Most of us fear conflict, and perhaps for good reason. It’s usually unpleasant, unsettling, and it often doesn’t accomplish very much. But the problem isn’t the conflict at all – it’s communication. Even people who do well in periods of calm often communicate very poorly during a conflict, if they communicate at all.
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In a headlong rush to address America’s healthcare crisis, reformers from every walk of life are raising their collective axes and beginning to chop. Physicians are confronted by managed care, managed competition, increasing paperwork, justification hassles and malpractice threats. Collegial relations are strained, even broken. Many physicians are experiencing a loss of control, chronic professional conflict and threats to their livelihood.
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War stories in a dental practice often begin over minor occurrences. Yet they may be so intense that they become part of the practice folklore, recalled in vivid detail years later. Minor annoyances happen, and we try to convince ourselves they don’t really matter. We cover up our feelings and hope the problem will go away. Then we blow up over small irritations.
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Dentistry is a challenging profession, and success often depends on the dentist’s ability to convert a group of unique individuals into a quality team. No amount of technical expertise can compensate for a staff that lacks skill in communication. This article assists dentists and their staff in examining the internal communication of the practice and developing choices and strategies for raising difficult issues, responding to criticism and anger, and energizing the power of praise. In this way, the practice strengthens the human foundation by building a cohesive team.
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Being in a family business can be both joyful and agonizing. How is it that the people we care for the most can become the recipients of the very worst we have to offer? We usually have the best of intentions when we talk to our spouse or a family member about a challenging issue. So how is it that our good intentions are misunderstood?
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When you get right down to it, we rarely go through a day without disagreeing about something. Conflict comes as naturally as breathing, sleeping and sneaking down to the freezer to finish off the mint chocolate chip ice cream before the kids get it.
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Families and fortunes have been torn asunder by what family members say to each other and how they say it. Test yourself on these four case examples of family business conversations.
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This study demonstrates how rhetorical criticism can be utilized to clarify the rhetorical nature of interpersonal discourse. Bitzer’s situational theory, Bormann’s fantasy theme analysis, and Arnold’s criticism of oral rhetoric are synthesized to explain the nature and form of selected portions of taped and transcribed interpersonal dialogue.
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Socially anxious and socially nonanxious women were compared using self-report measures, peer ratings, laboratory social interactions, and self-monitoring of in vivo social behavior. Multivariate analysis indicated significant differences between subject groups within each assessment domain, thus supporting models of social anxiety that posit the relevance of self-evaluation processes and overt behavior. The socially anxious women described themselves as more apprehensive in social situations, less assertive, and more depressed than the nonanxious women. Peers in the subjects’ natural environment, the laboratory interaction confederates, and behavioral coders all rated the socially anxious subjects as less socially adequate.
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Since 1965, considerable research in the field of speech communication has focused on cross-situational anxiety and avoidance of oral communication. Research has been conducted under a variety of labels: reticence, communication apprehension, shyness, social anxiety, unwillingness to communicate. Some researchers specify fear, anxiety, and apprehension about communicating as the central focus; others identify the problem as related to inadequate communication skills.
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This article describes and evaluates a conversational skills program designed for apprehensive communicators. Subjects were initially assessed on a variety of measures: questionnaires, behavioral samples, peer ratings, and self-monitoring. They were then randomly assigned to either Immediate Treatment or a Self-Monitor-Delay condition. After the Immediate Treatment group completed the program, both groups were assessed again. Comparisons revealed differences between the control and treatment group in subjects’ comfort, social behavior, and impact on others.
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The search for specific conversational skill deficits among socially anxious people has been difficult. It has not been hard to show that persons who identify themselves as socially anxious or who date infrequently evaluate their social interactions negatively. But it has been considerably harder to pinpoint the social behaviors that these people may lack. This is true despite the fact that behavioral coders, confederates, and naïve subjects often rate such individuals more negatively on social skill ratings.
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Teaching interpersonal communication fundamentals leads to an inevitable question: what is the essence of course content, and how can instructional procedures increase the likelihood that this material will have an impact on the communicative lives of students outside of the classroom? A behavioral competency approach involves students in active observation of their interpersonal behavior and guides them toward development and implementation of change in situations that are most critical to them.
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This five-year research project followed a committed, cohesive team through extensive downsizing and a merger with another unit. A previous three-year study documented the positive results of a communication focused teambuilding intervention. Interviews after five years indicated a number of consistent impressions within the team: 1) a lasting commitment to communication and teamwork, 2) a willingness to put aside individual interests in order to enhance the team, 3) the creation of a work environment that fosters support, cooperation and mutual praise, and 4) regret that the strengths of the team were not entirely transferred to the merged department.
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As part of a community college’s effort to develop a more participative culture, a two-day performance-based training program was designed to teach skills in conflict resolution and group process. Every employee of the college was invited to participate: faculty, management, and classified. Two hundred and twenty employees participated in the training. A representative sample participated in the study. The longitudinal research extended over a three-year period beginning six months after the training. A multi-method research design was used: statistical survey, interviews, and direct observation. The results suggest a substantial cultural shift in which employees are more direct in their communication and more effective at solving problems.
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In a nationwide survey of employees, the Survey Research Center of the University if Michigan found 36% of its respondents believed their skills were underused by their employers. Another 32% felt over-educated for their jobs. Over half were concerned about lack of control over their work and working conditions. 48% thought they should have more say in running the companies that employed them. Generally, employee participation programs fail for one or more reasons.
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This article offers a triangulation approach to the study of organizational culture by employing reliably coded interviews to help interpret and place in context the results of statistical analyses from a standardized survey questionnaire. Subjects were 195 employees representing every level and division in a large department. All 195 subjects completed the Organizational Culture Survey and 91 Subjects participated in 45-minute critical incident interviews designed to elicit subjects’ interpretations of organizational events. From the analyses of these data emerges a description of the organization’s culture.
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This article describes a communication intervention program designed to change the culture of an organization from hierarchical and authoritarian to participative and involved. This cultural shift is then measured through a triangulation approach. Specifically, questionnaires, interview data, and direct observation were combined to study the areas of cultural change. Results suggest that the organization changed significantly in the following dimensions: Information flow, involvement, morale, and meetings. Specific implications for management practices are discussed.  Click here  (2.7 MB)

Throughout the past two decades, many organizations have grown to realize that employee involvement and participation are crucial to their productivity and survival. Involvement strategies and employee participation programs continue to proliferate. Organizations are bringing employees together in teams to offer input and suggestions about their work. Organizational leaders are coming to realize that valuing employee input and supporting a team approach are not enough to create a participative organization. A new job skill is being required of employees from line workers to executives: the ability to work cooperatively and productively in teams. Click here (1.24 MB)

One of the greatest challenges facing today’s organizations is how to develop a collaborative and participative environment where team members can move through conflict to reach consensus and solve complex problems collaboratively. In order for teams to function effectively, they need to be taught problem solving and decision-making skills to address work issues, and interpersonal communication skills to work effectively as a team.  Click here  (2.41 MB)