Effective Communication

Title: How effective is your workplace communication? Assignment topic Prepare a discussion paper in essay style in which you critically analyze your own communication methods and style. In your answer, provide examples of how you communicate (oral and written) with team managers and managers, from your reading and your own experience, to illustrate the points you are making. When you refer to an example, provide enough details about the context so that the reader, who does not know about your workplace, can understand the points about the situation that you are trying to make, You will have to provide an explanation of what makes effective communication in the introduction to your paper. Executive summary 1 Introduction Communication is a general phenomenon by which we try to convey thoughts, intentions, emotions, facts and ideas of one person or group to the others. Whether we recognize it or not, we have no choice but to communicate. At times, when we try to avoid communicating, we may still send an unintentional message. When we do not say yes, we may be saying no by default- and vice versa. The only choice we can make about communication is whether we are going to attempt to communicate effectively. What does it mean to communicate effectively? Effective communication is when the intended objective is achieved. Therefore, the message sent is received and understood by the receiver in the same sense, as the sender wanted to convey. The aim of this paper is to discuss the effectiveness of communication at my workplace.

The paper is divided into three sections. Firstly, I will define communication. Then, I will discuss the barriers to communication and finally the types of communication which exist within the organisation. Context of workplace RBC Royal Bank (Trinidad and Tobago) Limited has twenty-six (26) branches located throughout Trinidad and Tobago. It is a financial institution which aims to manage both individual and corporate deposits, loans and investments. It is subdivided into several specialised units such as the Treasury department, the Remedial unit, the Mortgage department and The Trust department. I am a Senior Officer in the Employee Benefits Department of the Trust Company where we responsible for several corporate companies pension and savings plan. My department consists of six persons, Manager, Assistant Manager, Senior Officer and three Employee Benefit Officers who reported directly to me. My responsibilities included the verification of the officers work and to provide regular updates to the Assistant Manager. What is communication? As the workplace becomes more diverse, communication has become one of the most important factors to organizational function. It is important between managers and employees and across departments. Communication can be defined as any behaviour verbal or non verbal that is perceived by another. Knowledge, feelings or thoughts are encoded and sent from at least one person and received and decoded by another. (Dwyer, 2008 p. 8). RBC Royal Bank is a perfect example of an organization that is rapidly changing and where there are hundreds of workers of different backgrounds, gender, age and levels of education must interact on a daily basis. Therefore, effective communication is one of the ways in which an organization of this size and structure can continue to be successful, since communication can be described as the central binding force that permits co-ordination among people and this allows for organized behaviour (Myers & Myers, 1982).

However, this is not as simple as it appears, since errors may occur at any stage in the process. Therefore, it is critical to understand the communication process in organizations. This involves a sender, a receiver, and a message flowing over a communication channel. . Successful and effective communication within an organization stems from the implementation of this communication process. It is through this process that the sharing of a common meaning between the sender and the receiver takes place as described by Burnett and Dollar (1989) ,the written words, spoken words, and non verbal languages selected are paramount in ensuring the receiver interprets the message as intended by the sender. (Burnett & Dollar, 1989). Key Functions of Communication As discussed above communications basic function is to ensure that the message sent is received with the same meaning as intended. However, as organizations continue to grow and diversify the primary functions of communications has expanded. For example Neher (1997) stated the functions of communication is to lead, motivate and influence, Neher also stated that is also can assisit in problem solving and decision making Neher (1997) and Rogers and Rogers (1976) emphasize the social and organizational functions of organizational communication as a whole rather than focusing on the functions of sepec Communication channels Another important element is the channel used, since this may determine the successfulness of communication within the company. The communication channel is the means or technique used to convey a message. The choosing of a channel should be based on your communication purpose, your needs as the sender of the message and the needs of the receiver (Dwyer, 2008 p. 7). One important factor to remember is that each medium follows its own set of rules and regulations. Therefore, the organization would need to assess the situation before determining which communication channel or channels are to be implemented. Types of communication

There are three basic methods which people rely on to communicate in an organization: oral, written and non-verbal communication. Supporting evidence Define different forms of communication Written Oral Non Verbal Organizational communication can be as simple as a single e-mail or as complex as a media campaign regarding transformation Supporting evidence. Communication in RBC The main form used is written communication in my workplace may consist of a variety of documents from e-mails and memos to worker manuals. Email has changed the way we do business and communicate. Sometimes we complain that we receive too much, but nevertheless it still has made a positive impact on business and has become the number one choice of the way we communicate. How Negative/Positive There are several advantages to this; the speed at which information is disseminated allows employees to be aware of any announcement, or occasion Supported evidence. In larger companies, proper communication is very difficult to achieve, email is definitely the correct resolution for this purpose. Also email has also given team members an opportunity to communicate to higher management without having to ask your manager permission if you contact top management While this form of communication, has its advantages, such as it provides permanent records that can be referred to at a later date and information when provided is usually concise and uniformed. As a supervisor within a specialized department within the organization, what I have noticed that, because my department consists of six persons

sometimes the written communication is seen as unnecessary or as too much. It appears to the junior staff as lacking the personal touch. Oral communication When choosing a medium of communication we all have to bear in mind the nature and purpose of the message. As earlier observed written communication can be seen as the perfect medium for transactions that require a permanent record, but it does not give team members the opportunity to ask immediate questions or get feedback. For example, when the receiver does not understand a message, he or she can ask for clarification right away. Oral communication is usually more effective way for conveying messages with emotional content. When people communicate orally, the message consists of more than the spoken words. A non verbal message accompanies every oral communication. Facial expressions, body movements, gestures, tone of voice, rate of speech, all add meaning to the words actually happen. These non verbal components help the receiver interpret the emotional significance of the message. Oral communication helps establish human relationships. Through oral communication, people working together are able to develop team spirit and a sense of mutual responsibility. By communicating with each other orally people are able to improve each other morale. Although there are several positive aspects to oral communication, there are several drawbacks and limitations. One of them being the absence of permanent records which means messages or information cannot be retrieved in the future. Also there is a greater chance of misunderstanding of the message because of the interpreting of the non verbal part of the message. For example a person may laugh due to nervousness or fear while another individual may cry in the same situation (Dwyer 2008) Conclusion From the above we can conclude that effective communication is full of risks; despite whatever precautions and plans we make, we can never really be sure of our success. What we realized is that no communication

ever travels from the sender to receiver with the same intention as person who sent it. What we must realize is that communication is a two way street and dialogue, and face to face meetings and listening are some of the key elements in preventing poor communication. (Fulmer, William E, 2000). Do not just communicate, speak sensibly, clearly, convey your message in clear words. In other words use the KISS principle keep it short and simple.