Organizational Behavior (Stephen Robbins)

OB IS FOR EVERYONE

What information should

be sent by which

communication channel?

How can you

communicate better when

you’re stressed out?

Ever notice that

communicating via email

can lead to

misunderstandings?

Does body language really

make a difference?

What factors hinder cross-

cultural communication?

Is conflict always bad? Should you try to win at

any cost when you

bargain?

1 How does

communication work?

n late 1997, mill employees of Hamilton, Ontario-

based Dofasco were unhappy with the company.^1

The number of jobs had fallen from 10 300 to 7000

in the previous five years. Former employees had started

a group called SHAFT (So How Many Are Fired

Tomorrow) to press grievances against the company for

what they claimed was unfair dismissal. The Canadian

Auto Workers and the United Steelworkers unions were

approached by employees with requests to form a union

at Dofasco.

John Mayberry, then CEO, showed little respect for

his employees. From his early days as a manager, he was

not popular: He was disliked “for his habit of springing

surprise inspections, and there were rumours that he

had threatened to fire employees he thought were

malingering.”

The culture at Dofasco in the early 1990s did not

support open communication, and there was a great

deal of conflict between Mayberry and his employees.

Mayberry tended to use one-way communication: He

would talk and employees were to listen. His concern

that employees had been treated too kindly by the pre-

vious management meant that he was not open to

negotiating resolutions to the challenges the company

faced. Would Mayberry learn to work with his employ-

ees more effectively?

In this chapter we explore the foundations of com-

munication and then consider the effects of communi-

cation on conflict and negotiation.

I

185

THECOMMUNICATION PROCESS

Research indicates that poor communication is probably the most frequently cited
source of interpersonal conflict.^2 Individuals spend nearly 70 percent of their waking
hours communicating—writing, reading, speaking, listening—which means that they
have many opportunities in which to engage in poor communication. A WorkCanada
survey of 2039 Canadians in six industrial and service categories explored the state of

Dofasco

http://www.dofasco.ca