Glossary
360-degree feedback A system of providing employees with feedback not only from their bosses, but from other employees with whom they interact in the course of their duties, primarily their peers and own subordinates
Advocacy The act of supporting a cause or proposal
Body language Gestures, postures, and facial expressions
Brainstorming A method of soliciting ideas from a group of individuals in rapid fashion that does not examine ideas as they emerge
Coaching An interactive process that aims to correct a performance problem or develop an employee’s skills
Command and control A model of management in which information relative to customers and operations flows upward through the chain-of-command to the top, where decisions are made; directives based on those decisions are then communicated downward through the same chain of command
Communication barriers Workplace factors that keep us from fully understanding others or being fully understood
Conflict avoiders People who are so uncomfortable with conflict that they will alter their behavior or their position in order to avoid unpleasantness
Contingency plan A plan that identifies actions that can be taken if another idea doesn’t work
Dialogue A conversation between two or more people
Effective communication Communication in which the recipients understand the message
E-mail A system for writing, sending, storing, and receiving messages and attached files over the Internet and intranet systems
Employee empowerment A management style that gives subordinates substantial discretion in how they accomplish their missions
English-only policies Workplace policies that require employees to speak English exclusively when doing their jobs
Feedback The process by which a system’s output (information) returns (is fed back) to its source so that future output can be regulated
Geographically dispersed work, offsite work Work accomplished by individuals or teams working in different physical locations
Hearing Recognition of sounds, including words
Idiomatic expression An expression whose meaning cannot be deduced from a literal translation of its parts
Interpersonal communication An interaction involving two or more people where each alternates the role of speaker and listener, though all participants do not necessarily get “equal time”
Instant messaging Real-time typed text communication between two or more people on a shared network
Intranet An internal website—a private, secure version of the Internet
Jargon A specialized language used by members of a trade, profession, or similar group
Listening The mental process of interpreting, evaluating, and contextualizing the things we hear
Nominal group technique (NGT) A technique, similar to brainstorming, used by teams to generate ideas; team members are asked to silently come up with as many ideas as possible, writing them down; the ideas are shared, recorded, then discussed and prioritized by the group
Nonverbal communication (NVC) The transmitting and receiving of messages without words
Open-ended questions Questions that cannot be answered with “yes” or “no;” open-ended questions usually begin with “what,” “when,” or “how”
Paraphrasing Stating in your own words what you have just heard from the speaker
Persuasion A communicative process through which we alter or affect the attitudes, beliefs, or actions of others
Power distance The extent to which less powerful people expect and accept the fact that power is unequal
Prejudgment An assessment or conclusion made without hearing or examining relevant facts
Slang Informal words and expressions that are not standard in the language
Span of control The number of people reporting to a manager in an organization
Team-based work Work performed in a coordinated manner by a set of employees, often individuals with very different skills
Thought leaders The people whom others listen to when important matters are on the table
Trust A condition wherein we have reliance or confidence in the character, ability, or truthfulness of someone else
Vagueness Thoughts or information that are not clearly or precisely expressed, without specificity or detail
Verbosity The practice of using more words than necessary
Virtual team A team of geographically separate members who work toward common goals across time, space, and organizational boundaries; members seldom meet face-to-face, but depend heavily on communication technologies
Web conferencing A medium that provides simultaneous audio and visual communication for live meetings and presentations over the Internet
ONLINE RESOURCES
There’s some good information on workplace communication on the Internet. So, if you’d like to learn more, surf the following sites, which we’ve listed under key topics. Some of the URLs are long and complex, so copy the URLs that interest you, then paste them into the address line of your Internet browser. That way you’ll avoid spelling errors.
Communicating with Offsite Employees
Chapter 2 described the “new” workplace and the technologies that help people communicate with one another. Here’s an online article with more about how you can use those technologies to keep in touch with people you seldom see in the office:
http://www.sideroad.com/Business_Communication/communicating-with-offsite-employees.html
Language and Culture Differences
The problems of language and cultural differences are very current in the U.S. Here are two sources of information that augment what was covered in the text:
http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/cross-cultural_communication/
For business jargon, see www.johnsmurf.com/jargon2.htm
Personality Type
If you’re curious about your personality type, we recommend that you take the Myers-Briggs test. If that’s not possible, try filling out the questionnaire found at this website for an approximation:
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp.
Persuasion
Each of these sites has an essay listing three or more things you can do to be more persuasive:
http://www.sideroad.com/Sales/persuasive-communication.html
http://www.sideroad.com/Business_Communication/persuasive_communication-business.html
Communicating with Difficult People
We haven’t covered this in the text. So if you find yourself dealing with a difficult person, try this site:
http://www.sideroad.com/Business_Communication/communicating-with-difficult-people.html
Sometimes the problem isn’t the other person; you’re simply dealing with a sensitive or difficult matter—a “difficult conversation.” The following link will take you to an article that explains how to engage in those difficult conversations. It is written by a certified mediator: