Module 7: Listening and Responding (Managerial Communication Series)

This text, written by Sandra D. Collins, explores how successful companies and effective managers use listening as a strategic communication tool at all levels of the organization. Common barriers to listening, including culture, perceptions, and personal agendas are discussed, and strategies for overcoming them are offered. Examples of how organizations have used listening techniques to resolve conflicts, build relationships with clients and employees, and adapt to maintain a competitive edge are discussed. Self-analysis questions, presented throughout the text, target interpersonal listening skills, while case studies and role plays demonstrate the application of listening strategies in the organizational environment.

James S. O'Rourke teaches management and corporate communication at the University of Notre Dame, where he is Founding Director of the Eugene D. Fanning Center for Business Communication and Concurrent Professor of Management. In a career spanning four decades, he has earned an international reputation in business and corporate communication. Business Week magazine has twice named him one of the "outstanding faculty" in Notre Dame's Mendoza College of business. His publications include MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION: A CASE-ANALYSIS APPROACH from Prentice-Hall, now in second edition, and BUSINESS COMMUNICATION: A FRAMEWORK FOR SUCCESS from Thomson Learning. Prof. O'Rourke is also senior editor of an eight-book series on Managerial Communication and is principal author or directing editor of more than 100 management and corporate communication case studies. Prof. O'Rourke is a graduate of Notre Dame with advanced degrees from Temple University, the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in Communication from the S. I. Newhouse School of Syracuse University. He has held faculty appointments at the United States Air Force Academy, the Defense Information School, the United States Air War College, and the Communications Institute of Ireland. He was a Gannett Foundation Teaching Fellow at Indiana University in the 1980s, and a graduate student in language and history at Christ's College, Cambridge University in England during the 1970s. Prof. O'Rourke is a member and trustee of The Arthur W. Page Society, a member of the Reputation Institute, and the Management Communication Association. He is also a regular consultant to Fortune 500 and mid-size businesses throughout North America.

Sandra Dean Collins currently teaches management communication for the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. Her courses include business writing, speaking, listening and responding and managing differences. She has also taught statistics and research methods for the university. She conducts team training for the Mendoza College of Business and local organizations and consults with small and mid-sized organizations on communication and team related issues. Her background includes a Ph.D. is Social Psychology and experience in sales, purchasing and banking.