Communication Problem Solving: The Language of Effective Management

It is a characteristic of latter-day organizations that they develop interdependent associations with other organizations whether as suppliers, customers or intermediaries, or as partners in some joint enterprise. This view is reflected in the idea of markets as networks of interacting organizations which have a mutual, but not necessarily equal, resource dependence. The perspective is one which views the development of relationships with other organizations as a necessary condition for the effective harnessing of resources across organizations. Embracing these developments, and central to them, is the concept of communication. These changing directions are linked by what people say and how they say it. It is through communication between individuals that interorganizational relations are established, reinforced and nurtured. Similarly, it is through the skills of "indirect management", which relies heavily on interpersonal communication, that managers at different levels in an organization can get the cooperation of others outside their immediate hierarchy to help fulfil their task requirements. In approaching the development of communication skills, the authors are not concerned with pathways of communication in an organization. The concern is rather with how people create meaning, the politics arising from different meanings and the behaviours and strategies which people can employ to handle these political situations.

Table of Contents:
Part 1 Concepts in communication problem solving: communication; its transactional nature; communication and the individual; people in communication; language and communication; spoken behaviour; spoken language and differences in meaning; spoken language and speech sounds; non-verbal communication; expression of emotion; parallel behaviour of oral and non-verbal communication; effects of situation on communication; contextural and social structures determinanants of communication; organizations as speech communities. Part 2 Communication and action: influence, persuasion and negotiation; communication problem solving within organizations; decision making and problem solving in organizations; the myth of rationality; lateral communications; communication and the management of conflict; the significance of interorganizational relationships; interaction of organizations and the development of relationships; cross border communication problem solving; training and development for effective communication.