Post on 04-Apr-2018
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Table of content
Page
1. Introduction 2
2. Description of my workplace. 3
3. Communication at Spar... 3
4. Types of communication 5
5. The four types of communication at Spar.. 6
6. Conclusion 7
7. Appendices... 7
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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, provideexamples 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.
1. Introduction
Communication has always been at the centre of the humanity. The life of
man has changed through effective communication. Good communication
has ensured a constant handing over of knowledge through generations
and has ensured the survival of the human species. The step stone of
communication process started in the ancient time by engraving and
communicating with signs and this has been effective enough to lead
humanity where we are nowadays. During the evolution process of man,
communication has taken different forms with different end use eg
military, medical, business, politics and etc. When communication is being
conveyed effectively the audience will firstly receive the information in the
required way and the chance that the audience understands it is very
high.
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2. Description of my workplace
I work in a food shop called Spar. It is located at the city centre of Dublin,
Republic of Ireland. The food shop operates on a two shift system from
6am to 3pm and from 3pm to 12am. There are 6 staffs during each shift.
The staffs are from different nationalities namely Mauritian, Indian,
Slovakian, Romanian and Irish. There are different department within the
organization like casher, kitchen, food corner and off the shelf items. The
main department is the kitchen because there are lot of criterion to be
respected in connection with food security and hygiene. It is important to
follow those food security standards to avoid food poisoning and other
serious illness.
I am a senior staff and fully qualified, through different training like
HACCP, to handle and manipulate foodstuff. Staffs working in the kitchen
and food corner must report to me and when there a change of shift I
need to hand over to the senior staff of the other shift. The senior staffs
report directly to the Manager.
3. Communication at my Spar
As there are different nationalities at my workplace, effective
communication is of high importance. It is important among manager,
senior staffs and other staffs. Communication can be defined as any
behavior whether it is verbal or non verbal. Knowledge, feelings or
thoughts are encoded and sent from at least one person and received and
decoded by another. (Dwyer, 2008 p. 8).
Spar is a good example as an organization which needs to have an
effective internal communication and communication with customers. Asthere are many tourists who transit through the city centre, the sales
volume is relatively high from early morning till very late in the night.
There is a daily interaction with hundreds of customers of different
backgrounds, gender, age, levels of education and cultures. Therefore,
effective communication is one of the main aspects in which a Spar,
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though it looks like a small organization, 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).
Spar is a small shop but the sales volume per day makes the routine
activity very dynamic. Therefore, the risk of error is very high and the
consequences can be lethal. For example the preparation of foods are not
done properly there can be serious food poisoning which leads to death in
some extreme cases. Hence, to avoid such situation rules and regulations
need to be communicated to the staff. As describe by Argyle 1981
Chapter 6, the effective communication of those standards to be
respected regulates the behavior of the staffs and help to attain the
objectives of the legal requirements or management commitments. Thesuccess of the effective communication relies on the implementation of
the communication process and all the staffs. Through this process the
sharing of a common purpose 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).
As mentioned above, one of the main purposes of effective
communication is to ensure that the staff execute the tasks in a properly
manner. The strategic location of the shop is such that most of the time it
is busy with customers. Businesswise it is a good thing but the hectic
environment makes the staffs to work under stress. Therefore, it is of
prime importance to have an effective communication. Referring to the
article Gretchen Hoover: Communication World Nov/Dec 2005 pg25, it is
not only important that the manager communicate with promptness and
honesty but he has to do it with tact, empathy and respect. An example ofa difficult situation is when a staff of the second shift is late or will not turn
up. Usually it is a staff of the first who carries on. When the manager
demonstrates such abilities while communicating with the staffs, they are
barely frustrated and they remain committed to their respective task. The
workforce does not get into a disengaged mindset although employees
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may not like the news provided that the message is delivered with
honesty and rational.
Another aspect of effective communication of Spar is the appearance. It is
necessary for the staffs wear the uniforms. This type of communication
allows the customers to distinguish the staffs from other customers and
address their queries to the right persons. When referred to Chritopher K.
Knapper: Presenting and Public Speaking pg 156, the customers make
judgments the way the staffs present themselves which is kind of
communication. For example, when a staffs t-shirt is not well ironed, the
hairs are not nicely combed and no smiling or politeness it quickly
communicates a wrong signal to the customers concern about the
reputation of the shop.
4. Types of communication
Basically there are four methods which people rely on to communicate in
an organization: oral, written, non-verbal communication and visual
Define different forms of communication
Written: it consists of writing the message in words which you want to
communicate. The written communication can be edited and updated. Inbusiness it is kept as record and usually used for formal communication,
for example memos, purchase orders, fax, disciplinary warnings and etc.
Oral: it consists of sounds, words, language and speaking. Oral
communication involves face to face interaction between two or more
individuals.
Non verbal: It involves physical ways of communication for example, tone
of the voice, touch, smell and body motion. There is also creative andaesthetic non-verbal communication which includes singing, music,
dancing and sculpturing. It also shows a persons character or mood at
the moment of communication
Visual: with the time of technology this type of communication is
becoming very popular. It consists of visual display of information like
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topography, photography, signs, symbols and designs. Television and
video clips are occupying have become a good mode of communication.
5. The four types of communication at Spar
Written communication at Spar consists of a variety of documents.
Every new staff has to attend a training session where there are
handouts. The handouts contain SOPs, standard operating
procedures, rules and regulations of the organization. There is also
a small written exam after the training. Every day before closing the
account balance, a quick inventory needs to be made while every
week a reorder list needs to be prepared. This written information
must be communicated to the manager. Therefore, in this business
model there are some important paper works. It is important to
understand and follow appropriately the written communication. For
example, if a staff wrongly understands an expiry date the
consequences can be of extreme seriousness in terms of health or
legal. Written communication also facilitates business. A good
labeling of different sections of the shop allows the customers to go
directly to the products. In additions, when the foods are properly
labeled the customers feel confident of what they are buying
specially those who are vegetarians or who have allergies problems.
Written communication allows Spar to build a database. This
database allows the manager to draw reports and make statistical
analysis. This helps in decision making and forecasting.
One major point of the business model of Spar is dealing with
customers. As written communication is important for internal
matters, talking with customers requires good oral communication. If
the design and layout of the shop is perfect but the attitude of the
staffs towards the customers is poor there might be conflicts. A nice
oral communication among employees where there is respect
creates a team spirit atmosphere which increases the sense of
belonging of the organization.
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Most of the time we do use non verbal message which 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.
Visual display plays an important role on the psychology of the
buyers. When the display is pleasant and attractive with a good
layout the customers feel comfortable to shop.
6. Conclusion
Effective communication is contributing largely to the success of the Spar.Therefore, developing communicative skills are essential for the four
types of communication because they ensure more clarity and eliminate
the ambiguity. Effective communication consolidates the team spirit and it
plays a common platform of understanding for people with different
nationalities and cultures. Thus, effective communication is a unifying
factor at Spar.
7. Appendices
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/four-types-of-communication.html
http://www.managementstudyguide.com/oral-communication.htm
http://workawesome.com/communication/effective-communication-skills/
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/four-types-of-communication.htmlhttp://www.buzzle.com/articles/four-types-of-communication.htmlhttp://www.managementstudyguide.com/oral-communication.htmhttp://www.managementstudyguide.com/oral-communication.htmhttp://workawesome.com/communication/effective-communication-skills/http://workawesome.com/communication/effective-communication-skills/http://workawesome.com/communication/effective-communication-skills/http://www.managementstudyguide.com/oral-communication.htmhttp://www.buzzle.com/articles/four-types-of-communication.html