Corporation and Interpersonal Communication Training Exercise - Article Example

Corporation and interpersonal Communication training exercise] THEORETICAL BASIS FOR THE EXERCISE The human resources of any organization are one of the most vital links that it has. And thus, training for the better good of the workers, as well as the greater good of the organization itself is often one of the most successful tools available to the Human Resource Department of the company. If an employee sees that the company is investing in their growth, then they are bound to reciprocate this feeling through better work and higher productivity. Organizing training sessions for the employees is such an essential aspect, which gives high positive returns, if the exercise is formulated right, keeping in mind the audience being addressed. (McGill, 2009) Interpersonal communication is the exchange of ideas, knowledge, information and opinion between two or more individuals, and it is quite an art to do it correctly. An organization has multiple stakeholders at one point in time which it has to cater to. And the manager of such an organization thus has the huge responsibility of communicating with these various stakeholders. From hiring someone to firing someone, from managing a team to arbitrating during a conflict, from being the change agent to giving someone constructive criticism – it all falls in the job of a manager, and it has to be done well if the manager has to experience the right level of self confidence and success for the organization. Therefore, communication is one of the aspects which should really be focused upon in all organizations. (Volkert, 2009) Training exercises and training programs which last for weeks should be built according to the demographics of the employees, and then given to the employees. If the communication of the employee gets improved, it will take the organization a long way. Role plays, which is the training exercise selected for this report, is one of the most effective methods of showing a person the right way to do something. This is because when a person is asked to do a role play, he can easily assume that he is playing the role of someone else, and that no one can judge him for who he really is. This human psyche helps in getting role plays successful, and in getting across the message. (Windsor, 2006) ILLUSTRATE THE PROCESS OF THE EXERCISE The training exercise that will be developed to instill effective interpersonal communication in managers will be that of a role play. Role modeling, as it is also known, is an effective way of showing the situations that occur in daily life. The effectiveness of the role modeling method of training exercise lies in the fact that even though an employee might face similar situations in real life, he cannot critically evaluate the whole situation, since at that point in time, he is the one who is facing the situation, and he believes he is the only one who is right here. To be able to objectively see the situation, you have to be out of it, and thus, role modeling plays a great role in showing participants the various situations that take place, in different circumstances, and how communication was, and how communication should have been for the interpersonal interaction to have been successful. (Gilley, 2010) Step by step methodology The step by step methodology of this role modeling training exercise is 1. Firstly, the trainer will introduce himself and will give a presentation on how important interpersonal communication can be. Using strong facts and figures and designing a colorful and visually appealing PowerPoint slide will highly help. 2. Then the trainer will divide the participants into pairs of two. 3. He will then write different situations on a piece of paper. And shuffle them randomly. 4. Each team of 2 will then be asked to pick a piece of paper and read the situation to them only. 5. Then all teams will be asked to develop a role play, in which there will be two parts. In one part, the interpersonal communication has to be ineffective, causing unsuccessful results of the interaction. In second part, the same interpersonal communication with the same situation has to be effective, causing a successful interaction. A time of one hour will be provided for this. 6. After an hour, the first team will be called upon to show their role play. 7. Once they are done with both parts, the trainer will comment on the flaws of their role plays as well as the strong points. The trainers helper will type all the points that need to be remembered for effective interpersonal communication that the trainer points out after every role play. 8. This procedure will continue once all teams are done. 9. A handout, based on the typed document of the trainers helper, will be provided to all participants. 10. A feedback form will be asked to be filled from the participants. How will you determine success/failure? After doing programs to induce training and development for its employees, if the success or failure is not weighed, the effort is more or less lost. This is because such programs incur a lot of cost for the company, and if their results are not as expected or do not outweigh the costs, then the organization needs to re-assess the quality of programs and alter them. (Harman, 2009) Firstly, the feedback form which was given to the participants at the end of the session will gain their opinion about the trainer, the duration, the environment, the learning, the give-away etc. Then, there is the post-training evaluation of individual participants, which will help assess the organization if there has been implementation of the knowledge gained in the training exercise. Participants can be asked to do a presentation, lead a team, take the role of a change agent or manage a certain conflict – and then evaluated on how better he communicated in the situation. What feedback is given to participants? Feedback is given to participants through the performance appraisal that may take place every 6 months or after every year for every individual. In the appraisal, the subordinate and the supervisor sit together and discuss the past performance of the individual. The appraisal lets them have an aerial view of what the individual has done in the past period, and it can be discussed if communication goals have been met. The interpersonal communication can especially be judged. Then the supervisor will give him feedback on how well he has used the training exercise that was conducted. At times, it may happen that even if the exercise was a success, the participant could not make good use of it, by implementing it well in their daily lives. The feedback then helps them with the future course of action, and how they should be performing. The performance appraisal is more dependent on what is learnt from the exercise and then a better future is hoped for, which will outlive the expectations of the past. (McGill, 2009) IMPLICATIONS OF THIS TRAINING FOR INDIVIDUALS AND THE ORGANIZATION The implications of such training exercises for the organization as well as the employees are very positive. Firstly, it will improve the job knowledge and skills of the employees present at all levels of the company. This will enhance the productivity of the organization, in general. Secondly, it will boost the morale of the employees, since they could see that the organization is willing to invest in their growth and career, both personally and professionally. Thirdly, employees will now identify with the organizational goals. If the employee will go through these training exercises, propagating the role of communication in various situations like team management, change management, conflict management, persuading customers for further sales – then the employee knows that the company is an adaptive company, which might bring about change to ensure that it moves with the world, that the company will focus customers as its vital link to profitability, that the company will not tolerate that conflicts weaken its foundation, and that team work with collaboration and harmony will work wonders for the company. (Volkert, 2009) Moreover, it will help the company to create a better corporate image in its external environment, and fostered an internal environment of openness, trust and authenticity. Employees will now be willing to approach their supervisors for issues with skill deficiency and apply aptly for other training programs, thus even leading to the increase of employee loyalty towards the company. Furthermore, training and development exercises at companies help improve the relationship between the boss and the subordinate. It helps the organization to develop as a whole, since it provides information for future needs in all areas of the organization. It aids in developing the leadership skill, motivation, better attitudes and other aspects that successful workers and managers display, thus making human resources one of the powerful tools of any company. In addition to that, the communication channels within a company are bound to open up in such training and development programs. Such programs give an appropriate climate for organizational communication. As far as employees are concerned, they can now adjust well to changes and even deal with conflict resolution. These two phenomena, change and conflict, can lead to a lot of stress for the employees, but powerful training and development can build such employees which become a vital strategic advantage for the company. 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