BUS603: Managing People

The channel, or medium, used to communicate a message affects how accurately the message will be received. Channels vary in their âinformation-richness. Information-rich channels convey more nonverbal information. Research shows that effective managers tend to use more information-rich communication channels than less effective managers. The figure below illustrates the information richness of different channels.

Figure 8.10 Information channels differ in their richness.

The key to effective communication is to match the communication channel with the goal of the message. For example, written media may be a better choice when the sender wants a record of the content, has less urgency for a response, is physically separated from the receiver, and doesn't require a lot of feedback from the receiver, or when the message is complicated and may take some time to understand.

Oral communication, on the other hand, makes more sense when the sender is conveying a sensitive or emotional message, needs feedback immediately, and does not need a permanent record of the conversation.

Figure 8.11 Guide for When to Use Written versus Verbal Communication

Like face-to-face and telephone conversations, videoconferencing has high information richness, because receivers and senders can see or hear beyond just the words that are used, they can see the sender's body language or hear the tone of their voice. Handheld devices, blogs, and written letters and memos offer medium-rich channels, because they convey words and pictures or photos. Formal written documents, such as legal documents and budget spreadsheets, convey the least richness, because the format is often rigid and standardized. As a result, the tone of the message is often lost.

The growth of email has been spectacular, but it has also created challenges in managing information and increasing the speed of doing businesses. Over 100 million adults in the United States use email at least once a day. Internet users around the world send an estimated 60 billion emails each day, and a large portion of these are spam or scam attempts. That makes email the second most popular medium of communication worldwide, second only to voice. Less than 1% of all written human communications even reaches paper these days. To combat the overuse of email, companies such as Intel have even instituted "no email Fridays". During these times, all communication is done via other communication channels. Learning to be more effective in your email communications is an important skill. To learn more, check out the OB Toolbox on business email do's and don'ts.

OB Toolbox: Business Email Do's and Don'ts

1. DON'T send or forward chain emails.
2. DON'T put anything in an email that you don't want the world to see.
3. DON'T write a message in capital letters. This is the equivalent of SHOUTING.
4. DON'T routinely CC everyone. Reducing inbox clutter is a great way to increase communication.
5. DON'T hit send until you've spell-checked your email.
6. DO use a subject line that summarizes your message, adjusting it as the message changes over time.
7. DO make your request in the first line of your email. (And if that's all you need to say, stop there!)
8. DO end your email with a brief sign-off such as, "Thank you, followed by your name and contact information".
9. DO think of a work email as a binding communication.
10. DO let others know if you've received an email in error.

An important although often ignored rule when communicating emotional information is that email's lack of richness can be your loss. As we saw in the chart above, email is a medium-rich channel. It can convey facts quickly. But when it comes to emotion, email's flaws make it a far less desirable choice than oral communication, as 55% of nonverbal cues that make a conversation comprehensible to a listener are missing. Researchers also note that email readers don't pick up on sarcasm and other tonal aspects of writing as much as the writer believes they will.

The sender may believe that certain emotional signifiers have been included in a message. But, with written words alone, those signifiers are not there. This gap between the form and content of email inspired the rise of emoticon symbols that offer clues to the emotional side of the words in each message. Generally speaking, however, emoticons are not considered professional in business communication.

You might feel uncomfortable conveying an emotionally laden message verbally, especially when the message contains unwanted news. Sending an email to your staff that there will be no bonuses this year may seem easier than breaking the bad news face-to-face, but that doesn't mean that email is an effective or appropriate way to break this kind of news. When the message is emotional, the sender should use verbal communication. Indeed, a good rule of thumb is that more emotionally laden messages require more thought in the choice of channel and how they are communicated.

Career Advice

Communication can occur without you even realizing it. Consider the following: Is your email name professional? The typical convention for business email contains some form of your name. While an email name like "LazyGirl" or "DeathMonkey" may be fine for chatting online with your friends, they may send the wrong signal to individuals you email such as professors and prospective employers.

Is your outgoing voicemail greeting professional? If not, change it. Faculty and prospective recruiters will draw certain conclusions if, upon calling you, they get a message that screams, "Party, party, party!"

Do you have a "private" social networking Web site on MySpace.com, Facebook.com, or Xanga.com? If so, consider what it says about you to employers or clients. If it is information you wouldn't share at work, it probably shouldn't be there.

Googled yourself lately? If not, you probably should. Potential employers have begun searching the Web as part of background checking, and you should be aware of what's out there about you.