Interpersonal Communication and Interpersonal Relationships in a Diverse Workplace - Essay Example

Communication Management By Communication Management The contemporary workforce is greatly affected by global factors. This implies that modern day workforce is more culturally diverse today than it was decades ago. In other words, this explains how the twenty first century organizations have become multicultural. As organizations come into terms with such realizations, they also encounter communication challenges. The influence of globalization on organizational communication can be understood by analyzing the interpersonal communications and relations within the organization. It is important to note that the economy of the world has become service oriented and information focus. That factor helps in appreciating the fact that the workforce in various organization are not made up entirely of persons who have competency in technical communication skills (Verghese, 2012, p. 45). Factors such as strong team skills, interpersonal relations and sensitive communication approaches have increasingly become important criteria for success in business management. This paper explores contemporary aspects of effective communication and interpersonal relationships in a diverse workplace. The diversity of modern workplaces necessitates proper communication management for the success of any firm. Interpersonal Communication and Interpersonal Relationships in a Diverse Workplace Organizational communication can be categorized in three major types. These include innovation related communication through which new ideas are conveyed to the members of the organization, the task related communication which essentially conveys the organizational procedures policies and processes to organizational members. Finally, there is maintenance-related communication, which is associated with social issues that sustain the relationships among the organizational members (Minshall, Mortara and Pfeffermann, 2014, p. 16). It observable that interpersonal communication and relationship is constructed with the aim of maintenance-related functions of organizational communication. In this case, communication should appeal to the members of the organization. That is fundamental in order to coordinate actions of the organization and to align them with organizational mission, vision and goals. As contemporary workplaces consistently become diverse, maintaining the social bond has become difficult in some cases due to poor organizational communication approach (Verghese, 2012, p. 38). With the ease of mobility of both goods and people, which has been enhanced by globalization, the modern day workforce is characterized by people from diverse cultural, religious, ethnic and national backgrounds. In addition, the workforce is further differentiated by difference in age brackets. In addition, gender diversity is also another sensitive issue about which organizational communication has been affected. Given the above aspects, is notable that workplace communication has become a tricky. Given such diversity, a working approach to organizational communication management has necessitated the need for appropriate communication skills, strategies and effectiveness. Managing diversity in the workplace, therefore, has become a necessity. Its importance cannot be overlooked. One way through which the need for proper communication can prompt organizations to effectively manage diversity and cultural differences is by improving supervisor-subordinate communication. When enhanced effectively, supervisor subordinate communication can generate and maintain equality and integration in workplace. Proper supervisor-subordinate communication can be accomplished through training on communication skills. For instance, supervisors should be trained on how to use neutral and cultural sensitive language that does not provoke reactions from juniors while issuing instructions. Such sensitivity helps to ensure that the intended information, when passed, is received as intended without there being a barrier. To put it out clearly, those in leadership positions need to be cautious on how they relate with workers. This is because employees in a diverse workforce interact by interpretive frameworks of culture which is shared which they share among themselves. This affects the interpretation of vocabularies that are used in the organization, the established practices and protocols as well as the media channels values in the organization. It is therefore very crucial to mentor new supervisors or those that have been promoted to higher ranks. It is arguably true that supervisors must be strict. However, they should not be fierce, unfriendly and not approachable. Showing concern about the welfare of the subordinates is also very instrumental in this case. By choosing an appropriate language, they can learn how to be firm without necessarily being seen as biased because of the choice of their language. In the same way, mentoring the new employees is equally important. Organizations can achieve this through on-the-job-training and establishing a feedback system where employees are encouraged to drop notes about issues affecting them (Minshall, Mortara and Pfeffermann, 2014, p. 37). Organizational culture needs to be nurtured in a way that it appreciates values and honors everyone working in the organization. In this case, intercultural sensitivity is very critical for organizational communication. An effective manager, supervisor or anybody in the authority should not show elements of favoritism towards a particular group of people or an individual. Not being sensitive to cultural diversity in the workplaces may trigger negative responses, which can significantly hinder communication. For instance, how a message has been passed from the sender to the receiver affects how the message is understood, interpreted and the reaction to it. For that reason, it is important to note that effective communication determines organizational performance. How the workforce decodes, encode as well as analyze the context of information determines how it will react to it. Eventually, this determines whether the organization will achieve its set objectives or not. Management of Interpersonal Communication Oral communication competence is very critical for effective communication. In this instance, a good oral communication skill is not only a prerequisite for professional success, but also a central factor of interpersonal relationship. The social life of individuals is significantly shaped by their ability to communicate and relate with others. In organizational settings, employee communication essentially refers to the interaction or communication among the members of the organization. It is important to note that organizational communication, as used in this context, refers to the communication within the organization. In this case, communication is regarded as the means through which information is shared within an organization. It is also a vital pillar through which organizational members can create organization cultures and values. Subsequent interactions are usually based on such value system. Managerial Communication Management Departmental communication constitutes a vital section of organizational success. The company or an organization is founded on its missions and visions. In many cases, the mission and vision statements of an organization are achieved by collaboration among all the departments and employees. In this case, both practical and analytical communication strategies and approaches should be well documented or explicitly implied in the mission and vision statements (Cornelissen, 2014, p. 34). Organizational communication takes place across various levels. The various levels of communications are affected and influenced by the positions that are held by the members of an organization. Managerial communication is usually characterized by of information flow from people in superior positions to employees or subordinates. In this form of organizational communication management, leaders communicate orders, instructions, policies and plans, rules and procedures to the workers. For instance, a form of downward communication can be observed when supervisors give instructions to employees. It is equally important to note that downward communication does not just end with employees. It can be seen when managers communicate organizational information to supervisors or other organizational leaders who are below them in leadership positions (Cornelissen, 2014, p. 42). Downward communication is very instrumental. It provides employees with a vital opportunity to understand the direction of the organization. For instance, when managers explain the strategies, missions and vision of the organization, the lower level employees get to understand what the organization expects of them. That is to say that downward effective communication management enables managers to communicate organizational goals to lower-level employees. However, all these are not achievable without a proper strategy for the communication channels. To implement this strategy, organizations should consistently train its members in communications skills for a wider audience. That should be done regularly to examine the efficacy of the of the communication systems of the company (Abdullah, 2014, p. 51). It is important to note that when organization design and operate the formal communication systems, the informal communication is often overlooked. That is very detrimental to the organization since the employees can pass information to each other in an informal setting. In light of this view, communication decisions in an organization are made in four major areas. The first area includes awareness. Employees of an organization must be aware of the need and importance of communication. The second area entails the content of information. Employees must know what to communicate. That implies the before an up-down communication is delivered, its content must be examined to determine if it is appropriate for the intended audience. The content could be communication of organizational goals, policies, procedures or even both current and future plans. The third area is the method. It entails how to communicate the information effectively. Finally, the communication decisions and operations cannot be enhanced without examining communication channels of the organization. It is critical to examine the types of communication channels that should be available. From an interactive perspective, the entire process of organization communication is significantly influenced by organizational values, employee relationships, diversity and cultural issues. The relationship between the source of the information and the receivers determines effectiveness of the information. For example, in the event that the communication knowledge of both the sender and the receiver is highly developed, then the information that is being decoded or encoded will be effective. If the communication knowledge is poorly developed, the opposite will happen. The information will not be effective. Managerial downward communication can face many challenges. Some of the biggest challenges of downward communication are the assumptions that once every person is informed about the organizational goal, they will definitely understand, act on it and remember it at all times. In reality, people are likely to ignore such some small details of information. Over time, they are likely to forget. In addition, the information is likely to be distorted. For instance, it is not guaranteed that supervisors will communicate exact instructions they have received from the managers. Such barriers necessitate the need for proper communication management. Managerial Vertical communication Vertical communication is an upward communication approach. In many cases, the main purpose of this communication is to inform the top management of the issues that affect junior employees or general feedback from the lower level. This can always be in the form launching a complaint, communication of the views and preferences of the workforce. Such communication may also entail work procedures, or when the lower ranking employees report about the work progress. In such a case, vertical or upward communication is a valuable tool that top management can utilize to ensure the efficiency of communication management in an organization. Upward communication is important because it helps develop and nurture interpersonal communication and relationships between the management and common employees (Balmer and Podnar, 2013, p. 19). It also provides the avenue for employees to be heard. That way, it increases their confidence in the company. On the other hand, the top management can use the upward communication to gauge employee commitment, assess work performance, obtain feedback on organizational strategies and understand the welfare of the workforce. Vertical communication strengthens the bond between managers and junior employees. It also enhances employee loyalty and improves organizational performance (Garcia, 2012, p. 53). According to Garcia (2012, p. 35), the manner in which the superiors receive messages that have been put across by the subordinates as well as their responses to them is paramount. This requires the senior employees to be open and transparent when dealing with information from the junior staffs. In this instance, it is important to note that any healthy and productive environment can only be created if the superior workers are not biased when communicating and relating to subordinates. Otherwise, other than being unethical, biases and lack transparency among the superiors is likely to generate frustration, which is likely to impede organizational growth and performance (FitzPatrick and Valskov, 2014, p. 42). Horizontal communication Organizational communication in this kind of setting is sometimes referred to same-level communication. Simply stated, organizations can hardly exist without teams, interest groups and units of employees. It is a common phenomenon that employees will form units or groups. Some of the groups are inspired by the essence of belonging in the same department or area of production. In some cases, organization use teams which they strategically deploy and assign different tasks. This is one of the mechanisms of achieving organizational objectives. The most common form of communication that is widely used in this context is face-to-face (FTF) communication. This refers to when members of an organization pass the message or organizational information in person. In face-to face setting, the information is passed through verbal or oral means (James, 2014, p. 39). Conclusion Organizational communication is the central aspect of an organization. It is arguably true that nothing can be done in an organization without communication. However, to enhance organizational efficiency, managers must be competent enough to handle the various strategies of communication. They must be equipped with the necessary skills that will enable them to communicate and relate well with ordinary employees. Some of the effective communication skills that organizational leaders must incorporate in the leadership include being transparent and open, being approachable, being aware of the structure of the workforce and addressing the need of each individual. They ought to eliminate any element of biases. Ignoring factors of diversity in contemporary work place is detrimental to organizational performance. In conclusion, improper communication deters organizational development. For this reason, the organizational leaders must be equipped with the necessary communication skills so that they can manage organizational communication effectively. At individual level, everyone has the same responsibility. The diversity of modern workplaces necessitates proper communication management for the success of any firm. Bibliography Abdullah, Z., 2014. Corporate Communication Management. Saarbrücken: VDM Publishing. Balmer, J., & Podnar, K., 2013. Corporate Marketing Contemplating Corporate Branding, Marketing and Communications in the 21st Century. Hoboken: Rutledge. Cornelissen, J., 2014. Corporate communication: A guide to theory and practice. New York: SAGE Duck, S., & McMahan, D., 2014. Communication in Everyday life: A survey of Communication. New York: SAGE Publications. 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