Communication at Work as an Important Part of Every Business - Essay Example

Communicating at Work Introduction Communication at work is an important aspect of running the business smoothly. Every business varying from the smaller ones to the large ones involve the aspect of communication in their day to day routine. This communication is either between the employees or employers or between the employee and the customers. The communication which takes place at work is of different types. Verbal or non verbal communications are two forms which are widely used in the workplaces. In verbal communication the person uses the help of his voice to send over messages to the other person whereas non verbal communication is a form in which voice is not used. Non verbal communication includes memos, emails, and other social softwares. To develop a perfect sort of communication at work it is necessary that some elements are kept into view. This brief would further take all these elements into view and provide with the related needs of communication at work and other places (Taylor 2001). To develop an effective interpersonal communication network at work it is necessary for the individuals to keep several factors in mind while communicating. Businesses nowadays usually are dependent upon the communication networks. For e.g. if an employee needs to get a particular good manufactured, it is necessary for him to contact the manufacturer to tell him what good does he need. Thus it is necessary that an effective network is made. To achieve this it is necessary for the person who is communicating to achieve clarity. By clarity here it is meant that the person who is communicating should be very clear in stating his thesis of the message. The words chosen by the communicator should be very precise which are clear enough for the other individuals intellect. Thus it is necessary that the communicator does not drag his message up to critical levels where the other listener gets confused by the message. This confusion can therefore lead to several other problems in the workplace (Kelly 1979 & Taylor 2001). The communicator should make it a point that he is direct when communicating at work. The communicator should not involve irrelevant messages while he communicates as these irrelevant messages can lead to errors at the workplace. The misconception about reaching the point in communication at workplaces is that the communicator usually thinks that adding up other points may give him an advantage but this rather creates an absurd image in which one can miss out the main points of the original message. So it can be concluded that in communication it is necessary that the main point is laid out firstly so that these points are missed out later on by the relevant authorities (Michael 1988 & Kelly 1979). It is also necessary for the communicator to make up his speech in such a way that it does not sound cold or harsh. This is because the message would put down the listeners or the person to whom the message is referred to. And this would create other errors at the workplace. Thus it is necessary for the communicator to bring warmth to his speech so that the person who is being referred to does obey the instructions carefully (Michael 1988 & Kelly 1979). Another thing which is important in the mean of communication is that the person who is communicating does note carefully if the listener or the person who is being referred to understands the theme of the message. This can be achieved by a two way process. By two way process here it is meant that the communicator should ask for replies from the person who is being referred to with the message. This would help to assure the communicator that his message is being interpreted properly by the listener. Similarly if this is not done the message would be misinterpreted and other problems may arise at the workplace because of this miscommunication (Michael 1988 & Kelly 1979). Positivism is one important aspect in communicating at work. By positivism here it is meant that both the negative and positive aspects of the message should be kept in balance so that the person to whom the message is being referred to does not get a wrong concept. If this happens and the negative aspect is given more weight age the person who is being referred to may take it wrong and get discouraged while doing the work (Michael 1988 & Kelly 1979). Communicating at work has several barriers when in play at the workplace. The barriers which may come during this communication should be overcome for effective interpersonal interactions. As mentioned above clarity is a necessary factor for communication and thus muddled messages can be a great barrier for the interpersonal interactions. These muddled messages would lead the person to get the message wrong and would lead him to carry out the wrong actions. To avoid such a barrier it is necessary for the communicator to carry out a two way communication. In such a communication the feedback would play a role in confirming that the person has understood the message properly (Michael 1988, Taylor 2001 & Kelly 1979) Stereotyping is another factor which acts as a barrier in the communication networks. Stereotyping can lead to misunderstandings at the workplaces. Usually people tend to stereotype certain factors which are known to all. For e.g. if an action is expected by the company due to recession and everyone knows about it, the person who is about to receive the message would stereotype the message and would carry out the action without properly reading the message. This can lead to problems in the workplaces as at times expected actions may not take place due to factors known to the employers only. Wrong channel in communication networks can lead to several problems too. This is an important barrier for communication at work. At times the business is so large, that to give the message to a person a huge hierarchy is used. This hierarchy may include managers and other middlemen. This way can be an important barrier in which the proper message may not be passed to the person who is being referred to by the message. Similarly the means used for communication would be a barrier too. The means of communication used these days are memos and emails. Emails and memos are non verbal ways of communication. The body language of these emails and memos may not be perfectly written by the communicator. And it is not necessary that the other individual can interpret the messages written in these emails and memos properly. Thus the emails and memos should be properly written and should be asked for a feedback from the receiver of the message. The usage of language can be a barrier too in communicating at work. The words being used at work should be properly sought and thought out so that they do not create a different image in the mind of the receiver of the message. It is necessary for the person to see that the receiver does correctly interpret the words he is using. Words here can be referred to the business terminology too. So it should be noted by the communicator that the receiver of the message does correctly understand the business terminology too (Michael 1988, Taylor 2001 & Kelly 1979). Communication forms an important phenomena in this world through which people can contact with each other. This can be either in the form of gestures, signs and language. Language is asserted to be the most important tool of communication in this world. Through it one can communicate his feelings and perspectives on different subjects. In the recent years this mode of communication is considered to be very important as it is widely used. Furthermore this has lead to different researches being conducted by different linguists on the origin of the languages. Words are used in languages to communicate usually. Social interactions mark an important aspect of the lives spent by the hunters. The hunter-gatherer life requires interaction and human cooperation to work. Survival in this world requires the human beings to interact and cooperate with each other. Furthermore Isaac in 1983 asserted that even two million years back the Homo Habilis depended upon a life style which had social interactions in it. These social interactions can directly lead to the origination of the languages. Mike Beaken calls labor as the major factor which led to the composition of language. As quoted by Brinck and Gardenfors (2003, p. 492) “that a major reason for the evolution of language is that it enhances co-operation. Language is the tool by which agents can make their imaginations, desires, and evaluations known to each other.” This clearly illustrates that the language originated only to create harmony and cooperation amongst different individuals of this world. Human labor led to the genesis of language in this world. As quoted by Engels that “the point at which humans have something to say to each other”. This point is known to be human labor. While doing work a situation arises when the individuals have to contact with each other and thus this situation leads to the formation of an interaction circle. When individuals work together with cooperation they have to interact with each other through the use of language. In the ancient ages individuals figured out the way to burn fire and worked collectively. This led them to first develop signals and then small words. These signals and small words were then further developed intro proper languages. Furthermore, another quote by Dessalles (Hurford et al 1998 ) depicts that language originated only because of the collective works done together by the individuals. Dessales in the quote states that “relevance is a requirement of language” from which it follows that language conveys “valuable information and thus… any relevant utterance is potentially altruistic.” “Sharing information, like sharing food, is altruistic.” Thus it can be concluded that words are really important in affecting attitude, behaviors and perceptions. In the early ages cooperative human activities led to the usage of gestures and these gestures further led to the formation of languages. Firstly the languages used were not diversified as the cooperative human activities were also not diversified. Gestures are important in conveying someone’s emotions perceptions and other feelings. Emotions perceptions and other expressions help in developing the interpersonal relationships of the individuals at work. Even when communicating at work it is necessary for the individuals to keep in mind that the non verbal expressions that are being used are positive. These expressions may help to develop a clearer image of the original message which is being communicated. Interpersonal relationships are all dependent on the factors of perceptions emotions and these expressions. If the emotions and perceptions at workplace about the individuals are not positive then the interpersonal relationships may not develop to be warm. And this may lead to jealousy in the workplaces. Similarly when communicating at work it is necessary that these three factors are properly sought out so that interpersonal relationships are developed in a positive way (Taylor 2001). Emotional intelligence is the ability of someone to understand his own emotional state or the state of the other individuals. It helps to realize one what he himself wants in his surroundings and what others want. Emotional intelligence is an important aspect in determining interpersonal relationships in the workplace. It can be counted as a communicating factor too in the workplaces. In communication it is necessary for one to assess what the other individual is going through (Lenaghan, Buda & Eisner 2007). And in work places this is quite necessary so as to develop an important interpersonal relationship. Emotional intelligence provides the individuals with the capability to realize what the emotional state of the other person is. This would help the employees in corresponding with each other during work. The employees and employers would not laden work on their peers and subordinates if they see distortion in their emotional state. Moreover at workplaces this emotional intelligence helps the peers to know if the other employee is listening to their conversation and paying to heed to the important chores that need to be done. It would also help the employees to assess the personality of their peers and act in the way in which their peers would react the best. The work that would be given to these employees would be according to their emotional state. And to have an effective interpersonal relationship in workplaces, it is necessary that emotional intelligence skills are well developed in the individual (Goleman 1995 & Lenaghan, Buda & Eisner 2007). Gender and culture have an important role to play in the workplaces too. Both these factors are importantly involved in developing the interpersonal communications between people. Although nowadays several laws have been imposed so as to stop discrimination and gender bias in workplaces, but even now such problems can be seen to be affecting the environment in the workplaces. Males are seen to be more dominant in the workplaces even now and thus they tend to develop better interpersonal communications amongst themselves. Women on the other hand are still left behind when it comes to interpersonal communications. This is because of the minority of women in the working class. Women and men don’t seem to have the type of interpersonal communications with each other than the same type of gender has with each other. Similarly culture plays an important role in developing communication at the workplaces too. People from an eastern culture may not have the same interpersonal communications in the west as people of the west may have in the workplaces. This is because of the difference in the cultures between these two sides. Moreover at times because of the culture difference a language difference is also seen amongst the individuals. And this again creates a huge gap when developing interpersonal relationships (Schnurr 2009 & Barrett & Davidson 2006) Conclusion Communication at work is an important part of every business. Above mentioned factors are all related to the communication at the workplaces and all these tend to shape up the way communications are handled at these workplaces. Interpersonal communications which take place in workplaces help to run the business smoothly and these communications take place in every kind of business all over the world. It should be kept in mind before opening a new business that all necessary factors for interpersonal relationships are present there. The recruitment policy for employees should also take into notice that if they possess the necessary tools to develop an interpersonal relationship in the workplaces or not ((Satterwhite, Olson Sutton 2000). References Top of Form Taylor, J. (2001). Communication at work. Creating success. London: Kogan Page. Top of Form Satterwhite, M. L., & Olson-Sutton, J. (2000). Business communication at work. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill. Bottom of Form Top of Form Kelly, E. W. (1979). Effective interpersonal communication: A manual for skill development. Washington, D.C.: University Press of America. Bottom of Form Top of Form Michael, N. (1988). How to say what you mean: A guide to effective communication for people at work. Auckland [N.Z.]: Reed Methuen. Bottom of Form Top of Form Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam Books. Bottom of Form Top of Form Lenaghan, J. A., Buda, R., & Eisner, A. B. (2007). An Examination of the Role of Emotional Intelligence in Work and Family Conflict. Journal of Managerial Issues : JMI. 19 (1), 76-94. Bottom of Form Top of Form Schnurr, S. (2009). Leadership discourse at work: Interactions of humour, gender and workplace culture. Basingstoke [England]: Palgrave Macmillan. Bottom of Form Top of Form Barrett, M., & Davidson, M. (2006). Gender and communication at work. Aldershot, Hants, England: Ashgate Pub. BRINCK, I., & GARDENFORS, P. (2003). Co-operation and Communication in Apes and Humans. MIND AND LANGUAGE. 18, 484-501. HURFORD, J. R., STUDDERT-KENNEDY, M., & KNIGHT, C. (1998). Approaches to the evolution of language: social and cognitive bases. Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press. Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Read More