Organisational Communication: Persuasive Message - Essay Example

?PART A Dear Colleagues, Good Morning. I am William David – the new VP & Director Data Management at GB. Well, before I move on to the key message ofthis email, let me very quickly introduce myself and give you a little background regarding my education, experience and accomplishments. I am Master in Computer Science and prior to GB, I was associated with M/s. _______ for over 10 years in the capacity of Director ICT. Apart from overseeing the entire ICT affairs, the core of my responsibilities entailed Strategic Planning & Development of enhanced communications processes in line with the emerging technological advancement and organization’s strategic goals. At this point I would like to share with you the visionary approach that I have brought along and shed light on the need for change in communications strategy at GB. Needless to say that in this age of dynamism, globalization and fast-changing customer needs, effective communications play a pivotal role in success of an organization and when talked in context of data communications & management, its importance increases manifold. In fact, I would term it a “lifeline” of an organization. You people must have read a lot of books, articles, literature and professionals’ interviews emphasizing how communication provides businesses better leverage in terms of sales opportunities, operational excellence, improved teamwork, etc. etc. I personally feel that we are lagging in this sphere, which requires an induction of a contingency plan for implementation of new and updated applications & systems at GB, which I am sure, will ensure sustainable growth in this competitive environment. However, we must also not forget the budgetary constraints thus need to mutually devise a way forward within the allocated funds. The ultimate goal of bringing a change to the existing set-up aims to foster our internal & external communications and adapt to the changes and threats that we may have to deal with in days ahead. It shall also boost our ability to project our mission, vision and core values to the outside world better than ever before. As I strongly believe in TEAM work and that an organization is nothing without great people, I invite all of you to a brainstorming session being held next week Monday 4pm in the office conference hall. The idea is to generate out-of-box ideas, create a proactive concept and involve you in this crucial task. Once the project is on and starts yielding the results, we shall be able to further craft the new strategy. I, therefore, urge you to ensure your maximum participation in this interesting session. If you need further details or have comments/concerns over the forthcoming planned change, I am always open to discussions. Just walk-in to my office or contact me at Ext. 1001. In last I would like to close my message with the following few business quotes, which always motivate and synergize me to work for excellence: Management Culture can change Company Fortune. Together we can “Sail through uncharted waters”. When spider webs unite they can tie up a lion. Success will not lower its standard to us. We must uplift our standard to success. Sincerely, __________ PART B Keeping in view the eventual purpose (persuasiveness) of this message, I tried to strictly adhere to six distinct principles – i.e. Transparency, Agency, Readiness, Adaptation, Voice and Sustenance. These principles are pre-requisite leading to effective communication change in an organization. In the light of above, I hereby describe the rhetorical analysis of my message, as follows: It is a human nature/psyche that when a new person is joining an organization at a higher position (especially as a boss), the employees, in general, and the subordinates, in particular, develop fears & doubts and feel a sense of uncertainty about the new comer. They perceive this happening as problematic & disturbance in their work comfort. Based on their past experience, they have a mixed feeling but mostly start with constructing negative thoughts about the new comer. So many questions are arising in his/her mind, e.g. Who is he? How is he – strict or friendly?, The way he works and makes his subordinates work? How does he behave? How is his attitude towards the employees? And so on and so forth. Often a person on such a big position tries to keep a distance from his subordinates in a bid to give a sort of impression that he is superior and that have to obey him and do only what they are told to. Based on the old saying that “your first impression is your last impression”, I, right from the beginning, demonstrated positivism and started with a casual and an amicable way. In other words, I tried to put my subordinates at ease. In the second para, I briefly but concisely presented my introduction to give them the first-hand information. The primary reason for introduction aimed to let them develop a raw sketch/image of my personality in their stimuli. Obviously, if you need to interact with a doctor, you always have certain doctorial attributes in mind, which help you diagnose & understand the kind of person you have to talk to. The secondary reason was obviously to convey the expertise I possessed, so that they could always scan my mindset, know my moto and understand my directions during work. It also helped the subordinates to measure the degree of work I would be expecting from them. In the third para I simply gave them a tip of my intention for bringing a drastic change to GB. Although it was a 2-line para, but it did mentally prepare them for the drastic change coming-in. The key reason for not focusing much on the kind of changes I wish to bring to GB rather kept it generalized was to defuse the intensity of resistance to change. Finally, in relation to the overall communicative purpose, it can be concluded that Henderson did apply different moves to achieve some of the overall communicative purpose as he informed about most of the aspects identified in the best-practice of change communication. Moreover, Henderson did apply other moves (persuasion techniques) to persuade the employees to commit to the change. Furthermore, Henderson did emphasise the need for changing GM quickly. In addition, Henderson did illustrate that he listened to employees’ concerns and answered their questions. Therefore, according to theory, Henderson has increased the driving forces and decreased the restraining forces, and thus improved the commitment to the change. (Andersen, 2011, pp. 26-27). In the next para, I accentuated the need for change and the fruitful results these changes would yield in future. In my opinion, here I forwarded a strong persuasive message pushing them to think differently for GB. An effort was made to convince them that the change is not being imposed rather it has become inevitable. Apart from this, I also tried to exert a little psychological pressure by making them understand that in this age of technological advancement, not only GB’s but also their survival will be questionable. Hence eliciting the desired objectives is MUST. Moreover, I also indirectly communicated my visionary thoughts and exhibited their career development opportunities. Instead of using unidimensional approaches to influence behavior change, a message effects approach would help researchers identify key leverage points for impact on such intermediate outcomes as persuasion and yielding. Such a strategy also might be used to determine when THCs are the preferred approach and when generic, targeted, or combinations of THCs and targeted communications might be appropriate. (Rimer & Kreuter, 2006, p. 184). Thereafter I described the fact that we were lagging as compared to others. At the end of this para I gave a little emotional touch by communicating my desire to work jointly. Here too I showed positivism and made them realize that I do value others’ suggestions and welcome their contribution Stating regarding the budgetary constraints implied that we need to opt for a balanced approach and come-up with a cost-effective solution. I think this style of mine perhaps provided them with my insight (the way I think & see things) and my belief in professionalism and not autocracy. The para concludes by highlighting the purpose of change and the results to be achieved. The next para which reads: “As I strongly believe in TEAM work………..” would have surely served as “fuel to the fire”. Again a psychological tactic was used by means of emphasizing on team work. At this point I tried to eradicate the abuse of “ego” and the concept of “I” which is often prevalent not only among employees but also among big bosses. I gave them a message of “Together we can” and not “I” or “You”. I gave them a clear message that David alone was nothing and could not get along unless they support and that we all needed to equally strive for nurturing GB business. The idea was to rationalize the statements and points I put forward plus dig-out their hidden talent and show that they were equally important to me. I have personally experimented the fruitful outcome of the two sensitive humanistic elements – i.e. value & respect. Recent researches in Human Resource Management reveal that gone are the days when money used to be a powerful tool for retaining employees. Employees of today demand respect & values more than money. We can find around hundreds of examples where employees leave organization due to a bad culture and work environment. I, therefore, keeping this sensitive issue in mind, focused on “We” instead of “I”. Models of influence via complexly argued persuasive messages will need to address unique factors that are not as important in the study of simple messages, including recipients’ ability to engage in extensive cognitive processing and their knowledge about the message topic. In like manner, models of influence in groups and other complex social contexts address unique factors such as the likelihood of information exchange and the interaction structure in the social setting. (Wood, 2000, pp. 539-570). In the para “If you need further details……..” I showed my flexibility as well as seriousness of the message conveyed. The sentence “Just walk-in to my office…….” demonstrated my friendly attitude and reduce the possible fears prevailing in their mind. Here again, I followed the rule of equity and tried to ease-out the situation. However, the significant reason of this message was to show my openness. Having charged them to some extent, I wanted to end-up with a heavy dose – the dose which could ignite their inner capabilities whilst ensuring adoption and firm determination of “can do” approach. I sum-up this topic with the following comment: One must not forget that a leader has two important characteristics: First, he is going somewhere; Second, he is able to persuade others to go with him. Another strategy that good leaders follow is to focus on low hanging fruits. So, being my first email to the department people, I, at this point in time, found them, as low hanging fruits. Therefore, the crux of my message was to put them in a “state of persuasion” more than the change to come. Given that PM environments tend to have highly educated and motivated staff, then the high ratings for participative leadership are expected seeing as project staff should be able to actively contribute to problem-solving, decision- making, and the like. The emphasis on situational leadership makes good sense given the diversity within project teams, e.g. different professional and technical disciplines and degrees of PM experience. (Loo, 2002, pp.93-98). Last but not least positivism is a key to success. You can always open new avenues using this key. References Andersen, K. 2011. Communicating Change at General Motors. Website. http://pure.au.dk/portal-asb-student/files/36293303/Bachlor_thesis_2011.pdf. 21st September 2011. Loo, R. 2002. Working towards best practices in project management: a Canadian study. International Journal of Project Management, 2002 (20), pp. 93-98. Website. http://www.uncg.edu/bae/people/amoako/ISM654/reading_%236.pdf. September 23, 2011. Rimeri, K. & Kreuter, M. 2006. Advancing Tailored Health Communication: A Persuasion and Message Effects Perspective. Journal of Communication, 2006 (56), pp. 184-201. Website. http://classweb.gmu.edu/gkreps/721/60._Rimer-Kreuter-Tailored_Health_Com.pdf. 23rd September 2011. Wood, W. 2000. Attitude Change: Persuasion and Social Influence. Annu. Rev. Psychol, 2000 (51), pp. 539-570. Website. http://www.uic.edu/classes/psych/Health/Readings/Wood,%20Attitude%20change,%20AnnRevPsy,%202000.pdf. 23rd September 2011. Read More