How Can Inter-personal Communication Improve Managerial Effectiveness?

Essay by johnchinUniversity, Bachelor's June 2009

download word file, 13 pages 0.0

Meaning of the word "inter-personal"The Collins Cobuild English Language Dictionary defines the word "inter-personal" to simply mean the relationships between people.

However, in the words of Ben Stein, a writer, actor and game show host, "Inter-personal relationships are the fertile soil from which all advancement, all success, all achievement in real life grows."What is communication?Cliff Durfee, creater of the Heart Talk process, says that "Communication resembles a Ping-Pong game in which people are merely preparing to slam their next point across; but pausing to understand differing points of view and associated feelings can turn apparent opponents into true members of the same team."What then is inter-personal communication?Interpersonal communication is the process that we use to communicate our ideas, thoughts, and feelings to another person.

Our interpersonal communication skills are, therefore, learned behaviours that can be improved or enhanced through knowledge, practice, feedback, and reflection.

What is managerial effectiveness?In the study conducted by Morse and Wagner (1978), it was found that successful managers do exhibit basic roles and sets of behaviour which include:•controlling the organisation's environment and its resources•organising and coordinating•information handling•providing for growth and development•motivating employees and handling conflicts•strategic problem solvingFrom their research, they concluded that the above six behaviours explain greater than 50% of the managerial effectiveness.

How can it be improved? Inter-personal skills as critical management skillsAccording to literatures on management skills, effective managers ought to be competent in different skills and the most frequently cited of these are:•verbal communication•managing time and stress•managing individual decision•recognising, defining and solving problems•motivating and influencing others - peers and subordinates•delegating•setting goals and articulating a version•self awareness•team building•managing conflictsManagers can enhance their interpersonal skills by being accessible and by defining each individual's or team's areas of responsibility.

The emphasis should be upon developing alternatives and the sharing of ideas and information rather...