Learning from Each Week
Effective business communication forms a solid backbone for any business. Communication helps the business in connecting with stakeholders as well as building positive relationships with them. The course has taken us on a journey covering several elements of effective communication including interpersonal communication, cross cultural communication as well as non-verbal communication. The essay has been divided into three sections. The first section offers a brief learning from each week. The second section highlights upon the literature review of cross cultural communication. The last section talks about interpersonal communication as well as the importance of effective presentation.
Week 1: The first week of the course taught us about different kinds of communication. We were introduced to different kinds of communication like interpersonal, intra-personal, cross cultural and public organizational.
Week 2: The most important learning of second week was understanding the importance of listening and the role played by listening in an effective communication. The listening process comprises of several steps which are essential to ensure efficient listening.
Week 3: The third week was all about written communication. This was important because we encounter several forms of written communication in our everyday lives including letters, memos, emails and reports. The most important thing learnt was the art of making a competent resume and cover letter as well as the golden rules to crack the selection criteria.
Week 4: During week 4, we learnt about academic writing. The week helped in us in understanding plagiarism and how to effectively use references when taking ideas from someone else’s work.
Week 5: The fifth week helped in writing a reflective essay. Such essays are usually a reflection on one self and require immense thought process before writing. The analysis and the critical evaluation of a reflective essay is very important.
Week 6: During the sixth week we learnt the art of delivering an effective presentation. Most importantly, I learnt about how to overcome communication and presentation anxiety. This can be achieved by preparing well and having an optimistic attitude.
Week 7: During the seventh week, we learnt about cross cultural communication that takes place between people coming from different cultures. It was important to learn because of increasing number of diverse teams in organization. We also learnt on how to be more accepting towards people from different cultures and breaking stereotypes to communicate better.
Week 8: The eighth week taught about communication channels and styles practiced in an organization. Some organizations have a rather formal communication channel while some organizations practice informal and open communication which fosters transparency.
Literature Review of Cross Cultural Communication
Week 9: During this week we learnt about communication within groups and teams. We also learnt about the five stages that a team undergoes. This helped in a deeper understanding about how to effectively manage a team.
Week 10: During the last week, we learnt about different interpersonal communication with several people in our lives. We also learnt about aggressive communication and the role that it plays in business communication. We also learnt about an entire taxonomy of aggressive communication like swearing, threatening, attacking on a personal front like character or competence, ridiculing or teasing.
The advent of globalization and technology has allowed a free flow of information, resources, people and technology from one place to another. Organizations across the globe are becoming more diverse in nature. This is has also led to an increasing need for effective cross cultural communication. Tjosvold (2017) suggests that effective cross cultural communication is essential for the success of any organization. If the cross cultural communication is not efficiently managed then it can lead to several conflicts and misunderstandings. Cross cultural management requires a basic understanding of different cultures. There are efforts that need to be taken from all the involved stakeholders in order to ensure a smooth communication process.
The foremost step in cross cultural communication is to know different cultures, understand them and learn about them. Employees recruited in a cross cultural or diverse organizations must be open to learning about different cultures (Thomas & Peterson, 2017). Having an open mind towards understanding different cultures can go a long way in ensuring a smooth flow of communication among employees.
Training and development must be offered to employees working in diverse firms. These training sessions must be inclined towards garnering information about different cultures and sharing the same with employees. The aim of the training session would be know enough about a different culture to be able to effectively communicate with employees from that culture. The nature of these training sessions can be formal or informal (Holmes & Stubbe, 2015). Training regarding cross cultural communication can lead to increased levels of information and awareness.
The efficacy of cross cultural communication as well as the openness to learn about different culture often trickles down from top to bottom. Therefore leadership of an organization plays a critical role in ensuring efficient cross cultural communication within the organization (Bird & Mendenhall, 2016). More importantly leaders of diverse organization must be able to cultivate a culture wherein cross cultural communication is learnt and appreciated. Leaders of such organization must lead by example and create an environment of learning.
Importance of Effective Presentation
There are various kinds of stereotypes associated with foreign cultures. These stereotypes often blind our learning towards that culture thereby hampering our communication with someone belonging to that culture. Such stereotypes are one of the most significant barriers to cross cultural communication (Jenifer & Raman, In order to effectively indulge in any cross cultural communication, it is essential to break these stereotypes and offer a clean slate.
Research also indicates that with the growth of technology, social media also plays a critical role in smoothening cross cultural communication (Ray, 2014). Social media offers a learning platform for individuals to connect with other individuals from all across the globe. Individuals who are active on social media tend to be more comfortable with cross cultural communication as opposed to people who are not active social media users. Leaders must in fact encourage employees from different parts of the world to connect with each other on social media. That is in face one of the most transparent and quick tools to learn about an employee’s culture and lifestyle.
Globalization is a reality and the number of diverse organizations will only increase from now on. Therefore it is recommended that employees are open to learning about different cultures and more comfortable in the process of interacting with cross cultural employees. The ability to effectively managing cross cultural communication offers an advantage to organizations now but soon this will become needed (Martin, 2014). Thereby managers must put efforts and make the understanding of cross cultural communication a priority.
During week 6 we learnt about the art of giving effective presentations. Since I was very young, I have a massive stage fear and it is very difficult for me to present anything in front of a large audience. Presentations are an effective way to share a thought or an idea with a large group of people. Through this course, I was able to address this weakness and learn more about effective presentation skills. I worked towards overcoming this communication anxiety. This can be done be being very well prepared about the presentation. Our teacher recommended that we could first practice this in front of the mirror or in front of close ones. Secondly, we must think positively about the audience. Very often we worry about their judgement and that makes us nervous. Before going on stage, it is important to believe that the audience is positive and you share an optimistic equation with them. Lastly, the important thing to do is to develop of a contingency plan in case something goes wrong. Referring to cue cards, changing sentences, apologizing and switching to a new topic are some ways of dealing with the situation.
Cross Cultural Communication
It is also important to analyse the audience in advance. Understand their demographics and their responsiveness towards other speakers. Keeping audience engaged by asking questions or involving them in the presentation is also an effective way of keeping them interested in the presentation. As a speaker, one must be clear about their purpose and aim of the presentation. An effective presentation must always be structured (Medina & Avant, 2015). This particular topic is important for my future career aspirations because every organization requires presentations and this week’s learning helped me improve my presentation skills.
The tenth week helped me in learning more about interpersonal communication. Any form of communication between two or more people is known as interpersonal communication. Employees engage in interpersonal communication all the time and therefore effective interpersonal communication is a priority for smooth communication in an organization. I learnt that there are three styles of interpersonal communication. These three styles are passive, aggressive and assertive (Ota & Price, 2015). Aggressive communication involves attacking the other person instead of adding on to their communication. Swearing, teasing, attacks character, competence or background are all forms of aggressive communication. This kind of communication must be avoided at all costs.
This particular topic is essential for my career because it has helped me learn different styles of communication and how to deal with people communicating in different styles. Indulging in aggressive communication frequently can lead to reduced job satisfaction and organizational commitment (Yuan, Besley & Ma, 2018). Interpersonal communication with one another plays a significant role in the functioning of an organization (Hargie, 2016). It is important that one practices an assertive communication style. This would reflect upon the individual’s confidence as well as the ability to communicate effectively. Sometimes it is also important to be a passive communicator. What is most important is that individuals must be able to identify the right communication style for different situations and resort to the same to ensure effective communication.
Conclusion
Effectiveness of business communication is crucial for the success of any organization. Through the duration of these ten weeks, we learn several aspects of business communication that has helped in becoming better communicators. This essay throws light upon my learnings from the course. There are several areas of effective communication that would continue to help me in my career. The essay also talks about a literature review on cross cultural communication, its increasing importance and the need to manage it effectively. The last section of the essay talks about two important topics that I learnt through this course that would have a significant impact on my career. These two topics include interpersonal communication and presentation skills. Both the topics and the learning from these weeks have helped me improve upon my communication skills. Overall the course has been an immense learning experience and I am sure that the learnings from this course will help me in my future career.
References
Bird, A., & Mendenhall, M. E. (2016). From cross-cultural management to global leadership: Evolution and adaptation. Journal of World Business, 51(1), 115-126.
Hargie, O. (2016). Skilled interpersonal communication: Research, theory and practice. Routledge. United Kingdom.
Holmes, J., & Stubbe, M. (2015). Power and politeness in the workplace: A sociolinguistic analysis of talk at work. Routledge. United Kingdom.
Jenifer, R. D., & Raman, G. P. (2015). Cross-cultural communication barriers in the workplace. Internafional Journal of Management, 6(1), 348-351.
Martin, G. C. (2014). The effects of cultural diversity in the workplace. Journal of Diversity Management (Online), 9(2), 89.
Medina, M. S., & Avant, N. D. (2015). Delivering an effective presentation. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 72(13), 1091-1094.
Ota, C., & Price, D. (2015). The Assertive Practitioner: How to improve early years practice through effective communication. Routledge. United Kingdom.
Ray, D. (2014). Overcoming cross-cultural barriers to knowledge management using social media. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 27(1), 45-55.
Thomas, D. C., & Peterson, M. F. (2017). Cross-cultural management: Essential concepts. Sage Publications. United States.
Tjosvold, D. (2017). Cross-cultural management: foundations and future. Routledge. United Kingdom.
Yuan, S., Besley, J. C., & Ma, W. (2018). Be Mean or Be Nice? Understanding the Effects of Aggressive and Polite Communication Styles in Child Vaccination Debate. Health communication, 1-10.
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