The Sphere of Communication in the Workplace

Understanding and creating a positive interaction amongst employees is a challenge to companies’ experience. Not possessing the basic knowledge of communication and its components have resulted in a poor and unproductive working environment. As employees are needed to continue the profitable objective of organizations, designing a workflow conducive to the facets and spheres of communication has yielded a positive social working environment. This essay will provide valuable insights into the different aspects of communication, the levels within the communication spheres, and the importance of culture to achieve better communication proficiency in the workplace.

The multi-faceted aspect of communication surpasses the elemental characteristics people seem to focus on, such as verbally expressed communication. To fully comprehend communication in the workplace, people must increase their level of observation from the basics of speech to include non-verbal communication, such as body language, the sociology behind leading, influencing, and conflict resolution skills (Eunson, 2011). The examples embody the qualities of the social sciences, which are required in an effective manager. These human forms of interaction construct the different levels within the spheres of communication. Specifically, the “intrapersonal, interpersonal, group/team, workplace/organizational, public/media, and intercultural levels of the communication sphere” (Wood, 2012, p. 451). Since most individuals work with others, the interpersonal form of communication arises when a verbal interaction between two people occur; thus, resulting in one of the most common forms of social communication. An interesting concept is the interaction between two or more spheres of communication occurring simultaneously. For instance, while a group of people gathers to discuss their monthly sales goals, their interaction can be broadcasted through social media, which is another level within the sphere of communications.

To achieve organizational success, each organization must have a written culture. Establishing a culture is more likely to set the premises for positive communication within the workplace. Research reveals decades of a significant effect on communication patterns and practices resulting from an established organizational culture (Eunson, 2011). The major ingredients needed to establish a positive culture are “individual initiative, risk tolerance, direction, integration, management contact, control, identity, reward system, conflict tolerance, and communication patterns” (Taillieu, 2001, p. 302). The attitudes expressed by the individuals in the organization and their expectations regarding work habits significantly affect the interaction amongst employees and the quality of their job performance. As the current generation of Millennials enter the workforce, valuable insights should be placed on establishing a communication culture directed towards this generation’s personalities, which are often “overly self-confident and self-absorbed” (Myers & Sadaghiani, 2010, p. 225). Specifically, skills of communication and orientation should be prioritized as valuable components in the workplace in an effort to minimize intergenerational conflict in the workplace (Myers et al., 2010, p. 225). As a result, interpersonal and group/team spheres of communications are less likely to be negatively affected by the social emergence of the new generation in the workplace.

The objective of this essay was to assess the divergence of communication, the levels within the communication spheres, and the value of incorporating an organizational culture conducive to better communication skills in the workplace. Examples combining two levels of communication were incorporated to extend the basic perception of each social aspect occurring individually, such as the interpersonal and the group/team level within the sphere.

References

Eunson, B. (2011). Communication in the workplace. Milton, Qld: Wiley.

Myers, K. K., & Sadaghiani, K. (2010). Millennials in the workplace: A communication perspective on millennials' organizational relationships and performance. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25(2), 225-238. Retrieved from http://x.doi.org/10.1007/s10869-010-9172-7

Taillieu, T. (2001). Intercultural collaboration and cross-cultural effects. In Collaborative strategies and multi-organizational partnerships (p. 302). Leuven: Garant.

Wood, J. T. (2012). Pulling ideas together. In Communication in our lives (6th ed., p. 451). Boston, Mass.: Cengage.