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Communication and Interpersonal Skills - Coggle Diagram
Communication and Interpersonal Skills
What interpersonal skills do managers need to engage in effective communications?
The major ones include:
Active listening
Feedback
Empowerment
Conflict management
Negotiating
Conflict management
The ability to manage conflict is undoubtedly one of the most important skills a manager needs to possess.
Conflict is the perceived incompatible differences resulting in some form of interference or opposition. Whether the differences are real is irrelevant. If people perceive that differences exist, then there is conflict.
Three different views on conflict within organizations exist:
Traditional view of conflict:
conflict must be avoided, because it indicates a problem within a group.
Human relations view of conflict:
conflict is a natural and inevitable outcome in any group and need not be negative. It has the potential to be a positive force in contributing to group performance.
Inter-actionist view of conflict:
conflict can be a positive force in a group and some is necessary for a group to perform effectively.
One should note that inter-actionists do not believe all conflicts are good. They see some conflicts as constructive (functional conflicts) and some as destructive (dysfunctional conflicts).
Inter-actionists classify conflicts into one of three types:
Task conflicts
Relationship conflicts
Process conflicts
Task conflict
relates to the content and goals of the work.
Relationship conflict
focuses on interpersonal relationships.
Process conflict
refers to how the work gets done.
According to the inter-actionists,
relationship conflicts
are almost always dysfunctional and bad for an organization.
However, low to moderate task or
process conflict
can have positive effects on group performance. If these conflicts become too great though, then the conflicts change into dysfunctional ones and are bad for an organization.
If conflict becomes too great, managers can follow one of five possible strategies to resolve the conflict.
These strategies include:
Avoidance
Accommodation
Forcing
Compromise
Collaboration
Conflict management strategies and when best to use:
Avoidance:
Conflict is trivial, when emotions are running high and time is needed to cool them down, or when the potential disruption from an assertive action outweighs the benefits of resolution.
Accommodation:
The issue under dispute is not that important to you or when you want to build up credits for later issues.
Forcing:
You need a quick resolution on important issues that require unpopular actions to be taken and when commitment by others to your solution is not critical.
Compromise:
Conflicting parties are about equal in power, when it is desirable to achieve a temporary solution to a complex issue, or when time pressures demand an expedient solution.
Collaboration:
Time pressures are minimal, when all parties seriously want a win-win solution, and when the issue is too important to be compromised.
Since some
conflict might be good
,
how
should a manager stimulate it?
First, managers should tell their employees that conflict has a legitimate place in the organization. Techniques to stimulate it include:
Ambiguous or threating messages,
Promote activities that will disrupt the status quo,
Appoint a “devil’s advocate” whose job is to present arguments against majority opinions and/or current practices.
Negotiating
1.
Definition:
Negotiating is part of a manager’s job. Negotiation is the process in which two or more parties who have difference preferences must make a joint decision and come to an agreement.
When negotiating, managers usually use one of
two general approaches:
Distributive
Integrative
Which one a manager uses often depends on the circumstances.
A
distributive strategy
is one where one party in the end will benefit over the other. Each side tries to get the most that they can from the other party.
Most participants in price negotiations employ this type of strategy.
An
integrative strategy
is one where all sides feel that at least one solution is a win-win solution where all sides benefit.
In general, integrative negotiating is preferred over distributive negotiating, especially when the parties involved want to build a long-term relationship. However, unless all parties are open, trusting, and flexible, integrative negotiating is difficult and not wise to use.
How to develop effective negotiation skills:
Research the individual with whom you’ll be negotiating
Begin with a positive overture
Address problems, not personalities
Pay little attention to initial offers
Emphasize win-win solutions
Create an open and trusting climate
If needed, be open to accepting third-party assistance
Delegation
How much authority should a manager delegate?
Well, that often depends on the circumstances.
However, several contingency factors will influence the delegation decision:
Size of the organization
Importance of the duty or decision
Task complexity
Organizational culture
Qualities of the employees
Size of the Organization:
The larger the organization, the more decisions that must be made, thus the more likely delegation will be used often.
Importance of the Duty or Decision:
The more important a duty or decision in terms of cost or impact, the less likely it will be delegated.
Task Complexity:
Complex tasks require greater expertise, and decisions about them should be delegated to the people who have the necessary technical knowledge.
Organizational Culture:
If management has confidence and trust in employees, the culture will support a greater degree of delegation. If not, then delegation only occurs when necessary.
Qualities of Employees:
Delegation requires employees with the skills, abilities, and motivation to accept authority and act on it. If these are lacking, managers will be reluctant to relinquish authority.
How does a manager delegate effectively?
To increase delegation effectiveness managers should do the following when delegating:
Clarify the assignment,
Specify employees’ range of discretion,
Allow employees to participate,
Inform others that delegation has occurred,
Establish feedback controls.