BUSN20017 Effective Business Communications

Identify and explain the two issues from your diagnosis and reflection. You are to define the concepts, outline key models and or behaviours that need to be developed so as to demonstrate effective practice. This literature review needs to outline both the conceptually (theoretical) and behavioural (interpersonal skills) that you need to acquire to demonstrate competence in your chose area. 

Identify of your key communication issues that you have identified as requiring development.Reflect on two recent professional interactions that you have had within the past 12 months. Analyse these interactions from the perspective of the two key communication issues that are identified as requiring development.To what extent are these evident and support the need for personal communication development.

This assignment helps in identifying the areas of personal capability which needs to be addressed so as to increase the communication effectiveness. The main objective of this report is to closely identify and assess the communication abilities in a student and also involves analyzing one’s own communication style across various areas like non- verbal and verbal communication, active listening, assertive perception and many more. In order to analyze my own communication style, five diagnostic tools are used which will help me in identifying my key areas of strengths and weaknesses, which I further need to work upon with the objective of increasing effective communication. These tools helped me in assessing my various interpersonal skills which are present in my behavior and also helped me in identifying the areas or interpersonal skills in which I am at best, according to the results of the diagnostic tools. Interpersonal skills are the social skill; one requires to communicate with others in an effective manner.

Interpersonal skills involve verbal and non- verbal communication, delegation, persuasion, leadership, reflection and attentive listening. Interpersonal skills are used to measure the capability of a person to communicate, convey and communicate information through the path of interactions and social communication. These skills can be developed with the help of individual interactions with the members of family, socializing with groups and attending schools. Having good interpersonal skills makes it easy for an individual in resolving conflicts and arguments, reduction of stress, augmenting intimacy, leads to good cheer all around, increasing, spreading and understanding of joy and helps in improving social standing. In order to examine the level of these skills in myself, I have used five diagnostic tools related to communication with the objective of analyzing my own communication style. The tools will enable me in identifying areas of weaknesses which in turn will help me in improving by communication skills.

Diagnosis and Reflection

1. Five diagnostic tools I have used in the assignment are Johari window, Communication style questionnaire, Assertiveness questionnaire, Oral exams and Color characteristics.

Johari window

The johari window model is simply used for demonstrating, illustrating and improving self awareness as well as mutual understanding between one another or a group. It can also be used in order to improve group’s relationships. There are four quadrants in the johari window representing feeling, motivation and information with the objective of reflecting that whether the information known/unknown by a person and by others who are present in team. After critically analyzing myself I believe that I am a person who is free and always wants everyone to know about my behavior. In line with this, according to the johari window assessment I find myself in the Johari window’s quadrant 1, which is considered as the area of free activity.

I am a person with whom everyone is aware about in terms of my behavior, knowledge, skills, attitude, emotions, feelings experience, views etc. Being able to find myself in this quadrant, all of my information is known by myself as well as will be known by my team members too. I believe in good communication and cooperation and both the terms like in this quadrant where the group is free from distractions, confusion, misunderstanding, mistrust, etc.  And in order to expand the open area, I positively listen to the feedbacks of the group members and for expanding the hidden area I believe in positively responding to the questions of the other group members.  (Air University, 2017; Business Balls, 2017; Chapman, 2017).

Communication style questionnaire

The questionnaire is prepared with the objective of finding the preferred communication style of an individual. Everyone has developed their communication style and habits which have benefitted an individual at one time or the other. Hence, communication style questionnaire helped me in finding out my communication style which suits me the best. The questionnaire includes questions like I have strong beliefs about what is right and wrong, good and bad, I often act without considering the possible consequences. , I have a reputation for saying what I think, simply and directly which are to be answered using a “tick mark or cross sign”. After completing the questionnaire I am able to analyze my communication style which reflects that I have an activist’s communication style. I got maximum score in being an activist communicator. The questionnaire analysis has shown me that I am a person who likes rolling up my sleeves, got stuck in and learn as they go which states that I am person who involves myself fully without any biasness. I am an enthusiastic and open minded and consider everything to be tried once in the lifetime. It is in my behavior that I act first and consider late. Being an activists some of my strengths are that I am a good communicator, imaginative and enthusiastic (Thevantagepoint, 2017; TP3, 2017).

Assertiveness questionnaire

In the education context, assertiveness helps the student in seeking assistance, resist peer pressure and look for educational opportunities. People who are assertive in nature can express oneself directly and in a self assured manner. The assertiveness questionnaire is directed towards measuring the proficiency of a student into components which are- even when its difficult, respect the want, need and thinking of others and express wants, needs and thoughts of your own. The questionnaire has been filled using Likert scale which includes self-rating on a point of 5. The questionnaire includes questions like I often say “yes”, when I really want to say “no”, I’m rather authoritarian and decisive, I don’t dare refusing tasks that clearly don’t fit my powers and skills, I know how to get close to influential people; this has been of much use to me in the past. After filling up the questionnaire, I am able to understand the difference between aggressive, assertive and passive behaviors. With the help of the questionnaire result, I am able to cultivate my assertive behavior depending on the results. I am able to determine the characteristics that are most prevalent in me in terms of aggressive, assertive and passive behavior. Thus, it can be said that I am an assertive person as I have good understanding of whom I am and I belief in the value I bring by me. It will help me in improving my working relationships and will help me in building my self confidence. Being an assertive person I am a doer, less stressed and I am better in solving problems which are emergent and recurring in nature (Research Collaboration, 2017; MindTools, 2017; Pro Mind Consulting, 2012) (Pro Mind Consulting, 2012).

Communication quiz

In order to examine that whether a person is an effective communicator or not communication quizzes are being played. These quizzes helped in finding out my communication skills and its effectiveness in different situations. The quiz examines the efficiency and effectiveness of an individual at all points of the communication process right from the sender till the receiver. The communication quiz includes questions like I try to anticipate and predict possible causes of confusion, and I deal with them up front, If I don't understand something, I tend to keep this to myself and figure it out later, When people talk to me, I try to see their perspectives, When talking to people, I pay attention to their body language. After passing the communication quiz with 55 marks I get to know that I am a capable communicator but, I do sometimes face some kind of problems while communicating. Being a capable communicator I am a person with good decision- making skills and have an adjustable communication skill that is I can adjust my intended message according to the need, ability and body language of the listener in order to ensure that message is understood by every individual.  (MindTools, 2017)

Color characteristics

Communication style can be assessed using color characteristic tool which includes choosing the option which could most describe myself. In this type of tool the colors are used to identify which type of people you like to be communicated with. It is analyzed with the help of a series of pairs of descriptors. The activity includes characteristics like caring and kind, well-balanced, organized, hard-working, task-oriented, active and energetic. After responding to the activity, I found out that I fall under the red color as I am concrete, risk taker, action oriented self assured, take charge, uninterested in personal feeling and quick to act. I am well coordinated with people who are precise, time disciplined and efficient in nature and I can be best suited in the situations where decision is to be made quickly, when solutions to a problem should be simple and where there is a need to implement a plan or change. ( Office Dynamics International, 2013; Schirmer, et al., 2005).

1. The key findings of the tools are that in stand in the first quadrant of johari window, where everyone knows about me and is the area of free activity. Moreover, I listen to the feedbacks and respond positively to the questions of the group members. The communication style questionnaire reflects my activist communication style and fits perfectly in my behavior. Assertive questionnaire helps me to bring to the point where I understood the difference between assertive, aggressive and passive behavior and the result of the questions reflects that I am an assertive person who believes in working with people and not against them. Communication quiz reflects my communication skills which bring me to the point that I am a capable communicator and I am to modify the message according to the ability and body language of a receiver. Color characteristics diagnostic tool shows that I fall under red color stating that I am a concrete, quick to act and risk taker person who responds quickly to any situation or problem without considering its consequences.

I have identified that there are two major areas related to communication which needs development in order to ensure effective communication. The two areas that I have found to work upon is difficulty in non- verbal communication and impulsive decision -making. I have found out that I am unable to express myself in non verbal manner that is non ability to express myself in situations and how I am feeling in that situation. Secondly, I am an impulsive decision maker because of my activist communication style, which sometimes puts me in problem and often results in eliminating the key points which needs to be considered while making decisions.

1. Two professional interactions I have had which bring me to the point that I lack these two communication skills and the examples are evident enough, also supports the need for personal communication development. These two interactions were regarding the lack of non verbal communication ability and impulsive decision -making. The first instanceis of the time, around eight months back when I was sitting at my desk and was working but I was lost somewhere else and mentally, I was not present in the office. My boss came to me and assigned me some really important work and he was expecting a good, friendly and energetic reaction as he had assigned a very important task to me, which needs proper attention and dedication. But because of my incapability of communicating non verbally had put me in a serious problem and my boss misunderstood that I am not interested and confident enough to handle the task. Because of this reason my boss assigned the work to my other colleague and moreover, my boss lost faith and confidence in me. Second instance was the result of impulsive decision- making. Around four months back I had to make an agreement with the party and in the agreement contract there were many terms and conditions which needed proper attention from my side. But, because of my impulsive decision -making behavior I didn’t emphasized on the terms and conditions and signed the agreement in hurry to make rapid decisions so that the work in future could be started on time. But I had to pay for my impulsive decision making as I signed the agreement without reading its clauses and there was a clause which needs to be modified but, can’t be done because I have signed the agreement. So, as a result of which, my company had to face huge losses from which the company hasn’t recovered yet. At that time, I was at the verge to be hired from the company but my track record saved my position.

So these professional interactions in the situations which show my weak areas are perfectly evident and support the need to undergo personal communication development.

The two issues related to communication that I have identified after undergoing various diagnostic tools are: I am a person with impulsive decision -making trait and lacks effective non verbal communication that is I am not able to express myself in situations and what I feel about the situation. In the contemporary era, communication is necessary for people and is gaining growing importance. It is becoming a need for people and in order to live, learn and experience life; one has to communicate with others. Communication is divided into two categories- verbal and non verbal communication. In verbal communication sounds and words are being used to communicate whereas non verbal communication includes sending signals and visible messages without sounds. Most of the researchers say and agree to the fact that words are used to convey the message whereas body language is used for negotiating.

Non verbal communication shows the state of mind of a person and the condition the person is in. According to miller, non verbal communication is a communication without words. In line with this, Zoric, Smid et al. (2007) agrees with miller and states that every message which is exchanged without the use of words is a non verbal communication. This type of communication includes speed, timing of words, loudness and tone that are used in communication but, does not include words and their meanings. I am lacking one of the aspects of non verbal communication which is inability to express myself and my thoughts in situations where it is necessary. According to Barsade and Gibson, “A person’s emotional display has an influential impact on others emotional experiences”. Emotional display and emotional expressions are an important source of communication at workplaces. According Greenspan, non verbal communication behavior which includes gestures, emotions and other expressions have a stronger meaning than verbal expressions. According to various researches, it is been said that there are various behaviors that need to be developed for demonstrating effective practice. Being a person and specifically at the workplace where I am an employee and my expressions will mean a lot, according to Goldin-Meadow (2004),

the person should be able to read the minds of the colleagues and co-workers and accordingly react to the situation and express oneself to give meaning and express accordingly as per the need of the situation. Many researchers believe that active listening plays a major role in non verbal communication. Researchers say that the person builds a behavior of active listening, be able to display and interpret that body language, which will best fit the situation and use facial expressions which will complement with the verbal communication. It is also said that a person should have good expressing ability so that he/she can express what they feel in a situation where their say is equally important. Thus, much importance has been given by the researchers to the non-verbal communication as it is more expressive than verbal messages (Bonaccio, O’Reilly, O’Sullivan, & Chiocchio, 2016; Barry, 2011; Koshland-Crane, 2008; Alamri, 2017).

Secondly, I am an impulsive decision maker which has made me suffer as well as my company also. Decision making is very crucial in every aspect of life and in every situation. Decision making has to be quick and accurate but, one should not be an impulsive decision maker as there are lots of negative consequences associated with it (Jelihovschi, Cardoso, & Linhares, 2016). Decision- making or decision makers who aggressively favors short- term over long- term consequences in making decisions are known as impulsive or temporally myopia. According to Moeller, impulsivity is a kind of a personality dimension which states a person’s behavior to act without thinking and it is associated with several personality disorders like mania, substance abuse etc. Ainslie, agree to the fact and supported the argument of Moeller by saying, individuals who are impulsive in nature make risky decisions, they are not sensitive towards negative outcomes and they are highly inclined towards making decision having long- term and short -term negative consequences.

Various researchers have said that decision -making is a crucial function in an organization and for an individual in general. But impulsive decision makers are profitable at time but, they are risky for the existence of the organization as these risky and impulsive decisions are made without thinking prior to any decision that has been made and without considering any aspect before decision -making. Impulsivity in decision- making shows the impact of time and risk in the decisions made by an individual. Impulsive decision makers take high risk not because of the fact that they need to make quick decisions but because of their behavior and incapability of making effective, quick and reliable decisions. Impulsive actions are divided into stopping impulsivity and waiting impulsivity. Impulsive is labeled as choosing the smaller and sooner option whereas choosing the larger and later options are the signals for self control and patient decision-making (Milkman, Chugh, & Bazerman, 2008).

Many researchers have supported the concept of quick decision- making but, impulsive decision -making is not encouraged by any author, professional or researchers. There is a key to good decision making and the key is to express the value clearly in order to create a set of alternatives and finally select one out of the various available alternatives (Hinson, Jameson, & Whitney, 2003). There are various methods to control this type of decision -making and reduce the impulse in decision- making. Researchers have suggested that a person should have effective control on their personal stimuli and will power, so as to reduce the impulse from effective decision -making. People take less impulsive decisions when they are not being pressurized and when they make choices and consider alternative actions before making any decision which is impulsive in nature (Martin & Potts, 2009). The researchers have also said that making choices and considering the consequences of their impulsive decisions will lead to reduce impulse from effective decisions- making. Therefore, decision- making is a critical process in an organization and in the life of an individual. So, there is an immediate need to shift from impulsive decision- making to quick, reliable and effective decision- making (Stevens, 2017).

Action Plan

There are various actionable activities that can be done in order to acquire knowledge and develop the skills and abilities in myself so that I can improve the issues I have in my personality related to communication. There a number of ways with the help of which I can develop skills and abilities to address the problems of impulsive decision- making and my inability to express what I feel in certain situations. For this purpose, an action plan has been developed including the key events and activities that I can undertake for six months with the objective of acquiring necessary knowledge and developing skills. The action plan includes events and activities which I will undergo every month. The action plan is discussed as below-

 References

Office Dynamics International. (2013). Communication Style Assessment. Office Dynamics International

Air University. (2017). Small Group Instructor Training Course. Retrieved may 25, 2017, from Au.af.mil: http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/sgitc/read5.htm

Alamri, A. (2017). Nonverbal Communication. Retrieved may 25, 2017, from Pmu.edu.sa: http://www.pmu.edu.sa/Attachments/BBF/pdf2/Literature%20Review%20Nonverbal%20Communication.pdf

Barry, B. E. (2011). Student Nonverbal Communication in the Classroom. Retrieved from American Society for Engineering Education: http://www.westpoint.edu/cfe/Literature/Barry_11.pdf

Bonaccio, S., O’Reilly, J., O’Sullivan, S. L., & Chiocchio, F. (2016). Nonverbal Behavior and Communication in the Workplace: A Review andan Agenda for Research. Journal of Management, 1-31.

Business Balls. (2017). Johari Window. Retrieved may 25, 2017, from Businessballs.com: http://www.businessballs.com/johariwindowmodel.htm

Chapman, A. (2017). Johari Window. 

Hinson, J. M., Jameson, T. L., & Whitney, P. (2003). Impulsive Decision Making and Working Memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition, 29(2), 298-306.

Jelihovschi, A. P., Cardoso, R. L., & Linhares, A. (2016). Look Before You Leap: the effects of cognitive impulsiveness and reasoning process on rationaldecision making. Rio de Janeiro: Fundação Getulio Vargas.

Koshland-Crane, P. (2008). The effect of professional development ofnonverbal communication behaviors ofparticipants' regognition and understanding ofthese behaviors. 

Martin, L. E., & Potts, G. F. (2009). Impulsivity in Decision-Making: An Event-Related Potential Investigation. Author manuscript.

Milkman, K. L., Chugh, D., & Bazerman, M. H. (2008). How Can Decision Making Be Improved? Perspectives on psychological science, 4(4), 379-383.

MindTools. (2017). Assertiveness Working WITH People, Not Against Them. Retrieved may 25, 2017, from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/Assertiveness.htm

MindTools. (2017). How Good Are Your Communication Skills? Retrieved may 25, 2017, from Mindtools.com: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCS_99.htm#Explanation

Pro Mind Consulting. (2012). Assertiveness – Self-Assessment . Pro Mind Consulting

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Stevens, J. R. (2017). Impulsivity: How Time and Risk Influence Decision Making. Springer.

Thevantagepoint. (2017). Activity – Communication Style self-assessment. Thevantagepoint

TP3. (2017). Communication Styles Questionnaire. Retrieved from https://www.tp3.com.au/sites/default/files/pd_resources/Communication_Styles_Questionnaire.pdf