Welcome to MT 140

Introduction to Management

Unit 9 Seminar

Communications

Bill Okrepkie

WOkrepkie@kaplan.edu

bokrepkie@rap.midco.net

AIM - WSOkrepkie

(605) 342-1689 (h)

(605) 390-0466 ©

Agenda

• General Questions and Announcements• Review of last week’s seminar• Introduction• Define Communication• Identify Communications Problems to Avoid• Identify methods for handling resistance to change/Recap• Conclusion of Seminar

Did I Answer all your questions from last week.

Review of Unit 8

• Ethics and examples of ethics• Values• Shared values• Sexual harassment• Corporate social responsibilities

Discussion Question

1. Discuss if Jack and Jenny have a social responsibility to keep the store at the current location

2. Identify how the issue of ethnic diversity in the neighborhood plays into Jack and Jenny's decision - making process

3. Explain how the issues of corporate social responsibility would play a part in Jack and Jenny's decision-making process

Assignment

1. Identify the issues facing the unit manager concerning ethical responsibilities in business and the natural environment  

2. Discuss least two ethical issues that the unit manager faces in this scenario

3. Discuss at least two ethical issues that Jack and Jenny face in this scenario     

• Any burrs under anyone’s saddle?

Any questions on Unit 8

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?

Who is responsible for communicating?

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

Identify communication problems to avoid

Interpersonal CommunicationPitfalls

• Perception - the process of receiving and interpreting information

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

Let’s talk about filtering

• Encoding by the sender- Words can be misused- Facts left out- Ambiguous phrases

• Decoding by the receiver- Doesn’t listen carefully- Preconceived ideas- Overlooks key points- Draws wrong conclusions- Misinterprets body language

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

2.Discussion Assignment

3.Dropbox Assignment

Are there questions concerning how you are expected to complete and submit these assignments?

Discussion Question• Jenny 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 Jack was investigating another source for the equipment and perhaps they should wait until she and Jack had reached a decision. Two weeks later, Jenny 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 Jenny had agreed that the equipment needed to be replaced. He was adamant that this was what he heard Jenny say. The equipment was expensive and Jack was hoping to order several pieces from one source to maximize discounts per unit.

Discussion Question Cont.

• Based on the section on “Watch out for communication pitfalls” beginning on page 265 of the Bateman and Snell text, describe some ways that Jenny could have avoided this situation.

Assignment

• 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. Jack and Jenny 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.

Assignment Cont.

Using the process on page 329-330 of the text, describe what the management must do to lead this change in technology to automated customer service. Address each of the eight steps in the change process.

You all did great today! I can hardly wait until next week. Only one more

seminar to go

Any other questions from this seminar

It looks like the hour is up. I hope this session was valuable to you and I look forward to seeing you next week. Have a great week and weekend.