Lack Of Effective Communication From Managers example essay topic

Advanced technology has revolutionized the way companies conduct business internally as well as externally. E-mail and the Internet are ideal tools for sharing information faster and more efficiently. The computer has become a machine with an all-encompassing capacity to absorb and lock users into a world of their own with little face to face contact with other human beings. The creation of the Internet has developed a new context for human communication.

However, the importance of human interpersonal communication cannot be neglected. Unfortunately, for such a vital and essential human skill, communication is largely relegated to the back burner, in favor of innovative high-tech communication. The development of the secluded co-worker (the E-Hermit) results from a corporate culture that cultivates a segregated environment by inadequate leaders who are oblivious to a workforce that extensively use and potential abuse email and the Internet. The development of communication deficiencies will inevitably arise, causing fragmentation throughout the organization resulting in an overall disaffected workforce. Excessive Internet use leads to depression, isolation and detachment which affects the individual's psychological well-being and leads to inefficiency in the office and disruption within the home (Kraut 1998).

Some remedies include, creating e-mail policies and guidelines, encouraging face-to-face communication and incorporating a relation-oriented style of management. Until management remembrance the value of human communication, companies will continue to experience poor productivity due this new trend of employee and an overall disconnected workforce. Increasingly competitive environments have made it possible for business savvy organizations to ignore the value of human communication by incorporating computer mediated communication. Companies are constantly investing in new technology and communication infrastructures to cut costs and increase profits. However, companies should address the more important issue of developing the company's culture of shared values that can facilitate the integration of such technologies along with human communication. Investment in advanced technologies may not necessarily result in improved communication by, and between, the employees.

For instance, some companies are facilitating their business meetings by way of electronic meeting software (EMS). EMS's organize, record, analyze, and ranks a participants idea without attaching names to the submission. Such anonymity is thought to encourage employees to share opinions candidly without fear of retribution from supervisors (Bovee'2003). On the surface, it may appear that this type of technology would promote encouraged participation by stimulating candor and debate. EMS software is believed to allow individuals to be free in thought which will lead to creative ideas and shared decision making (Bovee'2003). However, the underlying problem is that there is a lack of human interaction which is necessary for working with and through other people effectively.

Those who do not have proper face-to-face communication skills lack in the ability to motivate, facilitate, coordinate, lead or build self-confidence. Effective social skills are essential for resolving organizational problems. The replacement of human communication in the work place can have and adverse effect on work performance, morale, and overall productivity. Inadequate leadership can also be a significant factor in employee dissatisfaction. Lack of effective communication from managers can lead to a lack of mutual trust between co-workers. As a result, withdrawal and feelings of isolation may occur.

Such behavior may encourage excessive use and even abuse of e-mail and the Internet. Management has a responsibility to the organization and its employees to ensure group cohesiveness and prevent the development of E-hermit behavior by using participative leadership strategies to establish effective and cooperative relationships throughout the workforce (Yukl 2002). Employers and employees alike have the responsibility as professionals to discourage seclusion and anti-social behavior. Executives, like managers in any sophisticated company today, know that employees use the Internet as routinely as they use the telephone. The Internet is an indispensable tool, a rich source of business intelligence and a communications channel of unparalleled power.

However, excessive use of the Internet while on the job poses the problem of social isolation as well as legal liability issues which may also play a role in decreased employee productivity. Management roles are extremely important in deterring the characteristics associated with E-hermit behavior. Managers should take a collective interest in the lives of the people who work for them. The experience of active involvement can result in the development of improved interpersonal skills and confidence by the participating member. Good communication skills are especially important when group tasks require members to collaborate, share information, and other resources to achieve a common goal. Group cohesiveness establishes an atmosphere of belonging.

Therefore, if leadership is inadequate, the chain of organizational communication also becomes inadequate, which leaves an open door for inefficiency and poor morale, isolation and a disaffected workforce (Yukl 2002)... On a daily average, people have to sort through at least 20-30 e-mails (maybe more) prior to starting their usual business day. As the volume of an individual's email increases, people have to resort to triage in disposing of their email to keep their in-basket from growing into a pile of unwanted frustration. Spending time ciphering through inconsequential emails is a basis for establishing unproductive activities on the computer as a norm. A European-based survey from Websene found that the average amount of time spent surfing non work-related sites was three hours and six minutes per week, more than 35 minutes per working day.

The survey also found that 47% of employees admitted to spending between 10 minutes and to an hour each day surfing non work-related sites, and 24% spent more than an hour a day (Websene 2004). According to the Websense survey, more than three quarters of respondents felt the Internet could become addictive for some people. Surprisingly, the survey found that 66% did not believe Internet misuse at work decreases productivity, and only 29% of them were concerned that their co-workers were accessing non work-related sites during work hours; the survey suggests a widespread cultural complacency among employees. Only 31% would consider either reporting or personally reprimanding co-workers who misused the Internet at all. (Websense 2004). On the contrary, surfing non work-related sites during working hours actually does reduce productivity, wastes resources, and encourages inappropriate use of the Internet while on the job.

For introverts who are inherently reserved, the computer is godsend. It allows them to overcome awkwardness, boost morale and promote a false sense of self-confidence. This type of self-assurance quickly dissipates once outside their virtual world and cripples their chance of building real character and establishing true assurances. A controversial 1998 study at Carnegie Mellon University found that excessive computer users showed signs of increased loneliness, isolation and depression among its users. The study also implied that increased Internet use was associated with decreased psychological well-being and social involvement (Kraut 1998). Internet chat rooms or discussion group relationships develop more quickly than they would in the real world.

Anonymity speeds up the penetration process in building relationships and allows people the freedom and comfort to be less intimidated and reveal their tightly wrapped layers more quickly. However, when computer mediated communication replaces face-to-face communication, the quality of the interaction changes as computer message systems removes rationality and leaves a false sense of reality. Some people, particularly those who were isolated to begin with, forge unhealthy relationships by meeting kindred souls online. Psychologists say that these types of people use the Internet so obsessively, they began to ruin their marriages and careers. The March 2000 issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders, states that excessive Internet use leads to addiction and many of them are diagnosed with serious mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder and manic depression (Nathan 2000). Individuals who use the Internet as a means to build social relationships result in a lack of understanding for the basis of the communication process.

Social interaction can be limited by the use of the internet and used as a mode to separate people. The internet is a way to communicate with people without the actually need to expose oneself to the person to which they are actually speaking. The accessibility of people online can create a social barrier which makes the individual feel they truly have no need for personal inter-communication. This hinders the interactions that one has with other individuals because they are not comfortable being seen by others when they are actually in their presence.

Excessive use of electronic communication also contributes to a lack of social interaction between family members and co-workers and creates a psychological barrier that prevents others from entering their comfort zone. With the accessibility of e-mail and the Internet, individuals no longer feel the need to walk over to the next cubicle or go outside their office to communicate a simple message (Jamison 2002). Individuals can also use e-mail or the internet to avoid either interacting with others of a different race or avert from having to deal with cultural diversity altogether. Electronic communication can encourage the tactic of avoidance when having to deal with difficult and undesirable situations. Individuals who are uncomfortable with face-to-face communication lack the ability to communicate clearly and effectively and therefore lessen the chance of healthy relationships and adequate interpersonal skills.

Interpersonal skills involve having confidence and persuasiveness. It also involves the ability to apply effective social techniques such as tact and diplomacy to communicate across organizational hierarchies as well as external boundaries to reach potential customers, suppliers and outside business associates to achieve the company's goals and objectives that would potentially make the organization successful. All businesses should have a written policy on computer and Internet use. In order to empower organizational members with the feeling of autonomy and ownership, management needs set boundaries by establishing policies, guidelines and rules. Let employees know they are being monitored.

Logging programs can display a warning at boot up that they are present. This way, employees are on notice and are less likely to stray. There are numerous programs that track keyboard activity, including i Opus Starr Pro, NET Observe, Spector Pro and True Active software called WinWhatWhere (Secure Computing 2004). Responsible management executives are beginning to realize that monitoring employees' Web access is becoming more and more essential. Organizations need to create an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) that fits the company's business needs, effectively communicate that policy to its employees, and select the right Web access management technology to implement the policy (Secure Computing 2004).

It is also important for managers to understand how to combine the technology mediated interaction with occasional face-to-face interaction within the organization. Often, top managers and the developers of technology, such as the information technology experts, assume too much about the anticipated use of the technology by the employees. The point is to realize that employees may need hand-holding in the beginning for realizing the anticipated benefits of the technology. Regardless of the use of technology, the underlying issue of "connectedness" is what needs to be emphasized. Human contact should be balanced by encouraging continuous communication as well as by holding occasional face-to-face meetings for information sharing and support (Bovee'2003). Managers may also assume about how, and for what, the technologies would be used by the employees and ignore the fact that further training may be necessary.

The key issue is enhancing the employees' understanding and appreciation of technology within the overall context of communication and information sharing. Hence, company culture and values again play an important role in this respect. Issues such as net-etiquette needs to be addressed when employees communicate through technologies such as e-mail, voice mail, cellular phones, pagers, portable laptops, desktop computers, fax modems, Internet, World Wide Web and Intranets to foster healthy as well as effective communication techniques (Bovee'2003)... In conclusion, one can come to recognized that e-mail and the Internet are extremely useful, inexpensive and powerful tools that are necessary in today's business world. However, they are often times used disproportionately. The key to offsetting isolation and seclusion that creates the typical E-hermit behavior is to exemplify a company culture that embraces interpersonal relationships as a shared value throughout the organization.

Companies should encourage a healthy balance between times spent online and time spent communicating with family, friends, and co-workers in a face-to-face setting. Managers should incorporate a relation-oriented style of management to deter division and create a sense of belonging among work group members to encourage shared objectives and focus on accomplishing the company's mission as one cohesive unit. There is a general need for organizations to balance both face-to-face and computer-based communications to develop interpersonal skills required to make business ventures successful. Although both styles can maximize the overall level of communication within an organization, face-to-face communication allows for non-verbal and interpersonal communication to transcend both inside and outside the workplace. Extended training and established rules and guidelines may potentially illuminate illicit and excessive use of email and the Internet. Adjusting an organization's set of shared values can deter communication deficiencies that lead to E-hermit behavior and therefore pave the way for a healthy and more productive workforce.

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