Communication for Business: Key Issues

Communication for Business Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Communication for Business Communication has always been about the message itself rather than the means by which it is being transmitted. It requires understanding and how the information can be transferred from the sender to the receiver. For this reason, without a proper mutual understanding between the two, then it would be difficult for communication to take place. In the business environment, communication is an important aspect, and its effectiveness is essential for any company to run smoothly. An organization cannot perform well without an effective means of transferring information between the managers and employees. This indicates that managers spend the majority of their time communicating. Despite the importance of communication, a large number of businesses find it difficult to establish proper means of conveying messages from managers to employees and vice versa. Communication breakdowns are common in companies and in some cases, the easiest solution is to disengage. A similar situation is seen in Epic Manufacturing, where the company is experiencing communication issues. Despite Morgan’s training program is effective for the staff, but the top managers do not feel the need to partake in training, and this makes it difficult for the company to improve its communication processes. This essay seeks to identify the key communication issues in the company and offer recommendations for settling these issues. Analysis of Key Communication Issues. Conflict Leaders should be at the forefront of enhancing organizational communication. Leaders should be able to properly communicate the goals and objectives of the company to their subordinates to ensure that the entire team is working towards a common goal. Lack of proper communication can easily result in conflicts as evidenced in the case of Epic Manufacturing (Luthra & Dahiya, 2015). After being promoted, Morgan initiated training programs for the subordinates. However, some of the subordinates also felt like their section managers required the same kind of training as well. On the other hand, after bringing up the issue during the meeting with the Training and Development Committee, the managers got upset, and eventually, Morgan did not manage to get effective feedback from the managers since they did not agree with the subordinates. This scenario presents the issue of conflict between the subordinates and the managers. The conflict is brought about by the fact that both parties do not agree with the claims of the other party. The subordinates blame the managers for failing to communicate effectively, whereas the managers do not view themselves as lacking the effective communication skills and therefore, disagree with their subordinates. There are various reasons that can lead to conflicts. One reason that is evident in Morgan’s company is the failure by managers to respond to the needs of their employees. By pointing out that their managers lack proper communication skills, it means that the employees have identified the traits of poor communication skills among the managers. Results from the survey reveal that sixty employees find it difficult to voice their concerns to their managers. The high number indicates that there is a lack of openness between the two parties. According to Schiller and Cui (2010), openness is an important aspect of business, which can dictate the overall success of the company. There are several management concepts that are linked to openness; these concepts include decision making, organizational performance and job satisfaction (Ghazinejad, Hussein, & Zidane, 2018). Moreover, openness in communication has been associated with high levels of motivation as well as employee empowerment. In other words, employees at Epic Manufacturing are less motivated to work because their managers do not provide them with the appropriate platform for them to express themselves. The lack of proper communication also reflects on the employee’s failure to clearly identify their roles in the company. According to the survey, a high number of employees are unsure of their roles in Epic Manufacturing. The survey indicates that 80 individuals neither agree nor disagree with the fact that they have a clear idea about their job role. Moreover, 43 individuals mostly disagree that they have a clear idea about their job role. The high number of employees who are unsure about their roles indicates that the company’s leaders lack the core communication skills. Communication skills are categorized under interpersonal skills. These are the skills that are required to develop good relationships with individuals and are categorized as active listening, giving and receiving feedback, and emotional intelligence. Active Listening Active listening involves both physical and intellectual efforts. The skill requires managers to listen to what others are saying and understand their viewpoints before responding. In the case of Epic Manufacturing, when Morgan tried to raise the issue of subordinates claiming that their managers should also take part in the interpersonal skills training, one of the managers interrupted him and asked: “who said that about me?” (Cheng, 2019). The sudden interruption shows that the managers are unwilling to accept any comments from their subordinates, especially if they feel undermined. Rather than asking for a clearer explanation as to why their subordinates think that way about them, they are quick to defend themselves. This proves that managers lack active listening skills. Giving and Receiving Feedback The managers in Epic Manufacturing are also less open to feedback. More specifically, the managers have a selective perception about issues that concern them (Ozleblebici & Cetin, 2015). Selective perception occurs when an individual ignores the negative feedback received (Stroud & Choi, 2017). This is also displayed when Morgan revealed to them about the employees' suggestions that the managers partake in training as well. The managers were quick to dismiss the claims by trying to point fingers and ignored the opposing viewpoints. This action indicates that the managers had selective perception. Emotional Intelligence Emotional Intelligence combines both social skills and self-management. It involves a manager’s ability to manage emotions. Managers with emotional intelligence are slow to react to comments; instead, they consider the viewpoint of the individual giving the feedback before responding. However, managers at Epic Manufacturing lack emotional intelligence. The managers have a high ego, which makes it difficult for them to realize their weaknesses and work on them. A similar character that can be linked to this situation is framing. Framing involves the way in which an individual pictures the circumstance around a particular decision (Manzoni, 2002). The managers in the Training and Development Committee can be...