Team Communication/Team Dynamics

Runninghead : TEAM COMMUNICATION

NAME

UNIVERSITY

COURSE

CODE

TUTOR

SUBMISSION DATE : COMMUNICATION

TEAM COMMUNNICATION

Introduction

A team is defined in broad terms as a collection of people who work interdependently to accomplish certain objectives (Levi 2001 According to Levi , the rapid growth of teamwork-based approach in organizations has been occasioned by changes in the characteristics of workers , nature of work today and change in structure of the organizations . Hayes (1997 ) maintains the above definition but in addition states that it is a collection of people who

are connected to each other and as such exercise cooperation so as to achieve specified ends . Communication according to Hayes is a facilitative tool that aids cooperation , the absence of which breaks the mood of cooperation . It is this aspect of communication and its relation in teamwork that this examines . The shall therefore begin by defining communication and look at the various skills that constitute effective communication and lastly the barriers of communication in group work that pose a challenge to its effectiveness

Communication Defined

Communication is the exchange of information or thoughts between persons . It can be expressed through writing , signals or conduct (West 2004 . West holds the view that not only must one communicate but effectively communicate with others . Effective communication in his view constitutes of clear and accurate information that portray flexibility , skill and responsibility

Communication within Teams

The success of communication in a team setting is highly dependent on characteristics of the sender , receiver and the nature of the message (Middleton 2000 . In this context the sender may convey the message in a wrong way or he may convey it in the right way but the receiver may distort or misperceive the message . Alternatively the message itself may be inaccurate and /or distorted

The sophistication , aesthetic and emotionality of a message greatly interact with the characteristics of the receiver . Thus the influence of a particular message is dependant on the people 's perception of it (Middleton 2000 . A message must thus be clearly understood while in fusion with a receiver 's perception for it to have an effective Messages should therefore not comprise of too much Jargon , sophisticated language or complex arguments so as to make a team not to comprehend what is required of them (Jones Brehm 1970 . The communicator should thus simplify messages where need be . In instances where messages require a two-sided view , the communicator should avoid a one-sided view that ignores other existing alternatives . In teamwork for example leaders may give either longer directions or shorter ones that members of a team may be unfamiliar with (Krauss Fussel 1991 Krauss Fussel maintain that in teams , leaders mostly send brief messages because of overestimation of the members ' familiarity and understanding of the subject within the message , which results to a brake-down of communication

Messages also get distorted in the course of team discussions (Hill 2001 ) this is occasioned by the bias of individual members that tend to argue in favor of their interests and /or perceptions...