About the art of managerial communication and leading process.

Titu, Mihail ; Oprean, Constantin

Abstract: This paper deals with certain aspects of the inter-human and managerial communication as art and science, but representing in fact just a managerial competitiveness act. It is ascertained that the manager should attain his objectives by making use of the help he is offered, the communication competitiveness being essential, dependent on taking into account people's individual skills.

Key words: leading process, communication, man, and organisation.

1. INTRODUCTION

Inter-human communication is the first spiritual human instrument in the process of his socialisation. Man communicates in order to transmit his ideas, feelings, emotions, opinions, to influence those around him, to correlate with the others, to be able to work, to socialise. Communication is an extremely complex process--implying science and art--man having to transpose first his thoughts into verbal and non-verbal symbols, in order to communicate them later to the others. The beginning of this study on communication dates from the 5th century BC. The art of convincing communication was termed rhetoric, a Greek word meaning "the art and science of convincing". To communicate is to do something together. By means of communication, people put together ideas, acts, opinions, emotions and feelings that circulate from one partner to the other (receivers and transmitters) as transmitted and received messages. One can state that the communication process is a "transmit--receive" process, people changing and transferring significance with individuals or groups. Taking into account that the manager should attain his objectives by collaborating with the others, he should competently communicate with them, leading, motivating and controlling them, thus following the four purposes of communication: to be received; to be understood; to be accepted; to provoke a reaction. The present period is called the period of "human capital", its main features being the structure of the "human capital of the firm", the knowledge, habits and experience of the employees. Thus, the strategic resources of the firm are: information, knowledge and creativity, linked by competent communication and effectiveness, becoming competitiveness instruments of the firm. (Kotler, 1997)

2. LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION

Human communication can occur on four distinct levels:

a) Intra-personal--of the individual to himself;

b) Inter-personal--a dialogue with another individual;

c) Group--message exchange within small groups:

d) Mass communication--message exchange by mass media.

According to the way of transmitting messages, there are several types of communication: (Oprean et al., 2002)

a) Verbal communication

b) Non-verbal communication

c) Visual communication

d) Written communication

e) Listening

f) Telephone.

An amount of 60-80% of direct communication is made through non-verbal channels and the rest through verbal channels and the non-verbal language can transmit something different than the verbal message. Communication occupies approximately 1/3 of the manager's working time. Thus, the managers' basic role is to develop and maintain the communication system--"the nervous system" of the firm--in order to support the implementation of the strategy of the firm. The manager's concrete work has three categories of roles, all having specific aspects in relation to the manager's means of communication, namely: (Oprean et al., 2002)

a) Interpersonal roles (representation, leader, contact person figure);

b) Informational roles (monitor, spokesman);

c) Decisional roles (enterprising, problem solver, resource manager, negotiator).

In order to accomplish all these roles, the manager takes into account the following functions of communication:

a) The informative function;

b) The leading and training function;

c) The influencing, persuasion, guidance, advising function.

3. MAN--AN ESSENTIAL FACTOR OF THE COMMUNICATION AND LEADING PROCESS

One of the three essential tasks of every managerial sequence is communication. Thus, the communication process is permanently present in the managerial activity (problem solving, decision making, communication). The communication levels employed in management are usually: the interpersonal and group communication, namely the manager--as individual --will communicate with the other individuals. (Oprean et al., 2002)

Mathematically, this could be expressed as follows:

[MATHEMATICAL EXPRESSION NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] (1)

Where:

[C.sub.i] = communication between two or more individuals; [E.sub.i] = emissions; [R.sub.i] = receptions; i = number of individuals that participate in the communication process; I = individual (man); K = coefficient of the communication process perturbations.

One must take into account that each human being is characterised by several individual characteristics that can be expressed as follows:

[C.sub.i] = IQ + PQ + SSS + [K.sub.1] + [K.sub.2] (2)

Where:

IQ = intelligence coefficient; PQ = personality coefficient; [C.sub.i] = individual characteristics; SSS = self-esteem sentiment; [K.sub.1] = coefficient for other personal features; [K.sub.2] = coefficient for environmental influences.

The first three terms of the expression that determines the individual could be detailed as follows: (expression 2). The first term of the individual expression is the intelligence coefficient that is the sum of the individual intelligence types (expression 3)

IQ = IV + IP + IM + IL + [K.sub.i] (3)

Where: IV = visual intelligence; IP = practical intelligence; IM = mathematical intelligence; IL = language intelligence; [K.sub.i] = coefficient of other influences.

Between the intelligence and the activity coefficient, there can be an equal sign, on condition that there is a sufficient capacity for the development of a particular activity, but also the necessary knowledge. Mathematically, this can be expressed as follows: (4)

IQ = A Y (E) Ka + Kk (4)

Where: A = a particular activity; Ka = the capacity of developing that particular activity; Kk = appropriate knowledge on that particular activity.

If IQ is very high, but (E/) Ka+Ka=E/A. Intelligence does not guarantee the professional success.

The individual is in fact a sum of skills and gaps (expression 5).

I=Ap+L (5)

Where: I=individual; Ap=skills; L=gaps

Considering the fact that stress leads to a lowering of the intelligence coefficient (expression 6):

IQ = f (A, S, [C.sub.pc], [eta], [A.sub.p inf.]) (6)

Where: S = stress; [C.sub.pc] = focusing ability. But IQ varies in fact depending on the individual, on his skill of receiving information, namely:

IQ = f (I, Ap inf.) (7)

Where: Ap inf = skills of receiving information. Professional promotion does not strictly depend on the intelligence coefficient but also on motivation and selfdiscipline (expression 8):

Avp = IQ = AD + M (8)

Where: Avp = professional promotion; AD = self-discipline; M = motivation

The intelligence coefficient as well as the efficiency of the individual is training functions:

IP = f ([I.sub.TH], [I.sub.P], O, [C.sub.OC]) (9)

Analysing the other IQ components the following expressions will be obtained:

IF = CL + POI (10)

Where: CL = logical conclusions; POI = informational optical processing.

IP = ITH + IP + Obs + COC (11)

Where: ITH = practical intelligence; Obs = observation; COC = combinatory optical ability;

IM = f (nr) = numerical function in models and groups with a certain logic (12)

IL = SCL + CA + PC + Mm (13)

Where: SCL =language knowledge sense; CA = analytical ability; PC = focusing ability; Mm = memory

The individual qualities formula also comprises SSS and PQ. They can be expressed as follows: SSS can be defined as a desire of individual evaluation that acknowledges personal values, because every man tends to and strives for proficiency in his own field.

If this goal is attained, value is acknowledged. Mathematically, this could be presented as follows:

SSS = CC + [A.sup.+] + PA + RM + RIS (14)

Where: CC = clean conscience; [A.sup.+] = positive self-perception; PA = neighbour appreciation; RM = merit acknowledgement; RIS = interpersonal relationships; [K.sub.IR] = coefficient for the other differences.

SSS is the basis of the individual psychical life and it is highly important in interpersonal communication.

The third term is the personality that could be mathematically represented as in expression 15 between the four categories of personalities.

PQ = [C.sub.4]--[C.sub.1]+[C.sub.2]+[C.sub.3]/3 (15)

Where:

* [C.sub.1] = passive, dependant, highly egotistical personality;

* [C.sub.2] = contradictory, highly ambivalent personality;

* [C.sub.3] = egotistical, infatuated personality with invariable self centred attitude;

* [C.sub.4] = mature, well-developed personality, self-acknowledgement, realistic self-evaluation ability, ability of perceiving the others, tendency towards creative and original way of solving problems.

The individual personality makes the individual unique in his way of being, thinking, and feeling.

Therefore, "strong personalities are endowed with authenticity, they are independent, possess a great rate of sincerity, civic audacity, self-reflection ability and moral and social tolerance and integrity".

The reference material states that IQ varies between IQ = 50 / 150 units and PQ between PQ = -21 / 21 units.

Intelligence, in the population average, observes "the Gauss law of normal distribution", that is about 70% are situated between 85 and 115 IQ points.

The highly intelligent people have IQ [is greater than or equal to] 140 units. The PQ value--in concordance with the personality coefficient scale--outlines three types, namely: low personality PQ = + 7 / 21 units; normal personality PQ = + 7 /--7 units; high personality PQ = 21 / 7 units.

Coming back to the communication formula one can state that in:

[C.sub.i] = [n.summation over (i=1)] ([E.sub.i] + [R.sub.i])(IQ + PQ + SSS + K1 + K2) x K (16)

4. CONCLUSION

In conclusion, we can state that to efficiently communicate means: to take into account the others needs, determining them to meet the interlocutor's needs; to correctly motivate the interlocutor, in conformity with the both partners' satisfaction criterion because the needs of both of them are met; to understand interpersonal transactions (the transaction comprises the interpersonal relationship, with utterance and answer); to respond to the interlocutor's defence mechanisms, there being no defeated and no winner, only participants; to respect the interlocutor's own image of the world and himself; feedback. Therefore, in the communication process, the individual plays the main part, as a transmitter--manager on different hierarchical levels--or receiver--as inferior manager or common employee. (Oprean & Titu, 2000)

5. REFERENCES

Kotler, P. (1997). Management Marketing, Teora Publishing House, Bucharest

Nicolescu, O. (1998) Decisional systems in organizations, Economics Publishing House, Bucharest

Nicolescu, O. (2000) Systems, methods and techniques of management in organization, Economics Publishing House, Bucharest

Oprean, C.; Titu, M. & Oprean Cristina (2002). Strategic management, ULBS Publishing House, ISBN 973-654-4641, Sibiu

Oprean, C. & Titu, M. (2000). Innovational management and quality, ULBS Publishing House, Sibiu