Dropping anchor in the spasmodic sea of communication in the workplace: the mid-level manager's concept of the face-to-face communication process
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Authors
Noonan, Jennifer L.
Issue Date
2007
Type
Capstone
Language
en
Keywords
Psychology
Alternative Title
Abstract
Poor communication in the workplace is a prevalent issue that frequently is the root cause of organizational issues including, but not limited to, ineffective problem solving, uninformed decision making, unresolved conflicts, and substandard service delivery. When they address poor communication skills at all, employers most commonly deal with poor workplace communication by investing in skills training for their employees. Some authors have suggested, however, that skills training is not enough; instead, workers need a more comprehensive understanding of the communication process and all of its intricacies. Getting to the root of poor face-to-face communication in the workplace is an important issue to hundreds of organizations and the people who work in them. Improved communication in the workplace promises to have far reaching effects—even all the way to the bottom line. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to understand how mid-level managers—who can comment on face-to-face communication with subordinates, with peers, and with superiors—conceptualize the communication process and to determine if they are capable of ensuring that the face-to-face communication process is used effectively to achieve good communication. Additionally, this study sought to explore how companies define good communication, how managers evaluate their employees' communication skills, and barrier to good communication in the workplace. Gaining this information contributed new insights about the root cause of poor face-to-face communication in the workplace.