Solutions Manual
Managerial Communication 8/E Jennifer Veltsos
Chapter 01: Communicating in Contemporary Organizations.
Teaching Notes
Chapter 1 reviews the evolution of managerial communication from recordkeeping to
participatory employee engagement. There are two major ideas in this chapter that should be
emphasized in class lectures:
1. Over the past 120 years, the importance of managerial communication has increased as the
role of the manager has evolved.
Contemporary managers are much more likely to be successful if they have strong
communication competencies. This concept can be explained by reviewing the history of
the managerial role in the 20th century and early 21st century and by identifying the
communication behaviors that managers used in each era. Ask students to describe the
communication patterns they have observed among their current managers and
supervisors. Compare and contrast these with earlier patterns.
2. The contingency model of communication means that managers adapt to the conditions in
front of them rather than try to use a “one size fits all” approach.
Chapter 1 describes some of the external factors that affect their decisions: diversity, the
drive for improved product and service quality, and ethics. Trends imply that
communication will become more frequent, intense, and intercultural as it grows in
importance. The strategic model will be introduced in Chapter 2 to guide students as they
respond to situations.
Learning Objectives
• Describe the evolution of managerial communication from ancient times to today.
• Define the contingency approach to managerial communication.
• Explain how diversity affects approaches to communication within organizations.
, • Discuss the role of effective communication in developing a culture of quality and ethics
in the workplace.
Chapter Overview
Managerial communication has evolved from recordkeeping in ancient times to an autocratic,
one-way practice in the industrial revolution to a modern participatory approach that empowers
employees to contribute to decisions and solutions. Managers must consider the purpose of their
messages and the audiences with whom they are communicating to select a strategy that will
achieve their goals.
Several contemporary dynamics create external factors that affect the way managers
communicate with their staff, customers, and stakeholders. The workplace is becoming more
diverse as people from different cultures and ethnicities, genders, sexual orientation and gender
identity, disabilities, ages, and levels of education work together. Globalization and lower
barriers to entry have increased competition, making product and service quality more important
than ever. Time cycles are reduced and room for error is shrinking. Ethics is another
contemporary dynamic that must be considered. In spite of these challenges, management ethics
should guide difficult communication decisions. Organizations can assist employees with
training programs and codes of ethics.
Class Exercise--Communication Channels
The following exercise will help students understand the broad range of communication channels
available for the transmission of messages in contemporary businesses and organizations. Divide
them into small groups and ask them to brainstorm examples of channels to write in each of the
cells in the following matrix. To get them thinking, examples are provided in several cells.
Internal External
Formal--Oral Meetings
Formal--Written Corporate annual reports
Informal--Oral Social event such as inviting a
client to a professional
baseball game
Informal--Written Email
,Questions for Class Discussion
1. Discuss the statement, “Most attempts to improve management communication are really
attempts to improve manipulation of employees.”
Since the goals of improving management communication and employee manipulation
both result in an improvement in the efficiency and effectiveness of the employee, it
could be said that there is little difference between the two. However, open and honest
communication between management and subordinates achieves these results without the
use of manipulation, which can produce poor relations and resentment.
2. Because you are reading this book, you are probably taking a course at a university. Does
the university use the gangplank theory to any extent? Explain.
The majority of U.S. universities will use the gangplank theory to a significant degree. It
would be extremely difficult to channel all communications to the university’s president
and then back down to various employees. There would not be enough hours in the day
for a university president to handle the flow of such numerous communications. For this
reason, subordinates must have the freedom to communicate within their departments and
between the diverse schools in the university system.
3. How does the behavioral approach differ from the contingency approach to management
communication?
The contingency approach matches different communication strategies with different
situations. It recognizes that one communication method may be effective in one situation
and ineffective in another. Thus, it is a pragmatic approach. The behavioral approach
draws from several psychological theories to explain managerial behavior. Unfortunately,
the theoretical explanations are extremely complex, often confusing and difficult to learn,
making the contingency method the better choice of the two in the majority of business
problem situations.
4. Provide an example in which you have seen a manager attempt to empower employees.
Any situation in which management delegates some of its authority to subordinates
would qualify as an example. For example, if a company manager gives their
, Veltsos, Managerial Communication, 8e
administrative assistant the power and knowledge to schedule appointments for that
manager, or if all of the information known by the company CEO is shared with their
subordinates, then empowerment has taken place. Examples of companies that support a
culture of employee engagement and empowerment are Google, Disney, Tesla, and
Virgin.
5. This textbook states that it is not possible to review all contingencies. Elaborate on this
statement.
Since effective communication is dependent upon each situation that may arise, and since
each situation may require a different strategy, it would be impossible for anyone to give
specific directions on how to handle any problem that might occur.
6. In which ways do you believe that women communicate differently than men in the
workplace?
Research on gender communication shows that women have a tendency to demonstrate
more social support and sympathy, to be concerned about relationships and group
dynamics, to provide different types of feedback than men normally do, to use different
persuasive and writing styles, and to use space and body language differently. Women's
language is frequently less powerful than men’s—women’s sentences are longer, with
qualifiers, modifiers, and requests for agreement added.
7. Why do you think that men and women may have difficulty communicating with each other?
In recent years, many social changes have taken place that have put women on a more
equal footing with men. In business, women constitute almost half of the workforce but
hold far fewer management positions than do men. The reasons and explanations for this
disparity vary widely. Research reveals one possible explanation: Male and female
communication behaviors continue to be different.
8. Give a specific example in which a demand for greater quality also increases the demand for
more efficient communication.
Companies espousing the principles of total quality management, continuous process
improvement, and similar business philosophies invariably emphasize the importance of
well-developed formal and informal, internal and external communication channels.
Teamwork and cooperation are impossible without open communication.
