Management principles and organizational practices

Communication

Management: Communication in the Workplace

When people in an organization conduct a meeting, share stories in the cafeteria, or deliver presentations, they are making efforts to communicate. To understand why communication efforts sometimes break down and find ways to improve your communication skills, it helps to identify the elements of the communication process. Communication is the transmission of information and meaning from one party to another via shared symbols (Communication, 2010). Hence, each individual is different and has unique ways of communicating his or her thoughts. In the present competitive era, only the best of the organizations can survive. Individuals make the organizations, and hence the effective use of communication by the employees eventually leads to organizational success by active listening, managing conflict, and negotiating amicable solutions.

Active Listening

Communication process includes a sender, receiver, message, and feedback. However, when critical components are omitted from the communication flow, one-way communication may result (Communication, 2010). In one-way communication, information flows in only one direction -- from the sender to the receiver, with no feedback loop. A manager sends an e-mail to a subordinate without asking for a response. An employee phones the information technology (it) department and leaves a message requesting repairs for her computer. A supervisor scolds a production worker about defects and then storms away. Seemingly, one-way communication is evident in both videos, thus creating more frustration and miscommunication. Mind Tools (2012) purports that active listening requires attentiveness, body language, feedback, judgment, and responsiveness, all which were clearly missing in both video examples. Active listening is a communication technique that requires the listener to give feedback what he hears to the speaker, by way of re-stating or paraphrasing what he has heard in his own words, to confirm what he has heard and moreover, and to confirm the understanding of both parties. Therefore, active listening requires two-way communication, whereby more effort is needed.

True two-way communication means not only that is receptive to the feedback. In these constructive exchanges, information is shared between both parties rather than merely delivered from one person to the other (Mind Tools, 2012). Because it is faster and easier for the sender, one-way communication is much more common than it should be. A busy executive finds it easier to dash off an e-mail message than to discuss a nagging problem with a subordinate. Additionally, he does not have to deal with questions or to be challenged by someone who disagrees. Two-way communication is more difficult and time-consuming than one-way communication. However, it is more accurate; fewer mistakes occur, and fewer problems arise. When receivers have a chance to ask questions, share concerns, and make suggestions or modifications, they understand more precisely what is being communicated and what they should do with the information.

Effective communication: Pilar & Miguel

Interestingly, these two individuals could not talk to each other. Both tried to talk over each other, while Miguel was experiencing constant interruptions and distractions. Hence, their communication was ineffective due to the lack of active listening skills. Miguel resided in his own world about how great his artistry was creating popularity, which added to the noise. His inattentiveness was evident by the lack of eye contact, unprofessionalism, nonresponsiveness, and disrespectful body language. Additionally, he was defensive, clueless as to the issues, and unwilling to accept constructive criticism to improve his management of budget constraints.

However, three weeks later was a different story. Miguel thought he was invincible. His lack of attentiveness and poor communication with Pilar and the client cost him his campaign and financial earnings. It is human nature to take a vested interest in an issue when there are financial implications. Hence, Miguel started to take notes, listened proactively, and gave feedback based on what he was hearing. His body language was an indicator of his active listening, such as maintaining eye contact, leaning forward with interest, and demonstrating a willingness to improve the situation.

Effective Communication: Angela & Ralph

The interaction between Angela and Ralph was very dynamic. Ralph could not even explain the primary issue because Angela became defensive by stating how he was blaming her for a missed deadline. Therefore, communication noise was a result of Angeles personal issues of feeling invalidated or status incongruence (Schermerhorn, 2011). Consequently, she did allow Ralph to talk because she bombarded him with numerous excuses and then deflected from the real issue by making comparisons to a coworker. Insomuch, Angela felt that she was being penalized because she worked from home. Although Ralph tried to explain that this was not the case, he was unsuccessful in conveying the real issue of missing a deadline. Consequently, the focus shifted to more of a personal nature because Angela felt unappreciated so they decided to reconvene to another meeting two weeks later.

Unfortunately, the meeting started with some hostility from Angela. She was very cold and nonresponsive to Ralph's questions regarding her well-being. Because Angela did not feel positive about the last exchange, she missed another meeting, plus she failed to submit a report. Her actions are labeled as passive aggressive because her lack of apathy has now transferred into a performance issue. With her constant interruptions and frustrations, Angela refuses to communicate and wants to resign. Clearly, conflict is an issue in which resolution is needed in the form of an agreeable negotiation, whereby both parties are satisfied. Consequently, Ralph offered a trial of 2 weeks in which daily communication from home would occur. If for some reason this proves to be unsuccessful, both agreed for trial two weeks in the office. Hence, should the four weeks proved unsuccessful and communicating effectively, both with would go their separate ways.

Two Types of Conflict

Relationship con-icts are disagreements and incompatibilities among group members. Moreover, task con-icts are disagreements among group members, concerning ideas and opinions about the task being performed. The majority of the research indicates that task con-icts, as well as relationship con-icts, hinder group performance and member satisfaction ideas and opinions about the task being performed regarding personal issues that are not task-related (Jehn et al., 2008). Finally, process con-icts are disagreements about logistical and delegation issues such as how task accomplishment should proceed in the work unit, who is responsible for what, and how things should be delegated. Pilar and Miguel are experiencing relationship and task conflicts, whereas Angela and Ralph are experiencing relationship and process conflicts.

Conflict Management Approaches

Various strategies or approaches exist for conflict resolution (Mind Tools, 2012): Collaborating: win/win; Compromising: win some/lose some; Accommodating: lose/win; Competing: win/lose; and Avoiding: no winners/no losers. Initially, both Pilar and Ralph did not handle the conflict very well. Pilar seem to compete with Miguel, which only further alienate him. Ralph tried to compromise with Angela, which still did not produce the desired results. At the end, both Pilar and Ralph used a collaborating approach for conflict resolution.