Communication in Management

Every serious study of managers at work comes to the same conclusion: what managers do more than anything else is communicate - with suppliers, with customers, with colleagues and, above all, with their own staff. Improve communication and you improve performance. Hence there will be a warm welcome for this book, compiled by a team of experts and based on extensive research. The authors look in turn at each of the key management tasks, from meetings to negotiation, from writing reports to using the telephone, and they provide practical guidance for increased effectiveness. Other chapters cover non-verbal communication and ’doing things right and doing the right thing’. The text is presented in a lively way but also with academic rigour, and is supported throughout by exercises, checklists and ready-to-use formats. Specialists and students will find the book a storehouse of information and wisdom. But it is the practising manager who will profit most from what the authors have to say. Comprehensive, and as nearly definitive as such a book can be, Communication in Management is destined to become a classic in its field.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Introduction: the communicating manager; The gentle art of persuasion: influencing others; Team-mates: building teams that work; Team-meets: managing productive meetings; Stand and deliver: making effective presentations; I think we’ve got ourselves a deal: negotiating and bargaining; Selling the idea: the manager as salesperson; Making the right connections: the telephone in business; The word made permanent: putting it in writing; It’s your right: communicating assertively; A problem shared: helping communication; ’Our most important asset: selecting people; Feedback time: appraising performance; More than words can tell: communicating non-verbally; Ethics and audits: doing things right and doing the right thing; References; Subject index; Name index.

About the Author :
The authors all teach at the University of Ulster, where Owen Hargie is Professor of Communication, David Dickson is Head of the Communication Skills Training Centre and Dennis Tourish is Lecturer in Communication. As well as conducting research on communication, they act as consultants for a wide range of clients and develop training programmes for organizations in both the public and private sector. Together they have produced 13 books and more than 200 book chapters, professional papers and journal articles.

Review :
'The text itself is lively, and supported by exercises, checklists and ready-to-use formats.' Strategic Communication Management '(The authors) have acquired a reputation for sound realistic research, competently presented in a meaningfuil manner. This latest book comfortably maintains their established standard. It is thorough, well organised, systematic..' Modern Management '... a comprehensive, competent and clearly written book ...meticulously referenced which provides considerable credibility and confidence ... it should well earn its place on the team bookshelf.' Local Government Management '... a well-written contribution to an important subject ... with an accessible and practical style.' Aslib Book Guide 'there will be a warm welcome for this book ... Specialists and students will find the book a storehouse of information and wisdom ... it is the practising manager who will profit most from what the authors have to say.' Commerce and Industry, December 1999 'Hargie et al appear to have bridged the gap between theory and practice. Relevant theories are used to back up the authors' assertions but they do not fall into the trap of simply re-hashing outdated studies ... It is well-structured with useful summaries, boxed key points and carefully considered exercises that work. The authors seem to have succinctly addressed every communication activity I can think of. It is a book I wish I had written, full of advice that I wish managers would take - many people's working lives would be easier if they did. Read it - it is genuinely a good read which I could not put down. I loved the metaphors, the popular cultural references and the wry humour.' Library Management, Volume 21, Number 7, 2000 'The text is presented in a lively way but also with academic rigour, and is supported throughout by exercises, checklists and ready-to-use formats.' Officer de Police de Politieofficier (France), October 2000