Chapter 6

Exercises

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Skills Practice 6.1: Field Experience: Analyzing Communication Issues in Real World Organizations

Objectives

To develop a better understanding of the type of communication issues that people in real world organizations have to deal with.
To develop a better understanding of how managers handle communication issues in the real world.

Procedure

Identify a manager who works in a real world business organization. Ask the managers if you can interview each of them for approximately 30–45 minutes.
When you meet with each manager, ask the following questions.
How would you describe your communication style? Can you give me an example of a situation you were in that illustrates this communication style?
What are the most difficult challenges you face in terms of communicating with various people you deal with in your organization? How do you handle them?
Why is communicating effectively with people in organizations challenging? What is the cost of poor communication to the effectiveness of an organization?
What do you think are the most important things for an individual to do to be an effective communicator in a real world organization? Why?

Optional: Repeat questions 2a-d by interviewing one or two employees of the manager you interviewed above.
Summarize the results of your interviews.

Discussion Questions

What did your interview(s) illustrate about the why communication can be such a difficult challenge for managers in real world organizations?
Based on the summary of your interviews, what do you feel are the most important things to remember about communicating effectively in real world business organizations?

Skills Practice 6.2: Effective Speaking

Skills Practice Worksheet 6.2

Objective

To develop skill in making effective presentations to different types of audiences.

Procedure

Select a topic (e.g., a theory or concept) to use as a basis for your speeches from any content area in this book.
Read the following case scenarios.
Select one scenario, and prepare a 3–5 minute speech to present to your class.
Present the speech, and obtain feedback from your classmates regarding the effectiveness of your speech.
Talk about the discussion questions that follow.

Skill Practice Scenarios

Case 1—Senior Executives: You have been asked to make a brief presentation of your topic to a group of senior executives at your company. Your goal is to explain your topic to them in an appropriate manner and to convince them that your chosen topic is important to the success of the organization.
Case 2—Entry-Level Supervisors with Little Formal Education: You have been asked to make a brief presentation of your topic to a group of entry-level supervisors with little formal education. Your goal is to provide them with a clear understanding of the topic and to see why it is important to them in their jobs.

Discussion Questions

What kinds of adjustments did you make in order to take into consideration the characteristics of your audience?
What are the implications of this exercise for you as a team leader or member in the future?

Skills Practice 6.3: Active Listening Skills

Skills Practice Worksheet 6.3

Objective

To use active learning to develop skill in capturing the meaning of messages communicated by others in order to enhance one’s understanding of a work situation or issue.

Procedure

Find a partner in your class. Try to work with someone you do not know, if possible.
Work through the following exercise.
Answer the discussion questions at the end of this exercise.

Active Listening Exercise

Step 1:: One person should assume the role of the “speaker” (storyteller) and the other person should play the role of the “listener.” After one round of the exercise is completed, the roles should be switched.
Step 2:: (The Speaker) Think about the best (or worst) job you have ever held. Tell your partner why you liked (or disliked) this job so much (e.g., coworkers, type of work, pay). Try to provide as much detail as possible by using specific examples.
Step 3:: (The Listener) Try to use active listening in listening to your partner’s description of his/her favorite/worst job. You can do this by trying to capture the meaning of what your partner is saying rather than just the words spoken. This means that you should consider nonverbal cues (e.g., facial expressions, posture) as well as the emotions you observe in the other person as he/she is speaking (e.g., enthusiasm, frustration). Occasionally, you should try to “reality test” your understanding of what the other person is saying by making a statement such as “So what I hear you saying is . . .” or “So what you mean is . . .” This is to ensure that your understanding of what the speaker is trying to communicate to you is accurate. Sometimes this is called “being on the same page.” When the other person has completed his/her story, try to summarize, in your own words, the main ideas or points he/she made. This is an excellent test of whether you actually understand the main ideas contained in his/her message.
Step 4:: Switch roles and repeat Steps 1 and 2.

Discussion Questions

What is your reaction to this exercise in terms of trying to listen more actively? Why do you feel this way?
How can active listening skills help you to become a more effective manager in the real world? What are the problems associated with not using active listening when you communicate with other people?
What are the practical implications of this exercise for you as a future team leader or member?

Flashcards

Case study #1: Never Leave Internal Communications to Chance in Midsized Companies

http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertsher/2014/07/17/never-leave-internal-communications-to-chance-in-midsized-companies/

Discussion Questions

What are some strategies that Hurricane used to effectively foster communication in teams?
What additional actions could Hurricane take to improve communication procedures?
Describe some key takeaways for managing internal communication in organizations?

Sample Answers to Discussion Questions

What are some strategies that Hurricane uses to effectively foster communication in teams?

Sample Answer

They called a meeting with the senior leadership team with the sole focus of improving internal communications.
Three standing committees were formed and met twice a year – food and beverage, marketing, and the President’s Advisory Council composed of the top franchisees.
Frequent communications were sent out via e-mail and phone when requested.
A formal plan was committed to paper.
Repeat invitations for meetings were sent out to key players extending out a year.
They implemented a procedure for rolling out new changes that involve the three standing committees.

What additional actions could Hurricane take to improve communication procedures?

Sample Answer

They could have conducted surveys and focus groups of organizational members to solicit input in designing future changes.
They could have conducted town hall meetings where employees could show up and ask questions and get answers from senior executives about issues of concern to them.
They could have implemented a suggestion system for employees to submit ideas for making improvements.
They could have sent out communication updates to other stakeholders including customers and suppliers.

Describe some key takeaways for managing internal communication in organizations?

Sample Answer

Effective internal communication requires a systems multi-faceted and systematic approach that involves all key players in an organization.
Effective internal communications must be driven by a formal action plan that extends out as far out into the future as possible.
Effective internal communications must focus on building buy-in for key initiatives and changes from the internal stakeholders within an organization.

Case Study #2: Dysfunctional Teams

IT Engineer Team: http://platinum-performance.com/case-study-2/

Senior Executive Team: http://www.atkintek.com/case2.html

HR Team: http://www.whatskeepingyouupatnight.com/case-studies/kathleen-a-dysfunctional-team.html

Note: Please read the brief cases above and use them as a basis for answering the questions below.

Discussion Questions

Identify and describe the team communication issues facing the teams in the cases.
Identify and evaluate the strategies used to enhance the effectiveness of communication in the teams in the cases.
What are the practical implications from this case for managing communication in real world teams?

Sample Answers to Discussion Questions

Identify and describe the team communication issues facing the teams in the cases.

Sample Answer

IT Engineer Team

They needed to rely on e-mail as their primary form of communication as a team.
The team had experienced a number of changes in personnel and this damaged working relationships and communications within the team.

Senior Executive Team

As the executives became busy, they stopped having meetings.
One executive had trouble understanding and discussing strategic issues.
One executive has trouble with listening to issues.
Additional team members are added, but this creates more breakdowns in communication between the overall team.

HR Team

As the size of the team grew, the team leader had to step back to focus on strategic issues and this changed the culture of the team and created a negative attitude among team members.
Team members went to the manager and complained about a variety of issues they were upset about in the department.

Identify and evaluate the strategies used to enhance the effectiveness of

communication in the teams in the cases.

Sample Answer

IT Engineer Team: Classroom-based teamwork training programs and experiential team-building activities were both effective in building trust and opening communication between members of the team.

Senior Executive Team: There were no formal interventions to address the issues facing the team. What was needed was a more formal, action plan to bring all of the members of the team together and to better coordinate the activities of the team. An outside team facilitator would have been helpful in this situation as this type of person would focus on enhancing communication and developing a better approach for getting things done.

HR Team: Consultants came in to develop a formal action plan for improving the situation with the team including the definition of a new reporting relationship structure for the team, one-one meetings with team members, and clarification of each team member’s role on the team.

What are the practical implications from this case for managing communication in real world teams?

Sample Answer

Team leaders need to focus on fostering an environment and culture on teams where members can feel comfortable speaking openly about issues or concerns they may have about the team and its task.
Meetings are a key mechanism for managing a team process – team leaders need to ensure that regular meetings are held and that they involve all team members.
Team leaders need to ensure that they provide timely and complete information to team members so they are “in the loop” in issues that affect them.

Additional Resources

Articles on Teams

Main Barriers to Communication: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/main-barriers-communication-3051.html
Seven Ways to Overcome Barriers to Communication: http://www.mtdtraining.com/blog/7-ways-to-overcome-barriers-to-communication.htm
Ten Rules of Effective Speaking – Dale Carnegie: http://blog.dalecarnegie.com/leadership/10-rules-of-public-speaking/
How to Do Public Speaking and Presentations: http://managementhelp.org/communicationsskills/public-speaking.htm
Active Listening – Hear What People are Really Saying: https://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/ActiveListening.htm
Active Listening: http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/active-listening.html
What is Coaching? How to Be an Effective Coach: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_15.htm
Coaching – Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/topic/Coaching
Nonverbal Communication: http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/nonverbal-communication.html
Nonverbal Communication in Business: http://www.bizmove.com/skills/m8g.htm
Proxemics: http://proxemics.weebly.com/types-of-proxemics.html

Videos on Teams

Communication Process: Video Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKS8_twukYM
Barriers to Communication: http://study.com/academy/lesson/barriers-to-effective-communication-definition-examples.html
Keys to Team Success: Communication: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_FvikFFKvg
Perceptual Errors in the Workplace: http://study.com/academy/lesson/perceptual-errors-in-the-workplace-factors-that-distort-perception.html
How Perception Influences the Communication Process: http://study.com/academy/lesson/how-perception-influences-the-communication-process.html
Factors that Influence Perception in the Workplace: http://study.com/academy/lesson/factors-that-influence-perception-in-the-workplace.html
Five Basic Public Speaking Tips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AykYRO5d_lI
Speaking Mistakes to Avoid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcSbpKIWPHI
Everyone Loves Raymond Uses Active Listening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VOubVB4CTU
Improving Your Listening Skills Using Active Listening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2z9mdX1j4A
Nonverbal Communication for the Birds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihKXQbYeV5k

Books on Teams

Harris, T.E. (2008). Small Group and Team Communication. Boston: Pearson, Allyn and Bacon.
Hogan, K. & Syubbs, R. (2003). Can’t Get Enough: 8 Barriers to Communication. Pelican Publishing. Gretna: Pelican Publishers.
Gallo, C. (2015). Talk Like TED. The Nine Public Speaking Secrets of the World’s Top Minds. New York: Carmine Gallo Publishers.
Lucas, S. (2011). Art of Public Speaking (11 ed). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Walker, F. & Gibson, J. (2011). The Art of Active Listening: How to Double Your Communication Skills in 30 Days.
Hoppe, M. (2006). Active Listening: Improve Your Ability to Listen and Lead. Greensboro: Center for Creative Leadership.

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