Copyright 2012 Delmar, a part of Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 6 Communication

Copyright 2012 Delmar, a part of Cengage Learning.All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 6

Communication


Objectives

• After completing this chapter, you will be able to:– Understand the classical sender-receiver

communication model and later elaborations of it

– Identify stakeholders and choose the means for effectively communicating with them


Objectives

– Describe the most recent research on social networks and apply it in their work settings

– Appreciate the importance of organizational politics

– Recognize the importance of effective communication in leading health care organizations


Purpose

• Communication concepts and frameworks:– How to think about act of communication– Theory and practice of managing

stakeholders– Science of relationships and its practical value

in health care settings– Importance of organizational politics and how

to lead in complex political environments


Who Says What to Whom?

• Aristotle described communication as a mostly linear process involving speaker and listener

• Effective speakers “package” message using one or more of three persuasive means – Ethos (character)– Pathos (emotion)– Logos (logic)



Who Says What to Whom? (cont’d.)

• Effective leaders know how to listen and observe carefully before communicating

• Many factors affect how listeners understand message:– Sender, content, medium, and listener

• Feedback model takes account of psychological, cognitive, and contextual factors in communication



Who Says What to Whom? (cont’d.)

• To communicate effectively, you have to understand other’s situation: – History, social context, values, psychology

• Key to identify specific audiences, analyze contexts, and choose means of engaging in two-way interaction

• Organizational learning: communication methods to engage people in process of problem-solving, planning, implementation



Barriers to Communication

• Distortion within “receiver” often blocks message

• Curse of knowledge: problem of imagining another person’s state of mind when you have piece of knowledge they lack

• Five barriers to communication: – Negative or ambiguous relationships, poor

credibility, conflicting belief systems and interests, and communication mismatches


Relationships

• Level of trust and confidence in each other facilitates communication and makes cooperation easier

• Many patients who value relationships need to feel connection that comes with face-to-face encounter

• Because of importance of relationships, important to take time to get to know what is important to people you work with


Credibility

• Ensures that people take you and your ideas seriously

• Based on others’ perceptions of three characteristics: – Competence:– Expertise– Trustworthiness


Beliefs

• Important to couch messages in terms that resonate with core beliefs and values of stakeholders

• When advocating idea contrary to core beliefs, break proposal into small bites

• Anchor positions on beliefs and opinions:– People’s willingness to be flexible on new

positions can depend on how much they are asked to change


Interests

• Two important findings about role of self interest in communication:– People pay closer attention to messages they

see as having important personal consequences

– Self-interest biases the way people think about proposals


Communication Styles

• When it comes to communicating substance of message, most important thing is define it simply

• Framing: powerfully affects people’s perceptions, standards, relevant evidence, emotions, and decisions

• After simplicity, second most important quality of message is vividness


Stakeholders

• Effective leaders know their stakeholders, paying attention to communication barriers

• Each stakeholder group has interests that predispose it to support or contest hospital’s initiatives

• Stakeholder analysis is first step in stakeholder management– Useful tool to guide analysis is Power/Interest

matrix




Tools for Managing Organizational Communication

• Choose methods of consulting with stakeholders on basis of goals

• Methods divided between those most appropriate for small and large group communication

• Methods or mix of methods that work best vary according to situation




Social Networks and Social Media

• Social networks: connections among a group of people and broader environment in which they live and work

• Extent of network constitutes “social capital” and is important asset of communicator

• Connection: patterns of relationships

• Contagion: how information spreads





Communication Networks


Organizational Politics

• Some political activity takes place in nearly all organizations

• Effective communication requires one to think carefully about political interests of key stakeholder groups

• Skill, timing, judgment, and luck are key to dealing with politics


Communication as a Leadership Art

• To communicate successfully, one must learn to adapt to “local culture” and speak many different “languages”

• Personal credibility– Provides foundation for influence

• Authenticity paradox diminishes– You cannot help being a “different person”

depending on who you communicate with

Documents

Copyright 2012 Delmar, a part of Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 6 Communication