Question 1

Personal Barriers a) Individual Attributes That Hinder Communication "Is it them or is it me?" How often have you wondered, when someone has shown a surprising response to something you said, how the miscommunication happened? Let's examine nine personal barriers that contribute to miscommunication." b) Variable Skills in Communicating Effectively As we all know, some people are simply better communicators than others. They have the speaking skills, the vocabulary, the facial expressions, the eye contact, the dramatic ability, the "gift of gab" to express themselves in a superior way. Conversely, other people don't have this quality. But better communication skills can be learned. c) Variations in How Information Is Processed & Interpreted Are you from a working- class or privileged background? Arc you from a particular ethnic group? Are you better at math or at language? Are you from a chaotic household filled with alcoholism and fighting, which distracts you at work?

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Because people use different frames of reference and experiences to interpret the world around them, they are selective about what things have meaning to them and what don't. All told, these differences affect what we say and what we think we hear. d)Variations in Trustworthiness & Credibility Without trust between you and the other person, communication is apt to be flawed. Instead of communicating, both of you will be concentrating on defensive tactics, not the meaning of the message being exchanged. 18 How will subordinates react to you as a manager if your predecessors in your job lied to them? They may give you the benefit of a doubt, but they may be waiting for the first opportunity to be confirmed in the belief that you will break their trust. e) Oversized Egos Our egosour pride, our self-esteem, even arroganceare a fifth barrier. Egos can cause political battles, turf wars, and the passionate pursuit of power, credit, and resources. Egos influence how we treat each other as well as how receptive we are to being influenced by others. Ever had someone take credit for an idea that was yours? Then you know how powerful ego feelings can be. f) Faulty Listening Skills When you go to a party, do people ever ask questions of you and about who you are and what you're doing? Or are they too ready to talk about themselves? And do they seem to be waiting for you to finish talking so that they can then resume

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saying what they want to say? (But here's a test: Do you actually listen when they're talking?) g) Tendency to Judge Others' Messages Suppose another student in this class sees you reading this text and says, "I like the book we're reading." You might say, "I agree." Or you might say, "I disagreeit's boring." The point is that we all have a natural tendency, according to psychologist Carl Rogers, to judge others' statements from our own point of view (especially if we have strong feelings about the issue). h) Inability to Listen with Understanding To really listen with understanding, you have to imagine yourself in the other person's shoes. Or, as Rogers and his coauthor put it, you have to "see the expressed idea and attitude from the other person's point of view, to sense how it feels to him, to achieve his frame of reference in regard to the thing he is talking about." When you listen with understanding, it makes you feel less defensive (even if the message is criticism) and improves your accuracy in perceiving the message. i) Stereotypes & Prejudices A stereotype consists of oversimplified beliefs about a certain group of people. There are, for instance, common stereotypes about old people, young people, males, and females. Wouldn't you hate to be categorized according to just a couple of exaggerated attributesby your age and gender, for example? ("Young men arc reckless." "Old women are scolds," Yes, some young men and some old women are
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this way, but it's unrealistic and unfair to tar every individual in these groups with the same brush.)

Question 2
Eleven Ways Cultures Become Embedded in Organizations Those who found a business, and the managers who follow them, essentially use a teaching process to embed the values, beliefs, expectations, behaviors, and business philosophy that constitute the organization's culture. Among the mechanisms used are the following. 1. Formal Statements The first way to embed preferred culture is through the use of formal statements of organizational philosophy, mission, vision, values, as well as materials used for recruiting, selecting, and socializing employees. Example: Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton stated that three basic values represented the core of the retailer's culture: (1) respect for the individual, (2) service to customers, and (3) striving for excellence. 2. Slogans & Sayings The desirable corporate culture can be expressed in language, slogans, sayings, and acronyms. Example: Robert Mittelstaedt, Dean of the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, promotes his goal of having a world- class

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university through the slogan "top-of-mind business school." This slogan encourages instructors to engage in activities that promote quality education and research. 3. Stories, Legends, & Myths A highly valued resource at The Associates is time. To reinforce the importance of not wasting time, many stories circulate about senior managers missing planes or being locked out of meetings because they were late. 4. Leader Reactions to Crises How top managers respond to critical incidents and organizational crises sends a clear cultural message. Example: Canadian Dov Chamcy got into the clothing business as a college student, when he would buy thousands of T- shirts at Kmart, then import them via a U-Haul truck into Canada. Then he dropped out of college, borrowed SI0,000 from his father, and moved to South Carolina to manufacture clothes just at a time when the rest of the garment industry found it was cheaper to make clothing overseas. Charney filed for bankruptcy but then moved his company to California, determined to make it work. "1 knew I could do it differently, and 1 knew I could turn it around," he said. "Passion" is the key to success. When you believe in what you're doing, that's the first thing. And you have to be resilient, because people are going to try to knock you down." Today his company, American Apparel, has over 6,700 employees. And it does something other garment makers have abandoned: it makes all its clothing in the United States.

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5. Role Modelling, Training, & Coaching Triage Consulting Group, a health care financial consulting firm in California, places a high Value on superior performance at achieving measurable goals. New employees are immediately prepared for this culture with a 4-day orientation in Triage's culture and methods, followed by 15 training modules scheduled in 6-week intervals. After less than a year, the best performers are ready to begin managing their own projects, furthering their career development. Performance evaluations take place four times a year, further reinforcing the drive for results. 6. Physical Design Intel originally had all its people work in uniform cubicles, consistent with the value it placed on equality. (Top managers don't have reserved parking spaces either.) However, the cubicle arrangement conflicted with the value-Intel places on innovation, so the company is experimenting with open-seating arrangements combined with small conference rooms. Not only are open-seating arrangements thought to encourage collaboration, they also can reduce noise because employees can see when their activities are annoying to people nearby. Intel hopes that this environment will better support creative thinking. 7. Rewards, Titles, Promotions, & Bonuses At Triage Consulting Group, employees at the same level of their career earn the same pay, but employees are eligible for merit bonuses, again reinforcing the culture of achievement. The awarding of merit bonuses is partly based on co-workers' votes for

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who contributed most to the company's success, and the employees who received the most votes are recognized each year at the company's "State of Triage" meeting. 8. Organizational Goals & Performance Criteria Many organizations establish organizational goals and criteria for recruiting, selecting, developing, promoting, dismissing, and retiring people, all of which reinforce the desired organizational culture. Example: PepsiCo sets challenging goals that reinforce a culture aimed at high performance. 9. Measurable & Controllable Activities There are a number of activities, processes, or outcomes that an organization's leaders can pay attention to, measure, and control that can foster a certain culture. Example: ExxonMobil's credo is "efficiency in everything we do," so that managers make a concerted effort to measure, control, and reward cost efficiency. As a result, the company is famous for delivering consistent returns, regardless of whether the price of oil is up or down. 10. Organizational Structure The hierarchical structure found in most traditional organizations is more likely to reinforce a culture oriented toward control and authority compared to the flatter organization that eliminates management layers in favor of giving employees more power. Example: The hierarchical structure of a railroad provides a much different Culture from that of the former "spaghetti organization of Danish hearing-aid maker Oticon.
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11. Organizational Systems & Procedures Companies are increasingly using electronic networks to increase collaboration among employees, to increase innovation, quality, and efficiency. For example, Serena Software Inc., a California-based company with 800 employees located in 29 offices across 14 countries, encouraged its employees to sign up for Facebook for free and to use the network as a vehicle for getting to know each other. In contrast to using a public site for networking, Dow Chemical launched its own internal social network to create relationships among current, past, and temporary employees.

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