To table a document in the UK means to put it forward for discussion; in the US it means to postpone it indefinitely. Try to imagine the confusion that ensued during some delicate negotiations when delegates from the US put forward a document which set out their negotiating position, and the UK delegation insisted that it should ‘be tabled’.
One product of globalisation may be convergence – different cultures becoming more and more similar. Culture clash, or the disturbances and
misunderstandings arising when two or more different cultures converge, is still an important barrier to communication, but it may become less so in the future, now that we can travel, or at least see images from, all over the world, extending our experience and understanding.
4.3 Organisational culture
Just as a country has a defined culture, and an individual has his/her own cultural background, so it is with an organisation. The culture of an organisation depends partly
on the environment in which it operates, and companies can be seen to be identifiably British or American or Japanese and so on. Organisational culture is influenced even more, however, by the individuals which make up the whole, and most especially by the leaders and managers of the organisation. This means that the barriers and filters at work in an individual can also operate in much the same way in an organisation. At the extreme, a phenomenon known as excessive conformity can occur; this means that members of the group are willing to take part in actions as part of that group which they would not be willing to do as individuals. This willingness can become an unquestioning belief in the rightness of the objectives of the organisation, with ethical and moral considerations being ignored. The group creates negative stereotypes for individuals outside the organisation, and for rival organisations, and becomes deaf to messages from outside. At the very worst, self-appointed ‘mind-guards’ protect the organisation’s leaders, filter information and exert pressure on dissenters. This is the extreme, it should be emphasised, and organisational culture usually exercises a much less sinister influence, often, indeed, being beneficial.
4.4 Groups
Groups may owe their homogeneity to race, geography, religion, gender, sexual orientation, educational background, social class, age, etc. These all have a profound effect on the way people think, behave and communicate. None of these groups has clear-cut boundaries, and there are considerable differences and variations within a group as well as between groups, with overlap as well where people belong to more than one group. Not every woman is a feminist; homosexuals with different educational backgrounds do not all share a world view; Jews do not all vote in the same way, and not every Muslim comes from Pakistan. It is important of course to be aware of the many influences at work within an individual with whom you need to communicate; far more important, however, is to be aware of them as individuals, and to realise that their very individuality will certainly have modified and may even have outweighed all these other influences. Above all, avoid stereotyping. Training in this area is available, and could be invaluable.
5
The external environment and organisational
change
Organisations have always been subject to change, but the speed of development, the ease with which we now communicate, and globalisation have all much exacerbated the influence of factors in the business environment. The many different elements making up the business environment are summed up in the acronym PESTLE, which is sometimes expanded by the addition of the letter C to PESTLE C:
● political ● economic ● socio-cultural ● technological
CHAPTER 2 Effective communication 23
excessive conformity
A social psychological phenomenon in which the norms, values and behaviours of an individual increasingly follow those of a wider group. Members of the group are unquestioning in their belief in the rightness of the group, and there is considerable pressure to conform, with minority views being suppressed.
● legal ● ecological ● competitive.
The result is that many organisations demand more and more that their managers and staff ‘scan’ the environment and their competitors’ behaviour to look for signs of impending change. If staff do not fully report what they find on these issues, one problem for senior managers will be feedback starvation; they become less effective because they are not sufficiently aware of what is happening around them, not just in their own organisation, but also to competitors and the environment. Effective communication is an essential feature in the recognition, acceptance and implementation of organisational change.
5.1 Relationships
Communication is interpreted in terms of the relationship we have with the other person. The same message can have different meanings depending on who is sending and who receiving it. If I say to my boss ‘Do you think you could do this for me, please?’, I am making a polite request; a request, moreover, they can refuse. If I say the same thing to my son, I could be making a polite request, but, more likely, I am issuing an instruction in a rather sarcastic way; an instruction which, of course, he is not permitted to refuse! It is worth noting that while the words might be exactly the same, the
intonation and emphasis would, of course, be very different. Relationships are not just between individuals, however, They can occur between organisations, and need to be understood if a company is going to be successful in selling its services to another company.
PART ONE Communication theory 24
Q
Q
A
A
Putting the case
2.1
Jane Taylor finds that her new job has greatly expanded the number and range of groups with which she needs to communicate. What are the issues she needs to think about most in this connection? How can she best address the challenges this part of her job presents? Most important – she must avoid stereotyping anyone because of the group they belong to, or she perceives they belong to, and she must make sure her staff appreciate the importance of this,
too. They should all recognise the importance of the groups, and especially those representing different cultures, since business with people in other countries seems to be an important part of the company’s work. She should try to enlist the support of her manager to help her to organise training for her and her staff in recognising the various groups she will come across, and in being sympathetic and empathetic in dealing with them.
Identify three types of culture that can influence communication.
Summary
● Communicators should choose the method appropriate to the message to be conveyed, and to the person(s) who will receive it.
● Communication must be planned. Think about who, why, what, how, and remember to build in from the start the ways you will receive feedback. ● Effective communication comes about because of attention to:
● the relevance of the message to the person receiving it ● the logic and structure of the mode
● the involvement of the person receiving the message ● repetition of the content to reinforce understanding.
● If the message you send is not understood, there is no message. Be aware of the filters and barriers which may block its path or dilute its effect, and look for feedback to assure you that it has been safely received, understood and acted upon.
● Be aware of all the external factors that may act on the message – differences in language and culture, the attitudes of the recipients, changes happening in the organisation and the wider environment.