Effective Communication in Workplace: Cultural Issues and Strategies

This essay discusses the importance of effective communication in the workplace, focusing on cultural issues and strategies to overcome them. It highlights the impact of communication on goal planning and performance in organizations. The essay also explores the role of critical communication skills in strategy implementation and provides recommendations for building these skills.

Running Head: MANAGEMENT
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Name of University
Name of the course
Author Note

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Introduction
Effective communication at the workplace has been one of the integral element regarding
the success of business (Machin, 2014). This includes strategy of development and the
improvement of team building, boosting for growth and improving productivity for the
employees of the organization (Al-Jenaibi, 2017). The thesis statement of the essay argues on the
communication skills which is critical towards effective implementation of the strategy at the
workplace. The assignment aims to focus from the point of view of managers over the current
issue in the management of the organization, which is the cultural issue within the organization.
Discussion
Current Issue in Management
According to researchers, culture can be defined as the entire set of values, traditions,
practices or the beliefs within the employees of the organization contributing to the workplace
diversity and the context of the cultural differences within the workplace. This assignment will
highlight over one of the major cultural issue as pointed by the managers of the organization
which is the barriers in the language and communication. According to Berger (2014), due to the
presence of diverse workforce, communication and language barriers contributes to one of the
major cultural barriers resulting to loss of productivity and miscommunication within the
employees of the organization (Daniel, 2015). Some of the cultural challenges within the
organization includes attitude and issues of ego within the employees, passive listening,
challenges to communicate with others while managing dynamics in a collaborative manner and
poor written communication for interacting with the stakeholders of the organization.
Why is it an issue?

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The fundamental requirements for the employees within the organization is to have good
listening skills, open minded attitude and the capability for focusing over a common goal.
According to the researches, it is essential for the business communicators to work hard and keep
an open minded attitude while interacting with other (Hicks & Lloyd, 2016). While effective
communication might be a step back for the consideration of other points like changing minds
while interaction and learning; thus possessing it to be one of the critical factors towards the
strategy implementation at workplace. Good listening skills are also essential for the
development of the skills related to critical communication (Hannawa & Spitzberg, 2015). The
ability to listen through out is very much essential for ensure the understanding. The critical
context includes the nonverbal cues that at times send mixed signals within the face to face
conversation resulting in a critical scenario.
Impact over communication
According to Samson, Donnet and Daft (2018) in chapter 7 , the authors of the book
highlighted the importance of communication towards goals, planning and performances.
Goals are essential because there are organizations for a purpose and objectives that
define and specify them. A plan is a blueprint for achieving the goals and provides the resources,
schedules, duties and other measures appropriate (Bell & Martin, 2014). Top executives usually
create strategic objectives and schemes that represent both an company's dedication to
productivity and performance. Middle executives, such as heads of main branches or functional
units, are responsible for tactical objectives and schemes (Karanges et al., 2015).

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Source - Samson, Donnet and Daft (2018)
The figure above illustrates the levels of the goal plans where critical communication
skills is essential. This line up with legitimacy and the mission of the organization together with
resource allocation and performance standard of the organization. According the author of the
book, some of the core values that connects with the development and the implementation of
strategy at the workplace includes pioneering, integrity, unity, excellence and responsibility.
According to chapter 8 of the book, the formulation of the strategy and implementation at
the organizational level requires critical communication skills.
The first stage in strategic management is the development of an explicit approach, the
action plan that defines distribution of resources and environmental operations, the achievement
of competitive advantages and the achievement of the objectives of the organization (Ihlen et al.,
2017). Competitive advantage relates to those features that distinguish the organization from

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others and give it a distinguishing edge to customer or customer requirements on the market. In
order to obtain a competitive benefits, businesses are necessarily changing their policies over
time to meet their environmental needs (McGuinness & Ortiz, 2016).
Source - Samson, Donnet and Daft (2018)
The figure above from chapter 8 of the book highlights the entire process of the strategic
management and the implementation of the strategies at the organization. The process of the
formulation and execution of strategy requires effective communication.

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Source - Samson, Donnet and Daft (2018)
Regardless how brilliant the approach formulated, if not skilfully enforced, the
organization does not gain (Al-Musalli, 2019). Critical communication skills are a key to
efficient strategy implementation, meaning that the organizing guidelines and objectives are fully
understood and accepted in the entire organization (Harrison & Mühlberg, 2014) . That is, it is all
in line with the policy and all departments and individual attempts are coordinated to achieve
strategy objectives in every aspect of the organization.
Strategy to overcome - Building critical communication skills
Finally in chapter 17, the author highlighted the interpersonal importance and aspect of
communication with organization.
An essential aspect of every manager's work is to know how to interact efficiently. Good
executives understand which communication channels are to be used for various messages and
why elements of communication such as hearing, asking questions and providing frank feedback

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are so essential for organizational achievement (Xiang, 2019). Those with executives keeping the
communication lines open are the most effective organizations.
Source - Samson, Donnet and Daft (2018)
Managers should be able to comprehend how factors, like the open climate of
communication, communication channels, the ability to convince people to communicate,
questions, hearing and non-verbal behaviour are all used to improve or diminish communication
in order to obtain the best possible result (Cran,2015). Managers should also consider the effects
of sex on communication. In practical terms, this management investigates how the differences
between males and females impact on the efficacy of communication (Lê, 2018).

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Conclusion
Interaction is mostly for data transmission, but also for individuals to convince and
impact. While communication skills were always crucial for executives, it's even more critical
today to be able to convince and impact others. Managers are no longer dominant in the
command-and-control approach telling employees what to do and how to do it. Four aspects of
workplace interaction use social media, use private channels, develop official communication
channels and develop crisis communication strategies These are crucial for the advantages of
development deriving from stake holders autonomy, dynamic impact on the market and pure
effectiveness.

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