Reflective Blog: 10-1- Aspects of effective communication

I would have to say that between my work and personal life, 95% of my waking hours are spent communicating. I would like to focus on five important aspects in relation to communication within an organization environment. These points include active listening, emotional control, the importance of manners, email etiquette and the the use of proper language while communicating. I will use some examples based on my working environment within a Law Office.

                                  

Active Listening:

In order to properly and effectively receive a message, it is vastly important to disregard distractions and listen intently to the communication being given. It is important to give full attention to the speaker. I have experienced situations where I have been involved in communication involving a great deal of conflict. Instead of focusing entirely on the person speaking,  in the back of my mind I have been formulating some plan of attack to respond to the individual. In doing this, I have often missed important points being made, which has caused an interruption in the flow of the communication.

http://www.automationworld.com/automation-team/automation-team-manage-your-emotions

Emotional Control:

It is very important to keep a balanced emotional state while you are communicating with others. In an office environment, you are often surrounded by chaos and that can take its toll on your personal feelings and behaviors. The way in which you portray emotions can have a great effect on the way that your organization is viewed by others. The firm’s reputation can be scarred if a legal assistant is notorious for getting outwardly upset in handling a difficult file. I have been in situations at work that have threatened my patience and my ability to handle a particular circumstance. I find that removing myself from the situation, collecting my thoughts and preparing an appropriate response is the best way to deal with an emotionally demanding situation. Emotions can certainly affect the tone of your voice, the speed in which you speak, as well as the organization and format of written communication.

    http://justincaseyouwerewondering.com/2011/08/08/why-manners-matter-more-than-marketing/

Use the manners your mother gave you:

I really don’t think that there is anything worse than dealing with someone who is lacking in the manner department. Bad manners can cause a lack of respect, lack of trust in your ability to handle situations and can negatively affect your reputation. I have been involved in phone conversations at work, where the legal assistant on the opposite side of the transaction has hung up on me, failed to say goodbye at the end of the conversation, and spoken to me through speaker phone for prolonged periods. Good manners can include being polite on the phone, using appropriate language in all communications, responding promptly to voice messages and emails and being respectful of people when language barriers exist.

                                         http://st-caths-web.co.uk/?attachment_id=10657

Email Etiquette:

In my work, a large part of my day is spent constructing and responding to emails. Some important lessons I have learned involve:

-proper salutations;

-using spell/grammar check;

-avoidance of continuous caps lock-all capital emails look as though you are being yelled at!;

-refraining from swear words and other inappropriate language;

-avoiding slang;

-ensuring that your email is being sent to the intended recipient-often times when you begin inserting an email address into the recipient section, it will be automatically filled in. I have experienced this as both a sender and receiver. Sending an email to the wrong person could have disastrous consequences!

                        http://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/language-wars-and-proper-english

Proper Language:

It is very important to use correct language in both spoken and written communication. Using appropriate, well organized sentences, shows that you have put some thought into your communications. If you are employed within a high level position at an organization, it makes sense to be portrayed as being professional, educated and well organized. This week at work, I was involved in a telephone conversation with a corporate representative from an office supply company. There were some issues in the delivery of some purchases. The woman was getting frustrated with her computer and said "Oh poop" on more than one occasion. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. That is not something I would say to a casual acquaintance on the phone, let along someone that I was doing business with!

Thank you for following me in my journey of Management 255-Introduction to Management at SAIT.This have been a great first blogging experience for me, and I hope that I was able to offer some insight into the various topics of discussion for management.

Reflective Blog 9-2: My Change Theory-Inspired by Gordon Ramsey

http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/tv/hotel-hell/EP01478786

Last night I was watching a new show on t.v called "Hotel Hell", featuring the infamous Gordon Ramsey. In this particular episode, he visited a high end country estate rooming house that was in desperate need of a transformation. After an exasperating few days of observing the hotel owners fail at their business tasks, Gordon Ramsey confidently stated his objective of instituting some much needed change.

I am inspired by the knowledge and business sense that Ramsey possesses and would hope that I could manage organizational change as effectively as he does.  My own personal change theory includes thoroughly identifying/reviewing the cause for concern, introducing the change to the organization accompanied by positive rewards/benefits and following up the organizational transformation with positive attention and affirmation to the employees.

In the first aspect of my theory, I would ensure that much thought and attention was placed on the discovery and acknowledgement of the problem. I would make it clear that the road to finding a solution would not be possible, unless employees were able to contribute their ideas, concerns and critiques of the situation. I would organize special meetings for various levels of staff and these would be dedicated to identifying the current issues being experienced within the company. I think it would be great to make the employees feel like their opinions matter within the business.

The second aspect would involve incorporating the desired change, accompanied by positive rewards and benefits for the staff. To ease the stress and related issues with the transformation, extra perks would be made available (bonus flex days, extra holidays days, gift cards, company excursions, etc.) These positive activities/monetary symbols would go hand in hand with change. It would help staff to realize that extra efforts and a willingness to conform to new ideas could result in positive outcomes and hopefully they would associate all future decisions with the idea that awards may be available. I personally would be more receptive to contributing to a change process if I knew that my cooperation and good attitude would be awarded.

The third aspect of the theory is my favourite. It involves ensuring that positive affirmation is professed to the employees involved in the change process. I think that it is very important that the staff feel that they are a wanted presence within the organization. Some individuals may feel that a big change would warrant the entrance and exit of employees and it would be beneficial to give them the extra confidence that their jobs would be secure.....with hard work in return of course!
Till next time :)

Reflective Blog 8-2: Critical Incident Analysis

This past year I was involved in an online class, which featured an in depth group project worth 50% of the final course mark. The group consisted of 4 students and the majority of all communications were done through email, texting and telephone conversations. It was a well-known fact that the instructor for this particular class was extremely demanding and possessed a track record for failing students, sometimes more than once.

In the initial planning phase of the project, all 4 team members were enthusiastic to begin the assignment. There were various emails sent that professed everyone’s desire to get an A, not only on the project but on the final course mark. All group members were very motivated and positive about completing the delegated tasks. Over time, the commitment and attention to the group objectives began to sharply decline. Regular team contact (emails, texts and telephone calls) went from every day, down to just once per week. This team went from 4 enthusiastic individuals, down to 2 students who desperately wanted to do well. Two students deviated from the project, dropping out of the class with very little more than a quick email to inform everyone that they were done. I was one of the remaining 2 students and there was a great deal of pressure placed on us to take on the responsibility of completing the remainder of the work. We had to start from square one, going back and re-researching all of the materials, as the two team members failed to forward on any of their information gathered. In response to the changing group dynamics, I contacted the instructor on various occasions and attempted to come up with a solution. Dropping the class was not something that I could do as I would have lost my tuition money in the process. I was also not willing to let my group member down by leaving them alone to complete the remainder of the work.

In the last month of the class, with the project due date quickly approaching, I received an email from the other student informing me that she was unable to provide me with any information and would be dropping the class. I was left with 1 week to come up with the remainder of the project information. This series of events created a very frustrating experience for me in completing this class.

The above description of events describes the particular behaviors and attitudes of certain group members that led to the rapid decline in team unity and cohesiveness. The following questions and answers make up the critical incident analysis for the situation noted above.

1) Why do I view the situation like that?

I have a very negative view of this situation. The actions of the 3 other group members was completely unacceptable, especially for a post-secondary course. The instructor had high expectations for the students, and I also had high expectations of my group members.

2) What assumption have I made about the client or problem or situation?

At the beginning of the course, I had made assumptions that my group would share the same desire to succeed as myself. Through the duration of the course, I began to assume that the other project members were possibly unaware of the extent to the expectations required for the course. I thought that maybe they had not taken courses previously and were not accustomed to the deadlines and quality of work required to pass a college level course.

3) How else could I interpret the situation?

There is no other interpretation for this situation. A series of unfortunate events occurred that caused a lot of stress and confusion.

4) What other action could I have taken that might have been more helpful?

I really don’t think that I could have done anything to be more helpful in this situation. I was a leader within this group and I made a constant effort to schedule deadlines, organize the delegation of work and be a liaison between my work group and instructor. Everyone involved in the project was an adult and therefore should accept responsibility for their own work.

5) What will I do if I am faced with a similar situation in the future?

If I was to face a similar situation in the future, I would approach the instructor sooner than I did. I would analyze the situation from the very beginning and decipher whether or not I was in a group that was going to be beneficial to my own personal outcome. From now on, I will attempt to complete projects on my own, as I would rather do things independently than depend on others who aren’t capable.