Indian Journal of Business Management & Technology, ISSN 2319-5797, Volume 8, Number 1/2 (2021): 1 - 8
© Arya PG College (College with Potential for Excellence Status by UGC) & Business Press India Publication, Delhi
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Corporate Operational Real Time Communication Skills

PK Malik, Payal Lamba and Shiv Kumar Chona
Assistant Professor, Department of Commerce
Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration
Guru Nanak Khalsa College, Yamunanagar (Haryana), India
Manager, Subarti University, Meerut, (Uttar Pradesh), India
⃰ Email: pkm2003@gmail.com

Abstract

This paper explores the analogy between motor skills and social skills. In particular, it examines the core process involved in implementing graded behaviors and assesses the extent to which motor skill models can be manipulated in interpersonal communication research. An interaction model based on the skills paradigm is proposed. This model aims to explain the characteristic performance of social encounters. The model considers the objectives of the two interactants, the influence of the character's context, and the fact that the feedback comes from our own reactions and those of other people.

Keywords: Core Process, Operating Systems, Performance Models.

Introduction

The study of perceptual motor skills has a long and rich tradition in psychology which involves physically coordinated body movements widely used in human performances such as eating, dressing, walking, writing, cycling, and playing golf. Perceptual motor skills refer to those activities that involve moving the body or parts of the body to achieve a specific goal. Motor skills are any muscular activity directed at a specific goal. Such definitions emphasize the goal-oriented nature of skills behavior, which is considered intentional, rather than accidental or unintentional.
Goals and Motivation in Social Interaction
As discussed, a key feature of skilled performance is its goal-directed, intentional nature. The starting point in this model of social interaction is therefore the goal being pursued, and the related motivation to achieve it. The presence of various goals or motivations changes the nature of affect and cognitions generated, and of subsequent behaviors. In essence, goals shape behaviour, while motivation determines the degree of commitment to pursue a particular goal. Motivation is a driving force that moves us to a particular action. Motivation can affect the nature of an organism’s behavior, the strength of its behavior, and the persistence of its behavior. The motivation that an individual has to pursue a particular goal is, in turn, influenced by needs. There are many needs that must be met in order to enable the individual to live life to the fullest. Different psychologists have posited various categorizations, but the best known hierarchy of human needs remains the one put forward by Maslow.
At the bottom of this hierarchy, and therefore most important, are those physiological needs essential for the survival of the individual, including the need for water, food, heat, and so on. Once these have been met, the next most important needs are those connected with the safety and security of the individual, including protection from physical harm and freedom from fear. These are met in society by various methods, such as the establishment of police forces, putting security chains on doors, or purchasing insurance policies. At the next level are belonging and love needs, such as the desire for a mate, wanting to be accepted by others, and striving to avoid loneliness or rejection. Getting married, having a family, or joining a club, society, or some form of group, are all means whereby these needs are satisfied. Esteem needs are met in a number of ways: for instance, occupational status, achievement in sports, or success in some other sphere. At a higher level is the need for self actualization, by fulfilling one’s true potential. People seek new challenges, feeling the need to be ‘stretched’ and to develop themselves fully.
Thus, someone may give up secure salaried employment in order to study at college or set up in business.
The goals are determined in three main ways:
• Assigned Goals : These may be decided for us by others (e.g. parents, teachers, managers), who tell us what goals we should and should not pursue.
• Self Set : Here, goals are freely chosen by the individual.
• Participative : In this case, goals are openly agreed in interaction with others.
Goal conflict may occur where goals being pursued by both sides do not concur, or where there is internal inconsistency in goals. Informing a good friend of an annoying habit, while maintaining the same level of friendship, would be one example of the latter. Encounters such as this obviously require skill and tact. Yet we know little about how to ensure success in such situations. We have goals and those with whom we interact also have goals, and these may not concur. However, for relationships to develop, ways must be found of successfully negotiating mutual goal achievement. Despite a great deal of interest in the subject of goal-directed action, relatively little work has been carried out to investigate the process whereby communicators negotiate intentions. Once appropriate goals have been decided upon, these have an important bearing on our perceptions, behaviour, and the intervening mediating factors.
Mediating Factors of Interpersonal Communication
The term ‘mediating factors’ refers to those internal states, activities, or processes within the individual that mediate between the feedback perceived, the goal being pursued, and the responses that are made. What has been termed the ‘mediated mind’ is therefore an important feature of interpersonal communication. Mediating factors influence the way in which people and events are perceived, and determine the capacity of the individual to assimilate, process, and respond to the social information received during interpersonal encounters. It is at this stage that the person makes decisions about appropriate courses of action for goal achievement. This is part of the process of feed forward, whereby the individual estimates the likely outcome of particular responses in any given context. There are two core mediating factors :
1) Cognition
As discussed, cognition plays a very important role in skilled communication, in terms of control of responses. This is because it is in the mind that intentions are formulated, potential courses of action considered, and efferent commands generated. Cognition has been defined as ‘all the processes by which the sensory input is transformed, reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered and used. This definition emphasizes the following aspects :
• Cognition involves transforming, or decoding and making use of the sensory information received.
• To do so, it is often necessary to reduce the amount of information attended to, in order to avoid overloading the system.
• Conversely, at times, we have to elaborate upon minimal information by making interpretations, judgments, or evaluations.
• Information is stored either in short-term or long-term memory. While there is debate about the exact nature and operation of memory, there is considerable evidence to support the existence of these two systems. Short-term memory has a limited capacity for storage, allowing for the retention of information over a brief interval of time (no more than a few minutes), while long-term memory has an enormous capacity for storage of data that can be retained over many years. Thus, information stored in short-term memory is quickly lost unless it is transferred to the long-term memory store. For instance, we can usually still remember the name of our first teacher at primary school, yet a few minutes after being introduced to someone for the first time we may have forgotten the name.
• The process of context-dependent coding is important. Remembering occurs by recalling the context of the original event. When we meet someone we recognise but cannot place, we try to think where or when we met that person before – in other words, we try to put the individual in a particular context. A similar process occurs in social situations, whereby we evaluate people and situations in terms of our experience of previous similar encounters. Short-term memory is important in skilled performance in terms of listening and retaining information about the responses of others so as to respond appropriately.
• Information that is stored is recovered or retrieved to facilitate the process of decision making and problem solving. As expressed, prior to addressing a communication goal, speakers retrieve from long-term memory knowledge about how that goal has been addressed in the past. While some thoughts are purposeful and goal-oriented, other cognitive activity may be disordered, less controlled, and more automatic, or involuntary, in nature.
• The extent to which these erratic thoughts determine the main direction of mental activity varies from one person to another, but is highest in certain pathological states, such as schizophrenia, where a large number of unrelated thoughts may ‘flood through’ the mind.
• Socially skilled individuals have greater control over cognitive processes and use these to facilitate social interaction. In order to interact successfully and repeatedly with the same persons, one must have the capacity to form cognitive conceptions of the others’ cognitive conceptions. Such metacognition is very important in forming judgements about the reasons for behaviour. However, as with many of the processes in skilled performance, there is an optimum level of metacognition, since, if overdone all of this thinking could become so cumbersome that it actually interferes with communication. In other words, it is possible to ‘think oneself out of’ actions. However, highly skilled individuals have the ability to ‘size up’ people and situations rapidly, and respond in an appropriate fashion. Such ability is dependent upon the capacity to process cognitively the information received during social interaction.
2) Emotion
The importance of mood and emotional state in the communication process and the part they play in shaping our relationships with others has been clearly demonstrated. The effective control of emotion is a central aspect of socially skilled performance.
For this reason, measures of the emotional domain figure prominently in interpersonal skill inventories. Skilled individuals are adept both at encoding their own emotions, and at accurately decoding and responding appropriately to the emotional state of others. Being responsive to the emotional needs of others is a key aspect of effective relational communication. Indeed, one of the characteristics of dysfunctions of personality, such as psychopathy, is emotional malfunction.
Responses in Interpersonal Communication
Once a goal and related action plan have been formulated, the next step in the sequence of skilled performance is to implement this plan in terms of social responses. It is the function of the response system (voice, hands, face, etc.) to carry out the plan in terms of overt behaviour, and it is at this stage that skill becomes manifest. Social behaviour can be categorized :
1) Linguistic Behaviour : It refers to all aspects of speech, including the actual verbal content (the words used), and the paralinguistic message associated with it. Paralanguage refers to the way in which something is said (pitch, tone, speed, volume of voice, accent, pauses, speech dysfluencies, etc.).
2) Non-Linguistic Behaviour : It involves all of our bodily communication and is concerned with the study of what we do rather than what we say. This domain encompasses the following three main categories :
• Tacesics is the study of bodily contact – in other words, with what parts of the body we touch one another, how often, with what intensity, in which contexts, and to what effect.
• Proxemics is the analysis of the spatial features of social presentation – that is, the social distances we adopt in different settings, how we mark and protect
Kinesics is the systematic study of body motion – the meanings associated with movements of the hands, head, and legs, the postures we adopt, and our gaze and facial expressions.
One important element of individual behaviour is the concept of style, defined by Norton as ‘the relatively enduring pattern of human interaction associated with the individual’, involving ‘an accumulation of “microbehaviors” that add up to a “macrojudgment” about a person’s style of communicating’. Norton (1983) identified the following nine main communicative styles, each of which can be interpreted as a continuum:
1) Dominant/Submissive : Dominant people like to control social interactions, give orders, and be the centre of attention; they use behaviour such as loud volume of voice, interruptions, prolonged eye contact, and fewer pauses to achieve dominance. At the opposite end of this continuum, submissive people prefer to keep quiet, stay out of the limelight, and take orders.
2) Dramatic/Reserved : Exaggeration, storytelling, and non-verbal communication are techniques used by dramatic individuals who tend to overstate their messages. At the other end of the continuum is the reserved type of person, who is quieter, modest, and prone to understatement.
3) Contentious/Affiliative : The contentious person is argumentative, provocative, or contrary, as opposed to the agreeable, peace-loving and affiliative individual.
4) Animated/Inexpressive : An animated style involves making use of hands, arms, eyes, facial expressions, posture, and overall body movements to gain attention or convey enthusiasm. The converse here is the dull, slow-moving, inexpressive person.
5) Relaxed/Frenetic : This continuum ranges from people who do not get overexcited, always seem in control, and are never flustered, to those who are tense, quickly lose self-control, get excited easily, and behave frenetically.
6) Attentive/Inattentive : Attentive individuals listen carefully to others and display overt signs of listening such as eye contact, appropriate facial expression, and posture. Inattentive individuals, on the other hand, are poor listeners who do not make any attempt to express interest in what others are saying.
7) Impression-Leaving/Insignificant : The impression-leaving style is characterized by flamboyant individuals who display a visible or memorable style of communicating and leave an impression on those whom they meet. They are people who, for example, wear loud clothes, have unusual hairstyles, or exhibit a controversial interactive manner. The opposite of this is the insignificant individual who ‘fades into the fabric’ of buildings, is non-controversial, and dresses conservatively.
8) Open/Closed : Open people talk about themselves freely, and are approachable, unreserved, candid, and conversational. At the opposite end of this continuum are very closed individuals who disclose no personal information, are guarded, secretive, and loath to express opinions, and ‘keep themselves to themselves’.
9) Friendly/Hostile : This style continuum ranges from the friendly person who smiles frequently, and is happy, very rewarding, and generally non-competitive, to the hostile person who is overtly aggressive, highly competitive, and very unrewarding.
Most people can be evaluated overall in terms of these continuum, although style of communication can also be affected by situations. A dominant teacher in the classroom may be submissive during staff meetings, while a normally friendly individual may become hostile when engaging in team sports. Nevertheless, there are elements of style that endure across situations, and these have a bearing on a number of facets of the individual. For example, someone who tends to be dominant, frenetic, inattentive, or hostile will probably not make a good counsellor. Similarly, a very dominant person is unlikely to marry someone equally dominant.
As discussed, behaviour is the acid test of skill. If someone always fails miserably at actual negotiation, we would not call that person a skilled negotiator. However, in order to respond appropriately, it is also necessary to be aware of available feedback during communication.
Personality in Interpersonal Communication
The concept of personality and the role it plays in determining behaviour has long occupied the minds of social scientists. While recognising that there are many differing perspectives on personality, and hence varying definitions, as defined it as ‘those characteristics of the person that account for consistent patterns of feeling, thinking and behaving’. One common unit of analysis in the study of personality has been that of traits.
It is argued by trait theorists that whether we are cooperative or competitive, extraverted or introverted, dominant or submissive, dependent or independent, and so on, influences both how we interpret and how we respond to situations. Although many inventories have been developed to measure a plethora of such characteristics, there is considerable debate regarding the exact number of traits, or factors, which can reliably be charted. Most agree on the validity of what have been termed the ‘big five’ traits of extraversion, neuroticism (or anxiety), tough-mindedness, conscientiousness, and open-mindedness. Traits can be viewed as representing naturally occurring goal tensions within individuals. For example, extraversion–introversion represents the tension between wanting to meet and socialise with others, on the one hand, and the desire to have peace and quiet and be alone, on the other hand. It would seem that while traits are not universally reliable in predicting behaviour, they are most useful in predicting individual responses across similar situations. However, there is no clear agreement about the exact determinants of personality. Although a combination of hereditary and prenatal factors is contributory, experiences in infancy and early childhood seem to play a vital shaping role.
Furthermore, while personality is relatively stable, it can and does change as a result of experiences throughout the lifespan.
There is also some evidence that differences in personality may differentially affect skill acquisition, though research in this field is at a very early stage. In addition, skills need to be adapted to meet the specific requirements of different types of people.
Gender Variations in Behaviour During social interaction, we tend to respond differently to, and have differing expectations of, others depending upon whether they are male or female. All cultures recognize male/female as a fundamental divide and accord different sets of characteristics and behavioural expectations according to which side of the divide an individual is on. The first question asked after the birth of a baby is usually whether it is a girl or a boy. Sexual differences are then perpetuated by the ways in which infants are dressed and responded to by adults.
Not surprisingly, therefore, by the age of 2 years, children can readily distinguish males from females on the basis of purely cultural cues such as hairstyle and clothing. Gender stereotypes proliferate in child rearing, with children being reminded of gender role expectations in phrases such as ‘big boys don’t cry’ or ‘that’s not very lady-like’. Such practices inevitably contribute to later differences in behaviour and expectations thereof. However, the extent to which gender-specific patterns of behaviour are innate or learned remains unclear. For example, ‘social constructionist’ theorists view gender as being constructed through everyday discourse and relational communication.
However, this perspective, which purports that masculinity and femininity exist only in relation to one another, is rejected by evolutionary theorists. The latter argue that gender variations in behaviour can be understood from an evolutionary perspective, as these arise from biological differences. Each side cites evidence to substantiate its claims. It seems likely, however, that both nature and nurture play a part in shaping gender response patterns, although the precise manner in which this occurs remains a matter of considerable debate.
Differences have been reported in studies of non-verbal behaviour, some of the trends being that women tend to require less interpersonal space, touch and are touched more, gesture less, look and are looked at more, and smile more frequently, than males. In addition, social skills inventories have revealed consistent gender differences on various dimensions, females scoring higher on measures of emotional expressivity and sensitivity. Likewise, gender variations have been reported in several aspects of language.
The male-preferred style involves being more directive, self-opinionated, and explicit, whereas females tend to be more indirect, use a greater number of ‘hedges’ and expressed uncertainties (‘kind of’, ‘it could be’), speak for longer periods, and refer more to emotions.
However, Jones et.al. (2013) highlighted the fact that there are many inconsistencies in the findings of studies into gender differences, concluding that gender is something that we ‘do’ rather than something that we ‘are’. In other words, some females choose to behave in what is regarded within their particular culture as a feminine style. This is probably because males or females who deviate markedly from their expected sex role behaviour are likely to encounter problems during social interaction. In this sense, the study of gender needs to take account of not only biological features but also psychological make-up. As a personality factor, gender can be divided into the following four categories :
1) High Femininity
2) Low Femininity
3) High Masculinity
• Androgynous
• Masculine
4) Low Masculinity
• Feminine
• Indeterminate
In this way, for instance, a feminine female is likely, in various situations, to behave differently from a masculine female. Research bearing such psychological gender characteristics in mind is likely to be more fruitful in charting actual behavioural variants of performance.
Age in Interpersonal Communication
There has been increasing research into the field of social gerontology. One reason for this is that ‘social aging – how we behave, as social actors, towards others, and even how we align ourselves with or come to understand the signs of difference or change as we age – are phenomena achieved primarily through communication experiences’. Likewise, communication processes are directly affected by maturational phenomena at each stage of our lives. It is also clear that our own age, and the age of those with whom we interact, shape our behaviour and expectations.
Skilled individuals therefore take the age of the target (and of course their own age) into consideration when framing their responses. For example, different forms of reward are appropriate for 3-year-olds, 12-year-olds, and 25-year- olds; statements such as ‘You’re a clever little person’.
Reaction time, speech discrimination, and the capacity for information processing tend to decrease with age. However, there are wide differences across individuals, with some more adversely affected than others. Furthermore, older people have accumulated a larger vocabulary, coupled with a wealth of experience of handling a wide variety of types of people across varying situations. Thus, there can be advantages and disadvantages in terms of the effects of age upon skilled performance. There has been considerable research into patterns of intergenerational communication.
Appearance in Interpersonal Communication
The physical appearance of others, in terms of body size, shape, and attractiveness, also affects our behaviour and expectations. People are judged upon their appearance from a very early age, so that nursery school children have been shown to exhibit an aversion to chubby individuals and a greater liking for physically attractive peers. Attractiveness is a very important feature in social encounters. A range of research studies has shown that being rated as attractive has positive benefits. These include being seen as more popular, intelligent, friendly, and interesting to talk to; receiving higher grades in school; dating more frequently; securing employment more readily; earning more; and being less likely to be found guilty in court.
While they are also seen as more vain, materialistic, and likely to have extramarital affairs, it remains the case that ‘on the whole, we seem to equate beauty with goodness’. Ratings of physical attractiveness are fairly consistent across variations in age, gender, socio-economic status, and geographical location.
It is not surprising therefore that research has shown cross-cultural agreement that attractive facial features in young women include large eyes relative to size of face, high cheek bones, and thin jaw, as well as short distance between nose and mouth and between mouth and chin. The male physique rated as attractive by females includes being tall and slim, with medium-thin lower trunk and medium-wide upper trunk, small buttocks, thin legs, and a flat stomach. However, research and theory into the study of attraction have also emphasized how initial judgments of attractiveness can be tempered by psychological, sociological, contextual, and relational influences. Thus, attractiveness involves more than physical features and is not just ‘skin deep’.
For instance, a physically unattractive professional may be successful and popular with clients by developing an empathic interactive style coupled with a competent professional approach.
Although one of the prime functions of clothes is to protect the wearer from cold or injury, dress also serves a number of social functions. The importance of social signals conveyed by apparel is evidenced by the amount of money spent on fashion wear in Western society. This is because, in many situations, it is very important to ‘look the part’. Socially skilled people devote time and effort to the selection of appropriate apparel for interpersonal encounters in order to project a suitable image.
Thus, we ‘dress up’ for important occasions such as selection interviews or first dates. In addition, we also carefully select other embellishments, including ‘body furniture’ (rings, bangles, necklaces, brooches, earrings, watches, and hair ribbons or bands), spectacles, and make-up, to enhance our overall personal image. Since so much attention is devoted to the choice of dress, it is hardly surprising that we make judgments about others based upon this feature. In terms of impression management, it is patently advisable to dress with care.
The Situation in Skilled Performance
As explained, skilled performance is shaped by situational factors. There is ample evidence that social situations have a powerful impact on behaviour. This impact can be understood by examining the core features of social situations.
Goal Structure in Skilled Performance
As noted earlier, goals represent a central aspect of skill. The goals we seek are influenced by the situation in which we are interacting, while, conversely, the goals we pursue are central determinants of situation selection. Thus, in the surgery, the doctor will have goals directly related to dealing with patients. However, if the doctor has the social goal of finding a mate, social situations in which available members of the opposite sex are likely to be encountered will be sought. In this way, goals and situations are intertwined. Thus, knowledge of the goal structure for any situation is an important aspect of skilled performance.
Roles in Skilled Performance
In any given situation, people play, and are expected to play, different roles, which carry with them sets of expectations about behaviour, attitudes, feelings, and values. Thus, a doctor is expected to behave in a thorough, caring fashion, to be concerned about patients’ health, and to treat their problems in confidence. The roles of those involved affect both the goals and behaviour of participants.
For example, a teacher will behave differently, and have different goals, when teaching pupils in the classroom, attending a staff meeting at lunchtime, or having an interview with the principal about possible promotion.
Rules in Social interaction
Social interaction has been likened to a game, involving rules that must be followed if a successful outcome is to be achieved. Professionals must be aware not only of the rules of the situations they encounter, but also how to deal with clients who break them.
Repertoire of Elements in Social Situations
Different types of behaviour are more or less appropriate in different situations; therefore it is important for professionals to develop a range of behavioural repertoires. Thus, in one situation, fact finding may be crucial and the skill of questioning central, while in another context it may be necessary to explain carefully certain facts to a client. These behavioural repertoires are usually sequential in nature :
Concepts
A certain amount of conceptual information is necessary for effective participation in any given situation. In order to play the game of poker, one must be aware of the specific meaning of concepts such as ‘flush’ and ‘run’. Similarly, a patient visiting the dentist may need to be aware of the particular relevance of concepts such as ‘crown’ or ‘bridge’. One common error is to assume that others are familiar with concepts when in fact they are not. Most professionals have developed a jargon of specific terminology for various concepts, and must ensure that it is avoided, or fully explained, when dealing with clients.
Language and Speech
There are linguistic variations associated with social situations, with some requiring a higher degree of language formality. Giving a lecture, being interviewed for a managerial position, or chairing a board meeting all involve a more formal, deliberate, elaborated use of language than having a chat with a friend over coffee. Equally, changes in tone, pitch, and volume of voice change across situations: there are vocal patterns associated with, inter alia, evangelical clergymen addressing religious gatherings, barristers summing up in court, and sports commentators describing ball games. Professionals need to develop and refine their language and speech to suit a particular context.
Physical Environment
The nature of the environment influences behaviour. Humans, like all animals, feel more secure on ‘home territory’ than in unfamiliar environs.
Thus, a social worker will tend to find clients more comfortable in their own homes than in the office, whereas the social worker will be more relaxed in the latter situation. People usually feel more at ease, and therefore talk more freely, in ‘warm’ environments (soft seats, concealed lights, carpets, curtains, and pot plants). The physical lay-out of furniture is also important in either encouraging or discouraging interaction.
Culture
Few aspects of the communication process have attracted as much attention in recent years as the study of culture. Culture can be defined as ‘the sets of behaviors, beliefs, values, and linguistic patterns that are relatively enduring over time and generation within a group. It is passed from one generation to another and, while not static, is a stable system within which people negotiate identity and relationships. Furthermore, any group that is significantly different from the rest of society forms a subculture, and the actions of individuals are more readily understood in the light of sub cultural influences. Culture has been shown to have a definite influence on how interpersonal skills are enacted. This is because, ‘based on the beliefs and values of our culture, we learn not only what are appropriate interaction scripts within our culture, but also the meanings that should be assigned to these interactions’.
Cultural expertise refers to the ability to adapt one’s responses appropriately across differing cultural settings. An example is contained in the old adage, ‘when in Rome, do as the Romans do.’ It necessitates the development of a knowledge and understanding of the cultural and sub cultural norms, beliefs, values, and responses of those with whom we are interacting. Being a skilled person includes the possession of a high level of such cultural expertise.
While culture is a multifaceted concept, a common broad distinction is made between collectivist and individualistic cultures. Eastern cultures communicative meaning is implicit and attached to relationships and situations rather than to what is said. The style of communication is more indirect and self-concealing, with the result that verbal messages can be ambiguous. These cultures foster an interdependent self with high value placed upon external features such as roles, status, relationships, ‘fitting in’, being accorded one’s proper place, being aware of what others are thinking and feeling, not hurting others’ feelings, and minimizing imposition when presenting requests. Time is conceived as being subservient to duties, relationships, and responsibilities. Western cultures are low context, with an emphasis upon open, direct communication with explicit meaning, so that verbal messages tend to be clearer, more complete, specific, and pointed. There is a discomfort with ambiguity, and anxiety when meaning depends upon something other than the words uttered.
These cultures encourage the development of an independent self that is bounded, unitary, stable, and detached from social context, with a consequent focus upon internal abilities, thoughts and feelings, expressing oneself and one’s uniqueness, and being ‘up front’. Goals tend to be more personal and instrumental, and time is seen as paramount – being viewed as akin to a commodity, which can be ‘spent’, ‘saved’, ‘invested’, or ‘wasted’.
Collectivist cultures therefore inculcate a ‘we’ identity as opposed to the ‘I’ identity in individualist cultures. This directly affects interpersonal skills. For example, cultural differences have been found in style of request, between direct forms (‘close that window’), indirect forms (‘It’s getting cold’) and those in between (‘would it be OK to have the window closed?’). There are individual as well as cultural differences in individualism and collectivism. Individuals differ as much as or more than do cultures. You will want to attune your responses to the unique human being before you.’ Furthermore, at different times, in varying situations, and with different people, we may adopt either a more individualistic or a more collectivist style of communicating. Skilled individuals therefore consider both the nature of the specific individual and prevailing cultural norms when deciding how to respond.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that with better operational communication skills, one can easily ensure success. However, for relationships to develop, ways must be found of successfully negotiating mutual goal achievement. Skilled individuals in terms of operational communication are adept both at encoding their own emotions, and at accurately decoding and responding appropriately to the emotional state of others. Being responsive to the emotional needs of others is a key aspect of effective relational communication in an organization.
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