Work-Related Communication Problem in Corporate Communication - Essay Example

Work-Related Communication Problem in Corporate Communication Introduction Employee management involves the balancing of numerous differentiating personal characteristics, which make them unique. Understanding these variances in individual traits and personality is vital to effective employee motivation and performance. From a retailing perspective, the need for businesses to be creative in order to adapt to the multi-channel marketplace has become imperative (Levy and Weitz, 2008). Indeed, leading industry body for global e-retailing IMRG estimates that currently a quarter of all UK shopping is undertaken online via the internet or other mobile devices within a market estimated at approximately £80billion. Signals of this prolific growth have been evident since 2003, which has resulted in a constant drive by retailers to introduce new delivery mechanisms to broaden customer reach (Diamond and Pinter, 2004). As such, this has seen a shifting approach in multi-channel retail strategy from bricks and mortar to multi level formats including home shopping and mobile commerce (Levy and Weitz, 2008). With increasing and improving technology, various steps are taken for the improvement of communication because businesses run on the basis of good communication skills. For understanding the problems of communication, individual performance is very important to understand. Various assessment tools and theories-based on human nature provide perspectives in understanding individual performance in the workplace. To this end, the consideration of the social exchange theory and social penetration theory highlight the underlying motivation in social relationships. It is further submitted in the corporate context that a comprehensive understanding of the social exchange theory and social penetration theory are key organisational development going forward. The corporate communication is very significant for the development and establishment of businesses all over the world. The communication problems such as work-related communication problems are very crucial as they affect the organization negatively if handled carelessly. Social Exchange Theory Leading sociologist George Caspar Homans is usually hailed as the central consolidator of Social Exchange Theory works in his work “Social Behaviour as Exchange” (1958). In general terms, the social exchange theory posits that social change and stability is a process of negotiated exchanges between parties (Homans, 1958). Moreover the social exchange theory posits that all human relationships are formed by the use of a subjective cost-benefit analysis and the comparison of alternatives (Gouldner, 1960). Homan gives the example of when a person perceives the cost of a relationship as outweighing the perceived benefits; the theory predicts that the person will depart from the relationship (Homans, 1958). Katherine Miller (2005) is a key opponent of the social exchange theory and argues that it reduces human interaction to purely rational process that arises from economic theory by assuming the ultimate goal of a relationship is intimacy, when this might not always be the case (Miller, 2005). The social exchange theory materialises in different situations and in the corporate communication sphere is clearly relevant to employee motivation, which in turn informs employee performance. Indeed, the social exchange theory in employment assumes that employees have an exchange relationship, which is directly interrelated with the equity theory attempting to define relational satisfaction in terms of perception of fair and unfair resources within interpersonal relationships (Homans, 1958). Employee administration and management is concerned with management of different characteristics found in employees in form of a balance due to which, they are considered as different and exclusive. For the motivation of employees so that they can perform better, evaluation of their traits is essential. The personalities of employees and their functionalities become better when they get proper encouragement and motivation through the social exchange paradigm. Moreover, the interrelationship between employee performance, personality traits and professional careers clearly underpins social exchange theory, thereby further intertwined with various organisational theory models, which will be considered contextually. Within the contemporary business framework, personnel management theory highlights the importance of efficient employee relations and collective employee morale in achieving specific goals (Argyris, 1999), which in turn supports the cost/benefit rationale of the social exchange theory as fundamental to effective corporate communication. As such, Karash argues that the learning organisation theory is central to this (Karash, 1995). As part of the learning organisation, team co-ordination is vital and careful consideration must be given to the selection of team members. As such Pedler and Aspinwall submit that commitment to success, complementary personalities, skills and necessary talents are vital to accomplish organisational goals (1998). As such, the effective co-ordination between employee personality and the “social exchanges” is vital to optimum team performance within the corporate sphere (Pedler and Aspinwall, 1998). Additionally motivation and commitment are essential characteristics that team members must portray in order for the team to achieve its goals (Pedler and Aspinwall, 1998). McShane and Von Glinow further highlight how “personality and values are the most stable characteristics” in individuals and are vital to continued success (2005). Therefore, to some degree this supports Miller’s (2005) arguments regarding the inherent limitations of the social exchange theory paradigm, which fails to account for variances in the individual personality. Social Penetration Theory Social relationships play an important role in the development of a personality. The issue of employee management deals in great extent to the interrelationships between management and employees. If the employees open their personalities to get the work according to their eligibilities, they will appear better in their task performance. Their self-disclosure will create intimate relationships between the management and the employees (Miller, 2005). Due to self-disclosure and closeness, the employees will be able to be allocated to suitable tasks according to their own personalities. Because of self-disclosure and openness, the communication process is more productive (Miller, 2005). An individual also gets a chance to enhance the capabilities on the basis of his self-disclosure. Pedler argues that an individual must firstly improve self development, which can then be distinguished between actual and desired situations in problem solving scenarios (Pedler and Aspinwall, 1998). The learning organisation is an evolving notion which has become increasingly incorporated into the modern company and multinational philosophy. In its simplest form, Richard Karash propounds the ideology underlying the learning organisation: “A learning organisation is one which people at all levels, individuals and collectively are continually increasing their capacity to produce results they really care about” (Karash, 1995). The ideological underlying principle behind the learning organisation is that it produces a flexible workforce with a shared vision, which in turn ensures internal stability within an organisation. When the employees reveal about their true capabilities and skills to the management, there are more chances that the management supervises them to make their skills better by training programs and courses. In addition, when management is fully aware of the expertise of their employees, it can provide chances for their future success and can allocate only those tasks that are suitable for the employees in terms of their tasks performance. Therefore, it is quite clear that revealing of personal skills to the management is very crucial for the management support to the employees. Not only the employees but also the management should also reveal about their expertise to the employees. For example, a certain manager knows about handling customer relations department but he has lacking knowledge concerning production department. He must reveal his lack of knowledge to some efficient employees so that they can guide him accordingly. Employees will also feel encouraged when they are trusted. They will try their best to support the management in terms of performance of tasks. A combined learning vision is created when one is fully aware of the personal characteristics of all the employees working under a management. With self-disclosure, the employees get chances for their self-improvement and development due to which, they become fruitful for the learning organization. Because of a prosperous linkage between the employees and management, an encouraging environment is created in which, people tend to perform better. For betterment of individual performance, a strong and prosperous linkage between the management and employees is must. Conclusion The above analysis demonstrates the unequivocal importance of the relationship between employee personality and performance, which is arguably underpinned by the essence of the social exchange theory. Moreover, the organisational theory of the “learning organisation” further highlights the business growth and innovation is intrinsically co-dependant on effective employee performance. As such, it is submitted that consideration must be given to the interrelationship between the MBTI model and Maslow’s theory in considering the social exchange relationship between employee personality and performance, particularly in maintaining optimum personnel management. The relationship between the employees and management in terms of self-closure is also very significant because employees get chances to success when they disclose their personalities. References Argyris, C. (1999). On Organisational Learning. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Diamond, J & Pintell, G (2004). Retail Buying. New Jersey: 7th Edition Prentice Hall. Gouldner, A. W. (1960). The norm of reciprocity: A preliminary statement. American Sociological Review, 25, 161-178. Homans, George C. (1958). Social Behaviour as Exchange. American Journal of Sociology, 63, 597-603. Karash, R. (1995) Why a learning organisation? Retrieved on 19th February 2009 from www.richardkarash.com. Levy, M. and Weitz, B. (2008). Retailing Management. 7th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. McShane and Von Glinow. (2005). Organisational behaviour: emerging realities for the workplace revolution. 3rd Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. Miller, Katherine. (2005). Communication Theories. New York: McGraw Hill. Pedler, M. and Aspinwall, K. (1998). A concise guide to the Learning Organisation. London: Lemos & Crane. Read More