1.0 Terms of reference
- Situational learning-refers to learning that has been adapted to suit specific situations, in this case formal organizations
- Junior managers- these are assistant departmental management or supervisory positions in organizations.
- Communication-the passing of information, ideas, and knowledge from one person to another
2.0 Abstract/Executive summary
Organizational success depends on continuous learning and improvement of the human resource base. Effective communication among junior managers is an important aspect of improving an entire human resource department. It was important to examine communication among junior managers because they play an important role in linking up senior management and junior staff. The objectives of the presentation were evaluating; listening, body language and questioning. Listening is the most important aspect of communication because it makes one in this case the junior manager capable of understanding the speaker and pass on the message accurately.
3.0 Introduction
Human Resource Development (HRD) activities benefit from organizational learning activities. The Human resource is the most important aspect of production that any organization can have and therefore it is very important for all organizations to improve the capability of the human resource department. Communication is an important issue in human life. It is the basis of all progress humanity has achieved. In an organization, communication must be effective in order for that organization to grow. This report evaluates the overall effectiveness of the groups learning and development programme. The group’s programme was “evaluating communication among junior managers”. This report will demonstrate an understanding of the benefits of evaluating our programme by explaining the key objectives of the programme and critically analyzing its effectiveness in meeting these objectives. At the end, the report will present recommendations on improvements that might make a future programme more successful.
Communication issues in an organization can be evaluated based on capabilities- these include the personal skills, experience, knowledge, and understanding of individual employees (Eraut 2000). The second factor is performance at work, which considers how other people rate someone. The third aspect is formal and informal learning, which means that an individual can use formal and informal communication skills depending on the situation (Denham 2004). Learning can also be formally organized or informally organized. The Context also matters and is influenced by the workplace culture and social interactions.
The theory of situated learning states that the personal meaning of a concept, value, or principle is significantly influenced by the situations in which it was encountered and used. Communication in an organizational setting should meet the requirements of that situation and all staff should mix some formal with informal communication in order to ensure smooth interactions (Eraut, 2000).
4.0 Communication among junior managers
As a group, we first defined communication by stating that it is a means of transmitting information. We then asserted that communication is a major problem to junior managers. We did this in order to set the pace for rest of the presentation whose focus was to examine communication issues among junior managers. Junior managers are a critical component of any organization because they act as the link between senior management and the junior staff. They are mostly hands-on, interact frequently with both senior managers and the junior staff, and supervise small but crucial issues in production, marketing, human resource management among others (Denham 2004). Examples of junior management positions include supervisors, shift managers, line mangers, and assistant managers to positions such as finance manager, production manager, and marketing mangers among others (Rowland 2004). The rationale behind investigating communication among these managers is that they do most of the critical communication in the company.
5.0 Elements of communication
Junior managers are responsible for providing information, which results in the efficient and effective communication in organizations. This evaluation focused more on the reception of massage and not on all the other issues about communication.
Before we investigated on each of the above aspects of communication, we investigated on the question, “what is the percentage of words, voice, and body language in communication?” This is important in order to address each aspect of communication separately. We found out that the elements of personal communication in response to the above question are; 7% spoken words, 38% voice and tone, 55% body language (Denham 2004). This shows that body language is the most critical issue in personal communication. As such, we dedicated a section of our presentation to address issues about body language. By so doing, we are in a position to address the most important issues in communication, which will help junior managers to improve their communication with both junior and senior staff. Since, junior managers are the link between senior and junior work levels in an organization, when they master communication skills including body language, then the whole organizations stands to run smoothly in terms of interpersonal communication.
6.0 Objectives of communication
The objectives were look at in communication among junior managers are; listening, body language and questioning that is applied in communication where junior managers play a part. The aim of the training lesson was to deliver a lesson that would enhance people’s listening skills, body language, and questioning ability. The value adding training cycle according to Harrison Six Stage, 2009 would be a suitable way to measure understanding of communication (Denham 2004). We urged people to participate in the session in order to enable and them to gain more communication skills.
6.1 Evaluating Listening
We stated that listening is important to junior managers and that is the reason why employers give their employees trainings on listening skills. Listening is not a skill someone is born with. It is about making sense of what one has heard. It also includes paying attention, interpreting, and remembering. Effective listening needs the listener to pay close attention so that they can understand what is communicated from the speaker’s point of view.
When listening it is important to make eye contact because it lets the speaker to know that the listener is actually listening. When one listens properly, they are in a better position to solve other people’s problems because one can answer questions and show support to the speaker.
We concluded this section by presenting some pie charts on listening showing the time spent communicating. People spend 70% of their time communicating and 30% not communicating. Time spend communicating then distributed as follows; 45% listening, 30% speaking, 16% reading and 9% writing (Wiesenfeld, Raghuram & Garud 1999). This shows that human beings spend most of their time listening. This shows that listening is a very important thing in communication.
Before people begin to communicate, there is a moment of silence and they usually find it difficult to communicate. In order for people to start communicating freely, an icebreaker is necessary. An icebreaker is an activity that meant to make people feel at ease and start communicating freely. I t was important to mention that an icebreaker for junior managers to use because is necessary because they are always meeting new people and therefore there must be a good way of making people feel free with each other.
6.1.1 Why should people listen?
The first reason is that listening is a show of respect. Junior managers interact very much with other junior staff. This means that manager who listens can show staff with work-related problems or problems at home and in social lives cares. People led by a person or manager who listens properly are more committed in their world. This means that the manager usually has their job being easier as compared to other job. The manager who communicates is also able to achieve their personal and business goals better.
Good communication leads to; better customer satisfaction, greater productivity that has lower mistakes, creativity, and innovation. Sir Richard Branson, the owner of Virgin airlines states that listening is very critical and it is the reason why his company has succeeded.
6.2 Evaluating Body language
In this case, we evaluated what non-verbal communication is. We examined the difference between words that people speak and how people understand them. Some of the types of body language include posture, eye contact, speech, gestures with hands etc. we examined body language concerning junior manager and found out that it largely consists of the same considerations. There are numerous scenarios where junior managers can use body language to either please or displease a senior person or even a junior employee. For instance talking while one is crossing their hands at the bosom is a sign of rejection or being self-defensive (Rowland, 2006). Moreover, in case a junior manager stops whet ever they are doing, looks up instead of focusing on a computers or something else. Moreover, at the workplace if a given person keeps shifting his/her eyes sideways, that person is in most cases lying on whatever issues that are speaking about. In order to give the full scale of non-verbal communication we presented a graphical diagram of the examples of non-verbal communication. These include; sounds e.g. laughing, closeness (“invading someone’s space”), head movements (e.g. nodding), body contact (e.g. shaking hands, patting etc), facial expression (e.g. a frawn), eye movements (e.g. winking), appearance (e.g. untidiness), hand movements (e.g. waving), posture (e.g. slouching) and ways of talking (e.g. pauses, stresses on words etc) (Putnam, 2004).
Junior managers and their fellow staff are bound to use all of the above non-verbal messages. Junior managers should be conscious of how they make use of any of the above examples and how people are going to interpret certain things they do and in what context. Factors such as age, relative responsibility, context, and culture all have an effect on how any of the above examples of non-verbal communication can be used and interpreted by the recipient of the message. As such, it is always advisable to all people to match the body language with the intention of communication. It is good for people to note that the people they communicate with notice the body languages and it also good for someone to be able to understand the body language of other people.
6.3 Evaluating Questioning
Questioning helps one to gain more information and its absence can lead to communication breakdown. Questioning is also fundamental to successful communication - we all ask and are asked questions when engaged in conversation. People ask questions for two basic reasons. The first one is to obtain information and the second is to help maintain a conversation. The first reason is the main one and junior managers are likely to ask questions in order to gain information. This is because their communication is in a formal setting. According to Zaremba (2010) formal settings at the office or workplace communications during work time require people to ask questions when they are seeking information. Examples of questions asked in this regard include; what is the time? When is the report due? How far have you gone in writing the report? Etc. The communication where one asks a question in order to keep a conversation going are suitable for informal communication settings maybe after work, talking to a friend in a casual manner to get to how they have been. When someone is asking questions, they are able to control the conversation. Self-confident people are more likely to control conversations by attempting to gain the information they need through questioning.
In addition, we can state that people can ask questions in order to have the speaker clarify a certain point. Questions used as clarification are essential in reducing misunderstanding and therefore more effective communication. In group, situations questioning can be very useful for a number of reasons, to include all group members, to promote more discussion on issues, to maintain attention by asking questions without prior warning. All of which will come in useful when giving a meeting to your employees.
6.3.1 How to ask questions
In order for a junior manager or any other person to obtain the right information through asking questions, the question must meet several conditions. The questions must be structured. In day-to-day operations within the company, it will be required of you to ask many questions to your staff in order to understand how close to completion of tasks is or if any problems have occurred etc. Therefore, a structured set of questions is the most efficient way to acquiring the needed information (Zaremba 2010). For example, you do not ask for a solution before you understand what the problem is. Moreover, it is good to ask the very relevant questions that cause one to get the information one needs instead of many questions that may be both time consuming and confusing to the respondents.
The second issue to consider when selecting a way in which to ask questions is the “use of silence”. This includes pauses in speech that can help emphasise the points. The silence or pauses also give all parties a few moments together their thoughts before they continue. Using silence is a powerful way of delivering questions.
As with other interpersonal interactions when someone pauses when delivering a speech they achieve two things; first, the pausing helps to emphasise points and secondly pausing gives all parties some moments to recollect their thoughts before continuing. Pausing should be restricted to short durations of about three seconds before a question and this can help to stress on the importance of what is being asked. In addition, a three-second pause after a question is also advantageous in that it can prevent the questioner from immediately asking another question. It also indicates to the respondent that a response is needed. A momentary pause after an initial response encourages the respondent to continue with their answer in more detail. The third issue to consider is how to encourage participation when asking questions. In fact encouraging people to ask questions is one perfect way of getting them to participate. In group situations, managers, often want to involve as many people as they can in the discussion or debate as employees may have beneficial ideas, which can help to the productivity of the company or project.
It is possible to achieve this by asking questions of individual members of the group. Redirecting a question from an active member of the group to a relatively less active member is one way of maximising the benefits of a questioning session. Some people find it very stressful to speak in public or groups and care should be taken so as not to put off those people or make them feel embarrassed, awkward, or uncomfortable. Try to encourage, but not force, quieter members of the group to participate.
6.3.2 Types of questions
In order for managers to obtain and exchange meaningful information with other staff members, they need to know the kind of questions that that ask. There are four basic types of questions; probe, open, closed and reflective questions. Open questions are an invitation to the speaker to talk openly around a subject, and to give plenty of background information. Probe questions give more information on specific areas. Closed questions home in on the details, and require the speaker to disclose facts as requested. Reflective questions are a useful trigger to the flow of information (Denham, 2004). By reflecting a key word or phrase back to the speaker, you can get them to expand on what they have already told you.
6.3.4 The Funnel Flow
The funnel technique is a structured way to use questions to establish facts.
Open questions are to open up a topic. They usually start with words such as:
- Tell
- Explain
- Describe
These words are then followed by the parameters of your topic.
Probe questions are then used to narrow down topics and gain more specific information because of answers to open questions.
Closed questions only require a one or two word answer. They are used to establish key facts.
Open questioning- This is where you summarise the facts, as you have understood them, then ask whether it is correct. This gives the other person a chance to add or amend the information.
Reflective questions are subtle questions, useful in sensitive situations. One can repeat key words or phrases in a questioning tone of voice, to encourage the other person to keep talking.
7.0 Recommendations
There are several recommendations that can improve communication among junior managers and the organizations in which they serve.
- The managers can undergo professional training on communication skills in areas where they feel that they need to perfect either for personal or for organizational growth purposes
- The improvement of communication skills is a personal effort and as such organizations should young, energetic and vibrant people who are willing to learn and adapt to challenging communication needs at the work-place
- Junior managers should also be knowledgeable in modern methods and channels of communication such as social media (facebook, twitter, LinkdIn etc) which are cost effective and fast in passing information to fellow staff
- Listening is an important aspect of communication and it all junior managers and other people should master. People should actively listen because it forms the basis of proper communication.
8.0 Conclusion
Organizational success depends on continuous learning and improvement of the human resource base. Effective communication among junior managers is an important aspect of improving an entire human resource department. It was important to examine communication among junior managers because they play critical role in linking up senior management and junior staff. The objectives of the presentation were evaluating; listening, body language and questioning. Listening is the most important aspect of communication because it makes one in this case the junior manager capable of understanding the speaker and pass on the message accurately. The body language that includes posture, eye contact, speech, gestures with hands also aids to improve communication in an organizational setting. Questioning helps people to understand what has been said, seek clarification, and emphasise on important points. The situational theory of learning is best suited for examining communication among junior managers. This is because communication is highly dependent on situations and the choice of a means of communication greatly considers the people, place, and context. It would be recommended for junior manager to undergo professional training on communication and make use of emerging channels of communication to improve on their communication and therefore develop a better and stronger Human Resource.
Bibliography
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