Com Munica It On

7/29/2019 Com Munica It On

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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

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