People and Communication PDF
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People Dnd [ommUni[Dtion [hrisWebb M © (text) Chris Webb 1978 © (illustrations) Barry Jackson 1978 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission. First published 1978 by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD LO'ndon and Basingstoke Associated companies in Delhi Dublin Hong Kong Johannesburg Lagos Melbourne New York Singapore and Tokyo Typeset in 10/12 IBM by Illustrated Arts British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Webb, Chris People and communication. 1, Communication in organisations I. Title 658.4'5 HD30.3 ISBN 978-1-349-81463-3 ISBN 978-1-349-81461-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-81461-9 This book is sold subject to the standard conditions of the Net Book Agreement. The paperback edition of this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar conditfon including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Contents Preface iv Introduction Understanding the System 2 1. The Organisation 3 2. The People 23 Choosing the Method 31 3. Talking to People 33 4. Writing Effectively 47 Working Together 65 5. The Needs of the Individual 66 6. Working in Groups 79 Preface This book is not an attempt to cover the whole of the Common Core Module 'People and Communication' for the BEC National Award. It is doubtful' whether it would be appropriate to try and deal with such a syllabus in one textbook, even if it were possible. What the book aims to do is to provide a framework within which some of the objectives for the 'Operating' and 'Co-operating' parts of the syllabus can be achieved. The relevant objectives are spelled out at the beginning of each section, from which it can be seen that much of the material in this book may serve as little more than an introduction to more sophisticated and complex areas. However, it is hoped that the book will provide a positive service in the following three ways: it attempts to bridge that area where 'Communication' crosses over into 'Human Relations', it tries to work, from the basis of the students' own experiences towards the kind of theoretical material which the syllabus requires, and through the work-book style, it attempts to communicate some fairly sophisticated concepts through simple and enjoyable learning exercises. It is fully realised that many of the issues mentioned are too complex to be treated in a few pages. None the less an attempt has been made to introduce such topics in the hope that teachers and students alike can pursue them to a greater depth in their own manner and time, and enjoy so doing. Introduction The title of this work-book determines in many important ways the kind of approach adopted. The title stresses that communication is an activity between people; indeed it can only take place if there is someone to understand, as well as someone to start the communication. Communication has become an important area of study precisely because more and more people have become concerned about a lack of understanding and goodwill in all walks of life. This book is not concerned with those wider communication problems, but attempts to look at the role of communication in just one vital activity, WORK. For most people work is a co-operative effort. There are, it is true, people who make their livings by working alone -artists and craftsmen, for example· but for most of us work means working with people. Given this basic fact it follows that an important part of our working life is getting on with colleagues. It is sometimes thought that being 'good at your job' is just about mastering the technical skills involved in it, typing or book-keeping or whatever it may be. However, to be effective at work also means working with other people, contributing to a team and achieving objectives by a collective effort. To make that contribution it is helpful to understand the relationships that exist in organisations, the forces that shape group activities, and the choices available for communicating information. NOTE IN THIS BOOK • MEANS SOMETHING TO DO Understanding the System BEC National Award Common Core Module 1: People and Communication (1) The Organisation Objective H1 . the student should outline the structure of an organisation, its internal policy, and its policy about external communications. (2) The People Objective H3 . the student should identify who in an organisation should (and should not) receive, respond to or be kept informed about a given communication. 1. The Organisation An organisation is a set of connected units. Most of us operate within some kind of organisation and are connected in one way or another with other people. A crude way of showing this is an organisational chart; such a chart attempts to depict the way people are linked. It is often laid out vertically with the senior person at the top of the chart and other staff ranked below in descending order of importance. You are probably studying at a college of further education at the moment. It is quite easy to draw up an organisational chart for a typical college, as follows. Head of Head of Head of Head of Head of Engineering Science Business General . Community Dept Dept Studies Education Studies Dept Dept Dept Senior Senior Senior Senior Senior Teaching Teaching Teaching Teaching Teaching Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff Other Other Other Other Other Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff STUDENTS .......... 5 • Now draw your own organisational chart, based on either your college or your company. The chart you have just constructed can be useful as a preliminary exercise to clarify your own place in a system, but it would be very dangerous if we claimed that it was a complete picture of an organisation. The sample chart on page 3 makes a great many assumptions which may not be true in practice. It assumes, for example, that the key determinant in people's relationships is AUTHORITY. All communication is shown as being directed downwards, with no allowance made for discussion and consultation.
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