Communication and Persuation Essay Example

of the rationality of their decisions. It was also thought that theories should be constructed based on formal logic and data that can be verified through experimentation.

To comprehend communication in organizations, two essential elements are required. Firstly, there needs to be observable and repeatable behaviors that can be quantified through measurement. Secondly, there must be formally repeatable syllogisms that can expand theory based on observed data to other groups and environments. Communication is primarily a mechanized process involving the construction and encoding of a message by a sender, its transmission through a channel, and its reception and decoding by a receiver. It is important to identify and decrease or eliminate distortion, which refers to any deviations between the original message and the received one.

Organizations are like machines, with interchangeable parts including employees in defined roles. What works in one organization will work in a similar one. Individual differences can be minimized or eliminated through careful management techniques. Organizations serve as a container for communication. Any differences in communication between organizations and other settings can be identified and studied as factors influencing communication. Herbert A.

Simon challenged the belief that communication participants are completely rational and introduced the concept of bounded rationality. He argued that individuals in organizations often make decisions without complete information and settle for the first acceptable option instead of seeking out the optimal solution, even when more information is available. This field grew alongside other academic fields during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, which saw communication as encompassing more than just transmitting an idea.

The research explored the relationship between conveying understanding and personal identity. It

also investigated why organizations with similar messages have different outcomes, as well as how our relationships with others are affected by our organizational contexts. Peter Senge introduced theories on Organizational Communication in the early 1990s, including learning organization and systems thinking, which are now widely accepted beliefs in this field.

Bavelas demonstrated that communication networks play a crucial role in directing and regulating communication. These networks have diverse effects on groups, including impacting the timely completion of tasks, determining the position of the de facto leader, and influencing group members' satisfaction with their positions in the network. While these findings originated from laboratory experiments, they hold great significance for understanding how communication operates within formal organizations.

There are various communication patterns: "Chain", "Wheel", "Star", "All-Channel" network, and "Circle". The Chain pattern is commonly observed as the hierarchical pattern in military and certain business organizations, where formal information flows strictly from the top to the bottom. The Wheel pattern resembles autocratic organizations with one-man rule and limited employee participation. The Star pattern is similar to the fundamental formal structure found in numerous organizations.

The All-Channel network, which is a variation of Bavelas's Circle as used by Guetzkow, resembles the unrestricted communication among group members that fosters their participation in group decision-making. The All-Channel network can also be likened to certain informal communication networks. Assuming that messages can flow both ways between stations within the networks, it becomes evident that certain individuals hold crucial positions concerning the volume of messages they handle and their level of control over information flow.

The person in the middle of the "Star" formation manages all group messages.

Conversely, individuals on the outer edges of the pattern receive fewer messages and lack control over information flow. These peripheral members can only communicate with one or two others and must depend on others to relay their messages to a larger audience. Bavelas shared these provisional findings while presenting experiment results involving Circle, Wheel, and Star formations.

The organization develops quickly around the central positions in patterns such as the Wheel and the Star. These patterns have higher stability and lower performance errors compared to patterns with lower centrality, like the Circle. However, Bavelas discovered that members in high centrality patterns have relatively low morale. He speculated that this lower morale could eventually decrease the accuracy and speed of these networks.

Bavelas proposed that in problem solving that involves the gathering of data and judgments, the ability to assess partial outcomes, explore different possibilities, and reconfigure problems declines significantly when one person has a more dominant role in controlling the flow of information. The Wheel and Star structures, for instance, result in less insight compared to the Circle or Chain structures due to the bottleneck created by central members who control the data.

The laboratory results indicate that the way communications are organized within a company will greatly impact the accuracy of decisions, the speed at which they are made, and the satisfaction of individuals involved. Therefore, in networks where members equally share the responsibility of initiating and relaying messages, the overall morale of the group will improve in the long term. Direction of Communication:

In traditional military organizations, formal communications typically flow in one direction - from a

superior to a subordinate. These communications are expected to be clear since they originate from individuals with higher levels of expertise and experience. The responsibility for ensuring clarity and understanding lies with the superior.

This organizational system assumes that communication between different levels is mostly one-way, with higher levels initiating exchanges. Superiors' messages are considered more important than subordinates', so communication channels should not be cluttered with messages from subordinates, except for prescribed information flows. This is similar to the unwritten rule in military protocol where juniors should be seen and not heard. Many formal organizations outside the military still have remnants of one-way communication flows for similar reasons. Although managers acknowledge the need for information to flow both downward and upward, they may not always support promoting two-way communication. For instance, they might question to what extent a subordinate can freely express understanding or lack thereof regarding a message from their superior.

Is it possible for him to question, clarify, or suggest modifications to instructions received from his superior? Can he also send unsolicited messages to his superior that are not part of the prescribed rules? How does the one-way rule of direction impact communication efficiency, as well as subordinate morale and motivation in the organization? These questions go beyond procedures and delve into the organizational climate and psychological atmosphere that surrounds communication.

To address these questions, Harold Leavitt proposes a simple experiment. In this experiment, a group is given the task of replicating rectangular figures on paper. Initially, they have to recreate the figures under one-way conditions by following the leader's description. Later, they have to recreate them again under

two-way conditions using a different arrangement of rectangles. During the one-way trial, the leader describes the rectangles as he sees them while facing away from the group. Throughout this trial, group members are not allowed to ask questions or display any signs of understanding or frustration.

In the two-way trial, the leader can observe the group's emotional reactions as they try to replicate his instructions. The group can also ask for clarifications about the rectangles. Leavitt concluded that two-way communication is slower but more accurate than one-way communication based on similar experimental trials.

The two-way system boosts receivers' confidence and enables accurate judgment. However, it may lead senders to feel psychologically attacked due to their mistakes being exposed. Furthermore, the two-way method appears noisier and more disorderly compared to the efficient appearance of the one-way method. Therefore, if speed, a businesslike image, avoidance of mistake recognition, and power protection are desired, one-way communication is considered more favorable.

The two-way system is the preferred option for managers to effectively communicate their message and ensure that recipients feel engaged and valued. Interpersonal communication, which occurs between individuals within an organization, is another important aspect of communication. This type of communication can happen through spoken words or non-verbal signals like gestures, facial expressions, and body language. Nonverbal messages can also be conveyed through silence.

In the modern world, managers are no longer required to have all the solutions. Instead, their task is to inquire about the appropriate queries and acquire information from a global network of individuals using electronic communication tools. This transformation highlights the importance for managers to identify essential knowledge for their

business and comprehend how and where to access it. As managers are accountable for the entire enterprise, they must be the ones raising these inquiries in order to effectively overcome challenges, exploit opportunities, and achieve goals. Ultimately, success relies on guaranteeing clear communication and comprehension of intended messages.

When it comes to messages that require objective verification, such as confirming the compatibility of a piece of pipe with the threads on a coupling, receivers can confirm the accuracy of the sender's words through practical experimentation. However, when the sender's words involve expressing subjective feelings or opinions about something that cannot be objectively validated, like claiming that a task is too difficult or that Watergate was politically justified, interpretations can become uncertain. These types of statements are open to different explanations and thus vulnerable to distorted meanings.

Differences in knowledge and education between the sender and recipient can hinder communication, resulting in different interpretations and assessments of the subject. This obstacle will be further explored. In face-to-face interactions, verbal messages are accompanied by nonverbal elements. Virginia Satir stressed that individuals inevitably convey symbolic messages through body language, as well as through their attire or belongings.

When communicating through methods such as telephone, messenger, or letter, the context of the message adds to its non-verbal meaning. For instance, if a company is facing financial losses and sends a letter to the production division instructing a reorganization of the shipping and receiving departments, it could be interpreted as job cuts unless it is explicitly stated otherwise. Several factors impact how effective communication is.

Communication is challenging due to factors like the communication environment, the

personalities of the sender and receiver, and their relationship. These variables make it difficult for two individuals to establish a clear understanding. The sender's goal is to convey an idea to the receiver, but this can be influenced by their thoughts, emotions, or external factors in the environment.

The sender-receiver relationship can impact communication, including factors like status differences, staff-line relationships, or learner-teacher relationships. Information undergoes filtering in both the sender and receiver and is influenced by various channels before being transmitted and reconstructed in the receiver's mind. Individuals have different physical capacities for perceiving through sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. This implies that reality perception may already be distorted prior to mental processing.

Cognitive filters, which are a person's mental interpretation of the world, impact their assumptions and emotions as well as their physical senses. These filters greatly influence how a message is created, delivered, and intended by the sender. However, recipients also have their own set of filters. This dual complexity in human communication was described by Robert Louis Stevenson as "doubly relative," highlighting the need for both a speaker to convey a message and a listener to interpret it.

The memory system, which includes physical and cognitive filters, helps us respond to stimuli in reality. March and Simon compare a person to a data processing system, where behavior is influenced by both internal state and the environment. Our past experiences shape our values, goals, expectations, and preconceived notions about outcomes. This inventory also encompasses different ways we can react to various situations.

The memory system and the environment interact to determine what stimuli we respond to. This

interactive system influences our behavior and leads to new learnings that are incorporated into our memory. Thus, this process enables us to adapt to a changing world. Communication Approaches in an Organization:

Informal and formal communication are both important in organizations. In the past, informal communication was viewed as an obstacle to effective organizational performance, but this viewpoint has shifted. Nowadays, informal communication is recognized as essential for ensuring the seamless functioning of work in modern organizations. The top-down approach is a type of formal communication where upper-level management communicates with lower levels.