Basics of Interpersonal Relations

8/7/2019 Basics of Interpersonal Relations

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Management, 7e

SchermerhornPrepared by

Michael K. McCuddy

Valparaiso University

John Wiley & Sons, Inc


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Schermerhorn - Chapter 17 3

Chapter 17

Communication and Interpersonal Skills

Planning aheadstudy questions

What is the communication process?

How can communication be improved?

How does perception influence

communication?

How can we deal positively with conflict?

How can we negotiate successful agreements?


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Communication is essential for

Establishing and maintaining interpersonal

relationships. Listening to others.

Gaining the information needed to create an

inspirational workplace.

Handling conflict.

Negotiating successfully.

Leading successfully.


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Communication

An interpersonal process of sending and receiving

symbols with messages attached to them. Key elements of the communication process:

Sender

Message

Channel Receiver

Interpreted meaning


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Effective and efficient communication

Effective communication

Occurs when the intended meaning of the sender isidentical to the interpreted meaning of the receiver.

Efficient communication

Occurs at a minimum resource cost.

Potential trade-offs between effectiveness and

efficiency must be recognized.


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Sources of noise in communication:

Poor choice of channels

Poor written or oral expression

Failure to recognize nonverbal signals

Physical distractions

Status effects


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Poor choice of channels

Choose the channel that works best.

Written channels work for messages that: Are simple and easy to convey.

Require extensive dissemination quickly.

Convey formal policy or authoritative directives.

Oral channels work best for messages that:

Are complex or difficult to convey where immediate feedback

is needed.

Attempt to create a supportive, even inspirational, climate.


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Poor written or oral expression

Semantic barriers occur as: Encoding errors

Decoding errors

Mixed messages

Managers need to speak and write clearly.


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Guidelines for making oral presentations:

Be prepared

Set the right tone

Sequence points

Support your points

Accent the presentation

Add the right amount of polish

Check your technology

Dont bet on the Internet

Be professional


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Failure to recognize nonverbal signals

Mixed messages occur when a persons words

communicate one message while his/her

nonverbal signals communicate something else.

The growing use of communication

technologies causes important nonverbal

communication to be lost.


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Physical distractions

Include interruptions from telephone calls and

drop-in visitors.

Can interfere with the effectiveness of a

communication attempt.

Can be avoided or at least minimized through

proper planning.


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Status effects

Occur when an organizations hierarchy of

authority creates a barrier to effective

communication.

Status effects include:

Filteringthe intentional distortion of informationto make it appear favorable to the recipient.

Subordinates acting as yes men.


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Active listening

The process of taking action to help the source of a

message say what he or she really means.

Rules for active listening:

Listen for message content.

Listen for feelings.

Respond to feelings.Note all cues, verbal and nonverbal.

Paraphrase and restate.


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Ten steps for good listening Stop talking.

Put the other person at ease.

Show that you want to listen. Remove any potential distractions.

Empathize with the other person.

Dont respond too quickly; be patient.

Dont get mad; hold your temper. Go easy on argument and criticism.

Ask questions.

Stop talking.


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Feedback

The process of telling others how you feel aboutsomething they did or said, or about the situation in

general.

Constructive feedback guidelines:

Give it directly.

Make it specific.

Give it when the receiver is willing/able to accept it. Make sure it is valid.

Give it in small doses.


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Ways to keep communication channels open

Management by wandering around (MBWA)

Open office hours Formal employee group meetings

Employee advisory councils

Suggestion boxes

Communication consultants

360-degree feedback


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Proxemics and space design

Proxemics is the use of interpersonal space.

Interpersonal space is an important nonverbalcue.

Workspace layout is often overlooked as a form

of nonverbal communication but is being

increasingly recognized for its impact on

communication and behavior.


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Technology utilization

New information technologies facilitate communicationand are growing in importance in organizations.

Computers and computer technology can: Empower lower-level workers with more and better

information.

Enable managers to achieve improved control andaccountability.

Undermine the personal side of group decision making. Managers must be able to use information technology

while maintaining good interpersonal relations.


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Valuing culture and diversity

Ethnocentrism is the tendency to consider ones

culture superior to any and all others.Ethnocentrism can cause people to:

Not listen to others.

Address or speak to others in ways that alienate

them.

Use inappropriate stereotypes in dealing with

someone from another culture.


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communication?

Perception

The process through which people receive and

interpret information from the environment.

People can perceive the same things or

situations differently.

People behave on the basis of their

perceptions.


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communication? Perception and attribution

Attribution

The process of developing explanations for events. Fundamental attribution error

Occurs when observers blame anothers performance failures

or problems on internal factors rather than external factors.

Self-serving bias Occurs because individuals blame their personal performance

failures or problems on external factors and attribute their

successes to internal factors.


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communication?Perceptual tendencies and distortions

Stereotypes

Occur when someone is identified with a group orcategory, and then oversimplified attributes

associated with the group or category are linked

back to the individual.

Halo effects Occur when one attribute is used to develop an

overall impression of a person or situation.


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communication?Perceptual tendencies and distortions

Selectivity

The tendency to single out for attention thoseaspects of a situation or attributes of a person that

reinforce or appear consistent with ones existing

beliefs, values, or needs.

Projection The assignment of personal attributes to other

individuals.


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How can we deal positively with

conflict?Conflict

A disagreement between people on:

Substantive issues regarding goals, allocation ofresources, distribution of rewards, policies andprocedures, and job assignments.

Emotional issues arising from feelings of anger,distrust, dislike, fear, and resentment, as well as

personality clashes.Conflict that is well managed can help promote

high performance, creativity, and innovation.


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conflict?Functional conflict

Moderately intense conflict.

Constructive and stimulates people towardgreater work efforts, cooperation, and

creativity.

Dysfunctional conflict

Low-intensity and very high-intensity conflict.

Destructive and hurts task performance.


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conflict?Causes of conflict:

Role ambiguities

Resource scarcities

Task interdependencies

Competing objectives

Structural differentiation

Unresolved prior conflicts


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conflict?Structural approaches for resolving

conflicts:

Appealing to superordinate goals.

Making more resources available to everyone.

Replacing or transferring one or more of the

conflicting parties.

Altering the physical environment.


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conflict? Integrative devices for resolving conflicts:

Using liaison personnel, special task forces,

cross-functional teams, or a matrix organizationto change interaction patterns.

Changing reward systems.

Using policies and procedures to direct

behavior.

Training people in interpersonal skills.


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conflict?Conflict management styles

Peoples conflict management styles reflect

different combinations of assertive andcooperative behavior.

Assertiveness is the desire to satisfy your own needs

and concerns.

Cooperativeness is the desire to satisfy the other

partys needs and concerns.


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conflict? Conflict management styles:

Avoidance

Uncooperative and unassertive

Accommodation (smoothing) Cooperative and assertive

Competition (authoritative command)

Uncooperative and assertive

Compromise Moderately cooperative and assertive

Collaboration (problem solving) Cooperative and assertive


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conflict?

Conflict management styles:

Lose-lose conflict

Management by avoidance or accommodation

Win-lose conflict

Management by competition and compromise

Win-win conflict

Management by collaboration


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How can we negotiate successful

agreements?

Negotiation is the process of making joint

decisions when the parties involved have

different preferences.

All negotiation situations are susceptible to

conflict and require exceptional

communication skills.


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agreements?Negotiation goals and approaches

Substance goals Concerned with outcomes

Tied to the content issues of negotiation

Relationship goals Concerned with processes

Tied to the way people work together

Effective negotiations occur when Issues of substance are resolved.

Working relationships are maintained or improved.


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agreements?Criteria for effective negotiation:

Quality

Negotiating a wise agreement that is trulysatisfactory to all sides.

Cost

Negotiating efficiently, using minimum resourcesand time.

Harmony

Negotiating in a way that fosters interpersonalrelationships.


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agreements?Types of negotiation:

Distributive negotiation

Focuses on claims made by each party. Leads to win-lose outcomes.

Principled (or integrative) negotiation

Goal is to base the outcome on the merits ofindividual claims.

Leads to win-win outcomes.


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agreements?Gaining integrative agreements:

Separate the people from the problem.

Focus on interests, not on positions.

Generate many alternatives before

deciding what to do.

Insist that results are based on some

objective standard.


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agreements?Common negotiation pitfalls:

Falling prey to the myth of the fixed

pie.Nonrational escalation of conflict.

Overconfidence and ignoring othersneeds.

Too much telling and too littlehearing.


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agreements?Approaches to avoiding negotiation pitfalls:

Mediation

Involves a neutral third party who tries toimprove communication among negotiatingparties and keep them focused on relevantissues.

Arbitration Involves a neutral third party who acts as ajudge and issues a binding decision.


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agreements?Approaches to avoiding negotiation pitfalls:

Alternative dispute resolution

Utilizes mediation and/or arbitration but only

after direct attempts to negotiate agreements

among conflicting parties have failed.

Often uses an ombudsperson as a neutral

third party.


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agreements?Ethical issues in negotiation

High ethical standards should be

maintained.Profit motive and the competitive desire

to win sometimes lead to unethicalbehavior.

Unethical negotiating behavior can leadto short-term gains but long-term losses.

Basics of Interpersonal Relations

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