Communications

Introduction

Communication is a part of our everyday life that occurs whether we intend to or not. Every individual has a particular style of communicating. With so many styles of communication and several different personalities, it is easy to have discrepancies and misunderstandings that result in communication. These styles include both verbal and non-verbal approaches as well as being able to listen, except in unfortunate circumstances where a person is literally incapable of doing any.

This essay will give an indication of what styles of communication were involved in my previous line of employment with Woolworths Limited. How everyday communication such as words, voice, tones, gestures physical actions and the like took place with fellow employees based on the model presented by Gamble and Gamble.

Discussion

Within an organisation, poor communication can be a determining factor in its success or failure. McShane and Travaglione (2003) explain that good communication ensures individuals know what is expected of them and it galvanises coordination within the organisation. The root of a large number of organisational problems is poor communication.

Verbal Communication

In an organisation where service is of the highest importance, effective communication is a vital component of organisational success. BWS, which is a company owned by Woolworths Limited, is no exception. Up until the end of 2004, I was fortunate enough to hold a managerial position at BWS which magnified my responsibilities towards a number of issues but more importantly to employees.

To be as effective as I could, verbal communication was one of, if not, the most important aspect when communicating with employees. As a manager it was imperative to overcome communication barriers before approaching an employee. These barriers may have been disadvantages of verbally communicating, such as noise, hearsay, choice of words, assumptions and stereotyping, which could all contribute to misunderstandings.

I felt it to be my duty to recognise any of these barriers and ensure that they were not included in the communication process. For example, if it required me to talk to an employee about his/her performance, it was imperative that they had my 100% attention and the chance of distractions was zero.

In an environment where there maybe five employees at one store, it was crucial to be aware of what was said about employees around other employees or co-workers, which could have had repercussions at later stages. I learnt from early on, an employee will not hear what you have to say, positive or constructive, if they have heard that you have been talking to others about them. They would have already began to get defensive and think of what they need to say to get their point across while I was trying to make mine.

Another aspect of verbal communication is written statements. In my workplace, this included memorandums, bulletins, flyers, reports, letters, faxes and e-mails. McShane and Travaglione (2003) describe written, verbal, or electronic methods as, at times, impersonal, but fast and effective. Written communication is very often the most suitable and clearest means of communication. As a manager at BWS, written communication may be ...