an external locus of control (i.e., see outcomes as being a function of luck, chance, fate, other people, etc.). Internally oriented people also reported having greater amounts of previous leadership experience and emerge as group leaders more frequently than people who report being externally oriented.

There has been much debate about whether men or women are better leaders. Because men and women do display differences in their leadership styles, both display effective and ineffective leadership behaviors. Women in organizations tend to be more nurturing and socially sensitive whereas men tend to be more assertive and use more overt power. More recently, researchers have found that the most effective leaders display a gender-neutral style or an androgynous style, which is a combination of both masculine and feminine behaviors. The trait perspective assumes that leaders simply move from situation to situation, giving little value to the context or the situation, but another perspective holds that both the situation and the context determine which qualities and behaviors are considered leader like. Therefore, leadership is believed to be situationally bound.

Situational –

The situational leadership perspective assumes that there is no such thing as a born leader; rather, people act as leaders depending on the situation. Consider the following list of people and whether they would be considered leaders without the particular situations in which they were involved; Rosa Parks (without segregation), Abraham Lincoln (without the

Civil War), Winston Churchill (without the Battle of Britain), Martin Luther King, Jr. (without the civil rights struggles of the 1960s), Rudy Giuliani (without the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center), and Mother Teresa (without Third World poverty and oppression). The situational leadership theory assumes that any leadership style should be based on both the employee’s psychological maturity (i.e., degree of self- efficacy and willingness to accept responsibility) and job maturity (i.e., degree of skills and knowledge of the task). As employees’ maturity increases, the most appropriate leadership style is more relationally focused than task focused. Specifically, there is a hierarchy of maturity levels, and each level requires a degree of both task and relational leadership styles.

At the most basic maturity level, a leader would use the tell style, which is high in task focus and low in relationship focus. The tell style is advocated for employees who have low self-efficacy and are unmotivated. Therefore, the leader must simply instruct or train employees in skills used in accomplishing the task. Second on the continuum is the sell style, which assumes that employees have some maturity and are resistant to being told what to do, yet are not fully motivated to show initiative. Therefore, the leader should be high in both task and employee focus. This type of leadership style includes explaining decisions and advising employees in an effort to motivate them for task accomplishment. At the third level is the participative style. This style assumes that employees have high levels of job maturity and low levels of psychological maturity. Therefore, a low task focus and high relational focus style is required because employees are capable of performing the task but are unwilling or resistant to perform the task. The final approach is the delegating style, which reflects high levels of employee psychological and job maturity. With these employees, a low task focus and a low employee focus is required. In this case, employees are capable of performing the task and are motivated to do so. Therefore, the leader should simply allow employees to perform.

Another situational leadership theory is Fielder’s contingency theory, which holds that the degree of success of any leader is contingent on the situational demands (i.e., whether the leader should have a task or employee focus) and the amount of influence and control the leader has in the given the situation. Basically, in situations that are in the extreme (very successful or very unsuccessful outcomes with no middle option), you would want a task-oriented leader. When the situation is moderate in gravity (moderately successful or moderately unsuccessful), an employee-focused leader would be more effective.

Fielder believed that you cannot change the internal qualities of leaders and that we should find situations that match our specific style. The match of the person’s strengths to the specific situation results in effective leadership but does not guarantee that the person will be successful in all situations because effective leadership is something that is only part of a leader’s personality.There is no “true” leadership style. Therefore, it is difficult to identify a leader before a situation occurs. It remains intuitively appealing in its assumptions because it affords everyone the chance of being a leader given the right circumstances.

Exchange- Looks at the quality of the relationship between the leader and subordinates in the organization to determine leadership effectiveness.

Leader-member exchange theory (LMX) theory assumes that leaders behave differently to individual members of the organization based on the interpersonal nature of each relationship. That is, leaders develop either high-quality links or low-quality links with subordinates. A high-quality link is characterized by high trust, respect, and an overall positive tone, whereas a low-quality link is characterized by mistrust, lack of respect, and an overall negative tone. Subordinates with high-quality links to the leader are called in-group members as opposed to subordinates with low- quality links to the leader, who are called out-group members. In-group members are promoted more quickly and are more team oriented than out-group members.

Another exchange-based leadership approach is transformational leadership. Our culture values equal rights and justice, but it also values competition and commitment. Transformational leadership focuses on empowering individual workers and helping the organization adapt to changes in both internal and external environments. The basic premises of transformational leadership are as follows: (1) the leader is an agent of change; (2) the leader emphasizes the self-actualization of subordinates; and (3) leaders pursue the goals of the organization as well as satisfy the higher level needs of followers, including opportunities for growth and self-fulfillment. Tichy and Devanna highlighted seven characteristics that separate transformational leaders from other types of leaders:

Transformational leadership involves constant change and adaptation. Given that society and organizational life are constantly changing, effective leaders must adapt appropriately to those changes. The only thing constant, according to the transformational approach, is the seven leadership characteristics described.

orgs as leaders-Have you ever considered an organization as a whole when discussing leadership?

Peters and Waterman developed a set of seven interrelated concepts known as the McKinsey 7-S Framework, which is based on structure, strategy, systems, style, skills, staff, and shared values. Peters and Waterman delineated eight attributes common to all 43 excellent companies studied.

Bias for action: These companies exhibit a “let’s try it and see what happens” attitude. This shows a willingness to experiment with innovative ideas to see if there is any benefit to the company.Close to the customer: These companies view customers as the sole reason they exist and constantly remind employees of this fact. Further, the customer is considered an invaluable resource for innovation and change.Autonomy and entrepreneurship: Excellent companies support and encourage risk taking, internal competition, as well as a high number of innovations. They encourage innovations because the greater the number of total innovations (given that some will fail), the greater the number of successful innovations.Productivity through people: Although these companies are totally performance centered, they see productivity not as a result of organizational control but as something born of the organization’s great expectations for each employee. The

culture that results filters out low-performing employees. Low-performing employees soon find that they do not fit in the organization and will self-select out. Hands on, value driven: People at all levels of the organization get involved in all of the tasks performed by the organization. For example, at Service Master Corporation, which is the largest facility maintenance organization in the world, all top management from the CEO down to front line supervisors will take one day out of the year, put on work clothes and perform cleaning duties such as mopping floors, dusting, and vacuuming. Stick to the knitting: Excellent companies focus only on doing what they do best. They do not seek to grow for the sake of growing. Basically, this concept urges organizations to stick with the services, products, and/or sectors that have brought success in the first place.Simple form, lean staff: Companies that enjoy great success have extremely streamlined organizational structures. Authority is well defined at all levels of the organization. Simultaneous loose-tight properties: Excellent companies give departments and divisions a great degree of autonomy and latitude. At the same time, however, all departments and divisions are bound to the central value system and culture of the organization.

One of the key lessons from the Peters and Waterman book is that excellence is temporary. As society, technology, and consumer tastes change, excellent organizations must also adapt, change, and innovate to stay relevant. Simply put, what is effective today will be ineffective tomorrow.

Applied- It has become common practice in business to promote employees who are successful at what they do. This is the best recipe for managerial disaster. More often than not, this person may not be an effective leader. It is one thing to be a high-quality producer at a task and quite a different thing to manage people who produce. This notion is also known as the Peter Principle. That is, people rise to their level of incompetence. This is a principle of hierarchiology and holds that organizational members are promoted to their highest level of competence. Any further promotion results in becoming incompetent.

Success, therefore, is about growing other people through making your workers better, more intelligent, and more secure in their professional identities. This is accomplished through nurturing and support and is not as easy as it seems. For example, chances are you are reading this material because you hope to get one of the best grades in the course. When you complete your degree, you work hard to be promoted to a position of power. All of this focus is about you. This type of focus is vital to initial success. However, when you become a leader, you must turn off this tendency toward self-focus. That is, you must behave in ways that differ completely from the behaviors that brought you initial professional success.

New York Mayor, Giuliani’s 14 leadership principles:

First things first. Meetings are the most important vehicle for setting, reaching, an overachieving goals.Prepare relentlessly. Never stop learning about the issues, people, tasks, and any other aspect related to your mission.Everyone’s accountable, all of the time. Don’t expect more from your people than you would from yourself. A leader is a model, a mentor, and a benchmark for the rest of the organization.Surround yourself with great people. This includes people who have diverse experiences, opinions, and perspectives. Further consult people who are noted authorities on any given issue. Employ people who think differently than you but who are equally as great.Reflect then decide. Never make a decision until you have to. However, you should begin thinking about the possible decision choices immediately.Underpromise and overdeliver. This concept reflects the ability to make goals that you know are attainable, and then overachieve or at least meet the goal.Develop and communicate strong beliefs. The notion that people believe and are willing to follow you assumes that you are relaying a belief system that is seen as legitimate and sound.Be your own person. Tapping into and understanding your unique leadership attributes will enable you to lead people in a way that is consistent with your genetic predisposition (i.e., leadership traits) as well as your experiences (i.e., socially learned leadership behaviors). Loyalty: The vital virtue. Loyalty is the mark of a noble leader. A person must be willing to stick with his or her convictions even in the face of adversity.Weddings discretionary, funerals mandatory. An effective leader understands that profound events occur in the lives of team members. It is not enough simply to recognize these events. It is pivotal to also act during these events.

Stand up to bullies. This concept is simply not taught in terms of leadership qualities. Bullies are people who use power (e.g., financial, physical, emotional) to control others. The assumption that everyone has value is vital to an effective leader. Because bullies are self-focused, their actions are exactly opposite those of a leader. Action is all about them. The leader, on the other hand, will stand up for others who cannot stand up for themselves regardless of the odds of success or failure.Study, read, and learn independently. An effective leader is a constant student, intellectually curious, and willing to put in the time to understand concepts that he or she deems necessary and valuable.Organize around a purpose. Leadership involves purpose. Having a clear and concise reason for existing is critical for both leaders and followers alike. Consider how mission statements are developed. They are clear, unambiguous statements that reflect the core reason for the organization’s existence.Bribe only those who will stay bribed. Some people can be given something and will be satisfied whereas others, when given something, will only come back for more. An effective leader must know how to navigate through obstacles and difficult personalities.

Relationships from MoodleDimensions of relationships- Power and Status, Attraction, Involvement, and SituationPower- Referent, Expert, Legitimate, Reward, and CoerciveStages-Coming Together: Initiating, Experimenting, intensifying, integrating, and BondingComing Apart: Differentiating, circumscribing, stagnating, avoiding, and terminating

superior-subordinate relationships, peer, harassment

Chapter 9Language in workplace-Communication is the “glue” that keeps the organization together. Language can be defined as “a collection of signs, symbols, codes, and rules used to construct and convey messages. These elements form the medium through which we communicate our ideas, desires, and feelings”. The main function of language is to allow human beings to stimulate meaning in the minds of other people. Human beings have an innate ability to acquire a language. In other words, people are “hard wired” to acquire a language. Just as society changes, so too does language.

What is, and what is not, considered language: First, there are behaviors called signs that are not considered to be language. Signs are things that stand for or represent something else. The thing that the sign is representing is called a referent. In other words, the sign is indicating that something else is present. For example, in a bad national and local economy, employee downsizing is a common practice. Therefore, the sign of a bad economy can be an indicator of an organizational action, the referent of downsizing. The two types of signs are signals and symbols. Signals are direct one-to-one relationships with the things that they represent. For example, the symptoms of a runny nose, pounding head, and nausea all may be indicating the onset of influenza whereas coworkers who are happy, upbeat, and overall helpful may be indicating that it is a Friday afternoon. The second type of sign is known as a symbol and reflects human-made or artificial phenomena. Symbols are considered arbitrary and ambiguous because people in a society simply agree that a particular word represents something and there is no direct referent with what the symbols represent. By arbitrary and ambiguous we are referring to words such as cool, nuts, canned, and given the ax. For example, if you think critically about the meaning of these words, cool can reflect a temperature or something that is desirable or correct whereas the word canned can reflect something that has been sealed in a metal container, being terminated from an organization, or a generic way of doing something.

A ritual is a sign behavior that is neither totally arbitrary (like a symbol) nor symptomatic (like a signal). Consider sitting in a business meeting that started at 2:00 p.m. and is scheduled to conclude at 3:30 p.m. At about 3:20 p.m. people will begin to fidget and behave in ways that reflect slight discomfort. Some of these behaviors may be signs of being uncomfortable or signs that are intentionally displayed to send a message to the chairperson of the meeting.

There are two different types of meaning that are given to language. Denotative meaning reflects the literal or dictionary meaning of a word. Connotative meaning is the subjective association people attach to verbal messages. In connotative meaning, judgment and evaluation of language come into play. When a coworker asks you to go out for a couple of drinks after work, what is he or she actually requesting? Have 2 drinks, 10 drinks, start an out-of-work friendship, start a

romantic relationship, or something else entirely? Connotative meanings tend to be heavily influenced by the situation in which the language is used.

Some simple suggestions when addressing superiors in the organization: First, always use last names for managers and executives until told to do otherwise. If you witness most people in the organization using first names, then follow that pattern. Second, ask permission to address someone based on how he or she signs letters. If someone signs his letters “Bob,” then ask if it is appropriate to address him as Bob.

Styles- Much of our language choice and use is done in a mindless fashion. For example, how many times a day does the average person say “Hi,” “Hello,” or “what’s up. This mindlessness can become second nature. For example, if someone believes that all union members are lazy or all managers are abusive, this person will interact in ways that will relay this information even though the person may not be aware of it.

The same can be said for positive language and negative language. The use of negative language creates an impression of someone who is pessimistic and threatened by situations, people, and places. The negative explanatory style is somewhat infectious and can turn a well-functioning work team into a dysfunctional group. On the other hand, use of positive language projects a confident, well-meaning, and team-oriented person.

Language is also influenced by our gender. People tend to avoid using masculine pronouns and choose more gender-neutral terms for both males and females as well as avoid language that sex stereotypes job titles. In the workplace, we generally address someone as Mr. or Ms. and this does not require us to know the marital status of the people we are addressing. Although there have been great advances with regard to using gender-neutral terms for describing occupations, some occupations still remain gendered by language. For example, when a male chooses the profession of nursing, he is commonly referred to as a male nurse as opposed to being referred to as a nurse. Learned differences often result in communication breakdowns when members of one sex try to use their language behaviors in speaking with members of the other sex. For example, men generally do not have as large a vocabulary when it comes to language about their emotional state.

Perception-The structure of language we use influences the way we perceive the environment. It is a common assumption that the more words a given culture has for something, the more valuable it is to the culture and the better it is understood. For example, a boss believes that there are two types of people: people who are ambitious and people who are lazy. This categorization grossly oversimplifies the range of work performance that lies between being ambitious and lazy. Therefore, the boss’s perception of employees is constrained by the language he uses to describe employees.

The language we choose when posing questions to others also influences how people perceive and react to such questions. The language we use when developing questions can drastically change what is implied about the question as well as the relationship between the two people in the interaction. Ex:

1. Could you possibly work harder on this project?2. Could you possibly work harder on this project?

Paralanguage is the use of all elements associated with the voice other than the actual words we use. Things such as inflection, tone, speech rate, and accent are all examples of this type of communication. Paralanguage can be mindful or mindless depending on the person using it. Competent communicators will be aware of the paralinguistic messages they are sending whereas less competent communicators can be unaware of the messages being sent and as such suffer negative relational and professional consequences.

Power-The pursuit of power, control, and status is believed to be the core of many social relationships, especially those occurring within the organization.

Verbal intensifiers are words that increase the intensity of the emotion the speaker is experiencing as opposed to the literal information contained in the message. For example, a coworker comes back from a meeting with her boss and, when asked about it, states, “It was such a wonderfully super-productive meeting!” The way the person feels (wonderful and

super-productive) about the meeting draws the listener’s attention to the emotional state of the speaker and draws less attention to the content of the meeting. People should be careful when using verbal intensifiers because their chronic use communicates a powerless position.

Verbal qualifiers are words that reduce the strength and impact of credibility. This type of language use is relevant in the speech patterns of the powerless person because it draws away from the speaker’s certainty of the statement as well as the assertion made by the statement.

1. I may be wrong but . . .2. This may sound dumb but . . .3. This is not my area of expertise but . . .

Tag questions are a form of powerless language use that are tagged onto the end of the statement (as opposed to verbal qualifiers, which are attached to the front of the statement) and greatly detract from the power and status of the speaker. By adding questions on the end of sentences, speakers indicate to listeners that they are either unsure of their position on the issue or that the listener will not agree with the statement.

The length of the requests that people make also reveals insights into both the sender and receiver of the message. Long requests are called compound requests and reflect a more powerless, less assertive, and lower status position. There is one caveat to this generalization: Powerlessness, as indicated by longer length of requests, should not be confused with politeness. Polite people tend to have longer requests due to the addition of language that is affirming to the person they are speaking to.

The perception of language can also be influenced by the gender of the person using it. Women tend to use more verbal intensifiers, verbal qualifiers, tag questions, and lengthening of requests than men. Female language styles were seen as less powerful than were male patterns. Powerful language is perceived to be a male “type” of language. Therefore, when a male uses such language, people may describe him as confident, determined, and precise whereas when a woman employs similar language, she is viewed as difficult, hostile, and undesirable.

Language can protect us from threats to our psychological wellbeing. Language can be used to protect ourselves from situations that can result in negative consequences. Self-handicapping is one such linguistic device and is defined as “the adoption or advocacy of impediments to success in a situation where the person anticipates failure. By assuming a self-handicap, the person has an excuse for the impending failure and thereby may maintain self-esteem and the illusion of competence”. For example, a manager is expecting you to provide a presentation. You show up with the presentation and, upon beginning the presentation, you mention how your 3-year-old child had the flu and this resulted in your missing several hours of sleep.

Interaction, including CAT-Communication accommodation theory (CAT) says we use language to “fit in” with people we like and are attracted to much more than people whom we are not. According to CAT, there are two central premises at work. First, when communicating with others, people try to accommodate or adjust their style of language to one another. Second, people perform this accommodation process to gain approval, increase communication efficiency, and create/maintain a positive self-image with the person with whom they are speaking.

People engage in two different strategies when interacting with others: convergence and divergence. The use of convergence strategies reflects how people use language to adapt to one another. When we use convergence strategies we seek to increase liking, membership, and sociological status with the other person. Overconvergence occurs when a person adapts to the language patterns of another person to the point that the language use is perceived as condescending and ridiculing.

Divergence reflects how people maximize vocal and linguistic differences to highlight differences between themselves and others. People utilize divergence strategies when they want to maintain social distance. Divergence is also a strategy that people use to establish credibility.

Interaction adaptation theory (IAT) was developed to explain conscious communicative behavior or behavior that is “mindful, intentional, and symbolic”. Adaptation reflects the degree to which we alter our behavior in response to the

behavior of another person. There are no random adaptations when people interact with each other; all adaptation is considered intentional. The major influence on your behavior will be the behaviors of the other person.

The two adaptation patterns that people use in an interaction reflect either reciprocating patterns or compensating patterns. Adaptation that uses reciprocating patterns reflects matching behavior or reciprocating the behavior of the other person. This is similar to the communication accommodation theory concept of converging our speech patterns to the other person to show liking and affiliation.

Adaptation as a compensating pattern reflects the balancing out of the other’s behavior. An example of this would be a subordinate who is incredibly excited and enters his supervisor’s office to say that he is putting his entire life savings into the buying and selling of real estate. In this case, the supervisor’s interaction pattern may be one of a cautious and skeptical tone, thus not matching the euphoric and excited patterns of the subordinate.

When we first encounter someone in conversation, we bring with us a host of conversational requirements (R), conversational expectations (E), and conversational desires (D) with regard to the person and the specific conversation. These three components are referred to as RED. For example, a person may have a great need to avoid a difficult coworker (i.e., conversational requirement). This need for avoidance can be so strong that it supersedes our desires (i.e., individual interests) and our expectations (i.e., what is social appropriate behavior in that situation).

Language expectancy-Language expectancy theory (LET) is based on how people are persuaded. LET focuses on language and how language affects both the change and reinforcement of attitudes and beliefs. This theory seeks to explain why some linguistic forms of persuasive messages are more effective than others. Ex: male with accent versus female without accent.

When people engage in persuasion, they need to consider how the audience was culturally programmed to determine what is considered competent and appropriate persuasive communication as well as what is considered inappropriate and ineffective language use. When we violate linguistic norms (either positively or negatively), these violations have effects on the perceived appropriateness and effectiveness of the persuasive message.

The formation of linguistic expectations can encompass entire social categories, such as sex, ethnicity, organizational position, tenure in the organization, and socioeconomic status. As such, these categories define what is considered appropriate communication behavior. For example, males have greater linguistic freedom than females. For example, a male supervisor addressing a work team about slumping sales would probably be afforded a much greater bandwidth (e.g., using profanity, intimidation, sympathy, support) than would a female supervisor addressing the same group. Other social classes may be constrained to a small bandwidth, or not given a large degree of linguistic freedom regarding what is considered “appropriate linguistic strategies.”

People with high credibility are afforded greater bandwidth than people with low credibility. When we believe that a person has a degree of expertise or is highly trustworthy, we tend to afford that person more latitude in the types of language he or she uses when trying to persuade us.

Conversation analysis-Conversation analysis theory (CA) views communication as “actions constructed by communicators out of talk and body behavior”. Communication is considered a primary resource through which social life is constructed. Communication is a reflection of how people construct and maintain relationships. Conversational analysis theory provides a framework through which the practice of talk can be analyzed in a way that reveals not only how communication patterns can constrain a relationship, but also how changes in the action of talk can redefine relationships. Ex: You are promoted and no longer use “Mr. and Ms.” The change in name reflects an equal power between two people. CA consists of three main components for understanding talk: talk is action, action is structured, and action is locally organized. Talk is something that people do. Talk is something that can be viewed as performance or something people do beyond merely describing something or transmitting information. The action is guided by a structure that allows the communicators to coordinate the interaction in a way that allows for things such as turn taking and establishes patterns of interaction. The third component of CA is that action is locally organized. There are two ways that the term local is conceptualized. First, local can mean what is relevant to the interactants within a specific or particular context. The context is believed to be created and enacted by the particular behaviors of the interactants. Consider how people interact on Monday mornings. Some Mondays are different from others, but, taken as a whole, Monday morning conversations

have a similar tone when compared to Friday afternoon conversations. Second, local can refer to adjacency or sequence of actions as “a process for communicators to work together in predictable ways to construct a recognizable course of action”.

Given that misunderstanding and confusion are inherent in human communication, people also develop patterns or practices of conversational repair. Conversational repair can be used not only to clarify problems of communication or meaning, but also to achieve other communication goals. That is, when someone says something that is not understood, “the speaker has a set of practices for fixing the problem, and the recipients have a set of practices for prompting the speaker to fix it”

Sexual harassment and language-“Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.” Further:

-The victim as well as the harasser may be a woman or a man.-The victim does not have to be of the opposite sex.-The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, and agent of the employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee.-The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct.-Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to or discharge of the victim.-The harasser’s conduct must be unwelcome.

Often people use the term political correctness (PC), referring to language that is strategically used to replace other language so as not to be discriminatory, harassing, or offensive to others.

Sexual harassment can be based on two factors: (1) quid pro quo, defined as sexual behavior in exchange for something (e.g., promotions, pay raise, time off), and (2) the creation and maintenance of a hostile work environment that reflects a sexually charged work atmosphere. The hostile environment criterion is based on judgment, such as the degree to which the person was victimized, if at all.

Theories to explain/predict sexual harassment: The sex-role spillover approach assumes that when the sex ratio is disproportionate (i.e., more men than women or vice versa) there is a higher probability for sexual harassment.

The power differential approach assumes that the larger the power difference between people, the more probable that there will be sexual harassment. We rarely hear of complaints from people in powerful positions claiming to be harassed by subordinates. This is not to say that such incidences do not take place, but that the person in power has the ability to terminate the employee on the spot, thus ending any further problems.The sociopsychological approach assumes that there are particular combinations of an individual’s personality and specific situations that, when aligned, bring about sexual harassment. It is assumed that some people have the predisposition to harass others, but having that predisposition does not mean that a person will do so. Instead, sexually harassing behavior is most likely to emerge when a person with a predisposition for sexually harassing behavior is in a situation that fosters emergence of that behavior.

A four-factor model of sexually harassing behavior: These four factors consist of two internal factors and two external factors. The internal factors consist of motives for harassment and overcoming internal inhibitors. Motives for harassment can range from a need for power and dominance over someone else to a desire to exercise total control over someone. The external factors consist of overcoming external inhibitors and overcoming victim resistance. Overcoming external inhibitors consists of issues such as organizational reaction to the behavior and any legal ramifications that the harasser may encounter. Overcoming victim resistance concerns using power factors such as job factors, which affords the more powerful person the privilege of being the initiator of most communication with subordinates; thus allowing an opportunity for the higher status person to move beyond the victim’s refutations.

Whenever a case is settled in a civil litigation, generally the accused harasser as well as the organization are identified as the defendants. It is therefore imperative for organizations to address problematic behavior before it starts. This is not just a moral argument; this is also a financial argument. Most, if not all, major corporations offer some form of training in identifying and addressing harassing behaviors. Corp. suffers because it’s costly and embarrassing. Victim suffers because people judge and victim has to go get another job.

Chapter 10Close encounters-The amount of space a client needs to feel comfortable varies according to an assortment of factors. Cultural differences, age, sex, and personality all play a major part in the preferred style of negotiation. Peers will tolerate a closer range of contact than people with a wide gap in age. Conversations between females will occur at closer range than male-female talks, and male-to-male encounters show the most distance. People who are outgoing by nature are comfortable in a closer, friendlier position than those who are shy or aloof. Once a prospect and a sales person have built a relationship, the speaking distance between the two decreases.

Estimates for the amount of space a person will need in a given situation vary.

Intimate Space: Up to 1.5 feet. Back off. This is too close for business situations.Personal Space: 1–2 feet. Use for longtime clients, and only if they are comfortable.Social Space: 4–7 feet. This distance allows room for stretching and gesturing without invading the client’s territory.Public Space: 10 feet or more. This is a good distance for delivering a speech or making small presentations.

A person feels that his territory is the area or space that he claims as his own. Along with his personal territory, man has his own private portable ‘air bubble’ that he carries around with him. The size of his portable bubble is dependent on the density of the population where he grew up.

5 channels-CHANNEL ONE—BODY ANGLE If the prospect is seated in an upright posture and all of his body movement is directed toward you, you are receiving a positive signal that the negotiation is heading in a successful direction. A client will sit closer to you if he feels comfortable and friendly; he will lean his body towards you if he is intent on listening to your presentation. Typically, the client is sending a negative message if he leans back in his chair.

1. Slumped posture = low spirits, dejection2. Erect posture = high spirits, energy, and confidence3. Leaning forward = interest, openness, positive attitude toward other person4. Leaning away = distrusting, defensive, and disinterested5. Crossed arms = defensive, not listening, unsympathetic6. Uncrossed arms = willingness to listen, accessible7. Sitting on edge of chair = receptive, ready to listen8. Unbuttoning suit coat = agreement is near

CHANNEL TWO—FACEeyebrow flash—This gesture appears almost universally at the beginning of the greeting phase. It is the rapid up and down movement of the eyebrows that signals acknowledgement of another person.

eye contact—One can regard too much eye contact as communicating superiority or a lack of respect. The interpretation of too little eye contact is that someone is not paying attention, is covering up his true emotions, is being insincere, or is being impolite. If a client gazes past the negotiator or around the room he is probably bored. Direct eye contact signals honesty and interest.

facial expression—A person’s state of health can affect facial expression. Anxiety causes a person’s face to show stress. People who generally feel bad frown more than those who feel good. Depressed people smile wider and longer to cover up the fact that they are unhappy. Genuine facial expressions only last seconds. People even judge such things as criminality from the face; some believe that the more pleasant the face, the less likely it is that the person could commit a crime.

smiles—The smile is the most universally used and the most positive facial expression. Genuine smiles involve the whole face. An unforced, confident smile signifies that the client is content with the information that he is hearing.

CHANNEL THREE—ARMSA defensive prospect raises his hands in a ‘stop’ gesture or has his upper arms and elbows as far back on his chair as they will go. The client who places one arm on the back of his own chair is displaying confidence. Hands-behind-the-head signals a position of dominance. A client typically shows rejection to your ideas when he crosses or folds his arms across his chest. When he places his hands on his hips he is sending you a message of defiance and readiness to move on with the conversation.

CHANNEL FOUR—HANDSOpen and relaxed hands, especially when the palms are facing upward, are a positive selling signal. Tightly clinched fists represent defensiveness. People who use self-touching gestures, such as hands on chin, ear, nose, arm, or clothing, indicate that they are tense or nervous. Fidgeting with hair, pens, paper, or paper clips are annoying and are all gestures typically done by those who are impatient or nervous.

CHANNEL FIVE—LEGSEven if the client appears to be open and positive, if he keeps his legs crossed he may have some minor hesitations that will prevent the negotiator from successfully completing the negotiation. On the other hand, uncrossed legs send a message of cooperation, confidence, and friendly interest in the other person

An individual who keeps his feet on his desk during a negotiation, displays an attitude of ownership, superiority, and dominance.

Although it is best not to cross your legs at all, a leg crossed toward the client is acceptable in the early phase of a sale. If the client mirrors the negotiator’s legs-crossed-toward position, he is sending a message that he feels mentally tuned in to what he is hearing.

Gestures-This section is unnecessarily long and goes into excruciating detail about hands. I tried to pick out the most important info., but just letting you know there is lots more)

hand gestures co-occur just slightly before hesitationsPutting the fingertips of one hand against the fingertips of the other is a form of ‘steepling’ that conveys confidence and superiority. A speaker uses it during presentations when he is self-assured about his information.Those who cling to objects during negotiations, such as notebooks, files, or tables, show a need for support. The action conveys confusion, insecurity, and difficulty in coping with the current situation.

Twisted hands (crossing both hands then clasping the palms together) are an expression of a complex personality or a difficult emotional life. This manner in which the hands are held together conveys a need to conceal information.

Thumb displays, in North America, are positive signals and are signs of proudness. Exposed thumbs are used to display dominance, superiority, or even aggression. When a person places the tip of his bent forefinger upon his lips and keeps it there while he ponders, he is sending out a message that he either has something to say or that he would like the speaker to stop talking

In reading clients a negotiator should look for:Open and relaxed hands, especially when the palms are facing upward. These are positive selling signals.Self-touching gestures, such as hands on chin, ear, nose, arm, or clothing, indicate tension. Probing for difficulties or simply relaxing the pace of the presentation can calm the client.Gestures that contradict a facial expression. Actions speak louder than words, and these involuntary hand gestures indicate the client’s true feelings. Watch for tightly clasped hands or fists that signal defensiveness.

Eye signals- (Same as with gestures. Just wayyy to much detailed stuff that probably won’t be on the test)

In America: make eye contactA person’s pupils dilate when he becomes excited or frightened. An angry or negative mood causes an individual’s pupils to contract, making his “beady eyes” appear as though they have narrowed.In normal conversations, eye contact plays an important role as the regulator of turn taking. A person needs to first establish eye contact with someone to start a conversation; then, if the person looks back, he has granted permission to begin speaking. As two people enjoy a conversation, each looks away intermittently, then glances back toward the other to check in. When one conversation partner finishes speaking, he gives permission via eye contact for the other person to speak. If a person does not want to be interrupted, he should avoid the listener’s gaze. Generally, when seeking stored information, the eyes will go to the left. When seeking creative answers, eyes will travel to the right.

THE BUSINESS GAZE

Keeping a gaze directed at an inverted triangle on the other person’s forehead (eye-eye-middle-of-forehead) allows a negotiator to create a serious atmosphere in a business conversation. He can easily maintain control of the interaction if his gaze does not drop below the level of the other person’s eyes. It is a technique that allows the speaker and listener to leave the impression that each is attentive and committed to the conversation.

THE SOCIAL GAZE

Social gazing happens when the point of the triangle drops to include the chin area. This more intimate gaze allows the negotiator to look into the eyes of his client while also observing his mouth. It is a gaze that occurs in casual conversations between friends and allows the eyes to follow a natural, continuous path along the three points.

THE INTIMATE GAZE

This gaze goes across the eyes, below the chin, and down to the chest area. It is considered a very intimate gaze, and one should not use it in business conversations.

When presenting to a large audience it is essential for a speaker to move his gaze so that each person receives some eye contact and feels included in the lecture

Chapter 11

Handout:

Responsive Listening Styles

Styles Examples Intention To...

Style I

JudgmentalDirective Evaluative

You are...You should...It is...

EvaluateMoralizeJudge

Style II

Interpretive You do that because... ExplainAnalyzeTeach

Style III

Supportive Don't worry you'll be fine...Tomorrow is another day...

SootheSympathizeReassure

Style IV

ProbingQuestioning

When did you first feel that way?What do you plan to do now?

QuestionGather Information

Style V

UnderstandingEmpathic

You sound really...Let me see if I understand how you feel...

EmpathizeConfirmClarifyUnderstandVerify

Chapter 11

Intro

• According to research, we are listening about 80% of our waking hours, which makes it our most

frequently used communication skill.

• 80% of executives ranked listening as the most important workplace skill.

Listening to Customers

• By listening to customers, an organization can learn objective information about its products and

services

o Can suggest product improvements that may have been overlooked.

• Listening to customers can tell us a great deal about the competition.

• One way to communicate with customers is through a public or company blog.

• Listening to customers can increase sales and customer satisfaction.

Listening to employees

• Listening to employees shows support and an open climate, which increases employee satisfaction and

productivity.

• Manager’s responses must communicate acceptance of the person (supporting or listening to you).

• Ways that managers can listen:

o Deal and Kennedy state:

1. Write down key beliefs they hope employees share

2. Listen to what employees believe is the “heart of the business”

3. Compare views. If significant = challenges that lie ahead.

o Ask hard hitting opinion questions of groups and then discuss them.

o Employees must feel as though manager is sincere.

Listening to coworkers

• Effective listening with peers is improved when we are aware of which listening method is needed:

Comprehension, Therapeutic, or Critical.

• Listening to coworkers may be made difficult because of technology, cultural differences, or lack of

personal differences about the other.

• Technology, such as email can also improve communication.

Listening to Supervisors

• It is important to show that you’re listening. Listeners can show their listening by maintaining good eye

contact, a relaxed posture, shaking the head, and responsive sounds “uh huh”

• Managers who suspect the employee is not listening repeat themselves, ask for feedback, or become

frustrated. These are time consuming and can hurt the career of the employee.

Signs of Poor Listening

• As a manager, a sure sign of poor listening is when employees go around you or over your head to talk

to others. By breaking this chain of command it is frustrating for both the employee and the manager, this results when the manager’s poor listening leaves the employee no choice.

o Employees must have someone in authority who will listen to them.

• Another sign is learning about important events too late.

Cause of Poor listening

• Physical Barriers

o A hearing disability, noisy office, or loud conversation

• Personal Barriers

o Physical well-being (Illness and fatigue), Psychological distractions (personal problems of

finances, spouse problems), Attitudinal biases (judging and creating biases on the other person).

• Gender Differences

o Women typically are better at decoding non-verbal cues, view communication as a cooperative

tool, and work harder to maintain discussions. Men talk more often and longer, view communication as competitive, and tend to interrupt more often.

• Semantic Barriers

o Having different meanings, interpretations, or opinions on the same words… stems from

oddities of language.

Bad Listening Habits

• The ineffective listener assumes the topic will be boring

• The listener criticizes the speaker’s delivery

• Interrupts to disagree with the speaker or mentally argues against the speaker’s ideas.

• Listens only for facts, rather than the principles to which they relate

• Takes detailed notes, rather than REALLY listening

• Reacts emotionally to some messages by tuning out the speaker

• Daydreams during long presentations.

Improving listening skills

• Understanding the basic stages:

o Sensing- selecting or ignoring one or more stimuli,

o Interpreting- assign messages they have heard, seen, and felt,

o Evaluating- determine speaker credibility and message importance,

o Responding- reacting to speech usually through nonverbal cues,

o Remember- retain parts of message in memory

Attribution theory:

• (Fritz Heider) How individuals attribute causes to events

• An important assumption of attribution theory is that people will interpret their environment in such a

way as to maintain a positive self-image. That is, they will attribute their successes or failures to factors that will enable them to feel as good as possible about themselves.

o In general, this means that when learners succeed at an academic task, they are likely to want

to attribute this success to their own efforts or abilities; but when they fail, they will want to attribute their failure to factors over which they have no control, such as bad teaching or bad luck.

3 step process:

• Perceive an action

• Judge intent of an action

• Attribute reason for action

Chapter 12

Dimensions of Relationships

• Power and status refers to the ability of an individual to exert influence over others.

• No person in an organization is without power but because of the hierarchical nature of

organizations some people have more influence than others.

• These scholars identified five bases from which people draw power:

o Referent power is viewed as the extent to which a person is liked by others. Those

possessing high levels of referent power are admired by others for their personal qualities, and others often to seek to be like this person.

o Expert power is viewed as the extent to which a person is perceived as possessing

extensive knowledge or expertise in a subject/activity.

o Legitimate power is viewed as influence that stems from a code or standard of conduct.

In a business setting, that code will include the formal authority granted to a person because of his or her position (e.g., manager).

o Coercive power is viewed as the extent to which a person is capable of punishing or

withholding benefits from others.

o Reward power is viewed as the extent to which a person is capable of awarding

benefits to others.

• A second Dimension is an individual's level of attraction is often assumed to be linked to

physical characteristics.

• In business settings we think of attraction as a general feeling or desire that impacts on our

willingness to initiate and maintain a relationship with others in the organization. People in business settings may be perceived as more or less attractive based on personality factors, success, or skill level.

• In terms of attraction, we initiate and maintain relationships based on:

o Task attractiveness.

The qualities that are considered appealing when the goal is to carry out workplace responsibilities. People at work seek to build relationships with others who are known for getting the job done.

o Proximity attractiveness.

The closer our physical distance, the more likely we will build a relationship with the other party.

o Social attractiveness.

Degree to which an individual is liked and valued by others for their social skills.

o Supportive/mentoring attractiveness.

Organizations are social systems in which qualities such as empathy and helpfulness are valued.

• A third dimension of relationships is known as involvement, which refers to the amount of

interaction that takes place between the relational parties. In general, more interaction tends to lead to a greater degree of self-disclosure and the perception of commitment to the other party

• A fourth Dimension is the situation or circumstances in which people work together will also

impact on the relationship that they develop. When circumstances change in the workplace, relationships will likely be affected.

• Dimensions of relationships change over time.

Conflict-related traits

• Verbal Aggressiveness

o Verbal Abuse is becoming more and more common in our society. In the home, school,

public areas, television, and of course the workplace.

Verbal aggressiveness is defined as a tendency to attack the self-concept of another person with the intent to inflict psychological harm or pain (According to Infante & Wigley, 1986).

o Reasons for verbal aggressiveness in the workplace:

Temperament of the person.

• This explanation holds that people are, or are not, verbally aggressive

because they are biologically programmed to be that way.

• Ie. Consider a supervisor who is always losing his temper no matter who

he is speaking with. This supervisor’s aggressive behavior is rooted in his biology, not his psychology.

Disdain.

• This explanation holds that people use verbal aggression when they

have a deep-seated dislike for a person. Says we carry around repressed hostility from a past traumatic experience. When we are faced with a similar situation, we attack the person for the pain caused by the past experience as well as for the present situation.

• Ie. If you had a terrible work experience with a supervisor years ago and

encounter a supervisor who behaves in a similar way, you may verbally attack this person for perceived injustices done to you by a previous supervisor.

• Social learning assumes that we learn to use, or not use, verbal

aggression in the workplace based on whether or not the behavior reaps a reward or a punishment.

• I.e. if we see an employee use verbal aggression with a supervisor and

reap some benefit (e.g., promotion, extra time off), we learn that the aggressive behavior is rewarded. However, if we see an employee verbally attack a supervisor and the employee is then reprimanded or terminated, we learn not to be verbally aggressive because such behavior has negative consequences.

Skills Deficiency

• When an employee lacks the ability to make or generate arguments,

this person can become frustrated and resort to personal attacks.

• *Side note: teaching employees how to argue may reduce their tendency

to use verbal aggression (Rancer & Avtgis, 2006).

o Several forms of verbally aggressive communication, including:

competence attacks (i.e., attacking someone’s inability to do something),

character attacks (i.e., attacking someone for poor character, such as “You’re a cheater!”),

profanity (i.e., using obscene words and generally vulgar language),

teasing and ridicule (i.e., making light of someone’s shortcomings in an antagonistic fashion),

maledictions (i.e., using phrases that wish someone harm),

threats (i.e., insinuating physical or psychological harm to another person),

personality attacks (i.e., attacking characteristics of the person’s personality),

nonverbal verbal aggression (i.e., using nonverbal gestures to intimidate or humiliate another person).

o Research findings on verbal aggression within the workplace overwhelmingly endorse

the notion that verbal aggression is destructive to the employee and the organization as a whole. Research indicates that employees who have a supervisor who is high in verbal aggressiveness report being less satisfied, less committed, and more frustrated on the job (see Infante & Rancer, 1996).

o Summary: if you tend to be high in verbal aggressiveness, work hard to avoid

attacking your coworkers’ self-concept because doing so can cost you a promotion, a job, and/or friendships and may escalate a verbally aggressive encounter into a physically aggressive exchange.

• Argumentativeness

o In today’s culture, people seem to be losing their ability to debate issues without

resorting to personal attacks.

o One of the primary reasons for this response is our inability to distinguish between

discussing issues of difference and verbally attacking the person who disagrees with us.

o Conflict should be a welcomed opportunity to work through areas of disagreement

between two people.

o The tendency to approach or avoid arguing with others is termed trait

argumentativeness. Trait argumentativeness is defined as a tendency to present and defend positions on controversial issues while simultaneously attacking the positions of others on those issues (Infante & Rancer, 1982).

o VERY IMPORTANT CONCEPT: The focus of effective arguing is on refuting the

position of the other person as opposed to refuting the person.

o According to the Theory of independent mindedness

One of the basic assumptions of the theory is that training all organizational members (i.e., superiors and subordinates) in argumentation will have bottom line effects for the organization

Other positive organizational outcomes associated with increased argumentativeness include;

• greater feelings of employee voice and freedom of speech

• greater use of articulated dissent strategies (i.e., going directly to your

boss to discuss issues or difficulties you are experiencing)

• greater levels of subordinate work satisfaction

• less tendency to suffer workplace burnout syndrome, which is

characterized by feelings of failure, emotional exhaustion, and an interpersonal disconnect from others.

o GENDERS: Shullery (1998) found that the optimal level of argumentativeness for

women in the workplace is a moderate level of argumentativeness, whereas for men, high argumentativeness appears to be most beneficial

o Regardless of this gender effect, argumentativeness is a positive trait to possess

and display because it results in numerous positive organizational outcomes.

• Taking Conflict Personally

o (TCP) refers to the degree to which people view conflict as a punishing situation

and tend to experience negative consequences, thus it is something that should be avoided.

o The trait of TCP contains six dimensions related to conflict episodes:

Direct personalization is the bad feelings people experience when in a conflict episode

Persecution feelings are the feelings that one is being personally attacked when engaged in conflict;

stress reaction is the psychological and physical discomfort a person experiences in a conflict episode;

positive relational effects is the belief that conflict is positive and results in better quality relationships;

negative relational effects is the belief that conflict is negative and only leads to damaged relationships;

like/dislike valence is the degree to which people enjoy or do not enjoy engaging in interpersonal conflict.

o People who report feeling personally attacked, persecuted, stressed, and who perceive

negative outcomes during conflict also avoid arguments with others and avoid discussion of controversial issues.

• Tolerance for Disagreement

o (TFD) is defined as the amount of disagreement an individual can tolerate before

he or she perceives the existence of conflict in a relationship.

o That is, argument is considered constructive whereas verbal aggression is

considered destructive. All disagreement is considered constructive and all conflict is considered destructive to the relationship.

o People who are high in TFD are relatively resistant to engaging in conflict,

o whereas people low in TFD are much more likely to engage in conflict

These differences are based on a person’s threshold at which disagreement transforms into conflict.

o Research says that employee satisfaction, which involves satisfaction with supervisor,

work, and pay, was influenced more by the supervisor’s TFD than by the employee’s TFD.

Therefore, the greater the supervisor’s level of tolerance for disagreement, the more satisfied the employee.

Competence traits

• The concept of communication competence refers to a person’s ability to be both effective and

appropriate in any given situation. Communication competence encompasses flexibility in thoughts, emotions, and behaviors to adapt successfully to a particular situation. For example, any effective supervisor will be able to adapt to particular employees as well as to the different needs of each employee.

• 3 most important trait of Communication styles:

o The CS trait holds that people have stylistic differences and that these differences

between people are cross-contextual or carried across situations (i.e., our communication style is a trait). Communicator style is defined as “the way one verbally and paraverbally interacts to signal how literal meaning should be taken, interpreted, filtered, or understood”.

contains 10 different dimensions or substyles of interaction:

• dominant (e.g., communicating in a way to gain control of a situation),

• dramatic (e.g., communicating in a way that exaggerates information),

• contentious (e.g., communicating in an antagonistic and confrontational

way),

• impression leaving (e.g., communicating in a unique fashion that leads

others to remember you by your interaction style),

• animated (e.g., using physical and nonverbal behaviors extensively when

interacting with others),

• relaxed (e.g., communicating in a way that reflects a lack of anxiety),

• open (e.g., interacting in a spontaneous and extroverted fashion),

• attentive (e.g., communicating in a way that suggests interest and

involvement in a conversation),

• precise (e.g., interacting in a way that focuses on correctness and

accuracy),

• friendly (e.g., communicating in a way that shows increased intimacy).

o Collectively, these substyles are combined to produce the

communicator image, or the degree to which a person is seen as a competent and effective communicator.

o Particular combinations of communicator style dimensions can be either prosocial or

antisocial in nature. Particular combinations of styles either validate the self-concept of the other person (i.e., an affirming style) or threaten the other person’s self-concept (i.e., nonaffirming style).

Cognitive Flexibility

o Cognitive flexibility as the degree to which communicators are “able to adapt their

communication to meet the demands of the situations, and perhaps more importantly, to consider options and alternative ways of behaving in different situations”

o someone who is high in cognitive flexibility will be able to identify and enact a variety of

different behaviors as mandated by the situation.

Communicative Adaptability

o Defined communicative adaptability as “the ability to perceive socio-interpersonal relationships

and adapt one’s interaction goals and behaviors accordingly” (p. 320).

o The basic premise is that the greater a person’s repertoire of social skills, the more he or she

will be able to display a successful communicative performance.

o Communicative adaptability consists of six dimensions that are closely related to aspects of

communication competence:

o Social confirmation is the degree to which a person can affirm or maintain the other

person’s face or self-image while interacting.

o Social experience is the degree to which a person actually experiences, or is willing to

experience, novel situations.

o Appropriate disclosure is the degree to which a person reveals personal information in

the appropriate amount as dictated by any given social situation.

o Articulation is the degree to which a person is proficient or skilled in the expression of

ideas.

Includes appropriate syntax and semantic elements

o The wit dimension reflects the degree to which a person uses humor in appropriate

situations to diffuse escalating aggressive communication exchanges.

o Although there is overlap among communicative adaptability with other competence-related and

adaptive traits, communicative adaptability is unique in that it encompasses cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions of competence. This is especially important in today’s organizations because appropriate and effective behaviors are highly valued yet are ever changing as the nature of appropriate organizational behavior changes.

Chapter 13

• Persuausion- At its core, persuasion involves the changing or reinforcing of attitudes and/or behaviors.

We will adopt the working definition used by O'Keefe for persuasion as the intentional influencing of receiver's attitudes and/or behaviors through communication.

• How persuasion works? Persuasion takes place when messages influence the attitudes and/or

behaviors of receivers.

• Types of persuasion presentations:

o Questions of Fact. Persuasive presentations that address questions of fact focus on the truth

of a claim or assertion.

o Questions of Value. Persuasive presentations that address questions of value focus on the

worth we attach to an idea or action.

o Questions of Policy. Persuasive presentations that address questions of policy focus on

change.

• Monroe’s

o a sequential pattern known as Monroe's Motivational Sequence is the recommended pattern

to use because it follows a logical pattern of thought and ensures that you include all aspects in your persuasive message.

o Intro- Arousal, state problem, establish credibility

o Need step

o Satisfaction step

o Visualization step

o Action step

• Building arguments

o Must establish:

Source credibility

Competence

Trustworthiness

• Building credibility

o Be prepared

o establish your credentials (competence) in the introduction

o stress the commonalities that you share with audience members

o Make use of two-sided arguments

o In addition: be likeable, similar to the listeners, and proper physical attractiveness

• Reasoning

o we will define reasoning as the way people draw conclusions from the available information

and evidence.

o Causal reasoning. When individuals use casual reasoning, they draw the conclusion that a

cause (often the presence of something or some act) leads to a specific effect or set of effects.

o Analogical reasoning. When individuals employ analogical reasoning, they draw conclusions

based on comparisons.

o Reasoning from principle. This type of reasoning suggests that a person applies a general

premise (principle) to arrive at a very specific conclusion.

Elevator speech:

• An elevator speech is a short (15­30 second, 90­150 word) sound bite that succinctly and memorably introduces you. The presentation spotlights your uniqueness, focuses on the benefits you provide and is 

delivered effortlessly. Elevator speeches are intended to prepare you for brief, chance encounters in an elevator.

• To be successful consider:

o Who is your audience?

o Who are you?

o Are your thoughts organized

o Finalize and practice your speech

• Source credibility:

o Based on ethos. Scales were based on Authoritativeness and character

Lectures

Leadership – Blake and Mouton

• Some leaders are very task-oriented; they simply want to get things done.

• Others are very people-oriented; they want people to be happy.

• And others are a combination of the two. If you prefer to lead by setting and enforcing tight schedules,

you tend to be more production-oriented (or task-oriented). If you make people your priority and try to accommodate employee needs, then you’re more people-oriented.

• Neither preference is right or wrong, just as no one type of leadership style is best for all situations.

• Concern for People – This is the degree to which a leader considers the needs of team members, their interests, and areas of personal development when deciding how best to accomplish a task.

• Concern for Production – This is the degree to which a leader emphasizes concrete objectives, organizational efficiency and high productivity when deciding how best to accomplish a task.

• Country Club Leadership – High People/Low Production­ This style of leader is most concerned about the needs and feelings of members of his/her team.

• Produce or Perish/Authoritarian Leadership – High Production/Low People­ This type of leader is very autocratic, has strict work rules, policies, and procedures, and views punishment as the most effective means to motivate employees. 

• Impoverished Leadership – Low Production/Low People­ This leader is mostly ineffective. He/she has neither a high regard for creating systems for getting the job done, nor for creating a work environment that is satisfying and motivating. WORST!

• Middle­of­the­Road Leadership – Medium Production/Medium People­ When you compromise, you necessarily give away a bit of each concern so that neither production nor people needs are fully met. Leaders who use this style settle for average performance and often believe that this is the most anyone can expect. 

• Team Leadership – High Production/High People­ These leaders stress production needs and the needs of the people equally highly. The premise here is that employees are involved in understanding organizational purpose and determining production needs. When employees are committed to, and have a stake in the organization’s success, their needs and production needs coincide. BEST!

Assertiveness – know difference between submission and aggression

• Definition: Affirms the person's rights or point of view without

o either aggressively threatening the rights of another (assuming a position of dominance)

o or submissively permitting another to ignore or deny one's rights or point of view.

• To be successful you must be assertive

• Need to stand up for yourself, while not hurting others

Communication behaviors for submission, assertiveness and aggression

• Submissive behaviors- submissive (or passive) behavior means shying away from saying what you

really mean and not seeking to achieve your needs, particularly when someone else has conflicting needs, avoiding upsetting others either because they fear them or they fear to hurt their feelings.

• Assertive behavior- is clear and direct communication. Anger and other strong feelings are expressed in

a straightforward manner that takes into account the feelings and views of others. Acting in an assertive way builds on a person's self esteem, and the self-esteem of others.

• Aggressive behavior- means standing up for your rights, but in a way that violates the rights of other

people. It means saying what you believe in a way that assumes that it the only truth, and that any contradictory statement is wrong. Aggressive people often uses anger, aggressive body language other threatening behavior to bully, subjugate and dominate other people.

You and I messages and 3 step process

• To better handle assertiveness people use You and I messages:

o You and I messages- should focus on the “I” messages. When “you” is used it seems as though

someone is attacking. They are most specific. I messages foster the relationship and help build up self-esteem.

• 3 steps for assertiveness:

o 1. Position/describing – stating or describing the behavior

o 2. Feeling- expressing emotions that are important

o 3. Explanation/Effect

How to say NO and way to do it best

• Say “NO!” firmly

• Do not apologize

• Do not create a long-winded excuse afterwards

• Must determine if the requests is reasonable

Define both verbal and nonverbal

• Verbal communication is one way for people to communicate face-to-face. Some of the key

components of verbal communication are sound, words, speaking, and language.

• Non-verbal communication includes facial expressions, eye contact, tone of voice, body posture and

motions, and positioning within groups. Includes physical, aesthetic, signs, and symbolic.

Ways nonverbal can help and ways to improve

• Must monitor your nonverbal

• Lets other people know about our interest

• Must make sure we understand the cultural rules, ie. Smiling, eye-contact

• Ways to improve:

o Pay attention to your non-verbal

o Use eye-contact

o Pay attention to other’s non-verbal

o Consider signals can be misread

o Listen

o Monitor tone of voice

o Match all of your non-verbal to portray you intended message

o Ask for feedback.

o Practice!

Listening – Reflective listening – what involves

• Reflective- listening and giving understanding ques in response to the speaker. When responding, one

must understand the context and feeling

• Sorting through information - deciding what to listen to

• Drawing a conclusion - what’s most important

• Expressing the essence - responding back.

Skills of Attending and Responding

Listening Styles and how to respond

• 5 styles of listening:

o Judgmental

o Interpretive

o Supportive

o Probing/Questioning

o Understanding/Empathetic

Conflict – Thomas & Killman,

• Managing conflict (T&K)

o Low concern for self; low concern for others

Avoidance

o Low concern for self; High concern for others

Accommodate

o High concern for self; low concern for others

Compete

o High concern for self; High concern for others

Collaborate

o Middle

Compromise, optimal solution but can lead to resentment.

• To be successful in the workplace, one must decide which style is best.

Conflict management - Needs, Values & Conflict Management Process

• Most difficult part is to decide what the argument is about

• Must decide if the conflict is about needs or values

o Needs: being a scarce resource

o Values: beliefs we hold

• Conflict management steps

o Awareness

o Diagnose the issue

o Conflict reduction

o Problem Solving

Way to prepare presentations – audience analysis, ID general topic, specific topic, body, conclusion and introduction

• Introduction- Arousal, establish credibility, preview rest of presentation

o Specific topic- thesis statement

• Analyze audience- who the audience is, what they know, needs, motivations

• General topic- broad idea of message

• Specific topic- Goal of presentation

• Body- What you are going to talk about

• Conclusion- Summary, memorable thought

Types of persuasive presentations

• 2 types:

o Proposal: What you have to offer is the best choice

o Sales pitch: Behavior focused. Persuade audience to buy a product

Classify audience, persuasive proof (logos, ethos and pathos)

• 3 types

o Ethos

Credibility of speaker

More likely to be persuaded by a positive reputation

Help audience understand how you are just like them

o Logos

Logical arguments

Deductive reasoning- from general to specific

Inductive reasoning- specific to general

o Pathos

Emotional appeal

Connecting with your audience

• Must use all types not just one.

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

• 5 step process

o Attention : must gain audience attention/arousal

o Need : making an argument that their life is lacking or missing something. Must be specific

(ethos)

o Satisfaction : argument will satisfy the need

o Visualization : most important! Must have the audience imagine themselves and their life with

this satisfaction. Painting a picture (pathos)

o Call to action : makes a demand for a specific behavior I.e. Call 1-800 NOW!

Must be possible

Toulmin

States that you must have a connection between claim and evidence