Interpersonal Relationships in Business - Coursework Example

Interpersonal Relationships: Communication at Work BY YOU AND NUMBER HERE Interpersonal Relationships: Communication at Work Introduction In today’s large-sized workplaces, there are often a variety of business projects and special assignments which must be completed in group environments. For example, the launch of a new company-wide systems software package would require a development team to ensure that the viewpoints of expertise from human resources, customer service, purchasing and even shipping (such as in a manufacturing organization). In this group and team environment, it is vital that positive interpersonal relationships are created and communications are consistent, are received properly by the receiving audience, and support a positive organizational culture. Positive communication at work requires dynamic professionals with knowledge of their emotional intelligence levels, the misconceptions and principles of effective interpersonal communications, and recognizing potential barriers to effective communications. Principles and Misconceptions “Interpersonal communication is the communication that takes place between people, made up of both verbal and nonverbal elements” (Texas A&M University, 2008, p.2). Verbal elements include the vocal contact being made between two or more individuals such as when speaking on the telephone or discussing work team objectives face-to-face. Nonverbal communications includes items such as body language and posturing which often give real-life cues about what a person is really thinking about certain interpersonal communications occurring. For example, a discussion in the workplace regarding high levels of employee turnover might have the receiver shifting on her feet, which suggests that the receiver is uninterested or anxious about the information being sent. The previous example of interpersonal communications occurring between two workplace individuals shows how a business leader must be aware of nonverbal elements when they are considering how best to positively reach the receiving audience. In some situations, workplace colleagues in the group environment might, publicly, indicate that they are satisfied with the topic of discussion. However, throughout the sender’s presentation of communication, he may notice that the group is often looking at his presentation with skepticism by noticing that the group’s eyebrows are raised or with moderate grimaces occurring about the topic of discussion. In this scenario, it would be ineffective interpersonal communications if the sender were to continue with his presentation even though the nonverbal cues are clearly showing that the group is dissatisfied. Instead, the sender should try to address the subject by suggesting opening the floor for colleague discussion about the issues, giving them a chance to reach consensus before moving on to the end of the presentation. In a real-world business scenario where many professionals have given clear body language signals that they are dissatisfied with the information being presented, members could develop animosity against the sender as they are forced to sit through a group meeting where their true feelings are not being addressed. Colleagues may be afraid to speak up about their dissatisfaction because they feel it might not be taken well by their colleagues, therefore the sender must realize that the group is going to have different cultural or personal values about voicing their opinions and be proactive about recognizing facial expressions and body language. A business person who understands how to deliver positive interpersonal communications should also know the barriers to effective message delivery. Some of these barriers include expectations of familiarity, which involves tuning out the sender’s message because the listener believes they already know what their colleague is going to say next (cliffsnotes.com, 2009, p.2). For example, in the group environment, the sender might be presenting a sales summary and begin acknowledging her colleagues for their contribution to positive sales. The receiver may think that he or she is going to receive a bonus compensation based on previous sales successes and simply miss the rest of the message because of this belief. It could be weeks later when the receiver is having casual discussion about bonuses and discover that no bonus will be delivered this year, which had been discussed in the group meeting and then feel hostility toward the sender. The colleague delivering the message should recognize this is a potential barrier and make sure to address that the new no bonus policy was understood and heard before moving on in order to prevent any future interpersonal relationships from being affected. Another barrier includes noise or interference. This is a common situation in a real-life workplace organization and can include other colleagues walking in on a discussion during an inappropriate or unexpected time or other office-related noises such as multiple service-related telephone discussions occurring in the environment. Noise can be a major barrier for colleague interaction, especially in a busy business organization. In this example, a senior executive is meeting with her junior-level colleague to discuss his career future with the company because the junior-level colleague has failed to meet sales demands and had grown lazy. This would be a serious human resources discussion and should be kept private and be a rather in-depth conversation which required tact and professionalism. If colleagues continue to enter the room or loud inter-office conversations are occurring, it is likely that the sender is going to fail to create a positive engagement with the junior-level employee. Noise, in this situation, could fail to reach the depth of the emotions surrounding why the sales employee had failed to perform to business expectations and therefore, in the long-run, only harms the office relationship. The sender must ensure that the environment is free of distraction in an area where a serious and professional discussion, using principles of interpersonal communications, can be developed and researched. It would be to both colleagues’ benefits to avoid noise in this type of business scenario. One final barrier related to workplace communications is the social background of colleagues (cliffsnotes.com). In a group environment, one manager might have a Mid-Eastern background which values honesty and integrity over most colleague attributes. Another group member, perhaps from China as an expatriate leader, might have no social tolerance for small talk and be very professional in all business scenarios and demand similar from his colleagues. An emotionally intelligent manager will understand some of the cultural backgrounds of other group members and try to keep communications at their desired level when talking with them one-on-one. For example, the leader might simply deliver the data to the Chinese expatriate without any discussion of feedback or small talk. At the same time, the speaker might try to reinforce how much he trusts the Mid-Eastern colleague before launching into data presentation to build a positive relationship at the cultural level. This disciplined and socially-knowledgeable manager is always aware, when possible, of what could spark negative emotions in different cultural groups and is prepared with effective communications skills and plans to meet these scenarios head on. Positive interpersonal communications also involve emotional intelligence, which is defined as “the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, and to regulate emotions to promote emotional and intellectual growth” (Litvin and Betters-Reed, 2005, p.199). Emotional intelligence is knowing one’s true capabilities for emotional awareness, being able to sense these factors in others, and be able to use self-discipline to maintain professionalism in communications. An emotionally intelligent business person will avoid explosive outbursts in group environments simply because they are dissatisfied with the message being delivered. An emotionally intelligent business person will seek to avoid conflict between others which have developed when colleagues have begun heated or angry debates. This same business person will act much like a leader and will teach others, through example, to regulate emotional stability in all peer-related discussion and business scenarios. One example where emotional intelligence would be a crucial attribute could be illustrated in a group environment where managers are being told that their jobs are being cut and they will be displaced from the company in six months. This type of debate, simply by its nature, would create a great deal of emotion in the group, ranging from sadness to anger to frustration and anxiety. It is likely that some group members will be more devastated by the news than others and heated interpersonal exchanges will likely be filled with unpredictable verbal discussion. An emotionally intelligent presenter will recognize these factors about human behavior and try to create a message which both delivers the actual news and uses language which promotes a more positive tone. The goal is to not just blurt out the information, hoping for a positive response. During the period where group members have already been told of their upcoming layoff and are now offering heated questions and interpersonal debates, the leader must now get others to recognize their own potential for emotional discipline. Perhaps by reminding one another that they have developed very transferrable and developed skills in their business tenure could be one method of creating a more stable group. Ahead of time, the presenter may have already printed information about job placement assistance at the company and save this discussion for when the group begins to spiral out of control emotionally. This would appeal to their needs for security, which was proposed by a famous psychologist, Abraham Maslow, as being a fundamental business need (Morris and Maisto, 2005). An emotionally intelligent leader will know some of the more basic theories of human behavior and human needs and try to use their knowledge and competencies to satisfy those needs in the receiving audience. An emotionally intelligent leader will also try to provide meaningful feedback which explores another colleague’s needs. For example, if the businessperson has contributed superior effort to a project, they are going to appreciate being recognized for this accomplishment. This is actually at the base of interpersonal communications and can build positive relationships at the same time, thus creating a more effective organizational culture. However, when delivering feedback, the speaker must recognize some misconceptions about feedback. First, colleagues often think that feedback is a rush toward judgment and can feel as though they are being graded (Bhasin, 1997). To be emotionally intelligent in this business scenario where performance-related feedback was being given, the leader would first point out the employee’s strengths rather than beginning right at the weaknesses. The speaker might also identify his historical contributions to the company which have led to business success before giving a negative review. These would be efforts to avoid rapid build-up of emotions in the receiver and to create a positive interpersonal relationship right from the start, therefore creating colleague connection. Conclusion Communications at work will involve such a wide variety of different scenarios and people, with unique cultural and personal beliefs, and requires a dynamic manager with high levels of emotional intelligence and knowledge of what could potentially be a barrier to effective communication. In real-world business environments, there are going to be certain needs which need to be fulfilled in colleague groups, such as security or belongingness, and the emotionally intelligent leader is diverse in using effective interpersonal communications principles to regulate the emotions in others. This colleague is not only respectful and professional, he or she is more of a leader than a manager who takes the time to consider the emotions of others while also reflecting on how best to improve themselves. It has been identified that effective workplace communications are made of up verbal and nonverbal elements, each of which contributing to an overall picture of what the sender should recognize in the receiver group. This is also part of being emotionally intelligent as the message sender is able to perceive and then further try to be empathic to the emotional states of others in the colleague group. Part of effective communications starts at the speaker level and managers in today’s business environments should be trained with human behavior theories and diversity in order to build an effective team project or assignment. Knowing the principles and misconceptions of interpersonal communications and then removing potential barriers to successful delivery of the message are two key factors for success in positive workplace communications. Coupled with a manager who understands the idea of emotional intelligence, most office environments would likely have much better organizational cultures and interpersonal relationships. References Bhasin, Robert. (1997). “Feedback: A key to relationships”. Pulp & Paper, San Francisco. 71(7), p.49. Retrieved 5 Oct 2009 from www.proquest.com. Cliffsnotes.com. (2009). “Interpersonal Communication”. Retrieved 5 Oct 2009 from http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/CliffsReviewTopic/Interpersonal-Communication.topicArticleId-8944,articleId-8920.html Litvin, D. and Betters-Reed, B. (2005). “The Personal Map: A Lesson in Similarities, Differences, and the Invisible”. Journal of Management Education, Thousand Oaks. 29(2), pp.199-218. Morris, M. and Maisto, A. (2005). Psychology: An Introduction. 7th ed. McGraw-Hill Irwin. Texas A&M University. (2008). “Family Focus: Barriers to Interpersonal Communication”. Extension Family Life Services. Retrieved 4 Oct 2009 from http://www.okcareertech.org/cimc/titles/lifeskills-comm/Resources/CommUnit2/commbarriers.pdf Read More