Management Class Homework

396 Part 4 Leading mes$ag6A purpose for communicating thals to be conveyed channelThe medium by which a message travels decodingTranslating a received message feedbackChecking to see how successfully a message has been transferred Participating in a meeting at company headquarters, these employees of Ahbaba, China's largest e-commerce frrm, illustrate the channel part of the commurucation process. The meeting is a formal channel established byAlibaba during which employees transmit messages that pertarn to their job-related activiiies. Exhibit 13-1 The Communication Process Purpose Message Message Message Message transferred successf ully? in the social cultural system in which we exist. Your beliefs and values, all part of your culture, act to influence you as a communication source. 3. The message is the actual physical product from the source that conveys some pur- pose. When we speak, the words spoken are the message. When we write, the writing is the message. When we paint, the picture is the message. When we gesture, the movements of our arms and the expressions on our faces are the message.3 Our message is affected by the code or group of symbols we use to transfer meaning, the content of the message itself, and the decisions that we make in selecting and ananging both codes and content.4 4. The channel is the medium through which the message travels. It's selected by the source, who must determine whether to use a formal or an informal channel. Formal channels are established by the organization and transmit messages that pertain to the job-related activi- ties of members. They traditionally follow the authority network within the organization. Other forms of messages, such as personal or social, follow the informal channels in the organization. 5 and 6. The receiver is the person to whom the message is directed. However, before the message can be received, the symbols in it must be translated into a form that can be under- stood by the receiver-the decoding of the message. Just as the encoder was limited by his or her skills, attitudes, knowledge, and social cultural system, the receiver is equally restricted. Accordingly, the source must be skillful in writing or speaking; the receiver must be skillful in reading or listening; and both must be able to reason. A person's knowledge, attitudes, and cultural background influence his or her ability to receive, just as they do the ability to send. 7. The final link in the communication process is a feedback loop. "If a communication source decodes the message that he encodes, if the message is put back into his system, we have feedback."s Feedback is the check on how successful we've been in transferring our messages as originally intended. It determines whether understanding has been achieved. Given the cultural diversity that exists in our workforce today, the importance of effective feedback to ensure proper communications cannot be overstated.6 Are Written Commu ni cations More Effective Than Verbal Ones? Written communications include memos, letters, e-mail and other forms of digital communication, organizational periodicals, bulletin boards, or any other device that transmits written words or sym- bols. Why would a sender choose to use written communications? ffi-'.=x;:".:-' f.?_rD -= w;-, i-d,' GF -F-n--'S. -=- t i*'--" H|-l-