Office Design and Communication - Assignment Example

Communication Analysis

Describe a business environment, and then analyze it using the perceptual characteristics of the environment

How one organizes the business environment determines and shapes the future of the enterprise. In the competitive world, people should learn how to make their work stand out to increase competitive advantages. The way the office and overall outlook of the place of work appear in the eyes of the visitors communicates a lot. The business environment encompasses internal and external factors that shape its operating situation. The business environment should be made to make every professional feel as if they are part of something special. Therefore, the owner of the business must make the business environment look appealing to make workers feel good, a fact that contribute to high productivity.

Knapp envisioned six characteristics of the environment: formality, familiarity, constraint, warmth, privacy, and distance. All these factors are non-verbal features that contribute to the overall attractiveness of the business environment. The perception of formality refers to the way the business environment appears. The environment should produce a formal atmosphere. The offices in the place of work should be of the importance and attributes of formality in that if a person is working in, it must feel that indeed the formality attached to their office equals the position and status they hold in the organization. Secondly, the perception of warmth which has to do with the way the environment creates psychological warmth. The business environment should make workers interact in a manner that they feel good. The business environment should be interactive and promote mutual respect and responsibility among workers.

Third, the perception of familiarity has to do with personal comfort level when traveling. The business environment should be designed in a manner that is appealing to its workers and visitors. The rooms should be neat and attractive in the eyes of the visitors. The familiarity of workplace environment shapes and determines whether the customers visiting would have a desire to come again or not. If, for example, the room is good with air conditioners well fitted, that contributes to the serenity of the business environment. The attractiveness of an office communicates, reflecting how the environment is conducive to the place, and the delivery of services are organized. Fourth, the perception of constraint, which simply means a feeling of uneasiness when one enters a place of work. The business environment should be a motivation factor for employees and clients. People should feel free to enter and leave such offices. For example, the office should be designed according to rank, and status one holds in an organization. The offices should be attractive and spacious to cater to the needs of workers and employees. The perception of constraint intensifies we people realize that they are in rooms that have little space. For example, places that are crowded, prisons, subways, to mention a few. Lastly, the perception of distance, here, the environment is what creates a perception of distance. The issue of distance is created among the workers when they are in crowded places. It should be noted that power is something associated with distance. The perception of distance shows that people increase their nonverbal when in large and spacious rooms.

Describe the architectural design and furniture within the environment. Then analyze them using the material in the text

How places of work are designed shows how the area is either attractive to visitors to continue visiting or not. For example, the office should be located in places where people would feel good when they visit. In some place, the area is so hot or cold during a certain period of the year which determines and shapes the number of visitors in such places. The rooms in places of work should also be designed in line with rank and status attached to employees working therein. For example, the office of a senior manager or company's CEO should be well fitted with good chairs and not easily accessible to ensure privacy. The top officers in an organization like working in state-of-the-art officers with modern furniture and strategically located.

The climate affects the overall operation of an organization. For example, in Texas, people like spending time indoor because the place is too cold during the winter. During summer, it is when workers can spend a great deal of their time outside. What if the place experiences a warm climate? Thus, the coldness affects not only the worker but also the visitors who seek services during the cold season. The nature in which a structure appears communicates a lot and tends to shape everything in an organization. The offices and work environment should be made beautiful it motivates both workers and employees; by doing so, the production and competitive advantages of an organization would increase. The offices tell who is important and who is not by simply looking in the manner in which interior and exterior layout of the offices. People visiting an office would tell how important someone is by looking at where someone sits. The affluence and credibility accorded to someone depend on the nature of the office one work from; thus, the visitor is likely to conclude that one has no power within a company by the nature of furniture and office appears.

Suppose the office is neat with lots of barriers. For example, when one visits, he or she is told that you can't see the manager without an appointment. Such a person will leave knowing that, indeed, the manager is someone who is respected in such an organization. Similarly, office arrangement in terms of furniture also shows and determines the status of someone. The officers and the workplace environment should have furniture that encourages workers to stay long because of its neatness. The appearance of office furniture affects communication and would always influence how employee discharges their duties. How furniture is arranged in an officer shows the level of status and rank among the employees and determines who speaks to who and how. By looking at the sitting arrangement, one can deduce that so is open to communication or closed to it. For example, if you visit an office and come across two to three secretaries serving one person, who likely to conclude that the person in question is indeed very important.

Based on the text material on perceptual characteristics, semi-fixed feature space, and fixed feature space, recommend ways to change this environment, which would improve communication.

Semi-fixed feature space refers to objects in workplace environments such as furniture that determine the importance of one's social status in an office. Certain modifications can be done on furniture and accessories to adorn, accent, highlight, personalize the physical appearance of an organization and improve its reputation. For example, the offices should be equipped with modern furniture that is appealing to the officers who work there and their clients. The move would ensure workers and clients feel content that is in the right place. In cases where employees are in an open place, such offices should be portioned so that top-level managers accorded the privacy they deserve. And if they must work in an open office, the selection of the furniture and accessories should be a distinguishing feature among them. For example, the senior officer should be located far away from their juniors and given the state of the art chair and table to reflect their rank and status.

Fixed-feature space refers to immovable structures in an organization such as offices, rooms, and the landscape's overall layout. The outward appearance and location of our organization communicate a lot. The site was chosen to build an office influences how the people and workers will perceive it. Offices should be strategically located in a well serene environment for both workers and visitors. The location of an organization should be appealing to visitors so that they keep on visiting. If someone feels unhappy after visiting a given place, he or she might not opt to visit it again. The layout and the general landscape of an office also influence the perception. The offices should be located in an attractive landscape that is clean and beautiful. The beauty improves an organization's image and the person working in such a serene and quiet environment. In this regard, offices and places of work should be renovated frequently to make them attractive to the workers and their clients.

How does your office affect the communication that takes place there? Could you improve it?

The general office appearance the office shapes the way people working and visiting there would behave. For example, if the office has furniture and accessories are outdated, it would go along way, affecting workers' morale. Someone feels happy when the office is neat with modern furniture, a fact that can make them stay longer at work and discharge their duties diligently. Similarly, an office's nature and appearance would affect the client's behavior who visits such offices. More often than not, people would only respect you in how you appear and how your workplace looks like. The offices that are strategically located and have state-of-the-art furniture and modern computer accessories confer status to employees. And people visiting there would respect the workers by simply observing their workplace environment. The offices should be improved by renovating them and equipping them with modern facilities such as computers, chairs, and tables to effectively contribute to organization's reputation and increase its competitive advantage.

The office should also reflect the levels of seniority. The senior officers should have their private office to ensure privacy and respect from their junior employees. If need be, the numbers of visitors enter certain offices should regulate by ensuring that every senior has secretaries to handle some petty issues that the managers are left with less work. People should only see managers with an appointment. The appointment makes the managers feel respected. Similarly, the appointment improves the image of the organization among the visitors because they will accord and approach the employees with respect.

Read More

People should feel free to enter and leave such offices. For example, the office should be designed according to rank, and status one holds in an organization. The offices should be attractive and spacious to cater to the needs of workers and employees. The perception of constraint intensifies we people realize that they are in rooms that have little space. For example, places that are crowded, prisons, subways, to mention a few. Lastly, the perception of distance, here, the environment is what creates a perception of distance. The issue of distance is created among the workers when they are in crowded places. It should be noted that power is something associated with distance. The perception of distance shows that people increase their nonverbal when in large and spacious rooms.

Describe the architectural design and furniture within the environment. Then analyze them using the material in the text

How places of work are designed shows how the area is either attractive to visitors to continue visiting or not. For example, the office should be located in places where people would feel good when they visit. In some place, the area is so hot or cold during a certain period of the year which determines and shapes the number of visitors in such places. The rooms in places of work should also be designed in line with rank and status attached to employees working therein. For example, the office of a senior manager or company's CEO should be well fitted with good chairs and not easily accessible to ensure privacy. The top officers in an organization like working in state-of-the-art officers with modern furniture and strategically located.

The climate affects the overall operation of an organization. For example, in Texas, people like spending time indoor because the place is too cold during the winter. During summer, it is when workers can spend a great deal of their time outside. What if the place experiences a warm climate? Thus, the coldness affects not only the worker but also the visitors who seek services during the cold season. The nature in which a structure appears communicates a lot and tends to shape everything in an organization. The offices and work environment should be made beautiful it motivates both workers and employees; by doing so, the production and competitive advantages of an organization would increase. The offices tell who is important and who is not by simply looking in the manner in which interior and exterior layout of the offices. People visiting an office would tell how important someone is by looking at where someone sits. The affluence and credibility accorded to someone depend on the nature of the office one work from; thus, the visitor is likely to conclude that one has no power within a company by the nature of furniture and office appears.

Suppose the office is neat with lots of barriers. For example, when one visits, he or she is told that you can't see the manager without an appointment. Such a person will leave knowing that, indeed, the manager is someone who is respected in such an organization. Similarly, office arrangement in terms of furniture also shows and determines the status of someone. The officers and the workplace environment should have furniture that encourages workers to stay long because of its neatness. The appearance of office furniture affects communication and would always influence how employee discharges their duties. How furniture is arranged in an officer shows the level of status and rank among the employees and determines who speaks to who and how. By looking at the sitting arrangement, one can deduce that so is open to communication or closed to it. For example, if you visit an office and come across two to three secretaries serving one person, who likely to conclude that the person in question is indeed very important.

Based on the text material on perceptual characteristics, semi-fixed feature space, and fixed feature space, recommend ways to change this environment, which would improve communication. Read More