Chapter 6 - Communication

Communication is a requirement for survival and growth not only of people but also
organizations. In the past, nations rose and fell depending on their ability to communicate
effectively. History is replete with stories of individuals who became successful because of
their effective management of communication.
- may be defined as the transfer of information including feelings, and ideas, from one
person to another.
* The goal of communication is to have the receiver understand the
message as it was intended.
* The transfer process, however, is affected by a number of factors that
either help or hinder the message.

- is essential for the coordination of business it must be made effective, if the

organization is to be effective. An effective communication system provides
management answers to questions related to what motivates its workers to perform
effectively, what products or services the customers want, what products or services
the suppliers are providing, and many others.

The Importance of Communication

Without communication, organization cannot exist. It is through communication that the
individual members of the organization will know important concerns such us:
● What their organization is
● What objectives their organization wants to achieve
● What their roles are in achieving the organizations objectives
● How they will achieve those objectives
● Who the individual members of the organization are

The Communication Process

Communication is a two-way process in which a sender reaches a receiver with a
message. There is a need for people in organization to have knowledge of the
communication process, and it is the first step to make it effective. There are six
components of an effective communication. They are the following:

● A communication source or sender - is a person who makes the attempt to

send a message which could be spoken, written, in sign language, or nonverbal to
another person or a group of persons. The degree of attention the message will
received will depend on the perceived authority and experience of a sender.
● A message - is a purpose or an idea to be conveyed in a communication event.
The message is the actual physical product as a result of encoding. Thus, when
speaking, the speech is the message: when writing the written document is the
message; when making gestures, the movement of the arms and the expressions on
faces are the message.
How the message is received is influence by the following factors:
➔ Clarity of the message
➔ Alertness of the receiver
➔ Complexity and length of the message
➔ How the information is organized
 When the information sent to a receiver is not organized, it will be hard for the
receiver to fully appreciate it. The following is an example of information that is not
well organized:
The message has two components:
➔ The thought or component of the message
➔ The feeling or emotion component of the message

● A channel - is the medium through which the message travels. It consists of

various types which are as follows:
➔ Face to face
➔ Telephone and cellphone
➔ E-mail
➔ Written memos and letters
➔ Posted notices
➔ Bulletins
● A receiver - The person receiving a message is the receiver. He must interpret and
understand the message. In doing so, however, he will be influences by factors like
his age, gender, beliefs, past experiences, cultural influences, and his individual
needs.
● Feedback - refers to the process of communication how one feels about
something another person has done or said. It is difficult to know whether the
message was received and understood without feedback.
- A feedback provides a clue to the sender of information whether the message
he sent was received as intended. ***

● The environment - refers to the circumstances in which messages are

transmitted and received. In an environment of trust and confidence, message are
easily transmitted even if these messages are controversial. The advantage of this
type of environment is that management is provided with the opportunity to address a
problem before it develops into a full-blown concern.

Noise refers to anything that disrupts communication, including the attitude and emotions
of the receiver. Noise includes loud music, the feeling about sick relative, children playing in
the background, and many others.

Basic Methods of Interpersonal Communication

People in organization transfer meaning between and among each other using any or all of
the three basic methods which consist of the following:
● Verbal - is a major means of sending messages. It includes one-on-one meetings,
speeches, grapevine, telephone, department or interdepartmental meetings,
presentation, and the like.
- A major disadvantage of verbal is the distortion of the message when it
passes to several people. This is because people have their own peculiar way
of interpreting messages and this causes distortion of the original message.
Verbal communication is the appropriate method if the sender:
➔ Wants to appear informal
➔ Wants to invite suggestions and ideas which are more likely to spark off a
discussion
 ➔ Is explaining something complex and people might need to ask for
clarification as he goes along
➔ Has important news to impact, such as retrenchment
➔ Needs to be very diplomatic and feels he will be more effective face to face
than in writing
➔ Has something highly confidential to say and putting it in writing is risky.
Verbal communication is not appropriate when the sender:
➔ Wants to maintain formality or distance from the other person or a group of
people
➔ Wants a permanent record of what has been said
➔ Needs receiver’s comments to be in writing for legal reasons
➔ Wants to avoid further discussion of the subject by signaling that the matter is
closed.
● Written - includes memos, notice-boards, and letters to staff, emails, faxes, internal
newspaper, and instant messaging.
The advantage of written communication are the following:
➔ It is formal and authoritative
➔ It provides a permanent record of what have been said
➔ It provides a document useful for legal purposes
➔ A number of people will receive exactly the same information
➔ It is useful in communicating something complicated
➔ It is something quicker
➔ It avoids a lengthy discussion
➔ Words can be chosen carefully
Written communication is not appropriate when:
➔ The receiver needs to ask question or seek clarification
➔ More discussion is needed before facts are establish
➔ A friendly and informal atmosphere is needed
➔ The message is very important
➔ The message is confidential
➔ The information may be upsetting to the receiver.
● Nonverbal communication - Communication that takes place through facial
expressions, body movements, eye contact, and other physical gesture is referred
to as nonverbal communication. This type of communication reveals what the
sender really means or thinking.

Functional of Communication
● Information function – communication provides information needed in decision
making.
● Motivation function – communication is a mean used to encourage commitment
to organization objectives. Commitment will not be possible if the worker concerned
that achieves its goals.
● Control function – communication clarifies duties, authority, and responsibilities,
thereby permitting control.
● Emotive function – communication permits the expression of feelings and the
satisfaction of social needs.

Basic Goals of Effective Communication

Communication is not just about transferring message from one person to another. In
organizations, communication must be made effective. Being effective, however, is not an
end but rather a means to an end.

Effective communication is really a way to achieve certain goals which consists of the
following:
➔ To gain goodwill
➔ To inquire
➔ To inform
➔ To persuade

Barriers to Communication
There are times when the receiver is not able to properly receive or understand the message
as intended by the sender. This is due to a variety of barriers that may impede the
communication effort. These barriers consists of the following:
● Filtering - refers to the manipulation of information so that will be seen more
favorably by the receiver. Telling what the boss wants to hear is filtering.
● Selective perception - Receivers selectively see and hear messages based on
their needs, motivations, experience, background, and other personal characteristics.
● Information overload - refers to the condition in which information inflows exceeds
an individual processing capacity. When this happens, the person is no longer
able to understand clearly whatever information is sent to him.
● Emotions - The receiver’s feelings affect his ability to understand any message
sent to him.
● Language - Words do not always mean the same thing to different people. This
poses a barrier to communication.
● Communication apprehension - refers to the undue tension and anxiety about
oral communication, written communication, or both. There are people who find it
extremely difficult to talk with others face-to-face or even carry a telephone
conversation.
● Absence of feedback - Feedback is an essential component of effective
communication. When feedback is received by the sender, he can make some
clarification if he thinks the receiver did not clearly understand what the sender
means.
● Physical separation - refers to interferences to effective communication occurring
in the environment where the communication is undertaken. These are actually
physical barriers which include the following:
➔ Distances between people
➔ Walls
➔ An office that is not conductive to communication
➔ An intimidating person posted near the door
➔ Wrong timing

● Lack of credibility of the sender - Depending on the credibility of the sender,

messages can get through the channel to the receiver, if the sender has low
credibility, the message, even if it gets through, will likely be ignored.
* This is a type of barrier that should be overcome by leaders of organization.
Kinds of Communication Flow
The flow of communication in organization takes different directions. It consists of the
following:
● Downward - refers to message flows from higher levels to lower levels. Their
purpose are:
➔ To give instructions
➔ To provide information about policies and procedures
➔ To give feedback about performances
➔ To indoctrinate or motivate
● Upward - refers to messages from persons in lower level positions to persons in
higher positions. Its purpose are:
➔ To provide feedback to higher-ups
➔ To inform higher-ups of progress towards goals
➔ To relay current problems
➔ The techniques used in upward communications are:
➔ Performance reports
➔ Suggestion systems
➔ Information gripe sessions
➔ Open-door policy
➔ Exit interviews
● Horizontal - refers to messages sent to individuals or groups from another of the
same organization level or position. Its purpose are:
➔ To coordinate activities between departments
➔ To persuade others at the sale level of organization
➔ To pass on information about activities or feelings
The techniques appropriate for horizontal communication are:
➔ Memos
➔ Telephones or cellphones
➔ Picnics
➔ Dinner and other social affairs

Improving Communication in Organization

Ineffective communication can affect people involved in it negatively. It can hurt
feelings, and waste of time and valuable resources. To avoid such unwanted effects, the
following tips could be useful:
● The message should be improved so it could be easily understood
● The receiver must improve his skill in understanding the message sent to him.

Chapter 7- Work Teams and Groups

Group output and productivity are essential concerns of people managing
organizations. This is expected because whatever the groups do, the organization is
affected.
- If the organization is to be made effective in accomplishing its goals, the groups
comprising it must be managed properly. This can be achieved through the use of
knowledge about the behavior groups including work teams.
- A group be defined as two or more persons, interacting and interdependent, who
have come together to achieve certain objectives.
Classified as:
● Formal group – this one is defined by the organization structure, with designated
work assignments and establish task.
➔ Command group – a group composed of individuals who report directly to
a certain manager.
➔ Task group – it is that kind of group consisting of persons working together
to complete a job task.

● Informal group – this group type is neither formally structured nor

organizationally determined.
➔ Interest group – an interest group is one that is formed because of some
special topic interest.
➔ Friendship groups – a friendship group is one where members are brought
together because they share one or more common characteristics such as
age, political beliefs, or ethnic background.

Why People Form Groups

● Need satisfaction - People join groups because they believe that groups are
venues for satisfying their needs.
● Proximity - Is another reason why people form groups. When people work near each
other, it is not hard for them to from a group.
● Attraction - People are attracted to each other because of similarities in
perception, attitude, performance, or motivation.
● Goals - A group is formed when a number of people are required to achieve a
goal.
● Economics - Individual person join groups so they can obtain economic benefits
not otherwise made available if they are not members of a group.

Stages of Group Development

Groups are like people; they learn and they develop. How they evolve may be seen through
a presentation of a standardizes sequence in the development of groups. This sequence
consist of different stages as follows:
● The forming stage - There are various ways of forming groups.
One way is that person getting appointed to a discipline committee. Another is
that person who is helping to form a medical mission.
In the forming stage, the initial entry of members to a group is a primary concern.
However, the specific concerns of the members consist of the following:
➔ They are eager to learn what tasks they will be performing
➔ How they can benefit from group membership
➔ What constitutes acceptable behavior
➔ What rules must be followed

● The storming stage - the stage when conflict within the group happens. Members
may get involved in competition for desired assignments and disagreements over
appropriate behaviors and responsibilities related to task performance.
- The group experiences many changes. Expectations of the members tend to
be clarified and elaborated further.
 - Under this stage, coalition or cliques may form. A individuals compete to
impose their preferences on the group and to achieve their status position,
conflict may develop over leadership and authority.

● The norming stage - also known as the initial stage, this is when group really
begins to come together as a coordinated unit. Cooperation’s and collaboration
are its main characteristics. There is an open exchange of information,
acceptance of differences of opinion, and active attempts to achieve goals and
objectives which are mutually agreed upon.

● The presuming stage - the group emerges as a mature organized, and well
functioning group, and it is ready to focus on accomplishing its key tasks. This stage
also refers to as the interrogation stage.
The performing stage consists of two different sub-stages as follows:
➔ The substage where the group has attained a level of
effectiveness that will remain more or less constant and as such,
group performance will be maintained at a level sufficient to
ensure survival.
➔ The substage where the process of learning and development of
the group is ongoing so that group effectiveness and efficiency
continuous, and as a result group performance will reach higher
levels.

● The adjourning stage - involves the termination of activities. This stage is

applicable to temporary groups as committees, projects groups, task forces, and
similar entities.
The termination of the group’s activity may be triggered by any of the
following:
➔ When the group purpose has been fulfilled
➔ When the group has failed to revitalize itself during the performance
stage.

Roles within Groups

Group efforts can made more effective if relevant roles are played within the group. There
are specific roles that are deemed important in the group process. These are the following:
● Knowledge contributor - any group would largely benefit from a member who
plays this role.
● Process observer – the person occupying this role forces member to look how the
group functions.
● People supporter – some group members are not emotionally strong to face the
various difficulties heaped upon them, in the performance of their functions.
● Challenger – the group needs someone who confronts and challenges bad ideas.
● Listener – there is a need for someone to listen to whatever ideas or proposal
presented by any member of the group.
● Mediator – it is not uncommon on for the group members to get involved in
disputes between each other.
 ● Gatekeeper – there is always a chance that one or two overeager members will
dominate discussions. The role of the gatekeepers is to provide the
opportunities for every member to express their opinion.
● Take charge leader – there are occasions when group has no appointed leader or
if there is one he could not play his role for one reason or another.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Groups

ADVANTAGES:
➔ More inputs for various perspectives ca be made available for effective
decision making.
➔ Synergism is more likely when people work together as a group.
➔ People in the group are more supportive of decisions that were formulated
with their assistance.
➔ It allows the efficient exchange of information for effective problem solving.
➔ The opportunity for fulfilling the safety, affiliation, and esteem needs of group
members is made available.
➔ Group members get mutual support from each other.

DISADVANTAGES:
➔ Group activity is usually slower and more cumbersome because every
member has the opportunity to make contributions.
➔ Group meeting are held to disseminate strictly routine date that could be more
efficiently conveyed in writing through interoffice memorandum. When this
happens, the effectiveness of the group is undermined.
➔ The group decision may be diluted by every members input making the
decision ineffective.
➔ Accountability is often a problem with group activity.
➔ There are occasions when some members shirk responsibility and let other
members of the group do the work.
➔ When the group is highly cohesive and motivated, outside criticism
tends to be ignored as group members look inward for reinforcement of
each other’s opinions.

Group Think
the previously cited item No. 6, which is a disadvantage of working In a group, is actually
referred to as “groupthink”. This term may be briefly defined as a deterioration of metal
efficiency, reality, testing and moral judgment in the interest of group cohesiveness
individual thinking is brought in line with the average quality of the group’s thinking.

How to Minimize Groupthink

➔ The existence of groupthink is an indication that the group may be functioning
effectively. There are some ways of minimizing groupthink. These are:
➔ Monitoring group size, so it will not grow large enough to intimidate some
members to perform well;
➔ Encouraging group leader to play an impartial role by actively seeking input
from all members and avoid expressing their own opinions, especially in the
early stages of deliberation;
➔ Appointing a member to play the role of devil’s advocate; and
 ➔ Using exercises that stimulate active discussion of diverse alternatives
without threatening the group and intensifying identity protection.

Techniques in group decision making

● Interacting groups - are typical groups in which members interact with each other
face-to-face. The essence of interaction is the sending and receiving of
information through oral, written, and nonverbal communication.

● Brainstorming - is a group problem-solving technique which promotes

creativity by encouraging members to come up with any ideas, no matter how
strange, without fear of criticism.
In brainstorming, the participants are required to observe the following
procedure:
➔ Generate as many as ideas as possible;
➔ Be creative, freewheeling, and imaginative;
➔ Build upon, extend, or combine earlier ideas; and
➔ Withhold criticism of other’s ideas.

● Nominal group technique - is a group decision-making method in which

individual members meet face-to-face to pool their judgement in a systematic but
independent fashion. The group decision is the mathematically pooled outcome of
individual votes.
The following discrete steps are undertaken in the nominal group technique:
➔ Individual members quietly list their ideas.
➔ Ideas are written on a chart on at a time until all ideas are listed.
➔ Brief times is allotted so that questions can be asked, but only for
clarification.
➔ A written vote is taken and group decision is announced.

● Electronic meeting - is a decision-making technique wherein members interact

through computers, allowing anonymity of comments and aggregation of votes.
This technique features the distinct advantages of anonymity honesty, and
speed.

Differences between Workgroups and Teams

Work teams are important elements of organizations. They are the groups expected to
deliver high performance when organization requires it.
- Groups and teams are not similar. A workgroup is one that interacts primarily to
share information and to make decisions to help each member perform within his or
her area of responsibility. Group emphasize individual leadership, individual
accountability, and individual work products.

There are various types of teams. The most common are:

● Problem-solving teams - are groups of 5 to 12 employees from the same
department who meet for a few hours each week to discuss ways of improving
quality, efficiency, and work environment.
 ● Self-managed work teams - is one that empowered to make decisions about
work schedules, task allocations, job skills training, performance evaluation, selection
f new team members, and controlling quality of work. Team members are
collectively held accountable for the team’s overall performance results.
- The traditional duties perform many different jobs. Because of this, team
members are provided with training in performing more than one job on the
team.

ADVANTAGES:
➔ Improved flexibility of staff;
➔ The reduced number of job classifications result to more efficient
operations;
➔ Absenteeism and turnover rates are lower; and
➔ Organizational commitment and job satisfaction are at high levels.
DISADVANTAGES:
➔ Implementing the concept takes time (as long as several years);
➔ The cost of training the team members is high;
➔ There are inefficiencies created during the training period; and
➔ Some employees are not able to adapt to a team structure.

● Cross functional teams - is one composed of employees from about the same
hierarchical labels, but from different work areas, who come together to
accomplish a task. An example is a team of supervisors coming from the design,
manufacturing, and purchasing units of the company, plus a representative from a
major supplier.
ADVANTAGES:
➔ Exchange information
➔ Develop new ideas
➔ Solve problems
➔ Coordinate complex projects

● Virtual teams - are those that use computer technology to tie together
physically dispersed members in order to achieve a common goal. Members do
the same things as members of face-to-face teams. They also share information,
make decisions, and complete tasks. The difference is they do it with the aid of
computers.

Developing effective teams

Teams can be made effective if the following are observed:
➔ Team size must be kept as small as possible. The larger the team, the more
difficult it would be to manage it.
➔ The team members must have a sufficient range of skills, information, and/or
experience to do the task.
➔ Team members must have a sense of common purpose like the feeling that
what they are doing is critical to the success of the organization.
➔ The team must be free to develop its work procedures.
➔ The team must have a sense of accountability.
Turning individuals into team players
The players are indispensable human assets of many organizations and these
organizations would want to make sure that they are available when their services are
needed. Team players, however, do not just come out of the blue. Organizations must
provide the right environment so they can be become possible. An important concern,
however, is to turn individuals into team players. The available options consist of the
following:
● Selection - In searching for team players, it must be remembered that not all
people are alike. Some were born natural team players, while other could become
team players if they are properly trained. There is a third category of persons who
cannot become team players, even with training. They should not be considered for
selection.

● Training - is a way of turning individuals into team players. They should be made
to attend training courses in problem solving communication, negotiation, conflict
management, and coaching.

● Rewards - are powerful motivators. This is also true if it is directed towards

effective teamwork. With adequate rewards, team members would be motivated to
be effective team players. For instance, a pay raise, or any other form recognition.

Potential team problems

Even teams encounter problems which can affect their effectiveness. Two notable team
problems involve the following:
● Changing membership
Newly formed teams need time to turn into mature groups. However, this could be
disrupted by frequent changes in its composition. Members may drop out temporarily
or permanently for reasons like:
➔ Transferring to a higher priority project;
➔ The occurrence of a personal problem requiring extended leaves of
absences; or
➔ Accepting a job in another company.

The higher the membership turnover is, the bigger is the team’s problem. To
address such concern, the team must learn to manage its internal turnover through
the following:
➔ Recognition of the potential problems brought by high turnover;
➔ Development of a plan for managing turnover; and
➔ Thinking through how best to integrate new members.

● Social loafing - refers to the tendency for individuals to expend less effort when
working collectively than when working individually.
The reasons for social loafing are:
➔ The members think their contribution is less noticeable; and
➔ The members prefer to see others carry the workload.

To minimize or eliminate social loafing, some means of identifying

individuals efforts must be provided. If this is not possible, it may be proper to
 consider first weather the team approach is appropriate for the task at hand. It
may be wise to consider an analysis of the following:
➔ The nature of the task;
➔ The qualifications and desire of the participants; and
➔ The time and cost constraints

Chapter 8 - Leadership
Leadership is a very important, if not the most important factor in the success of
organizations.
Leadership may be defined as the process of guiding and directing the behavior of
people in the organization in order to achieve certain objectives.

The difference between Leadership and Management

Leading is one of the functions of management. The other functions consist of
planning, organizing, directing, directing and controlling.
Managers and leaders are different in the following ways:
 Managers Leaders

rational problem solvers intuitive, more visionary

concerned with the efficiency of results primarily concerned with results

obtain theirs from above obtain their power from below

perform other administrative function such as

planning, organizing, decision-making, and -
communicating.

Kinds of Leadership
● Formal Leadership - Refers to the process of influencing others to pursue officials
objectives.
● Informal Leadership - Refers to the process of influencing other to pursue
unofficial objectives.

Power and the leader

The main concern of a leader is to influence people to behave as he wants them to.
The bases of power that the leader may use to convince subordinates may be classified as
either:
● Position power - Is that power derived as a consequence of the leader’s position.
It consists of the following types:
❖ Legitimate power - Also referred to as authority, this power emanates from
a person’s position in the organization.
The legitimate power vested in a person is characteristics by the following:
➔ It is invested in a person’s position. Even if the person occupying the
position is replaced, the power remains and the new occupant can
exercise it.
➔ It is accepted by subordinates. The persons working under the
supervision of a manager believes that the manager has the right to
tell them what to do and what to expect from them.
➔ Authority is used vertically. The flow of authority is from the top
level down to the lower levels.
❖ Reward power - This power emanates from one’s ability to grant rewards to
those who comply with a command or request.
❖ Coercive Power - This power arises from the expectation of subordinates
that they will be punished if they do not conform to the wished of the
leader.

● Personal power - The leader’s personal power results from his personal
characteristics. It may be any or both of the following:
❖ Expert power - An expert who possess and can dispense valued
information generally exercise expert power over those in need of such
information
❖ Referent power - This power refers to the ability of leaders to develop
followers from the strength of their own personalities.
Theories about leadership
There are various theories about leadership and they may be regarded as attempts to
explain the various factors that may be identified with successful leadership.
Their outputs may be classified follows:
● Trait theories - consider leaders to process common traits. Early researchers on
leadership placed emphasis on traits and had resulted in the determination of a wide
span of personal attributes such as physical appearance, intelligence, and self-
confidence.

It was found out that average person who occupies a position of leadership
exceeds the average number of his group to some degree on the following
factors:
❖ Sociability; Persistence; Initiative; Knowing how to get things done;
Self-confidence; Alertness to and insight into situations;
Cooperativeness; Popularity; Adaptability; and Verbal facility

Later, researchers, guided by their findings, drafted a more general view of

what good leaders have in common. These consist of the following:
❖ Extraversion – individuals who like being around people and are
able to assert themselves.
❖ Conscientiousness – individual who are disciplined and keep
commitments that they make.
❖ Openness – individuals who are creative and flexible.
❖ Emotional intelligence – individuals who are able to understand and
manage their personal feelings and emotions, as well as their
emotions towards other individuals, events, and objects.

● Behavioral theories - After some years, trait theories were found to be inadequate
in explaining the basis for effective leadership.
Four theories related to leadership behavior will be presented in this section.
These are as follows:
❖ The Ohio State University studies - An important leadership
research program was started at Ohio State University during the late
1940s.

A questionnaire was administered in both industrial and military

setting to measure subordinates’ perception of their superiors’
leadership behavior.
The two dimensions were referred to as:
➔ Initiating structure refers to the extent to which a leader is
likely to define his or her role and those of employees in the
search for goal attainment.
- Structure is initiated by activities such as assigning
specific tasks, specifying procedures to be followed,
scheduling work, and clarifying expectations.
 ➔ Consideration describes the degree to which the leader
creates an environment of emotional support, warmth,
friendliness, and trust.

❖ The University of Michigan studies - At about the same time that

the Ohio State University was engaged in a research program on
leadership, the researchers at the University of Michigan were also
making attempts to locate behavioral characteristics of leaders that
appeared to be related to measures of performance effectiveness.

The effectiveness criteria used are as follows:

Productivity for work hour or other similar measures of the
organization’s success in achieving its production goals;
➔ Job satisfaction of members of the organization;
➔ Turnover, absenteeism and grievance rates;
➔ Costs;
➔ Scrap loss; and
➔ Employee and managerial motivation.

In the course of their studies, the researchers identified two distinct

styles of leadership:
➔ Job-centered managers - set tight work standards,
organized tasks carefully, prescribed the work decisions, and
helped to ensure high performance by engendering trust
rather than job-centered.
➔ Employee-centered managers - encouraged group members
to participate in goal setting and other work decisions.

❖ The Yukl studies - Other researchers like Gary M. Yukl made one
step further than Michigan and Ohio State studies. He and his
colleagues tried to seek answers to specific behavior of leaders for
varying situations. They were able to isolate nineteen behaviors
consisting of the following:
➔ Performance emphasis. The extent, to which a leader
emphasizes the importance of subordinate performance,
tries to improve productivity and efficiency, tries to keep
subordinates working up to their capacity, and checks on their
performance.
➔ Consideration. The extent to which a leader is friendly ,
supportive, and considerate in his or her behaviour toward
subordinates and tries to be fair and objective.
➔ Praise-Recognition. The extent to which a leader provides
praise and recognition to subordinates with effective
performance, shows appreciation for their special efforts and
contributions, and makes sure they get credit for their helpful
ideas and suggestions.
 ➔ Decision-Participation. The extent to which a leader consults
with subordinates and otherwise allows them to influence
his or her decisions.
➔ Training-Coaching. The extent to which a leader determines
training needs for subordinates and provides any necessary
training and coaching.
➔ Problem Solving. The extent to which a leader takes the
initiative in proposing solutions to serious work-related
problems and acts decisively to deal with such problems when
a prompt solution is needed.
➔ Work Facilitation. The extent to which leader obtains for
subordinates any necessary supplies, equipment, support
services, or other resources, eliminates problems in the work
environment, and removes other obstacle that interfere with
the work.
➔ Inspiration; Structuring reward contingencies; Autonomy-
Delegation; Role Clarification; Goal setting; Information
dissemination; Planning; Coordinating; Representation;
Interaction facilitation; Conflict management; and
Criticism-Discipline

❖ The Managerial Grid - Is a graphic portrayal of a two dimensional

view of leadership developed by Robert Blake and Jane Mouton. It
is an approach to understanding a manager’s concern for
production and concern for people. As such, the grid was for
Production and concern for people.

- The Managerial grid proposes that there is a best way to

manage people, i.e, the way used by the 9,9 manager, who
has 9 units of concern for production and 9 units of concern for
people.
- The grid has 9 possible positions along each axis, creating 81
different positions in which the leader’s style may fall.
Managers were found to perform best under a 9,9 style
rather than other style like 9,1 (the authority type) or 1,1 (the
laissez-faire type).

A brief description of selected styles in the grid is provided as follows:

➔ 1,1 Impoverished manager, also referred to as the laissez-
faire leaders.
➔ 1,9 Country club manager. Leaders in this position have
great concern for people and little concern for production,
they try to avoid conflicts and concentrate on being well-
liked.
➔ 9,1 Authority-obedience manager. Leaders in this position
have a great concern for production and little concern for
people.
 ➔ 5,5 Organization man manager, also called middle-of-the-
road manager. Leaders in this position have medium
concern for people and production..
➔ 9,9 Team manager. The leadership style of this manage is
considered to be ideal.

● Contingency theories - The trait and behavioral theories failed to point out that
leadership situations are not similar, and it is easy to presume that there is no single
leadership style that will fit all situations.

The various theories related to the situational approach to leadership consist of the
following:
❖ Continuum of Leadership Behavior – by Tannenbaum and Schmidt
The first contingency model of leadership was developed by Robert
Tannenbaum and Warren H. Schmidt and is referred to as the continuum of
leadership behavior.
The leader’s choices depend on three factors:
➔ Forces in the manager;
➔ Forces in the subordinates; and
➔ Forces in the situation.

Forces in the manager consist of; the manager’s background, knowledge,

values, and experience. How the manager will lead will primarily be
influenced by these forces.
In choosing an appropriate leadership style, the manager must also
consider the forces in subordinates:
➔ Are craving for independence and freedom of action;
➔ Want to have decision making responsibility;
➔ Identify with the organization’s goals;
➔ Are knowledgeable and experienced enough to deal with the
problem efficiently;
➔ Have experience with previous managers that lead them to
expect participative management.

❖ The Contigency Leadership Model – by Fiedler

When the above conditions are absent, managers will have to lean toward
the authoritarian style.
- This is a leadership model developed by Fred Fiedler which proposes
that effective group performance depends on the proper match
between the leader’s style and the degree to which the situation
favors the leaders.
- Fiedler measures leadership style through the use of the Least
Preferred Coworker (LCP) Scale which is actually an instrument that
assesses the degree of positive or negative feelings held by a
person toward someone with whom he or she least prefers to
work
 To determine how favorable the leadership environment is, Fiedler
maintains that it will depend on three factors:
➔ Leader-member relations refer to the degree of confidence,
trust, and respect the followers have in their leader.
➔ Task structure refers to the extent to which the tasks the
followers are engaged in are structured. Tasks structure is
high when the task is clearly specified and known as to:
- What followers are supposed to do;
- How they will do it;
- When and in what sequence it is to be done; and
- What decision options they have.
➔ Position power refers to the power inherent in the leadership
position. Generally, greater authority means greater
positions power. After identifying the leadership style of the
manager or leader, and after defining the situation, the next
move is to match the situation to the leader.

❖ The Path-Goal – by House and Mitchell

This is a leadership model developed by Robert House and Terrence
Mitchell that states that the leader’s job is to create a work environment
through structure, support, and rewards that helps employees reach the
organization’s goals.

The two major roles involved are:

➔ The creation of a good orientation; and
➔ The improvement of the path toward the goals so that they will be
attained.
House and Mitchell identified four leadership behaviors:
➔ The directive leader. This is the type of leader who lets followers
know what is expected of them, schedules work to be done, and
gives specific guidance as to how to accomplish tasks.
➔ The supportive leader. This is the type of leader who is friendly and
shows concern for the needs of followers.
➔ The participate leader. This is the leader who consults with
followers and uses their suggestions before making a decision.
➔ The achievement-oriented leader. This is the leader who sets
challenging goals and expects followers to perform at their highest
level.

* According to House, leaders are flexible and any of them can display any or
all these behaviors depending on their circumstances.

❖ The Hershey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theories

Developed by Paul Hershey and Kenneth Blanchard, the situational
Leadership Theory (SLT) suggests that leader’s style should be determined
by matching it will the maturity level (or readiness) of each subordinate.
- A person who has high task competence has the knowledge and
abilities to perform the job without a manager structuring or directing
 the work. A person who has high commitment has the self-motivation
and desire to do high quality work.

To match the various states of readiness by subordinates, Hershey

and Blanchard devised four leadership styles available to leaders:
➔ A “directing” style that is best for low follower readiness.
➔ A “coaching” style that is best for low to moderate follower
readiness.
➔ A “supporting” style that is best for moderate to high
follower readiness.
➔ A “delegating” style that is best for high readiness.

❖ The Leader-Member Exchange Approach – by Graen

This refers to the leadership theory developed by George Graen and his
associates which recognize that leaders develop unique working relationships
with each group member.

The effect of leader-member relations come into view when the leader,
knowingly of unknowingly, creates in-groups and out-groups within the
organization.
➔ In-group members have attitudes and values similar to those of the
leader and interact frequently with the leader.
➔ Out-group members are treated in accordance with a more formal
understanding of supervisor-subordinate relations.

❖ The Normative Decision Model – by Vroom and Jago

Also known as ‘the leader-participation model” and “decision making
model of leadership”, the normative decision model was developed by
Victor and Arthur Jago to make it more accurate.

Five decision making styles are presented by the normative model, each
reflecting a different degree of participating by group members:
➔ Autocratic I – the leader individually solves the problem using the
information already available.
➔ Autocratic II – the leader obtains data from subordinates and then
decides.
➔ Consultative I – the leader explains the problem to individual
subordinates and obtains ideas from each before deciding.
➔ Consultative II – the leader meets with group subordinates to share
the problem and obtain inputs, and then decides.
➔ Group II – the leader shares problem with group and facilitates a
discussion of alternatives aiming to reach a group agreement on a
solution.

The normative decision model is based on the following assumptions:

➔ The leader can accurately classify problems according to the criteria
offered.
 ➔ The leader is able and willing to adapt his or her leadership style to fit
the contingency condition he or she faces.
➔ The leader is willing to use a rather complex model.
➔ The employees will accept the legitimacy of different styles being used
for different problems, as well as the validity of the leader’s
classification of the situation at hand.
➔ The normative model will be useful; if all these assumptions are valid.

❖ The Muczyk-Reimann Model

This model was developed by Jan P. Muczyk and Bernard C. Reimann, and
it suggests that “participation” behavior is concerned with the degree to
which subordinates are allowed to be involved in decision making.

To make delegation effective, four leadership styles are considered:

➔ The directive autocrat. The leader makes decisions
unilaterally and closely supervises the activities of
subordinates.
➔ The permissive autocrat. This leader makes decisions
unilaterally but allows subordinates a great deal of latitude in
execution.
➔ The directive democrat. This leader wants full participation
but closely supervises subordinate activity.
➔ The permissive democrat. This leader allows high
participation in decision making and in execution.

Chapter 9 - Conflict and Negotiation

Conflict in the workplace is inevitable, and when it happens, there is always that great
tendency for it to disrupt the flow of productive activities in the organization.
- Conflict in organizations may be defined as any situation in which incompatible
goals, attitudes, emotions or behaviors lead to disagreement or opposition
between two or more parties.
IT CAN BE:
● Constructive conflict is a healthy, constructive disagreement between two or
more people. It can benefit the organization by means of the following:
➔ the production of new ideas, learning and growth among individuals;
➔ people engaged in constructive conflict develop a better awareness of
themselves and others;
➔ working relationships are improved when two parties work through their
disagreement;
➔ morale is improved when tensions are released and problems solved in
working together;
➔ constructive conflict can lead to innovation and positive change for the
organization; and
➔ increased productivity may be expected.
 ● Destructive conflicts can decrease work productivity and job satisfaction and
contribute and job turnover.

LEVELS OF CONFLICT
● Intrapersonal - Is that kind that a person faces internally, as when an individual
experiences personal frustration, anxiety and stress.
Intrapersonal conflict of the following types:
➔ Approach-approach conflict which occurs when an individual must choose
between two positive and equally attractive alternatives.
➔ Avoidance-avoidance conflict which occurs when an individual must
choose between two negative or equally unattractive alternatives.
➔ Approach-avoidance conflict which occurs when a person must decide to
do something that has positive and negative consequences.

● Interpersonal - Is that type of conflict that occurs between two or more individuals
who are in opposition to one another. This type of conflict may be classified into
three sub-types:
➔ Substantive conflict. This occurs when there is fundamental disagreement
over ends or goals to be pursued and the means for their accomplishment.
➔ Emotional conflict. This type of conflict involves interpersonal difficulties
that arise over feelings of anger, mistrust, dislike, fear, resentment, and the
like.
➔ Substantive and emotional conflict. This type is a combination of the two
types cited above.

● intergroup - Conflict that occurs among groups in an organization is referred to as

intergroup conflict. This type of conflict may also be sub-classified as either
substantive, emotional, or both.
➔ Intergroup conflict is quite common in organizations, and it can make
coordination and integration of task activities very difficult.

● Interorganizational - Is that type of conflict that occurs between organizations. It is

most commonly referred to the competition and rivalry among firms operating in
the same markets.

SOURCES OF CONFLICT
● Structural factors - The sources of conflict may be attributed to structural factors
which refers to the nature of the organization and the way in which work is
organized. Structural factors include:
❖ Specialization - When people specialize on their jobs, they become less
aware of the tasks that others perform. For example, a person who works all
day inside his air-conditioned office as a credit specialist will have limited
knowledge about the difficulties of the job of the field salesman.
❖ Interdependence - When two or more units depend on each other in
completing their respective tasks, work interdependence exists. Such
situation has a potential for conflict, especially if it is badly managed.
❖ common resources - When an organization’s resources are shared by two
or more parties, a potential for conflict is created. The possibility of conflict
 becomes greater when the resources becomes scare. For example, the
use of five company vehicles is shared by various units of the company.
When the activities of the units are doubled, a conflict may occur.
❖ goal differences - Different work units sometimes have goals that are
incompatible. When this is the case, conflict is not far behind. An example is
bank that has a unit assigned to dispose assets acquired by the bank.
❖ authority relationships - How the superior and the subordinates feel
about each other may sometimes be cause for conflict. Some people can
take an authoritarian boss, but some cannot, and this may create conflict.
❖ status inconsistencies - In many large companies, managers have certain
privileges like the free use of company cars, flexible work schedules, the use
of company telephone, cell phone privileges, parking space, and the like. If
these are not available to non-managerial employees, resentment and
conflict becomes a possibility.
❖ jurisdictional ambiguities - Sometimes, there are situations when a part of
the company’s overall tasks is left without a clear indication on who
should be responsible. For example, handling customer complaints was not
assigned specifically to any employee of the customer complaints.

● Personal factors - comprise another broad another category of the causes of

conflict. These factors are the result of individual differences which include:
❖ skill and abilities - People working in organizations have varying levels of
skills and abilities. Because of this, conflict may occur. For instance,
experienced workers who have a deadline to beat or a quota to produce will
find it hard to work alongside new and unskilled workers. Also, when the
supervisor do not possess the technical skills required in the performance of
tasks in his particular unit, workers may develop a negative attitude towards
him. If that happens, conflict is not far behind.
❖ Personalities - People do not think feel, look, or act alike and these
personality differences can cause conflict. Apart from such reality, experts
have identified certain personality types as conflict magnets.
Conflict-causing personalities may be described as follows:
➔ The aggressor. This is that type of person who is a verbal
bully and who is likely to shout, thump the table, or point the
finger in order to emphasize his point. He or she cause
unhappiness and friction within the group and may become
involved in a one-on-one confrontation with another member of
the group.
➔ The passive aggressor. He or she is that person who
manages to block progress at every turn. He or she never
volunteers to do anything, never puts forward any ideas or
suggestions of his or her own, and never works as hard as he
or she is capable of doing.
➔ The chronic absentee. This person makes repeated
absences from work.
➔ The person who makes too many errors.
 ➔ The negative person. This person is always critical of other
people and their achievements. A variation of the negative
person is the one who foresees failure in every suggestion.
➔ The chatterbox. This person is one who often comes into a
workplace, full of gossip or inconsequential new, and distract
or disturb workers from their production activities.
➔ The do-nothing person. This person does not want to do
anything because he or she is scared of making a mistake.
This forces others to do what he or she is supposed to do.
When this happens, conflict becomes highly probable.
➔ The unreliable person. This person wants to do liked by
others and because of this, he agrees to do what everyone
asks. He even volunteers to undertake further tasks and to
help any or all of his colleagues. Because he gets himself
overloaded with work, he ends up unable to do most of the
tasks he set himself to do.
➔ The time-waster. This is the person who thinks company
time can be spent for his own personal benefit like using it
for personal telephone calls, preparing a shopping list, or
playing computer games.
➔ The resentful person. This is the person who always feel
resentment. What he does negatively affect others. His feeling
of resentment is a result of any or all of the following:
- Personal dislike of a certain person
- Bigotry (prejudice against a particular race or culture)
- Prejudice against women
- Prejudice against younger people
❖ Perceptions - Conflicts may also be caused by differences in perception. For
instance, when employee output or performance cannot be measured
accurately, the perception game will come into play.
❖ values and ethics - Differences in values and ethics among workers can be
a source of disagreement. When a new employee works hard as expected by
his superior, he may be regarded by the old workers as trying to do
something that may expose their shortcomings.
❖ Emotions - Uncontrolled emotions can cause conflicts among workers. For
instance, a worker just had a violent quarrel with his spouse, his anger may
spill over his work area. This first incident may be forgiven, but when it
becomes a habit, a conflict may be in the offing.
❖ communication barriers - When communication between workers is not
effective, a requisite for conflict is laid out. One of the barriers to effective
communication is language and an example may be provided. For instance, a
worker barely understands the language of his superior and because of this,
he thinks his performance will be affected. Nobody in his group could help
him, and he feels frustrated and helpless.

STAGES OF CONFLICT
Conflicts develop in stages, or at least most of them. The stages consist of the following:
● antecedent conditions - The source of conflict are the antecedent conditions that
set the first stage of conflicts. An example is the presence of the negative person.
● perceived and felt conflicts - The second stage in the conflict process consists
either the perceived conflict or the felt conflict.
- Perceived conflict refers to the awareness by one or more parties of the
existence of conditions that create opportunities for conflict to occur. For
example, two departments of the company may want to occupy the
company’s newly constructed building.
* Perceived conflict may or may not lead to felt conflict.
- Felt conflict is that stage of the conflict process wherein emotional
involvement becomes a part of the conflict creating anxiety, tension,
frustration or hostility.

● manifest conflict - Is that stage in the conflict process where the conflicting parties
are actively engaged in conflict behavior. There may be verbal, written, or even
physical attacks.
● conflict resolution or suppression - Occurs when the reasons for the conflict are
eliminated.
There are various techniques used in resolving conflicts. These are the following:
➔ Problem Solving. This is a face-to-face meeting of the conflicting parties for
the purpose of identifying the problem and resolving it through open
discussion.
➔ Superordinate goals. In this technique, a shared goal that cannot be
attained without the cooperation of each of the conflicting parties is
created. An example is the survival of the company which cannot be possible
if the demand for salary is not withdrawn.
➔ Expansion of resources. When scarcity of resources is the cause of
conflict (e.g., money, promotions, opportunities, work space) The expansion
of resources could avert the conflict.
➔ Smoothing. This is the technique where differences are played down while
emphasizing common interests between the conflicting parties.
➔ Compromise. This is the technique wherein each party to the conflict gives
up something of value, for instance, management agrees to grant
educational benefits for children of employees provided that the demand for
housing allowances is withdrawn.
➔ Altering the structural variables. This technique involves changing the
formal organizational structure and the interaction patterns of
conflicting parties through job redesign, transfer, creation of coordinating
positions and the like.

Suppression is a superficial and temporary form of resolving conflicts. When

conflict is suppressed, it may continue to fester and cause conflict similar issues:
➔ Avoidance. This happens when the manager is faced with quarrelling
groups but avoids taking position. Other forms of avoidance consist of (a)
pretending to be unaware that conflict exists; and (b) refusal to deal with
conflict by stalling and repeatedly postponing action.
 ➔ Authoritative command. This happens when management uses its formal
authority to resolve the conflict and the communicates its desire to the
parties involved.

● conflict aftermath - What happens after the conflict may be regarded as either
positive or negative development. Unresolved conflicts can result in sustained
emotional discomfort and escalate into dysfunctional emotional conflict between
individuals. When a conflict is resolved, however, it may establish conditions that
reduce the potential for future conflicts ,and if they so occur, it will be easier to deal
with them.

Negotiation
When a conflict is already in existence, negation may seem to be the best strategy. This may
be so especially in complex conflicts.
- Negotiation may be defined as a process in which two or more parties attempt to
reach an acceptable agreement in a situation characterized by some level of
disagreement.

Negotiation could be useful if the following conditions are present:

➔ There are two or more parties;
➔ There is a conflict of interest between the parties. For example, one party
prefers housing privileges as an employment benefit, while the other party
wants transportation allowances;
➔ The parties are willing to negotiate; and
➔ They prefer to work together than to fight openly, give in, break off contact, or
take the dispute to a higher authority.

Major Negotiating Approaches

● Distributive Bargaining. This is that negotiation approach wherein the goals of the
parties are in conflict, and each party seeks to maximize its share of the
resources. This win-lose approach is really a process of dividing or
“distributing” scare resources.
- An example of this approach is the win-lose negotiation undertaken in the
budgeting sessions of the national government where each department
attempts to negotiate the best budget for itself, invariably at the expense of
some other department. Another example is the negotiation in organizations
that take place between labor and management.
● Integrative Negotiation. This is a negotiation approach in which the goals of the
parties are not regarded as mutually exclusive and in which the focus is on making
it possible for both sides to achieve their objectives.
An example may be provided as follows:
- The training unit of a company was ordered by top management to provide a
series of training sessions to all employees. The heads of the various
departments, however, are worried about the reduction in the number of
working days that have been allotted to achieve their respective departmental
targets. Clearly, the objectives of the training unit and the other department
are in conflict.
 - To solve the problem, the parties agreed that training will be done on days
that the employees are not very busy.

The Negotiation Process

The negotiation process consists of five steps:
● preparation and planning
In the first step, the person assigned to negotiation for a certain party should
determine the following:
- the nature of the conflict
- the history leading up to this negotiation
- who are involved and what are their perceptions of the conflict
- what his party wants from the negotiation
- what his group is prepared to accept
- what the other party wants from the negotiation
- what intangible or hidden interests may be important to them
- what the other party is prepared accept
- what negotiation strategy may be adapted

● definition of ground rules

The next step is to define the group rules and procedures with other party over the
negotiation itself. As such, the following concerns must be cleared:
- who will do the negotiating
- where will the negotiation take place
- what time constraints, if any, will apply
- to what issues will negotiation be limited
- what specific procedures must be followed if an impasse is reached

● clarification and justification

In this step, the parties may need to explain, amplify, clarify, bolster, and justify the
original demands of each other. This must be done in a nonconfrontational
manner.

● bargaining and problem solving

In this step, the parties will make an attempt to reach an agreement through give-
and-take action like the offering and acceptable of concessions. There are
occasions when bargaining and problem solving would be easier to undertake if it is
aided by focusing on a superordinate goal.

● closure and implementation

This final step involves formalizing the agreement that has been worked out and
developing any procedure that are necessary for implementation and
monitoring.
- Major negotiations usually require formal contracts. Otherwise, a
handshake would indicate closure of the negotiation.