COMMUNICATION – II:Factors in Organizational Communication, Negotiating To Manage Conflicts

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Introduction To Public AdministrationMGT111

LESSON 38

COMMUNICATION II

At the end of the lecture students will be able to:

- Understand the factors in organizational communication;

Understand the use of communication in negotiation and

Summarizing the concepts in communication.

Factors in Organizational Communication

As we know organizations have structure and within this structure are roles and relationships

between and amongst roles, communication in organizational structure follows a system. Communication

within organization flows along the structure of organization. These are called formal channels of

communication. Formal channels of communication influence communication in two ways: one, the size

of organization i.e., the larger the size of organization, longer it will take for communication to reach the

bottom of organization. Second, the formal channels of communication can inhibit the free flow of

information between organizational levels and horizontal level.

Other factors that influence organizational communication are discussed below:

1. Authority Structure

Organization's authority structure is the structure that shows the amount of authority a particular

position has. Authority has influence on communication. Status and power differences in the organization

help determine who will communicate comfortably with whom. If the communication takes place between

senior and subordinate, senior will communicate comfortably with subordinate. But subordinate may not be

able to do so. The content and accuracy of the communication will also be affected by authority

relationship.

2. Job Specialization

Job specialization refers to specialized areas in which employees work. For example doctor will

communicate well with doctor. So communication within differentiated groups is easy. Members of the

same work group are likely to share the same jargon, goals, tasks, and personal styles. Communication

between highly differentiated (specialized) groups, however, is likely to be inhibited or difficult. For example

communication between doctor and engineers.

3. Information Ownership

The term information ownership means that individuals possess unique information and

knowledge about their jobs. For example, a darkroom employee may have found a particularly efficient way

to develop photo prints. So this information belongs to this employee and he may not share this

information with others.

Problems

Since organizational communication has to follow through organizational structure it is likely to be

filtered or halted at each level as managers decide what information should be passed down to employees

and what information to be kept at the top. Similarly employee may not give all information to mangers

(Upward communication). It is likely to be filtered by middle level managers, who see part of their job to

protect upper management from unpleasant information from below to be passed upwards.

We have just mentioned that information from top down and from bottom up is filtered. What is

this flow of communication called and for what purpose it is used. Communication from top-down and

bottom-up is called vertical communication and communication that flows horizontally between same

levels of employees in organization is called lateral communication.

Vertical Communication

It consists of communication up and down the organization's chain of command. The major

purposes of downward communication are to advise, inform, direct, instruct, and evaluate employees and to

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provide organization members with information about organizational goals, objectives and policies. The

communication from down-up is usually used for problem solving, grievance handling and maintaining

harmony amongst employee and to determine the performance of employees.

Lateral and Informal Communication

Lateral communication usually follows the pattern of work flow in an organization, occurring

between members of work groups, between one work group and another, between members of different

departments, and between line and staff employees.

The main purpose of lateral communication is to provide a direct channel for organizational

coordination and problem solving. So, it avoids the much slower procedure of directing communications

through the chain of command. The benefit of lateral communication is that it enables organization

members to form relationships with their peers.

One type of informal communication is the grapevine. The grapevine within organizations is made

up of several informal communication networks that overlap and intersect at a number of points-that is,

some well-informed individuals are likely to belong to more than one informal network. Figure 2 shows two

types of grapevine or informal communication . In the situation I person A spreads information to

B,C,D,E,F,G and H. Now each one may perceive information according to their understanding.

Grape Vine

Figure 1

Single Strand II

Gossip I

In situation II information flows from A to B, from B to C and from C to D. When information is

passed from one person to other verbally it is called informal or grape vine communication. This type of

communication has certain disadvantage. e. g. some confidential information can leak out which may hurt

organization objectives.

Using Communication Skills

We each must deal with conflict in our personal lives and organizational activities. Conflict involves

a disagreement about the allocation of scarce resources or a clash of goals, statuses, values, perceptions, or

personalities. Much of the conflict we experience arises from our communication.

Sometimes we communicate clearly, but sometime we don't. But clear communication is essential

part of organizational and life in general i.e., that the message must be put across clearly. Lack of clarity in

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communication can lead to conflict. Negotiation can help us manage conflicts of all types in more effective

and mutually satisfying way. What is negotiation? Negotiation is a process by which two parties interact to

resolve conflict jointly.

Negotiating To Manage Conflicts

Daily life offers countless examples of negotiation. We negotiate with parents when we ask them to

allow us to go on a tour with friends. We negotiate with friends about which recreational activities to

pursue. We negotiate with our boss about working hour and conditions. According to Lewicki and Litterer,

all these "negotiation situations" are defined by three characteristics. These are:

1. There is a conflict of interest between two or more parties; that is, what one wants is not

necessarily what the other one wants.

2. There is no fixed or established set of rules or procedures for resolving the conflict, or the

parties prefer to work outside of a set of rules and procedures to invent their own solution to

the conflict.

3. The parties, at least for the moment, prefer to search for agreement rather than to fight

Many factors are important to successful negotiating. The actual negotiation process depends on:

1. whether the parties see their interests as depending on each other

2. The extent of trust or distrust between the parties;

3. Each party's ability to communicate clearly and to persuade or coerce the other party to accept

its point of view;

4. The personalities and idiosyncrasies of the actual people involved; and

5. The goals and interests of the parties.

Guidelines for Negotiations

For negotiations to be successful managers must keep in view the following:

Have a set of clear objectives on every bargaining item;

Do not hurry;

Be well prepared with data;

Maintain flexibility in your position;

Be a good listener

To sum up negotiations help reduce conflict and creates harmony in relationship. Communication

acts as the thread that makes negotiations successful.

Interlink age.

Motivation, Leadership, teamwork Communication and Negotiation complement each other. A

leader requires all these skills which help him to keep team together. Figure 2 illustrates this relationship.

Interrelationship of Communication and Managerial functions.

Figure 2

Team

Motivate

Communicate

Leader

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Concepts

Authority structure:

Hierarchical structure of organization wherein each level and

position has authority to get work done.

Differentiation:

It is job specialization where in each job is different from other

with respect to its specialization.

Information ownership:

Each employee according to the position he/she is holding has

some information/knowledge related to the job.

Negotiation:

Process by which two parties resolve conflict jointly and both

parties get something in return.

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