Effective business communication Assignment on improving businesses' performance in Australia

Question

Task: You are a country manager for an international agricultural productssupplier. The main office is in Australia. You have recently hired 10 new employees from overseas (you may choose the home country of the new employees). They will be arriving in Australia within the next six weeks, and in preparation for their arrival you will write a document about communicating competently and incompetently within the Australian workplace. This document has two parts:

1. An overview of academic literature relating tocommunication practices/styles/recent research about business communication in Australia.

2. Recommendations for these new employees about competent and incompetent business communication practices (you may focus upon verbal, nonverbal, written, and CMC). There will be four recommendations—two competency behaviours and two incompetency behaviours. That is to say, how should the new employees communicate and how they should not communicate within the Australia workplace. You will need to explain why each of the communicative behaviours are competent or incompetent. The recommendations should be supported by existing academic articles.

Answer

Overview of academic literature
Effective business communication helps to share information among the associates within and outside the organization for attaining long term goals and success. Communication always plays a crucial role for a business in every aspect. It provides better scopes to interact with each other, which helps to reduce the confusion, doubts and issues of mismanagement globally.It has helped many businesses to transmit the information, emotions and ideas by using different types of communication.Effective business communication helps the businesses in Australia to improve the performances with the help of effective management. It also helps to build a strong team by increasing the collaboration and coordination among various groups to work for the similar goals or objectives (Pearson, 2017).This section of this essay has discussed the communication practices and styles which helped Australian businesses to grow and get success with time.This has gathered effective information by reviewing literature to understand the importance of proper business communication in Australia.

Australia being a polyglot nation uses around over than 100 languages. This is used by the populations who have been emigrated there from the other parts of the world due to work. English is considered the official language that is commonly spoken for maintaining effective business communications globally.It is acquired that Australians generally maintain directness in their communication, the diverse culture and people from every country of the world increases the chances to do business. Henceforth, effective business communication is required for maintaining trust, commitment and satisfaction.Effective communication styles help to reduce the gaps between the employees (Coffelt, Baker & Corey, 2016).It decreases the cultural issues and c arêtes better opportunities to respect others. Effective business communication maintains a strong bond and a better relationship between the associates and the managers. This creates better grounds to understand the differences based on values, beliefs, norms, and practices of individuals associates.

From the past studies, it is acquired that various types of business communication practices are considered effective for Australian businesses.Businesses have introduced face to face meetings, emailing, chat boxes, instant messaging, telephonic conversations to maintain clarity and transparency between individuals. Virtual meeting technologies have been introduced for improving thetraditional process of interacting with others.The use of technologies in the communication process has helped to bring innovation by connecting associates by using voice or written process of communication (Raina& Roebuck, 2016). Effective communication increases the productivity by encouraging the associates to work together. This also helps to improve the relationship with the customers globally.Thisencouragesthe associates, managers and various departments to work systematically.Effective communication reduces the issues related to business by communicating effectively with each other; it solves various queries by providing 24* 7 services.Effective communication plays a vital role to bring changes in the organizational behaviors. The clear communication in business has helped the Australian firms to communicate with the stakeholders, this helps to engage customers and stakeholders in the profitability. Consistent communication creates higher productivity by increasing the morale. Various types of communication are involved by the Australian businesses.This includes verbal, written, non-verbal and visual communications. Australian businesses werebenefitted by the help of handwritten words and other types of communication like signs, letters and emails. Similarly, non-verbal communication ismaintained with the help of gestures and body language (Pearson, 2017). However, certain issues are found in verbal communication which binds the businesses to keep proper records based on the informal communication system. Informal communication creates a lack of standards and norms. On the other hand, formal communication ensures that proper documentation and procedures are maintained to bring effective clarity and transparency in the process of communication. Moreover, visual communication has created better opportunities for the Australian businesses to connect effectively with people globally.The use of explainer videos, colors, designs and presentations has made the process of maintaining business communication easier.Person to person communication ill help the new employees to understand the business requirements and long term goals (Kernbach, Eppler&Bresciani, 2015).Besides, practical communication skills help to bring better results for the businesses. Individuals connected with the business need listening skills, written skills, clarity, and openness to maintain a better relationship with others. This helps the Australian companies to maintain consistency and stability. A friendly tone, useful gestures, and eye contact are necessary for maintaining a better communication process. This also resolves conflicts by managing the performancesofindividuals.Managers need practical communication skills to lead the team that will help to increase the contribution and participation of the individual employees. This helps in the management of various organizations dramatically by maintaining a healthy relationship and positive cultures within thebusinesses. Employees need proper communication skills, which help to establish a shared workplace by managing organizationalbehaviors. Furthermore, this encourages the employees to put better efforts for maintaining the goals and objectives (Coffelt, Baker & Corey, 2016).

In this context, Shannon and the weaver model can be applied, which includes various sources for maintaining effective communication.The sender is considered as the information source, and the sender sends the person who makes the message by choosing the channel. An encoder is viewed as a transmitter that uses a machine that converts the message into binary data or signals.Chains are considered as the medium that is used to send messages. The decoder is used to turn signals into the message (Teixeiraet al. 2017). The receiver is considered as the person, which helps to translate the word from signals. Noise is considered as physical disturbances, which include people and the environment.Simultaneously, the communication model is useful for businesses as it provides a classic approach to the companies to communicate. This theory consists of three elements like the message, encoder and encoder, and decoder. The message is encrypted and then passed to a similar or different person. The receiver decrypts the message and encodes it before sending the message to recipients.Theinterpretations of the word by the decoder are generally influenced by the perceptions, cultural aspects, knowledge, experiences, skills, and cultural elements (Raina& Roebuck, 2016).

Recommendations for the new employees
Naturally, the newly hired employees from overseas will face specific challenges in communicating at the Australian workplace (Martin & Nakayama, 2015). However, four recommendations are provided below that can assist them in enhancing their communication practices for future dimension and direction.

Competent business communication practices
The responsible communication practices that can assist the employees in interacting in proper terms at the Australian workplace are as follows.

Active listening
The employees will undoubtedly face cultural as well as language barriers. Though they can effectively overcome the language barrier if they know to speak English in proper terms, they may face cultural hindrances (Shah & Barker, 2017). Most of the workplaces of Australia follow a democratic leadership that provides opportunities to the employees to express their opinions as well as problems in an efficient manner. However, since the newly hired employees are from different cultural backgrounds, it is recommended that they enhance or develop proper skills of listening. It cannot be denied that before indulging in inappropriate communication, an individual needs to hear at first what the speaker is saying. In other words, the employees need to be listeners first and then speakers. It may help them in building their confidence while speaking or interacting with others. The practice of listening is considered to be competent for the employees in the sense that it can make them aware of the culture as well as the goals and objectives of the organization primarily. Active listening can also ensure that they pay attention to both verbal as well as non-verbal cues. Moreover, without listening actively or missing the thread of any conversation can turn out to be fruitless for them (Martin & Nakayama, 2015).

Thus, it is recommended that new employees listen actively before speaking.
Identify proper channels for communication
Since the official language of the place in English; the employees are generally expected to communicate with the leaders through direct or face to face means. Thus, the employees must speak English in proper terms to ensure that they can communicate effectively whenever needed. However, when it comes to workplace relationships, non-verbal communications, along with verbal communications, play a pivotal role (Wijewardena, Samaratunge, Härtel& Kirk-Brown, 2016). Thus, it is recommended that new employees make sure of using the right language and terms while communicating their ideas or opinions through verbal communication. It is also recommended that the employees ensure the use of right expressions, gestures, and body language while speaking. It greatly influences the extent to which the listener will be interested in concentrating on their views. It is equally necessary for the employees to engage in social networking (Coffelt, Baker & Corey, 2016).It can help them in creating better relationships with the other employees at the workplace. Before putting their views or opinions in front of anyone, the employees need to identify a proper channel of communication (Wijewardena, Samaratunge, Härtel& Kirk-Brown, 2016). For instance, if they are facing issues in understanding their tasks, they can approach or communicate with the other members of their team or their team leader rather than directly contacting the managers or leaders. It is considered to be a competent communication practice because it helps in generating a strong impression of employees. By finding the right channel to communicate, the employees can not only sort out their issues but can also develop good relationships with others (Bohatko-Naismith, James, Guest &Rivett, 2015).

Non-competent business communication practices
Apart from the above communication practices that can help the employees in coping up with the Australian workplace, certain practices are not entertained. Thus, new employees need to ensure that they do not indulge in the following communication practices.

Workplace violence
Conflicts at the workplace are frequent due to the varied perceptions and ideas of the individuals. However, violent activities due to disputes cannot be tolerated in the workplace. Thus, it is recommended that the employees do not indulge in the form of intense actions while communicating at the workplace. They may face cultural or language barriers, but that does not encourage any violence at the workplace. Instead of indulging in physical abuse, the employees can raise complaints or take other actions if the matter is indeed severe. However, it depends on the problem-solving capabilities of an individual, whether he will be able to face critical or conflicting situations or not (Shah & Barker, 2017).

Use of improper body language or gestures while speaking
As stated earlier, both verbal and non-verbal means of communication tend to play a vital role in enhancing communication strategies in the Australian workplace. It is often found that employees fail to make use of proper non-verbal means during communication. This may include improper facial expressions, gestures or body language. All these tend to have a significant impact on the way of their speaking. It also creates a negative effect on the listener. Body language is considered to be the key to non-verbal communication. It determines whether an employee is trustworthy, credible, and confident or not.
Moreover, it often happens that an employee who cannot communicate appropriately through verbal means, communicate effectively through non-verbal means (Hadgraftet al. 2016). Thus, it is of utmost importance that the new employees keep checking on the body language that they are using while communicating with others. Specific suggestions can be given to the new employees in this regard. For instance, they should not avoid eye contact while speaking. It may cause the listener to think that they are not confident about what they are speaking. Sometimes, the standing postures or hand gestures also tend to affect the audiences. In this sense, it can be said that the employees should take care of their attitudes as well as gestures while communicating (Wijewardena, Samaratunge, Härtel& Kirk-Brown, 2016). In this way, they can easily express their ideas and opinions and portray their creative abilities as well at the Australian workplace.

References
Bohatko-Naismith, J., James, C., Guest, M., &Rivett, D. A. (2015). The role of the Australian workplace return to work coordinator: essential qualities and attributes. Journal of occupational rehabilitation, 25(1), 65-73.
Coffelt, T. A., Baker, M. J., & Corey, R. C. (2016). Business communication practices from employers’ perspectives. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, 79(3), 300-316.Retrieved on 2nd Sep 2019.Retrieved from: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2329490616644014
Hadgraft, N. T., Brakenridge, C. L., LaMontagne, A. D., Fjeldsoe, B. S., Lynch, B. M., Dunstan, D. W., ... & Lawler, S. P. (2016). Feasibility and acceptability of reducing workplace sitting time: a qualitative study with Australian office workers. BMC Public Health, 16(1), 933.
Kernbach, S., Eppler, M. J., &Bresciani, S. (2015). The use of visualization in the communication of business strategies: An experimental evaluation. International Journal of Business Communication, 52(2), 164-187.Retrieved on 2nd Sep 2019.Retrieved from: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2329488414525444
Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2015). Reconsidering intercultural (communication) competence in the workplace: A dialectical approach. Language and Intercultural Communication, 15(1), 13-28.
Pearson, R. (2017). Business ethics as communication ethics: Public relations practice and the idea of dialogue. In Public relations theory (pp. 111-131).Routledge.Retrieved on 2nd Sep 2019.Retrieved from: https://content.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/download dac=C2010-0-34694-8&isbn=9781351225748&doi=10.4324/9781351225748-7&format=pdf
Raina, R., & Roebuck, D. B. (2016).Exploring cultural influence on managerial communication in relationship to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and the employees’ propensity to leave in the insurance sector of India.International Journal of Business Communication, 53(1), 97-130.Retrieved on 2nd Sep 2019.Retrieved from: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2329488414525453 Shah, D., & Barker, M. (2017). Cracking the cultural code: Indian IT expatriates’ intercultural communication challenges in Australia. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 17(2), 215-236.
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Wijewardena, N., Samaratunge, R., Härtel, C., & Kirk-Brown, A. (2016). Why did the emu cross the road? Exploring employees’ perception and expectations of humor in the Australian workplace. Australian Journal of Management, 41(3), 563-584.