Ethical System in Interpersonal Communication

Ethical Interpersonal Communication

Scenario

The case focuses on the disagreement about the Bush Era Tax Cuts between Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, and John Boehner, the Speaker of the House. The two leaders take a different stance about the Tax cuts, while Senator Reid believes that the tax cuts policy should focus on people earning less than $250,000 yearly, however, Speaker Boehner disagrees with Reid by believing that tax cuts should be for everyone including wealthiest people in the United States. However, both Boehner, and Reid had problem in arriving at consensus and enhancing effective communication in the past. In essence, both parties are aware that they should not allow the tax cuts policy to expire because allowing the tax cut policy to expire can have a significant detrimental effect on the nation's economic discovery.

Objective of this report is to guide both Reid and Boeher to achieve a productive communication and behaviors that will foster an I-Thou relationship between the two parties, which will allow them working together to resolve the tax cuts amicably and resolving others critical issues facing the nation.

Recommendations

Overview of the case revealed both the Boehner and Reid did not engage in an ethical communication and their communication systems are not based on the technical dialogue which should have brought the outcome of effective communication. Johnson (2012) argues that a communicator should integrate an ethical communication in his or her point-of-view, and the outcome of a communication depends on the attitude an individual towards the other party. Thus, the communication relationship between both the Reid and Boehner is an example of what Johnson, (2012) describes as a monologue communication and I-It relationship.

Spaeth, (2013) point out that "there was apparently no love lost between the negotiations' of principal players, John Boehner and Harry Reid where this happened":

"Go f -- yourself," Boehner sniped as he pointed his finger at Reid, according to multiple sources present. Reid, a bit startled, replied: "What are you talking about? Boehner repeated: "Go f -- yourself."( Spaeth, 2013 p 1).

This type of attitude is an example of I-It relationship. A communicator using the I-It relationship is self-centered and not really interested in the opinion of the other. Similarly, a monologue communicator is a self-centered individual and monologue communication is characterized by manipulation, coercion, exploitation and deception. Thus, the communication between both the Reid and Boehner is an example of a monologue communication system.

The identification of the shortcomings in the communication system between Reid and Boeher makes the paper to suggest that both parties should engage in the I-Thou relationship to arrive amicably on the tax cuts issue and other critical issues facing the country. Typically, both parties should treat one another as unique human being and should genuinely understand the perspective of other communicator. Rather than engaging in monologue communication, both Reid and Boehner should always engage in the dialogue that focuses on understanding of the other partner. Dialogue is the feature of the I-Thou relationship where both parties should strengthen the interpersonal bond to arrive at common agreement. To engage in I-Thou relationships, both the Reid and Boehner should put the misconception between both of them aside.

While I-Thou communication is very critical for both the Reid and Boehner to arrive at a productive communication, both parties still lack the skills in adopting I-Thou relationship in their communication system. This paper provides the strategy that both parties can employ to develop competencies in I-Thou communication.

The first strategy that Boeher and Reid should employ in indulging in productive communication is to always engage in a default dialogue. The default dialogue is the strategy by which both parties commit themselves as a good listener and treat other with respect. Moreover, each one of them should take the advantages of the opportunity when each one of them appears to open up a dialogue relationship. Both parties should indulge in the following communication competencies to develop a productive communication:

Mindfulness,

Effective listening,

Confirmation.

Emotional intelligence,

Trust building, and Moral argument.

Both Reid and Boeher should indulge the concept of mindfulness in the communication. The mindfulness involves in simultaneously indulging in a complete attention by focusing on our thought as well as the thought of the opposing party. Moreover, a mindfulness is the process of devoting a complete attention to issue at hand. The benefit of mindfulness is that both parties are likely to experience positive mood during a communication process, and less likely to suffer from anxiety and depression. More importantly, mindfulness will promote relationships between both parties, because a mindful communication assists a partner in the argument to welcome new information from the other partner while focusing on his behavior during the communication process. Moreover, mindfulness relationship will assist the partners to allow a room for different point-of-view.

Johnson, (2012) argues that listening is key aspect of dialogue. Essentially, both Reid and Boeher should understand each other perspective in other to arrive at a shared solution. Both the Reid and Boeher should adopt the HURIER model in the communication strategy. The HURIER model consists of:

Hearing,

Understanding,

Remembering,

Interpreting,

Evaluating, and Responding.

Both Reid and Boeher should integrate the model to develop effective listening skills. For example, each of them should have patient to listen to the message of the other partner. When the other partner is putting forward his own argument, the other partner should take a note of the important points for further understanding. The strategy will assist each one of them to remember, interpret and evaluate the information received. The information collected will assist each one of them to deliver appropriate response to convince the other party on the appropriate course of action.

Developing an emotional intelligence skill is another strategy in achieving a productive communication. Both the Reid and Boeher should employ emotional intelligence technique in the communication system. Johnson, (2012) argues that "emotional sensitive individual get along better with people in general" (p 127). "Emotional intelligence is the capacity to identify and influence the emotion in the other and in the self." (Johnson 2012, p 128). In other word, emotional intelligence is the strategy by which an individual process information. Typically, emotional intelligence assists in processing sophisticated information of others and one owns.