LECTURE 1:

UNDERSTANDING WORKPLACE
COMMUNICATION
COMMUNICATION
 Communication is the process of
sending and receiving messages.
 The essence of communication is
sharing, providing data, information,
and insights in an exchange that benefits
both you and with whom you are
communicating.
THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION
SKILLS
 Stronger decision making and faster problem
solving.
 Earlier warning of potential problems.
 Increased productivity and steadier workflow.
 Stronger business relationships.
 Clearer and more persuasive marketing
messages.
CHALLENGES FOR BUSINESS
COMMUNICATORS
 The ongoing development of new
Information Technologies.
 The increasingly global nature of
business.
 Growing diversity in the workplace and
in types of workplace.
MAIN CATEGORIES OF BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION

 Internal-Operational Communication
 External-Operational Communication
 Personal Communication
COMMUNICATION NETWORKS OF THE
ORGANIZATION

 The Formal Network

 The Informal Network

THE FORMAL NETWORK
 The formal network consists of the official,
more stable lines of communication.

 Each company has its preferred

communication forms or genres for
conducting its business.
THE INFORMAL NETWORK

 The informal network, consisting

largely of personal communications, is
highly complex and ever changing.
 Grapevine
VARIATION IN COMMUNICATION
ACTIVITY BY BUSINESS

 How much and what kinds of

communicating a business does
depends on the nature of the business,
its operating plan, its environment, its
geographic dispersion, and the people
involved.
 WHAT IS AN
ORGANIZATIONAL
CULTURE?

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ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
 Organizational culture is the ways of perceiving or
doing things; it is the medium of preferred values
and practices in which the company’s members do
their work.
 Each business has its own organizational culture,
which has a strong effect upon, and is strongly
affected by, the company’s communication.
A MODEL OF BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION
 Organizational Contexts
 Professional Contexts
 Personal Contexts
THE PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION
1. Sensing a communication need
2. Defining the situation
3. Considering possible communication strategies
4. Selecting a course of action
5. Composing the message
6. Sending the message
7. Receiving the message
8. Interpreting the message
9. Deciding on a response
10. Replying to the message