Jack Gibb's Paradox Of Communication Types

Jack Gibb provides and excellent paradox of communication types that either create a confirming or disconfirming climates (Wood 229). Among the six types of communication, people either feel relaxed and at ease or they become defensive. A great example of Gibb’s theory can be found within the web pages of Microsoft and Amazon’s job opportunities. First of all, Gibb compares evaluation verses descriptive communication and Amazon states, “Leaders have relentlessly high standards - many people may think these standards are unreasonably high. Leaders are continually raising the bar and driving their teams to deliver high quality products, services and processes. Leaders ensure that defects do not get sent down the line and that problems are fixed

Wood states that “controlling communication is a person’s insistence that her or his solution or preference should prevail,” whereas, “problem-oriented communication tends to cultivate supportive, confirming communication climates” (Wood 232-233). In this sense, Microsoft highlight mentoring on their job page and states, “Mentoring allows you to learn from the experiences of professionals within and outside of your own area of expertise, and to build a network to help find opportunities that can promote your development” (Microsoft). Therefore, an element of working together to solve problems is elevated over attempting to

You drive your career development plan while your manager assists and coaches you, and we provide a framework with the tools and resources you need to succeed” (Microsoft). In this statement, they communicate their value of the employee and concern, instead of a lack of appreciation (Wood 233-234). Finally, Gibb compares superiority to equality in communication by saying, “We feel more relaxed and comfortable communicating with people who treat us as equals” (Wood 235). Therefore, Amazon does a great job in displaying this by stating, “Leaders do not believe their or their team’s body odor smells of perfume. They benchmark themselves and their teams against the best” (Amazon). As can be seen, Amazon does not elevate them beyond others, but instead creates an equal playing field for all