Written by: Erica Duncan
HCS 325 February 1, 2016
Effective Communication Paper
Written by: Erica Duncan
HCS 325 February 1, 2016
Effective Communication Paper

Effective Communication Paper In this paper I will discuss effective communication in the workplace setting. Effective communication is the measure used when delivering information to a distinctive person or group by way of non-verbal and verbal communication. In today’s health care organizations they are trying out a mixture of forms of communication structures. These structures will help in the journey to improve patient care, increase productivity, and cutthroat advantages (Lombardi & Shermerhorn, 2007, p.53). Several organizations use traditional communication patterns such as divisional, functional, and matrix structures. However, some still use nontraditional patterns such as networking, teamwork, and “boundaryless” organizations (Lombardi & Shermerhorn, 2007, p.53). Countless of new managers must first follow traditional policies and routines already established by former managers or upper management before creating their own. The formal organizational structure is known as the official structure. This structure shows the way the organization is designed to function. There are organizational charts designed to help describe how an organization should work. In the chart it shows the division of work, which is the different positions or titles and what they are responsible for. The chart also shows supervisory positions or who reports to who, communication channels that describe formal communication channels, major subunits shows positions that report to one common manager, and levels of management that shows the different levels of management from top to bottom (Lombardi & Shermerhorn, 2007, p.54). The functional structures displays people with similar skills who perform similar duties. The main advantages of the functional structure consist of high-quality technical problem- solving, clear career paths within functions, in-depth training and skill development, efficient use of resources, and consistent and useful task assignments based on experience and training (Lombardi & Shermerhorn, 2007, p. 56). Another formal structure is the divisional structure, which bands together people, who serve similar patients, work within the same processes, provide the same service, and are located in the same area. The third formal structure is the matrix structure, which merges elements of both the divisional and functional structures. The objective is to merge the advantages of each but not the disadvantages. The formal organizational model that best describes an organization I am familiar with would have to be the matrix structure. This structure also uses persistent cross-functional teams to coordinate functional ability and territorial focus. The matrix structure has advantages that outweigh the disadvantages. Some advantages of the matrix structure include better customer service channeled by individual projects managers, better performance accountability surrounding project managers, more interfunctional cooperation in operations, increased flexibility in approaching changing demands, improved strategic management, and improved problem-solving at team level. Some anticipated disadvantages include tunnel vision, expense, power struggles, and priority confusion (Lombardi & Shermerhorn, 2007, p.59-60). The disadvantage I dealt with more in the organization I am familiar with is the priority confusion. Priority confusion is when members of the matrix have trouble deciding what task to do first because they are not sure what to focus on, especially when working with more than one supervisor. We also solved problems by using cross-functional teams. These teams consisted of co-workers, team leaders, manager, and upper management. With this helpful team approach we were able to communicate effectively across functions, fewer barriers between departments, we had shared responsibility among all team members to obtain one final goal, the morale improved, and it helped to improve speed and quality performance goals. The organization I am familiar with shared knowledge or involved employees in formulating solutions to problems by using verbal and non-verbal communication methods. Some techniques used when using verbal communication was successful listening. Effective listening skills are used when you create a place where everyone feels safe to speak about his or her feelings, express ideas or opinions, or to create problem- solving solutions. You can also make the speaker feel understood and show them you are attentive. You can save time by avoiding conflicts, help clarify information, and avoid misunderstandings. Relieve negative emotions by making sure the speaker is truly being heard and this will help to calm them down as well as finding a solution to the a problem. Also it helps to avoid interrupting the speaker, do not judge the person’s opinion or idea, and show that you are completely interested in what he or she has to say ( Helpguide.org, Effective Communication, 2014). Non-verbal communication is often expressed through how you look, listen, move and react. Other non-verbal communication methods are via email or text messages. Being aware of an individual’s differences such as age, culture, religion, gender, and emotional state enhances effective non-verbal communication. Observe people in different environments to see how they use body language and how they react to others around them. Consider all non-verbal actions or signals you receive such as eye contact or crossing of arms. Do not allow one slip up to account for your overall judgment. Some non-verbal techniques used in the organization included emails between co-workers, team leaders and managers. We only used text messages between co-workers whenever we discussed issues that we did not need to share with management. Anything else such as request vacation days, questions on new policies, memos, or staff meetings were all discussed through email. Employees are involved in formulating solutions to problem by having cross-functional teams, employee involvement teams, virtual teams and self-managing work teams. Cross-functional teams are work best in an organization when the goal is to share information, explore new ideas and seek creative solutions. Employee involvement teams are groups of laborers meet on a regular basis outside of their set assignment. Virtual teams are members who worked together to solve problems through a broad computer-mediated spectrum rather than face-to-face. Self-managing work teams are members whose jobs have been altered to produce a high degree of task interchangeable and who have the authority to make his or her own decision on how they do their work (Lombardi & Shermerhorn, 2007, p.78-79). The techniques that prove to be most effective when communicating are open communication system and resilience. The open communication system allows all team members to discuss department issues, goals, recent events and organizational information. Resilience allows teams to notice they are not perfect but they must be able to move on from adverse situations that can have negative effects. When a problem occurs, start by having a staff meeting to ask what went wrong? What have we learned from the situation? How could we have avoided the problem? What will be done the next time something similar happens? This provides the substructure needed to help create open-minded discussion that will turn a negative situation into a positive solution. Technology communication techniques can affect a health care organization in a positive way by allowing network sharing through computer information technologies. Also to support business contracts and a changing blend of strategic alliances. With the advance technology in place the organization can benefit because they can function with less full-time employees, use less complex internal systems and easily develop and maintain partnerships even from afar. Organizations can also reduced their budget by decreasing their expenditure and increasing operation efficiency, thus making them more competitive (Lombardi & Shermerhorn, 2007, p.63). Some disadvantage of technology is the complexity of the system and its ability to function properly. If one part of the network does not work then the entire network crashes, thus causing the organization to suffer from the impact. In conclusion, health care organizations depend on both formal and informal structures to help assign responsibilities, arrange workers, and implement work development. Effective communication is designed by incorporating subsystems that allows a supportive union of members. Teamwork allows organizations to be effective in today’s health care field because you can use members from various departments to come together to get the job done and increase productivity. The health care organization can stand to benefit from using the matrix structure because it allows open communication between all members and it helps to improve work performance.

References:
Lombardi, D. N., & Schermerhorn, J. R. (2007). Health care management: Tools and techniques for managing in a health care environment. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Robinson, Lawrence; Segal, Jeanne, Ph.D.; and Segal, Robert, M.A. (2014). Helpguide.org. Effective Communication: Improving Communication Skills in Business and Relationships. Retrieved from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/effective_communication_skills.htm.