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Management Communication An Anthology: Revised Second Edition Edited by Farrokh Moshiri

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Sneak Preview Management Communication An Anthology Revised Second Edition

Edited by Farrokh Moshiri University of California, Riverside Copyright © 2011 by Farrokh Moshiri. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfi lming, and recording, or in any information retrieval system without the written permission of University Readers, Inc.

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ISBN: 978-1-60927-925-7 Contents

Introduction 1

SECTION ONE COMMUNICATING WITH THE PUBLIC: PUBLIC SPEAKING, ORAL PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

Public Speaking and Oral Presentation Skills: Introduction 7

How to Become an Authentic Speaker 9 By Nick Morgan

Th e Kinesthetic Speaker: Putting Action into Words 17 By Nick Morgan

Listening to People 29 By Ralph G. Nichols and Leonard A. Stevens

Message Credibility: How Public Relations Can Enhance Communication 43 By Heather Ilizaliturri

SECTION TWO TEAMS AND TEAM MANAGEMENT

Teams and Team Management: Introduction 49

Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools 53 By M. Katherine Brown, Brenda Huettner, and Char James-Tanny

Th e Team-Building Tool Kit: Tips and Tactics for Eff ective Workplace Teams 71 By Deborah Mackin When Teams Can’t Decide 91 By Bob Frisch

SECTION THREE CULTURE AND COMMUNICATION

Culture and Communication: Introduction 101

Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations 105 By Geert Hofstede

Communication for Intercultural Management 143 By Arthur H. Bell and Dayle M. Smith

What’s Needed Next: A Culture of Candor 167 By James O’Toole and Warren Bennis

White House Unbuttons Formal Dress Code 175 By Sheryl Gay Stolberg

Culture and Communication in Intercultural Communication for Business 179 By Elizabeth Tuleja

SECTION FOUR CRISIS COMMUNICATION

Crisis Communication: Introduction 205

Crisis Management: Master the Skills to Prevent Disasters 209 By Richard Luecke

Crisis Communication: Lessons from 9/11 221 By Paul Argenti

Incident Assessment: Proactive Versus Reactive Measures 231 By Gerald Lewis

Key Roles Within and Outside the Organization 239 By Gerald Lewis Global Technology and Corporate Crisis 245 By Simon Moore and Mike Seymour

CASE STUDY A: TOYOTA

Toyota Tries to Get Back on Track 273 By Ken Bensinger and Tiff any Hsu

Toyota’s Tylenol Moment 277 By Alex Taylor III

Toyota’s Top Executive Under Rising Pressure 279 By Hiroko Tabuchi and Bill Vlasic

How Did Toyota Veer So Far off Course? 283 By Tim Webb, Robert Booth, Justin McCurry, and Paul Harris

Reasons Why Toyota Will Recover Quickly from the Recall Mess 289 By Stephen Grocer

CASE STUDY B: THE FINANCIAL COLLAPSE OF 2008

Lesson of the Crash of ‘08 293 By Allan Sloan

We Were Looking at the Abyss 297 Interview with Tim Geithner

When Wall Street Nearly Collapsed 299 Interviews by Alyssa Abkowitz, Katie Benner, and Telis Demos

SECTION FIVE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION

Technology and Management Communication: Introduction 307

Technology and Management Communication 309 By E. Rolland and J. Gregg

References and Suggested Readings 319 Index 325

Introduction

anagers lead, handle crisis, and supervise. Yet, at the same time they have to motivate their employees, listen to them, and communicate routine Moperational matters. Th eir audiences can range from part-time student workers who simply need guidance to high-level executives who are expecting a fi rst- class presentation. Managers communicate orally, in writing, and through gestures. Th ere are many textbooks that do a splendid job of addressing any of the three aforementioned communication methods, particularly when it concerns eff ective writing methods. Yet, there is not a single text specifi cally designed for business un- dergraduates that off ers both a balanced treatment of all three topics and a thorough analysis of non-written communication methods. Another issue that emerges from a review of business communication textbooks is the imbalanced treatment of teams. Teams are a fundamental aspect of corporations today, and the odds are almost certain that anyone reading this manuscript will either have to work in a team or has already participated in teams. Yet, again, you would be hard-pressed to fi nd a discussion of teams in a business communication textbook that is both thorough and balanced. You either must select a book that solely discusses teams (which sacrifi ces other important topics) or rely on the obligatory chapter on teams found in business communication textbooks, which off er a scant and incomplete discussion of teams. Similarly, nonverbal communication methods that include body movements, pos- tures, gestures, and issues of time and space are vitally important to the eff ectiveness of the spoken word. Often, these behaviors are infl uenced by both organizational and national cultural context. Th ese nonverbal behaviors assume special relevance when oral presentations are made; at times, they contradict the spoken word, or they can serve to affi rm its meanings. One of our authors, Nick Morgan, writing in Harvard Business Review, calls these behaviors “a second conversation,” and argues that when words and actions do not match, it is our actions or our second conversation that assumes prominence (Morgan, 2008). Yet, once again, a textbook that off ers a balanced and thorough discussion of the “second conversation” is hard to fi nd. As I taught class after class of students at UC Riverside, well over a thousand stu- dents in total, I became convinced that the solution for eff ectively teaching all of the relevant topics involved adoption of the two-book approach. One textbook would focus almost exclusively on written communication methods while another would tackle the non-written aspects of communication. Th ere are many excellent textbooks

Introduction • 1 that address the written aspects of business communication. Th is anthology seeks to fulfi ll the second function.

WHAT DOES OUR ANTHOLOGY OFFER? Teams are discussed here in some detail. Since virtual teams are more common today, we have included a selection from M. Katherine Brown’s book on virtual teams that addresses the formation and development of teams. To see how teams actually behave and to obtain some practical advice on confl ict resolution, we have included a selec- tion from Deborah Mackin’s tool kit on teams. Finally, problems in executive teams’ decision-making are addressed in a selection from Harvard Business Review by Bob Frisch. Public speaking is covered through the inclusion of two selections from Morgan’s work where the emphasis is placed on making a “visceral, personal, and emotional” connection to your readers (Morgan, 2001). However, to be a good communicator, one fi rst needs to appreciate listening. If you had heard a top executive say “80 percent of my work depends on my listening to someone, or someone else listening to me,” you probably would think that the statement had been made recently. In fact, this is part of the opening paragraph in a 1957 Harvard Business Review article by Ralph A. Nichols and Leonard A. Stevens. A successful sales person, for instance, is one who can listen to the customer and, as the authors state, conduct on-the-spot customer research (Nichols and Stevens, 1957). However, listening to spoken words and the methods of delivering those words and their interpretations are infl uenced by our culture. Culture can aff ect communica- tion from both an organizational and a national perspective. Selections from Geert Hofstede’s classical work, Culture’s Consequences, are meant to provide students with a fi rm introduction to the concepts of culture and various possible organizational cultures from an academic standpoint. Th e selection from John V. Th ill and Courtland L. Bove’e is intended to provide a more practical introduction to the impact of cross-cultural diversity on communication and provide a “how to” guide for what to do in a foreign country. Th e later selection from Elizabeth A.Tuleja shows how national culture might aff ect the interpretation of the spoken world and our secondary conversation. Tuleja off ers a fascinating discussion of national cultural diff erences, from the “high context” cultures of Japan and Korea, to the “low context” cultures of Scandinavia and North America. Th roughout, we see how culture aff ects not just the interpretation of words, but also the methods of negotiation and conducting business meetings. Th e infl uence of organizational culture on communication is discussed in James O’Tool and Warren Bennis’s article on the need for transparency and openness in organizations. Th e application of a more open culture and its infl uence on communi- cation is shown in Th e New York Times article on Obama’s White House. Th e article

2 • Management Communication: An Anthology vividly shows how a cultural change brought about by a change in leadership aff ects communication in the workplace. Finally, few managerial communication textbooks deal with crisis management. Yet, managers worldwide deal with crises every day. Our selection on crisis management includes reprints of Fortune interviews on the 2008 fi nancial collapse, Toyota’s sudden unintended acceleration crisis, and several detailed selections on crisis management.

HOW IS THE BOOK STRUCTURED? Th e anthology is designed so that a professor could opt to teach just one section, a number of sections, or use the entire book. Each section is designed so that it stands on its own. Th e ordering and numbering of selections also does not denote any signifi - cance. If you are teaching students who need to operate in teams, then perhaps you should start with teams. If you have a large group of international students in your class, then you might want to start with the section on culture and communication. Th e individual articles are also selected so they can be discussed on their own. I spent more than two years researching and cataloging articles and books and made the fi nal selections so that relevance, conciseness, coherence, and importance were not compromised by economy. Th e book is primarily designed for undergraduates. However, both undergraduate- and graduate-level classes can benefi t from the selections of this book. MBA students might be interested in the selections on crisis management and/or Morgan’s article on authentic speaking. Undergraduates who are taking a study-abroad class would perhaps choose the culture and communication section fi rst. Each of the four sections is preceded by a brief introduction. Th e aim of the in- troduction is to summarize the main points of the articles and compare and contrast articles dealing with the same topic.

CHANGES TO THIS LATEST EDITION We have made several signifi cant changes since the book’s fi rst printing in 2009. We have changed the focus of Section One to communicating with the public and have added an article on Public Relations to this section. Th e section on crisis management has been completely rewritten and expanded signifi cantly. Th e one article in the older editions has been replaced by fi ve selections and an attempt has been made to include articles and selections on the most recent crises. Th e discussion on Toyota, for instance, is up-to-date as of March 2010. Another section that has been revised substantially is the section on culture and its consequences for communication. Selections from Hofstede’s Culture’s Consequences appear for the fi rst time in this book.

Introduction • 3 Finally, we have added an entirely new section, Technology and Communication, to discuss the wide-ranging infl uence of technological change on communication within and between organizations. Th is book is dedicated to my students at UC Riverside, whose thirst for knowledge prompted me to put this anthology together.

Farrokh Moshiri

4 • Management Communication: An Anthology SECTION ONE Communicating with the Public: Public Speaking, Oral Presentations and Public Relations

Public Speaking and Oral Presentation Skills

INTRODUCTION

e have all seen speakers who move across the podium and seem to have prepared well for their presentation, yet we feel that something is missing Wfrom their presentation. Nick Morgan in the proceeding article argues that these speakers have been over coached and have over rehearsed. Th ey are not authentic and the audience can feel it. Morgan suggests that to be an authentic speaker, one needs to open up to their audience by showing emotions, and by connecting with the audience by incorporating them in the beginning of the speech. Furthermore, one needs to be passionate about what is presented and watch for signals from the audience to modify the speech. Morgan in an earlier article had produced a label for excellent speakers—Kinesthetic speakers. Th ese speakers are those who “feed an audience’s essentially primal hunger to experience a presentation on a physical, as well as an intellectual, level (Morgan, 2001).” A speaker can produce these results by using gestures that are opening up the speaker toward the audience by spreading his or her arms receptively. Th e speaker must maintain just the right body posture, which “leans” towards the audience. Th e speaker must also rely on choreography by variation in volume, pitch, and tone as well as the presentation medium. Th e speaker must emphasize the important points of the presentation. Morgan makes an unconventional suggestion by arguing that the speaker should not open up with a joke or a humorous statement, rather he/she should tell a personal story to establish a connection. Once the connection is established, the speaker must then maintain the connection by reading clues from the audience and responding to them. Another interesting technique that Morgan proposes is for the speaker to choose a representative sample from the audience and break into their personal space to make a one to one connection. Textbook approaches, by contrast, take a much more conventional approach to public presentations (Lesikar, Flately, and Rentz, 2009). Some textbooks (Lesikar et al) off er a model to prepare for a public speech. Th ese formal approaches suggest that the speech should have the conventional introduction, body, and close sections and the

Public Speaking and Oral Presentation Skills • 7 introduction should serve to attract the attention of the audience and prepare them for what is to come.1 A good speaker then would show confi dence (prepare well) and have a good appear- ance, be friendly, and be thorough. He/she would have the right posture, walk strongly to the podium, and show genuine interest in the audience. Th e speaker would vary the pitch, the speed of talking, and use vocal emphasis. Part of being a good speaker is to know how to listen. Ralph Nichols and Leonard Stevens point out that most people do not know how to listen well. Most of us forget from 1/3 to 1/2 of what we heard in less than eight hours, and after two months we only remember 25% of the speech. Th e problem in the author’s opinion stems from the speed of the human brain where over 13 billion cells operate much too fast for the average person’s speech pattern, which is about 125 words per minute. In other words, our brain is capable of listening to someone while it is doing some- thing else. Th erefore, our problem is to remain focused on what the speaker says. However, we can be trained to do this by looking for ideas (as opposed to facts) and by waiting on evaluating a person’s talk until he/she is fi nished. A critical element in all communication is credibility of the speaker. In Message Credibility: How Public Relations Can Enhance Communication, Heather Ilizaliturri fo- cuses on how an eff ective public relations campaign can enhance corporate strategy by giving credibility to the communication strategy of a corporation. It is noteworthy that while much of public relations (PR) is conducted through press releases and events, public speeches and interviews are still an important part of the overall communication strategy, and therefore, the preceding points apply to PR as well.

1 Lesikar et al list three types of speech preparation. Th e most common type, extemporaneous speeches, requires the speaker to thoroughly study the topic and make copious notes. Memorization is rarely used, and reading, the third type, is only recommended for very high-level executives where words have serious consequences (Lesikar et al.).

8 • Management Communication: An Anthology