INLS 131:  Management for Information Professionals

Week 4: January 29 - February 4, 2001
Values and Ethics;
Interpersonal Communication;
Perception and Attribution

Assignments

This week we introduce the notion of the work group and methods of collaborating effectively and efficiently, a keystone in today's organization. We have completed all but one chapter of the first part of your textbook on the topic of understanding yourself and others. The last chapter in this section on career development seems to me to work well as a culminating exercise at the end of the course, so I will reserve it until that time.

At this point, you should have completed your postings for Tasks 4, 5, and 7 and should be working on the psychological contract paper (due February 4) and your first group activity, Case Study 1 (due February 18). You will have a few more assigned tasks to accomplish this week as well. Remember, it's important to keep up with all your tasks, as more just keep coming. Also, you and your classmates are often asked to comment on what you and they have done in a prior task. Managing interdependencies like these is a primary task for most managers.

In Part 2 of your textbook, we begin reading about group process and interacting with one another in a more focused, work-related way. You have two chapters to read in preparation for this week's work:  Chapter 7,  Interpersonal Communication, and Chapter 8, Perception and Attribution. Some of the students from prior semesters rated the "active listening" topic as the most valuable of any we encounter. It will be interesting to see what your reaction is.

The learning objectives for this week are to:

• understand the effect of different modes of communication on others and the feelings engendered
• practice "congruent communication;" that is, presenting thoughts and feelings in a consistent manner
• learn and practice "active listening"
• report self-perceptions and to test self-perceptions with one another.

Task 8: Communication Climate

Please read Chapter 7 in the text. I enjoyed the introductory section on "Communication Mistakes Only Really Smart People Make." Since all of you fit into the Smart People category, I hope you will enjoy this reading as well. You may also learn something about yourself as well as your current environment by doing the Communication Climate Inventory beginning on page 150. All of the statements in this Inventory are prefaced by "My supervisor ...." If it happens that you are not currently working, simply substitute "My spouse ..." or "My significant other ..." or "My dad [or mom] ..." or whoever helps to create a communication climate that is central for you. The scoring will provide some dimensionality to the two sub-scores of defensive and supportive behaviors. Provide a summary and interpretation of your results on the Communication forum by or before February 4. Label your entry with the subject heading "Communication Climate."

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Task 9: Active Listening

The main task for Chapter 7 is to practice "active listening." If you can enlist a friend, relative, or colleague to do a few of the exercises provided on pages 160-ff, it would be useful. Play the role of "Consultant" and attempt to use the six response styles (being nonevaluative, paraphrasing the content, reflecting implications, reflecting underlying feelings, inviting future contributions, and using nonverbal listening responses) as described on pages 158-160. If you cannot find a role player (or do not wish to), spend two days during the week in which you do your best to use only active listening responses. (It will be tiring but, I believe, rewarding.) Describe your experiences, review the "Tips for Managers" on pages 167-168, and summarize your experiences and thoughts about it. (Use the learning model encouraged in the textbook--first describe the experience, then reflect on it, then relate your experience to the reading, and finally consider what you have learned and how you will take action to be more effective in the future.) Post your summary on the Communication forum by or before February 4 with the subject heading "Active Listening."

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Task 10: Self-Perceptions

Read Chapter 8. For this chapter, I think it might be fun to try to look at your "arena" and "façade," so let's try a modified version of the Self-Perception exercise that begins on page 177. Follow Step 1, filling in the first column of the Perception Matrix on page 180. When you finish this first part, write your interpretation of your selections with some examples of your behavior in communicating with others in the first part of a short paper. Your summary/interpretation is essentially Steps 2 and 3 of the exercise.

After completing the first part, turn to the second part of the exercise entitled "Testing Self-Perceptions: Small-Group Sharing" on pages 178-179. For the group with whom you are working for the Case Study, fill out the Perception Matrix form (Step 1 of the exercise). Please heed the instructions to work quickly so that the first words that pop into your head are the ones you write down. Steps 2, 3, and 4 invite you to share your perceptions with your group.  (I would suggest by a collective e-mail to all members of the group. Please copy mein your email sharing and subsequent discussion so that I can be a silent observer ready to intervene if anyone wishes me too. Once you have completed this part, go back to your Self-Perception exercise you began and add a few paragraphs summarizing what you learned as a result of the second part of the exercise. You may email your paper directly to me (or post it on the Communication forum). Please send (or post) your paper by or before February 11. If you post it, use the subject heading "Self-Perception."

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Week 5