Organizational

Silence
• To overcome Organizational
Silence leaders can do a
number of things
• The most important is to
“reduce the actual or
perceived power distance
between participants”

• Power distance is a leading

cause of the reasons behind
why people chose
organizational silence
Power Equalization Steps
• Here’s how to address Power Distance

Steps Leads to
Delayering Removing hierarchical barriers that create distance and distort the value
of different people’s opinions depending upon seniority

Decentralizing Pushing down decision making to close the gap between decision makers
and ‘doers’

Egalitarianism Removing ‘artifacts’ of status difference

3rd Party Structuring effective ‘rules of engagement’ around feedback and dialogue
Facilitation
Representation Including opinions from multiple levels, both vertical (managers, shop
floor employees etc) and horizontal (union and management; business
units on the same organizational level) in dialogue

Teamwork Building shared purpose and mutual responsibility to ensure equal

participation and influence by all members in the dialogue
The Consultant Role
• There is an important role to play in diagnosis (and
specifically dialogue) as consultant
• The consultant may be from outside the
organization (professional or academic) or a
specially trained and skilled individual from within
the business.
The Consultant Role
• The consultant is primarily a facilitator
• They bring knowledge of organizational
frameworks, research methodology, skills in gaining
commitment etc
• The consultant is in control of the process; they
bring expertise
• Employees are information providers
Organizational Diagnosis: Getting
Started
The process should be:
• Collecting data on the organization and its
environment
• Entering into a dialogue of discovery about the data
collected
• Receiving and providing feedback on what has been
learned
• Institutionalizing dialogue and diagnosis so that
they become an ongoing part of the organization’s
activities
Step 1: Collecting Data
• Which data collection methods have you / would
you use and why?
• What advantages and disadvantages can you
identify for the main data collection methods?
 • Self-administered questionnaire

Step 1: • Supervised questionnaire

• Overt observation

Collecting • Covert observation

• Focus groups
Data • One-on-one interviews
• Organizational documentation
Step 2: Entering into a dialogue
• What communication tools and techniques would
you use to facilitate a dialogue between employees
on the data collected?
Step 2: Entering into a dialogue
• Town Hall meetings
• Staff meetings
• Special ‘brown bag’ sessions
• Corporate Facebook page
• E-newsletter
• Podcasts
Step 3: Receiving and Providing
Feedback
• Employees who have been involved in the process
deserve honest and timely feedback
• Feedback should include how employee
participation is likely to change things
• Feedback can be ongoing; it can be both formal and
informal
Step 4: Institutionalizing Diagnosis
and Dialogue
• How can we ‘institutionalize’ (build into the way of
doing things) diagnosis and dialogue in our
organizations?
Step 4: Institutionalizing Diagnosis
and Dialogue
• Link to performance review
• Include in training programs
• Reward outstanding contributions
• Tie to corporate values
• CEO reinforce message regularly
• Tools that people can use to diagnose and discuss
Step 4: Institutionalizing Diagnosis
and Dialogue
• Link to performance review
• Include in training programs
• Reward outstanding contributions
• Tie to corporate values
• CEO reinforce message regularly
• Tools that people can use to diagnose and discuss
National Computers Case Study
• We will have a look at the case “Managing
Transformation at National Computers”.

• This case is in the ‘Case Studies and Articles folder’

Communicating Change to
Employees
Communication Strategy
• We looked briefly before at the role of dialogue
between the organization and the employees to get
change started.

• This section looks at how the organization

communicates change strategically to employees
Communicating to Employees
• Directionality – communication must flow from top
to bottom; bottom to top and sideways to be
effective.

Communication Hierarchical
grid approach approach

• Often, especially during change, organizations do

not encourage upwards communication well.
Communicating to Employees
• Role – The job we have in an organization often
influences who we are comfortable talking to and
what we will say. Roles often block free
communication

• During change we must build inter-role

relationships. This means encouraging people to
talk freely irrespective of role or job
 Communicating to Employees

• Channel– Information may only be noticed or taken

seriously if it is communicated in the appropriate way.

• We must analyze our audience and their expectations

and communicate using the best medium. The
environment; technology and sensitivity of information
also influence the choice of medium through which to
communicate
Communicating to Employees
• Content – We must identify the relevance of
information for employees and pass on information
with the potential for relevance

• We must monitor information circulating outside

the organization and synthesize this with internal
information to give a full and accurate account of
change processes
Communicating to Employees

• Audience Profile – To help choose the best medium,

content and style of a message we can do an
audience profile. This helps us know well “who is my
audience?”

• The audience in modern, multinational companies is

likely to be extremely diverse. We should consider
diversity in our communications
 Communication Strategies
Strategy What is it? Communication Amount of
Effectiveness information
transferred
Spray & pray Flood employees with a lot of Low A lot
different kinds of information and
hope they get it and feel informed
Tell & Sell Communicate selected issues you Moderate Moderate
believe address the core issues
Underscore & Communicate selected core issues High Moderate
Explore and let employees explore the issues
Identify & Reactive approach: listen first to Moderate A little
Reply employees then address the
concerns they see as critical
Withhold & Don’t give information until Low A little
Uphold necessary. Carefully control who is
told what. Address issues when they
threaten change
Communication Strategies
• Look at the 5 communication strategies on the
previous slide

• For each strategy:

• Give some organizational advantages and
disadvantages
Communication & Justice
• Honest, clear and open communication during
change can help employees feel a sense of justice;
that they are being treated fairly.

• There are four measures of justice that good

communication can serve…
Communication & Justice
• Distributive Justice: the equity of outcomes
• Procedural Justice: the fairness of processes
• Informational Justice: explanations and
justifications are provided about the “Why”
• Interpersonal Justice: How people feel they are
being treated by others
Communicating Bad News
• Give the bad news
• Ensure acceptance of the bad news
• Maintain the reader’s / listener’s goodwill
• Maintain the organization’s good image
• Reduce future correspondence on the matter
Direct or Indirect Approach?
You must decide whether to adopt a direct or indirect
approach.
• Will the bad news come as a shock?
If your audience will not be shocked by bad news
(declining a pay raise when the company is struggling financially) use the
DIRECT approach. If they will be shocked (you are selling
the company suddenly when it is going well) use the INDIRECT
approach
Direct or Indirect Approach
• Does the audience prefer short messages that get
straight to the point?
If your audience relies on short messages (busy boss;
fast-paced business environments) use the DIRECT approach. If
they like details (family-oriented, close-knit businesses, businesses
dealing in people issues) use the INDIRECT approach
Direct or Indirect Approach
• How important is this news to the audience?
If the news is minor, routine, unlikely to affect the
audience much (a cancelled sale; postponed meeting; a minor
workplace injury) use the DIRECT approach. If the audience
has an emotional investment in the issue or bad news
will be significant to them (decline of overdue pay raise; annual
leave cancelled; major corporate restructure) use the INDIRECT
approach
Direct or Indirect Approach
• Do you need to maintain close working relationships
with the audience?
If the receiver is a ‘one-off’ or unimportant contact
(double booking for a wedding; training provider who tendered for work )
use the DIRECT approach. If the audience is important
to your business (frequent flyer; conference organizer who uses your
hotel) use the INDIRECT approach
Direct or Indirect Approach
• Do you need to get the audience’s attention?
If the receiver is very busy / likely to ignore you /
may misread your message (different language; lawyer; large
bureaucracy ) use the DIRECT approach. If the audience is
very attentive / expectant, give the bad news gently
(rejection letter for a job; failure to get child into chosen school) use the
INDIRECT approach
Direct or Indirect Approach
• How much follow-up do you want?
If you don’t want to enter into further
correspondence (most rejection letters; overdue payments;
instructions / demands to act ) use the DIRECT approach. If the
audience is encouraged to reply / explain themselves
(show cause letter; threats such as fines or legal action) use the
INDIRECT approach
 Direct v Indirect Approach
DIRECT INDIRECT

Firmness is needed Sensitivity is needed

Bad news will not come as a shock Bad news will come as a shock

Audience just wants the news, not Reasons/justification/explanation

the explanation / context are important to the audience

News is routine or minor News is significant to the receiver

Ongoing relationship/goodwill not Ongoing relationship/goodwill is

important important
 Direct v Indirect Approach
How to structure written messages How to structure written messages
DIRECTLY for bad news INDIRECTLY for bad news

BAD NEWS BUFFER

REASONS REASONS

POSITIVE CLOSE BAD NEWS

POSITIVE CLOSE

Let’s look at some examples…

Example 1: Direct Approach
Dear Mr. McKenzie
Short, direct introduction

Thank you for applying for the position of IT Manager with Sugar-Free Snack Foods.

The recruitment process has been completed and unfortunately, on this occasion, you
have been unsuccessful. The quality of candidates was very high and we received over
40 applications for the position. The successful candidate had over 15 years experience
in a similar role.

We wish you well in your job searching and encourage you to apply for future roles
with us when advertised.

Immediately deliver bad news

Sincerely
Gives reasons

Harvey Jones Positive close

Example 2: Direct Approach
Dear Ms. Hooper
Short, direct introduction

We refer to your application for annual leave over the Christmas period.

After careful consideration of your application, I inform you that your request
has been denied by the HR Director. As you know, Christmas is the busiest time
of year for sales and we cannot release permanent sales staff at this time
because our stores will be under-resourced.

We thank you for your understanding and commitment to our company and
customers. You may re-apply for leave once the Christmas rush is over.
Immediately deliver bad news
Sincerely
Gives reasons

Timothy Cross Positive close

Example 2: Indirect Approach
Dear Mrs. Ventriss
Buffer
Fulfilling customer orders is the number one priority at Quick Dispatch and we share you
desire for meeting agreed deadlines.

On 17th August our computerized dispatch schedule crashed and it took 24 hours before
the system was back online. This led to a backlog of orders which we are working hard to
clear.

We regret that this problem will mean a delay of approximately four days on your order.
Bad news Reasons
You will be pleased to know that as a result of this incident we have upgraded our systems
to provide a high level of reliance in the future.

Sincerely

Wendy Adams Positive close

Example 2: Indirect Approach
Dear Mr. Gibbon
Buffer
Thank you for taking the time to complain about your recent flight. Every complaint is
taken very seriously by Smooth Airways

We operate 372 flights daily across 16 countries and over 41,000 people fly with us
everyday. Due to the size and nature of our operations it is sometimes the case that a
particular drink is not available on every flight.

For this reason we are declining to meet your request to pay you compensation for
having no orange juice on your recent flight.
Bad news Reasons
However, we hope you will fly with us again and we look forward to welcoming you
onboard again soon.

Sincerely
Positive close
Wendy Adams
Types of Buffers
Buffer type Strategy Example

Agreement Find a point on which you and We both know how hard it is
the reader share similar views to make a profit in this
industry
Appreciation Express sincere thanks for
receiving something Your cheque for $121.77
arrived yesterday, thank you
Cooperation Convey your willingness to very much
help in any way you
realistically can We are here to assist all
employees with their health
Fairness Assure the reader that you’ve insurance and retirement
carefully considered and planning
closely examined the problem
For the past week the
photocopier has been closely
monitored to see if we can
identify where the problem is
 Practice
• You are Change Manager for Orion Oil Company. Due to
competition, re-branding the company and preparation for listing
the company on the stock exchange there will be a big
restructure. Many jobs will go; roles will change; expenditure will
be cut. But this will save the company for the long term.
• Write the email to employees that will announce this news
So:
1. Buffer
2. Reasons
3. Bad news
4. Finish with something positive
Case Study
• We will have a look at a corporate communications
case study of a company facing significant change.

• The case is “Galaxy” and it is saved in the Class

Activities folder and in your text book (p. 188).

• This is also home task 6, so write up your answers.