Text 9: the nature of managerial communication

Communication is the exchange of messages between people for the purpose of achieving common meanings. Unless common meaning are shared, managers find it extremely difficult to influence other. For example, in looking back on his efforts to influence others. For example, in looking back on his efforts to revitalize General Mo­tors, former CEO Roger Smith says that he would make the same de­cisions for again regarding the implementation of major changes to rebuild the company foe global leadership in the twenty-first century.

Types of Communication

In their work, managers use two major types of communication: verbal and nonverbal. Each type plays an important part in the effec­tive transmissions of messages within organizations.

Verbal Communication. Verbal communication is the written or oral use of words to communicate. Both written and oral communi­cations are pervasive in organizations.

Written communication occurs through a variety of means, such as business letters, office memorandums, reports, resumes, written telephone messages, newsletters, and policy manuals. In many cases, considerable time and effort are expended in preparing written com­munications. According to several estimates, the cost of producing a single letter or memo has risen to more that $7, with one recent esti­mate placing the figure as high as $25 for the average memo. Yet one study of 800 randomly selected letters from a variety of industries in­dicates that written business correspondence suffers from significant deficiencies in such areas as proper word usage, clear sentence con­struction, and precision. A related study shows that more than 80 per­cent of managers judge the quality of the written communication they receive as either fair or poor. They also did not give themselves very high grades, with 55 percent describing their own writing skills as or Proxemics refers to the influence of proximity and space on communication. For example, some managers arrange their offices so that they have an informal area where people can sit without experi­encing the spatial distance and formality created by a dig desk. An­other example of proxemics, which you have probably experienced, is that you are more likely to get to know students whom you happen to sit near in class that students who are sitting in other parts of the room.

Paralanguage refers to vocal aspect of communication that re­late to how something is said rather that to what is said. Voice quality, tone of voice, laughing, and yawning fit in this category.

Object language refers to the communicative use of material things, including clothing, cosmetics, furniture, and architecture. If you have prepared a job resume lately, you probably gave some thought to the layout and to the type of paper on which you wanted your resume printed-nonverbal aspects of your communication about yourself and your credentials. Nonverbal elements from an important part of the messages that managers communicate.