Forms of Communication in Organizations

You will often have multiple ways to communicate a message to another person. Your choice of a communication channel should consider the amount of detail and context the message requires. The richness of a communication channel is determined, in part, by the ability to establish a personal focus for the communication. This means that a Facebook status update will be less rich thanan individual e$-$mail $,$ because:

You do not know that the person$$s message is intended for you personally

You are not getting as many types of information

You cannot respond immediately to what the person is saying

You want to keep your manager updated on your activities every week. What is the best way to do this? This is aroutine message, so you should:

Schedule a weekly meeting with your manager

Send your manager an e$-$mail

As a project manager, you have to follow the flow of the project from start to finish, communicating with the team as needed and ensuring each person completes their work on schedule when needed. Some team members will interact with the project multiple times before the project is complete. Which network type should you choose for the structure of the team?

Y

Wheel

Circle

Chain

Imagine that you are in the following situations, and use your knowledge of nonverbal behavior to identify what message the office manager is conveying.

After preparing a project$-$development agenda, the office manager prepares a conference room for the meeting. She places a circular table in the center of the room and surrounds it with comfortable chairs. What message is the office manager expressing nonverbally?

She wishes to promote limited communication.

She wishes to promote open communication.

She wishes to discourage communication.