What are the key elements of effective communication? Think of a situation you were involved in (work place, school, or personal) that you were involved in that required you to use one of the key elements to resolve a conflict. Provide a brief background to the situation, the communication that took place, and explain how the conflict was resolved. if you had to go through a similar situation again, what would you do differently, if anything? Why? 

Barriers to communication and how to overcome these barriers

            A barrier is defined as a circumstance or obstacle that prevents communication or that keeps people or things apart (Merriam-Wester.com, 2011). As described by Longest et al. (as cited in Borkowski, 2011) communication barriers can be classified as environmental and personal barriers. Environmental barriers relate to the characteristics and the setting of the organization. Examples of environmental barriers to communication include: lack of time, lack of attention, strict managerial hierarchy or chain of command, complexity of messages, complexity of terms, management philosophy towards communication and the perceived power or status between the sender and receiver of messages. Personal barriers to communication arise from within the person and how they interact with others. Examples of personal barriers include: values, beliefs, fear, previous experiences, selective perception and how the receiver evaluates the sender of a message.

            Effective communication facilitates and improves satisfaction, motivation, and performance. It also allows and nourishes positive interactions among all members of an organization. The first step to develop effective communication and decrease barriers to communication is to accept and recognize that barriers do exist. Longest et al. (as cited in Borkowski, 2011) discuss guidelines to overcome barriers to communication. Some of the guidelines they present include: designate time to listening, give attention when listening, decrease the levels of hierarchy for communication, use multiple channels for communication, establish policies and procedures that encourage communication, simplify messages, and reinforce words with actions. Recognizing other peoples values and beliefs lessens personal barriers. Sharing empathy and engaging in efforts to recognize that other people experience fear and jealousy also reduces personal barriers to communication.

Borkowski (2011) summarizes key elements to effective communication identified by Shortell in Effective hospital-physician relationship (1991). These key elements include a communicator with the desire to communicate and which understands how others learn, perceive and process information. The receiver should perceive the purpose of the message, whether the message is to inform, elicit a response, or to reach a decision. The time frame and the way a message is transmitted are determined by the content, complexity and importance of the message. The credibility of the sender influences how a message is received. Strategic communication is the intentional process to present ideas consistent with the organizations values, mission and vision in a clear, concise, and persuasive way (Borkowski, 2011).

Conflict

            Conflict is defined as a mental struggle resulting from incompatible or opposing needs, drives, wishes, or external or internal demands (Merriam-Wester.com, 2011). According to Thomas (as cited in Borkowski, 2011) three conditions are common to most definitions of conflict. These conditions are: (1) perceived incompatibility of interests, (2) some interdependence of the parties, and (3) some form of interaction.

Conflict can be discussed by describing types and levels of conflict. Kolb & Bartunek (as cited in Borkowski, 2011) describe four basic types of conflict: goal, cognitive, affective, and procedural. Goal conflict relates to incompatible outcomes. Cognitive conflict conveys incompatibility of ideas. Affective conflict is present with incompatible feelings and emotions. Procedural conflict arises when people disagree in the process to solve a matter or achieve a task.

There are five levels of conflict: intrapersonal, interpersonal, intragroup, intergroup, and interorganization. Intrapersonal conflict refers to conflict within the person. Examples of intrapersonal conflict include: contradictory feelings, cognitive dissonance and conflicting roles. Interpersonal conflict is present when two or more people have opposing ideas, attitudes, perceptions or behaviors. Lack of communication, unclear expectations, and incorrect attributions are important sources of interpersonal conflict. Intragroup conflict occurs among members of a group. Intragroup conflict is frequently related to opposing views towards a mission, different opinions on how to accomplish a task or from incompatible personalities. When groups have a clash between them, intergroup conflict is present. Examples of sources of intergroup conflict include scarce resources, cultural diversity, exertion of power, and competitive goals. Similar to intergroup conflict, interorganizational conflict exists when there is opposing or competing conditions between one or more organizations.

Conflict can be regarded as positive when it fuels challenge, creativity and generates changes. Negative conflict can be a cause for stress, tension, poor performance, and impaired growth of a group or an organization.

Thomas and Kilmanns conflict handling modes

            Borkowski (2011) describes Thomas and Kilmanns two-dimensional taxonomy of conflict handling modes. Thomas and Kilmann identify two dimensions: assertiveness and cooperativeness. Within these two dimensions they categorize five conflict handling modes: avoiding, competition, compromising, accommodation and collaboration. Avoiding is an unassertive and uncooperative mode. Competition is an uncooperative and assertive mode, also described as a win-lose approach. Compromising is a mode where assertive and cooperative behavior is displayed, characterized by granting concessions, give and takes, and seeking a middle ground. Accommodation mode is an unassertive and cooperative mode. Collaboration relates to a highly cooperative and assertive behavior where parties seek a win-win solution. Managers can adjust the conflict-handling mode to the situation they are dealing with. It is important to the manager to recognize what is the predominant mode they use and keep it in check frequently to make sure they dont default to it rather than using the appropriate handling mode.

Conflict negotiation models

            Three major conflict negotiation models discussed by Borkowski (2011) include: distributive model, integrative model and interactive model. In the distributive model, parties on negotiation use win-lose strategies. Parties in the negotiation view each other as opponents, where one will win and the other will lose. In the integrative model, negotiators strive to find the best alternative for all, a win-win outcome. Whenever no agreement is in sight and there is a lockdown of negotiations, an interactive model is used. In this model a third-party serves as mediator between the parties. This approach can enable the opportunity for each party to state their needs and constraints. The interactive model also allows the emergence of alternatives to solve differences.