...Williams BUS 600 Michael Murphy Gender and Communication July 12, 2010 Gender and Communication I think it’s safe to say that men and women are different in so many ways. We act differently, look different and we communicate differently. These differences can cause conflicts from time to time which often lead to misunderstandings. For communication between men and women to be effective, we must recognize the differences between male and female communication styles. In this paper, I will be discussing the different communication styles between men and women and how these differences play a major role in the workplace. According to Anne Meier (1999, pp. 115-119), “There exist numerous stereotypes in the way men and women communicate”. We will first begin with the most common form of communication….talking. “One of the most common notions is that women talk more than men. Women are also thought to participate in "empty talk," dealing with trivial and unimportant matters. While women's speech is believed to be unassertive and lacking in power, men's speech is viewed as bold and aggressive. Men and women typically talk about different things. In general, women talk more about their feelings than men do, regardless of to whom they are speaking. Women, in conversation with women, discuss personal matters, relationships, family, health and reproduction. Men discuss music, current events, sports, business and other men. Men control the topic of conversation, and may use...
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...Communication Differences and Strategies Understanding communication differences and the strategies to prevent conflict because of these differences is important when establishing relationships. According to Christopher (2008), “men and women have differing frameworks for how they view the world” (p. 1). The following presentation will provide information on types of verbal and nonverbal communication and how communication differs among men and women. Information on some common miscommunications and examples are also included in the presentation. The presentation includes a description of a situation that occurred that involved sexual harassment in the workplace, and recommendations for strategies to prevent this type of hostile conflict in the workplace. Types of Verbal and Nonverbal Communication People communicate verbally and nonverbally. Verbal communication is the exchange of words, for example, face-to-face, by telephone, or via technologies, such as a computer (Engleberg & Wynn, 2011).The language used is also important when communicating verbally. Language refers to the individuals’ ability to express his or her ideas and influence the listener (Engleberg & Wynn, 2011). The content and tone of a verbal message is an indication of the type of relationship between two individuals (Ivy & Backlund, 2008). For example, a simple “hello” to someone in a warm tone of voice conveys a sense of friendship and familiarity, whereas a hollow, perfunctory tone may indicate a more...
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...Gender Differences in Working and Communicating with Others In organizations there are numerous factors that outline the foundation for a strong, successful and smooth operating company. The key is having wonderful communication across the board, it can increase productivity, improve employee satisfaction and help recognize an outstanding leader in an organization. Nonverbal, verbal, written, and any means by which getting one’s point across to another can be categorized as communication. Communicating can be taken for granted since we all do this every day, however, it is important we have the skills to know how to properly communicate with one another. Everyone communicates differently due to their education background, where they were raised, age and gender. The one, which I am going to focus on is gender and what impact that, has on communication. There are clear gender differences in how we communicate and this can even have an affect in the workplace, such as situations can arise where there are misunderstandings between men and women. The way in which men and women communicate stem from the differences in the brain. One major structural difference is that “males generally have more activity in the mechanical centers of the brain, while women have more activity in centers of the brain dedicated to verbal communication and emotion” (Wikninews). In female brains the corpus callosum, the part of the brain that regulates communication within the brain is larger than...
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...market (Hsu, 2011). In order to comprehend the differences of communications patterns we should begin by making an allowance for the different essentials of the communication process between the sender of the information and receiver of the information. During any form of communication, the sender has a message to convey that becomes determined. The receiver acquires this determined message by way of some channel whether it be verbal, nonverbal or written, which is then translated. The situation, culture, time, and gender can affect a good and effective communication. Gender can affect communication in different ways has been widely accepted by a large part of the people today. Gender differences in communication can pose problems in social exchanges leading to prejudice, anger, and stress as well as a decrease in efficiency. This is exceptionally serious in business organizations but even more so in your everyday world and therefore a scrutiny of these differences in the first step to understanding the issues involved and moving towards better communication. Nearly a one fourth of all working women are considered part-time, more than men. The number of men who are stay-at-home dads has just about more than doubled over the last ten years. Society molds these women's so-called choices by telling them that they are care givers by default. Women are more likely to be punished for staying home to take care of a sick child. Are men more ambitious? Most women's first jobs straight...
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...Gender Differences Michael Grindstaff 11/2/13 Michael Grindstaff Gender Differences 11/2/13 Gender Differences Gender stereotypes are strong in our culture and even put preconceived notions in our minds of what profession we will be when we grow up. The differences in men and women’s brain do show men are better at mathematical jobs than women, however, it should not deter women from wanting to be engineers. Stereotypically, girls are soft spoken, gentle, caregivers, on the other hand, boys are outspoken, direct, and confident. These stereotypes are embedded in our minds from when we are little, even impacting our thoughts of which gender should occupy which profession. We look at specific jobs and correlate them with a certain gender. When children are growing up they often want to be a specific profession such as, girls may want to grow up to be a teacher or nurse, and boys want to be a firefighter or a police officer. Girls are taught that they must relate to others in order to survive, while boys are taught that they must compete with others to survive. Not only is it our brains that are different, but our upbringings and stereotypes of gender roles play an important role in how we communicate with each other. The more in-depth you look at the topic gender differences in working and communicating with others, the more it gets you thinking not only of how co-workers communicate with each other but how the public communicates with a professional due to their...
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...#3 The Power of Talk: Who Gets Heard and Why Deborah Tannen’s article essentially points out that men and women have different ways of communicating. Women’s conversational style is more towards developing rapport, providing support, or nurturing in such a way to show how they are attune to communication. This style is conducive towards promoting intimacy and the importance of relationships. On the other hand, men’s conversational style is more assertive, more indicative of independence and the maintenance of hierarchical relationships. This style is important in establishing and communicating the status of a person engaged in communication. Tannen’s views regarding these differences are shared by others. In “Bridging the Gender Gap,” Glaser points out that it is not the fact that men and women play by different rules, but that the problem lies in now knowing what the rules are (n.d.). Tannen noted in her article that differences in communication style for men and women are product of their socialization during childhood experiences. Glaser adds that in the workplace, men do not exclude women intentionally, but that it is men’s assertiveness that may make this perception. Men do not wait to be invited; they simply join in. Moreover, she also states that women have a tendency to be apologetic and to attach qualifiers to their conversation. For example, women would add, “This may be a stupid question…”, “I think this may be the right track…” or “You probably figured...
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...Institution Abstract Communication involves spread of ideas and information between people. Communication helps in expressing feelings, emotions, opinions, and ethics and also represents class. It is therefore vital in all aspects of life ranging from that between parents and children, management and employees, employee and employee or even husband and wife. The characteristics of those involved in the process of communication can therefore affect communication. The differences in the diversity and characteristics of employees can also lead to conflicts in communication or miscommunication. The gender differences in conveying messages are as a result of biological, psychological, religious and cultural differences among men and women (Tannen, 1993). Keywords: communication, gender differences Conflicts at the office might be due to the long hours the employees or workers spend together, the differences in the positions of the administration and the problems that arise from change of place of work. Since gender is a culture, it has norms and standards which lead to misunderstandings between people of different sex. The differences can be in the nature of attitudes towards work and their relationships. Women like building interactions so as to achieve different responsibilities. They find it comfortable to be assisted as long as it would lead to realization of a particular objective that was set out at the commencement. This is contrary to men who are task leaning...
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...Background The differences between men and women is a universal truth and it can observe physically and emotionally. In our country, an emotional difference between two genders has rooted from their culture and upbringing. Previously, there was a belief that women are born to look after their household, family and children while male goes out to work, earn money, financially supports and leads family. This type of work division between male and female has led them experience, think and develop different perception. Therefore, the different perception of male and female in the same workplace can be seen. Eventually, this perception leads them to communicate differently in any kind of business environment. It does not mean that male are better...
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...Elizabeth Lisosky Different Communication Styles Among Management BUS501: Business Communication Dr. Conry August 30th, 2015 Introduction This paper will explore the communication styles of two different managers from the author's current or most recent workplace. The manager's styles of communications will be compared and contrasted. Technology also plays a role in communication style, which will be further discussed. This paper will determine which manager has the most effective form of communication as well as determine long-term consequences for each manager's communication style. Every manager or leader has a distinct style of communication. The style of communication affects the manager's ability to connect with others. It also affects how the manager is perceived by others and whether those people will trust the manager. The Four Styles of Communication There are four main styles of communication: the support-relater, the analyzer-thinker, the promoter-socializer, and the controller-director (Stirling, 2009). The support-relater is a person who is very easy to work with and strives for good team morale (Communication Styles). The analyzer-thinker is a person who is socially reserver and has a more analytical communication style (Fung, 2014). The promoter-socializer prefers to work with others and build social relationships. They also have a fast-paced, aggressive communication style (Communication Styles). The fourth and final communication style is the controller-director...
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...of us may not know why, however, we notice that males and females communicate in certain ways. When men communicate with others, they are considered to be confident and straightforward. In contrast, women are more timid and sensitive. Males and females communicate that way because they were taught to do so when they were younger. In school, boys and girls create their own way to communicate socially with their classmates. Boys would try to make everything similar to a competition and females are more about giving everyone a chance. In a workplace, males are projected as being more dominant and females are displayed as being fair. When males and females communicate, males are more likely to play a dominant role in a conversation because males subconsciously expose their masculinity. Deborah Tannen was one of the reliable sources that thoroughly elaborates the communication between male and female. Tannen is currently university professor and professor of linguistics at Georgetown University. She received a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of California in 1979 and has done a numerous amount research on a broad range of topics. She wrote 22 books that created connections with analysis of conversational discourse, spoken and written language, orality and literacy, doctor-patient communication, cross-cultural communication, modern Greek discourse, the relationship between conversational and literary discourse, narrative, and gender and language. Gender and language is the...
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...Gender and Communication I think it’s safe to say that men and women are different in so many ways. We act differently, look different and we communicate differently. These differences can cause conflicts from time to time which often lead to misunderstandings. For communication between men and women to be effective, we must recognize the differences between male and female communication styles. In this paper, I will be discussing the different communication styles between men and women and how these differences play a major role in the workplace. According to Anne Meier (1999, pp. 115-119), “There exist numerous stereotypes in the way men and women communicate”. We will first begin with the most common form of communication….talking. “One of the most common notions is that women talk more than men. Women are also thought to participate in "empty talk," dealing with trivial and unimportant matters. While women's speech is believed to be unassertive and lacking in power, men's speech is viewed as bold and aggressive. Men and women typically talk about different things. In general, women talk more about their feelings than men do, regardless of to whom they are speaking. Women, in conversation with women, discuss personal matters, relationships, family, health and reproduction. Men discuss music, current events, sports, business and other men. Men control the topic of conversation, and may use abrupt and direct methods to do so, especially in dyads with women. More than...
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...Introduction: The 2.5 percentage-point gap between men’s unemployment rate of 10.5 percent and women’s 8 percent rate is highest. It has ever been since records were kept in 1948. Ever since the issue regarding the capabilities of men and women have commenced, stereotypical assumptions brought a huge impact on gender hiring and biases in the business workplace that particularly affect the status of women. Despite the continuing issues of women getting pregnant, being abused and emotional, women have preferable qualities in communication skills, leadership activities and cognitive functions as contrasted to men. Background: The issue of gender employment started since equality has been the common issue to the business organizations. This involves male and female functions in the workplace. The controversies regarding gender differences during the past decades show that women who are employed at lesser trained jobs have lower pay as compared to men although the circumstances may change. Because of the widespread stereotypes in organizations, these have affected the hiring of employees in companies which prefer to favor men. Demographic diversity describes about circumstances regarding acts and ways of thinking or feeling of the employees. Its key factors generally involve gender, generational, age and ethnicity differences. These contribute to the society’s way of understanding on male and female roles. This paper talks about the gender hiring preferences in business organizations...
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...| Assignment 5: “Communication Dilemma—Getting Credit” (Reeves Chapter 7) | | | 1. Propose some lessons we can learn from gender communication in business. Communication between men and women can be considered cross-cultural communication. People in different cultures speak different dialects. Before clarifying some distinctives in gender communication, several basic assumptions must be accepted. 1. Men and women do have different conversational styles. 2. Both styles of communication are equally valid. 3. The goal in gender communication is not change the style of communication but to adapt to the differences. Gender Communication in Business Communication is necessary in all aspects of human endeavor. The subject of gender communication is not new, we all know that there are differences in the way women and men communicate. And these differences are shown in the work place as well. This phenomenon does not deal with the thing that men and women are equal. It is different from that. The concept I’m telling about the perception of men and women for the same situation would be different because they both have different communication style. Research says that “Starting in childhood, girls and boys are generally socialized to belong to distinct cultures and thus, speak in ways particular to their own gender’s rules and norms” (Johnson, 2000; Tannen 1986, 1990, 1995.) This pattern of gendered socialization continues throughout our...
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...Leadership Abstract The number of women obtaining higher levels of education and positions in their careers has increased, but the number of women obtaining management and executive positions has remained stagnant. Human resource policies and practices’ follow ethical guidelines, but in practicality are more difficult to apply in the workforce. Human resource practices and policies may be influenced by the overall mindset of a company. The barriers that prevent women from achieving management and executive positions are the same barriers that prevent human resource policies and practices’ from being applied. The gaps in gender equality and wages, created by the barriers, can be discouraging to women from achieving high-level positions. Overcoming the barriers is a task in undoing the mindset that has been instilled deeply within society. Introduction Studies have shown that companies who promote female gender equality surpass their competitors on every measure of profitability, yet women are failing to attain high-level positions. Possible reasons for the persistent wage and gender gap between men and women in senior leadership positions can be found by reviewing current data on women in the workplace, studies on the correlation between gender diversity in senior management and company performance, and literature on gender behavioral differences in the workplace. Women play an increasingly significant role in today’s workforce. “Women make up almost 73 percent of the healthcare...
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...Communication theory In many workplaces today organizations have consolidated jobs where one person no longer has just one responsibility, the concept of organizations have changed from individual to team and groups. Communication is an extremely important factor for teams and group to work effectively together. When there is poor communication within the team, the success of the whole is affected because team and groups work collaboratively together to achieve goals if one area does not achieve the whole does not achieve. Team leaders, managers and supervisor are leaders of communication, they work firsthand with the team or groups showing how effective lines of communication not only make their team stronger but also lead to success. Fellow Coworkers Gender and Cultural differences affect communication between coworkers in different ways. Within my organization there is not much diversity, there are mostly females and staff culture is African American with an exception of a male from India. Language is not the cultural difference in communication; it is the way respect is shown. In the Indian culture man and female do not walk side by side the male walk ahead of the female or if he or she are approaching each other the male walk on the other side of the hallway as a sign of respect. The gender communication with other coworkers is only a slight difference; male coworkers go straight to the point where female coworkers will take the long road to arrive at the same point...
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