Welcome to AB140 Introduction to Management

Unit 9 Seminar

Communication

Dr. Brenda Harper

Agenda

• General Questions and Announcements• Introduction• Define Communication/ Questions and Answers• Identify Communications Problems to Avoid/

Questions and Answers• Identify methods for handling resistance to

change/ Questions and Answers• Recap• Unit Assignment Q & A• Conclusion of Seminar

Introduction

• The ability to communicate effectively is fundamental to a manager’s success.

• Communication concepts and practical guidelines are available to improve communication skills.

• Communication occurs through various channels, each with advantages and disadvantages.

• Managers have the task of motivating people to keep changing in response to new business challenges.

Define communication:

-How would you define communication? -What is the difference between one-way and two-way communication?

Communication

• Communication - the transmission of information and meaning from one party to another through the use of shared symbols

• One-Way Communication - a process in which information flows in only one direction - from the sender to the receiver, with no feedback loop

• Two-Way Communication - a process in which information flows in two directions - the receiver provides feedback, and the sender is receptive to the feedback

Seminar Item 2

• Identify communication problems to avoid

Interpersonal CommunicationPitfalls

• Perception - the process of receiving and interpreting information

• Filtering - the process of withholding, ignoring, or distorting information

Tactics to enhance effective communication:

Verbal Behavior

Nonverbal Behavior

Accurate Interpretation

Comprehension

Design of Message

Verbal Behavior

• Clear, slow speech. Enunciate each word. Do not use colloquial expressions.

• Repetition. Repeat each important idea using different words to explain the same concept.

• Simple sentences. Avoid compound, long sentences.• Active verbs. Avoid passive verbs.

Nonverbal Behavior

• Visual restatements. Use as many visual restatements as possible, such as pictures, graphs, tables, and slides.

• Gestures. Use more facial and appropriate hand gestures to emphasize the meaning of words.

• Demonstrations. Act out as many themes as possible.

• Pauses. Pause more frequently.

• Summaries. Hand out written summaries of your verbal presentation.

Accurate Information

• Silence. Do not jump in to fill the silence.

• Intelligence. Do not equate poor grammar and mispronunciation with lack of intelligence

• Differences. If unsure, assume difference, not similarity.

Comprehension

• Understanding. Do not just assume that they understand

• Checking comprehension. Have colleagues repeat their understanding of the material back to you.

Design• Breaks. Take more frequent breaks.

• Small modules. Divide the material to be presented into smaller modules.

• Longer time frame. Allocate more time for each module than you usually need for presenting the same material to native speakers of your language.

Motivation

• Encouragement. Verbally and nonverbally encourage and reinforce speaking by nonnative-language participants.

• Drawing out. Explicitly draw out marginal and passive participants.

• Reinforcement. Do not embarrass novice speakers.

• Identify methods for handling resistance to change

-In your opinion, do you think that people are generally resistant to change?

-What are some factors that impact a person’s degree of acceptance to change?

Approaches to Encourage Cooperation

• Education and communication• Participation and involvement• Facilitation and support• Negotiation and rewards• Manipulation and cooptation• Explicit and implicit coercion

Managers must lead change.

Methods for Managing Resistance to Change

Leading Change

Recap

• In this seminar, we have discussed:

-Define Communication/ Questions and Answers-Identify Communications Problems to Avoid/ Questions and Answers

-Identify methods for handling resistance to change/ Questions and Answers

Assignment Questions and Answers

There are three graded assignments in Unit 9:

1.Review Quiz: 20 points

2.Discussion Assignment: 40 points

3.Dropbox Assignment: 45 points

Review

• Don’t forget that you can take the Review as often as you need to prior to the Tuesday midnight deadline until you get the score that you desire.

Discussion Assignment - Unit 9• Scenario: Lei received a quick phone call from one of the location

managers about replacing some equipment. She agreed in principle that the equipment should be replaced, but mentioned that Dalman was investigating another source for the equipment and perhaps they should wait until she and Dalman had reached a decision. Two weeks later, Lei received an invoice for the new equipment! Visibly angry, she called the manager to inquire why he had ordered the equipment after their conversation. The manager stated that Lei had agreed that the equipment needed to be replaced. He was adamant that this was what he heard Lei say. The equipment was expensive and Dalman was hoping to order several pieces from one source to maximize discounts per unit.

Based on the section on “Watch out for communication pitfalls” in the Bateman and Snell text, describe some ways that Lei could have avoided this situation.

Dropbox Assignment – Unit 9• Sandwich Blitz, Inc. has a great problem...an increase in the number of

customers! Employees have been consistently reporting that they are overwhelmed by the volume of customers and management has noticed that the number of reported errors in customer orders has increased. Dalman and Lei have decided to adopt an e-customer order system that will allow customers to input their own orders. This would address the issue of employees being overwhelmed by the increased pace of the workplace.

• Dalman and Lei will first communicate their decision to the managers who report to them in an e-mail communication. They are aware of how important it is to exhibit professionalism and business etiquette in constructing an e-mail message to the managers. It is important for Dalman and Lei to gain the support of the managers since they will have key roles in leading this change at the store level.

• Referring to Kotter’s Eight Steps to Leading Change from the text, describe what management must do to lead this change in technology to automated customer service by creating an e-mail message (type it in a Word document) from Dalman and Lei to Sandwich Blitz’s middle management, addressing how they intend to implement each of the steps in the change process.

Thank You for Attending!

bharper@kaplan.edu**VIRTUAL OFFICE** 

harperb@pclnet.netAIM bharper1203PC: 256-656-0534