Effective Business Communication

Question: Discuss the importance of communication. Answer: Introduction: The importance of communication is in indispensible because it assists a company to be high yielding and administer the working procedures effectively. Workplace communication is the exchange of words between two or more person in an enterprise. Communication mechanism is the process that we use while talking in a workplace. In this essay, I will be demonstrating the ways of communication and how it changes from place to place. Here I will discuss how communication has affected my career growth. An organization has many employees and they all belong to different part of the society. I have realized from my past job experiences that communication is important to know the activities that are culturing in the workplace. I have gained many experiences, which has assisted me to enhance the communication skills. At the starting of my career, I never understood the value of communication skills. I thought that earning a degree in IT would gain me righteous position in a workplace. I will tr y to analyze the problems I faced in my workplace first and then I will assess them in order to project an idea on what is the proper way of communicating. The courses on different communication that I have attended while studying in business school will guide me to assess the problems. The courses provided me with the knowledge so that I can suggest possible solutions that arise at the workplace regarding communication. Effective business communication: Networks, networking and media choice: Networking plays an important role in todays world. Social media is an important mediator through which people can interact with other. According to social exchange theory, while communicating through social media, one should be careful and should maintain formality to avoid miscommunication. I never thought of joining social media but I have a flair for writing that is why I opened an account in social media site. Following the theory of observational learning, I observed others who are using social media and imitated the process. Social sites are very easy to use and I learned very quickly how to access the site. I started writing blog on regular basis. According to Kim 2013, while writing in social media one should be careful about the approach. Formality and professionalism are the two key aspects that one should maintain while writing. I used personalized approach while writing those blogs and reflected personal feelings about the topic. I delineated my feelings about prejudices of religion that are present in the workplace. The content has my perspective about the subject that rose speculations and many people showed condemnation about my writing. I realized that using personal tone in social writing was my worst mistake. Social presence theory discusses about the interpersonal limitation that one should maintain while communicating in social media. I did not use the technique that I should have while writing the content. According to Green 2012, social media is a platform where people from many place accumulate and present their views. So while writing, I need to approach unbiased bridleway. In the future, I need to more careful about what and how I will present my views so that it does not hurt feelings of any one. The theory of self-efficacy theory taught me that in order to successfully represent myself I need to focus on the target and act according to the need of the situation, that is why I posted an apology that my intention was not to hurt or tar get any of my colleagues of my workplace. Social media is the essential part of our society that has both positive and negative aspects. While sending a business e-mail, an individual should be very particular about the professional and formality quotient of the letter. However, the approach of the content should be respectful. The course on networking was very descriptive and elucidated the importance of following the ethics of social writing. The course assisted me to understand the mistakes that I did earlier. The classes provided me concrete perspective as to how I should communicate in social media. The course of networking helped me to master the skills of writing in social media. I have also developed the knowledge of sending formal letters to the higher authorities of an institution. This course has helped me to acknowledge the mistakes that I have made at the past. The lectures helped me in acquiring knowledge and rectifying my skills in non-verbal communication. Cross cultural communication: Social exchange is an important theory through which I have learned that communication is one and only way to overcome cultural differences in the work place. I work in an organization where people from different cultural background come to work. In my business course, I learned that communicating with people of different culture and background in the organization is necessary because we have to work as a team. According to Rasmussen Sieck 2015, individualistic culture and their styles affect the relationship process. In my business study, I came across trait theory that helped me to understand the necessity of analysis of human traits. At first, I did not understand the techniques that I should follow in order to communicate effectively with the people of my workplace. At first, I used denial and displacement as I was very frustrated that I cannot communicate with my colleagues. Accepting them with their cultural discrepancies helped me to bond with them. I approached them with sym bolic interaction that I have learned in my course to discuss about informal day-to-day topic. Social construction of a workplace develops when we talk to each other and generate an environment where individuals of an organization can thrive. Persuasion is the tool that I used to initiate conversation. I understood the persuasive skill that an individual require to attract people. Banduras attribution theory helped me to understand why an individual act in certain way. I have a Japanese colleague who greets us by bowing his head. Social exchange theory helped me to understand their cultural discrepancies and to communicate with them effectuality. Once I needed help about a work that my supervisor assigned to me, I was very afraid but expectancy theory forced me to ask my supervisors help. The business classes that I took helped me greatly in communicating with people of different culture. In my study, I learned about social theories, which gave me prominent knowledge about the aspec ts and values related to workplace culture. I amazed by the diversity of people present in a workplace but my courses on cross communication technique helped me greatly. The organization that I work in motivates us to work conjointly. Theory of motivation suggested by Maslow guided me to understand the value of motivation in social culture. Intercultural relation in an organization helps in forming essential concept as what is the motive of the organization. In my courses, I learned that organizations that support multiple cultures prosper in business. The lectures that I attended on cross communication culture assisted me to understand about culture and ethics that every culture has. I confronted many difficulties while I first started working but I found that my workplace has certain relevancy with my course. I utilized the knowledge that I gained from my tutorial classes to solve my workplace issue. Cross-cultural communication is the way through which different people communicat e irrespective of their culture. The classes I attended on cross communication culture exhibited the principles that one should follow to conduct communication with different people. Cultural diversity that exists in an organization should not affect the environment. In my professional life, the lectures of the courses have helped me. I am well assured in future also the acquired knowledge on communication skill will assist me to communicate with different member of the organization in proper way. Process communication: Process communication involves a relevant and valid procedure that authorizes a person to understand, communicate and motivate other people. Process communication is the type of communication process that motivates an individual after profoundly understanding the personality structure and providing them with needed training. It is the most functional tool that helps in improving the communication skills and recovers from internal and external struggles that one confronts while having conversation. In my first day of the job, I faced this problem. According Allen et al.2014, process communication is the method through which we first measure our behavior and then analyze the situation and act according to it. At first, I hesitated but after that, I approached my supervisor and asked him to guide me, as I knew nothing about the job. Process communication is the way through which individual behavior is assessable. I now understand that considering psychological condition of an individual is vital to fulfill their needs. In a workplace of an organization, many factors trigger conflicting situation. In that case, process communication is very important to bring those circumstances under control. Recognizing the psychological needs is essential in an organization. I have gained this knowledge from the classes I attended in the course. I have learned from the courses that constructive communication is essential in an organization to avoid conflict. The courses have guided me to understand the role of management in effective process communication. Managing conflicts in a workplace is important to reduce the tension that can affect the people working in the organization. Earlier, I got into trouble as I failed to report my supervisor about my failure to complete an assignment. When he questioned me, I could not communicate in proper way, as I did not know the effective way of communicating, thus it worsened the situation. I have understood through the course that a logic al thinker is capable of delivering process communication. Moral and ethical conducts are the key skills that have helped me to develop my position in organization. The lectures that I attended on process communication guided me analyze certain situation and come up with certain solutions. Conflict management is the part process management. When we were studying communication, we were given tutorial classes on conflict management. There were short courses on stress management. Finding problems and supporting them with necessary solution is vital so that organization can work effectively. The course that I have attended has assisted me to understand the value of process communication. Process communication is the kind of communication that provides reliable procedure through which one can understand the behavioral aspects of the other individuals. It is also important to recognize our skills so that we can implement them for the benefit of the organization. The tutorial classes on pr ocess communication gave me intrinsic knowledge on process communication. Simple observation and analyzing the behavioral aspect are the skills that the courses provided us. Communication process is interrelated steps that assisted me to understand the effectiveness of interpretation. Effective use of process communication has helped me in gaining control of the situation. Process communication is the effective tool that helps in assessing a situation or circumstances to control the situation. To control a situation communication is essential as the procedure needs assessing through effective interaction and act according to the need of the situation. The communication courses that I undertook helped me in gaining knowledge about the essentiality of communication to manage a situation. Process communication is the discipline that assists an organization in maintaining a well-balanced atmosphere. Conclusion: Assessing and analyzing are very important tools that one should use while communicating in a workplace. The courses have largely helped me in recognizing my potential. It has also helped me in restructuring my communication skill so that I can communicate in more organized way in my future. The guidance that I got from the instructors has assisted me in my learning procedure. The adjustment that I need to make in my communication strategy will definitely help me in getting better prospect in my future. I have definitely improved in communication procedure and have gained extensive knowledge in communication theories. Every communication in work place is important that is why learning the meticulous and professional way of speaking is indispensible. In order to be successful, ameliorating my communication skill and utilizing proper interacting skill will pave the way to succe Effective Business Communication Question: Discuss about the Effective Business Communication and Research Methods. Answer: Diagnosis and Reflection Diagnostic tools Effective communication is the fundamental of basics among the skills that are required to be successful in various aspects of business, marketing or say in an organization. Moreover, it is the relational skill required for learning which proves to be the most beneficial for effective communication. Tools used for the communication are as follows: JOHARI WINDOW: this is the communication model which is basically used to develop the understanding among the individuals. Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham have developed the model in 1995, Johari. The objective of this tool is to understand the grid of four quadrants: (Source: Mc graw Hill education, 1969) The first quadrant is the open area, which represents the things like behavior, attitude and skills that one knows about self as well as that others knows about you. The second quadrant here represents the blind area in which one is unaware of the things in him, and is known by others. The third quadrant is the hidden area which represents the things which are known by one and is not known by others. The fourth quadrant is unknown area which represents that is not known by you and by others also. Here, according to the team or in an organizational context the johari window has the goal so as to demonstrate the importance of effective communication, especially of open communication. Also, that the self-disclosure is important which shows up that how can the feedback help one grow professionally as well as personally. COMMUNICATION STYLE QUESTIONNAIRE: the communication style questionnaire depicts the questions which help in defining the key areas which enhance the effectiveness and the area in which one lacks due to weak communication skills. These key areas are the resources which shall help with either the enhancement or improving the skills. ASSERTIVE COMMUNICATION STYLE: is a style in which individuals clearly state their opinions and feelings, and firmly advocate for their rights and needs without violating the rights of others. Assertive communication is born of high self-esteem. These individuals value themselves, their time, and their emotional, spiritual, and physical needs and are strong advocates for them while being very respectful of the rights of others. Assertiveness allows us to take care of ourselves, and is fundamental for good mental health and healthy relationships. STASTICAL ANAYLSIS TOOLS: this shall contain the descriptive analysis of the conducted questionnaire which according to the number shall describe about the strengths and weaknesses that are helpful for the development of both self as well as a team. This is the effective tools used for analysis of such communication skills. The communication styles are basically of five types which are as: Assertive: this is meant for the personality type as with high self-esteem. It has its behavioral characteristic as achieving the goals without hurting others. This is the most effective style of communication. Aggressive: this is the style which is more about winning. The behavioral characteristic is loud, hostile, who will to get the goals at disbursement of others. This is an ineffective style of communication as people get more indulged into how the content is delivered. Submissive: this style of communication has its motive as less conflicts and content delivery in the pleasing manner. A person with submissive style behaves as the needs of other people are more important to be satisfied and also they have equal rights. The behavioral style is apologetic and volume is soft. Manipulative: this style is all about perceptive and scheming. They are highly skilled with controlling other for their own advantage. The behavioral characteristic is cunning with envious type of voice. Reflection Two tools for communication Required Development Perceptual barriers: when there is the difference in opinion of the people then such barriers are faced. These conflicts between the perceptions give rise to the need for the effective communication. The reason is the difference between how individuals perceive the things in an organization. Language barriers: language is the key source which is the medium of delivering the expressions and the communication done with others. This can be a barrier to the individual, and given that one can try to connect with others in their own local language. For this area communication development is required by the individual. The professional interaction which I have had in past 12 months was with the manger of an organization, as an aspiring manger it is very important that the communication skills to be more effective such as verbal, non-verbal and written. The weaknesses identified is the lack of confidence, introvert. Such skills which lack with the variation in the perception can be solved by knowing the work culture and the organization. Also when such training is given, the variation with the way of perceiving the things can actually match up with that of the individual and of the manager. Improving the effective business communication can be done by overcoming such barriers. Another are the language barriers which can be raised by the different people who use other local languages and hence becomes problem for the people to understand and hence as a result in communication further. These issues can be resolved by proving the language training to the people and by giving for certain actions as do n ot assume the things and let the time be allotted for the demonstration. Hence, the language and culture barriers can be overcome at the workplace. These are the effective business communication skills that are practiced in the organization and are useful for personal communication is as: learning to build a good memory, investing into a right communication and collaboration tools, how to deal with the sensitivity issues and also in improving the tactics which shall be more of in the pleasing tone, so as to get the work done with the subordinates. These are the skills which are learned at the workplace or in an organization and are useful for the personal effective communication tools. Literature Review Communication includes the process for sharing the information, ideas and messages within the period of time. Ways of communication can be as written, verbal, non-verbal (facial expressions). Effective communication is the vital part of our lives and also of the personal lives where people interact with each other (Encarta, 1998). As the process of communication continues there can be gap with the internal communication in organizations in between the sender and the receiver, researched from the practices at workplace. As per Alessandra Hunsaker, 1993 said that the better and effective the communication is the more, it will assist in achieving the mission and the objectives for the organization. Two issues taken from the diagnosis and reflection are as follows, the perceptual issues and the language issues that are faced in an organization in between the managers and his staff. This scenario is seen in the organizations where in the communication styles need to be developed and imp roved. As for the reason, that the effective communication is important for building and maintain the relationship at the workplace, irrespective of the authority and the hierarchy (Kristina L. Guo Yesenia Sanchez, 2005). This can have certain issues while the communication goes on, as the difference in the perceptions of the manager and his subordinating staff can be different. This is the matter of how on take the things in the perspective of the organization. For one individual, to be an effective communicator and overcome the ineffectiveness of business communication the goal of it should be to lessen the chances of mistakes and barriers for communication to be well panned and effective (Fowler Manktelow, 2005). The behavior and skills that are needed to be developed are as follows: Persuading the commands. Target the words of the people. Reaction shall be given on the content, not on the manner of expressing self. Intention should be clear before the actions. In this manner the behavior needs to be developed by the individuals for enhancing the effectiveness of business communication skills (Richards, 2012), and developing them. Further, the interpretational skills that needed to be acquired by the individuals in the so as to increase the level of the communication and lessen the communication gap which will enhance the efficiency of the organization are as follows (Fishman, 2000): the listening skills which shall help with the interpretation correctly. Also, it is the measure to be taken that the information of whatever level, is to be shared with the employees that will show the involvement of the employees in the management. The interpersonal skills that are identified as the type of communication are the verbal communication. They include the facial expressions, physical gestures, eye contact, voice pitch and the volume which constitute the important elements of non-verbal communication. Body language may have different interpretations with different working culture. These can be judged by the gestures and the understanding of the non-verbal communication. Also, different culture may have the different concepts relating to the personal space and the appropriate distances which can be a major issue in understanding (Lopaz, 1994). These verbal issues can be solved by developing the interpersonal skills such that this is the most convenient method of verbal communication which is mostly adopted by the people. The persuasion of this act is that the mangers can take the advantage of this verbal communication and hence can make their points more powerful and are actually considered to be the most effective. T his is also at the ease of communicating with other, as the oral communication needs more content to convey the appropriate message. The secrecy can be maintained with the verbal communication among the group of people with the discussion taking place. This is how the interpersonal skills are needed to be there for acquiring the knowledge and skills of the competence in the verbal area of communication with the context of the organization (ORTEGA, 2010). Action Plan The interpersonal skills are the one which are used in interacting with other individuals. Interpersonal skills are not only required and helpful with the individual interaction taking place but also very important at the workplace. These not just benefits, but are basically perceived that if one has effective interpersonal skills as optimistic, confident and charismatic which often endearing others. These skills include the verbal communication, non-verbal communication, listening skills, team working, negotiating, persuasion and influencing skills, conflict resolution, problem solving and decision making. These are the Interpersonal skills which shall help with communicating, interpretation by listening and perceiving things. Moreover the perception and the variation in the language errors can be developed by developing these interpersonal skills in the later months. Also, the steps that are to be taken in developing these skills and behavior can be as follows. For enhancing these skills the courses undertaken can be as the course for corporate communication training course which shall help the employees at all the levels seeking to maximize their performance and can hence can add value to the organization. This also helps with building memory power, enhances relationships and hence energizes communication skills. Another courses which can be undertaken by the CQU University Au stralia for the improving on the communication skills is the masters of communication that can be perused, also it has the professional career with the research part, and in addition to it many of the skills that are required by the employers in specifically developing the skills which are applicable at the work place also. All these are the opportunities which shall serve these courses are dynamic and has its importance. The certificate of IATA is awarded to the individuals with a grade of 70% or higher than that. Moreover, for acquiring enough of knowledge and improving the communication skills the self-help books that are can be referred are: 101 ways to improve your communication skills instantly (Bennie Bough, 2005). The assertiveness workbook: how to express your ideas and stand up for yourself at work and in relationship (Randy J. Patterson, 2000). People skills (Robert Bolten, 1986). These are the self-help guides which can be used for the improvements and developments further of the individual. The skills used for mentoring are the questioning skills and that of the listening skills. The reflective practice is the essential tools which can be used with the mentoring of the leanings and the relationships which shall reflect on ones own learning acquired from such mentoring relationships. The models which can be used for behavior learning is the Myers-Briggs-type indicator and transactional analysis. As a mentor it can be concluded that the process for learning and developing has always the pace for improvement. These are the programs which can be included within this action plan for improvement wherein the first month can be spent upon analyzing the skills and knowledge with the SWOT analysis. On this basis further, the trainings could be given in the next month along with the referral of the self-help guide books. The short term course options with their certifications listed above could be done in the third and fourth month. Fifth month has an action plan so as to evaluate the acquired knowledge and skills with the help of certain tools. The sixth month can be the time wherein these actions are actually implemented and hence can be judged for effective communication skills. 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