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Communication
This page covers communication related aspects in the team context, though some can be relevent to day-to-day life as well.
“Medium is the message” - McLuhan (1964)
According to McLuhan the medium used to send the message will determine the level of success of communication. The richest communication medium is face-to-face meetings followed by telephone, e- mail, and memos and letters (Rice and Shook 1990). Therefore the medium should be chosen as appropriate in order to communicate the message effectively.
According to Daft and Lengel (1986) the richness of each media is based on four criteria, which are feedback, multiple cues, language variety, and personal focus.
Media Richness Theory from Daft and Lengel (1986) (Wade, 2006, online)
- Immediacy of Feedback: The extent to which a medium allows users to give rapid feedback on the communications they receive.
- Multiple Cues: The number of cues such as text, verbal cues or non-verbal cues available through which information can be communicated.
- Language Variety: The range of meaning that can be conveyed with language symbols (numeric information to natural language).
- Personal Focus: The extent to which a sender can personalize the message to suit the needs and the current situation of the receiver.
Warkentin et al (1999) claims development of relational links among team members can significantly improve effectiveness of communication.
According to Gudykunst (1997), individuals from different cultures vary in terms of communication and group behaviours including motivation to seek and disclose individuating information and in the need to engage in self-categorization. Research has shown that two main behaviour types corresponding to individualistic and collectivist cultures (Hofstede, 1980). In individualistic cultures, the needs, values and goals of the individual take precedence over the needs, values and goals of the in-group. The collectivist cultures the needs values and goals of the in-group take precedence over the needs, values and goals of the individual (Hofstede, 1980).
The author identified the following key areas that can effect communication between teams.
• Relational links: Relational links between team members improved team trust and enhanced communication.
• Diverse methods: Using many communication methods allowed the members chose the best communication method for a given situation.
• Personal focus: Members were more responsive to direct communication and less communicative to broadcast messages.
• Media richness (socio-emotional cues): Rich media included emotions that helped in understanding the message easily.
• Cultural awareness: Cultural awareness enabled members to plan proactively reducing cross-cultural mis-understandings.
• Communication training: Communication training allowed the members to create standards and establish common understanding.
• Feedback: Feedback allowed the communicator to verify whether the message was understood correctly and to improve discussion and knowledge sharing.
(Delpagoda.T, 2007)
References
Daft, R. L., and Lengel, R. H. (1986) “Organizational Information Requirements, Media Richness and Structural Design,” Management Science (32:5), 1986, pp. 554-571.
Delpagoda, T (2007) Facilitation methodology to effectively support virtual IT project teams submitted to the University of Liverpool
Gudykunst, W.B (1997) “Cultural variability in communication” Communication Research, 24 (4), pp.327-348
Hofstede, G. (1980) “Culture's consequences”. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage
McLuhan, Marshall (1964) “Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man.” New York: McGraw Hill Publication
Rice, R., and Shook, D. (1990) “Relationships of Job Categories and Organizational Levels to Use of Communication Channels, Including Electronic Mail: A Meta-Analysis and Extension,” Journal of Management Studies (27:2), 1990, pp.195-229.
Warkentin, M. & Beranek, P.M. (1999). “Training to improve virtual team communication”, Information Systems Journal Vol. 9
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