Essay Sample on Effective Communication in the Diverse Workplace

Introduction

The current workplace has become more diverse in nature. Communication between employees, across departments, and between clients and employees is essential for the effective running of an organization. Effective communication is key to a successful work environment. Employees with different cultural backgrounds have different ways of communication. Effective communication involves effective and timely feedback. Feedback refers to the response or reaction a receiver gives after receiving the sender's message. Feedback is the final step in communication. For communication to be complete there must be feedback. For an organization to retain its competitive advantage, it must have effective communication procedures in place. Employees should be able to work as a team. Effective communication is the key to effective teamwork. In the current work environment, all organizations should embrace teamwork in order for them to remain relevant and maintain their competitive advantage. One of the key problems in organizations is poor communication and feedback. This paper will focus on poor organizational communication, its prevalence, and how it can be addressed.

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Poor communication and feedback have become one of the major problems affecting organizational performance. There are various causes of poor communication and feedback, most of which are as a result of internal factors. Some of the major causes are as discussed below:

Lack of effective leadership. It is the responsibility of a leader to give instructions. When a leader fails to give instructions and the way forward to employees this affects the growth of the organization. Organizations must have clear communication channels, these channels are developed and implemented by the management. It is the responsibility of the management to clarify the communication channels and create an effective communication culture.

Unclear roles and responsibilities. Employees should have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities, this way they are able to communicate and give feedback effectively. For this to be achieved employees should be provided with a clear job description of their various positions. Once this is done, it is easier for employers to communicate responsibilities and get feedback from their employees. Communication is a two-way process, and as thus when one of the parties lacks information then the process cannot be effective. It is the responsibility of employers to develop clear employee's roles and responsibilities and communicate the same to the concerned parties.

Another major cause of poor communication and feedback is unskilled employees. Employees who lack the desired skills to execute their roles are always unmotivated. There is a very high correlation between unmotivated employees and productivity. With poor communication and feedback, an organization cannot meet its goals. It is the responsibility of employers to ensure that they hire and retain skilled employees. There should also be an on-going employees training program to ensure that employees are equipped with the necessary skills. Skilled and informed employees are able to communicate effectively with management, colleagues, and clients. Unskilled employees directly impact on productivity as they always transfer incorrect information both internally and externally.

Poor communication and feedback lead to a culture of distrust. Trust is essential for the performance of any organization. When management is not capable to communicate important information to its employees, the employees start to think that certain information is being withheld. This affects the entire organizational performance. With the culture of distrust, no organization can survive in the current competitive market environment.

Finding and fixing communication breakdown is a very critical process. There are various ways through which poor communication can be fixed. However, for efficiency, organizations need to have a general form of correcting the problem. As discussed above, there are various causes of poor communication and feedback within organizations. All the contributing factors can be solved with the creation of an effective organizational culture. A culture which promotes inclusivity among all employees should be created. In this case, inclusive culture refers to a set of behaviors that employees and employers develop that promote their interaction patterns. The management should involve all employees in all its decision making. This way the employees feel as part and parcel of the organization and as thus an inclusive organizational culture is created.

Effective recruitment and hiring process should be implemented. Hiring the right employees is critical to the success of any organization. Employees who understand their roles and responsibilities and are able to execute them in the most effective manner are always motivated. Motivated employees are able to freely express themselves, this enhances the communication process and creates an effective organizational culture. The communication channels should also be made more flexible to enable the employees to communicate freely. The top-down form of communication should be discouraged in the current workplace.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, poor communication and feedback negatively impact on organizational performance. There are various causes of communication breakdown. For the organization I identified, the three major causes included a lack of effective leadership, unclear roles and responsibilities, and unskilled employees. Addressing the above causes can easily be achieved through the creation of an inclusive organizational culture and implementation of effective recruitment and hiring procedures. Effective communication motivates employees which in turn transforms into increased productivity.