Monday, October 23, 2006
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Negotiation in Business Cultures
Organizational Cultures
The conduct of business negotiations can be compared to diplomacy between nation states. Not only do you need to understand the psychological make-up of the main negotiators, the national culture if the negotiation is cross-border, but you also need to understand the organizational culture of the company or organization you are negotiating with. Organizations are rather like tribes, they have their own myths and legends. Michael S Malone, in Infinite Loop, argues that the history of Apple Corporation reflected the influence of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Malone starts Infinite Loop with the statement that "Before and after everything, companies are about character. Before the first idea, the first money, the first employees, the first distributor, retailer and customer, before the creation of the company itself, there is the character of the founders". This pattern can be seen in a number of companies; Microsoft, Intel, De Beers, Hewlett-Packard. Ford is still dominated by the Ford family; a pattern of family influence that is common in many continental European firms. Some corporations are dominated by the dominant idea of their worth and function; quality may be the dominate driver, attention to the welfare of the employees, to the increase of shareholder value, domination of a sector, or to some other goal that has been defined and accepted within the organization. Anyone dealing with a company must have some concept and understanding of its value-system and culture.
Strengths and weaknesses
Organizational cultures can empower organizations to achieve success after success, to sustain industry leadership over long periods and to create an attitude within the organization that everything is possible. Examples of positive organizational cultures can also be found in successful sports teams, such as New Zealand's "All Blacks" rugby team. However for the negotiator it is as important to understands the negative effects of culture, especially when organizations do not behave in a logical manner and exhibit resistance to new ideas. This can make life very difficult for the negotiator trying to secure agreement on a joint venture, or where the agreement requires a change in the behavior of the other organization (I am assuming that your own organization is perfect). Every so often you meet a stone wall, a complete refusal to consider a set of ideas. It can be difficult to find a way round such road blocks. Such attitudes are not always due to stupidity, narrow-mindedness, or other mental weakness. Below we examine some of the issues which may be causing the problem. In dealing with such altitudes a head to head fight is rarely the best approach, something along the lines of "you are out of your skull", does not normally win the argument, even if you believe it. You should ideally find a way of attaching the idea to some aspect of the corporate culture, or precedent which the organization has adopted; in the same way that lawyers may claim to be following precedent when they are actually changing the law.
Irrational Behavior
Organizational behavior is not always rational; the career path within the organization or the retention of out of date norms may cause an organization to behave in a manner which seems illogical and counter to the real interests of the organization. '>In Battle of Wits, The Complete Story of Codebreaking in World War II, Stephen Budiansky highlights the failure of US and UK military establishments to understand the true importance of code-breaking in the period prior to World War II, in large part because of the importance given to traditional service attitudes which disparaged new technical disciplines as being of little importance to professionals. One example given is the failure of Admiral Jackson of the Royal Navy to understand the true nature of the available intelligence, which meant that the RN did not annihilate the German Fleet at the Battle of Jutland 1916, as it could have done had the available information been acted on correctly [page 50]. The concept of memes is a useful one, ideas which have been accepted by those within an organization and which are not easily replaced by new concepts. The negotiator has to be an anthropologist in order to understand the cultures of the organizations with whom he is dealing. Obviously if a potential business partner has an organizational culture which is negative or differs fundamentally from that of your organization then the likelihood of a successful long-term relationship developing is not strong. Not all ideas in other cultures are value neutral, for example the treatment of women and Jews, it is difficult to know how to react in such situations. An problem are is where a commercial organization contracts with a Government department, unless you have a clear idea of how to establish a working relationship you are entering a risky area. The culture and drivers of civil servants are very different from those of businessmen - civil servants are wedded to risk-avoidance and will avoid anything that could cause them personal difficulty.
Mindlessness
In The Knowing-Doing Gap by Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. Sutton the authors note that "At its best, doing things in the same way provides continuity and helps define and establish an organization's couture and values. Culture and values, by definition, require substantial continuity over time" (page 75). But the authors also argue that business cultures can lead to the dominance of precedent, which makes it difficult to accept new ideas, as it may interfere with learning and the application of new knowledge. They say that, "Perhaps the most serious problem with precedent is that it is used automatically, almost without thought" (page 77). This behavior is known as "habits of mind", "programmed behavior", "automatic processing" or "mindlessness". Ellen Langer in "Minding Matters" (in Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 1989, editor - Leonard Berkowitz) noted that an individual operating in such a mode, "becomes mindlessly trapped by categories that were previously created when the person was in a mindful mode" (page 137). See also Ellen J. Langer's Mindfulness and her The Power of Mindful Learning.
Rigidity
Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. Sutton also make the point in The Knowing-Doing Gap that organizational rigidity can be a reaction to the threat of change. They refer to the creation of the Saturn car division by GM, and the subsequent failure of GM to learn from the experience, but they note that Saturn's own culture was also so strong that it also resisted change. Human beings also seek permanence and cling to "certainties" long after they have changed, change can be uncomfortable and threatening, it requires thinking about new concepts and may undermine an individual's established knowledge (there are still a few managers who are content to let others use the Internet). For the negotiator "rigidity" in the other side may be a problem and an opportunity; the other side may stonewall some moves, but their rigidity may blind them to opportunities for their organization. They may literally be unable to "see" some things. Salesmen selling older technologies have benefited for years from the reluctance of their customers to grasp the benefit of newer solutions.
Government Bureaucracies
Additional examples of organizational programmed behavior can be found in Government bureaucracies where political policies and imbedded career structures may make preservation of an established order more important than adaptation to change. Government departments have therefore often found it difficult to use new technology effectively; a number of major IT systems ordered by UK Government departments have been total and expensive failures. See the Report in January 2000 of the UK Select Committee on Public Accounts, Improving the Delivery of Government IT Projects; the Committee concluded that "As well as wasting enormous sums of public money, failures in IT can have disabling impacts on public services and on citizens. These have included the failure to pay social security benefits to vulnerable people and major delays in issuing people their passports".
Cultural problems with change
Organizations which have experienced major problems with the adoption of technology include financial institutions and legal partnerships. Sometimes the problems are arisen because of the failure on the part of supplier to offer appropriate solutions, but the problems often arise because of difficulties with communication; failures to express the real requirements and to understand what organizational changes are required in order to use new technology effectively. The negotiator when arranging the deal should be aware of the existence of possible problems and will normally attempt to build mechanisms into the agreement which facilitate improved communications between the parties and clarity of specification definition.
World Views
Business-public partnerships have also suffered from the differences between organizational cultures and expectations. People and organizations do not always react in a logical and rational manner, don't be caught out by behavior which you did not expect; your view of the world will probably not be shared by all your business partners. For example foreign partners may be happy to visit London and New York, watch the BBC, MTV and CNN at home, but still fail to understand the values of a western society. I once met with a slave-owner from Mauritania (West Africa), his world-view was very different from mine.
The conduct of business negotiations can be compared to diplomacy between nation states. Not only do you need to understand the psychological make-up of the main negotiators, the national culture if the negotiation is cross-border, but you also need to understand the organizational culture of the company or organization you are negotiating with. Organizations are rather like tribes, they have their own myths and legends. Michael S Malone, in Infinite Loop, argues that the history of Apple Corporation reflected the influence of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Malone starts Infinite Loop with the statement that "Before and after everything, companies are about character. Before the first idea, the first money, the first employees, the first distributor, retailer and customer, before the creation of the company itself, there is the character of the founders". This pattern can be seen in a number of companies; Microsoft, Intel, De Beers, Hewlett-Packard. Ford is still dominated by the Ford family; a pattern of family influence that is common in many continental European firms. Some corporations are dominated by the dominant idea of their worth and function; quality may be the dominate driver, attention to the welfare of the employees, to the increase of shareholder value, domination of a sector, or to some other goal that has been defined and accepted within the organization. Anyone dealing with a company must have some concept and understanding of its value-system and culture.
Strengths and weaknesses
Organizational cultures can empower organizations to achieve success after success, to sustain industry leadership over long periods and to create an attitude within the organization that everything is possible. Examples of positive organizational cultures can also be found in successful sports teams, such as New Zealand's "All Blacks" rugby team. However for the negotiator it is as important to understands the negative effects of culture, especially when organizations do not behave in a logical manner and exhibit resistance to new ideas. This can make life very difficult for the negotiator trying to secure agreement on a joint venture, or where the agreement requires a change in the behavior of the other organization (I am assuming that your own organization is perfect). Every so often you meet a stone wall, a complete refusal to consider a set of ideas. It can be difficult to find a way round such road blocks. Such attitudes are not always due to stupidity, narrow-mindedness, or other mental weakness. Below we examine some of the issues which may be causing the problem. In dealing with such altitudes a head to head fight is rarely the best approach, something along the lines of "you are out of your skull", does not normally win the argument, even if you believe it. You should ideally find a way of attaching the idea to some aspect of the corporate culture, or precedent which the organization has adopted; in the same way that lawyers may claim to be following precedent when they are actually changing the law.
Irrational Behavior
Organizational behavior is not always rational; the career path within the organization or the retention of out of date norms may cause an organization to behave in a manner which seems illogical and counter to the real interests of the organization. '>In Battle of Wits, The Complete Story of Codebreaking in World War II, Stephen Budiansky highlights the failure of US and UK military establishments to understand the true importance of code-breaking in the period prior to World War II, in large part because of the importance given to traditional service attitudes which disparaged new technical disciplines as being of little importance to professionals. One example given is the failure of Admiral Jackson of the Royal Navy to understand the true nature of the available intelligence, which meant that the RN did not annihilate the German Fleet at the Battle of Jutland 1916, as it could have done had the available information been acted on correctly [page 50]. The concept of memes is a useful one, ideas which have been accepted by those within an organization and which are not easily replaced by new concepts. The negotiator has to be an anthropologist in order to understand the cultures of the organizations with whom he is dealing. Obviously if a potential business partner has an organizational culture which is negative or differs fundamentally from that of your organization then the likelihood of a successful long-term relationship developing is not strong. Not all ideas in other cultures are value neutral, for example the treatment of women and Jews, it is difficult to know how to react in such situations. An problem are is where a commercial organization contracts with a Government department, unless you have a clear idea of how to establish a working relationship you are entering a risky area. The culture and drivers of civil servants are very different from those of businessmen - civil servants are wedded to risk-avoidance and will avoid anything that could cause them personal difficulty.
Mindlessness
In The Knowing-Doing Gap by Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. Sutton the authors note that "At its best, doing things in the same way provides continuity and helps define and establish an organization's couture and values. Culture and values, by definition, require substantial continuity over time" (page 75). But the authors also argue that business cultures can lead to the dominance of precedent, which makes it difficult to accept new ideas, as it may interfere with learning and the application of new knowledge. They say that, "Perhaps the most serious problem with precedent is that it is used automatically, almost without thought" (page 77). This behavior is known as "habits of mind", "programmed behavior", "automatic processing" or "mindlessness". Ellen Langer in "Minding Matters" (in Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 1989, editor - Leonard Berkowitz) noted that an individual operating in such a mode, "becomes mindlessly trapped by categories that were previously created when the person was in a mindful mode" (page 137). See also Ellen J. Langer's Mindfulness and her The Power of Mindful Learning.
Rigidity
Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. Sutton also make the point in The Knowing-Doing Gap that organizational rigidity can be a reaction to the threat of change. They refer to the creation of the Saturn car division by GM, and the subsequent failure of GM to learn from the experience, but they note that Saturn's own culture was also so strong that it also resisted change. Human beings also seek permanence and cling to "certainties" long after they have changed, change can be uncomfortable and threatening, it requires thinking about new concepts and may undermine an individual's established knowledge (there are still a few managers who are content to let others use the Internet). For the negotiator "rigidity" in the other side may be a problem and an opportunity; the other side may stonewall some moves, but their rigidity may blind them to opportunities for their organization. They may literally be unable to "see" some things. Salesmen selling older technologies have benefited for years from the reluctance of their customers to grasp the benefit of newer solutions.
Government Bureaucracies
Additional examples of organizational programmed behavior can be found in Government bureaucracies where political policies and imbedded career structures may make preservation of an established order more important than adaptation to change. Government departments have therefore often found it difficult to use new technology effectively; a number of major IT systems ordered by UK Government departments have been total and expensive failures. See the Report in January 2000 of the UK Select Committee on Public Accounts, Improving the Delivery of Government IT Projects; the Committee concluded that "As well as wasting enormous sums of public money, failures in IT can have disabling impacts on public services and on citizens. These have included the failure to pay social security benefits to vulnerable people and major delays in issuing people their passports".
Cultural problems with change
Organizations which have experienced major problems with the adoption of technology include financial institutions and legal partnerships. Sometimes the problems are arisen because of the failure on the part of supplier to offer appropriate solutions, but the problems often arise because of difficulties with communication; failures to express the real requirements and to understand what organizational changes are required in order to use new technology effectively. The negotiator when arranging the deal should be aware of the existence of possible problems and will normally attempt to build mechanisms into the agreement which facilitate improved communications between the parties and clarity of specification definition.
World Views
Business-public partnerships have also suffered from the differences between organizational cultures and expectations. People and organizations do not always react in a logical and rational manner, don't be caught out by behavior which you did not expect; your view of the world will probably not be shared by all your business partners. For example foreign partners may be happy to visit London and New York, watch the BBC, MTV and CNN at home, but still fail to understand the values of a western society. I once met with a slave-owner from Mauritania (West Africa), his world-view was very different from mine.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Monday, October 09, 2006
Leadership Communication--Chapter 5 Summary
CHAPTER 5 USING GRAPHICS AND POWERPOINT FOR A LEADERSHIP EDGE
Leaders need to know how and when to use graphics. Graphics improve presentations and documents, particularly if the material is primarily quantitative, structural, pictorial, or so complicated that it can be illustrated more efficiently and effectively with a visual aid than with words alone. Graphics will contribute to the success of your oral and written communication.
RECOGNIZING WHEN TO USE GRAPHICS
Specifically, graphics should serve the following purposes:
1. Reinforce the message.
2. Provide a road map to the structure of presentation.
3. Illustrate relationships and concepts visually.
4. Support assertions.
5. Emphasize important ideas.
6. Maintain and enhance interests.
SELECTING AND DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DATA CHARTS
For data charts to add to your presentation or document, you first need to clarify your message and then you can determine the type and content of the graph that will add to, support, or explain that message best. Although you may have someone to help design your graphics, particularly if you have reached a high level in an organization, you will find it useful as you manage others and oversee the creation of your presentations to possess some knowledge of the best types of graphs, as well as the best designs, to ensure the clarity and accuracy of the different kinds of data you will be conveying to your audiences.
Edward Tufte, a Yale University statistician and author of several books on graphic design, provides the following best practice guidelines for creating data charts. Excellence in statistical graphics consists of complex ideas communicated with clarity, precision, and efficiency. Graphical displays should:
Leaders need to know how and when to use graphics. Graphics improve presentations and documents, particularly if the material is primarily quantitative, structural, pictorial, or so complicated that it can be illustrated more efficiently and effectively with a visual aid than with words alone. Graphics will contribute to the success of your oral and written communication.
RECOGNIZING WHEN TO USE GRAPHICS
Specifically, graphics should serve the following purposes:
1. Reinforce the message.
2. Provide a road map to the structure of presentation.
3. Illustrate relationships and concepts visually.
4. Support assertions.
5. Emphasize important ideas.
6. Maintain and enhance interests.
SELECTING AND DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DATA CHARTS
For data charts to add to your presentation or document, you first need to clarify your message and then you can determine the type and content of the graph that will add to, support, or explain that message best. Although you may have someone to help design your graphics, particularly if you have reached a high level in an organization, you will find it useful as you manage others and oversee the creation of your presentations to possess some knowledge of the best types of graphs, as well as the best designs, to ensure the clarity and accuracy of the different kinds of data you will be conveying to your audiences.
Edward Tufte, a Yale University statistician and author of several books on graphic design, provides the following best practice guidelines for creating data charts. Excellence in statistical graphics consists of complex ideas communicated with clarity, precision, and efficiency. Graphical displays should:
- Show the data
- Induce the viewer to think about the substance rather than methodology, graphic, design, the technology of graphic production, or something else.
- Avoid distorting what the data have to say.
- Present many numbers in a small space.
- Make large data sets coherent.
- Encourage the eye to compare different pieces of data.
- Reveal the data at several levels of detail, from a broad overview to the fine structure.
- Serve a reasonably clear purpose:description, exploration, taulation, or decoration.
- Be closely integrated with the stastitical and verbal descriptions of data set.
MAKING THE MOST OF POWERPOINT AS A DESIGN AND PRESENTATION TOOL
Top ten Guidelines for Using Graphics and PowerPoint for a Leadership Edge
1. Decide on your message, determine what information or data best supports it, and then decide how best to show that data graphically.
2. Use graphics for the right reasons, such as to reinforce your message, to provide a road map of your presentation, and to support assertions.
3. Select the right kind of graph to illustrate your message.
4. Use integrity in selecting and designing all graphics. making sure any graphs do not distort the data.
5. Keep your graphic simple. The graphic should make your message easier to understand, not more difficult; however, make sure it is meanigful and actually says something.
6. Use a title that captures the "so what?" of your slide so that your audience sees immediately the message the graphs is communicating.
7. Create your own PowerPoint template or modify the standard ones Microsoft provides so that the presentation reflects your personality or that of your company.
8. Make the font size and any graphics images large enough for the audience to see even from the back of the room.
9. Be careful with your color selections; go for contrast but conservative.
10. Avoid overusing or misusing animation.
Leadership Communication Chapter 4 Summary
CHAPTER 4 DEVELOPING AND DELIVERING LEADERSHIP PRESENTATIONS
PLANNNG YOUR PRESENTATION
In the planning phase of developing your presentation, you need to:
(1) determine your strategy;
(2) analyze your audience;
(3) select the medium and delivery method;
(4) organize and establish your logical structure and;
(5) Round-Table Presentations. You should select the round-table approach any time you want to achieve one of the following: -Encourage an informal, interactive discussion.
-Receive input from audience members.
Stand-Up Extemporaneous Presentations
One of the most popular deliver methods for business presentations is still the stand-up extemporaneous presentation. It is the most difficult but also the most effective form of presentation if structured and delivered correctly. Extemporaneous presentations offer three major advantages over any other method. They allow you to:
1. Maintain eye contact and rapport with your audience.
2. Make adjustments based on the audience's response.
3. Appear confident and knowledgeable.
Impromptu Presentations
Many of the presentations you will deliver will be impromptu, which means you are called on to deliver them without much, if any, warning. This is the classic "elevator speech," in which you only have the time the elevator takes to go between floors to answer the questions.
Establishing a Logical and Effective Presentation Structure
The organization or structure of a presentation proceeds from the needs and interests of the audience, your purpose, and the demands of the subject matter. When you start to outline or map out your presentation, you will refer first to the analysis of your audience to determine the most effective structure. In most cases, it works best to stated the conclusions or recommendations and then provide the supporting data; however, if your audience will be resistant to your conclusions or recommendations, then you may want to build our argument and present the evidence first.
As you amp out your preliminary plans for the organization of the presentation, remember that in a speech the audience cannot go back and look at the preceding message as they might in a document. You thus need to make sure that each point is logically related to the ideas that precede it and the information that follows, and that you use adequate, even obvious, transitions from point to point.
When creating and organizing a presentation as a team, you should establish the format first, and since most presentations routinely use PowerPoint templates, you should select one that meets your needs.
PREPARING A PRESENTATION TO ACHIEVE THE GREATEST IMPACT
After you have analyzed your audience, developed your communication strategy, and determined the overall structure, you are ready to start preparing the actual presentation. The preparation consists of developing the introduction, body, and conclusion; creating the graphics; testing the flow and logix; editing and proofreading; and practicing.
Presenting Effectively and with Greater Confidence
When it comes time to present, you should concentrates on your delivery style, focusing particularly on eye contact, stance, speech, and overall effect. You want to appear comfortable, confident, enthusiastic, and professional. Since much of the success of your presentation will be determined by how your audience perceives you right at the beginning, you should be prepared to establish your expertise and your value to the audience immediately and maintain that posistive ethos throughout.
The best way to project a positive ethos is to believe in what you are saying and to be fully prepared. As obvious as it may sound, nothing will take the place of preparation. To deliver presentation, you must be prepared.
To appear confident and project a positive ethos when presenting, you need to do the following:
1. Focus your energy on your audience.
2. Create and maintain rapport.
3. Adopt a secure stance.
4. Establish and maintain eye contact.
5. Project and vary your oice.
6. Demonstrate your message with gestures.
7. Adjust pace of delivery based on the audience response.
PLANNNG YOUR PRESENTATION
In the planning phase of developing your presentation, you need to:
(1) determine your strategy;
(2) analyze your audience;
(3) select the medium and delivery method;
(4) organize and establish your logical structure and;
(5) Round-Table Presentations. You should select the round-table approach any time you want to achieve one of the following: -Encourage an informal, interactive discussion.
-Receive input from audience members.
Stand-Up Extemporaneous Presentations
One of the most popular deliver methods for business presentations is still the stand-up extemporaneous presentation. It is the most difficult but also the most effective form of presentation if structured and delivered correctly. Extemporaneous presentations offer three major advantages over any other method. They allow you to:
1. Maintain eye contact and rapport with your audience.
2. Make adjustments based on the audience's response.
3. Appear confident and knowledgeable.
Impromptu Presentations
Many of the presentations you will deliver will be impromptu, which means you are called on to deliver them without much, if any, warning. This is the classic "elevator speech," in which you only have the time the elevator takes to go between floors to answer the questions.
Establishing a Logical and Effective Presentation Structure
The organization or structure of a presentation proceeds from the needs and interests of the audience, your purpose, and the demands of the subject matter. When you start to outline or map out your presentation, you will refer first to the analysis of your audience to determine the most effective structure. In most cases, it works best to stated the conclusions or recommendations and then provide the supporting data; however, if your audience will be resistant to your conclusions or recommendations, then you may want to build our argument and present the evidence first.
As you amp out your preliminary plans for the organization of the presentation, remember that in a speech the audience cannot go back and look at the preceding message as they might in a document. You thus need to make sure that each point is logically related to the ideas that precede it and the information that follows, and that you use adequate, even obvious, transitions from point to point.
When creating and organizing a presentation as a team, you should establish the format first, and since most presentations routinely use PowerPoint templates, you should select one that meets your needs.
PREPARING A PRESENTATION TO ACHIEVE THE GREATEST IMPACT
After you have analyzed your audience, developed your communication strategy, and determined the overall structure, you are ready to start preparing the actual presentation. The preparation consists of developing the introduction, body, and conclusion; creating the graphics; testing the flow and logix; editing and proofreading; and practicing.
Presenting Effectively and with Greater Confidence
When it comes time to present, you should concentrates on your delivery style, focusing particularly on eye contact, stance, speech, and overall effect. You want to appear comfortable, confident, enthusiastic, and professional. Since much of the success of your presentation will be determined by how your audience perceives you right at the beginning, you should be prepared to establish your expertise and your value to the audience immediately and maintain that posistive ethos throughout.
The best way to project a positive ethos is to believe in what you are saying and to be fully prepared. As obvious as it may sound, nothing will take the place of preparation. To deliver presentation, you must be prepared.
To appear confident and project a positive ethos when presenting, you need to do the following:
1. Focus your energy on your audience.
2. Create and maintain rapport.
3. Adopt a secure stance.
4. Establish and maintain eye contact.
5. Project and vary your oice.
6. Demonstrate your message with gestures.
7. Adjust pace of delivery based on the audience response.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Leadership and Communication Chapter 3 Summary
CHAPTER 3 USING LANGUAGE TO ACHIEVE A LEADERSHIP PURPOSE
Leaders lead and inspire others to action through their effective use of language. In The Art of Framing:Managing the Language of Leadership, Gail Firhurst and Robert Sarr argue that "leadership is a langugage game, one that many do not know they are playing. Even though most leaders spend nearly 70 percent of their time communicating, they pay relatively little attention to how they use language as a tool of influence." The in troduction in this text discussed how leaders use language as a tool of influence every day. Their ability to influence their audience positively, overcoming barriers to effective communication, is the essence of leadership communication. The goal is to helph you create a positive ethos through the effective use of language--the use of the right words in the right way to achieve the outcome you intend. You reveal your ethos through the laguage you use. As a leader, you want your audience to perceive a positive ethos in your tone, to see you as confident, and to trust and believe you.
ACHIEVING A POSITIVE ETHOS THROUGH TONE AND STYLE
To project a confident tone when you speak and when you write, you need to posses confidence not only in your knowledge on the subject but also in your ability to capture the content in the right words used in the right way. You want to sound confident and speak with authority. You want to be clear and crisp in your language yet not sound too harsh or brusque. The words you select and how you decide to combine them in sentences create your style as your tone, and through that tone, they make assumptions about your ethos. The tone, or what your readers perceive as your attitude toward them or toward the subject, influences the success of your message to such a great extent that you must always be aware of its impact.
COMMUNICATING CONCISELY
One way to make your writing clear is to make it concise. Clear writing is direct, to the point, and free of jargon, pomposity, and wordy constructions. To achieve conciseness in your writing, you may need to break old habits of wordiness that you do not even realize you have. Writing concisely requires practice and a critical eye for your own style.
Following the ten guidelines below will help you achieve greater conciseness and a style that is more direct and forceful.
1. Avoid the Overuse of the Passive Voice--The Actor Should Usually Come First in the Sentence.
2. Avoid Expletives, Such as "There Is" or "It Is"--Watch for the "It is...That" Constrcution is Particular
3. Avoid the Use of Prepositional Idioms
4. Avoid the Overuse of Relative Pronouns--"Who, "Which", and "That"
5. Avoid the Repetition of Words and Ideas.
6. Do Not Overuse Descriptive Words, Particularly Adverbs (-ly Words)
7. Avoid Weasel Words, Ambigous Noncommital Words (e.g, almost, as much as, can bem like, things, up to, feel, look, help)
8. Be Aware of Jargon (Language Used in Particular Disciplines) and Other Kinds of Gobbledygook.
9. Avoid Nominalizations (a Jargon Word Used by Linguistists That Means Turning Verbs into Nouns by Adding-tion)
10. Avoid Redundancies
USING BUSINESS LANGUAGE CORRECTLY
A concise and confident style and an appropriate tone contribute to a positive ethos. In addition, studeies have found that the correct use of language affects ethos as well.
Correct use of language in business communication is indeed important. For a leader, it is crucial. Your credibility as a leader, your ability to represent yourself and your company, and your ethos all depend on using language carefully. Careless errors are potentially damaging to a company. Error-prone writers might, for example, inadvertantly obligate themselves or their firms financially, compromise themselves or their firms ethically, or erode their own and their firms' credibility.
The Language Rules That Matter
The rules that govern the English anguage are numerous; however, some are more important thatn others and, according to survey findings, matter more than others in contemporary business communication. What follows is a brief overview of the roles that matter to business professionals today and a guide to traditional business grammas (as opposed to journalism or other contemporary usage). If you see yourself as very strong in standard business grammar, you could skip the short review. If you are unsure, you might want to pause before reading the next section to complete the "Usage Self-Assessment".
Surveys of executives and of memebers of the Association for the Business Communication have identified and the types of errors that business professionals find most bothersome:
1. Sentence Fragment
2. Unpunctuated Parenthetical Expression (Interrupter)
3. Run-On Sentence
4. Faulty Parallel Structure
5. Dangling Modifier
6. Apostrophe in Plural Noun
7. Comma Splice
8. Use of Reflexive Pronoun When Objective Case Is Needed
9. Use of Less for a Count Noun
10. Use of Nominative Case Pronoun in Compund Indirect Object
11. Use of Between for More Than Two
12. Adverbial Clause as Complement to Linking Verb
13. Its/It's Confusion
14. Use of Adverb "Badly" with State-of-Being Verb "Feel"
15. Mispelling of "Principle"
26. Lack of Apostrophe in Possessive Noun
17. Starting a Sentence with "But"
18. "Which" Used to Refer to Entire Preceding Clause
19. Use of Plural Pronoun to Refer to Singular Noun
20. Use of Plural Verb with Either/Or Subject Structure
The Power of Punctuation
Why does punctuation matter? It allow us to follow the complete thoughts embodied in sentences and distinguish between them. Punctuation makes reading easier and can lead to misreading if used incorrectly.
The strongerst marks of punctuation are the end marks (? !.), and the weakest are commas (,) and dashes (-). Confusion usually comes over what to do with the marks in between--the colon (:) and the semicolon (;). The colon is used to introduce lists or to signal that what follows exlains or elaborates what has come before. The semicolon is used to separate closely related independent clauses not joined by a coordinating conjunction (and, or, but, for, so, yet, not); to separate the independent clauses joined by conjunctive adverbs (accordingly, also, besieds, consequently, further, however, moreover, nevertheless, then, therefore, thus, etc.);or to separate a series of phrases or clauses containing numerous commas.
EMPLOYING EFFICIENT AND AFFECTIVE EDITING TECHNIQUES
Editing is an important skill that requires discipline and practice. It is particularly difficult to edit your own work. Many business wirters are not sure what it is that they need to watch for besides the obvious types and spelling. The advanced editing techniques shown here works well for leadership communication. Try it or develop your own method based on what you know are your particular strentgh and weaknesses. The key is to develp a method of some sort; otherwise, your editing will lack focus and may become haphazard.
The following acronym will help you remember this editing method: "Do Save Money."
D= Document (overall coherence, organization, formatting, tone)
S= Sentences (structure, clarity, conciseness)
M= Mechanics (typos, spelling, usage, diction)
Leaders lead and inspire others to action through their effective use of language. In The Art of Framing:Managing the Language of Leadership, Gail Firhurst and Robert Sarr argue that "leadership is a langugage game, one that many do not know they are playing. Even though most leaders spend nearly 70 percent of their time communicating, they pay relatively little attention to how they use language as a tool of influence." The in troduction in this text discussed how leaders use language as a tool of influence every day. Their ability to influence their audience positively, overcoming barriers to effective communication, is the essence of leadership communication. The goal is to helph you create a positive ethos through the effective use of language--the use of the right words in the right way to achieve the outcome you intend. You reveal your ethos through the laguage you use. As a leader, you want your audience to perceive a positive ethos in your tone, to see you as confident, and to trust and believe you.
ACHIEVING A POSITIVE ETHOS THROUGH TONE AND STYLE
To project a confident tone when you speak and when you write, you need to posses confidence not only in your knowledge on the subject but also in your ability to capture the content in the right words used in the right way. You want to sound confident and speak with authority. You want to be clear and crisp in your language yet not sound too harsh or brusque. The words you select and how you decide to combine them in sentences create your style as your tone, and through that tone, they make assumptions about your ethos. The tone, or what your readers perceive as your attitude toward them or toward the subject, influences the success of your message to such a great extent that you must always be aware of its impact.
COMMUNICATING CONCISELY
One way to make your writing clear is to make it concise. Clear writing is direct, to the point, and free of jargon, pomposity, and wordy constructions. To achieve conciseness in your writing, you may need to break old habits of wordiness that you do not even realize you have. Writing concisely requires practice and a critical eye for your own style.
Following the ten guidelines below will help you achieve greater conciseness and a style that is more direct and forceful.
1. Avoid the Overuse of the Passive Voice--The Actor Should Usually Come First in the Sentence.
2. Avoid Expletives, Such as "There Is" or "It Is"--Watch for the "It is...That" Constrcution is Particular
3. Avoid the Use of Prepositional Idioms
4. Avoid the Overuse of Relative Pronouns--"Who, "Which", and "That"
5. Avoid the Repetition of Words and Ideas.
6. Do Not Overuse Descriptive Words, Particularly Adverbs (-ly Words)
7. Avoid Weasel Words, Ambigous Noncommital Words (e.g, almost, as much as, can bem like, things, up to, feel, look, help)
8. Be Aware of Jargon (Language Used in Particular Disciplines) and Other Kinds of Gobbledygook.
9. Avoid Nominalizations (a Jargon Word Used by Linguistists That Means Turning Verbs into Nouns by Adding-tion)
10. Avoid Redundancies
USING BUSINESS LANGUAGE CORRECTLY
A concise and confident style and an appropriate tone contribute to a positive ethos. In addition, studeies have found that the correct use of language affects ethos as well.
Correct use of language in business communication is indeed important. For a leader, it is crucial. Your credibility as a leader, your ability to represent yourself and your company, and your ethos all depend on using language carefully. Careless errors are potentially damaging to a company. Error-prone writers might, for example, inadvertantly obligate themselves or their firms financially, compromise themselves or their firms ethically, or erode their own and their firms' credibility.
The Language Rules That Matter
The rules that govern the English anguage are numerous; however, some are more important thatn others and, according to survey findings, matter more than others in contemporary business communication. What follows is a brief overview of the roles that matter to business professionals today and a guide to traditional business grammas (as opposed to journalism or other contemporary usage). If you see yourself as very strong in standard business grammar, you could skip the short review. If you are unsure, you might want to pause before reading the next section to complete the "Usage Self-Assessment".
Surveys of executives and of memebers of the Association for the Business Communication have identified and the types of errors that business professionals find most bothersome:
1. Sentence Fragment
2. Unpunctuated Parenthetical Expression (Interrupter)
3. Run-On Sentence
4. Faulty Parallel Structure
5. Dangling Modifier
6. Apostrophe in Plural Noun
7. Comma Splice
8. Use of Reflexive Pronoun When Objective Case Is Needed
9. Use of Less for a Count Noun
10. Use of Nominative Case Pronoun in Compund Indirect Object
11. Use of Between for More Than Two
12. Adverbial Clause as Complement to Linking Verb
13. Its/It's Confusion
14. Use of Adverb "Badly" with State-of-Being Verb "Feel"
15. Mispelling of "Principle"
26. Lack of Apostrophe in Possessive Noun
17. Starting a Sentence with "But"
18. "Which" Used to Refer to Entire Preceding Clause
19. Use of Plural Pronoun to Refer to Singular Noun
20. Use of Plural Verb with Either/Or Subject Structure
The Power of Punctuation
Why does punctuation matter? It allow us to follow the complete thoughts embodied in sentences and distinguish between them. Punctuation makes reading easier and can lead to misreading if used incorrectly.
The strongerst marks of punctuation are the end marks (? !.), and the weakest are commas (,) and dashes (-). Confusion usually comes over what to do with the marks in between--the colon (:) and the semicolon (;). The colon is used to introduce lists or to signal that what follows exlains or elaborates what has come before. The semicolon is used to separate closely related independent clauses not joined by a coordinating conjunction (and, or, but, for, so, yet, not); to separate the independent clauses joined by conjunctive adverbs (accordingly, also, besieds, consequently, further, however, moreover, nevertheless, then, therefore, thus, etc.);or to separate a series of phrases or clauses containing numerous commas.
EMPLOYING EFFICIENT AND AFFECTIVE EDITING TECHNIQUES
Editing is an important skill that requires discipline and practice. It is particularly difficult to edit your own work. Many business wirters are not sure what it is that they need to watch for besides the obvious types and spelling. The advanced editing techniques shown here works well for leadership communication. Try it or develop your own method based on what you know are your particular strentgh and weaknesses. The key is to develp a method of some sort; otherwise, your editing will lack focus and may become haphazard.
The following acronym will help you remember this editing method: "Do Save Money."
D= Document (overall coherence, organization, formatting, tone)
S= Sentences (structure, clarity, conciseness)
M= Mechanics (typos, spelling, usage, diction)
Monday, October 02, 2006
Leadership Development Within Groups
Communicating Effectively
http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/leaddev/he499w.htm
Communication might be thought of as an "idea transplant." We send 300 to 1,000 messages a day. We probably receive that many messages too.
Communication consists of two basic skills: listening and feedback. There are messages we intend to send, messages we actually send, messages the listener thinks he/she heard, responses from the listener due to what he/she heard, and our reaction to the exchange of messages. Is it any wonder things may get garbled along the way?
Good listening takes a lot of practice. It requires concentration. Our minds think four times faster than a person can speak so our minds tend to wander. As we listen we need to focus on a speaker's words, body language, intended message and even unintended message. We need to listen without judging what we hear. A leader learns to listen at least as much as he/she speaks.
When we speak, we give feedback that includes expressing feelings, sharing information and ideas, understanding others and making observations. There are many ways to give feedback. "I" messages are one type.
http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/leaddev/he499w.htm
Communication might be thought of as an "idea transplant." We send 300 to 1,000 messages a day. We probably receive that many messages too.
Communication consists of two basic skills: listening and feedback. There are messages we intend to send, messages we actually send, messages the listener thinks he/she heard, responses from the listener due to what he/she heard, and our reaction to the exchange of messages. Is it any wonder things may get garbled along the way?
Good listening takes a lot of practice. It requires concentration. Our minds think four times faster than a person can speak so our minds tend to wander. As we listen we need to focus on a speaker's words, body language, intended message and even unintended message. We need to listen without judging what we hear. A leader learns to listen at least as much as he/she speaks.
When we speak, we give feedback that includes expressing feelings, sharing information and ideas, understanding others and making observations. There are many ways to give feedback. "I" messages are one type.
Chapters 5 Summary --Essentials of Negotiation
CHAPTER 5 PERCEPTION, COGNITION, AND COMMUNICATION
Perception, cognition, and communication are fundamental processes that governs how individuals construct and interpret the interaction that takes place in a negotiation. Reduced to its essence, negotiation is a form of interpersonal communication, which itself is a subject of the broader category of human perception and communication.
PERCEPTION AND NEGOTIATION
The Role of Perception
Negotiators approach each negotiation guided by their perceptions of past situations and current attitudes and bahaviors. Perception is the process by which individuals connect to their environment. The process of ascribing meaning to messages received is strongly influenced by the receiver's current state of mind, role, and understanding or comprehension of earlier communications.
Perceptual Distortion in Negotiation
In any given negotiation, the perceiver's own needs, desires, motivations, and personal experiences may create a predisposition about the other party. Such predispositions are most problematic when they lead to biases and errors in perception and subsequent communication. There are four major perceptual errors: stereotyping, halo effects, selective perception, and projections. Stereotyping and halo effects are examples of perceptual distortion by generalization: small amounts of perceptual information are used to draw large conclusions about individuals. Selective perception and projection are, in contrast, examples of perceptual distortion by the anticipation of encountering certain attributes and qualities in another person. In each case, the perceiver filters and distorts information to arrive at a consistent view.
Framing
A frame is the subjective mechanism through which people evaluate and make sense out of situations, leading them to pursue or avoid subsuquent actions. Framing is about focusing, shaping, and organizing the world around us--making sense of complex realities and defining it in ways that are meaningful to us.
An important aspect of framing is the cognitive heuristics approach, which examines the ways in which negotiators make systematic errors in judgment when they process information.
The cognitive heuristic approach to framing focuses on how a party perceives and shapes the outcome (particularly with regard to risk), and how the party's frame tends to persist regardless of the events and information that follow it.
Cognitive Biases in Negotiation
Negotiators have a tendency to make systematic errors when they process information. These errors, collectively labeled cognitive biases, tend to impede negotiator performace: they include (1) the irrational escalation of commitment, (2) the mythical belief that the issues under negotiation are all fixd-pie, (3) the process of anchoring and adjustment in decision making, (4) issue and problem framing, (5) the availibility of information, (6) the winner's curse, (7)negotiator overconfidence, (8) the law of small numbers, (9) self-serving biases, (10) the endowment effect, (11) the tendency to ignore others' cognitions, and (12) the process of reactive devaluation.
MANAGING MISPERCEPTIONS AND COGNITIVE BIASES IN NEGOTIATION
Misperceptions and cognitive biases arise automatically and out of conscious awareness as negotiators gather and process information. The best advice that negotiators can follow is simply to be aware of the negative aspects of these effects, and to discuss them in a structured manner within their team and with their counterparts.
Reframing
Negotiators may apply several different frames to the same negotiation. When different negotiators apply different, or mismatched, frames, they will find the bargaining process ambigous and frustrating. In such situations, it may become necessary to reframe the negotiation systematically, to assist the other party in reframing the negotiation, or to establish a common frame or set of frames within which the negotiation may be conducted more productively.
WHAT IS COMMUNICATED DURING NEGOTIATION?
Most of the communication during negotiation is not about negotiator preferences. The blend of integrative versus distributive content varies as a function of the issues being discussed, but it also clear that the content of communication is only partly responsible for negotiation outcomes. For example, one party may choose not communicate certain things (e.g, the reason she chose a different supplier), so her counterpart (e.g., the supplier not chosen) may be unaware why some outcomes occur. There are five categories of communication that take place during negotiations:
1. Offers and Counteroffers
2. Information about Alternatives (BATNA)
3. Information about Outcomes
4. Social Accounts
5. Communications about Process
HOW PEOPLE COMMUNICATE IN NEGOTIATION
While it may seem obvious that how negotiators communicate is as important as what they have to say, research has examined different aspects of how people communicate in negotiation. There are two aspects related to the "how" of communication: the characteristics of language that communicators use, and the selection of a communication channel for sending and receiving messages.
HOW TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATION IN NEGOTIATION
Failure and distortions in perception, cognition, and communication are the most dominant contributors to breakdowns and failures in negotiation. Research consistenly demonstrates that even those parties whose actual goals are compatible or integrative may either fail to reach agreement or reach suboptimal agreements because of the isperceptions of the other party or becuase of breakdowns in the communication in negotiation: the use of questions, listening, and role reversal.
MOOD, EMOTION, AND NEGOTIATION
The role of mood and emotion in negotiation has been the subject of an increasing body of recent theory and research during the last decade. The distinction between mood and emotion is based on three characteristics: specificity, intensity, and duration. Mood states are more diffuse, less intense and directed at more specific targets. There are amny new and exciting developments in the study of mood, emotion, and negotiation, and we can present only a limited overview here. The following are some selected findings.
1. Negotiations create both positive and negative emotions
2. Positive emotions generally have positive consequences for negotiations
-Positive feelings are more likely to lead the parties towards integrative
-Positive feelings promote persistence
-Positive feelings result from fair procedures during negotiation
3. Negative Emotions Generally Have Negative Consequences for Negotiations.
4. Emotions can be used strategically as negotiation tactics.
SPECIAL COMMUNICATION CONSIDERATIONS AT THE CLOSE OF NEGOTIATIONS
As negotiation come to a close, negotiators must attend to two key aspects of communication and negotiation simultaneously: the avoidance of fatal mistakes, and the achievment of satisfactory closure in constructive manner.
Perception, cognition, and communication are fundamental processes that governs how individuals construct and interpret the interaction that takes place in a negotiation. Reduced to its essence, negotiation is a form of interpersonal communication, which itself is a subject of the broader category of human perception and communication.
PERCEPTION AND NEGOTIATION
The Role of Perception
Negotiators approach each negotiation guided by their perceptions of past situations and current attitudes and bahaviors. Perception is the process by which individuals connect to their environment. The process of ascribing meaning to messages received is strongly influenced by the receiver's current state of mind, role, and understanding or comprehension of earlier communications.
Perceptual Distortion in Negotiation
In any given negotiation, the perceiver's own needs, desires, motivations, and personal experiences may create a predisposition about the other party. Such predispositions are most problematic when they lead to biases and errors in perception and subsequent communication. There are four major perceptual errors: stereotyping, halo effects, selective perception, and projections. Stereotyping and halo effects are examples of perceptual distortion by generalization: small amounts of perceptual information are used to draw large conclusions about individuals. Selective perception and projection are, in contrast, examples of perceptual distortion by the anticipation of encountering certain attributes and qualities in another person. In each case, the perceiver filters and distorts information to arrive at a consistent view.
Framing
A frame is the subjective mechanism through which people evaluate and make sense out of situations, leading them to pursue or avoid subsuquent actions. Framing is about focusing, shaping, and organizing the world around us--making sense of complex realities and defining it in ways that are meaningful to us.
An important aspect of framing is the cognitive heuristics approach, which examines the ways in which negotiators make systematic errors in judgment when they process information.
The cognitive heuristic approach to framing focuses on how a party perceives and shapes the outcome (particularly with regard to risk), and how the party's frame tends to persist regardless of the events and information that follow it.
Cognitive Biases in Negotiation
Negotiators have a tendency to make systematic errors when they process information. These errors, collectively labeled cognitive biases, tend to impede negotiator performace: they include (1) the irrational escalation of commitment, (2) the mythical belief that the issues under negotiation are all fixd-pie, (3) the process of anchoring and adjustment in decision making, (4) issue and problem framing, (5) the availibility of information, (6) the winner's curse, (7)negotiator overconfidence, (8) the law of small numbers, (9) self-serving biases, (10) the endowment effect, (11) the tendency to ignore others' cognitions, and (12) the process of reactive devaluation.
MANAGING MISPERCEPTIONS AND COGNITIVE BIASES IN NEGOTIATION
Misperceptions and cognitive biases arise automatically and out of conscious awareness as negotiators gather and process information. The best advice that negotiators can follow is simply to be aware of the negative aspects of these effects, and to discuss them in a structured manner within their team and with their counterparts.
Reframing
Negotiators may apply several different frames to the same negotiation. When different negotiators apply different, or mismatched, frames, they will find the bargaining process ambigous and frustrating. In such situations, it may become necessary to reframe the negotiation systematically, to assist the other party in reframing the negotiation, or to establish a common frame or set of frames within which the negotiation may be conducted more productively.
WHAT IS COMMUNICATED DURING NEGOTIATION?
Most of the communication during negotiation is not about negotiator preferences. The blend of integrative versus distributive content varies as a function of the issues being discussed, but it also clear that the content of communication is only partly responsible for negotiation outcomes. For example, one party may choose not communicate certain things (e.g, the reason she chose a different supplier), so her counterpart (e.g., the supplier not chosen) may be unaware why some outcomes occur. There are five categories of communication that take place during negotiations:
1. Offers and Counteroffers
2. Information about Alternatives (BATNA)
3. Information about Outcomes
4. Social Accounts
5. Communications about Process
HOW PEOPLE COMMUNICATE IN NEGOTIATION
While it may seem obvious that how negotiators communicate is as important as what they have to say, research has examined different aspects of how people communicate in negotiation. There are two aspects related to the "how" of communication: the characteristics of language that communicators use, and the selection of a communication channel for sending and receiving messages.
HOW TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATION IN NEGOTIATION
Failure and distortions in perception, cognition, and communication are the most dominant contributors to breakdowns and failures in negotiation. Research consistenly demonstrates that even those parties whose actual goals are compatible or integrative may either fail to reach agreement or reach suboptimal agreements because of the isperceptions of the other party or becuase of breakdowns in the communication in negotiation: the use of questions, listening, and role reversal.
MOOD, EMOTION, AND NEGOTIATION
The role of mood and emotion in negotiation has been the subject of an increasing body of recent theory and research during the last decade. The distinction between mood and emotion is based on three characteristics: specificity, intensity, and duration. Mood states are more diffuse, less intense and directed at more specific targets. There are amny new and exciting developments in the study of mood, emotion, and negotiation, and we can present only a limited overview here. The following are some selected findings.
1. Negotiations create both positive and negative emotions
2. Positive emotions generally have positive consequences for negotiations
-Positive feelings are more likely to lead the parties towards integrative
-Positive feelings promote persistence
-Positive feelings result from fair procedures during negotiation
3. Negative Emotions Generally Have Negative Consequences for Negotiations.
4. Emotions can be used strategically as negotiation tactics.
SPECIAL COMMUNICATION CONSIDERATIONS AT THE CLOSE OF NEGOTIATIONS
As negotiation come to a close, negotiators must attend to two key aspects of communication and negotiation simultaneously: the avoidance of fatal mistakes, and the achievment of satisfactory closure in constructive manner.
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