James Caruso Communication

Strong and effective communication is essential to every organization, because it is how goals, directions and ideas are conveyed to others, so no matter how brilliant your idea may be, it is worthless unless you can share it with others. Communication is a two way process and each person or group plays a role in how the communication is being presented and how is being perceived or understood by another (Stennes, article n.d.). It is what keeps people engaged, focus and committed and it is also the reason why so many leaders are accused of being poor communicators, due to the lack of acknowledgment, reinforcement and condescending or diminishing approach to their employees. And in some instances the rule of thumb by many organizations is to focus more on what anyone is doing wrong often bring the morale down among working groups.

One example that clearly reflects poor or lack of effective communication skills, is the case of James W. Caruso, owner of the MediaFirst PR-Atlanta, public relations firm. Mr. Caruso admits that he is not as reinforcing as he should be, but only because he is judging his employees by his own personal motivators. Employees performance depends highly on how recognition and rewards because is how they perceived how well they are doing their job and lack of recognition and reinforcement will only decrease effort and satisfaction on behalf of an employee because there is no value in what employees are doing. The degree of effort an individual exerts depends on his or her perception of the effort-performance, performance-reward, and reward-goal satisfaction and if the data necessary to increase these links are not given, motivation will suffer (Robbins & Judge p.393).

If you are among those like Mr. Caruso, who think that communication may be overrated, you may want to reconsider your thoughts, because there is far more power in communication than you think. Though is being said that perfect communication is unattainable, there is evidence that demonstrates a positive relationship between effective communication that includes factors such as trust, perceived accuracy, desire for interaction, top-management receptiveness and upward information requirements that reflects on productivity (Robbins & Judge p. 393). If Mr. Caruso was to ensure quality, quantity and effectiveness to achieve success it is important that he starts improving his communication skills. One of the main focus should be communication apprehension because it is evident that oral communication is essential for others to the their jobs effectively. He also needs to improve his listening skills because in not doing so it could affect clients, employes and the overall performance of the business that could lead to the firm going under. When a business does well, the success comes as a result of collective work, people creating and developing ideas and the skills and talent of others to go and execute to get the work done. Like the famous German writer by the name of Johann Wolfing Von Goethe once said: “Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them become what they are capable of being”.

But what if anyone wanted to improve their communication skills? What if Mr. Caruso had a chance to reflect on the current circumstances and wanted to learn how to become a better communicator? Could he become a better communicator?. Being able to inspire and motivate other individuals by communicating effectively will allow your life and your environment to become more fruitful and enriched (Nah, 2009). If Mr. Caruso wanted to improve things around his firm he should start out by following the following six simple steps: using open ended questions, active listening, cocoon, engage with his employes, do not make assumptions and avoid antagonistic sentences (Nah, 2009). By using and incorporating this steps it will allow conversations to flow, follow conversations when speaking with employes, that will help him learn about the facts rather than making assumptions. This practice will create a more positive environment at work that will inspire and motivate employes, while validating then and showing that you genuinely care.

This week we had a an opportunity to evaluate communication along with the power and the impact that could have on any organization. And though it is unfortunate that there are still many people like “Mr. Caruso” that we have worked or continue to work for, the important thing that we all need to reflect on is that communication is central in determining and individual’s degree of motivation (Robbins & Judge p.393). Leaders have a responsibility with their employes, to create an environment were people feel that there is value and meaning in what they do. This will increase morale, satisfaction, quality, productivity while reducing turnover in order to accomplish the desire results. For a leader is a very little price to pay for all the good that could potentially be gain by just communicating good and effectively.

References

Nab, W. (2009) Six Steps on How To Become a Better Communicator Article Retrieved from http:// bizcovering.com

Robbins, S., & Judge, T. (2007) Organizational Behavior

Stennes, B. (n.d.) The Importance of Effective Communication Article Retrieved from

http://ezinearticles.com