Reflection On Communication In Business Essay.

Write a reflection on Communication in Business.

Discovering the Importance of Conflict Resolution and Interpersonal Skills

Throughout the course of communication in business I pursued this year, which involve units on conflict management and interpersonal skills, I have attained multiple goals that I once thought were unachievable. I have developed not only as a student but also as an individual.  During my encounter with these topics on Communication in Business, I have garnered necessary skills, confidence and knowledge that is expected in the real world of business. I learnt that conflict management and interpersonal skills play a vital to role in the success of a company. I have observed through my personal experience the impact of lack of conflict resolution and poor interpersonal skills to individuals and the organization. Therefore, I will need to apply the techniques provided in class for the rest of my career.

During the progress of my course, we were assigned groups and I got the chance to work with four different members. I was aware that conflicts are often experienced in every organization on a daily basis and I was likely to experience similar thing (Center for Creative, 2013). Although, it is not easy to avoid, the fact remains that it is probable to solve them. Basing on my personal encounter, I believe that a sign of a conflict should be detected before it overthrows the relationship between people in a working environment. Moreover, I pinpointed the fact that, to accomplish assigned tasks in an organization demands teamwork, alliance and originality among employees (Terason, 2018). What’s more, I realized that lack of teamwork might lead to a disagreement because differing personality traits.

 On our respective groups, we were expected to do an assignment on climate change in Brazil. I found myself in a situation where some group members did not participate at all while other argued on who was good enough to make the presentation in class. I discovered that the task was too complicated especially when the weather was quite unpredictable and we could not come up with enough facts to supports our findings.  This was as a result of my failure to inform other group members about the right procedures we were supposed to use while carrying out our research.  We had limited resources, lack of teamwork and poor communication that made it more complicated to carry out the task. Having observed the process of conflict resolution, I steadily understood the major styles employed during a conflict resolution.  A company succeed if conflicts are detected and resolved in an appropriate manner (Gallicano, 2013).  The overall manager employs their interpersonal skills to put a disagreement to an end (Benitez, Medina & Munduate ,2018). I was able to assemble my group members and partitioned the task equally so that each member had a part to research on. I actually observed positive response and better communication among them during the presentation day.

The Impact of Lack of Teamwork, Poor Communication, and Limited Resources in the Workplace

However, I felt disappointed to note that for the limited time were assigned, some group members accomplished no reasonable work because of lack of confidence, teamwork and poor communication. All things considered, I realized that it stands out that many people who are involved in a disagreement seek for support from other people (Hennessy,2017).  I was dissatisfied that I did not detect the mistake earlier. After, directing the group members to perform various tasks, I was happy to learn that I had done a relevant job. From this experience, I realized that communication between the employees and the management is essential (Turnley, 2011). Also, I witnessed the negative results that are associated with lack of teamwork, poor communication and limited resources both in workplace and among the students.

I will be participating in similar group works   in future. As a result, I will strive to resolve conflicts among the leaders and my coworkers using the methods that I experience during the course. For instance, the use of various conflict management styles or stages (Spaho, 2013) They include, dominance, integration, compromise, avoiding and cooperativeness. I will be in a position to evaluate the conflict management strategies to refine my relationship with other employees and the management. I was disappointed to learn that most managers can literally refuse to attend to the subordinates in cases of disagreements. Significantly, I believe that in order to resolve a conflict, it is important to seek for forgives from others whenever there is a misunderstanding (Munduate et al ,2018).  Furthermore, I need to apply mediation strategy in cases of more complicated conflicts.

During class presentation on climate change in Brazil, I was accepted among the group members to generate ideas that were useful to make the presentation successful. However, I received an opposition from other group members who did not agree with me on some things. I got myself in a situation where I was struggling to prove my skills to the group members. The only thing I thought of during that time was to listen keenly to the opinions of group members before generating my own.  At this point, listening to the opinions of other people provided me with confidence during communication of my opinions because I was able to learn from others general matters that I was not even aware of (Piper, 2017). Importantly, I was able to absorb information on developing issues on climate change which made me develop my opinions more effectively. Having this in mind, (Center for Creative, 2013) agrees that listening enable individuals to make relevant decisions and resolve their problems. From my personal point of view, when I was paying attention to my teammates earned me acceptance since people view listening to being polite and compassionate.

Improving Communication through Active Listening and Effective Body Language

Proofing to my teammates that I had all it took to participate in the presentation, seemed like a victory to me. I felt empowered because it felt good to address other group members with relevant information on how we were supposed to work together. In this case, I experienced   a reduction in workload and I was able to interact with others. Another key concept to remember is the skills that are required in organizations to provide a conducive phenomenon for communication (Vagnoni, Lewis, Tajadura-Jiménez & Cardini, 2018).  I was able to integrate both verbal and nonverbal cues to improve my person wellness that garnered me confidence while interacting with my fellow colleagues.  I realized that Strategies that are efficient to employ in a working environment include the use of appropriate eye contact, body movement and posture. For me, an organization that creates tranquil environment fosters interpersonal relationships among employees.

I have seen through my personal encounter the impacts of poor listening skills and inappropriate body language. As a result, the use of relevant questions used by individuals in a company should be appropriate for a given situation. I now believe that the lesson taught on interpersonal skills are designed to make appropriate to prepare one for positive interaction with other people at work and at school. Rather, I was able to see that communication plays a significant role in establishing personal relationship (Dabke, 2015). In order to reflect on the relevant situation, I discovered that people tend to use various questions to obtain information from others.

However, I noted that most people tend to use irrelevant questions which lead to conflict. I became aware that most people employ straight forward probe while questioning a person. I have been observing individual as they provide feedback to advice or criticize the opinions of others (Snell, 2016).  When other group members had provided their findings on climate change in Brazil, I got the chance to give my feedback. Considering a working environment, I discovered that feedback is effective if it formal and accurate. The feedback I provided to the team was based on the behavioral changes and provided solution to problems (Hynes, 2012). Nonetheless, I noticed people who tend to provide unfair feedback that attacks the personality traits of individuals rather than the behavior. I agree that if a feedback do not provide solution to a given problem, it is ineffective and should be avoided.

Understanding the Importance of Feedback in Establishing Positive Interpersonal Relationships

Because I will be interacting with people from diverse cultural backgrounds, I will ensure that I employ various interpersonal skills at work. In most cases, verbal and nonverbal communication contradicts depend on the diversity of the culture. I believe before employing any form of body language, a person should be aware of the norms governing a particular community.  I have taken into account that head movements and facial expressions is suppressed by cultural, emotional and social status of an individual (Ra?ková, 2015). I will also establish a personal distance   because people tend to value distance at work.

I will be conscious in my dressing code at work because it sends various ideas to people. similarly, eye contact differs across communities hence creating a misunderstanding in working environment. Tonal variations during a conversation might distort the message (Piper, 2017).   I realized that the Pitch of men is lower than that of women hence can convey different meanings. Likewise, clothing can send a different message to people. In general, I agree that the surrounding of a company plays a significant role in promoting interpersonal skills among individuals.

In future, I will be in a position to employs relevant interpersonal skills at work and employ relevant conflict management strategies at work. I believe that it is critical to learn conflicting management styles that are used during conflict resolution. The basic skills on interpersonal relationships will come in handy during my interaction with people from divers e communities. Before, I thought that conflicts were associated with negative results but is now clear that positive   results can be achieved. For me, effective response not only addresses the behavior of an individual but also provide solution to a given problem. Dressing code and personal space should be given more attention. From here, I will be able to embrace diverse cultural believes that dictate the code of conduct among individuals.

References

Benitez, M., Medina, F. J., & Munduate, L. (2018). Buffering Relationship Conflict Consequences in Teams Working in Real Organizations. International Journal of Conflict Management (Emerald), 29(2), 279-297.

Center for Creative Leadership (2013) Interpersonal Savvy: Building and Maintaining Solid Working Relationships, Greensboro, N.C.: Center for Creative Leadership Press

Dabke, D. (2015) Soft Skills as A Predictor of Perceived Internship Effectiveness and Permanent Placement Opportunity. IUP Journal of Soft Skills, 9, 4, Pp. 26-42

Gallicano, TD. (2013) Internal Conflict Management and Decision Making: A Qualitative Study of a Multitiered Grassroots Advocacy Organization. Journal of Public Relations Research, 25, 4, Pp. 368-388

 Hennessy, J. (2017) Book Review: The Oxford Handbook of Conflict Management in Organizations. Irish Journal of Management, 36, 1, Pp. 60-61

Hynes, GE. (2012) Improving Employees’ Interpersonal Communication Competencies: A Qualitative Study. Business Communication Quarterly, 75, 4, Pp. 466-475,

Piper, A. (2017) The Dynamics of Interpersonal Behavior. Internal Auditor, 74, 3, Pp. 50-55,

Ra?ková, K. (2015) Towards Selected Interpersonal Skills in Management. Social & Economic Revue, 13, 4, Pp. 68-70,

Snell, R. (2016) It Is Difficult to Be a Highly Effective Compliance Professional Without Interpersonal Skills. Journal of Health Care Compliance, 18, 1, Pp. 31-34,

Spaho, K. (2013) organizational Communication and Conflict Management. Management: Journal of Contemporary Management Issues, 18, 1, Pp. 103-118

Turnley, C. (2011) Everything You Need to Know About a Leader's Obligation in Conflict Management, [New market, Ont.]:

Vagnoni, E, Lewis, J, Tajadura-Jiménez, A, & Cardini, F. (2018) Listening to a conversation with aggressive content expands the interpersonal space. Plos ONE, 13, 3, pp. 1-13,