Business Communications CM4203 - Week 2 Quiz

Business Communications CM4203 - Week 2, Part 2

• The course is about interpersonal communication, networks, and conflict.
• The communication process involves a sender, encoding, media message, decoding, and receiver. It also involves context, noise/interference, feedback, and response.
• Factors impacting interpersonal communication include status and power, organizational structure and working conditions, relationship history, roles, norms and group dynamics, emotional and social intelligence, and conflict style.
• Social intelligence includes understanding group dynamics, how information flows within a group, relating to different types of people, understanding power dynamics, and managing conflict.
• A network is a structure of linked entities whose relationships affect individual nodes and create effects due to their interrelated structure.
• Networking is a human process that builds and maintains relationships based on trust, knowledge exchange, and collaborative working.
• Developing a professional community involves more than just increasing network size; it requires careful analysis of skills, goals, and finding the best resources for development, particularly through participation in social practices within a group.
• A useful metaphor for nurturing professional relationships is "farming" rather than "hunting" in order to build relationships, rather than just connections.
• Key terms include exogenous (external cause) and endogenous (internal cause/origin), homophily (people who are similar) and propinquity (place and spatial dimensions).
• Key steps in networking or developing a professional community include ensuring the network is not just 'old boy' networks, embracing the concept of reciprocity, giving relationships time, not relying on chance encounters, prioritizing and not just focusing on 'higher' contacts, concentrating on goals and mutual respect, and using communication skills appropriately.
• Social and emotional intelligence are linked.
• Understanding how networks work is a key skill for professionals.
• Effective conflict management skills and strategies are important in both personal and professional relationships.
• A 2006 study by Porath found high incidences of workplace incivility and that this impact on employee well-being, and potential job changing behaviors.
• Common sources of conflict include limited resources, clashes in values, goals, or priorities, poorly defined responsibilities, change, and human drives for success.

Stages of Conflict

• Stages in conflict include conflict situation, awareness, manifestation, resolution, and after-effects.

Conflict Management Styles

• The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Modes include competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, and accommodating. These modes depend on assertiveness and cooperativeness.

Animal Analogies for Conflict Styles

• The Turtle: Avoids conflict by withdrawing.
• The Shark: Attempts to overpower the opponent.
• The Fox: Seeks compromise.
• The Teddy Bear: Prioritizes relationships over goals.
• The Owl: Values both goals and relationships and sees conflict as solvable via a win-win attitude.

Conflict Resolution Techniques

• Effective conflict resolution strategies include tracing the conflict back to its source, recognising and accepting the feelings of others, devising win-win solutions, and cutting losses when appropriate.

Managing Personal Anger

• Suggestions for managing personal anger include acknowledging it, avoiding slights or negative behaviors, taking breaks, confiding in someone trustworthy, and identifying underlying problems.

Key Elements for Managing workplace conflict (Tosi, Rizzo, and Carroll 1986)

• Establish goals
• Reduce vagueness
• Improve policies, procedures, and rules
• Alter communications
• Change reward systems
• Staff reshuffles/personnel changes

Response Styles in Conflict Situations

• Addressers (first-steppers), Confronters, Concealers (feeling swallowers), Subject-changers, Avoiders, Attackers (direct confrontational), and Behind-the-backs are different response styles in conflict situations.

Benefits of Dealing with Conflict

• Strong relationships, increased self-respect, personal growth, and improved workplace efficiency are benefits from conflict resolution.

Important Questions for Defining One's Conflict Style

• Consider your level of investment in the relationship, the importance of the issue to you, the energy levels for the conflict, and the potential consequences of engaging or avoiding the conflict.

Conflict Management Strategies

• Separate individuals from the issue, focus on interests, rather than positions; control your emotions, realize that you should treat all parties fairly and express empathy. Avoid getting over-emotional and allow people to save face.

This quiz covers concepts from Week 2 of the Business Communications course, focusing on interpersonal communication, networks, and conflict. It addresses the communication process, factors impacting communication, and the importance of social and emotional intelligence in relationships. Prepare to test your understanding of these key topics.