Interpersonal Effectiveness and Organizational Effectiveness Report

This report examines interpersonal effectiveness within a business context, focusing on communication skills, teamwork, and their impact on organizational effectiveness. The report begins with an introduction outlining the importance of self-awareness and teamwork in an organizational setting. It then delves into the concept of interpersonal effectiveness, discussing the stages of group formation using Tuckman's model. A critical incident is analyzed using the STARP table, reflecting on a presentation experience and identifying areas for improvement in communication skills. The report then explores the communication process model, analyzing its implications for the student's communication style and highlighting the importance of verbal and non-verbal communication. The report links interpersonal effectiveness to organizational success, emphasizing the need for appropriate communication strategies. Finally, the report outlines future goals and strategies for enhancing communication skills, including vocabulary building and audience engagement, before concluding with a summary of the key learnings and their practical application.

Running head: INTERPERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS 1
Name: ___________________________
Student Number: __________________
BSD124
Working in Business
Teaching period 1/2018
Portfolio Part 2
Submission Date:
Tutor:
Tutorial Time & Date:
Word Count: 1008

Interpersonal Effectiveness 2
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction...........................................................................................................................................3
2.0 Interpersonal Effectiveness...................................................................................................................3
2.1 Critical Incident......................................................................................................................................4
STARP Table.................................................................................................................................................4
2.2 Theoretical Analysis and Reflection.......................................................................................................6
2.3 Link to Organizational Effectiveness......................................................................................................7
3.0 Future Goals and Strategies...................................................................................................................7
4.0 Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................8
References...................................................................................................................................................9

Interpersonal Effectiveness 3
1.0 Introduction
The purpose of this report is to integrate the theories learned based on the activities that
were conducted during lectures, tutorials, as well as workshops. The report also reflects on what
I have learned concerning myself regarding to how best I communicate and how good I am while
working with a team at a personal level in an organizational setting. The area of effectiveness to
be covered by the report is the interpersonal and organizational effectiveness. It is essential to
develop self-awareness since having a better understanding of ourselves enables us to experience
ourselves as unique and separate individuals. In addition, teamwork skills are important as they
help in creating synergy in an organization. This report will mainly focus on my communication
effectiveness and its implication in an organizational setting.
2.0 Interpersonal Effectiveness
The process of forming a group takes time as the team members undergo identifiable
stages as they try to adopt from being a collection of strangers to a team that is united and having
same goals and objectives. Bruce Tuckman’s model describes four stages involved in group
formation(Kerr, 2017). These are Forming, Storming, Norming, and Norming. In our case, our
group was at the performing stage. At this level, my team is working hard to ensure achievement
of goals such as completing assignments within the given timeline.
Interpersonal effectiveness is a person’s ability to manage conflict, develop and high-
performance groups, carry out effective meetings, give a negative feedback pertaining a situation
but in a good way, as well as have an influence on the opinions of other people.

Interpersonal Effectiveness 4
2.1 Critical Incident
STARP Table
S=Situation I experienced this situation in the University
environment whereby I was required to give a
presentation of my assignment to my team-
mates as well as the whole class. I was to use
my interpersonal skills to ensure that my team
earned enough marks from the presentation.
T=Task During the presentation, I was required to use
a good articulation of words as well as an
efficient command of the language. I was to
ensure that all information was presented in a
chronological order and in an understandable
manner. Also, I was to ensure that I involved
the rest of the class in the presentation.
A=Action I am a shy person. Thus, it was difficult for
me to face the whole class, most importantly
in the presence of the lecturer because I was
not sure if I was presenting the right thing. I
noted that I was rushing through the whole
presentation. Additionally, words did not
come out clearly as I would have wanted and
by the look of the other students, I was sure

Interpersonal Effectiveness 5
that I had lost it all. I never involved them in
the presentation. I never used non-verbal cues
and my posture could tell that I was a poor
communicator.
R=Result My team-mates earned very little marks from
the presentation due to my poor
communication skills. I noted that I was a
poor communicator and was not able to read
the body language of the students.
P=Plan To improve my communication skills for the
better tomorrow, I intend to learn to
communicate clearly and with confidence,
while maintaining a good posture (Manzoor,
2012). This includes learning to be
courageous and maintain eye contact with my
audience. Also, I intend to learn how to
engage my audience in discussions such as
through asking questions as well as learn how
to encourage my audience to call out their
thoughts through a brainstorming session.

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2.2 Theoretical Analysis and Reflection
Communication process model refers to the process of exchanging information between
individuals (Caligiuri&Tarique, 2012). The process begins with the sender who possesses some
kind of idea which they want to share. For the message to be sent, the sender encodes it in a form
which is understandable by the group. Then, the sender transmits the message, directed to the
receiver. To comprehend the information, the message must reach the receiver, who then
decodes it (Colbert, Barrick& Bradley, 2014). The message refers to the idea or information that
is being shared. The medium is the means of transmitting the message such as the use of cell
phones. Once the message is decoded and understood by the receiver, the receiver responds to
the sender indicating that they have understood the message (Edel, 2017). The feedback is
encoded by the receiver and sends it back to the sender who receives and decodes it. The
communication model should involve verbal communication and use of body language. Verbal
communication may include appropriate use of tone, pace, as well as volume.
The communication process model is very essential in the following ways: first,
communication assists in the coordination of various group activities through the provision of
complete information regarding the group’s goals, means of achieving the goals, as well as the
interpersonal relations between team-mates. Second, the communication process model is useful
in the decision-making process since all the necessary information can be provided. In the
absence of effective communication, no information would be available, thus decision-making
would be difficult. Also, an effective communication model is useful in boosting morale as well
as providing motivation to the team members.
The communication process theory portrays my poor communication skills. It appears
that my communication was not well encoded before I delivered it to the students and my team-

Interpersonal Effectiveness 7
mates. The medium of delivering the process was good (Ferraro &Briody, 2013). However, the
information did not reach my audience accordingly, hence they could not decode and understand
it. This was due to the tone that I used in presenting my ideas such that it did not create the
required impact. Nonetheless, the pace of my presentation was very fast such that articulation of
words was poor as well as inaudible. From this, I have learned that I need to improve my
communication skills for example by learning to use non-verbal cues. Also, I have learned that I
have to interact with people to build on my courage, for example by engaging in frequent talks.
Regarding my pace and the tone that I used during the presentation, I have learnt that
information has to be delivered in a pace that is moderated and which allows good articulation of
words and audibility. Notwithstanding, I have learnt that an appropriate tone has to be selected
depending on the audience and the information being delivered.
2.3 Link to Organizational Effectiveness
For an organization to be successful, appropriate forms of communication should be
used. By use of appropriate forms, a person is able to understand the team members (Kurtz,
Draper & Silverman, 2016). This may include understanding their priorities as well as their
values. However, in an organization’s setting, we must acknowledge the cultural differences and
diversity that exist. Thus, miscommunication may also arise due to cultural differences.
3.0 Future Goals and Strategies
I have identified certain areas that I need to improve on to make my communication
effective (Martin & Nakayama, 2013). I must build on my courage to address a large audience,
improve on my language and selection of words, learn to use non-verbal cues, as well as learning
to involve my audience (Le Fevre& Robinson, 2015). To achieve these, my future goals would
be to develop a schedule for reading broadly to gather vocabularies as well as developing a

Interpersonal Effectiveness 8
professional team that will help me enhance my communication. Additionally, I aim at
occasionally reading aloud to a friend to be able to monitor my tone as well as audibility of my
communication skills.
4.0 Conclusion
This reflection has assisted me to acknowledge my strengths and weaknesses. The areas
include building on my vocabulary, appropriate encoding, and delivery of information. This will
be helpful as it will enable me to enhance my communication abilities for good. By so doing, I
shall be in a position to interact with team-mates and the co-workers in an organization setting
without fear of communicating my thoughts.

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References
Caligiuri, P., &Tarique, I. (2012). Dynamic cross-cultural competencies and global leadership
effectiveness. Journal of World Business, 47(4), 612-622.
Colbert, A. E., Barrick, M. R., & Bradley, B. H. (2014). Personality and leadership composition
in top management teams: Implications for organizational effectiveness. Personnel
Psychology, 67(2), 351-387.
Edel, A. (2017). The theory of business enterprise. Routledge.
Ferraro, G. P., &Briody, E. K. (2013). The cultural dimension of global business. Upper Saddle
River: Pearson.
Kerr, S. (2017). Forming, storming, norming, and performing (Doctoral dissertation,
ResearchSpace@ Auckland).
Kurtz, S., Draper, J., & Silverman, J. (2016). Teaching and learning communication skills in
medicine. CRC press.
Le Fevre, D. M., & Robinson, V. M. (2015). The interpersonal challenges of instructional
leadership: Principals’ effectiveness in conversations about performance
issues. Educational Administration Quarterly, 51(1), 58-95.
Manzoor, Q. A. (2012). Impact of employees motivation on organizational
effectiveness. Business management and strategy, 3(1), 1.
Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2013). Intercultural communication in contexts. New York:
NY: McGraw-Hill.