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Summary LRM3702 Topic 01: Learning unit 01 and 02
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- University Of South Africa (Unisa)
LRM3702_Topic 01_Learning unit_01 and 02 _Summaries_2021
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LRM3702 – LABOUR RELATIONS MANAGEMENT: MICROTOPIC 1: MANAGING FOR MORE COMMON GROUND: BUILDING
CONSTRUCTIVE WORKPLACE RELATIONS
LEARNING UNIT 1
COMMUNICATION, GROUP DYNAMICS AND INTERPERSONAL
INTERACTION
1.2 THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS AND ITS DYNAMICS
• Communication is a two-way process
• Communication takes place when one person sends a message to another (e.g., a manager to a
subordinate, or vice versa)
• Communication cannot be regarded as successful unless the message as understood by the recipient is the
same as the message the sender intended.
{The Communication Process)
Communication components:
• Sender or source: The person who sends or wishes to transmit the message.
• Encoding: The process in which senders convert their thoughts into symbols that can be transmitted, such
as speeches, written documents, letters, e-mails or reports or simply gestures.
• Medium: The channel through which the message is sent. For instance, a verbal message may be
transmitted face to face, telephonically, or by means of a webcast.
• Recipient: The person (or group of people) to whom the message is directed.
• Decoding: As the recipient perceives the medium, he or she interprets the message.
• Feedback: The return message received by the sender, showing (or not showing) how the recipient
interpreted the message.
Communication always takes place in a particular context. In addition to time and place, assume a multitude of
forms, for instance.
- Communication between superiors and their subordinates in a work context.
- Communication between colleagues attending a work-related party in a social context; and
- Communication by a police officer directed at a large group of striking workers, in a mass context.
Page 1 of 32
Summary by L Petzer
, LRM3702 – LABOUR RELATIONS MANAGEMENT: MICRO
The context in which communication takes place has a considerable influence on,
- The nature of the communication,
- The content of the message,
- The medium through which the communication takes place and
- The effect that the communication will have.
Context in which the communication occurs usually determines status or power base of the communicating parties,
which, in turn, affects the spirit (or climate) and the parties’ willingness to receive and respond to the message.
The context in which communication occurs has an impact on the climate in which communication takes place.
Climate refers to the atmosphere or spirit in which the communication process occurs. In this respect, we
Distinguish between:
- Formal,
- Informal,
- Competitive,
- Hostile,
- Cooperative climates.
The nature of the climate in which communication occurs affects the way in which the message is decoded, its
content, and, in particular, the willingness of the recipient(s) to attend to the message and interpret it correctly.
The climate during a strike will differ considerably from that prevailing when a party communicates during an
interview arranged for the purpose of promoting an employee.
Any form of communication starts with a sender. The sender has a need to communicate and therefore initiates the
process.
Before communication can begin, however, the sender has to encode the content of the message – that is, he or
she must decide on the nature, content and scope of the message.
A decision must also be taken about the medium to be used to convey the message, for example whether it will be
verbal, a memorandum or a grievance form. The sender thus transmits his or her thoughts by means of signals
consisting of, say, words (symbols), images (pictures/sketches/diagrams) or gestures.
This encoding process, and its success in creating a comprehensible message, depends on the sender’s ability and
skill with regards to the communication medium, as well as on his or her skill in converting ideas into signals which
the recipient can decipher into a meaningful message.
The message conveyed is obviously central to the communication process. Normally, the content of the message
relates to something specific, but it may often have a subtle, unintentional undertone that can have a significant
effect on the recipient’s reaction.
Different styles, can have on a recipient:
• “Smoking prohibited in offices”
• “No smoking in offices, please”
• “Thank you for not smoking in the office area”
Any form of communication takes place by way of a medium. It represents the channel through which
communication takes place, and it also has to do with the context in which it occurs. In certain circumstances,
verbal communication (i.e. the spoken or written word) will be the appropriate medium. In other cases, gestures,
facial expressions and other nonverbal media may be used. In many instances, a combination of verbal and
nonverbal media is employed, for example, in the case of face-to-face communication during the interactive
negotiation phase. Non-verbal media are used daily in the interaction between workers and managers, for instance
facial expressions, gestures and body language.
Page 2 of 32
Summary by L Petzer
, LRM3702 – LABOUR RELATIONS MANAGEMENT: MICRO
Sometimes a number of messages have to compete in such a context and may be influenced by the noise caused by
other messages (which are not necessarily directed at the same recipient). In cases where different messages are
simultaneously directed at the same recipient, the noise factor is even greater (e.g. different instructions to the
same worker from different managers). Along with a variety of messages, the average person is also exposed to
background noise which impacts on the senses and may hamper attention to a particular message (think of the
noise of machinery in a factory). Noise in a communication context may hamper the transmission and interpretation
of messages.
Communication is always directed at a target person or target audience, referred to as the recipient(s) of the
communication message. Is the key component in the communication process. As noted, communication can only
be successful if the meaning the recipient attaches to the message is the same meaning that the sender intended.
The recipient, in turn, must decode the message – that is, attach a meaning to it.
Correct decoding depends on the recipient’s decoding ability, which, in turn, is related to a wide range of skills such
as
- language proficiency,
- a knowledge of body language,
- comprehension and
- the ability to use frames of reference and
- understand the role of perceptual differences.
Decoding of a message is also heavily influenced by the recipient’s values, norms and thought patterns (frames of
reference) or “mindsets”.
These can in turn relate to the interests and objectives of the role players. As Salamon (2000:382) explains, the
conflict aspects of labour relations often relate to the divergent interests, values and objectives of the parties and
these things have a great impact on how issues are perceived when communication is at work.
Communication “between management, employees, and unions, on both the interpersonal and inter-organisational
levels, provides a means to identify differences, develop better understanding and seeking accommodation within a
mutually acceptable solution”.
Any communication process is aimed at a certain effect or result. The impact the message has on the parties’
interaction and behaviour, and therefore on the situation or context as a whole. In the context of negotiation, and
more specifically collective bargaining, the aim is to ultimately reach some collective agreement.
The effect of communication constitutes a valuable feedback mechanism. For example, senders could use the
feedback to establish further communication. The feedback, too, is conveyed via a medium and is a message in itself
– a message that is subjected to noise, has to go through a decoding process, and so forth. In other words, the
whole process becomes a cycle.
In two-way communication, the parties take turns as sender and recipient, and both have a role in the encoding and
decoding processes. Both use the effect of their respective messages as feedback to bring about further
communication. Communication in the organisation and labour relations context can therefore assume a number of
dimensions and forms. This is what gives communication its
dynamic character.
For instance, communication in an organisation may be formal or informal: formal – it is planned and forms part of
the work and management process; and informal – it is nonofficial, coincidental, spontaneous and unplanned.
We could make another distinction (as you already know), namely between one-way communication (where the
sender makes no provision for a reaction by the recipient) and two-way communication (which is meant to elicit a
reaction from the recipient, and indeed, encourages it).
Page 3 of 32
Summary by L Petzer
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