Module 6

Information management and Boundary Spanning

Introduction and issues
This module starts to combine the elements of each of the previous modules to
identify effective communication strategies. We know the theories of
communication and how to select appropriate channels. We are aware that
organisations have cultures and that this can impact on communication. Now we
can begin to consider how we make sense of all the information that is provided
to us, so we can determine who to send it to, why and how. The first part of this
module is about information management. The second part of the module will
introduce the concept of boundary spanning. By the end of this module, students
will have:
Knowledge of the !K" model of information management
The ability to apply the !K" model to organisational situations
"n understanding of the importance of boundary spanning in
organisational communication.
"n ability to recognise how boundaries are formed # through conte$t,
language, culture, location and structure.
Information management
Textbook reading: %lampitt %hapter &, pp. '() * ')'
"s a communicator we are bombarded with a lot of information which we
interpret from a given conte$t. This information forms knowledge which we then
act upon. The te$tbook provides a theory of an inverse pyramid # the *!*K*"
model. +rom a large selection of data we generate information based on our
knowledge and e$perience which allows us to select an appropriate course of
action. ,very individual learns to e$tract the relevant data for their given
problem. -ometimes there is so much data, it can be difficult to determine what
is important. -ometimes our knowledge is limited so we select incorrect data
and make mistakes. .This is the basis of boundary spanning # more of that
later./
The te$tbook uses the analogy of a detective solving a murder. "t the murder
scene, the detective is provided with a lot of facts and evidence. -ome facts will
be relevant and some will not be relevant. But before the detective starts
gathering her evidence she is already aware of why she is there. -he already
has a preconceived idea of what type of evidence she will need to gather. These
preconceived ideas are based on the detective0s past e$periences and
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knowledge. !t is this knowledge which will allow the detective to select
appropriate and relevant evidence from the large amount of data, but it may also
prevent her from seeing other evidence that does not fit within her established
ideals. When the data is gathered, she will use her knowledge to determine how
this relevant data .the information/ assists solving the crime.
"T": The detective turns up at the crime scene. !t is a room in a house, full of
household furniture and knick knacks.
!N+132"T!1N: +rom her evaluation, the detective determines the following
data is relevant: a knife, blood, the victim0s body, a packet of cigarettes, two
glasses and an empty pi44a bo$. Whilst there is much more data available .a
panting on the wall, a table, household goods/, the detective has determined it is
not relevant to this particular in5uiry.
KN1W6,7,: The detective uses her e$perience and knowledge to build a
picture of the event that occurred and so determine the offender.
"%T!1N: The detective arrests the offender.
!f, however, the detective was gathering data with a view to establishing the
victim0s hobbies instead of the identity of the murderer, new information would
become relevant.
When you think about it, all communication follows this pattern too. !f person "
wants to communicate with person B, there is an enormous amount of data to
process. There are choices about the channel and the message, among other
things. Types of channels can be shortlisted into those that a relevant and those
that are not, before one channel is selected based on knowledge. The actual
communication becomes the action.
Comprehension exercise 6-
!dentify the elements ! K " from the following scenario.
8ou are tasked to audit the use of 9global: email in the organisation
.emails sent to all employees/. +or the course of two weeks you record
all global emails within the organisation. 8ou find that );< of global
emails relate to non*organisational issues such as: spam .;=</,
invitations to after work events .></, notifying workers that a car in the
car park has left their lights on .)</, lost property .(</, and
miscellaneous non*urgent matters .'</. The other ?=< of global emails
relate to: group replies to global emails .(;</ official notifications of
organisational policy .('</, miscellaneous work*related global emails
.;</. 8ou determine the most important issues are spam and using
9reply all: to global emails. 8ou draft a report based on your e$perience
and e$pertise in the appropriate use of emails. 8our recommendations
include a new spam filter, and educating users on the appropriate use of
emails.
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" word of warning. ata can be wrong. "t the very least, data can be
interpreted incorrectly. 2aking assumptions from incorrect data can lead to
useless information regardless how much knowledge you have. This will result in
action that is flawed. -tatistics are an e$cellent e$ample of this. "nyone can
make statistics 9mean: whatever they want, by simply omitting certain facts or by
placing importance on facts that are not relevant.
!eread: %lampitt %hapter & pp. '?; # '?) in relation to the organisation
of information.
ata, Knowledge, !nformation and "ction are in a constant state of flu$. ata is
always changing: being updated or becoming out of date. !t varies in different
circumstances. 1ur own e$periences are growing all the time. "s we learn one
task, we begin to master another. "ll of these factors will influence the action. !t
is not likely that there will be ,@"%T68 the same situation resulting in ,@"%T68
the same decision, although we can be guided by previous e$periences.
Knowing that data is constantly changing means that out actions must be made
while that data is still recent. !f there is a delay between the data and the action,
the action might be flawed because of the time taken.
Boundary Spanning
Textbook reading: %lampitt %hapter >, pp. '=A *
Boundary spanning is the techni5ue used to communicate across 9boundaries:
within an organisation, much like communicating across cultures between
countries. Think back to the basics of communication and the different types of
noise that can influence understanding. Boundary spanners are e$perts in
making sense of noise that could result in miscommunication between
organisational departments.
1rganisations .particularly hierarchical organisations/ are made up of specialist
departments. ,ach of these departments has their own culture .9way of doing
things:/, and their own agenda. -ome of the very large, multinational
organisations may even have different departments in different countries. This
means that each of the departments will have certain ways of communicating,
which may .or may not/ be different to the rest of the organisation.
But boundaries do not necessarily occur simply between departments. Because
an organisation is made up of individuals, many individuals will also have 9set up:
invisible boundaries that can affect communication. The te$tbook uses the
e$ample of the unmotivated employee. Bnless you understand your receiver,
communication is doomed to fail. " message sent to the unmotivated employee
might not be received as intended, especially if they interpret the message as it
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relates to their frames of mind. " good boundary spanner will be aware of
possible interpretations and tailor the message as appropriate.
Boundary spanning is a great skill in organisational communication
because it allows the professional communicator to interpret the recei"er
of the communication in terms of their knowledge# understanding and
culture$
There are five main areas that can result in 9noise: during communication in an
organisation: conte$t, language, culture, location and organisational structure.
Boundary spanning can be used to reduce the noise in each of these areas.
Context
%onte$t is shared understanding. This concept relates to each of the other
areas. ,ven speaking the same language and sharing the same culture, our
words can be taken out of conte$t. Bsually we will use clues to determine the
conte$t of the conversation. %ast your mind back to 2odule (. " conversation
about a 9bug: might have different meanings depending on the conte$t
surrounding that conversation. "re you discussing a computer program, an
illness, an insect or a listening deviceC !f we can not determine the conte$t by
the rest of the conversation, we will use other clues such as a sniffing colleague
in order to make sense of the words. !f the words are interpreted incorrectly,
miscommunication will occur. This also relates to communication competence,
also from 2odule (.
%anguage
!t is easy to imagine mistakes in translation creating noise in the communication
process. The incorrect use of grammar and punctuation can result in dramatic
changes of meaning from what was intended. The choice of particular words can
also result in confusion. !f you were speaking to a beef farmer about 9cows:, it
would hold little meaning to them. They would e$pect more specific language
such as 9heifer: or 9bullock:D or even 9Brahman: or 9roughtmaster:. Eust like the
!nuit .,skimos/ have (F different words for 9snow:, and the "rabs have ;FFF
words for 9camel:.
Comprehension exercise 6-&
Try describing the colour 9blue: to someone who does not understand
the word. The process you use will be boundary spanning. The
boundary in this case is the lack of understanding of 9blue:.
Culture
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%ulture can refer to either organisational culture or ethnic culture.
%ommunicating across cultures is a highly specialised field because of the
amount of variables and the high probability of some misunderstanding. 3efer to
table >.' on page '>& of the te$tbook. %ultures can be high conte$t or low
conte$t. Gigh conte$t cultures value understatement and succinctness .they
read a lot into a few words and actions/. 6ow conte$t cultures use many words
to be 5uite e$plicit in their meaning. Gigh conte$t cultures tend to be ,astern
cultures, while low conte$t cultures are more Western cultures. When people
from these two cultures meet, it is likely the person from the low conte$t culture
will want much more information and the person from the high conte$t culture will
consider this information superfluous. 3elated to high and low conte$t is direct
and indirect cultures. !n indirect cultures, the meaning is implied much like low
conte$t. !n direct cultures the meaning is e$plicit and to the point. !t is little
wonder that people from an indirect and low conte$t culture might find an
"ustralian very blunt and talkative .since we have a direct and high conte$t
culture/. %ultures can also be short or long term. -ome cultures plan
generations into the future, while others do not plan at all, living from day to day.
-hort term cultures are more likely to be interested in immediate results, than
long term cultures who would be prepared to wait for the result. The final
relevant cultural dimension is that of high power versus low power. !n a high
power culture, a subordinate would never dream of 5uestioning their superior.
The person in the higher authority would be obeyed in a high power culture
without 5uestion. !n a low power culture, the person in authority is likely to
consider themselves part of the 9team: and would e$pect people to make
suggestions. Heople who cross the high to low power boundary may be
considered shy, when in fact they are deferring to authority. Those who cross
from low to high might be considered not to respect authority if they 5uestion an
order, or suggest another course of action.
!t is a great skill to recognise the type of culture, and then to adapt the
communication so it is appropriate. This is only a very brief overview to provide
you with an understanding of the level of comple$ity involved in boundary
spanning cultures.
%ocation
1rganisations create boundaries in the physical sense by the way they design
buildings or office space. Walls and doors can stop effective communication by
preventing it in the first place. 2uch of this has to do with the organisation0s
culture as well. +or e$ample an organisation0s culture may not encourage
communication between departments. This type of organisation is likely to have
the different departments set up on different floors, or in different rooms. !f you
remove the physical barriers, the psychological ones will move as well and
boundary spanning can begin.
'rganisational structure
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"gain related to organisational culture, communication across boundaries within
the organisation may not be accepted practice. 1r there may be so many
boundaries that no communication is simply easier. %onsider an organisation
with 'FF different departments. Heople from these different departments may not
communicate with other departments because they don0t know what they do, r
they don0t know what to say. 8et, communication between these departments
could, potentially, improve productivity for the organisation. "n organisation with
a small number of departments are more likely to communicate with each other.
-ome organisations might try and promote communication across boundaries by
implementing organisational policies. This can control contact, but in itself it
becomes another boundary.
(ow do you span boundaries)
The first step to spanning boundaries is to be aware a boundary e$ists. Eust like
the physical boundaries that may e$ist between employees or departments, the
boundary spanner identifies the 9walls: between parties. " boundary spanner
needs to be aware of the circumstances of each side of the boundary. This is
achieved by creating awareness of personal .and organisational/ culture and
being understanding of personal values. The boundary spanner develops
relationships and seeks out relevant information to provide to their organisation.
The key to boundary spanning is to develop shared understanding amongst
participants of the communication process. The sender needs to ensure the
conte$t of the communication is the same for the receiver. Within organisations
that can be achieve through common goals and outcomes. !f everyone is aiming
for the same point, communication becomes much easier. -hared e$periences
will also keep the communication in conte$t. Team work is an effective means of
sharing e$periences, or Iob sharing. !f the left hand truly understands what the
right hand is doing, miscommunication can be avoided.
Comprehension exercise 6-*
What are the boundaries to consider in an organisation with the following
circumstances: ifferent departments are on different floors of the
building and they have separate lunch rooms. Within each department,
desks are arranged in cubicles so there is limited interaction between
employees. ,mployees who speak loudly on the phone are asked by
the supervisor to keep it down. epartment heads report to the one
superior, but they are not encouraged to speak to each other in an
official capacity.
Comprehension exercise 6-+
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What recommendations would you give to the organisation above, to
increase the amount of positive interaction both within departments and
between departmentsC
Think back to the detective solving the murder. Without being open to new ways
of gathering evidence the detective may miss vital evidence. The detective may
be so caught up gathering physical evidence, they may not be aware the murder
scene was filmed on a security camera. 1r the detective may assume the
murder was random when in fact it was ritualistic. The detective, too, can benefit
from boundary spanning.
Boundary spanning can be used for a variety of positive benefits within an
organisation from morale building to conflict management.
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!eferences and further reading
%lampitt, H. (FF). Communicating for Managerial Effectiveness, ;
rd
edition, -age
Hublications !nc. B-".
Wilco$, . and %ameron, 7. (FF&. Public Relations Strategies and Tactics
!nternational ,dition, >th ,dition, Hearson ,ducation !nc, B-".
aniels, T. and -piker, B. 'AA?. Perspectives on Organisational Communication,
Wm. %. Brown %ommunications !nc, Bnited -tates of "merica.
Blundel, 3. (FF?. Effective organisational communication: perspectives,
principles and practices, +inancial Times Hrentice Gall, Garlow ,ngland.
Kakabadse, ". (FF?. Working in organisations, 7ower, Burlington, Jictoria.
Newsom, . and Gaynes, E. (FF). Public Relations Writing orm ! St"le,
Thomson Wadsworth, B-".
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Comprehension exercises
&*' "T": "ll the data gathered relating to the use of global emails.
!N+132"T!1N: The relevant data # spam and 9reply all: emails
KN1W6,7,: The e$perience you have gained to determine what is
important in sending and receiving emails.
"%T!1N: The drafting of the report and making recommendations.
&*( %hances are you used conte$t, or shared understanding, to illustrate the
colour. 9Blue is the colour of my shirt.: 9Blue is the colour of the sky.: But
then you have various shades of blue. 6ight blue, dark blue, navy, royal
blue, electric blue, a5ua, and so on. !n order to be fully understood, you
will need to be sure you have the same e$perience of 9blue: as the person
to whom you are communicating.
&*; Need to consider the physical environment in which the communication is
taking place. There are many physical barriers which would prevent
communication. 8ou would also need to consider the organisational
structure and the organisational culture. !t is likely there are cultural
reasons why communication is not encouraged. Herhaps it is a
hierarchical organisation with a formal chain of command. !n that case the
superior would probably like to be kept informed of decisions and
outcomes. The use of telephones loudly might not be encouraged
because of an organisational cultural e$pectation that there is no noise in
the work environment.
&*? !f there was a way to improve the physical environment, that would be a
priority. evelop a single lunch room. 3earrange the cubicles so people
could interact with each other within the department. Begin to foster a
culture of conversation and communication. !n relation to
interdepartmental communication, meetings involving all the department
heads and the superior might satisfy the formal chain of command and
also encourage communication between departments.
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