A)
Communication between Pilar and Miguel in the first video is not effective. Miguel is very distracted while talking to Pilar. He enters the office with a drink in his hand and goes on to talk about his journey to the place. He does not settle in or compose himself to hear what Pilar is saying. He has poor attention skills because as soon as Pilar starts speaking he starts reading a magazine. After a short while his phone buzzes and he goes ahead to pick it up. This shows he is not interested in what Pilar has to say.
At some point Pilar gets frustrated because her message is not being passed on. Even after constantly reminding Miguel to listen, he forms counter arguments and does not wait to hear Pila’s side of the story. He acts bored by looking at what is going on around him which prompts Pilar to start yelling to get his attention. From the comments and questions he makes it clear that he is in another place as he does not wait to understand the message Pilar is relaying.
Miguel does not act professionally; he fidgets with his pen, puts his leg on the table, has rude body language, picks calls during the meeting and does not even look at the boss when being addressed. He does not receive the positive criticism well because the end result of the campaign was successful; he did not want to be told the parts he went wrong.
In the second part of the video, Miguel is more attentive. He even takes notes to further emphasize that he is listening keenly. Pilar is more relaxed and she does not yell. They agree on what to do and the changes that need to be done.
In the first part of the video, communication between Angela and Ralph is effective. They reach an agreement. Angela raises her issues and the manager listens attentively. He also reacts appropriately while not putting all the blame on her. He admits where he was wrong and they both agree to meet later on to further settle the issue since at that time; they did not exhaust the discussion.
In the second part of the video, there are a lot of personal issues between Angela and Ralph. Angela feels that she is not being taken care of well. She also went ahead to miss an appointment due to her attitude. She did not perform as expected. She therefore threatened to resign.
B)
Active listening is a very important skill. It involves the ability to obtain information, learn and understand what the other party is talking about. To enjoy being a better listener one has to continually hear and get the whole message being given.
The ability to hear and understand requires listening carefully and paying attention to each detail about what is being said. All distractions should be avoided and one must not counter argue with the other party. Concentration must be maintained the entire time as it is vital and one should create an interest in what the other party is talking about.
The other party should know that you are listening to what they are telling you. They will therefore relay the information better if they are convinced they have an active audience as opposed to a brick wall which does not respond. Indication of acknowledgement could be in the form of simply saying ‘um’ or nodding the head. It is not a sign of agreement but an indication that you’re following what the other person is saying.
Body language encourages one to concentrate more and to avoid the mind from wandering; this reminds someone to continue paying attention. A good response ensures the speaker communicates well and one gets all the information required. Comments and questions asked will enable the speaker to know that you understand the message.
In the first part of the video, Miguel was distracted by his phone which was on. This prevented total concentration on his part. His hearing is different in the second part as he is more attentive. He is not rude and he even takes notes while making suggestions. He understands the message and maintains eye contact. This was partially because he had lost an account and thus was serious to know why that had happened.
C)
The conflict between Pilar and Miguel is of a relationship nature; there is a miscommunication between the two. No professionalism exists and Miguel is not willing to make necessary changes. The conflict between Angela and Ralph is interest conflict. Angela believes she is being neglected just because she is working from home. Ralph on the other believes he is treating her well but she is not performing as expected.
D)
Ralph uses an indirect approach to resolve the issue by avoidance. He tells Angela that he is not well prepared and that they should meet at another time to discuss the issue further. This leads to Angela being more frustrated and on second meeting she threatens to resign.
Pilar on the other hand is more direct in settling conflicts; she directly addresses the issue with Miguel and set ultimatums. She offers to cooperate with Miguel. He thus gives in to the demands but does not perform. Pilar then chooses to remove him from that account which in the end proves to change the perspective of Miguel. She however promises to bring him back when he improves his communication skills.
Pilar is more effective as the issue at hand is addressed timely without more damage as opposed to Ralph who missed two deadlines. Her approach of directly confronting the issue worked best.
E)
In both videos the negotiations carried on are integrative. Both managers are willing to compromise to benefit both parties. Ralph is willing to change how he communicates with Angela. He even makes suggestions on improvements that need to be done. Pilar on the hand appreciates that Miguel is talented and she does not want to lose the account also. She thus puts in another member temporarily until she is able to communicate better with Miguel. Both managers listen to their employees to reach an equal footing that is beneficial to all parties.
Effective negotiation is a skill which entails the parties to be prepared well (McNeil, 2009, p. 685). One must research well on the subject matter to be well versed with the character of the person they are dealing with. Questions can be prepared to bring clarity to the issues at hand. Decisions must not be taken in a rush (Uusi-Rauva & Nurkka, 2010, p. 302); one should pause to think about all the factors affecting the decision to be made; critical thinking must be utilized.
Negotiations must be timely so as to be effective. A time span must be set to make changes and take the necessary measures needed (Perkins, 2008, p. 122). Emotions should be separated from what the parties are dealing with; the parties should also not attack each other. Personalities should not be the focus. Details on every issue must be looked at so as not to miss anything. Parties must be prepared to compromise to reach a fair solution to the conflict at hand. Desperation must not be displayed so as not to give any party an upper hand; they should be on the same footing.
The final decision in each case is effective since both parties come to a mutual understanding to take necessary steps to improve their relationships and ensure quality work. Though the approaches used were different, in the end they both bore fruits.
References
Uusi-Rauva, C. & Nurkka, J. (2010). Effective internal environment-related communication: An employee perspective. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 15(3), 299 – 314
Perkins, P. (2008). The Art and Science of Communication: Tools for Effective Communication in the Workplace. New Jersey: Wiley
McNeil, M. (2009). Communication: The Key to Effective Leadership. Journal of Educational Administration, 47(5), 684 – 687
