Communications Case Study

Interpersonal Skills in the Workplace
Student’s Name:
Institution:
Interpersonal Skills in the Workplace
Response to reaction 1
This reaction to the case study is really good. I think most of the arguments made in the reaction are very good. The boss was not aware of the problems he was causing, which is mentioned in both our posts. I think there is lack of understanding of the working requirement in the organization. I agree with your point about poor feedback within the organization. Adopting an open door policy, as you suggested, would help solve this. Both our reaction posts mention proper communication as a way to avoid such a situation in an organization. I found it interesting when giving approaches to resolving the conflict; you mentioned various strategies then chose the most appropriate one. I come up with a more specific approach that the organization could use. I suggested planning for the next day’s activities the evening before so there is little interference on the day’s program. I thought your responses to things to do and those to avoid when resolving the conflict were well researched. I gave more general responses to this question. Both our responses showed there are various ways to deal with conflict.
Response to reaction 2
This reaction to the case study was not well thought. I think most of the arguments made in the reaction are too general. I agree with you that the employee has to find a way to talk to his boss since the boss is not aware of the problems he is causing.

Both our responses here focus on lack of communication in the organization. However, I do not think the boss having his office far away from the employees would be helpful in avoiding such a situation, on the contrary, I think it would worsen the situation. There is lack of proper communication in the organization; I think your response should have focused on improving communication- this would help avoid the situation. I suggested planning for the next day’s activity on the previous evening which I think is a good idea. I agree with you that the boss should adopt a written mode of communication; it becomes more difficult to keep changing the day’s program. I also thought having an arbitrator or a mediator as a third party was unnecessary. I know they are ways of solving conflicts, but I do not think the situation has reached such a level. The employee needs to open up to his boss, and according to the case study, his boss is a good guy.
Final reflection
From the case study, I have learned that conflict in organizations may not be necessarily open. Employees may not agree with their bosses, but it is difficult for them to open up about the situations they find themselves in. This causes conflict in the organization. As in the case study, it is difficult to resolve these sort of conflicts since one participant in the conflict is not aware of his/her involvement. I think it is therefore important for an organization to create an environment that makes its employees feel trusted, valued and appreciated. I think lack of proper communication in organizations is the main cause of such conflicts.
It is possible to avoid conflict if certain measures are put in place. From my teammates’ reactions, I learned of several ways of avoiding conflict in an organization. The open door policy is a way of avoiding conflict (De Janasz et al., 2015). Bosses having open doors in the workplaces shows that employees are welcomed to talk to the boss anytime. Employees can then be as open as they want to about issues affecting them. The bosses have a big role to play when trying to avoid conflict in the organization. According to De Janasz, Dowd and Schneider (2015), leaders should be able to engage, enable and build confidence in their employees.
I also learned from my teammates’ reactions that there are various ways to resolve a conflict. Resolving conflict is based on three wider approaches; accommodating, collaborating or compromising approaches (De Janasz et al., 2015). These approaches offer strategic means of resolving a conflict. However, these approaches need to be reinforced with other measures so that the approaches are complete. Such measures include; providing useful feedback, using simplified language, skilled listening and controlling emotions (Sethi & Seth, 2009).
I have learned a lot from this discussion. I appreciate the role of communication in avoiding conflict. If the employee in the case study had talked to his boss about his behavior, then there is a high chance there would be no conflict between the two of them. I also appreciate the various approaches to resolving a conflict. However, communication still forms the basis of every approach to resolving a conflict. Communication is an essential skill in the workplace.
References
De Janasz, S., Dowd, K. & Schneider, B. (2015). Interpersonal skills in organizations (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Sethi, D., & Seth, M. (2009). Interpersonal Communication: Lifeblood of an Organization, IUP Jornal Of Soft Skills, 3(3/4), 32-40.