Human Relations in Organizations: Applications and Skill Building 8th Edition by Robert Lussier

Exercise 36

Objective: To develop your ability to give and receive messages (communication skills).
AACSB: The primary AACSB learning standard skill developed through this exercise is communication abilities.
Experience: You will plan, give, and receive instructions for the completion of a drawing of three objects.
Preparation: No preparation is necessary except reading the chapter. The instructor will provide the original drawings.
Read all of procedure 1 twice. The task is for the manager to give an employee instructions for completing a drawing of three objects. The objects must be drawn to scale and look like photocopies of the originals. You will have 15 minutes to complete the task.
The exercise has four separate parts, or steps.
1. The manager plans.
2. The manager gives the instructions.
3. The employee does the drawing.
4. Evaluation of the results takes place.
Rules: The rules are numbered to correlate with the four parts above.
1. Planning. While planning, the manager may write out instructions for the employee but may not do any drawing of any kind.
2. Instructions. While giving instructions, the manager may not show the original drawing to the employee. (The instructor will give it to you.) The instructions may be given orally, and/or in writing, but no nonverbal hand gestures are allowed. The employee may take notes while the instructions are being given but cannot do any drawing with or without a pen. The manager must give the instructions for all three objects before drawing begins.
3. Drawing. Once the employee begins the drawing, the manager should watch but no longer communicate in any way.
4. Evaluation. When the employee is finished or the time is up, the manager shows the employee the original drawing. Discuss how you did. Turn to the integration section and answer the questions. The manager writes down the answers.
Half of the class members will act as the manager first and give instructions. Managers move their seats to one of the four walls (spread out). They should be facing the center of the room with their backs close to the wall.
Employees sit in the middle of the room until called on by a manager. When called on, bring a seat to the manager. Sit facing the manager so that you will not be able to see any manager's drawing.
The instructor gives each manager a copy of the drawing. Be careful not to let any employees see it. The manager plans the instructions. When managers are ready, they call an employee and give the instructions. It may be helpful to use the message-sending process. Be sure to follow the rules. The employee should do the drawing on the page entitled Employee Drawing. If you use written instructions, use nonbook paper. You have 15 minutes to complete the drawing, and possibly five minutes for integration (evaluation). When you finish the drawing, turn to the evaluation questions in the integration section below.
The employees are now the managers and sit in the seats facing the center of the room.
New employees go to the center of the room until called upon.
Follow procedure 3, with the instructor giving a different drawing. Do not work with the same person; change partners.
Evaluating Questions: You may select more than one answer.
1. The goal of communication was to:
a. influence
b. inform
c. express feelings
2. Feedback was:
a. immediate
c. performance-oriented
b. specifi
c and accurate
d. positive
3. The manager transmitted the message:
a. orally
b. in writing
c. nonverbally
d. combined
4. The manager spent time planning.
a. too much
b. too little
c. the right amount of
The next six questions relate to the message-sending process:
5. The manager developed rapport (Step 1).
a. true
b. false
6. The manager stated the communication objective (Step 2).
a. true
b. false
7. The manager transmitted the message _____ (Step 3).
a. effectively
b. ineffectively
8. The manager checked understanding by using _______ (Step 4).
a. direct questions
b. paraphrasing
c. both
d. neither
9. The amount of checking was:
a. too frequent
b. too infrequent
c. both
c. about right
10. The manager got a commitment and followed up (Step 5).
a. true
b. false
c. both
11. The manager and/or employee got emotional.
a. true
b. false
c. both
12. The primary response style used by the manager was:
a. advising
b. diverting
c. probing
d. reassuring
e. reflecting
13. The primary response style used by the employee was:
a. advising
b. diverting
c. probing
d. reassuring
e. reflecting
14. The manager used the supervisory style.
a. autocratic
b. consultative
c. participative
d. laissez-faire
15. The appropriate style was:
a. autocratic
b. consultative
c. participative
d. laissez-faire
16. Were the objects drawn to approximate scale? If not, why not?
17. Did you follow the rules? If not, why not?
18. If you could do this exercise over again, what would you do differently?
Conclusion: The instructor leads a class discussion and/or makes concluding remarks.
Application (2-4 minutes): What did I learn from this experience? How will I use this knowledge in the future?
Sharing: Volunteers give their answers to the application section.