UNIT 3
1.1 IMPORTANCE OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
The root of the word “communication” in Latin is communicare, which means to share, or to make
common. Weekley, E. (1967). An etymological dictionary of modern English (Vol. 1, p. 338).
New York, NY: Dover Publications. Communication is defined as the process of understanding
and sharing meaning. Pearson, J., & Nelson, P. (2000). An introduction to human communication:
Understanding and sharing (p. 6). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.
Eight Essential Components of Communication
In order to better understand the communication process, we can break it down into a series of
eight essential components:
1. Source
2. Message
3. Channel
4. Receiver
5. Feedback
6. Environment
7. Context
8. Interference
The Importance of Effective Communication in the Workplace
Communication plays a fundamental role in our daily lives.
And yet the art of communication at work is somewhat of a mystery to certain people.
But if you fail to communicate effectively, you could end up missing your chance of securing
your dream job, closing a life-changing deal or advancing in your career.
For some, good communication comes naturally, but for others, it can be hard to articulate their
thoughts and feelings in conversation, often leading to conflict and fundamental errors.
So, whether you’re an effective c
ommunicator or not, it’s essential to understand the importance of good communication and how
it can help you move forward in the working world.
1. It improves team building
2. It boosts growth
3. It increases innovation
4. It improves productivity
5. It increases efficiency
6. It increases loyalty
7. It reduces mitigation conflict
8. It increases employee engagement
9. It resolves problems
10. It enhances skills
1.2 What Is Problem Solving?
We all spend a lot of our time solving problems, both at work and in our personal lives.
Some problems are small, and we can quickly sort them out ourselves. But others are complex
challenges that take collaboration, creativity, and a considerable amount of effort to solve.
At work, the types of problems we face depend largely on the organizations we're in and the jobs
we do. A manager in a cleaning company, for example, might spend their day untangling staffing
issues, resolving client complaints, and sorting out problems with equipment and supplies. An
aircraft designer, on the other hand, might be grappling with a problem about aerodynamics, or
trying to work out why a new safety feature isn't working. Meanwhile, a politician might be
exploring solutions to racial injustice or climate change.
But whatever issues we face, there are some common ways to tackle them effectively. And we can
all boost our confidence and ability to succeed by building a strong set of problem-solving skills.
Mind Tools offers a large collection of resources to help you do just that!
How Well Do You Solve Problems?
1. Define Every Problem
2. Understanding Complexity
3. Use Problem-Solving Tools
4. Specific Problem-Solving Systems
1.3 What Is Creative Thinking?
A way of looking at problems or situations from a fresh perspective that suggests
unorthodox solutions (which may look unsettling at first). Creative thinking can be stimulated both
by an unstructured process such as brainstorming, and by a structured process such as lateral
thinking.
The Importance of Creative Thinking
Thinking creatively provides immense freedom.
When we create, we have the opportunity to engage with the world without judging ourselves. It’s
similar to what we felt when we were a child. Back then we didn’t care what people thought of us.
Creative thinking provides self-awareness.
We start to think with authenticity as we use our own thoughts, feelings and beliefs. This creates
biases in our ideas, but we can learn to set those aside and deeply learn about ourselves.
We become more confident in our ideas.
Maybe right now, you don’t present ideas or your ideas get shut down. By tapping into creative
thinking, we can build our confidence in our ideas and start to contribute to the group and our work
at large.
What Are the Creative Thinking Skills?
1. Perception & Empathy
2. Analytical
3. Open-Mindedness
4. Organized
5. Communication
6. Dissect Ideas
Some Examples of Creative Thinking
The list of creative thinking examples is endless. In most situations, these examples will boost
your creative thinking as well so I encourage you to try them out yourself:
Designing anything from a logo, to a simple webpage layout, to a poster and more
Creating a lesson plan for a group training course
Writing in a journal, a blog, or any social platforms
Creating a test or quiz from scratch just for fun
Brainstorming project ideas at work, or decor/renovation ideas at home
Finding procedures to improve the quality of a product or service
Suggesting solutions to improve a product or service
6 Benefits Of Creativity In The Workplace
Creative thinking
Creativity supports innovation andimproves productivity
Creativity encourages problem solving
Better team work and bonding
Increased staff morale
Creativity helps to find the success in failure
1.4 What is Collaboration?
Collaboration is a working practice whereby individuals work together for a common purpose to
achieve business benefit.
Collaboration enables individuals to work together to achieve a defined and common business
purpose. It exists in two forms:
Synchronous, where everyone interacts in real-time, as in online meetings, through instant
messaging, or via Skype, and
Asynchronous, where the interaction can be time-shifted, as when uploading documents or
annotations to shared workspaces or making contributions to a wiki
Collaboration at the conceptual level involves:
Awareness – We become part of a working entity with a shared purpose
Motivation – We drive to gain consensus in problem-solving or development
Self-synchronization – We decide as individuals when things need to happen
Participation – We participate in collaboration and we expect others to participate
Mediation – We negotiate and we collaborate together and find a middle point
Reciprocity – We share and we expect sharing in return through reciprocity
Reflection – We think and we consider alternatives
Engagement – We proactively engage rather than wait and see
What is workplace collaboration
Collaboration is the act of individuals working together to make unified decisions. When we talk
about collaboration in the workplace, this definition extends to team members or colleagues
working together and setting processes to make choices that all members agree on for a greater
purpose. Collaboration happens in all types of settings whether teams are remote or stationed at
headquarters. Ultimately, the goal of workplace collaboration is to maximize the chances of
success by administering an open, communicative, and collaborative experience among all
members of an organization.
Why collaboration in the workplace is important
If you think about collaboration in general, the goal is to maximize the success of a business. A
group of individuals has more power and impact than a single person. Working in teams enables
employees to share knowledge, work more efficiently and effectively. Each member of the team
is like another resource or tool that team members can leverage to make better and smarter
decisions. In addition, working together in teams promotes healthy employee relationships.
Healthy employee relationships lead to better team performance and overall productivity.
Promotes problem-solving
Spurs innovation
connects teams to the bigger picture
Boosts learning and skills-sharing
Increases employee satisfaction
Aligns distributed or remote teams
1.5 The Importance Of Design Thinking
Design thinking is a term used to represent a set of cognitive, strategic and practical processes by
which design concepts (proposals for products, buildings, machines, communications, etc.) are
developed. Many of the key concepts and aspects of design thinking have been identified through
studies, across different design domains, of design cognition and design activity in both laboratory
and natural contexts.
Design thinking is also associated with prescriptions for the innovation of products and services
within business and social contexts. Some of these prescriptions have been criticized for
oversimplifying the design process and trivializing the role of technical knowledge and skills.
Thinking like a designer can certainly transform the way companies develop products/services,
strategies, and processes.
If companies can bring together what is most desirable from a human point of view with what is
technologically feasible and also economically viable, they can certainly transform their
businesses.
This also gives an opportunity to people who are not trained as designers to utilize creative tools
to tackle a range of challenges.
Design Thinking Approach
1. Empathize: Understand your users as clearly as possible and empathize with them.
2. Define: Clearly define the problem that needs to be sorted and bring out a lot of
possible solutions.
3. Ideate: Channel your focus on the final outcomes, not the present constraints.
4. Prototype: Use prototypes for exploring possible solutions.
5. Test: Test your solutions, reflect on the results, improvise the solution, and repeat
the process
Some Benefits of having a Design Thinking Approach
Helps in tackling creative challenges
Helps in effectively meeting client requirements
Expand your knowledge with design thinking
