Essay on "Communication for Managers"

Essay 6 pages (1716 words) Sources: 1+ Style: Harvard

[EXCERPT] . . . .

business abroad, there is significant risk of miscommunication or communication breakdown as the result of intercultural differences. Managers traveling abroad must not only be aware of this risk, but they must also take steps to reduce this risk. Three strategies that can be used to reduce the risk of miscommunication in an intercultural business setting are to gather information, to utilize patience during the communication process and to adjust to different verbal and non-verbal styles.

Prior to entering into the communication, a manager should thoroughly research the communication style of the culture that is being engaged. It is essential that the manager understand a wide range of variable in order to prevent pitfalls. These variables include both verbal and non-verbal communication styles. Most communication is non-verbal, so those cues are important to understand. For example, Mexicans are reticent to make eye contact, and knowledge of this can avoid taking offense when dealing with a Mexican businessperson who disengages eye contact. Verbal cues are just as important -- sometimes it is not what is being said but how it is being said that matters most. Many Asian cultures avoid topics they are uncomfortable with, but will be indirect in doing so, which can lead to confusion for American managers accustomed to a more direct communication style.

Hofstede identified a variety of other areas which can help to define a culture and its communication style. These factors include power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation (Hofstede et al., 2002). Understanding what to expect in terms of all of these variables is essential for the manager if communication is to be smooth and without misstep. In some cases, it is important to understand culture not just in general terms but in terms of more specific ethnic or geographic variables. There are considerable differences in culture between, for example, Caucasian-Americans and African-Americans, or between Bavarians and other Germans. Immigrant countries can be even more complex -- a meeting in Toronto might expose a manager to several cultures at the same table, with only some commonality between them.

Information is the most powerful tool available to the manager when engaging in cross-cultural communication. The more information and knowledge that can be acquired ahead of the communication, the greater the likelihood that the communication will go smoothly. Improving one's cultural competence through the acquisition of knowledge is therefore the most important step in avoiding miscommunication.

Once the communication has begun, there remains significant risk of miscommunication. It is important, therefore, that the manager exercise considerable patience. For example, if something was said that appears to have been misunderstood or have caused offense, the manager should clarify or better explain the statement. Likewise, if the manager uses an idiom that is not understood by the other side (a common trait of native English speakers), an alternate way of expressing the same idea should be offered. In addition to patience, the manager must be able to make adjustments to communication styles midstream, if the current style is ineffective. For example, if dealing when dealing with a German it becomes apparent that they would like more details, the manager may need to adjust their style to include that.

4) in order for a survey to be useful to an organization, it must be both valid and reliable. There is a specific path that must be undertaken in order to achieve this. The first step is defining the survey's objectives. A survey that has set objectives will be sufficiently focused to deliver useful information. The second step is to develop an approach to the survey. In order to do this, an inventory must be taken of the team's skills and resources. These can put constraints on the team's capabilities but they can also provide guidance that will make the survey better. The third step is to design the survey. There are a number of different survey types, each of them best suited to specific types of objectives and useful for organizations with specific sets of resources. The survey could be exploratory or specific; it could be qualitative or quantitative; it could be interview or questionnaire. Moreover, the sampling method must be determined and the sample size set, each valid for the survey's stated objectives.

The fourth step to producing valid, reliable surveys is to collect the data. During this process, the survey must be executed in accordance with the survey plan. This requires diligence and discipline on the part of those conducting the survey, but any shortcuts would undermine the entire survey process. The fifth step is to perform data analysis. This involves conducting either quantitative or qualitative analysis of the survey data. It must be known from the research design step the method that will be used to perform the data analysis. The sixth step is to prepare the report. It is critical that the report highlight the key data points and answer all of the questions from the objectives. The report should also illustrate the statistical degree of confidence that the researcher has in the results.

5) There are several parts to a formal proposal. These include the cover sheet, title page, the abstract, the table of contents, the introduction, the project goals and objectives, a note on the ability of the researcher to undertake this project, a description of relevant institutional resources, a literature review, a description of the proposed research, an action plan or methodology and a note on the evaluation of the project (Dartmouth College, 2010).

The cover sheet and title page simply introduce the title and the producer of the proposal. The abstract provide a brief synopsis of the research that is being conducted. It is a short-form explanation of the project, but does not delve into the literature nor the conclusions. It is not intended as a summation of the work, but a brief introduction that encourages the reader to peruse the work further.

The introduction provides a solid opener for the proposal, outlining the basic premise of the project and its antecedents. The hypothesis should be identified in the introduction. The main part of the body begins with the note on the researcher's ability to undertake this project. In this section, the researcher outlines his/her qualifications and those of the other team members. Because this is a proposal, the researcher should make a strong case that they are fully qualified to conduct this researcher, since they will receiving funding for the task. After this, the proposal should include a note about the research capacity of the institution. This will provide evidence that the researcher will have the needed support and resources to see the research through to its conclusion, rather than having the project scuttled before completion.

The literature review is a critical component for two reasons. The first is that is provides evidence of the researcher's qualifications -- the researcher is aware of the prior work that has been done and is aware of the work that remains as yet undone. The second is that the literature review provides the knowledge and context to the proposal's readers so that they can see for themselves that the research is going to make a valuable contribution to the field.

The description of the proposed research will outline the research that is to be conducted, and should tie that research back to the information in the literature review in order to demonstrate relevance. The action plan will outline how the researcher intends to conduct the research. This allows those evaluating the proposal to better visualize the research. They can offer advice as to how to make the research stronger, more robust or more relevant if they understand what the researcher intends to do. Lastly, the proposal should include a note on the evaluation of the project -- how will the data be interpreted?

7) There are several types of job interviews, each of which has different positive and negative attributes to the organization. One common type is the behavioral interview, in which the interviewee analyzes how an employee would react in specific situations. This type can give the employer a perspective on the employee's behavioral tendencies. However, this type of interview is flawed because both the situations and responses are hypothetical. It does not measure actual behavior, nor is there any control on the interpretation of the answers, which can be wildly divergent.

Another interview type is the group interview. This type of interview has many candidates together to be interviewed at once, which gives them all the ability to interact with one another. This allows the organization to see group interaction first hand among the candidates, and allows the organization to evaluate the candidates against each other directly. However, group interviews are biased towards extroverts, which may rule out otherwise exception but somewhat introverted candidates.

Some interviews are remote -- telephone interviews and video interviews. These can be conducted among a variety of styles, but their main advantage is their convenience. The former may be especially appropriate for positions… READ MORE

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