Corporate Management Skills - Coursework Example

1. The structure of communication should include at least two participants (a source and a recipient) who should know the norms of a certain semiotic system (language is perhaps the simplest example of such system), though intrapersonal communication is also singled out by some researchers (speculations, thoughts, evaluations, etc.); a certain situation which they aim to comprehend and understand; texts which express the meaning of this situation using the elements of the given semiotic system; motives and goals which induce the subjects to communication; coding and decoding processes and the actual process of the material transmission of the texts. 2. The main ways of non-verbal means of communication are as follows: keeping a certain personal space, looking into a person or object, mimics and poses, vocal attributes of the voice (tone, pitch), and speech tempo. The ways nonverbal signals influence supervisory communication are therefore: contributing to verbal messages making the speech more expressive; helping to understand feelings and thoughts of interlocutor by building rapport; their use instead of verbal messages (sometimes it is enough to use a gesture of a exclamation); regulating interaction between people in the process of communication, including subordination. In the process of nonverbal communication, it is quite easy to get comprehensive information about the personality of the communicator (his or her temperament, emotional state, image of “self” and self-esteem, personal traits) and about the attitude of the interlocutors towards each other and towards the situation itself. Among the effective nonverbal communication techniques there are the techniques of establishing contact, rapport, and evoking trust. There are also some techniques that can effectively influence the state of an interlocutor: increasing his or her interest, decreasing the level of aggression, etc. An efficient communicator should possess the skills of calibration of the state and reactions of people – which allows to determine an interlocutor’s true intentions, reasons for behaviour, thoughts, etc. Sending the right signals in the process of communication is also extremely important as this “meta-message” gives the interlocutor all information about the attitude to the subject of conversation on the subconscious level. 3. The key rule of corporate communications is their relevance to corporate strategy that will eventually determine the goals and content of messages. The three major spheres where communications should be managed are: People: their motivations, communication competencies, values, models of behaviour. Processes: structure, direction, participants. Technologies: information technologies that maintain and facilitate communication, methods of information sharing, etc.. By paying heed to every of these three elements, you boost the chances of your company to creating quality communication. According to Bergelson, the goals of communication are (2004, p. 10): to transfer information (used rarely in pure form); to gain information (complex multi-stage understanding process); to achieve certain effect as a result of communication. In any well-performing company, there is usually a balance between personal liberty of the employees and powerful top-management. This ideal process has a lot of barriers. One of these is lack of trust and commitment. It is hard to overestimate the necessity and importance of successful communication for solving problems in business sphere. The very concept of quality leadership is based upon the assumption that all participants of the business process have access to all information necessary for decision making, conflict solving, negotiation and team work. Moreover, international contacts have shown that success on the world market depends upon the degree of being skilled in the sphere of cross-cultural communication. Communication in an organization is manifold, therefore it is impossible to give only one definition of this process. Communicational management studies peculiarities and regularities of information exchange within an organization. Chester Barnard said in 1938: “In an exhaustive theory of organization, communication would occupy a central place, because the structure, extensiveness, and scope of organization are almost entirely determined by communication techniques”. (cited from: Bergelson 2004, p. 14) Communication in organization is the whole lot of messaged and information circulating inside it. The “bottom-up” communication usually comprises problems, ideas, information about the work process, the “top-down” communication deals with orders and commands. The “horizontal” communication implies opinions exchange. 4. “Buying into” the process of change is one of the most efficient ways to overcome resistance to change, and it correlates with democratic leadership style, when all staff members are encouraged to participate in the decision-making process. Leadership and management style that enable implementation of “buying into” the concept presuppose a considerable degree of empowerment of employees, delegation of certain managerial powers to staff members, and developing productive interpersonal relations within the team. According to the Kurt Levin’s classification, a management style can be authoritative, democratic or liberal and is one-dimensional. Authoritative style ensures higher productivity, but a lower degree of satisfaction. (Levin, 1939) Douglas McGregor singled out two types of leaders: X and Y. According to the Х-leader, people do not like work and responsibility, so it is necessary to control them entirely and threaten with punishment. An X-leader is sure to impose his will upon the employees and does not approve of any innovations. A Y-leader is democratic, he adheres to the opinion that labor is a natural process and all that should be done to encourage people to work is to create the necessary conditions. He uses self-control, stimulates his employees’ creativity, and provides them with all information about the state of affairs in the company. In the case with “buying in”, the Y-leader style is certainly preferable. In any organization, there is informal communication. As a rule, it concerns mainly personal and social problems and needs. However, certain “informality” may be introduced even into the process of business-making and running a company, as it allows to discuss the same business problems in a more friendly tone and less stressful environment, thus allowing people to expose their potential. One more aspect of communication in the company is arising of conflicts and ways of their regulation. The notions of leadership and motivation are also based upon the process of communication. As Pine and Bauman have it, “Not everyone is a leader, and those who hold leadership positions are not necessarily effective in their roles. Likewise, all organizations communicate, but perhaps not efficiently. As future leaders, it is important to examine our own communication abilities”. (Pine and Bauman, p. 307) Communication is a vital element in the life of each company. Lack of communication in many companies creates problems: usually it happens because top-managers do not involve their employees to the process of running the company. Still, it has been proved that getting the workers involved into the decision-making process is beneficial for both employees and the company: the staff does not feel alienated from the company and is likely to accept and promote any changes. (Argenti, 1994, p. 158) Sonnenberg claims that all motivational techniques may be useful, but they stimulate the employees only for a short period of time, so managers cannot rely entirely upon these techniques. What is more important is to make people feel a part of their company and that their contribution to the company’s development is incredibly important. All that will inevitably bring about commitment. Only the companies “that can provide employees with the responsibility, the information, and the authority to get the job done will thrive in today’s competitive environment”. (1993, p. 18) For getting the most out of corporate communication, J. Gordon suggests that group meetings, both formal and informal be carried out in each organization. Different seminars and training – which are also ways of communication – will certainly be of use. (cited from: Argenti, 1994, p. 157) Feedback is also one of the vital elements of communication. Getting no feedback may cause frustration and dissatisfaction, moreover, the process of communication will then be incomplete, as the addresser will not be sure whether the addressee managed to comprehend what was communicated to him. In a company, feedback can be actualized in two opposite directions: from the company’s management to the employees, and vice versa. As far as the “bottom-up” feedback is concerned, the employees should be given a chance to participate in the process of running the company, i.e. providing the top-management with their own ideas and concerns. The “top-down” feedback comprises reaction of top-managers to the reports and ideas of the employees. One of the ways of feedback is performance appraisal. All in all, communication is an essential means to improve its performance, especially as far as motivating personnel is concerned. Communicating with employees on the regular basis is one of the crucial factors of the company’s success. It helps develop employees “who will be deeply committed to the organization’s mission and values and, most important, who will be passionate about reaching their goals”. (Sonnenberg, 1993, p. 6) Also it stimulates the workers’ creativity and helps create friendly, integral and trusting atmosphere within the team. 5. Adhering to certain linguistic style in particular situations of communication may be as important as knowing what to say. For example, it would be strange to hear a mother giving detailed instructions to her child using special terms and telling him why he should not put his fingers into an electric socket, although “technically” the information rendered would be completely correct. By the same token, a supervisor at a building site would not try to attract his subordinates’ attention to some unexpected danger (like, for example, some heavy object falling from the building) by explaining to them in a formal language what is happening – he would rather shout, often using quite harsh words. The essence of communication is the reaction that it evokes in interlocutor’s behaviour or attitude – that is why the communication means and techniques should correspond to its goal. Writing emails to business partners is different from emailing to mates or relatives, and the language of communicating with attendees of scientific seminars or conferences is different from talking to family at dinner. The selection of linguistic style of communication is very situational and is determined by the variety of factors: information that is to be covered, communicators, situation, environment, etc. 6. Strategic planning which organises the company’s activity taking into account its vision, mission and goals is a necessary component of the management of any company, and it is utterly impossible without analysing the components which are crucial for the company’s prosperity. In the modern world of business, strategic planning normally takes into account the company’s own potential and competitive advantage and the prospects of their development, and not the external environment only. D. Hamel and C. K. Prahalad are sure: those companies which focus only upon the conditions of their external environment and do not take into account their inner opportunities, have less competitive advantage than their competitors who develop their strategies basing upon their potential. It does not mean that the company should neglect the environment whatsoever, it should be studied carefully anyway, but the main thing is to use the company’s capabilities in the most beneficial way. However, since the external environment influences the company’s activity, it should also be taken into account when creating a strategy for the development of the company’s activity. The company’s strategy and goals should be clearly communicated by the management to the staff, or formulated by management together, or basing on the staff’s beliefs – this really depends on the style of leadership in the company. But in any situation, without proper communication achieving the company’s goals looms impossible as in such cases people in the company might not know what is going on in the company as a system, and what the overall expected outcomes of their work are. 7. There are three levels of personnel motivation: 1) personal (the main principles are timeliness, individual approach, and connection with worker’s interests); 2) group (or team) (key factors of its efficiency are group characteristics, leadership and management style); 3) organisational (especially important are the company’s image and top-managers reputation). Stephen P. Covey (Covey, 1990, pp. 260 – 261) singles out four phases in the process of bringing an employee to the stage of commitment, and at each of these stages the degree and quality of communication are different: 1) in the scientific management phase managers uses the “carrot and stick” policy and controls everything; 2) in the human relations phase managers admit “that people have feelings”, and treat them “with kindness, with courtesy, with civility, with decency”. Communication at these two stages is restricted to telling the employees what to do, without asking their opinion. This approach is highly unprofitable for both employees and the company. 3) in the human resources principle phase managers “make better use of their [the personnel’s] creativity, imagination.” 4) in the whole person paradigm stage managers provide personnel with “meaning, a sense of doing something that matters.” At these two stages, communication is widely used and plays a crucial role. Workers of all levels participate in problem-solving and decision-making process, polls are carried out by the management, and different meetings (group and face-to-face) are called very often. In general, the more people working for the company get engaged into the managing process, the more will the company’s performance be improved. And communication is perhaps the most powerful means to make employees not indifferent. 8. Internal motivation is, perhaps, the most powerful factor determining labour discipline and performance. It is about why a person wants to perform the best he can, or, vice versa, works in a slipshod manner; why he or she likes certain kinds of activity and dislikes others. It is very difficult to “make staff like” doing something; therefore, some top-managers prefer employing only those people who are already highly motivated. However, in the long-term perspective this problem should be solved in a different way because motivation is a very delicate thing, and can be ruined every moment. Moreover, its loss is difficult to identify. From my own experience, what motivates me the most is empowerment (including the situations when I am given a permission to take decisions independently), and being given tasks that require the use of my special and unique knowledge and skills. In my personal hierarchy of values, being needed and recognised is very important, and that is why I suppose I am motivated to work when I know that it is really needed by someone, and my achievements are acknowledged in some way. Motivation is not just technology, system of procedures, documents and regulations. It is a real art, because one has to appeal to both employees’ mind and feelings. For successful motivation of staff, there are some vital criteria: communication (Sturman, 2002, np), flatten hierarchy (Sturman, 2002, np; Drucker, 1999), introducing a set of values into the company (Collins, 2001, np; Hesselbein, 2002; Collins & Porras, 1996, p. 65), taking into account each employee’s expectations (Expectancy theory – Victor Vroom, 2004, np), etc. Being a very fragile phenomenon, motivation should be constantly maintained so that it does not turn into demotivation. 9. Maslow’s hierarchy is a theory of motivation according to which all needs of a person can be structures into a “pyramid”: its basis being the basic biological needs, and higher levels being occupied by the needs characterising a human being as a “social” creature, personality. This theory is based on the results of psychological research. The lowest level of hierarchy is constituted by physiological needs, then comes the need for safety and security, then social needs, the need for recognition and respect and finally – the need for self-actualization. According to Maslow’s theory, the needs of the higher levels of this hierarchy can only become topical for a person if the needs of the previous level have been satisfied to a certain degree. To my mind, being promoted from operator to supervisor and setting a new record for individual performance satisfy the need for recognition (of course, at the same time some of the lower level needs are satisfied, such as providing safety and social needs), and being selected to attend a special training course is, apart from also satisfying the same need for recognition, can also be a step towards self-actualization – the highest level of the hierarchy. 10. Frederick Herzberg’s theory of motivation is the development of A. Maslow’s theory as he claims that the basis for motivation is either satisfaction or dissatisfaction of an employee with his or her work. This approach was based on the findings of the research of what people think about their jobs, what makes them happy or unhappy about them. As according to Herzberg’s theory there are more factors causing satisfaction from work than those evoking the feelings of dissatisfaction, satisfaction and dissatisfaction are not 100% antagonistic. The factors contributing to “eliminating” dissatisfaction were called “hygienic”, and those making people satisfied were called “motivators”. Any job conducted by an employee can be viewed, according to this theory, as a combination of motivators and hygienic factors which are not to be mixed with each other. Hygienic factors correlate mostly with the lower levels of A. Maslow’s hierarchy (company’s policy, safety and security, payment, conditions of work, control), whereas motivators – with the “social” levels (psychological growth (=self-actualization), progress, responsibility, recognition, success). However, this is not the strict rule, just a tendency. From the standpoint of F. Herzberg’s theory, all human needs can be divided into two groups: natural (animal-like) ones, such as the need to avoid pain, hunger, fear (and these needs make people earn money), and spiritual ones. Whereas fulfillment of hygienic factors improve performance, motivating factors are necessary for achieving really great results. 11. I disagree with the supervisor for the simple reason that he is forgetting about non-material means of motivation which can sometimes prove even more effective than material ones (provided that the basic needs of the employees are satisfied, of course). Many companies motivate their staff, for example, with the help of compensation packages – and by doing so they compensate the effort of their workers when they do not have the possibility to increase salaries significantly. Non-material motivation is aimed at increasing the employees’ loyalty towards the company. Non-material are the benefits which are not given to the workers in the form of cash, but may demand certain investments on the part of a company. The main effect is getting the employees interested in continuing to work with this particular company. The most widespread non-material compensations include: discounts for buying certain products, subscriptions to sport clubs, theatres, restaurants, cinemas, etc., free additional training, paid trip to a seminar or a conference, more quality equipment at the work place, small presents, priorities when receiving new equipment, different material stimulations (presents, including family-oriented ones), etc. 12. The essence of the goal-setting theory of motivation is that every employee determines for him- or herself the goals to be achieved, and basing on this goals makes certain steps, takes actions and performs tasks. When achieving the planned results, he or she feels satisfaction. The goals that are being set and the person’s desire to act are influences by the following four factors: the complexity of the goal, its specificity, attainability and the commitment of the employee to this goal. Besides, the degree of person’s satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the results of his/her work is affected by certain “inner” and “outer” processes – i.e. self-evaluation and evaluation of the job done by colleagues, boss, promotion, payment rise, etc. 13. The relationship that can be seen is that all of these motivation theories are or “process” character as they are based on the choice of certain action, its realization and getting benefits from its realization. Victor Vroom in his Expectancy theory (1964) stated that conscious selection between several alternatives can determine the employee’s behaviour, and these alternatives are meant to increase pleasure and decrease pain. Vroom believed that there was a complex system of relations between how people behave at work and what they actually expect to achieve there. (Expectancy theory – Victor Vroom, 2004), and he differentiated between three basic concepts: 1. expectancy (the employees’ level of confidence - their belief in what they can do if they really try); 2. instrumentality (the employees’ belief in whether or not they will get any benefit if they succeed); 3. valence (the employees’ feelings as for the outcomes of their work and possible rewards). Vroom’s theory claimed that the main reason for each employee’s motivation was his / her expectations as far as rewards for performance are concerned, and motivation is influenced by the following factors: to what extent these rewards are desirable and whether an employee believes in his / her success and these rewards. In the goal-setting theory, a person selects own actions basing on the goals he sets for himself. In the equity theory, in the process of work an employee is constantly comparing the rewards he or she is getting to the effort spent on doing this job, and then compares it to the rewards that the others get. If he thinks that he is not getting enough rewards compared to others, he feels stressed and cheated on, and works with less intensity and putting significantly less effort. According to Skinner’s reinforcement theory, motivation depends on the past experience of every person, and very important are the stimuli that cause particular behaviours of the workers. If the consequences of this behaviour are positive, the person is likely to behave similarly in a similar situation in the future. If same positive results have been repeated many times, this contributes to forming a behaviour pattern. Works Cited 1. Argenti, P. A. Corporate communication, Irwin McGraw-Hill, Boston, 1994. 2. Bergelson, M. B. “Methods of communication in management”. In: Theory of communication, 2004. P. 6-26. 3. Collins, James C. and Porras, Jerry I. “Building your company’s vision”. Harvard business review, September-October 1996, pp. 65 – 77. 4. Collins, Jim. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Other Don't. e-version: Fast Company, Issue 51, 2001. Copyright 2004. Gruner + Jahr USA Publishing. Retrieved March 5, 2009, from: 5. Covey, Stephen R. Principle-centered leadership: teaching people how to fish, The institute for principle-centered leadership, Provo, Utah, 1990,. 6. Drucker, Peter F. Management Challenges for the 21st Century, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1999. 7. Expectancy Theory – Victor Vroom. 2004. Retrieved March 4, 2009 from Value based management.net database: 8. Hesselbein, Frances. “Carry a Big Basket”. Leader to Leader, No. 24, 2002. Retrieved March 10, 2009 from Leader to Leader database: 9. Levin, Kurt. Patterns of Aggressive Behaviour in Experimentally Created Social Climates. New York, 1939. 10. Pine, William and Bauman, William. “Effective communication: if anything can go wrong, it will”, AU-24, Concepts for Air Force Leadership., 307 – 308. 11. Sonnenberg, F. K. Managing With a Conscience: How to Improve Performance Through Integrity, Trust, and Commitment. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1993. 12. Sturman, Carol. “Dare to Dream”. Leader to Leader, No. 23, 2002. Retrieved March 11, 2009 from Leader to Leader database: Read More