Two Rules In This Communication Practice (Should Be Done Or Should Not Be Done In This Communication Practice)

This assignment is a group assignment, divided into a total of three parts and a summary. Only part two can be completed, the other part of my team members have been finished. This homework requires us to talk about the process of a communication practice. We choose an employee who wants a raise with the boss (from part one, you can understand the process of communication practice). Part two is to write two rules. The first rule is mainly written in this communication Practice, which actions should be done and give reasons and explanations, and what are the benefits of doing so . The second rule is to write what the behavior should not be done, but also give the reason and explanation, and what are the benefits of not doing so. Should be done: Address your boss formally and professionally. Should not be done: do not be aggressive or demanding (to your boss); Mainly to elaborate clearly point out to give a reasonable reason Logically.
The following is my part to write their part, please finish reading that part of me. Thank you!
How People Address Each Other in the Workplace
Part One:
It is Thursday, March 17, 2011, and just after his one hour lunch break at the State Farm Insurance sales headquarters, Joe Carter approaches his boss' office door. *Knocks three times* “Come in,” Mr. Smith says. “Hello, Mr. Smith, I was wondering if you could spare a few minutes of your time to address some concerns with me,” Joe replies. Mr. Smith obliges, offering that his door is always open for employees to have their voices heard. Joe says, “Thank you, sir, I was hoping I could address my current salary and inquire if I would be able to receive a raise in my compensation for the years of hard work and dedication I have given to this company.” Mr. Smith replies, “I completely understand where you are coming from and I am willing to discuss a raise for you. But first and foremost, I want you to convince me of why you deserve it.” In a serious but respectful tone, Joe asserts, “Well, I have worked here for over five years without calling out sick or being late once. Also, and possibly more importantly, I have consistently reached my sales quota month in and month out, and have helped State Farm generate a significant amount of profit from my efforts. I am an asset to this office, and I believe that I should be given a ten percent raise in order to be fairly compensated for my hard work.” Mr. Smith quickly replies, “I am sorry, Joe, I know you have made a major contribution to the success of our sales and while I do think you should be given a pay raise, it just is not in our budget to afford a ten percent bump to your salary. Would you be willing to lower your demand and accept a seven percent raise?” “Yes, sir, I am willing to accept those terms! Thank you very much, I greatly appreciate your kindness and look forward to bringing in sales for the next fifteen years here!”, Joe exclaims. “You're very welcome Joe, I will address our Human Resources department and make sure you see your raise during the next pay period,” says Mr. Smith. Joe and Mr. Smith simultaneously stand up, shake hands, and the interaction is over.
Part Two:
Should be done: Address your boss formally and professionally.
Shouldn't be done: don't be aggressive or demanding.
Part 3:
Similar: The scenario above is an example of upward communication. Upward communication is the process when a subordinate (Joe Carter) communicates with their boss (Mr. Smith). The different reasons why a subordinate may approach their boss are because of a problem, suggestion, reaction to projects, ect. In this scenario, Joe wanted to talk to Mr. Smith because of a problem, which was his salary. The benefit upward communication provides is management receives feedback and the problem is addressed. Now the issue has the opportunity to be fixed. Joe was able to address his concerns about his pay to his boss. By having this conversation, Mr. Smith received feedback from Joe an employee, and was able to compromise to satisfy both of their needs. The problem with upward communication is that it is a risk to your standing at your company and in some cases, distortion such as brown nosing may occur. Joe took a risk and wanted to talk about a topic nobody really wants to talk about, money. His boss could have fired him for being ungrateful that he doesn't believe he makes enough. Luckily, Mr. Smith and Joe seemed to be at even viewpoints and both believe that Joe deserved a raise.
Unlike: This scenario is unlike downward communication and horizontal communication for several reasons. Downward communication is when the boss talks to the subordinates. Different reasons why a boss may need to talk to his employees are to give them a mission statement, instructions, feedback (job appraisal), ect. This is sometimes hard for subordinates because the number one complaint of employees is “Where do I stand with my superiors?”. The problem employees face are their needs are unknown and lack of clarity. Horizontal communication is communication between co-workers of equal status. The reasons why this type of communication may occur are task coordination, problem solving, conflict resolution, rapport, ect. A few reasons to why this type of communication may be difficult are physical barriers like cubicles, over-specialization, lack of motivation, ect. Horizontal, downward, and upward communication are all very important types of interactions that happen within a workplace. Every workplace creates their own type of way of how thing get done, but without communication between the work groups, it would be very difficult to accomplish necessary tasks.
Summary:
In conclusion, this course and assignment helped us understand the specific ways to speak to superiors, other employees as an employee, and to employees as a superior by learning the 3 directions of formal networks. We also learned about organizational communication in cross-cultural perspective (Germany and U.S.). In the U.S.a manager is not deeply identified with the company he works for. A lot of the times they use their first name, which implies that they want to be friendly and like by his employees. Also, in the U.S. in the workplace employers are friendly and tend to wear colors, not just black, white and grey. In class, we compared this to the German views where the manager is inducted into the company he works for. In German culture, the manager uses a title, a formal pronoun, they want to be seen as credible. The rule that the German manager will tend to follow is to be sophisticated and formal in a work environment. We also learned their style is very formal and black, white grey, no crazy color socks like the U.S. along with being very punctual and respecting personal space. This information can help us in the long run to understand other countries norms in their workplace. Therefore, if there is ever an interaction with foreign companies like Germany, we will understand how to act, dress, and speak.