Handbook of Principles of Organizational Behavior - Soltanieh ...

432 DEBORAH A. CAI AND EDWARD L. FINK
as if it is a face - to - face conversation? Conversations, even business conversation, typically
have a playful element prior to termination; does one engage in non - serious communication
with a business associate via e - mail, and if so, how? In addition, because these communications
are asynchronous, it is often hard to interpret a non - response: Is the other party
angry or busy or consulting others or considering and weighing options or merely engaging
in other activities rather than responding? Strategic non - responses, such as seeming unavailable
when actually available, are easier to pull off with technology because it is harder to
find out the communicative availability of the other party when one is at a distance. Finally,
initiating these high - tech high - text communications when angry is frequently disastrous:
When the “ send ” key is clicked, there is no recourse.
More communication is not better when emotions are high, not if the communication is
no longer effective at sharing information or if the greater amount of communication may
lead to damaging relationships. Sometimes delaying the communication and then approaching
the issues from a different direction, such as by one - on - one discussions, providing summaries
of the variety of interests covered in the initial meeting, and allowing emotions to
subside, is a more effective approach. Then returning to communicate about the issues at
another time can generate a fresh look at the problems at hand, one that can be successful
in part because tempers have cooled and new ideas have come to the forefront (see case
example “ The team dissent over hiring, ” below).
Subprinciple 4: Communication is a balancing act between
task and relational activities
For an organization, there are several balancing acts that are notable. Most importantly,
there is a balancing act between the task and relational (socio - emotional) functions to
which the organizational leadership must attend. According to Bernard, “ the survival of
any organization depends on its ability to solve two problems: the achievement of the purposes
for which the organization was formed, and the satisfaction of the more immediate
needs of the members of the organization ” (Slater, 1955 , p. 308).
A communication may convey information about the task at hand (related to “ the
purposes for which the organization was formed, ” for example deciding whom to hire),
relationship information (related to “ the satisfaction of the more immediate needs of the
members of the organization, ” for example how solid the friendship is between group
members), or both. And communication is the medium by which these activities are
accomplished. An example of task and relational activity phases over time is found in
phone and hallway conversations: However task - focused a conversation is, it will often end
with a joke or some other unserious remark that brings the conversation to a close.
Early coding schemes differentiated task from relational communications (Bales, 1950 ).
Communications that are positive and socio - emotional are those that show solidarity,
tension release, and agreement; those that are task related are those that give or ask for
suggestions, opinions, or orientations; and those that are negative and socio - emotional
are those that show disagreement, tension, or antagonism. When we communicate over
time, we go through phases when either task or relational communication predominates.
In addition to this over- time specialization, groups tend to have individuals who generally
focus on task matters and others who focus on relational matters.