Management samson and daft 6th edition pdf

Management Communication

Independent Learning Tasks

Description: Responses to ILTs (see Study Guide for tasks). To be posted to the Discussion Board on a weekly basis from Week 1-12.

Weighting: 20%

Length: 100-200 words per post (2000 words total)

Due: Monday, Week 13, 10pm AEST.

Assessment Rationale

This assessment is the online equivalent of tutorial participation. This task encourages students to critically engage with the course materials, their peers and their tutor through weekly on-line discussions.

Assignment procedure

1. Each week write a response of 100-200 words to the Independent Learning Task (ILT) provided in your study guide. The response should demonstrate your critical engagement with the unit content, the textbook and readings. Post your response in the COM21 Discussion Board under the thread titled Independent Learning Tasks and under the correct week for each specific task.

2. Each week comment on the ILT responses made by two of your peers. Your response should elaborate some issue with reference to your own experience or academic argument. This is a place for informed comment and not unsubstantiated opinion or chatting. You required to post a minimum of two responses.

3. Each week collect your own original responses to the ILTs and your two best responses to peers in a Word document, that is, one ILT and two posts to peers for each week.

This will be the document you submit to your tutor at the end of the study period.

While we do want you to post across the study period, we understand that sometimes work or family pressures may make this difficult. Please note that students will be marked down if the tasks are all posted in just the final weeks of the Study Period.

IMPORTANT

Your need to nominate your best ILT posts and peer responses for two specific weeks as your strongest posts for marking and feedback. At the top of your document include a statement such as:

MARKERS PLEASE PROVIDE DETAILED FEEDBACK ON THE ILT FOR WEEK X AND Y.

A general mark for your participation will be allocated but specific feedback on these two weeks discussions will be provided.

Checklist

Have you completed the ILT for each week?

Have you responded to at least two posts made by a peer?

Have you collected all posts into Word document including:

· your name and student number

· Assignment Cover Sheet

· each of your ILTs and two responses to your peers for each week?

Have you clearly identified your two best weekly ILT responses?

Have you submitted your assignment through SafeAssign?

If required, have you organised an extension with your tutor?

Have you spent some time doing something fun now this assignment is completed?

including photo-copying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written

permission.

These materials may only be distributed to students enrolled in this course.

CRICOS Provider: 00233E

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CONTENTS

Unit Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1

Unit Aim ......................................................................................................................................... 1

How to use this Study Guide......................................................................................................... 2

MODULE 1 .............................................................................................................................................. 3

Week One: Management and Communication ................................................................................... 3

1.1 Introduction: Managers in Organisations ............................................................................ 4

1.2 Who is an Effective Manager? ............................................................................................ 7

1.3 Strategic Management Communication ............................................................................. 8

1.4 Strategic Conversations ...................................................................................................... 8

1.5 Leadership, Management and Communication: A Symbiotic Relationship ...................... 10

1.6 Applying Key Communication Themes ............................................................................. 10

1.6.1 Cultural Ethos ...................................................................................................... 10

1.6.2 Adaptive Management Behaviours ...................................................................... 12

1.6.3 Cultural Leadership .............................................................................................. 12

Week Two: Management Ethics and Social Responsibility ............................................................ 15

2.1 Your Own Ethics ............................................................................................................... 16

2.2 Making Your Ethics Clear ................................................................................................. 18

2.3 Ethical Decisions .............................................................................................................. 19

2.4 Behavioural Traits ............................................................................................................. 22

2.5 Social Responsibility ......................................................................................................... 22

2.6 Applying Key Themes to Communication ......................................................................... 23

MODULE 2 ............................................................................................................................................ 25

Week Three: Evolution of Management Thinking ............................................................................ 25

3.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 26

3.2 The Evolution of Management Thinking ........................................................................... 27

3.3 The Classical Perspective ................................................................................................ 29

3.4 Humanist Perspective ....................................................................................................... 31

3.5 Learning Organisations ..................................................................................................... 32

3.6 Sustainable Development ................................................................................................. 35

3.7 Applying Key Themes to Communication ......................................................................... 36

Week Four: Communication Networks ............................................................................................. 38

4.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 39

4.2 Workplace Relationships .................................................................................................. 40

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4.3 Defining Relational Situations ........................................................................................... 41

4.4 Communication Competencies ......................................................................................... 44

4.5 Different Types of Workplace Relationship ...................................................................... 45

4.5.1 Superior/Subordinate Relationships .................................................................... 45

4.5.2 Peer Relationships ............................................................................................... 46

4.5.3 Problematic Relationships ................................................................................... 47

4.6 Applying Key Themes To Communication ....................................................................... 49

MODULE 3 ............................................................................................................................................ 51

Week Five: More Communication Networks .................................................................................... 51

5.1 Communication Networks ................................................................................................. 52

5.2 Network Analysis .............................................................................................................. 53

5.3 Key Concepts In Network Analysis ................................................................................... 54

5.4 Communities of Practice ................................................................................................... 55

5.5 Inter-Organisational Relationships and Networks ............................................................ 57

5.6 Network Organisations ..................................................................................................... 58

5.7 Applying Some Key Communication Themes .................................................................. 59

MODULE 4 ............................................................................................................................................ 63

Week Six: Managing Communication and Diversity ....................................................................... 63

6.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 64

6.2 Valuing Diversity ............................................................................................................... 66

6.3 Ethnocentrism and Monoculture ....................................................................................... 68

6.4 Ethnorelativism and Pluralism .......................................................................................... 69

6.5 The Changing Workplace ................................................................................................. 69

6.6 Minority Groups in the Workplace .................................................................................... 71

6.7 Communication Challenges .............................................................................................. 72

6.8 Applying Some Key Communication Themes .................................................................. 72

Week Seven: More Managing Communication and Diversity ......................................................... 74

7.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 75

7.2 The Glass Ceiling ............................................................................................................. 75

7.3 Cultural Ethos ................................................................................................................... 78

7.3.1 Recruitment Initiatives .......................................................................................... 78

7.3.2 Career Advancement ........................................................................................... 79

Contents continued …

7.3.3 Diversity Training ................................................................................................. 80

7.4 Indentifying Strategies for Awareness .............................................................................. 81

7.5 Multicultural Teams ........................................................................................................... 82

7.6 Applying Some Key Communication Themes .................................................................. 82

MODULE 5 ............................................................................................................................................ 85

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Week Eight: Managing Change Related Communication ............................................................... 85

8.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 86

8.2 What Is Organisational Change? ...................................................................................... 86

8.3 Products and Technology ................................................................................................. 87

8.3.1 Exploration ........................................................................................................... 88

8.3.2 Cooperation ......................................................................................................... 89

8.3.3 Ideas and Communication Champions ................................................................ 90

8.4 Changing People and Culture .......................................................................................... 90

8.4.1 Approaches to Implementing Change ................................................................. 91

8.5 Applying Key Themes to Communication ......................................................................... 92

Week Nine: More on Managing Change Related Communication ................................................. 95

9.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 96

9.2 The Need For Change ...................................................................................................... 96

9.2.1 SWOT Analysis .................................................................................................... 97

9.3 Resistance to Change ...................................................................................................... 97

9.3.1 Force-Field Analysis ............................................................................................ 98

9.4 Change Implementation Tactics ....................................................................................... 98

9.5 Creating Environments for Change Communication ...................................................... 100

9.6 Glossary .......................................................................................................................... 101

9.7 Applying Key Themes to Communication ....................................................................... 102

MODULE 6 .......................................................................................................................................... 105

Week Ten: The Integration of Strategic Planning and Communication ...................................... 105

10.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 106

10.2 Goals, Plans and Performance of Communication ......................................................... 106

10.3 The Right Messages ....................................................................................................... 108

10.4 Criteria for Effective Goals .............................................................................................. 110

10.5 Applying Key Themes to Communication ....................................................................... 111

Week Eleven: Communicating in Difficult Times and Crisis Situations ...................................... 113

11.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 114

11.2 Planning in Turbulent Times ........................................................................................... 115

11.2.1 Contingency Plans ............................................................................................. 115

11.2.2 Scenario Building ............................................................................................... 116

11.3 Shaping a Crisis Plan ..................................................................................................... 117

11.3.1 Prevention .......................................................................................................... 117

11.3.2 Preparation ........................................................................................................ 117

11.3.3 Containment ....................................................................................................... 118

11.4 Applying Key Themes to Crisis Communication ............................................................. 119

MODULE 7 .......................................................................................................................................... 121

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Week Twelve: Understanding Public Relations ............................................................................. 121

12.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 122

12.2 Identifying and Defining Publics ..................................................................................... 122

12.2.1 Internal Publics .................................................................................................. 123

12.2.2 External Publics ................................................................................................. 123

12.3 Prioritising Publics .......................................................................................................... 124

12.4 Perceptions and Public Opinion ..................................................................................... 125

12.5 Perceptions of the Organisation ..................................................................................... 126

12.5.1 Internal Publics .................................................................................................. 126

12.5.2 External Publics ................................................................................................. 126

12.6 Women and Minorities .................................................................................................... 127

12.7 Points to Remember ....................................................................................................... 127

12.8 Applying Key Themes to Communication ....................................................................... 128

Week Thirteen: Where Have We Been? .......................................................................................... 129

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UNIT INTRODUCTION

UNIT AIM

Whether you work as a junior or middle manager or as the Chief Executive Officer, to operate efficiently

you need well developed management communication skills. COM21 Management Communication is

a second level unit in the Business Communication major that is part of the Griffith University Bachelor

of Communication degree introduced in 2012.

This unit will provide a detailed understanding of the principles of management communication and

develop the capacity to communicate effectively as a professional. There is a strong emphasis on

practical communication skills which will be framed within an unfolding theoretical discourse.

The unit emphasises key elements of communication processes that are vital to working effectively and

ethically in a global society. It will familiarise students with emerging communication issues and

strategies, and the challenges and opportunities these bring to any management task.

This Study Guide is broken into seven modules:

• Managers in organisations

• Evolution of management thinking

• Communication networks

• Communication and diversity

• Managing change related communication

• The convergence of planning and management in the face of crisis

• Understanding external communication.

On completion of this unit, students should have developed an understanding of the following core skills,

policies and theories:

• The role of communication in a manager’s job

• The Learning Organisation

• Communication networks and analysis

• Communities of practice and network organisations

• Valuing diversity

• Managing change related communication

• Implementing change communication and strategies for innovation

• Managing and communicating in crisis

• Managing team conflict

• Understanding external communications

• Managing perceptions and public opinion – internally and externally.

After successfully completing this course students will have developed a solid knowledge of the

principles of effective management communication and their application in the following key areas:

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• Communicating as an effective manager

• Understanding the relationships between leadership, management and communication

• Understanding personal and organisational realities of management ethics

• Understanding evolutionary trends in management thinking

• Recognising glass ceilings as a metaphor for minority issues and discrimination

• Recognising ethnocentrism and ethnorelativism and their impact on workplaces

• Converging planning and communication in response to difficult times.

• Developing strategies for effective management communication

• Understanding meanings for Publics and public opinion.

HOW TO USE THIS STUDY GUIDE

The study guide is broken into weekly sections and the information regarding the set reading(s) for each

week is detailed at the beginning of each week. The textbook, readings and study guide are designed

to work together to provide a broader view of the topics being discussed. You will notice we have

included some ‘recommended’ rather than ‘required’ readings. These are for students who are

particularly interested in the topic being discussed and provide additional relevant material useful for

assessment tasks.

In COM21 Management Communication the textbook is:

Management, 2018, 6th Asia-Pacific edition, Australia, Cengage Learning written by Danny Samson,

Timothy Donnet and Richard L Daft

OR the older edition of the same textbook:

Management, 2015, 5th Asia-Pacific edition, Australia, Cengage Learning written by Danny Samson

and Richard L Daft.

Throughout the Study Guide, the relevant page numbers from both these editions of the same textbook

will be provided for all information that is quoted or referenced.

Please be aware that the Griffith University Library has the ebook of the 2015 edition of this textbook

only. There is no ebook for the 2018 edition at this stage.

It is available through Unibooks.

We have also provided a range of Independent Learning Tasks (ILTs) for each week. These tasks are

designed to encourage you to take a deeper approach to your study and help you to explore the key

concepts and tangent issues. These tasks are also designed to work as an online tutorial that will build

your skills and understanding in preparation for completion of your major assessment items. The ILTs

are a compulsory part of your study and form part of your overall assessment.

We believe these ILTs are important in enhancing your learning experience and in providing an

opportunity for you to work with your peers. We have allocated marks for their completion. As you work

through each task, share your ideas with your peers on the Discussion Board. Don’t just post your

thoughts, read through the comments made by other students and respond to their ideas. This will help

you to see other perspectives on the topic being discussed and may alert you to ideas you had not

considered. The aim is for you to debate and unpack concepts with your peers. Your tutor will oversee

these discussions but will not be actively involved. They will provide general weekly feedback on this

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work. They will provide marks and specific, private feedback on the 2 of the 10 week interactions

nominated by you.

In addition to your learning tasks you are required to produce a 2000 word essay (Assessment 2, due

Monday Week 7) and a 2000 word report (Assessment 3, due Monday Week 14). More information on

Assessments 2 and 3 are also included in the Unit Outline.

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MODULE 1

WEEK ONE: MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION

By the end of this week, students will be familiar with some of the basic elements of management

communication. These include:

• Overview of the responsibilities of managers

• Definition of management communication

• Understanding the elements that create effective management communication

• Understanding the role of communication as the manager’s constant daily activity

• Understanding how leadership, management and communication share a symbiotic

relationship.

REQUIRED READING

Samson, Danny, Donnet, Timothy & Daft, Richard L, 2018, Management, 6th Asia-Pacific

edition, Australia, Cengage Learning. Chapter 1, Chapter 17.

or

Samson, Danny & Daft, Richard L, 2015, Management, 5th Asian-Pacific edition, Australia, Cengage Learning.

Chapter1, Chapter 17.

RECOMMENDED READING

O’Hair, D, Dixon, L, & Friedrich, G, 2005, ‘Leadership and Management Skills, Strategic

Communication in Business and the Professions, 5th Edition, Houghton Mifflin, Boston. pp. 148 – 176.

INDEPENDENT LEARNING TASK 1*

The set textbook presents a New Manager Self-test ( Samson, Donnet & Daft 2018, p.

4; Samson & Daft 2015, p. 3)

1. Complete the questionnaire and score yourself.

2. Write a short piece (100–200 words) about what you have learned from the

Questionnaire about your own management skills.

Post your response on the Discussion Board and comment on the work of your

peers in the ILT1 thread under the link ‘Post your response to ILT1 here.’

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* A NOTE ABOUT INDEPENDENT LEARNING TASKS

The Independent Learning Tasks (ILTs) are peer-learning activities and while your tutor will give weekly

feedback, it will be general in its nature and not specific to individual students.

The idea of these tasks is to give you an opportunity to practice some elements of analysis or delve

more deeply into some aspect of theory that will help you develop a deeper understanding of the Unit

content. It may also help you respond to your assignment tasks. The more you get involved with your

peers the better your collective and ind

ividual understanding is likely to be.

Part of your mark will be based on your own responses and your responses to other students. These

Independent Learning Tasks represent an important part of Assessment 1. To access all the information

on Assessment 1, go to your Unit Outline.

1.1 INTRODUCTION: MANAGERS IN ORGANISATIONS

In business, Managers are responsible for effectively managing, informing, mentoring, motivating,

coaching, instructing, supporting and reporting on all activities conducted by the organisation. All of

these tasks are driven by communication.

Making a difference as a manager today and tomorrow requires a different approach from yesterday.

Successful departments and organisations do not just happen– they are managed to be that way.

Manages in every organization pacemaker challenges and have an opportunity to make a difference.

Flexibility and agility are important new approaches and capabilities of managers and their

organisations. (Samson, Donnet & Daft 2018, p. 8; Samson & Daft 2015, p. 9)

Much has changed in the workplace over fifty years. Earlier concepts of traditional, hierarchical

mechanistic management structures, predominately using a top down communication style, are now

balanced by more organic structures. Organic structures tend to have a flatter management structure

and communications are often vertical, horizontal and lateral, allowing for a more creative response to

innovation across the organisation.

In reality, many contemporary organisations are a hybrid of mechanistic and organic management

structures and styles, modelled to fit the needs of the organisation and as a reflection of their work

culture. Nonetheless, the enduring notion that management is the process of planning and coordinating

work activities and tasks to be completed efficiently and effectively with and through other people

remains the constant principle.

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DISCUSSION POINT. Mechanistic organisational structures are pyramid shaped, with decision making

and power concentrated at the top. They have rigid communication lines with authority based on

position. Organic organisational structures have a flattened horizontal shape. Decision making is at all

levels. Communication flows are based on current needs. Authority is based on expertise. They are

fluid, dynamic and ever-changing.

Think about your own workplace experiences and reflect on which of those organisations were more

mechanistic or more organic in their structure. What did that feel like? How are they different?

*A NOTE ABOUT DISCUSSION POINTS.

Throughout this study guide you will find these discussion points. They are there for you to follow through

as a personal and reflective moment about the issue at hand. Sometimes they will direct you to specific

short reading or to a YouTube clip.

They are presented as an extra thinking exercise that will help you gain further insights into the principles

and concepts being discussed throughout the semester.

A manager’s responsibilities are many and varied, but include:

• Being the corporate face, representative or point of contact for an organisation or a work

team within an organisation

• Monitoring information and its flow

• Networking both internally and externally

• Entering into transactions and negotiations with workers, leaders and other managers

within the organisation to effectively coordinate activities

• Planning and scheduling work activities

• Allocating physical and human resources to different work teams and activities

• Directing and monitoring the work of team members

• Monitoring and informing human resources management activities

• Adapting to changing situations and unexpected events that may directly affect work flow

or the workplace

• Engaging with innovation within the workplace on product and management levels

• Remaining current within your professional or functional expertise.

Management can be defined as having four main roles. These are:

• Assessing and monitoring. The first task of a manager is to ensure that the current

activities of the organisation are functional and under control. Systems need to be

developed and monitored to ensure the organisation is meeting its current targets and

vision. Failure to do so can stifle any other future vision, goals and aspirations of the

organisation. Business runs on cash flow and day to day production and management

detail must be strictly adhered to. Monitoring operations is an ongoing process.

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• Planning. An organisation needs managers who can set out its future goals and develop

detailed strategies about how the organisation may achieve growth. In these days of

globalisation and turbulent finance, this planning has become both regular and crucial to

securing the organisation’s future.

We are surrounded by stories of organisations that failed to make the right moves resulting

in their markets and clients moving away, either locally or offshore. In the age of

information, we see tastes and trends moving rapidly. Many times these changing trends

and tastes are predictable. Today, managers need to be more than content experts. Not

only do they need to be able to motivate, innovate, communicate and build solid workplace

relationships with their colleagues in order to succeed, they need to be across their internal

and external communication in order to be able to adapt quickly to changing business

environments.

• Organising. The current management ‘buzz’ is transactional management. This term

describes how the vision of the organisation transforms into processes, systems and work

activities that are going to be effective within the organisation’s available resources. This

responsibility rests with the Board, often developed in tandem with a small leadership team

from within the organisation. Their role is to fulfil the ‘big picture’, deliver vision and mission

statements, aims and objectives. ‘Organising involves the assignment of tasks, the

grouping of tasks into departments, and the allocation of resources to departments’

(Samson, Donnet & Daft 2018, pp. 12-13; Samson & Daft 2015, p. 13). Managers work

with the leadership team and the wider organisation to transform that vision in reality

through negotiation and transactional processes, systems and work activities to implement

this vision.

These transactions, by necessity, may lead to the development of a new structural design

for the organisation or even the engagement of innovative management models resulting

in the integration of new work teams, either structured or self-managed.

The term transactional management implies and requires the constant engagement of

communication skills and models: messages sent and received, identification of noise and

interference, feedback techniques, emotional intelligence, active listening, an

understanding of non-verbal communication, together with an understanding of the

organisational culture. The many wider cultural backgrounds of employees also need to be

consistently and sensitively engaged. People from other cultures often work to a non-

mainstream set of social and workplace values.

• Leading. In any event, these innovations, new systems and processes are then fed back

up into the leadership team and discussed, changed, tested and ultimately verified. The

role of the manager then becomes the implementation of change, potentially establishing

or rebuilding teams towards the development of functional new systems and processes.

In modern organisations, change is the only certainty. Organisations run the risk of being

left behind in today’s global market and business environment which is ‘morphing’ itself

faster than at any time in human history.

Managing for change and communicating these changes is the challenge for modern

managers.

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1.2 WHO IS AN EFFECTIVE MANAGER?

The Karpin Taskforce, commissioned in 1994 by the Australian Government, details its findings in the

2015 edition of Samson & Daft (pp. 38-40). The vision statement of the report (Australia 2010) detailed

some key focal points issues for Australian managers. These provide a benchmark for Australian

managers to strive for and need reiterating in this Study Guide. They are:

By 2010, Australian Enterprises and their managers should be focused on:

• Knowledge

• The ability to learn, change and innovate in the new marketplace, as the accepted

manager selection criteria, rather than gender, ethnicity or even prior experience

• The learning organisation as a standard philosophy for many Australian

enterprises, and as a major way to cope with change and turbulence

• Managers creating conditions conducive to learning for both individuals and the

enterprise as a whole, both across individual units and between the enterprise as a

whole, both across individual business units and between enterprises and their

external environments

• Employees being more motivated and skilled

• Quality acting as a guiding light within all organisations, with a customer-first

mentality being all pervasive.

(Commonwealth of Australia Enterprising Nation, 1995)

Each of these aspirations for the management of Australian organisations has, at its core, the practical

application of communication skills and models. Indeed, the greatest asset a manager may have in

today’s business environment is not how well they can build a car, but how well they can drive

communication, build relationships, actively listen and apply their emotional intelligence to interpret the

best way to transport their organisation safely towards its vision and goals.

An enormous part of a modern manager’s role is the management of communication.

These aspirations guide the journey of this Unit. The aim is to guide you through a number of learning

Modules that should assist you as an individual to be a more effective manager and communicator.

Mintzberg states that ‘quiet managers don’t empower their people – ‘empowerment’ is taken for

granted’. He identifies the ‘quiet words’ of managing as:

• Inspiring by creating the conditions that foster openness and release energy

• Caring by not slicing away problems, but by preventing and fixing problems and knowing

how and when to intervene and mediate

• Infusing by challenging things slowly, steadily and profoundly, rather than thrusting

change upon followers dramatically and in superficial episodes

• Initiating by finding out what is going on in the organisation, connecting with those at the

base and all levels, rather than parachuting directions from the top levels.’ (Mintzberg

1999, pp. 224-230)

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REALITY CHECK. Students should read the ‘Sharpstyle Salons’ Case for Critical Analysis in Samson ,

Donnet & Daft (2018, p. 43; Samson & Daft 2015, p. 44). This case gives a good insight into the

complexity of management and communication issues you will encounter in the workplace.

A NOTE ON REALITY CHECKS. These Reality Checks are designed to lead students back to real world

connections to ‘value add’ to this week’s topic. Sometimes this will be a case study or it may be YouTube

links or other media.

These Reality Checks are not part of any assessment, however we hope you gain some further insights

through participating in them.

1.3 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION

Communication is everywhere. It is everything we say, see, hear, feel, touch and feedback to others.

Strong messages can also be delivered through silence, posture, facial expression, language,

interference, misinterpretation and sometimes, mischief. We spend most of our lives engaged in all sorts

of communication in an effort to understand our lives, both personally and in our work relationships.

What makes management communication paramount is that managers must have a clear purpose and

strategy around how and what they intend to communicate. They must be active and adaptive in order

to make the message clear and concise. No matter whether the message is as simple as a health and

safety briefing or as complex as a discussion around vision for a multi-national organisation, the basic

premise is the same – your message must influence colleagues to act in ways that achieve the vision,

values and goals of the organisation. Your job as a manager/communicator is to keep everyone on

message. The aim of this course is to impart theory, skills and tools that will help keep you on message.

1.4 STRATEGIC CONVERSATIONS

It can be argued that once you are effectively engaged in management communication, every

conversation is a strategic conversation. If you are on message as a manager, it often follows that your

team workers are also on message.

It’s not that you have to be robotic in your responses. Indeed it is the opposite. You need to be actively

listening, using open and inclusive communication lines, engaging with others and integrating feedback

and innovative ideas into the organisational structure and culture.

Strategic conversations constitute the managed implementation or modification of vertical, horizontal

and lateral communication mechanisms with integrity and acknowledgement of the value of everyone’s

voice. It is critical for managers to ensure that these communication lines are open and supportive within

the corporate culture of an organisation.

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Many organisations have charts that lay out formalised communication lines. These lines must be

managed in the same way as the production line is managed – with efficiency and economy. Many

times work culture or (sometimes work overload) means that the formalised communication lines have

become dysfunctional. This may be because they are no longer appropriate to the daily life of the

business or they have become overpowered by personality, or perhaps they were never a true reflection

of how communication worked within the organisation. Unfortunately, this failure is not uncommon within

organisations, especially older ones.

Dysfunctional communication lines need to be addressed quickly. All processes need to be in balance

or manafers will risk leadership, management and communication issues that can cripple innovation or

perhaps even cripple day to day operation of an organisation. Each strategic conversation, at its core,

should aim to break down any barriers to effective communication.

Your strategic conversations should be inclusive of the more informal, shadow networks that happen in

every workplace without any formal structure or charter. They are the chat and rumour circles and they

are powerful. Many of the most creative and innovative ideas in an organisation are discussed in lunch

rooms, coffee shops, smoking enclaves or at the pub. Part of your communication brief would be to set

up appropriate systems within your organisation to harvest this information. Some managers see these

shadow networks as suspicious and, indeed, they can become a complaints’ club, but experience has

shown that inclusion and respect work just as well in the shadow networks as they do in formal ones.

People do change if they know that their voices are being heard.

Simmons contends that about 80 per cent of grapevine communications are on business related topics

rather than personal, vicious gossip. Moreover, from 70 to 90 per cent of the details passed through a

grapevine are accurate (Samson, Donnet & Daft 2018, p. 724; Samson & Daft 2015, p. 708). This would

suggest that the ‘grapevine’ is a powerful and accurate force and must always be considered within your

strategies.

Another important element to consider is the use of strategic conversations to identify your knowledge

workers within the organisation. Knowledge workers are the natural allies of a communicator and

manager. Often, they are the embodiment of the workplace culture. They are most likely to be the ten

per cent who pass on accurate information and they are usually respected and listened to by their work

colleagues.

Knowledge is not impersonal like money. Knowledge does not reside in a book, a database, or a

software program; these contain only information. Knowledge is embodied in a person; applied

by a person, taught and passed on by a person. (Drucker 2003, p. 287)

Once you start engaging in strategic conversations with a clearly defined purpose, you will soon know

the state of communication within the organisation. An application of the communications models and

tools covered in COM 12 Business Communications will help you identify what is going on (or not).

People will communicate their position to you because communication takes up most of your work time.

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1.5 LEADERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION: A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP

Although Leadership, Communication and Management Communication have different definitions, they

must work symbiotically to achieve the outcomes of the vision and goals of the business.

Leadership Communication is fed by the leadership’s character and the organisation’s values. It sets

the emotional climate of an organisation and is an expression of its work culture. Leadership

communication involves itself with setting the vision and mission by letting people know where the

organisation is headed and what it stands for. It drives innovation by making people comfortable with

doing things differently. It defines a pathway to success for people to follow. It places people within the

mission, culture and values of the organisation.

Management Communication has been defined as ‘purpose-directed, in that it directs everyone’s

attention towards the vision, values and desired goals of the team or organisation and influences to act

in a way to achieve those goals. (Samson, Donnet & Daft 2018, p. 703; Samson & Daft 2015, p. 687)

Management Communication involves the implementation of the vision of an organisation as expressed

through its mission statement and strategy plan by the practical application of negotiating and

transacting communication skills. It involves relationship and network building as instruments to benefit

the organisation, workers and other stakeholders.

Leadership Communication and Management Communication by definition must inform each other to

be effective. If the vision is unachievable or the transactions to achieve it are unworkable, the

organisation is headed for turbulent times. Clear, consistent communication is the best way to ensure

the success of an organisation.

It sounds simple enough but many managers find it daunting. Dealing with embedded work cultures,

difficult leadership and management styles, the politics of power, a lack of established networks, poor

morale, poor or out-dated policies and work practice and the inevitable fear of change – all go to make

management communication the biggest challenge facing managers today in our global marketplace in

our turbulent times.

1.6 APPLYING KEY COMMUNICATION THEMES

At the end of each week, we will regularly return to the key management and communication themes in

order to discuss them in the context of the week’s topic. This week we are setting up the base -line

information about these key communication themes.

1.6.1 CULTURAL ETHOS

Every organisation, whether a business enterprise or a Not for Profit (NFP), establishes a corporate

identity or more simply, a public face, in order to position itself within the relevant sector of its chosen

field of operation. This public face is built from the first basic decisions which become the foundational

building blocks of the organisation. These include, but are not limited to, the selection of a business

name, the product or services the organisation will provide, the extent of its operation (local, national or

transnational), the number and type of staff required, its suppliers and target market.

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The style of management and the nature of relationships across internal and external stakeholders will

often emerge from the constant processes of negotiation and exchange that characterised or governed

the organisation’s early struggles to become a viable business or reputable service.

According to the economist John Kay, there are several main sources of distinctive capabilities that help

us understand the positioning and operations of a company: its architecture, reputation, innovation and

the ability to exploit strategic assets (Kay 1993, p. 65). This architecture is based on its operational

structure, its internal culture and the special knowledge that have been built through past and present

activities, its personnel, products and business practice.

This structural identity is also expressed in a series of networks of internal and external relationships,

between companies, government and social institutions, and also between individual players (staff,

clients, collaborators) that create long-term value (Galligan 2007, pp. 34-5).

Across every level of an organisation’s structure, complex communication initiatives and negotiations

are required and an organisation cannot succeed, will not build a recognised niche for itself or its

products and/or services, if effective communication strategies are not employed. This is such a basic

truism that it is too often neglected in Management and Business theory.

Since it is essential for an organisation to manage its operations and this requires relaying and

responding to information of various orders of complexity, it is expected that staff know the best way of

doing this. This can be a dangerous assumption.

However, the first step in understanding management communication processes is in understanding

how the organization speaks or communicates about itself. This dialectic of the organization, which

might at first glance seem straight forward, can combine quite complex elements of business,

professional, aesthetic and economic objectives.

The language an organisation adopts to speak its position becomes embedded in its history and its own

organisational culture. A legal firm such as Clewitt, Whithall and Associates aims to present a

professional, prestigious service to its public, whereas a litigation law firm such as Trilby Misso or Shine

Lawyers positions itself to assist a more financially challenged clientele. Bob Jane TMart, with the

smiling, capable but approachable face of the proprietor sends a message of reliability and reassurance.

The choice of a name, symbol, logo or colour can immediately communicate a powerful message which

is reinforced or adapted as the history of that organization unfolds.

These languages can become a powerful mechanism to build a reputation, legitimacy and professional

credibility for the organization and for its products. It will also impact the internal dialogue and daily

routines affecting the behaviour and conversations between management and staff, between peers

and colleagues. It helps to build the cultural ethos of an organization which, over time, can become a

major strategic asset of the company (Kay 1993, p. 65; Galligan 2007, p. 35).

An expressive organisation takes advantage of its corporate language to engage its stakeholders, and

here we will focus on the internal network, in an ongoing conversation. Mobilising the specific histories

and stories of people and events, challenges and triumphs is an incredibly creative way of engaging

staff as players in the unfolding organisational operations. It can inspire and motivate, establish or

redefine boundaries, instil pride and workplace security.

The Mission Statement, Annual Report or company newsletter provides an opportunity for an

organisation to express its story, its vision, goals and aspirations. The choice of language in these

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statements or narratives needs to be carefully selected because key words and phrases can form a

long term dialogue among staff and across its multiple publics. It is a major building block of an

organisational culture which infuses its behaviour, relationships and dialogue (stories, symbols,

languages), policies and procedures.

1.6.2 ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT BEHAVIOURS

Managers who display real care about their customers and employees and have a strong commitment

to the value of people and fair and equitable processes within their internal and external work

environments are considered to be adaptive managers. It seems obvious that they will find it easier to

transact, negotiate and communicate more effectively because they respect others’ viewpoints and trust

their expertise. This is particularly true in turbulent times and in response to unexpected events when

managers often have to ask employees to take on the extra load.

Managers who are insular and who misuse power, politics and ‘the system’ to distance themselves from

their clients and employees are termed maladaptive managers. They are often risk-averse and care

mainly about themselves and their immediate clique. Innovative ideas and change are ‘not their friends’.

We may refer in the Unit to adaptive or maladaptive behaviours if referring to an individual manager, or

as an adaptive or maladaptive culture if referring to an entire organisation.

1.6.3 CULTURAL LEADERSHIP

Managers transact all their outcomes entirely within the internal culture of their organisation. Often

successful navigation of work culture by managers is their unique advantage over their competitors and

is often measurable in cheaper prices, better service, quicker turnaround times and returning customers.

These days managers not only have to be content experts, they need to negotiate with their internal

networks to make multiple transactions within the organisation. These transactions should not only fit

into its very distinctive and certainly ingrained work culture, but also meet the needs of the external

client base.

In its widest definition, culture is a set of key values, beliefs, understandings and norms common to a

group of people within an environment. Work Culture is all of that applied to an organisation.

Culture can be seen on a visible level – dress, symbols, slogans, ceremonies. It can be as apparent as

the office layout. It is a mistake though, for a manager to be complacent with a ‘she’ll be right, that’s

how it’s always worked here’ attitude, because culture is usually embedded within any workplace

through shared values, underlying assumptions and often, deeply felt beliefs.

The workplace culture sets the emotional temperature of an organisation. We have all had experiences

of workplaces that are angry and maladaptive, as well as places where respect and inclusion make it a

pleasure to go to work. This is culture at work.

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Culture generally works through a set of mechanisms. These are:

• Symbols. Objects, acts or events that convey a specific meaning to others. This can be

as simple as ‘Employee of the Month’ or a ‘Bloopers’ Trophy. It must be real and it must

be genuine and meaningful.

• Stories. ‘Celebrating every victory no matter how small’ is a good way of incorporating a

narrative into the workplace. Storytelling is a great way of enshrining values and beliefs

and testing underlying assumptions. Team or staff meetings and newsletters are good

places to honour these stories.

• Heroes. People who are well known and respected within an organisation and who are

considered to display the set of attributes and attitudes that reflect the corporate culture of

an organisation are its heroes. Often the hero is the founder, inventor or salesman,

someone who has made a breakthrough in tough times – sometimes even the tea lady can

be a hero.

• Slogans. This applies to a set of words and phrases that express shared workplace values.

This can be as glib as ‘Woolworths the Fresh Food People’, or it can be as focused as

‘Marketing – the Overachievers’ to signify shared values with the rest of the organisation.

In every case, they are most effective when they are true.

• Ceremonies. A significant event that reinforces shared values and acknowledges the key

participation of employees. It might be an awards presentation at the Christmas Party or

it may be a ten year service pin. A celebration should be made so that respect and

acknowledgement are the messages sent.

Good managers use all of these opportunities as ways of communicating value, respect, inclusion and

acknowledgement.

Managers may be described as effective cultural leaders when they are using a full set of words,

symbols, stories, slogans, heroes and ceremonies within their communication with others. In reality,

anyone who defines and communicates the core values of an organisation is a cultural leader. The role

of the manager is to keep the focus on this shared vision as part of everyone’s everyday activity.

MORE THOUGHTS

Communication, in all its forms, is the human face of an organisation. It is its thoughts, words, symbols,

signs, body language, tone and message. As managers, innovation and change starts internally with

our own thoughts and feelings, then those of our work colleagues and on to the outside world.

It is all about what people see, hear and feel in, and about, their workplace. It is how they interpret and

understand your messages that will inform their opinions and actions. Your success as a manager will

be in direct relation to your ability to use communication tools to make your message understood and

accepted – first time, every time.

Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so

constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them. (Hawken et al, 1999)

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Drucker, P F, 2003, The Essential Drucker, Harper Business, New York.

Commonwealth of Australia, 1995, Enterprising Nation: Report of the Industry Task Force on

Leadership and Management Skills, http://www.aim.com.au/research/EN_ReportonSkills.pdf

Galligan, Anne, 2007, ‘Structure and Strategies: The Publishing Industry in Australia’, Making Books:

Contemporary Australian Publishing, St Lucia Brisbane, UQP.

Kay, John, 1993, Foundations of Corporate Success, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Hawken, Paul, Lovins, Amory B & Lovins, L Hunter, 1999, Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next

Industrial Revolution. Little, Brown & Company, United States.

Mintzberg, H, 1999, ‘Managing quietly’, Leader to Leader, Vol 12, pp. 224-230.

Robbins, S P, Judge, T A, Millett, B & Walters-Marsh, T, 2008, Organisational Behaviour, 5th Edition,

Pearson Education, Australia.

Samson, Danny, Donnet, Timothy & Daft, Richard L, 2018, Management, 6th Asia-Pacific edition, Australia,

Cengage Learning..

Samson, Danny & Daft, Richard L, 2015, Management, 5th Asian-Pacific edition, Australia, Cengage Learning.

http://www.aim.com.au/research/EN_ReportonSkills.pdf
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WEEK TWO: MANAGEMENT ETHICS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

By the end of this week, students will be familiar with issues concerning ethics and social

responsibility. This will include:

• Issues concerning your personal ethics

• Setting ethical standards

• Frameworks for the consideration of ethical decision making

• Issues concerning social responsibilities

• Review of ethics and social responsibility within an organisation’s cultural context.

REQUIRED READING

Samson, Danny, Donnet, Timothy & Daft, Richard L, 2018, Management, 6th Asia-Pacific

edition, Australia, Cengage Learning. Chapter 5.

or

Samson, D & Daft, R. L, 2015, Management, 5th Asia Pacific Edition, Australia Cengage

Learning. Chapter 5.

RECOMMENDED READING

Trevino, L K & Nelson, K A, 2011, Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk About How

To Do It Right, 5th Edition, Chapter 5, John Wiley & Sons, USA. pp. 292–319.

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INDEPENDENT LEARNING TASK 2

One key factor in this week’s study is an analysis of an individual’s specific personality

and behaviour traits and how this may influence their communication skills in the

workplace. Within the Study Guide, you will discover that these traits are divided into

three levels. The third level is called post-conventional and these individuals are

described as following their own set of principles of justice and rights. They are aware

that people hold different values and they seek creative solutions to ethical dilemmas.

They demonstrate a balanced concern for individuals and for the common good.

Think back through your work or life experiences and name an individual who fits this set

of traits and write a short piece (100 – 200 words) on why you have chosen them.

Post your response to the Discussion Board and comment on the work of your

peers under the thread heading ‘Post responses to ILT2 here’.

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2.1 YOUR OWN ETHICS

What does it take to grow good flowers, fruit and vegetables? It takes good soil, and that’s what

a manager tries to create by being sensitive, nurturing, and trying to bring out the best in people.

(Grosman qtd in Samson & Daft 2012, p.19)

Today, you will hear CEOs taking about the triple bottom line. It is one of those much-heard

catchphrases that may have lost meaning through overuse. Yet it is an important facet of any

progressive business environment.

It involves the development of reporting mechanisms that measure performance from three

perspectives: economic, social and environmental. Progressive managers are required to not only look

to the organisation’s specific product and its production costs, growth and profit, but to their

organisation’s ethical and social and environmental responsibilities. To use another, perhaps

hackneyed, term – organisations are expected to be good corporate citizens.

The notion that organisations may be held accountable for their ethical, social and environmental

responsibilities represents a major point of change from traditional, more mechanistic models. Certainly,

it would have been laughable fifty years ago to hold a company liable for things like pulling out

mangroves and destroying fish habitats at a local level or, indeed, global warming on a planetary level.

Oil spills, coal dust and asbestos issues were never considered as the responsibility of businesses –

except by a very small percentage of the population who were mostly considered eccentric. They were

just things that happened. Such destructive and wasteful environmental fallout was an accepted

consequence of the expansion of business production.

The world has changed. Web 2.0, social media and 24 hour global news cycles have given the public

an opportunity to hear and see social and environmental events live to air and, more importantly, see

and hear them over and over again. Additionally, we are all better educated and more articulate

thanmany of our forebears. This brings with it an ability to seek out real information and deconstruct the

spin that surrounds events and misadventure that only adds to the cynicism about the motives of

corporations.

Worldwide movements like Occupy Wall Street and its many offshoots highlight this unrest and

disappointment with the corporate world’s failure to meet their ethical and social responsibilit ies and it

is not particularly difficult to proffer compelling evidence to these failures. It surrounds us all in the media

every day.

Yet that is not the full story.

Many managers today seek to embrace change and, though they may not be aware of it, sit comfortably

within Ghandi’s philosophy of ‘be the change you want to see’.

This week’s study is about putting aside negatives such as conspicuous corporate greed, exploitation

of third world counties on a global level and the rise of fixed contracts and casualization on a local level.

We will be looking at how managers can integrate sound ethical and social responsibilities into their

systems and processes, and how they may use communication techniques to deliver fairer outcomes

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– internally and externally, locally and globally. Some fairer outcomes might include resolving equity

issues within a workplace internally; being a good corporate citizen and meeting community needs

externally; being environmentally responsible locally and making an effort to cut greenhouse gas

emissions globally.

REALITY CHECK. Follow this link to YouTube. This excellent, short discussion successfully defines

business ethics and social responsibility.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBHmnAfBpcY&feature=related

The Samson and Daft text details the 60 Minute Test (2015, p. 192). It assumes that a TV interviewer

and crew have landed on your front porch and are asking you questions about an ethical dilemma you

are facing. The range of questions is well worth reiterating here:

• Is the problem or dilemma really what it appears to be? If you are not sure, find out.

• Is the action you are considering legal? Is it ethical? If you are not sure, find out.

• Do you understand the position of those who oppose the action you are considering? Is it

reasonable?

• Who does the action benefit? Who does it harm? How much? How long?

• Would you be willing to allow everyone to do what you are considering doing?

• Have you sought the opinion of others who are knowledgeable on the subject and who

would be objective?

• Would your action be embarrassing to you if it were made known to your family, friends,

co-workers or superiors?

(2015, p.192)

Applying these questions and analysing the situation in the context of communication models and

techniques will greatly facilitate the decision making process. Let’s quickly look at some of the

communication theory you might use:

• Applying the elements of modelling: messages sent/messages received, an analysis of

noise, interference and feedback and other elements.

• Applying emotional intelligence to understand not only your position but that of others.

• Applying active listening skills by making sure you are taking the best opportunity to hear

everything that is being said.

• Being inclusive by engaging with all those who may be affected.

• Observing non-verbal responses and being sensitive to what is being felt, not only what

is being said.

• Being adaptive to changing issues and being responsive to the needs of everyone.

Management scholar Mary Parker Follett, described management as ‘the art of getting things done

through people’ (qtd in Samson & Daft 2012, p. 10) and her work is discussed in detail in the set textbook

(2018, p. 63; 2015, p. 61).

Progressive managers understand that they are a two way mirror within an organisation through which

employees view the organisation and through which senior management view their employees.

As a manager, you are the conduit for communicating the work culture of an organisation. It is you who

is up close and personal on a day to day basis with the vertical, horizontal and lateral

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBHmnAfBpcY&feature=related
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communication conduits within your organisation. How you conduct yourself will directly affect both the

productivity and the emotional climate in the workplace.

REALITY CHECK. Follow this link to a YouTube clip, ‘Paper Cuts to the Soul’ in which Steve Slap talks

about the real effect and nature of organisational morals and ethics on individuals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNJZ1VdY7ts

2.2 MAKING YOUR ETHICS CLEAR

Earlier, we discussed strategic conversations. Make no mistake about this, you need to understand that

when employees talk with you or report issues to you, they are looking to you for guidance, approval

and possibly an active intervention (if required0. You need to be constantly reflecting on your own

standards because employees are looking to you for certainty and consistency. You will be the one who

is setting the example. Personal advice received over 35 years ago from a colleague has stood the test

of time. He said, ‘whoever you are will be reflected by your crew. If you are lazy, they will be lazy. If you

swear, they will swear. If you are fair and honest, they will be fair and honest’. This remains great advice.

The best way for a manager to gain credibility for themselves and certainty and consistency for their

employees is to set clearly articulated standards. By communicating these standards and adhering to

them, you will gain their support.

Be aware that setting standards is a two-way process. Your employees will be watching and

commenting amongst themselves on whether you stand by (and for) the standards you have set for

them. You will be familiar with the terms ‘walking the walk’ and ‘talking the talk’. Each has its own merits,

but it is ‘walking the talk’ that really matters most in developing your workplace relationships and

communication networks.

Be completely honest and ethical in all aspects of your work up and down the organisation. Be honest

about your own abilities, the information you provide, and about whether deadlines are achievable. If

you do these things, so will your employees. In that environment, adaptive solutions can be found and

plans made that will produce the best outcomes economically and ethically.

Remembering that communication theory suggests that not communicating is also communication,

failure to set your standards sends a message to employees that they are working within a ‘laissez-

faire’ system where they will be left to set their own standards. Usually, ‘laissez-faire’ can be associated

with anarchy. If you do not engage in considered, strategic conversations with your employees, you will

be out of the information loop.

REALITY CHECK

Follow this YouTube link to meet Gordon Gecko the main character in the 1987 movie Wall Street.

Gordon is the opposite of everything we are talking about this week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCC1H7MSIsg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNJZ1VdY7ts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCC1H7MSIsg
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2.3 ETHICAL DECISIONS

Managers face a range of decisions that involve ethical and social responsibilities. Some of these might

be:

• Health and safety issues in the workplace including duty of care to employees and the

invasion of individual rights

• Issues with products or services in the light of current medical or environmental

commentary

• Environmental issues to do with the product itself or with waste products as a result of

production

• Divisive issues within the workplace involving situations or issues where decisions may

meet the needs of some part of the organisation but not others. An example may be a

conflict between production who need employees to work long hours to complete an

important order and the Health and Safety Officers who perceive danger to employees in

that action.

Ethical decisions must involve economic issues (costs, profits, growth) and ethical and social

responsibilities. Decisions need to be made using accepted norms and values, internally and externally.

Normative ethics is a philosophical standard that can be universally applied.

In business, four different approaches are commonly used in tandem: Utilitarian, Individualism, Moral

Rights and Justice. These approaches, like communication models, often represented the accepted

solution from and for their era and in any discussion you should be considering them as a continuum,

rather than as being better or worse than each another. In most situations, it would be wise to consider

each approach as part of your process and let each part inform the whole.

Utilitarian. This old model dating back to the 19th century is still relevant today. In its first manifestation

it was based on concepts about supporting moral behaviour that produces the greatest good for the

greatest number.

Over time, it has gained critics who believe that it is often used to oversimplify issues and, as such, is a

dangerous approach. Its critics maintain that it is only the organisation that gets to decide who will or

won’t be directly affected, even within an organisation or any external stakeholders. Consequently, they

are seen to be controlling ‘who is in the room.’

In reality, this may be harsh criticism as these sorts of decisions are entirely at the discretion of those

dealing with the ethical issue. However, it has certainly picked up a less than favourable reputation by

association.

Critics of the utilitarian ethic fear a developing tendency towards a ‘Big Brother’ and question

whether the common good is squeezing the life out of the Individual (Beckham & Wong qtd in

Samson & Daft 2012, p. 177).

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REALITY CHECK. Follow the link to a trailer of a movie version of George Orwell’s 1984 where the term

‘Big Brother is watching you’ emanates.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4rBDUJTnNU

Being the first approach, the Utilitarian has weathered the evolution of businesses over hundreds of

years. A good debate could be made that, in hindsight, many business practices over centuries were

insensitive to environmental and social issues. The question might be whether the ‘framework’ around

how ethical decisions were traditionally made was more about the ethics of the individuals making them,

than the framework itself. Though this may just be a ‘chicken and egg’ debate.

Individualism. This approach maintains that acts are moral when they promote the individual’s best

long-term interests, ultimately leading to the greater good for the individual, the corporation and the

nation. At its basic level, Individualists believe any action that produces a greater proportion of good

becomes the right action to perform.

Individualism reflects a value for a loosely knit social framework in which individuals are expected

to take care of themselves. Collectivism means a preference for a tightly knit social framework in

which individuals look after one another and organisations protect their members’ interests .

(Samson, Donnet & Daft 2018, p.166; Samson & Daft 2015, p.159)

This debate is one that currently faces Australian society as we become more ‘Americanised’, attuned

to a society where individualism is enshrined within the American constitution.

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by

their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of

happiness. (Thomas Jefferson, American Constitution)

This is much more of an element in American society than Australian society. Generally speaking,

Americans believe that individuals have a paramount right to self-determination and that the common

good will manifest itself by everyone’s individual rights becoming a norm through some sort of ‘osmosis’

of collective self-interest.

An Australian critic might argue that this approach ultimately supports self-interest and has no place in

more societally orientated cultures like Australia. Nonetheless, it is an effective test.

So where do our rights as an individual begin and end and our social responsibilities take over? This is

a much bigger question than just an economic one. It has significant political and social impacts.

Moral rights. This approach maintains that moral decisions are those that best maintain the rights of

those affected. Within this approach, you are asked to consider the dilemma from the aspect of a number

of basic human rights: freedom of consent, rights to privacy, freedom of conscience, free speech, due

process, and health and safety.

These are the most cherished human rights setting the fabric of our society. There is no reason to

assume that these rights do not apply to corporate entities.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4rBDUJTnNU
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Social Justice. This approach maintains that all moral decisions must be based on standards of equity,

fairness and impartiality. In Australia, these sorts of rights are enshrined within Human Rights and Equal

Opportunity State and Commonwealth legislation.

It is the Commonwealth Government that decides whether or not to take on obligations to observe

international human rights standards. But the fact that the Commonwealth Government agrees to

observe international standards does not make those standards legally enforceable within Australia.

This requires specific Australian legislation. Without such legislation there is no legal way within the

Australian court system to ensure that the rights in any international Human Rights treaty will take

precedence over any state or territory legislation that is inconsistent with the treaty.

State governments have the responsibility to make and administer many of the laws that are relevant to

human rights observance. These include laws relating to the administration of justice, land matters,

health and education issues, among others. In international law, a federal system does not justify a

failure to observe internationally-accepted human rights. But in practical terms, a federal system can

make the task of guaranteeing that people are able to access their rights more complicated.

Historically, Australia has been an active participant in the development of international human rights

standards. Prime Minister Billy Hughes helped draft the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human

Rights following the first World War. As new international standards have been developed, Australia

has either endorsed non-binding instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or the

Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons, or has ratified binding legal instruments such as the

Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Conventions on

Racial Discrimination, Discrimination against Women, and the Rights of the Child; and the Convention

Against Torture. Australia has also ratified three of the mechanisms that give individuals the right to

complain to United Nations bodies about violations of their rights.

Social Justice is what faces you in the morning. It is awakening in a house with an adequate water

supply, cooking facilities and sanitation. It is the ability to nourish your children and send them to

school where their education not only equips them for employment but reinforces their knowledge

and appreciation of their cultural inheritance. It is the prospect of genuine employment and good

health: a life of choices and opportunity. A life free from discrimination. (Mick Dodson, Social Justice

Commissioner 1993 – 1998, Indigenous Elder, http://australianmuseum.net.au/indigenous-australia-

social-justice).

DISCUSSION POINT. Read ‘Challenging the Boss on Ethical Issues’ in the Samson, Donnet & Daft text

(2018, p.194; Samson & Daft 2015, p.190) to gain a perspective of the complexities of taking up ethical

issues in the workplace.

How would you feel about talking to your boss about an ethical issue within the organisation?

http://australianmuseum.net.au/indigenous-australia-social-justice)
http://australianmuseum.net.au/indigenous-australia-social-justice)
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2.4 BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS

Another way to observe individuals is to be mindful of specific behavioural traits. We all bring our own

personality to the workplace. Our behaviours are shaped by our families, needs, and a range of cultural

and perhaps subcultural norms. We bring our personal strengths and weaknesses with us.

A very important personal trait is the level of moral development as described below:

• Preconventional. This refers to quite an immature set of traits based around childlike

responses to the avoidance of punishment, obedience for its own sake and self-

absorption. As leaders these personalities tend toward being autocrats; as employees they

do the job, but not much more.

• Conventional. These are the average workers. They try to live up to other’s expectations,

work hard and meet their social obligations. They can be great team workers and

collaborators in the workplace.

• Post conventional. These may be your heroes or knowledge workers. They often have a

well-developed sense of fairness and equity. They value people, cultural diversity and

differing skill sets. They can come up with ethical solutions as they arise and adaptive

processes for change.

(Adapted from Samson, Donnet & Daft 2018, p.193-4; Samson & Daft 2015, p.191)

However, it should be acknowledged that, as Samson, Donnet & Daft (2018, p.194; Samson &

Daft 2015, p.189) observe:

The great majority of managers operate at level two. A few have not advanced beyond

level one. Only about 20 per cent of adults reach the level three stage of moral

development. People at level three are able to act in an independent, ethical manner

regardless of expectations from others inside or outside the Organisation.

2.5 SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

How does an organisation become a good corporate citizen? The answer is to take all the ethics

techniques and strategies we have discussed this week and apply them to your organisation’s

interaction with the wider community and society.

It is as simple as that. Yet it can become complex because different people have different beliefs about

right and wrong, different value systems. This is compounded by the fact that many issues will have

ambiguous or even contradictory versions of what is right.

As an example, let’s look at the issues that surround the tourism and commercial fishing industries on

the Great Barrier Reef. It is a great source of income for many regional Queenslanders and has seen

our coastal cities grow and become prosperous where once they were just dusty ports for primary

industries (coal, sugarcane, grain, and beef and sheep). The Barrier Reef is the envy of the world. It

provides both great work opportunities and a wonderful, tropical place to raise a family.

Environmentalists maintain, however, that the tourism and fishing industries are having a negative effect

on the Reef. In essence, meeting the needs of the tourism and fishing industries is destroying the reef

and there is strong independent data to support this case. Various management plans have

COM21 Management Communication

24

been instituted by government to protect the Reef, but these invariably stunt the growth and viability of

the tourism and fishing industries.

Fewer tourists and smaller fish hauls equals higher prices for consumers of both fish and tourism, and

threatens both industries by limiting their abilities to operate under increasingly strict regulation. Of

course, in the wider community, many would support regulation to protect the Barrier Reef until it comes

to planning a holiday or having fresh local prawns for Christmas Day!

There are many shades of right and wrong in this debate. The important thing though is to come to any

negotiation table with an open mind and a will to take actions that will contribute to the welfare and

interests of society as well as the organisation.

Negotiation can only succeed if all parties are prepared to negotiate mutually agreed outcomes and

stand by those transactions.

Ultimately, managers need to position their organisations and negotiate outcomes that will ensure a

sustainable future based on the needs of the organisational financial bottom line, society and the

environment.

DISCUSSION POINT. Consider the different economic, social and political aspects of the Barrier Reef

example above. Consider the many shades of right and wrong.

Do you know about a similar situation? What are the issues? How might you approach the

complexities of your issue?

2.6 APPLYING KEY THEMES TO COMMUNICATION

In Week One we framed some key themes that we might reflect on at the end of each week’s work. This

week we have been exploring ethics and social responsibility. It is important at the start of this Unit to

focus on your own values as a manager and as a human being. Knowing yourself is an important part

of leading and managing. Each message you send is a reflection of who you are and what you stand

for. Colleagues will be watching for consistency in what is said and done. Later in the course we will be

exploring working relationships, but at their core relationships are based on honesty and certainty in day

to day transactions. Let’s look at some of the key themes in the context of ethics and social

responsibility.

• Symbols, Stories, Heroes, Slogans, Ceremonies. Explore these key devices to

communicate your ethical and social responsibilities as an organisation. They have an

important role to play in assisting managers in the consistent setting of standards. When

ethical behaviours and social responsibilities are engaged, celebrate them as importantly

as a productivity achievement. Look for opportunities to acknowledge your employees for

doing the right thing – no matter how small it might be.

Celebrating victories no matter how small is an important credo reinforcing desirable

behaviour and asserting positive work culture values. Acknowledging the honesty and

integrity of your workers is just as important as meeting production deadlines. In

Module 1

25

summary, show them how you want them to behave by being the change you want to see

in the workplace.

• Adaptive Management Behaviours. No matter how difficult it may be or how much work

it might be in the short term, be open and honest in your dealings. This is particularly

important in the setting of ethical standards and the meeting of social responsibilities.

Management is a two way mirror and your employees are watching to make sure that you

live up to the expectations you have set for them. Your senior management is looking at

how you manage your team. Sometimes you will need to make hard decisions as a

manager and sometimes it might be more politic to reach a compromise position as the

best solution to a problem. It is very much a matter of degree

– everyone faces these situations in the workplace – but that is an entirely different situation

from being dishonest or duplicitous with your colleagues. If you have worked to build trust,

people will respect you for your honesty and candour, even if it is uncomfortable for you

and for them.

• Cultural Leadership. The transmission of your standards and your positioning around

your ethical and social responsibilities is at the core of cultural leadership. This should

naturally flow through to making negotiating, transacting and communicating easier

because they know where you stand and they know what your expectations are. This style

of leadership creates a two way communication dynamic that is particularly valuable when

employees need to address management about their workplace concerns or personal

issues.

MORE THOUGHTS

This discussion may have made you feel like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. Yet it

can be easily built into your own workplace ethics and becomes a natural outworking of this if you use

some ancient wisdom. ‘Know thyself’ sits at the core of Sophist philosophy in ancient Greece and is still

a philosophical cornerstone of our culture today. Interestingly, Confucian and other eastern philosophies

all contain this basic philosophical building block.

‘The first step in the evolution of ethics is a sense of solidarity with other human beings.’

(Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Peace Prize Winner 1952)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dodson, Mick, Commission Website: Information for Students – Human Rights in Australia. Accessed

17 July 2015. http://australianmuseum.net.au/indigenous-australia-social-justice

Samson, D, Donnet, Timothy & Daft, R L, 2012, Management, 6th Asia-Pacific edition, Cengage

Learning, Australia

Samson, D & Daft, R L, 2015, Management, 5th Asia-Pacific edition, Cengage Learning, Australia.

Samson, D & Daft, R L, 2012, Management, 4th Asia-Pacific edition, Cengage Learning, Australia..

http://australianmuseum.net.au/indigenous-australia-social-justice
25

MODULE 2

WEEK THREE: EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT THINKING

This week we will be looking at the evolution of management thinking from historical, social and

political perspectives. This will include:

• Understanding classical and humanistic perspectives of management

• Understanding the connection between politics, society and management

• Definition of learning organisations

• Understanding the challenge of sustainability.

REQUIRED READING

Samson, Danny, Donnet, Timothy & Daft, Richard L, 2018, Management, 6th Asia-Pacific

edition, Australia, Cengage Learning..Chapter 2.

or

Samson, D & Daft, R L, 2015, Management, 5th Asia-Pacific Edition, Australia,

Cengage Learning. Chapter 2.

INDEPENDENT LEARNING TASK 3

Consider the comparison between Theory X and Theory Y styles of management in the

set textbook (2018, p.65-6) or the New Management Seft-Test in the 2015 edition (p.49).

What is your personal experience of either or both styles of management in the

workplace, or in a club or organisation you know? Compare the outcome with reference

to Theory X and Theory Y.

Post your piece to the Discussion Board and comments on work of two peers

under the thread heading ‘Post responses to ILT3 here’.

26

COM21 Management Communication

3.1 INTRODUCTION

Futurist, Alvin Toffler predicted in the 1970s that, ‘the acceleration of change in our time is an elemental

force’ (1970, pp. 1 – 2).

REALITY CHECK. Follow this link to YouTube and view a 1972 video series on Future Shock. Hosted

by Orson Wells, it gives a great insight into the start of rapid technological change. While it is somewhat

dated, the questions posed are perhaps as current today as they were then. This is quite a long video,

but if you are interested, it poses some interesting issues for debate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkUwXenBokU

In the past 50 years we have seen an unprecedented explosion of birth rates, global business activity,

information and technology. The net effect of globalisation has seen business activity growing at a rate

that has even exceeded Toffler’s predictions, but does it bring stability to our lives? Change is constant

and relentless, but is it also chaotic?

When we look around us, we see examples of how this rapid change is having a negative effect on

Australian society. For example, the Australian economy is often termed ‘two speed’ in reference to the

strange nexus of the biggest mining boom in our history running parallel to the worst downturn in

manufacturing ever. This has resulted in the closure of key industries like vehicle manufacture and the

death of once prosperous factory towns in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

Manufacturers are turning to cheaper labour options overseas at the expense of families and

communities. This seems particularly ironic when you understand that much of the raw materials used

in manufacturing for big industry is mined in Australia and exported and built in China.

Retail in Australia is another conspicuous victim of technology with a global reach, experiencing a huge

downturn in revenue and many closures because it cannot compete against on-line shopping.

REALITY CHECK. This link will take you to the Commonwealth Treasury paper, The mining boom and

the two speed economy. It gives a statistical breakdown of these effects on industry, community and

employment.

http://archive.treasury.gov.au/documents/1421/PDF/02_Resources_boom_two_speed_economy.pdf

It is important when looking at this current business evolutionary starburst not to be dazzled by its

brilliance. There needs to be a much longer, deeper look at its historical background, and social and

political contexts.

Progressive managers today face paradoxically difficult issues when trying to set up processes and

systems to best supply their products or services cost effectively and ethically, while still meeting their

local and global social responsibilities. Is this achievable? Or have we swung from one extreme to

another?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkUwXenBokU
http://archive.treasury.gov.au/documents/1421/PDF/02_Resources_boom_two_speed_economy.pdf
27

Module 2

3.2 THE EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT THINKING

This week we will consider the history of ideas, theories and philosophies that have blended together to

become modern management. We will not be ‘doing’ history as a record of dates and times, rather we

will look at the interwoven social, political and economic forces that continue to drive and shape it.

The development of the basic social contract between workers and employers right through to the

advent of the knowledge worker has taken less than two hundred years. This is a relatively short time

span from the time of the Industrial Revolution when Charles Dickens wrote his much loved social

commentaries (Oliver Twist, Bleak House, A Christmas Carol) up until the present day. Society has

changed radically and work culture has changed with it.

REALITY CHECK. Follow this link to a BBC Documentary, The Children of the Revolution, which

chronicles the lives of children forced to work in appalling conditions during the Industrial Revolution.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87eVOpbcoVo

Post-war workers expected to stay in the same job all of their lives. For example, when my father left

his long-term employer in the 1970s to set up his own business, the CEO of the major company he

worked for came down and spoke to him personally. He wanted to know how the company had let him

down. This story often makes younger workers scratch their heads and smile today. They have grown

up in a world of high occupational mobility where many attitudes surrounding the social contract between

employers and employees have been broken down by casualization and fixed term contracts all fed by

a burgeoning cult of individuality. This focus on individuality is a global reflection of the attitudes and

mores of the major market leader in this era, America.

Politically, we have seen the end of the Cold War and, possibly, of western Communism as a powerful

ideology. Globally, people are demanding to be more empowered as individuals in their work lives. For

managers today, this means that respect and power are something to be earned, rather than just being

rights that are bestowed as part of a managerial position.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87eVOpbcoVo
28

COM21 Management Communication

REALITY CHECK. The Berlin Wall became the symbol of the Cold War. When it came down in 1989, it

marked the end of Communism as an alternate social, economic and political force in the West. This

video looks at this historic event.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oanmD3HHv4M

The Samson, Donnet and Daft text book (2018, 693-4; Samson & Daft 2015, p. 677) Includes an article

‘Response to the Management Challenge’. This is a good example of how respect can be a two-way

street within an organisation leading to mutual respect, engagement and innovation.

Alongside this shift in work practice, we have witnessed an acceleration of market driven capitalism.

Policies like protectionism and industry subsidies have been frowned upon as pointless in the belief that

the market is the only mechanism required to decide the fate of organisations or industries. Apparently,

we live in a somewhat paradoxical market-driven, free trade utopia. Or do we?

Perhaps not. Right now, we find ourselves in a state of evolutionary flux following the Global Financial

Crisis which has decided that market forces apply, unless you are too big to fail. This may be the biggest

evolutionary challenge facing business today.

On 4 November 2011, the Financial Stability Board released a list of 29 banks worldwide that it

considered ‘systemically important financial institutions’, that is, financial organisations whose size and

role meant that any failure could cause serious systemic economic problems. Of the list, 17 are based

in Europe, 8 in the U.S., and the other four in Asia.

▪▪

▪▪

▪▪

▪▪

Bank of America

Bank of China

Bank of New York Mellon

Banque Populaire CdE

▪▪

▪▪

▪▪

▪▪

Dexia

Goldman Sachs

Group Crédit Agricole

HSBC

▪▪

▪▪

▪▪

▪▪

Nordea

Royal Bank of Scotland

Santander

Société Générale

▪▪ Barclays ▪▪ ING Bank ▪▪ State Street

▪▪ BNP Paribas ▪▪ JPMorgan Chase ▪▪ Sumitomo Mitsui FG

▪▪ Citigroup ▪▪ Lloyds Banking Group ▪▪ UBS

▪▪ Commerzbank ▪▪ Mitsubishi UFJ FG ▪▪ Unicredit Group

▪▪ Credit Suisse ▪▪ Mizuho FG ▪▪ Wells Fargo

▪▪ Deutsche Bank ▪▪ Morgan Stanley

(Policy Measures to Address Systemically Important Financial Institutions, Financial Stability Board, 4 /11/2011)

The term ‘too big to fail’ dates back to the 1980s. It is based around a belief that, as a result of their

economic importance, some organisations should effectively be shielded from collapse through

beneficial financial and economic policies from governments or central banks. Effectively these

organisations need to be protected because their collapse, it is theorised, would set off a destructive

economic domino effect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oanmD3HHv4M
29

Module 2

DISCUSSION POINT. Is there a moral hazard if a company that benefits from these protective policies

seeks to profit by it? This protection might allow (and some argue that it does allow) them to take

positions that are high-risk high-return, as they are able to leverage these risks based on the policy

preference and protection they receive (eg taxpayer bail-outs by government).

Is this legislated protection of big business counterproductive in a market driven economy and should

large banks or other organisations be left to fail if the management of their own risk has not been

effective? If any organisation is too big to fail, are they just too big?

What is your reaction?

Ultimately though all this, economic forces are driven by the supply of resources whether human or

material, built or natural, physical or cognitive, and by market demand.

Ideas, information and knowledge form an important part of today’s economy. Globally, places like

Silicon Valley in California have been so fabulously successful as incubators of ideas that they are now

considered to be economic indicators. A decrease in the number of start-up innovation companies in

Silicon Valley is read by commentators as indicating an economic downturn – even if they are starting

up in coffee shops and garages.

Have a look at the exhibit and graphs in the Samson, Donnet and Daft text (2018, pp. 74-5; Samson &

Daft 2015, pp. 53, 73) and note the proliferation of management, perspectives and tools. Today we live

in technology-driven workplaces that are learning organisations vigorously striving to keep in touch with

change.

3.3 THE CLASSICAL PERSPECTIVE

Of course, people have been managing workplaces since we began to craft tools with iron in fires. Not

long after that, we began selling our wares and produce in market places and commerce was born.

In the 19th century, the invention of the steam engine and the growth of large machine-driven factories

lead to a rapid revolution in industry. Factories grew and so did the problems with running them. It was

a time of great social and political upheaval with the rise in power of both ‘capital’ and ‘labour’ as

diametrically opposed forces.

The classical perspective focuses on a scientific approach to management and, at its core, strove to

make whole enterprises into huge, efficient machines. Hence the notion of the mechanistic organisation

that still permeates today as a legitimate paradigm. In COM31, you will study the notion of machine

theory in more detail. In this unit will discuss how these different theories translated into management

styles and communication.