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Communic
ation and
the
workplace
Where communication
Drives relationships to get
things done
**_1. General observations
- Working together …_**
being friends
3. Romance in the
workplace
**_4. Sexual harassment
- Hierarchy vs. social_**
networks
6. Working on teams
Today’s agenda
Non-voluntary
Makes great material for movies
What makes these movies
good is not the task to be
accomplished…
It’s the relationship that will be
built
Friendships with
coworkers
Based largely on shared workplace
experiences
No superior-subordinate relationship
Affects job satisfaction
Can be challenging because the task/social
dimensions can conflict at times
Calls for balance between the social and
professional dimensions from both persons
With
superiors/subordinates
- Power difference adds 3d dimension to the
friendship (in addition to task and social
dimension)
- Friendship with boss adds to job satisfaction
- Pressured by fact the boss’s goals not always
the employee’s
- Both sides need to be open, adaptable
- Otherwise friendship is doomed sooner or later
Workplace romantic
relationships
miscellaneous
observations
- Survey: nearly 60% had an office romance
- 40% dated; of those, 30% got married
- Canadian results: 31% had office
romance; 10% dated – What do they
know that we don’t?
- Mixed opinions – is it a good thing or bad
thing?
- Can end ugly – especially if a secret affair
with one or both already married
- My experience – none … workplace affairs
took place at every job I’ve held – except
Public Library
- Without fail, I was ALWAYS last in office to
know
Workplace
harassment
relationships
One of the things that keeps
Human Resources and Legal
staffs up at night
- Not the only form of harassment
- Often about power, not sex
- Can involve any combination of
the sexes
- Sometimes hard (sometimes
easy!) to know if you’ve been
harassed
Prevention
inform, warn
employees
(UMSL)
Workplace
harassment and the
law
- Originated with Civil Rights Act, 1964
- Two general definitions: - “this for that” - hostile environment
- Did it occur? - Is it real – did it actually carry the meaning you drew? - Does it/will it influence your job performance? -
Did you reject the behavior in ways clear to the person?
Has the behavior persisted?
- Go to person … your supervisor … HR … a lawyer
… Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
A workplace systems
perspective:
When it’s not “all
about me”
Scales of networks
- Personal networks -- Each individual has own
network
- Group networks – people communicate more
with certain people than others … leads to
clustering in groups.
- Organizational networks – between individuals
in a group network and the rest of the org
A workplace systems
perspective:
When it’s not “all
about me”
Two types of communication networks:
- Formal network – the one prescribed by the org
chart
- Usually hierarchical
- Related to the table of organization (known as the T-O)
Emergent or informal network
Determines real character and culture of organization
Shows the true connections people make every day.
Like what you did above.
Compare/contrast the
two kinds of social
networks
Formal network
- Management makes decisions
- Command and control
- Top-down
- Little lateral info flow
- One-way info flow (down)
- Turn-of-
th
century Scientific
Management concept
trainable, but have no knowledge
to offer
Emergent/informal network
Hidden social architecture
- Employees knowledge-based,
geographically spread
Project team-oriented
- Who’s really trusted
- Who real opinion leaders are
- Most decisions made on the
basis of personal expertise and
influence
Survey questions for
the typical social
network analysis
- Who do you typically turn to for help in thinking through a new or challenging
problem at work?
- Who are you likely to turn to in order to discuss a new or innovative idea?
- Who do you typically give work-related information?
- Who do you turn to for input prior to making an important decision?
- Who do you feel has contributed to your professional growth and development?
- Who do you trust to keep your best interests in mind?
- Who do you share personal information with?
- Who do you ask to find out what’s really going on in the organization?
- When a new organizational policy is announced, who do you ask in order to find
out “what does this really mean?”
Why organizations
commission
SNA’s
- Can make organization more productive, efficient
- Tells management who the real performers, opinion
leaders are
- Reveals poor supervisors
- Reveals communication problems between
individuals, units
- Helps management determine what information
employees want
- Can align management more closely with
employees
Why organizations
DON’T
commission
SNA’s
- Fears it will be too critical of management
communication
- Concerns that it will build employee expectations for
changes in communication practices
- Simply do not want to know and would not change
- Sees value in things staying as they are