Positive Working Relationships Revised Edition PDF
Preview Positive Working Relationships Revised Edition
PergamonFlexible LearningisanimprintofElsevier LinacreHouse,Jordan Hill, OxfordOX28DP, UK 30CorporateDrive, Suite400, Burlington, MA01803, USA Firstpublished2005 Revised edition2008 © 2008Wordwide LearningLimited adaptedbyElearnLimited PublishedbyElsevierLtd. Allrights reserved. No partofthis publication maybe reproduced, storedinaretrievalsystem ortransmittedinanyform orbyanymeanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recordingorotherwisewithout thepriorwrittenpermission ofthe publisher Permissionsmaybesoughtdirectlyfrom Elsevier'sScience & Technology Rights DepartmentinOxford, UK: phone (+44) (0) 1865843830; fax (+44) (0) 1865853333;email: [email protected]. Alternativelyvisit theScienceandTechnologyBookswebsite at www.elsevierdirect.com/rightsforfurther information Notice No responsibilityisassumedbythe publisherforanyinjuryand/ordamage to personsorpropertyas amatterofproductsliability, negligenceor otherwise, orfrom anyuse oroperationofanymethods, products, instructionsorideascontainedinthe materialherein. BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData Acataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefrom the BritishLibrary LibraryofCongress Cataloging-in-PublicationData Acatalogrecordfor thisbookisavailablefrom the LibraryofCongress ISBN978-0-08-055482-2 Forinformationonall PergamonFlexibleLearningpublicationsvisit ourwebsiteat www.elsevierdirect.com PrintedandboundinHungary Working together to grow libraries in developing countries I I www.elsevier.com www.bookaid.org www.sabre.org E"LSEVIER BI"'OeoO",KIlAlo"I,ldl ,CJ:dnI n,> I"ollncIatIon Series preface Series preface Whetheryou are atutor/trainer or studyingmanagement development to further your career, Management Extra provides an exciting and flexible resource helping you to achieve your goals. The series is completely new and up-to-date, and has beenwritten to harmonise with the 2004 national occupational standards in management and leadership. Ithas also been mapped to management qualifications, includingthe Institute ofLeadership & Management's middle and seniormanagement qualifications at Levels 5 and 7respectivelyon the revised national framework. For learners, copingwith all the pressures oftoday's world, Management Extra offersyou the flexibility to studyatyour own pace to fit around your professional and othercommitments. Suddenly, you don't need a PC orto attend classes at a specific time - choosewhen and where to studyto suityourself! And, you will always have the completeworkbook as a qUick reference justwhen you need it. Fortutors/trainers, Management Extra proVides an invaluable gUide to what needs to be covered, and in what depth. Italso allows learnerswho miss occasional sessions to 'catch up' by dipping into the series. This series proVidesunrivalled support for all those involvedin management development at middle and senior levels. Reviews of Management Extra Ihave utilised theManagementExtra series for anumberofInstitute ofLeadership andManagement (ILM) Diploma in Management programmes. The seriesprovides course tutors with the flexibility to runprogrammes in avarietyofformats, from fully facilitated, usinga choiceofthe titles as supportinginformation, to atutorial based programme, where the completeseries isprovided for homestudy. These options alsogive courseparticipants the flexibility to studyin a mannerwhich suits theirpersonal circumstances. The contentis interesting, thoughtprovokingand up-to-date, and, as such, Iwould highlyrecommend the useofthis series to suitavarietyofindividual andbusiness needs. Martin Davies BSc(Hons) MEdCEngMIMechEMCIPD FITOLFInstLM SeniorLecturer, UniversityofWolverhampton Business School Atlast, the complete setofbooks thatmake itall so clearandeasy to follow for tutorandstudent. A mustfor all those takingmiddle/senior managementtrainingseriously. Michael Crothers, ILM National Manager Introduction Ittakes justone incidentto damage the trust betweenpeople. Trust is avital ingredient in anyproductive relationship. To gain it, there has to be openness and honestyand this onlyhappens ifwe communicate effectivelyand behave in awaythat represents our true feelings and needs. We startthis bookbylookingat the principles ofcommunication and assertive behaviour. Applying these principles enables openness and honestyto bebroughtinto a relationship and paves the wayfor more successfulworking relationships. We then lookat howyou can buildbetterworking relationships byusingthese skills in three areas ofyour workas a manager: negotiations, meetings and conflict management. 1 Communicating to connect There are awhole host ofreasons to study communication: Communication continues to be one ofthe most frequently cited problems in organisations Almost no one works alone and the job ofmost managers in particular involves interactingwith people New communication technologies have changedthe way that we communicate Our societyand working environment is increasinglydiverse and multicultural and this poses new communication challenges. Communication is avital but complex leadership skill - central to your ability to form relationships and to generate commitment, co-operation and enthusiasm. In this theme, you will: Explore models ofeffective interpersonal communication Identifyfactors thatinfluence organisational communication Recognise the main barriers to effective communication Discover six skills for improvingyourverbal communication. Communication in organisations is full ofcontradictions. On the one hand, everyone agrees that it isvitallyimportant- the lifeblood ofthe organisation. As early as 1916, Henri Fayol, the French engineer, put communication at the centre ofhis 'wheel of management activities'. Ask any group ofemployees what matters most to them and you will almost certainly find 'good communication' high on the list. On the otherhand, communication is one ofthe things that organisations most often get wrong. Charles Handy, in UnderstandingOrganisations (1993), gives a list ofstudies showing how often communication fails to get through. Here are just two examples: Astudy ofcommunication in companies found that information communicatedbytop management was only remembered by one in five people on the shop floor Positive Working Relationships In anothercase study, while 9S percent ofsupervisors felt they understood the problems ofthe people intheir teams well, just 3S per cent oftheir team members agreed. So, it is clearlyimportantfor managers to be goodcommunicators, and to understand the processwell. Butwhat exactlyis communication? In their book UnderstandingInformation (1990),Jonathon Liebenau andJames Backhouse define communication as follows: Source:LiebenauandBackhouse(1990) Within this broad definition it is importantto distinguish between: spoken and written communication verbal and non-verbal communication formal and informal communication. Spol<en and written communication The first key distinction is between spoken communication- where we speakand listen- and written communication- where we write and read. As Stephen Coveycomments, managers spendmanyhours aday speaking, listening, reading and writing: Source: Covey(1992) Coveyhighlights the skills oflisteningas especiallyimportant. He points outthat we all spend a lot oftime at school learningto read, write and speak, but much less learning to listen and in practice it is listening skills that canbe especiallyimportantto managers. Itis notonlythese skills thatare crucial for amanager; we also need to be able to decide when spoken orwritten communication is more appropriate. 1 Communicating to connect Verbal and non-verbal communication The second key distinction is betweenverbal and non-verbal communication: • Verbal communication is the words that we sayorwrite down when we communicate • Non-verbal communication is the messages we conveywithout words byourtone ofvoice, ourexpressions, the gestures we make and other aspects ofour 'bodylanguage', such as posture. You will considerthe impact ofnon-verbal cues when you lookat verbal communication skills laterin this book. Formal and informal communication The third key distinction is between formal and informal communication: • Formal communication is the communication up, down and along the hierarchy of the organisation. Itincludes communication with your boss, withyour team and the colleagues with whom you are expectedto communicate using reports, letters, memos, meetings, etc. • Informal communication, bycontrast, includes the rumours that race round organisations, the informal networks between friends and the grapevine. The conventionswe use for communicatingvary. We will use very different conventions for aformal, written letter than for an informal conversation. We mayuse differentwords, different kinds ofsentence, different forms ofaddress, and so on. These conventions evolve as communication evolves. The growth of e-mailis one fascinating example ofthis: while e-mails are awritten form ofcommunication and are oftenused in formal contexts, they oftenuse the conventions ofinformal, spoken communication. In this they mayboth reflect achange towards less formal conventions at work, and help to drive this change. Some I<ey aspects of communication When you need to communicate with otherpeople, there are a numberofkey aspects to consider: • Purpose- firstconsiderwhatyouwanttoachievebythe communication. Howdo you want the receiver to react? What do you want them to do orthink? • Audience- itis equallyvital to considerwho you are communicatingto. Thiswill have an impactonwhatyou say and howyou sayit- you will need to use terminology they understand, and adopt a style and level offormality appropriate to them. Positive Working Relationships • Medium- you also need to consider howyou will putyour message across, and select an appropriate medium- whether one-to-one, bytelephone, in a group ormeeting, byletter or e mail, and so on. • Context- equallyimportant is the contextwithin which communication takes place- and in particularthe level oftrust and co-operation between people. The importance of trust and co-operation to communication Stephen Covey uses the diagram shown in Figure 1.1 to underline the importance oftrust and co-operation for communication. Figure 1.1 Trustandco-operation in communication Source: Covey(1992) Communication in new organisations The changes in organisations in recent years have had two importantramifications for communication. Firstly, developments such as Total Qualityand Investors in People (lIP), with their emphasis on people, have putthe role ofcommunication even more firmly atthe centre ofanorganisation. Secondly, changes in organisations have affected howcommunication takes place. In particular: The tendency towards flatter, less hierarchical organisations has had a significant impact on communicationwithin organisations. There are fewer layers to communicate across and, in some organisations at least, less formality. The increasinguse ofteamworking and project organisation calls for greatercollaborative skills. The trend towards keeping core operations in-house and outsourcingother services has led to newpatterns of communicationbetween customers and suppliers. 1 Communicating to connect New media- in particular e-mailbut also companyintranets and video conferencingfacilities - have had an important impact on communication. In many cases communication is now more direct and immediate. One result ofthese changes is that there is nowoften greater emphasis on spoken communication than onwritten communication. Positive Working Relationships 1 Communicating to connect Given the importance ofcommunication to organisations, it is perhaps not surprisingthat a large number ofwriters have discussed the subject. In particular, somewriters have providedmodels ofthe communication processwhich may help you to develop your understanding ofyour interactionswith otherpeople andwill therefore be relevant to othertopics in this book. This section describes some ofthe more important models and suggests some ways in which they may beuseful in yourwork. Return to sender? - Coding and decoding Figure 1.2Sendingandreceivinginformation Source:LiebenauandBackhouse (1990) The first model ofcommunicationfocuses verymuch on the process itself, and howa message is transmitted from senderto receiver (see Figure 1.2). Within this model a number ofthings must happen if communication is to take place: Firstly, there must be asender- the personwho does the communicating- who sends the message. Secondly, there must be areceiver- the personthe senderwishes to communicateto- who will receive the message. The sendermust choose achannel ormedium to send their message- this couldbe face to face, via letter or e-mail, overthe phone, and so on. The sendermust also choose a 'code' in which to sendthe message- coding. This is acrucial partofthe process- the sender must choosethe language and words that the receiver will understand, but also needs to observe other conventions, such as bodylanguage.
The list of books you might like
