Lessons Learned from Business Communication Course
Effectiveness of business communication has a significant impact on an organization’s overall culture, employee satisfaction and productivity. This is why managers make effective communication a business priority. Through this course, we have been able to learn about the communication taking place within any organization involving important stakeholders of the business. This report is a reflection of my learnings from the course. The first section reflecting upon important lessons from our ten week’s learnings is as below:
Week 1: This week was an introduction to communication and we learnt about its importance as well as efficacy in the business.
Week 2: During the second week we learnt about non-verbal communication wherein we learnt some behaviours that tend to increase simulation and decrease psychological difference between two people.
Week 3: Third week predominantly focussed on written communication and several channels through which business stakeholders communicate with each other in a written manner.
Week 4: Academic writing was the focus of fourth week’s communication learning. In this form of communication, we often need to quote words of other people. Therefore we learnt about how to effectively reference the work of other authors.
Week 5: Fifth week taught us about writing self-reflections like these and how to be able to effectively put our thought in words and be able to critically reflect upon our learnings and write the same.
Week 6: This week focussed on our presentation skills and we were able to learn how to effectively deliver good presentations and what steps can be taken in order to be better prepared for presentations.
Week 7: The seventh week’s critical learning was cross cultural communication, its significance and validity in today’s era as well as steps that can be taken to ensure its efficacy.
Week 8: During this week we learnt about how communication takes place in an organization in the practical world. We learnt how factors like organizational structure and culture influence communication within the business.
Week 9: The most important learning from this week was the difference between groups and teams. Also predominantly we learnt about how a team is formed and the other stages that it goes through before adjourning.
Week 10: The last week’s focus was on interpersonal communication and the steps that can be taken to improve interpersonal communication taking place among people. We learnt that different interpersonal relationships require different forms of communication.
Cross cultural communication has become a very significant part of today’s communication in businesses. The rise in globalization has allowed people to travel to different parts of the world in search for jobs and this has created diverse organizations and hence has been created the need for effective cross cultural communication (Gurung & Prater, 2017). Most leading organizations have expanded to foreign geographic locations and have become multi-national companies. In such a scenario understanding cross cultural communication is highly significant.
Cross Cultural Communication
Cross cultural communication simply refers to the process of communicating with people coming from different cultures (Mead & Jones, 2017). Cross cultural communication can often get very difficult owing to a number of barriers that come with this communication. Language barriers are the primary causes of ineffective communication in a cross cultural setting. Besides this, the lack of understanding about each other’s cultural or even the lack of willingness to understand different cultures also forms a barrier hampering the effectiveness of cross cultural communication (Prasad, 2015).
In order for it to be effective, cross cultural communication and its importance must be ingrained in the organization’s culture at its very core (Warren, 2017). There are several ways to do that. Firstly, it is important efforts are put to break the stereotypes around different cultures as they form of the biggest barriers to effective cross cultural communication (Samovar, Porter, McDaniel & Roy, 2014). The leaders of the business must be extra cautious to create a culture of openness regarding cultural learning and awareness. Leadership plays a significant role in ensuring effective cross cultural communication (Neuliep, 2017). Businesses must also offer trainings to employees wherein they can learn about different cultural mannerisms and hence be able to adopt to the same.
Adekola & Sergi (2016), stated that cross cultural communication if managed and implemented effectively can widen employee’s horizons and enhance their overall learning. Communication amongst different cultures is also known to enhance organizational productivity by offering new perspectives and outlooks (Luthans & Doh, 2018). Therefore managers must make cross cultural communication and priority and ensure that it is managed effectively enough to positively contribute to the business.
The sixth week’s agenda was to learn the art of giving effective presentations. During the week we not only learnt the theory behind presentation skills but we also practiced delivery of several presentations in class. The most significant impact of the week was that I was able to work towards overcoming the major stage fear. Though I have not entirely overcome it but I have surely taken a step towards it. The primary requirement of an effective presentation is overcoming the stage anxiety. That comes from being better prepared for the presentation. The first way to do that is to practice the presentation before actually delivering it. This practice can be done in front of the mirror or in front of friends or other close ones. Through this practices, it is essential to take feedback from the audience and work towards the same.
Presentation Skills
In order to deliver an effective presentation, it is also important to understand the audience and look at them in a positive light. It is critical that before delivering the presentation, the speaker is clear about the purpose of the presentation. A good presentation will always have an appropriate structure (Medina & Avant, 2015). This is why it is important to structure the presentation effectively. Lastly, it is recommended to have a plan B. The plan can include small tactics that can keep the audience engaged if you realize that the presentation is not going well. This part is very critical and only comes with diligent practice. The week’s learnings were significantly important to me because I wish to work in the field of sales and marketing and I understand that delivering presentations is an important aspect of effective business communication.
Organizations have different structures and these structures play a significant role in the kind and quality of business communication that takes place within the organization. Certain organizations are structured in a formal hierarchy on that other hand certain organizations have adopted a flat structure. The difference in communication between these organizations would be significant. In a formal organization, communication or information flow from top to bottom (Bolman & Deal, 2017). On the other hand a flat organization would have a more open flow of communication which is boundaryless in nature (Ashkenas, Ulrich, Jick & Kerr, 2015).
Organization structure also plays a significant role is defining the culture of the organization. A formal culture will adopt a formal flow of communication while a flat and informal organization would adopt an informal flow of communication. This does not mean that flat organizations do not have formal communication but this suggests that flat organizations are more open to different flows of communication. Communication in such organizations comes from any direction and is appreciated.
The leaders of the business have a significant role to play in defining the flow of communication, culture of the organization and the structure of the same. This week’s learnings were specifically helpful for me as they helped me understand how these structures and cultures impact communication. I would like to work in an organization that is freer and open to communication and the structure is flat.
Conclusion
Business communication and its efficacy have played significant roles in guiding organizations and its employees for a long time. Communication within the organization as well as communication with all external and internal stakeholders of the business plays a significant role in success of the business. There are various factors and elements that encompass business communication. This course and the learnings from ten weeks helped us in understanding exactly that. Different organizations adopt different communication styles, channels, flow and patterns. There is no right and wrong but what is important is to understand which communication style or which communication channel would be most effective for that particular organization.
The report is a reflection upon the learnings from the course. The first section highlights upon significant learnings from each of the ten weeks during the course. The second section throws light upon what significant authors have written about Cross cultural communication and what is the status of the literature on the same subject. The last section is divided into two parts and highlights specifically upon two learnings from the course that are personally important to me. This included the impact of organizational culture and structure on communication as well as the art of giving effective presentations. The overall course has been a learning ride and the learnings are sure to help us in incorporating more effectiveness in the business communications that we encounter.
References
Adekola, A., & Sergi, B. S. (2016). Global business management: A cross-cultural perspective. Routledge. United Kingdom.
Ashkenas, R., Ulrich, D., Jick, T., & Kerr, S. (2015). The boundaryless organization: Breaking the chains of organizational structure. John Wiley & Sons. United States.
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. John Wiley & Sons. United States.
Gurung, A., & Prater, E. (2017). A research framework for the impact of cultural differences on IT outsourcing. In Global Sourcing of Services: Strategies, Issues and Challenges (pp. 49-82).
Luthans, F., & Doh, J. P. (2018). International management: Culture, strategy, and behavior. McGraw-Hill. United States.
Mead, R., & Jones, C. J. (2017). Cross?Cultural Communication. The Blackwell Handbook of Cross?Cultural Management, 283-291.
Neuliep, J. W. (2017). Intercultural communication: A contextual approach. Sage Publications. United States.
Prasad, R. (2015). Cross-cultural communication. Educating Young Children: Learning and Teaching in the Early Childhood Years, 21(3), 21.
Samovar, L. A., Porter, R. E., McDaniel, E. R., & Roy, C. S. (2014). Intercultural communication: A reader. Cengage Learning. United States.
Scott, W. R. (2015). Organizations and organizing: Rational, natural and open systems perspectives. Routledge. United Kingdom.
Warren, T. L. (2017). Cross-cultural Communication: Perspectives in theory and practice. Routledge. United Kingdom.
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