Improving Workplace Communication Style

As we have learned in the few short weeks we've been in class, although it may seem easy, communicating effectively takes quite a bit of skill. While I am unable to speak for everyone, I know several of us have just recently entered full-time employment after graduating from Western New England College in May 2010. With that said, choosing the right words, using appropriate body language, listening with our minds instead of just our ears, and getting our message across successfully are just a few skills that majority of individuals need to work on.

Unfortunately, today, jobs are not all that easy to come by. Therefore, it is crucial that we make an effort to improve our communication skills within the workplace. After all, it may even save or result in one getting a job. The article, Eight Tips to Improving Your Workplace Communication Style and Keeping Your Job, delves deep into several tips for improving communication in the workplace. I strongly encourage everyone to take a look at the article, for employing these simple yet effective strategies can enhance ones relationship with their colleagues and boss.

Statement to Company Workforce

At Reebok International, we strive to create products and marketing programs that reflect the brand’s unlimited creative potential. As a brand, we have the unique opportunity to help consumers, athletes, artists, and partners fulfill their true potential and reach heights they may have thought un-reachable.

Within the athletic footwear industry, our organization is positioned in a challenging and saturated market. In turn, our company is constantly faced with intense competition, ever-changing fashion trends, and the threat of price conscious consumers. As an organization we encourage our enthusiastic, talented, and valuable employees to continue utilizing our cost leadership strategy by designing and developing affordable apparel and shoes while incorporating industry leading technologies that appeal to our very broad market. Furthermore, we must continuously market our products and differentiate our brand against competitors in order to enhance sales and increase market share. I am confident in our employees and know we have what it takes to become the leading supplier of athletic footwear and apparel. In order to do so, Reebok must continue to challenge others and lead through creativity. More importantly we must lead by means of the following phrase, “business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming”.

Quote by: Richard Branson

The Peaks and Valleys of Organizational Communication

In my short yet extensive career history I have seen numerous positive and negative examples of organizational communication. Up until recently, I had a supervisor who practiced ineffective organizational communication on a daily basis. As a manager he lacked communication skills, was hard to understand, and he was constantly changing his mind. Meetings with him were often rushed and unproductive. Moreover, his e-mails containing tasks and instructions often left other co-workers and I confused and unsure as to what he was asking for. When my colleagues and I attempted to clear up instructions, my manager could never be found at his desk and he was unreliable when it came to responding to e-mails. Another reason as to why my manager’s actions are a prime example of ineffective organizational communication is due to the fact that once someone managed to complete a project for him he would decide he no longer needed certain parts and would ask that additional information be provided in lieu of what they had already researched.   This drastically prolonged the amount of time it took to complete a project. Needless to say, I was not surprised a couple of weeks ago when I found out that our company “no longer needed his services”.

Ironically, my former manager integrated effective organizational communication into the workplace when it came to training employees and addressing their responsibilities. Upon being hired, employees were taken through a thorough training process where individuals were walked through all policies, procedures, and duties. Furthermore, monthly meetings were held in order to go over any new policies/procedures that were implemented. Not only this, but daily goals were posted and communicated to all employees, thus ensuring the everyone was one the same page and that all associates were aware of what goals needed to be accomplished on that particular day.