Effective Business Communications: A Self-Reflection Essay

Diagnosis Tools

The purpose of this assessment is to write a self-reflection essay using a range of diagnostic tools and feedback in the identification of two key areas of personal capability that can be addressed to increase communication effectiveness.

1. 1. Diagnosis and Reflection

My communication styles across different communication areas such as active listening, verbal and nonverbal communication, and assertiveness perception have been different from one environment to another.

A). Diagnosis tools

While in the workplace, I have been confronted by the risk factor from my personal evaluation as well as from what my workmates and team members know about me. This is my open area. I have been free and driven by ambition to share new ideas and my personal and professional experience with the people in interact with (Weinstein, 2013). I have been able to build more trust within my inner self through disclosure of my ideas to other people.  Also, I have noted that people know more about me even without my awareness, and this has been my blind area. Further, I have always had personal secrets which I do not want the team members to get aware of, and this forms my hidden area.

This communication diagnostic tool has been useful in my professional and innovation skills analysis when it comes to verbal and nonverbal communication, active listening, and assertiveness perception (Castells, 2013). I have bee able to administer an online questionnaire to team members in the professional place, and this has made me help team members feel personally accountable for their duties and roles in the communication process.

Assertiveness questionnaire

I have always conducted self-assessment questionnaire when seeking for assistance, searching educational opportunities, and also resisting work pressures. In the workplace, sometimes communication has been ineffective resulting in conflicts. My assertion and ambition to understand workmates proficiency in verbal and nonverbal communication, I have been administering assertiveness questionnaires (Dainton & Zelley, 2014).

Electronic documentation

The electronic documentation communication diagnosis tool has been critical in my personal and professional life for it has been giving me a second opinion from the team members regarding what is right or wrong (Fisher & To, 2012). The integration of redesigned systems and online telephone access to consultants has been so helpful in giving feedback related to definitive diagnostic assessments as well as strategy testing.

Capability measurement diagnosis

Through my professional life, I have worked with different organizations whose recruitment policies differ. Some recruit skilled and highly qualified staff whose communication abilities are excellent, others do not (Gallois & Giles, 2015). In my tenure as a manager, I have always recommended recruitment of skilled and capable employees, and this has led to effective communication whether verbal or nonverbal.

Findings and Communication Issues

These findings include:

Johari Window: Under the Johari window diagnostic tool, I have learned that I have four environment areas that I interact with while in the workplace. This has helped me understand the importance of sharing my ideas with other people in the workplace as well as learning how to appreciate their thoughts too about me (Heath & Bryant, 2013). Further, I have realized that communicating a secret burning issue with close colleagues helps in communication effectiveness.

Communication Style Questionnaire: Under this diagnostic tool, I have learned that the administration of online communication style questionnaires to people is a measure of their creativeness and innovativeness (Kamerman & Kahn, 2010). Further, from the responses got from these online surveys, I have understood that people have different perceptions on supervisors communication skills.

Assertiveness questionnaire: I have generated several findings on communication effectiveness based on assertiveness questionnaires. First, seeking for other people’s assistance and ideas in leadership issues helps in communication assertiveness (Knapp, Vangelisti, & Caughlin, 2014). Most people feel valued when their ideas are accommodated and put into consideration when making decisions by the management.

Electronic documentation: Electronic documentation has been very useful in new strategy testing, and its sound application plays a critical role in nonverbal communication (Lindlof & Taylor, 2011). The integration of redesigned systems and online telephone access to consultants helps in giving feedback related to definitive diagnostic assessments and hence communication effectiveness.

Capability measurement diagnosis: There are various findings obtained from this diagnostic tool. First and foremost, verbal and nonverbal communication effectiveness within an organization depends on the communication capabilities of the involved stakeholders. Again, people are not talented in every field, and thus a proper integration of resources is required (McCroskey, 2015).

The two communication issues that need development are:

From the communication diagnosis tools, the key communication issues identified as requiring development are explained below:

Language barriers

Language barriers have been affecting communication effectiveness since different social settings have people whose industry experience, ethnic background, and ages differ. For example, capability measurement diagnosis sometimes fails due to improper understanding between people since the language used by the communicator may not be understandable to all (Mutz & Young, 2011). Also, language barrier negatively impacts on the electronic documentation and communication style questionnaire for people misunderstand and misinterpret the desired aim of the survey questions and thus end up giving wrong feedback.

Personal issues

Effective communication in a social setting has been subject to the parties responsible ability to respect, act ethically, and tolerate one another idea. Under the Johari window tool, in the quadrant whereby people know much about another, and in the instance that the person referred to does not know the information people know about him could be dangerous to personal secrecy and confidentiality (O’Neill, 2014). This is because some people may share one’s secret to other people something which may harm his or her reputation. This personal disagreement and damaging of one’s reputation hurts communication effectiveness.

Professional Interactions

C). Professional Interactions

In the last 12 months, I have attended several professional conferences and workshops where I have benchmarked with managers from other companies. From my experience, the language barrier has been having a challenge in the manner by which different managers pass their messages to others (Ozcan, 2014). I have noted that mother tongue affects the passing of information from one person to another. Due to the language barrier, the goals for professional conferences has to some extent failed. Therefore, the corporate sector needs to come up with a uniform professional style to enhance interpersonal communication effectiveness.

Professional meetings

During my 12 month tenure as a manager, I have always recommended management and employees meetings every three days a week. These meetings have been so useful in the evaluation of organizational areas of success as well as weak points. However, some meetings tend to be boring due to personal issues between some employees. Some team leaders representing the group in management meetings tend to spy on other personnel simply because of personal problems and grudges they hold against each other (Ozcan, 2014. The company needs encourage peer to peer communication to prevent isolation and dull working climate.

1. Literature Review

From my diagnosis and reflection on communication effectiveness, language barrier and personal issues effectiveness are the key communication issues identified and that need to be addressed (McCroskey, 2015). The absence of effective communication creates difficulties in policy creation, goals attainment, data production, and communication networks within a social setting.

Language barrier

Language barrier refers to the difficulties experienced by people within a certain social setting due to the use of different languages. The instances when people within the workplace do not understand each other, communication is a problem. From my experience, language barrier creates misunderstandings and information misinterpretations between the people involved or targetted (Norbury, 2014). In most instances, the speaker of information does not use the same language understandable by the receivers, and this diffuses the communication meaning.

Language barriers within the workplace are caused by differences in cultural background, varying industrial levels experience, age factor, regional accents, unclear speech, and poor word choices. I have observed that most managers in professional conferences use slang and jargons which cannot be understood by all people in the workshop due to professional, specialty, and technical field differences (McCroskey, 2015). The assertiveness questionnaire tool may be difficult to accomplish since the people being sampled might not be able to understand the questions without clear interpretation to their language.

Professional Meetings

The language barrier has been a significant factor behind most organizations failure. In the events when the managers do not entertain or consider junior staffs ideas when making critical decisions, this creates conflicts within the workplace (Kamerman & Kahn, 2010. The language barrier also leads to cultural resistance within an organization. From my experience, some people who feel that their language and culture is being undermined create the cultural resistance whose impact to the firm is always adverse.

Personal issues

Personal issues refer to the problems resulting from personal disagreement in respect to personal concerns and affairs. Based on the diagnostic tool of Johari window, personal issues hinders interpersonal communication effectiveness. When employees allow personal issues to affect an organization’s communication, interpersonal communication becomes a problem which is difficult to track down and resolve. From my experience, some team leaders present reports to the supervisor based on personal issue and conflicts with their team members (Castells, 2013. In the instances when the team leader feels pressure and the professional threat from a team member, this makes him or her not to value the subordinates creative idea in the management report. Refusing to consider one’s idea in the field report grounded on personal disagreement damages the firm’s ability to carry out business as well as slowing organizational growth.

Personal issues existing between a supervisor and a team member should not be dragged into the firm matters. From the feedbacks obtained in the diagnostic tools, negative communication includes misinterpretation, employees slander, and false rumors. When personal issues raise, wrong information is given to the management. When people cannot understand each other at the subordinate level, conflicts arise, and this hinders communication competitiveness. This needs to get addressed so as to improve a firm’s productivity, employee performance, morale, and commitment, and increase creativity and innovativeness (Heath & Bryant, 2013). From experience, conferences attended by business managers may be or may not be successful depending on the company relationships. Some managers passive their competing firms to be rivals, this makes them fear to share relevant information with other practitioners.

To demonstrate the effective practice and solve communication issues within an organization, various models and practical behaviors need to get prepared and implemented. People’s behaviors determine the effectiveness of communication within the workplace (Gallois & Giles, 2015). The models and behaviors that need to be employed by the management to eliminate language barrier and personal issues as explained below:

Language barrier elimination models and behaviors

Translation of all relevant documents. The management of different companies needs to translate all relevant documents into the primary language of the personnel. Investing in free translation websites within an organization is the best model to language barrier resolution. As a result, effective communication will be enhanced

Provision of language classes and training programs for a firm’s employees grounded by business language requirements (Gallois & Giles, 2015). The management needs to teach people the work words, warnings, and phrases on the organizational communication elements for them to perform at the firm’s performance standards.

Ensure information interpretation to all employees when giving critical instructions to make sure that conflicts will not arise. Interpretation of instructions to employees will help the management get the right feedback from the personnel. Always, some people within an organization are fluent, and the firms should maximize this talent.

Incorporation of visual language communication methods to help employees understand important information. The use of videos and pictures as much as possible will convey instructions safety and harmonized work policies (Newman-Toker & Pronovost, 2009). The management should use instructional manuals beyond just audio; this eliminates language barriers.

Showing respect to one another. The primary cause of personal issues is disrespect between the involved parties, and this needs to get stopped. Solving personal issues barrier to effective communication rests on personal responsibility, the management should urge the employees to show respect, cooperation, and tolerance to one another (Colquitt, Lepine, & Wesson, 2011). By this doing, the right feedback will be gathered since everyone feels free to share their ideas and opinions.

Disclose your personal issues to someone.  The surest way of resolving personal issues in communication is revealing your personal bad feelings to someone; this helps in understanding the matter and coming up with an amicable solution (McShane & Von Glinow, 2011). Organizations should have icons within the workplace known to resolve personal issues. Such people include mentors for they remove any underlying dilemma.

Reinforcing a positive outlook. The organization should establish a conducive work environment and culture that recommends a pretty natural positive outlook amongst the workforce. Positive organizational outlook helps all employees respect the management as well as the team members; this reduces any possibility of personal biases.

Break down silos. Transparency of communication requires the management to break down silos as well as enabling a boundary-less work environment whose culture is focused on communication effectiveness (Newman-Toker & Pronovost, 2009).  Organization silos create workplace personal problems that hinder communication section.

3). Action Plan

In conclusion, this personal reflection essay develops an action plan for key events and activities that can be undertaken over the next six months to acquire the knowledge and behaviors identified as required in addressing communication issues in component one. Undertaking short courses

First and foremost, I would undertake short management courses such as guidance and counseling certificate courses, conflict and disaster resolution courses, and corporate strategies training sessions (McShane & Von Glinow, 2011). These courses would help me gain excellent skills of conflict resolution which as a result would lead to communication effectiveness. Also, the study of guidance and counseling will equip me with excellent skills to advise employees on how to cope and tolerate employees with diverse ideas.

As a learner, I would not settle for less neither will I get satisfied with my current education level and management skills. In the next six months, I am looking forward to enrolling in a postgraduate degree program that relates to communication course at the Central Queensland (CQ) University. These communication studies will increase my aggression towards gaining the right skills of confronting personal issues and language barriers within the workplace (Jackson, Firtko, & Edenborough, 2007).

A reading plan to acquire conceptual knowledge

On the enrollment to advanced postgraduate communication faculty program at CQ University, I would design a reading plan that I will follow strictly to have sufficient time for study. It is only through intensive research that I think I will acquire the necessary conceptual knowledge to solve communication issues within the workplace (Bembridge, Levett-Jones, & Jeong, 2011). A reading plan will benefit me in studying the right communication topic at the right time.

Maintaining personal journals

As a manager, I will always keep personal journals for both my professional and educational profile. Journals will help me articulate work ethics and communication goals with clarity (Colquitt, Lepine, & Wesson, 2011). Keeping personal journals will help me reflect on past mistakes and always come up with a permanent record of communication progresses when it comes to language barrier of personal issues resolution.

Mentor identification

Identifying a mentor has always been my dream which has never come to happen. However, this is the best time for the dream to come true since in the next six months I will have identified my personal and professional life mentor (Allen, Finkelstein, & Poteet, 2011). Having a professional mentor will always help me share my personal issues that I have with other people in the workplace and always get the right advice over which I can calm down my tempers. 

Measuring successfulness of the action plans

The Gantt chart below shows the actional items explained above with their respective timelines in the next six months: 

Undertaking short courses

Undertaking advanced postgraduate courses

A reading plan to acquire conceptual knowledge

Maintaining personal journals

Mentor identification

Completion/ the end

1st Month 2nd-month     3rd-month      4th-month          5th-month 6th month

1st-month 2nd-month     3rd-month      4th-month          5th-month 6th month 

End of activity 1 and 2 for month 1 and 2 End of activity 5 in 4.5 months

Mentor identification

In measuring the successfulness of these five actions plans, the above Gantt chart is useful. First, I would identify some resources used in implementing these activities. Second, I would analyze whether these activities were completed in the assigned period just as shown on the chart.

References

Allen, T. D., Finkelstein, L. M., & Poteet, M. L. (2011). Designing workplace mentoring programs: An evidence-based approach (Vol. 30). John Wiley & Sons.

Bembridge, E., Levett-Jones, T., & Jeong, S. Y. S. (2011). The transferability of information and communication technology skills from university to the workplace: a qualitative descriptive study. Nurse Education Today, 31(3), 245-252.

Castells, M. (2013). Communication power. OUP Oxford.

Colquitt, J., Lepine, J. A., & Wesson, M. J. (2011). Organizational behavior: Improving performance and commitment in the workplace. McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Dainton, M., & Zelley, E. D. (2014). Applying communication theory for professional life: A practical introduction. Sage publications.

Fisher, C. D., & To, M. L. (2012). Using experience sampling methodology in organizational behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33(7), 865-877.

Gallois, C., & Giles, H. (2015). Communication accommodation theory. The international encyclopedia of language and social interaction.

Heath, R. L., & Bryant, J. (2013). Human communication theory and research: Concepts, contexts, and challenges. Routledge.

Jackson, D., Firtko, A., & Edenborough, M. (2007). Personal resilience as a strategy for surviving and thriving in the face of workplace adversity: a literature review. Journal of advanced nursing, 60(1), 1-9.

Kamerman, S. B., & Kahn, A. J. (2010). The responsive workplace: Employers and a changing labor force. Columbia University Press.

Knapp, M. L., Vangelisti, A. L., & Caughlin, J. P. (2014). Interpersonal Communication & Human Relationships. Pearson Higher Ed.

Lindlof, T. R., & Taylor, B. C. (2011). Qualitative communication research methods. Sage.

McCroskey, J. C. (2015). Introduction to rhetorical communication. Routledge.

McShane, S., & Von Glinow, M. (2011). M: Organizational behavior. Irwin/McGraw-Hill.

Mutz, D. C., & Young, L. (2011). Communication and Public Opinion Plus Ça Change?. Public Opinion Quarterly, 75(5), 1018-1044.

Newman-Toker, D. E., & Pronovost, P. J. (2009). Diagnostic errors—the next frontier for patient safety. Jama, 301(10), 1060-1062.

Norbury, C. F. (2014). Practitioner review: Social (pragmatic) communication disorder conceptualization, evidence and clinical implications. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 55(3), 204-216.

O’Neill, J. (2014). Introduction. In Broadband as a Video Platform (pp. 1-9). Springer International Publishing.

Ozcan, A. (2014). Mobile phones democratize and cultivate next-generation imaging, diagnostics and measurement tools. Lab on a chip, 14(17), 3187-3194.

Weinstein, D. (2013). Bureaucratic opposition: Challenging abuses at the workplace. Elsevier.