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1. Introduction

2. Description of my workplace. 3. Communication at Spar... 4. Types of communication 5. The four types of communication at Spar.. 6. Conclusion

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7. Appendices... 7

Title: How effective is your workplace communication? Assignment topic Prepare a discussion paper in essay style in which you critically analyze your own communication methods and style. In your answer, provide examples of how you communicate (oral and written) with team managers and managers, from your reading and your own experience, to illustrate the points you are making. When you refer to an example, provide enough details about the context so that the reader, who does not know about your workplace, can understand the points about the situation that you are trying to make, You will have to provide an explanation of what makes effective communication in the introduction to your paper.

1. Introduction Communication has always been at the centre of the humanity. The life of man has changed through effective communication. Good communication has ensured a constant handing over of knowledge through generations and has ensured the survival of the human species. The step stone of communication process started in the ancient time by engraving and communicating with signs and this has been effective enough to lead humanity where we are nowadays. During the evolution process of man, communication has taken different forms with different end use eg military, medical, business, politics and etc. When communication is being conveyed effectively the audience will firstly receive the information in the required way and the chance that the audience understands it is very high.

2. Description of my workplace I work in a food shop called Spar. It is located at the city centre of Dublin, Republic of Ireland. The food shop operates on a two shift system from 6am to 3pm and from 3pm to 12am. There are 6 staffs during each shift. The staffs are from different nationalities namely Mauritian, Indian, Slovakian, Romanian and Irish. There are different department within the organization like casher, kitchen, food corner and off the shelf items. The main department is the kitchen because there are lot of criterion to be respected in connection with food security and hygiene. It is important to follow those food security standards to avoid food poisoning and other serious illness. I am a senior staff and fully qualified, through different training like HACCP, to handle and manipulate foodstuff. Staffs working in the kitchen and food corner must report to me and when there a change of shift I need to hand over to the senior staff of the other shift. The senior staffs report directly to the Manager.

3. Communication at my Spar As there are different nationalities at my workplace, effective communication is of high importance. It is important among manager, senior staffs and other staffs. Communication can be defined as any behavior whether it is verbal or non verbal. Knowledge, feelings or thoughts are encoded and sent from at least one person and received and decoded by another. (Dwyer, 2008 p. 8). Spar is a good example as an organization which needs to have an effective internal communication and communication with customers. As there are many tourists who transit through the city centre, the sales volume is relatively high from early morning till very late in the night. There is a daily interaction with hundreds of customers of different backgrounds, gender, age, levels of education and cultures. Therefore, effective communication is one of the main aspects in which a Spar,
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though it looks like a small organization, can continue to be successful, since communication can be described as the central binding force that permits co-ordination among people and this allows for organized behaviour (Myers & Myers, 1982). Spar is a small shop but the sales volume per day makes the routine activity very dynamic. Therefore, the risk of error is very high and the consequences can be lethal. For example the preparation of foods are not done properly there can be serious food poisoning which leads to death in some extreme cases. Hence, to avoid such situation rules and regulations need to be communicated to the staff. As describe by Argyle 1981 Chapter 6, the effective communication of those standards to be respected regulates the behavior of the staffs and help to attain the objectives of the legal requirements or management commitments. The success of the effective communication relies on the implementation of the communication process and all the staffs. Through this process the sharing of a common purpose between the sender and the receiver takes place as described by Burnett and Dollar (1989),the written words, spoken words, and non verbal languages selected are paramount in ensuring the receiver interprets the message as intended by the sender. (Burnett & Dollar, 1989).

As mentioned above, one of the main purposes of effective communication is to ensure that the staff execute the tasks in a properly manner. The strategic location of the shop is such that most of the time it is busy with customers. Businesswise it is a good thing but the hectic environment makes the staffs to work under stress. Therefore, it is of prime importance to have an effective communication. Referring to the article Gretchen Hoover: Communication World Nov/Dec 2005 pg25, it is not only important that the manager communicate with promptness and honesty but he has to do it with tact, empathy and respect. An example of a difficult situation is when a staff of the second shift is late or will not turn up. Usually it is a staff of the first who carries on. When the manager demonstrates such abilities while communicating with the staffs, they are barely frustrated and they remain committed to their respective task. The workforce does not get into a disengaged mindset although employees
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may not like the news provided that the message is delivered with honesty and rational. Another aspect of effective communication of Spar is the appearance. It is necessary for the staffs wear the uniforms. This type of communication allows the customers to distinguish the staffs from other customers and address their queries to the right persons. When referred to Chritopher K. Knapper: Presenting and Public Speaking pg 156, the customers make judgments the way the staffs present themselves which is kind of communication. For example, when a staffs t-shirt is not well ironed, the hairs are not nicely combed and no smiling or politeness it quickly communicates a wrong signal to the customers concern about the reputation of the shop.

4. Types of communication Basically there are four methods which people rely on to communicate in an organization: oral, written, non-verbal communication and visual Define different forms of communication Written: it consists of writing the message in words which you want to communicate. The written communication can be edited and updated. In business it is kept as record and usually used for formal communication, for example memos, purchase orders, fax, disciplinary warnings and etc. Oral: it consists of sounds, words, language and speaking. Oral communication involves face to face interaction between two or more individuals. Non verbal: It involves physical ways of communication for example, tone of the voice, touch, smell and body motion. There is also creative and aesthetic non-verbal communication which includes singing, music, dancing and sculpturing. It also shows a persons character or mood at the moment of communication Visual: with the time of technology this type of communication is becoming very popular. It consists of visual display of information like
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topography, photography, signs, symbols and designs. Television and video clips are occupying have become a good mode of communication.

5. The four types of communication at Spar Written communication at Spar consists of a variety of documents. Every new staff has to attend a training session where there are handouts. The handouts contain SOPs, standard operating procedures, rules and regulations of the organization. There is also a small written exam after the training. Every day before closing the account balance, a quick inventory needs to be made while every week a reorder list needs to be prepared. This written information must be communicated to the manager. Therefore, in this business model there are some important paper works. It is important to understand and follow appropriately the written communication. For example, if a staff wrongly understands an expiry date the consequences can be of extreme seriousness in terms of health or legal. Written communication also facilitates business. A good labeling of different sections of the shop allows the customers to go directly to the products. In additions, when the foods are properly labeled the customers feel confident of what they are buying specially those who are vegetarians or who have allergies problems. Written communication allows Spar to build a database. This database allows the manager to draw reports and make statistical analysis. This helps in decision making and forecasting. One major point of the business model of Spar is dealing with customers. As written communication is important for internal matters, talking with customers requires good oral communication. If the design and layout of the shop is perfect but the attitude of the staffs towards the customers is poor there might be conflicts. A nice oral communication among employees where there is respect creates a team spirit atmosphere which increases the sense of belonging of the organization.

 Most of the time we do use non verbal message which accompanies every oral communication. Facial expressions, body movements, gestures, tone of voice, rate of speech, all add meaning to the words actually happen. These non verbal components help the receiver interpret the emotional significance of the message. Visual display plays an important role on the psychology of the buyers. When the display is pleasant and attractive with a good layout the customers feel comfortable to shop.

6. Conclusion Effective communication is contributing largely to the success of the Spar. Therefore, developing communicative skills are essential for the four types of communication because they ensure more clarity and eliminate the ambiguity. Effective communication consolidates the team spirit and it plays a common platform of understanding for people with different nationalities and cultures. Thus, effective communication is a unifying factor at Spar.

7. Appendices
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/four-types-of-communication.html http://www.managementstudyguide.com/oral-communication.htm http://workawesome.com/communication/effective-communication-skills/