Social Networking as a means of Employee Motivation

Social Networking as a means of Employee Motivation 1 Introduction In recent years Social Networking is very popular in eyes of youngsters and teenagers but is also grabbing attention of older age. Social Networking Sites (SNS) have given a rise to new communication vehicle which facilitates an innovative way of sharing information, interacting and collaborating different users. Today, there are 204 social sites available in the world as shown in Appendix 1, but out of all the most popular once are Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace and Blogs. Within the illumination of the global recession, organisations are using every possible means of equipment to survive the economic downturn; companies are implementing cost saving methods this in turn have increased the workload on the employees. This overload will give a rise to the concern of employees satisfaction, productivity and efficiency. One way of encouraging and motivating the employees can be by accepting social networking at the workplace. dynamic changing natures of the business environment have contributed to knock down the barriers obstructing communicational flows (Cross, Nohria, Parker, 2002). Implementation of social networking at workplace will provide both formal and informal interaction and will also help in knowledge enhancement and better communication. This will give a greater shift in culture of Knowledge congregation to Knowledge contribution. Social networking is growing as fast as a computer virus, it is agreed that it is used for personal reasons but now-a-days it is used as educational, training and learning tools at the workplace. As every coin have two sides, implementing social networking at workplace has its own advantages and disadvantages. Since there is no geographical restriction on sharing information, there are growing concerns for organisation for leakage, breach in security and privacy of the information. This rings the bell in everyones mind whether it is appropriate to integrate social networking at workplace. This argument will be revisited in literature review section (section 3) of this report. The researchs major source of information will be through primary data collection such as conducting interviews, survey and questionnaires. Secondary source will also be used and the list is mentioned in section 4.1. Many general views have been given by different researchers on impact of social networking at workplace but very few research have been conduct in sectors such as technological. This research will be based on Multinational Corporation (MNC) which is an investment banking sector where no prior research has been conducted. The report consists of 7 sections. The next section will discuss research objective, questions and boundaries in order to evade the uncertainty. This is followed by literature review in section 3 where previous research will be analysed. Research methodology and research limitation will be discussed in section 4 and 5 respectively, followed by the research time lines in section 6. The final section contains of conclusion. 2 Research Objective, Questions and Boundaries 2.1 Research Objective The main purpose of this research is to critically examine the impact of social networking in a multinational corporation investment bank. This will assist the organisation to recognise whether having access to the social networking sites at workplace will motivate the staff in enhancing their productivity or limiting these websites will demoralise the employees. It will also give a true and fair view of employees and employers perception of integrating social sites in working environment. 2.2 Research Questions The research will provide answer to the following particular questions: Will the use of social networking sites at workplace enhance the productivity? What are the other advantages and disadvantages of using social networking sites at workplace? 2.3 Research Boundaries Due to time constrain it is necessary to restrict research only to one multinational company and therefore the research will be an action based research. The company is a worlds largest investment bank which has its presence in 74 countries. The research will be based on the companys head office located in London. The name of the company will not be disclosed due to confidential reasons and will be referred as Company X throughout the research. The research will be based on three departments which are: Human Resources Finance Information Technology Each of the above mentioned departments will be analysed to identify the impact of social networking on flow of information in the departments and security levels desired for each of the departments. 3 Literature Review 3.1 General Many researchers have correctly said that the growing technology has twisted the traditional features of the workplace (Bennett, Owers, Pitt, Tucker, 2010). This is due to integration of social sites and social media in the working environment which has broadened the view of the employees in the organisation. This has facilitated organisation to build up new networks, help employees to connect each other in different geographical location and time. It has also been argued that the growing importance of networking and socialising in modern days is becoming more flexible and dynamic day-by-day (Cross, Parker, Prusak, Borgatti, 2001). Boyd and Ellison have defined Social Networking Site as web-based service that allows individuals to (Boyd Ellison, 2008): (1) Construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) Articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection and (3) View and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. It is a technology which is used to support social networking. At workplace the social networking can be referred in two ways: external and internal social networking. The use of social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and so on at the workplace is known as external social networking. On the other hand, there are some organisations that have developed tools such as Beehive at IBM, Watercooler at HP which provided social networking within the organisation which is referred as internal social networking. Company X uses Reuters and Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 as the internal social networking tool and Facebook as the external social networking at the workplace. This research will only focus on impact of external social networking. 3.2 Impact of Social Networking on Productivity From past 5 years, social networking has sneaked into the business organisations due to the increased popularity and availability of social networking amongst office workers. (Shirky, 2008); (Tapscott Williams, 2006). This has lead to informal connection in the organisation and has transformed the ways of the knowledge sharing within the companies. The research done in 2008 by Skeels and Grudin has shown that around 37% of employees were using Facebook occasionally and about 17% were using it daily at workplace. Also around 50% of employees had their account on LinkedIn but only 4% were using it daily (Skeels Grudin, 2009). There is a significant increase in the number of user in Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networking site and employees are using these sites at workplace to a greater extent due to vast growth and demand in social networking. According to the ClearSwift publications in January 2011, the exposure to social networking invites many threats to the companies. The research highlights that 42% of U.K. office workers admitted discussing work-related issues via social networking applications and 83% of the office workers were using office resources to access social networking websites (ClearSwift, 2011). The research conducted in companies such as Microsoft and IBM by different researchers has highlighted some of the benefits of using these social sites at workplace which are listed below (Skeels Grudin, 2009); (DiMicco Millen DR, 2007): LinkedIn being a professional social networking site helps to maintain professional network. LinkedIn and Facebook are often referred by employers for recruiting employees by reviewing peoples CV and other details such as profile pictures, details and post or comments. Facebook was helpful for building and strengthening knot between colleagues and also maintain contacts with the ex-colleagues. But the research has also shown some concern and worries about using these social sites at workplace which are listed below (Skeels Grudin, 2009); (DiMicco Millen DR, 2007): Staff wasting time during working hours. Security concern. Disclosing confidential data. Staff integrating professional and personal life. Some senior managers felt that employees were crossing the status and power borders of the organisation. Most of the company in UK have opposed the use of social networking at workplace and have banned these sites. However, Alan Calder have argued that blocking or restricting access to social networking site at workplace will demoralise the employees and make them less effective and productive (Calder, 2010). Some research have shown that social networking sites have reduced productivity and have cost companies lose of about  £1.38 billion annually (Manpower UK, 2010). Therefore, some companies are looking forward to strength the controls in the organisation. But companies need to be very careful in placing the controls. Since social networking has become an important part of every ones life and this has also been encouraged by the Smartphones such as Blackberries, I-Phones and many more. If the social networking sites are completely banned at the workplace, employees tend to use gadgets such as Smartphones to access social networking sites devoting less time to work eventually affecting their productivity. Therefore, employers need to weight the strengths and opportunities with weaknesses and threats to make a meaningful decision. Similar views have been shared by Jason and David (Fried Hansson, 2010) that the organisation will not be able to achieve anything by limiting or banning the social network sites at workplace because the time which they are devoting to the social networking sites will not get convert to productive work but and employees will find some alternative sources to spend this time. The Trade Union Congress (TUC) claims that handling carefully and allowing internet access for staff during breaks can be valuable for employees and can help them develop I.T. skills (TUC, 2007). Company X allows their employees to have access to Facebook and LinkedIn during working hours. The main report will throw lights on the benefits achieved by the employees with the use of these social sites in banking sector during working hours. Apart from deteriorating and enhancing the productivity social networking sites are playing a major role for recruiting employees. Employers use various sites to check the background of the candidate by making a judgment on their post and photos uploaded on the sites. According to study conducted by Deloitte in 2009, 23% of companies were using social networking sites for hiring employees (Allen, Deloitte LLP 2009 Ethics Workplace Survey results Social networking and reputational risk in the workplace, 2009). Now-a-days, LinkedIn is popularly used for recommending friends or co-workers for jobs and recruiting staff. May be in near future it will be incorporate as an official site for recruiting in the organisation. But till now no evidence have been found that it is a reliable source for hiring people. On the other hand there has been evidence that people are fired due to social networking site (write about wat jitu said as an example here). The other major concern of social networking is that it puts trust at workplace on stake. The survey conducted in Deloitte in 2010, highlights that only 34% of employees agree and 49% of employees disagree that social networking helps to build up the trust at workplace (Allen, Deloitte LLP 2010 Ethics Workplace Survey Trust in the workplace, 2010 ). The other drawback of social networking in working environment is the security of the sensitive data 3.3 Other Impact of Social networking sites in the organisation 4 Research Methodology The research will follow the inductive approach as it will highlight on developing a new theory after the data has been collect (Saunders, Lewis, Thornhill, 2009). The research will explore a new dimension of using social networking in a Multinational Company (MNC) for their business development in short term and long term and develop a good analysis based on the data collection as discussed below. 4.1 Data collection In order to achieve the research objective and question (mentioned in section 2) the subsequent data collection methods will be followed: Secondary Data Collection The secondary data will be collected from press release and academic literature such as journals, white paper and publication from ClearSwift and ZDNet. The data collection will be qualitative data. Also the research conducted by other researcher in Microsoft and IBM, technological companies will act as a base for this research. Primary Data Collection The forms of primary data which will be collect are as below: Face-to-face Interviews: Ten non-standardised face to face interview will be conducted split between Vice President (VP) and managers of three departments in company X. This will help to analysis the role of social networking in the organisation for different departments giving different viewpoints and a better insight of the matter. The interviews will also help to generate qualitative data which will be transcribed but will not be recoded due to ethics of the company. The time line for conducting interview is specified in research timelines section (section 6). Online Survey: Online survey will be conducted with the help of the website named Survey Monkey which will help to give a holistic view of the organisation as the survey will be filled in by VP, managers and subordinates. The layout of the questionnaires which will be formed for online survey will fulfil all the main attributes of questionnaires as recommended by Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2009). This will provide quantitative data for analysis. In order to improve the response rate of online survey, questionnaires and face-to-face interviews the recommendation from Bryman and Bell (2003) will be followed. 4.2 Analysis of Data The quantitative data which will be collected through online survey will be analysed by using computer based software named Minitab 15. The quantitative data will be divided in to two separate groups: categorical data and numerical data (Saunders, Lewis, Thornhill, 2009). The survey and interview results will help to produce a comparison between three departments within the MNC under the research study. (Add more details of what kind of information can be achieved from this analysis) 5 Potential Problem and Pitfall While undertaking the research following are the limitation and potential problem which are anticipated: Poor response to interview: Face to face interview or telephonic interview will be conducted, which will not be recorded due to confidentiality. The respondents might be bias answering in socially desirable way. Poor response to online questioner: Respond rate might be lower as online questioner because they are perceived to be spam. It would be difficult to determine whether respondents have understood the question correctly and have replied honestly. Inadequate Sample: Since only one organisation will be examined and so there will be limited sample to be examined. However, the research will be useful because practical evidence will be provided. 6 Research Time lines The research will start from 6th June 2011 and will commence till 12th September 2011. It will be conducted for 15 weeks as shown in Table 1 below: Table 1: Research time lines 7 Conclusion 8 References 9 Appendices

Cause and Effect of Sleep deprivation Essay

I am a firm believer that many factors such as our culture, our upbringing, and beliefs that we were introduced to all affects what we do, how we live and even what we eat! People in China, Vietnam and Switzerland have been known to eat dogs for thousands of year, some as a source of survival during war and famine while others eat it as a cuisine meaning it is a part of their regular diet! I’ve even read somewhere that people in China have been known to say that a huge reason they consume dog meat is to keep them warm in the harsh winters! Have they heard of a jacket and hot coco? They don’t see it any different from eating cows and pigs, but someone like me thinks that is disgusting! I see people all the time whose treat their dog as their best friend, I’ve heard that when you begin to grow attached to your dog you soon see them as people. I could never imagine it being okay to eat a dog! Functionalism has a lot to do with this also when you come to think of it. This tradition has been the norm in these places for years! It wasn’t until recently that proposed laws have been presented to implement a law that bans the eating of cats and dogs. Americans are truly the people of the land of the free and are strong believers that a dog is a mans best friend, in my opinion. Beating, not feeding, and mistreating dogs are all violations of the law, neglect, and animal abuse! I could not even imagine hearing a story of someone eating one! It is common knowledge here that dogs are like people and should be treated as such and so they are not put on a dinner plate, at least the way I view things. I strongly feel that our individual believes and knowledge is the reason we eat what we eat, they are culturally relative in more ways that one. This definitely is a beautiful thing as everyone can be their own person and act how they feel but this causes cultural diversity conflict all the time! Take this scenario for instance; two people are meeting for a blind date and obviously know nothing about one another. It becomes time to order and the woman is disgusted by the menu because everything is meat and fat of the meat from some type of animal, see, she’s vegetarian. The woman loves animals and does not believe in eating them and this sparks a conversation. Do you think it’s a good one as her date has already ordered the number four, which is the half slab of baby back ribs with chicken shish kabobs, and a side of pork rings? I can imagine that she stormed out of there after giving him a good lecture. Though her actions are understandable they aren’t quite right. Ethnocentrism would be the perfect would to explain that situation! The woman thinks that he beliefs are the right ones and that the man is wrong for eating what he loves to eat! Ethnocentrism is when you believe that your culture, your beliefs are better than everyone else’s and only yours make sense! This is a big reason there is conflict within cultures. Instead of using cultural relativism and trying to understand others point of view or even just accepting it as their choice we fight for what we think is the right way, the only way. Interactionism helps us understand that our mind plays a role in our how what our body does including why we eat or don’t eat what we eat. I love dogs, so I would vomit at the thought of eating one. However, once again this doesn’t mean I should hate someone that eats it as a dish at home. Being open and understanding can truly help because just as the conflict theory states that there is a power struggle between cultures, these cultures have the power to become knowledgeable of one another and ultimately obtain culture relativism.

The market segmentation

Market segmentation is the process of identifying markets and then dividing those markets into groups.   The groups consist of characteristics that are similar and they have similar product needs.   The groups can consist of people or organizations.A market consists of people or organizations that have similar needs of a product, have the ability, willingness and authority to buy products.   There are two types of markets the consumer market and the organizational or business market.   The purpose of the consumer market is to supply goods and services to the customers for their own benefit and not for sale.   The organizational or business markets are markets that are business oriented such as the products in the markets are usually sold thus the businessmen sell them for a profit.The reason behind the dividing the market is to identify groups of customers who have similar tastes and preferences, to understand the customers behavior so that the right kind of goods are deliv ered to them and to ensure that the right marketing strategies are identified so as to ensure that the different preferences chosen to satisfy the needs of the customers If a product can be from a particular company   whose cost of advertising is low thus   it can be   in a position to boost sales of a company   since the cost of maintaining it is low and their returns can increase with time..Successful market segmentation is one that has the following characteristics: segment members that are internally the same and externally different or heterogeneous.The market can be segmented based on whether it is a consumer market or an industry or business market. In the customer market the basis of segmentation is based on variables such as the geographical, demographic, and psychographic and the behavioristic variables. The psychographic segmentation is a segmentation that is used to describe the customers in terms of their activities, opinions, emotions, values, motivations and l ifestyles.These enables the producers of the products to know which product are beneficial to the customers in terms of their preferences and tastes.   The application of this segmentation enables the manufactures to improve on their mode of developing their products, brand positioning, targeting and advertising so that the sales volume of the product can increase and this can result in greater returns for the company.The demographic segmentation involves classifying people who come from the same geographic boundaries and those who possess the same goals for example in a banking industry the introduction of automatic teller machines can enhance efficiency in the business because it can enable the customers to access cash quickly and to enable them complete transactions promptly since the machine is located in a place where customers are many hence the service delivery process is efficient for this customers.Geographical segmentation refers to dividing segments based on their regio n of the world, country size and density of the area. In the rural areas we have products such as the farming equipment and material because they are mostly used there while the urban centers consists of products that have been produced and manufactured and are ready for consumption since the residents there do not have land to cultivate products for consumption for themselves and for their children.The market can be segmented in the industrial market using the following variables: Location, company type and the behavioral characteristics.In case of the location variable the businessmen consider this factor seriously because the distance between where the source of the product is made and the market can be too big such that the cost of transportation can be too high for the businessmen to afford and thus render the market to be unprofitable thus this issue should be addressed so that it can be eliminated in the future.   .In case of company type segment the customers can be classi fied according to the company size, industry, decision-making and the purchase criteria.   The customers can prefer a commodity based on how well the product has been in the market and whether the industry in which it is produced is known because customers tend to accept a product, which has been in the market for a long time. (Steenkamp and Ter Hofstede 2002)The behavioral characteristics in the industrial market are: usage rate means the frequency in which a product is consumed if it is high it means that its demand is high thus it supply is likely to be high for example goods such as the consumable’s such as salt ,sugar there is a likelihood of being demand many times because people cannot stay without them,   buying status that is customers who regularly consume a product   can make the target market to perform effectively because of their consistency in purchasing their products.The procedure of purchasing the product is also determined such as the sealed bids or n egotiated procedure.   In the sealed bid procedures customers purchase a product based on the price tags of the product this type of segmentation is important to consider since it enables the produce to always have adequate stock of the product so as to avoid stock outs.The criteria that are used in identifying a market segment is that it must be identifiable that is a customer must be in a position to recognize the segment that is appropriate for them since customers tend to consume a product on the basis of how they have the product in the market and its quality.   It must be accessible that is the segment must be within the reach of the customers thus the communication and distribution channels must be improved so that the product reaches the customers within the given period of time that the marketers must advertise their products so that customers can be made aware of the existence of the product..The segments must be substantial that is they must be large enough so that th e resources that are used to avail them to the customers are cost effective that is the cost of product should not be too costly that is the cost of product should not be too large as compared to the revenue that is derived from them. The marketing needs must be unique so that they can be in position to capture a wider market so that customer can be able to change to the new brand in the market and thus increase the sales volume.   The segments must be stable so that the cost of maintaining the product is not too high than the returns that are derived from it.Industrial market segmentation is a segmentation that is used in guiding the industrial and business customers in their decision-making strategies.   The goal of these segmentation is to identify the customers in terms of whether they are potential customers so that their behavior can be identified so as to enable the marketers to identify the important issues that affect them directly .The factors that can affect them are: the prices, programs or solutions that can enable the company to increase their returns within a given period of time.( Haas, R.W. and Wotruba, T.R. 1983).Targeting refers to process of identifying segments that need to be addressed.   The companies tend to choose some segments and to downplay other segment because their aim is to look for segments that produce as much returns to the company as possible.   The target market involves people such as the end user companies’ procurement managers, company houses contracting companies and the external sales agents.Target audience involves individuals that influence the purchasing decision but they do not buy the product such individuals involves design engineers, architects, project managers, and the operational managers. The target markets can be identified by looking at customers who have similar needs so that the produces can channel their efforts to products that are beneficial to the customers and they suit their tastes a nd preferences.Positioning involves advertising the product value to customers so as to increase the products sales volume. Positions are described using various variables and using parameters that are essential to a customer.   The customers position a product in relation to the brand or product that is within their reach.   Thus it is important for the marketers to conduct a research about how the customers rate different products and their marketing variables so that they can increase their sales volume. The markers need to improve on their marketing variables so that they can improve on their marketing strategies because the customers can determine the success of the business.   The marketers should set up strategies which are geared to having a portfolio that can ensure that their product compete with.Positioning involves how people perceive a product that is in the market.   The products or services provide a map that enables the marketers to identify which characteris tics can be compared and contrasted to another product that is competing with it so as to put in place mechanisms that will enable them to compete effectively with their rivals.Market segmentation is therefore necessary because it enables markets of different sizes to compete effectively since markets are divided based on their segments thus the small companies can be able to compete with the bigger companies since their scale of production is limited due to their size and the shelves where goods are displayed can not be in a position to accommodate all kinds of goods unlike the big companies whose economies of scale is high due to their size.REFERENCESApproaches†, (1980) Marketing Science Institute, Working Paper #80-105 Cambridge,Mass.Haas, R.W. and Wotruba, T.R. (1983). Marketing Management: Concepts, PracticeAnd Cases. Pleno, Texas: Business Publications, Inc.Kotler, P. (1976) Marketing Management (3rd. Ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.McKenna, R. (1988) â€Å"Marketing in the Age of Diversity†, Harvard Business Review,Vol 66, September-October.Pine, J. (1993) â€Å"Mass Customizing Products and Services†, Planning Review, Vol 22, July-August,Steenkamp and Ter Hofstede (2002)†International Market Segmentation issues andPerspectives†, Intern’s of Market Research Vol19, 185-285Wedel, Michael and Wagner A.Kamakura (2000) Market Segmentation Conceptual andMethodological Foundations Amsterdam: Kluwer

Etymons and Lemmas

Etymons and Lemmas Etymons and Lemmas Etymons and Lemmas By Maeve Maddox If you understand the meaning of etymon and lemma in the two following statements, you may want to skip this post: Papyrus is the etymon of paper. An etymological dictionary gives the etymons or etymologies of its lemmas. An etymon is the antecedent form of a word. It’s the word or any of the separate words from which another word has developed historically by borrowing, derivation, compounding, or in any other way. For example, the etymon of the English word etymon is the Greek word etymos, â€Å"true.† Etymos in turn is the etymon of Greek à ©tumon, â€Å"the true sense of a word according to its origin.† In modern usage, etymology refers to the branch of linguistics that deals with determining the origin of words and the historical development of their form and meanings. For the ancients, the etymology or â€Å"true meaning† of a word might be found in its shape, sound, or superficial resemblance to another word. For example, one Christian commentator (writing in Latin) explained the â€Å"true† meaning of the Latin word for death (mors) by connecting it with the Latin word for bite (morsus). According to the biblical account, death entered the world when Eve took a bite out of the forbidden fruit. Ergo, the â€Å"true† meaning of death is rooted in the disobedient act described in Genesis. Modern lexicographers determine the origin of a word by looking for evidence based on sound shifts, spellings, and cognates between languages. The plural of etymon is either etymons or etyma. Lemma derives from a Greek verb meaning â€Å"to take.† The first definition given in the OED is in the context of mathematics: â€Å"proposition assumed or demonstrated which is subsidiary to some other.† In the context of literature, a lemma is defined as â€Å"the argument or subject of a literary composition, prefixed as a heading or title; also, a motto appended to a picture.† The first OED citation of lemma in the context of lexicography is dated 1951. The definition for this use of lemma is â€Å"a lexical item as it is presented, usually, in a standardized form, in a dictionary entry.† If you look up a word in the online Merriam-Webster Unabridged, you will find the word printed in large red letters. That large red word is the lemma. The plural of lemma is either lemmas or lemmata. Another word for lemma in the context of a dictionary entry is definiendum. Like the lemma, the definiendum is the word that heads the entry in a dictionary. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Yours faithfully or Yours sincerely?Story Writing 10140 Words Beginning with "Para-"

Ethnic Cleansing in Sophie essays

Ethnic Cleansing in Sophie essays Sophies Choice is a story about a young writer, Stingo, who moves to New York into a boarding house. One night he hears yelling outside of his room, and when he opens his door he finds an enraged man, Nathan, screaming at a woman, Sophie, who was crying. Sophie defended Nathan when talking with Stingo. Sophie was from Poland and Nathan was Jewish. The three adults became friends and inseparable. Throughout the film, anything could set Nathan off to verbally abuse Sophie, but Stingo just could not understand why she loved Nathan if he treated her this way. Nathan and Sophie had an argument one night and the next morning packed up and left with all of their stuff. Stingo went crazy trying to look for them. While at the boarding house, Stingo got a call from Nathan, which was when Sophie walked in. Sophie told Stingo that Nathan had a gun and thought he would use it. Nathan called and threatened them and shot the gun in the phone for them to hear. Sophie and Stingo left to get away. Stingo told Sophie that he loved her, and wanted to marry her and move down south with him to southern Virginia. Sophie said she was not sure, and told him something she had never told anyone before. She said that one the day she and her two children went to Auschwitz, they were standing in line and told an officer that she and her children were Catholics from Poland and were not communist. The officer said she could choose one child since she was Polish. She chose her daughter who she was holding. That choice had been haunting her for all of those years. So when Stingo asked her to marry him and have his babies, she said she was not a fit mother for making that decision. She could never forgive herself. When Stingo woke up the next morning, Sophie left a note for him to read on her pillow. She said that she must be with Nathan for whatever that means. Stingo returned back to the boarding house to find that Nathan ...

Nonverbal Communication- Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Nonverbal Communication- - Essay Example Similarly, executive success is dependent on intuition, hunches, or judgement, which â€Å"may have been derived from very specific information communicated nonverbally† (Fatt, 1998, p.1), although the manager may be unaware of the source of information. Environments cannot be easily distinguished because of their invisibility based on their ground rules, all-encompassing structure, and general patterns. However, this invisible environment is made discernible through nonverbal communication (Fatt, 1998). Further, service encounters involving interactions between employees and customers lead to customers’ evaluations of their service consumption experiences and perceptions of service quality. Hence, managerial implications include the identification of employee behaviors and approach that generate favorable responses from customer (Sundaram & Webster, 2000). Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the importance of nonverbal communication in the bus iness environment. The Significance of Nonverbal Communication for Business Success The term communication style covers a wide range of both vocal and verbal attributes including â€Å"pitch, volume, and word choice, and nonverbal attributes such as gestures and facial expressions† (Fragale, 2004, p.94). ... xpressions (Tiedens, 2001), and subtle patterns of eye contact (Rosa & Mazur, 1979) may affect the way in which the individual is perceived by fellow group members. This consequently influences the individual’s status position within the group, states Fragale (2005, p.94). For a thorough comprehension of the assigning of status in task groups, it is essential to determine how specific communication behaviors impact individuals’ status positions. Examples are questions related to the status consequences of speaking loudly, or putting one’s feet on the desk. Similarly, for the purpose of â€Å"gaining status in a group, should an individual interrupt others, or wait quietly for a turn to speak?† (Fragale, 2005, p.94). The communication styles both through verbal and nonverbal behaviors, impact the status positions they achieve in their task groups. Earlier studies have demonstrated that status is more enhanced by being smart than by being social. On the othe r hand, Fragale (2005) argues that in some task groups status imrovement may occur through being social rather than smart. The author advances the idea that the characteristics of the group to which an individual belongs leads to status benefits through particular communication styles, based on structural and process differences between groups, and how the members’ words and actions are assessed (Fragale, 2005). The theory of Berger et al. (1986), of status cues argues that â€Å"task cues which contradict expectations based on categorical cues may reduce or overcome the effects of the latter on status processes† (Foddy & Riches, 2000, p.103). Two studies investigated the comparative influence of verbal fluency and ethnic accent on perceptions of competence, and on acceptance of influence in a group task. Study

Critical Thinking Skills, Emotional Intelligence, and Employee Essay

Critical Thinking Skills, Emotional Intelligence, and Employee Engagement - Essay Example The process of critical thinking involves evaluating, analyzing or synthesizing the data that has been gathered through observation, reflection, communication, experience or reasoning (Foundations for Critical Thinking 1). The process is guided by the information gathered, a set of beliefs and the intellectual commitment to apply such skills to shape behavior in an organization. Critical thinking is very applicable in the daily running of the organization and can be applied in decision-making, yielding very positive results. Emotional intelligence, on the other hand, is the ability of to handle one’s emotions and control them, in order to relate well with other people in the organization (Cherry 1). Emotional intelligence entails perceiving emotions, reasoning with them, understanding them and managing the emotions. The concept of emotional intelligence is very essential in the management of an organization. It enables a manager to relate well with the employees, and apply the concept of diversity. A manager who exercises emotional intelligence works with the understanding that, all people are different. Thus, each should be listened to, and understood. Employee engagement is another very pivotal element in the running of the organization. Employee engagement refers to the emotional commitment that the workers of an organization attach to the organization and its aims (Kruse 2). In essence, employee engagement means that the workers care about the services they deliver to an organization. The concept is very relevant to the organization. An engaged employee contributes immensely to the positive growth of the organization. The three concepts of employee engagement, critical thinking and emotional intelligence are almost equally important in an organization. Without each of them, there will be dire consequences for the management of the