The word communication will be used here in a

very broad sense to include all of the procedures

by which one mind may affect another. This, of
course, involves not only written and oral speech,
but also music, the pictorial arts, the theatre, the
ballet, and in fact all human behavior.1
This quotation comes from the opening of a classic
work describing a communication theory. The heart
of the definition is in the first sentence. All
communication tries to affect the behavior of at least
one other person. Communication can change the
way a person perceives his environment and lead to
behavior change.2
Organizational communication includes the
purpose, flow, and direction of messages and the
media used for those messages. Such communication
happens within the complex, interdependent social
systems of organizations.3 Think of organizational
communication as another view of behavior in
organizations. This chapter calls such behavior
message behaviorbehavior that includes sending,
receiving, and giving meaning to messages.
Communication processes in organizations are
continuous and constantly changing. They do not
have a beginning or an end, nor do they follow a
strict sequence. During communication, the sender
creates messages from one or more symbols to
which he attaches meaning. Messages can be oral,
written, or nonverbal; they can also be intentional
or unintentional. Messages deal with tasks to be
done, maintenance of organizational policies, or
information about some state of the organization.
They can go to people inside the organization or
outside the organization.
Organizational communication happens over a pathway called a network, a
series of interconnected positions in an organization. The network can be formal,
as defined by organizational positions and relationships among them. It can also
be informal, as defined by informal patterns of social interaction and the informal
groups described in Chapter 10, Groups and Intergroup Processes.
Communication over the network goes in any direction: downward, upward, or
horizontally. Communication networks in organizations are interdependent,
interlocking, and overlapping systems of human interaction. They involve
relationships among individuals, within and among groups, or dispersed almost
randomly throughout an organization.
TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
Verbal and nonverbal communication are the two major types of communication
found in organizational communication processes. Verbal communication
includes oral, written, and electronic forms of communication. Nonverbal
communication includes eye movements, gestures, facial expressions, tone of
voice, and the like.9
Both verbal and nonverbal communication can appear together in a

communication process and interact to create meaning for a receiver. Nonverbal

communication adds much of the feeling and emotion that a sender wants to
give to a message.10 Nonverbal communication often has more effect than
verbal communication on the meaning receivers give a message. 11
Verbal Communication
Oral and written messages are the two major forms of verbal communication.
The following paragraphs discuss many characteristics of the different forms of
verbal communication you will likely find in todays organizations.
Oral communication includes all forms of speech between a sender and
receiver.12 Oral communication can occur during face-to-face interaction or by
telephone, radio, or television. Although oral communication usually has the
immediate attention of the receiver, sometimes the message can be recorded and
played later; cassette recordings, telephone answering devices, and computerrecorded
voice-mail are examples.
Unless the interaction is transcribed or recorded, oral communication leaves
no retrievable record of the message and response. When the sender wants to
affect the receivers opinion on some matter, oral communication is more
effective than written. Nonverbal communication by both the sender and the
receiver, however, can affect the final interpretation of the message.
American Sign Language (ASL), the language that deaf and hearing-impaired
people use, is a form of verbal communication.13 Although it is a visual language,
communication theorists classify it as mainly verbal.14 Deaf and hearing-impaired

Written communication is any form of handwriting, printed memo, report,

or message sent over an electronic medium such as a computer network. 15 The

receivers response is more delayed in written communication than in oral
communication, because the receiver must first read the message before
interpreting and responding to it.
Written communications compete with each other for the time and attention
of the receiver. They also compete with oral communication, a form with the
advantage of at least the senders vocal presence. Written communication can
interact with nonverbal communication. The way a sender gives a memo or report
to a receiver, for example, can affect the receivers perception of the message
when he reads it.
Written communication has some advantages over oral communication.
First, it is a retrievable and almost permanent recording of a message. Second,
comprehension often is greater with written than with oral communication,16
because the receiver can reread a written communication to be sure he
understands the senders intended meaning. Therefore, managers commonly use
memoranda to document agreements.
As modern technology develops, electronic and video communications
are becoming increasingly important. Such communication includes the use
of e-mail, computer networks, fax machines, computer conferencing, and
videoconferencing. Those methods offer the advantages of speed, accuracy,
easy dispersal to many locations, direct interaction, and quick feedback.
Videoconferencing also allows people in different places to see each other while
they talk. A later section discusses emerging technologies and their effects on
communication in detail.17
Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal communication is behavior that communicates without written or

spoken words.18 Examples include gestures, posture, seating position, voice tone
and inflection, speed of speech, and the physical environment of the
communication interaction. People use these nonverbal cues to communicate
explicitly or implicitly with each other. Individuals combine verbal and nonverbal
communications to create unique communication styles.
Nonverbal communication can contradict, amplify, or complement verbal
communication. Subordinates might perceive a supervisor who does not maintain
eye contact during a conversation as insincere. Some people might perceive a
person with a relaxed facial expression as having more power than a person
with a nervous facial expression.19 A professor who tells you to ask questions
when you do not understand something and then leaves time for questions
reinforces your perception that he wants you to understand.

1. Shannon, C. E., and W. Weaver. 1949. The Mathematical Theory of Communication.

Urbana: University of Illinois Press, p. 3. (Emphasis in original.)
2. Burke, P., and R. Porter, eds. 1995. Languages and Jargons: Contributions to a
Social History of Language. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
Clampitt, P. G. 1991. Communicating for Managerial Effectiveness. Newbury Park,
Calif.: Sage Publications.
Goldhaber, G. M. 1993. Organizational Communication. Madison, Wis.: Brown &
Benchmark.
Porter, L. W., and K. H. Roberts. 1976. Communication in Organizations. In
Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, ed. M. D. Dunnette.
Chicago: Rand McNally, Chap. 35.
3. Porter and Roberts, Communication in Organizations, p. 1567.
4. Developed from Shannon and Weaver, The Mathematical Theory.
Berlo, D. K. 1960. The Process of Communication. New York: Holt, Rinehart &
Winston, pp. 10203, 10916.
5. Webster, J., and L. K. Trevino. 1995. Rational and Social Theories as
Complementary Explanations of Communication Media Choices: Two PolicyCapturing Studies. Academy of Management Journal 38: 154472. This source
reviews earlier research on media choice.
6. Bhappu, A. D., T. L. Griffith, and G. B. Northcraft. 1997. Media Effects and
Communication Bias in Diverse Groups. Organizational Behavior and Human
Decision Processes 70: 199205.
Larkey, L. K. 1996. Toward a Theory of Communicative Interactions in Culturally
Diverse Workgroups. Academy of Management Review 21: 46391.
7. Ahrens, F. 2004. Accent on Higher TV Ratings: Spanish-Language
Network Telemundo Coaches Actors to Use Mexican Dialect. Washington Post
(2 August): A-1.
Harrison, C. 2002. New Challenges Arise as US Firms Move Call Centers Overseas.
Dallas Morning News (16 October): K4121.
8. Jelinek, P. 1998. Koreans Practice Service, Smiling. Associated Press, as published
in Albuquerque Journal (19 December): G3.
9. Andersen, P. A. 2008. Nonverbal Communication: Forms and Functions, 2nd edn.
Long Grove, Ill.: Waveland Press, Chap. 1.
Burgoon, J. K., D. B. Buller, and W. G. Woodall. 1996. Nonverbal Behavior: The
Unspoken Dialogue. New York: McGraw-Hill.
DePaulo, B. M., and H. S. Friedman. 1998. Nonverbal Communication. In Handbook
of Social Psychology, Vol. 2, ed. D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, and G. Lindzey. New
York: McGraw-Hill, Chap. 18.
Knapp, M. L., and J. A. Hall. 1997. Nonverbal Communication in Human
Interaction. Fort Worth, Tex.: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, Chap. 1.
10. Porter, G. W. 1969. Nonverbal Communication. Training and Development Journal

23: 38.
11. Porter and Roberts, Communication in Organizations, p. 1564.
12. Guetzkow, H. 1965. Communications in Organizations. In Handbook of
Organizations, ed. J. G. March. Chicago: Rand McNally, pp. 53839.
13. Developed from H. W. Hoemann. 1986. Introduction to American Sign Language.
Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green Press.
14. Knapp and Hall, Nonverbal Communication, p. 5.
15. Ibid.
16. Porter and Roberts, Communication in Organizations, p. 1563.
17. Huber, G. P. 1990. A Theory of the Effects of Advanced Information Technologies
on Organizational Design, Intelligence, and Decision Making. Academy of
Management Review 15: 4771.
18. Andersen, Nonverbal Communication.
DePaulo and Friedman, Nonverbal Communication.
Ekman, P. 2003. Emotions Revealed: Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve
Communication and Emotional Life. New York: Times Books. Chapters 5 through
9 of this source have a highly readable discussion of nonverbal communication.
Knapp and Hall, Nonverbal Communication.
Mahl, G. F. 1987. Explorations in Nonverbal Behavior. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates.
Pentland, A. 2008. Honest Signals: How They Shape Our World. Cambridge, Mass.:
MIT Press.
Pentland, A., with T. Heibeck. 2008. Understanding Honest Signals in Business.
MIT Sloan Management Review 50 (Fall): 7075.
19. Aguinis, H., M. M. Simonsen, and C. A. Pierce. 1998. Effects of Nonverbal
Behavior on Perceptions of Power Bases. Journal of Social Psychology 138: 45569.