Student: BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships Activity 1 Question 1. Write a short sentence to explain the purpose of a communication strategy The term communication means introducing communications though a plan. That plan involves promoting the policies and culture of an organization, advising people to do specific actions, or promoting particular legislation. Question 2. List three examples of processes leaders can use to communication information associated with the achievement of work responsibilities to co-workers and write a brief paragraph to explain each one. Performance reviews Staff performance reviews help management to recognise and value employees, clarify their roles and identify training and development needs. Performance reviews also help to create a culture of open communication in a business. Indeed, by talking to staff about their performance, leader can promote a culture of open communication, discuss any weaknesses or problems an employee may have and help them find solutions. This process will also help motivate the team and build their understanding of, and commitment to, the organisation. Communication technique To communicate information clearly and positively, a leader should have a good verbal language as much as a suitable body language. Moreover, the manager should adjust is behavior and speech for each situation. Presenting written information By formatting written information effectively, the manger ensure that the report is accessible and understandable by all the co-workers. Indeed, using the right format for the content will keep the interest of the reader and also draw they attention to important information. Question 3. Provide three example of performance indicators that might be used to measure the achievement of work responsibilities. Activity 2 You are changing the restoring process. This will affect the hours' employees work. Question 1. Why would it be a good idea to consult workers about the rostering process? Provide at least three reasons. Employees with in the organization are the one with most knowledge concerning they work and issue related to it. They can provide recommendations on what would be best, and also give an understanding on how modifications can affect them. Additionally, employee's involvement in the process provide a wilder range of perspective and expertise that conclude to a positive decision making. Question 2. What method would you use to consult employees about proposed changes to staff rosters? Why? Consultation decision would be the method used as it allowed the leader to suggest adjustments to the employees, in order to assemble feedbacks to make a suitable decision. With the purpose of gathering feedbacks, one should make the use of questionnaire as it will help to acquire precise information. Secondly, one should organise meetings as it give the opportunity to each of the employees to make recommendation an contribute to a beneficial decision making. Indeed, it has been broadly established that a group make better decision than an individual would. Question 3. What feedback would you provide to workers on the outcomes of the consultation process? Whom should provide feedback concerning outcomes of consultation process to employees should provide in the comment: What will be done When it will be done Who will do it How will it be done What resources are necessary How changes will be measured and monitored Activity 3 You lead a team of employees. A number of them have raise an issue that is affecting their ability to meet set targets. Specifically, they have advised you that the budget they are working with does not allow them to secure the resources needed to effectively carry out their job. 1. List six steps in the problem- solving process you would follow to try to promptly resolve the issue. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Identifying and define the problem Determining the preferred situation Gathering and analyse data Design multiple solutions to the problem Analyse alternative and make a choice Monitor and evaluate 2. After undertaking reach step in the problem solving process, you find that the only way to solve the problem is to provide workers with more financial resources but you do not have the authority to increase their budgets. What should you do? Leader would have to raise issue with they manager or above authority. Additionally, the leader will have to contact the accounting department to get help in order to address the concern. Indeed, by gathering all document, relevant fact and record with the help of budget expert, the leader become well-informed which will assist him when communicating to right management concerning the matter. Activity 4 Question 1. You have recently hired a woman from Muslim background who wears the hijab. After a short time working for the organisation she tells you that she does not feel comfortable in the workplace? I would first consult with the people who made derogatory statements about her religion and states that it is against the law to actually discriminate people within the workplace, and it's a breach of workplace diversity policy I would then also let her know that as the organization is a diverse workplace, there are certain elements that she would have to accept for example, the photos that are hung, it is understanding that it might offend her at the same time, this photo is not a direct attack towards her and she have to understand that. As apart of the EEO, employees should be given equal opportunities, and discrimination should be prohibited; hence she should be able to wear her hijab as apart of the organization uniform. As apart of the organizational policy, there is no policy catering for prayer times, at this point in time, but the organization tell her that you will raise this issue to the higher management. Specifically, she tells you that: Other workers have made derogatory statements about her religion There are pictures hung around the office that she finds offensive She had been told that she cannot observe religious requirement like prayer time She has been told that she cannot wear the hijab because it does not form part pf the organisation's uniform. Identify two organisational policies you could refer to for guidance on your response, and seven actions you could take to address these issues. Question 2. You have found that a number of employees are not adhering to the ethical values of the organisation. When you talk to them about this they have never seen the organisation's code of ethics. Identify eight things you could do to make existing employees aware of their ethical responsibilities. send code of ethics through email provide induction and training to all employees concerning code of ethics Formal meeting to communicate code of ethics print the code of ethics and put it on notice board send memo informing where code of ethics can be fund within the organization regularly talk and raise concern about code of ethics in meeting provide code of ethics document when employees start work for the first time. Activity 5 Question 1. Write a short definition of the word trust. Firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something. Question 2. Identify and describe two traits leaders should demonstrate that would help them to gain and maintain the trust and confidence of colleagues and external contacts. Being authentic by being true to him self a leader become trustworthy of is coworkers. Honesty, at its core, trustworthiness is about honesty. Employees will only trust a leader who they know is telling the truth. Activity 6 Question1. You arrange to meet with a new employee to see how they are settling into job. The employee speaks minimal English and you are worried that you might adjust your own interpersonal communication style to assist they new employee to understand what you are saying. Focused listening Focused hearing Gentle interruptions Sign language Speak slowly Speak clearly Nonverbal communications Ask more questions Observation Smile Enthusiasm Question2. Provide three examples of unethical communication. Deliberate deception Violation of conscience Failure to honor commitments Question3. Two new team members have joined your team. One of them is from India and the other is from japan. There is a team member who is having difficulty building an effective working relationship with them. Provide 10 examples of how you would guide and support the work team in their personal adjustment process. Be a role model Show to the employee what to do by having the best behavior Bounding activities: organize birthday, Christmas, New Year parties at the workplace. Send employees to lunch at the same time. This will allow co-workers to bond on a deeper level, as the lunch time is reserved for other topic then work. Symbioses is created within the group. Encourage inclusive attitude. Strip away stereotypes. Involve team members: They should feel important and indispensable for the organization. Individual must be assigned responsibilities according to their position. Additionally, by allowing them to voluntarily accept challenges, the employee will part of the team. Encourage team to share: This way co-workers tend to discuss with each other more often and feel more comfortable as they exchange about cultures. By discussing things among themselves, co-workers feeling more comfort with in the team. Assign group targets: Leader should motivate employees to work in groups. This way workers have no other choice than to trust their fellow workers and help each other. An employee must have the liberty to express his ideas with out problem. Encourage effective communication among the team members: It has been observed that poor communication leads to confusions and misunderstandings. The communication has to be precise and relevant. One should not play with words and be very specific about his expectations from his fellow workers as well as the organization. Additionally, leader should have open-door policies. Modes of communication with transparency: Verbal communication is not as reliable as written communication. The agendas, minutes of the meeting, important issues must be circulated among all through emails. Open door policies. Meeting Morning meeting is another effective way to improve the relation among the employees. Let everyone come together on a common platform and discuss whatever issues they have. The meetings must not be too formal. Activity 7 Question1. You have started a business selling health and protein shakes. You want to increase sales of the product. Make a list of three people/ organisations you might network with to help you achieve this identifiable outcome and describe the contribution they could make. Marketers: assist on how to promote effectively the product Sales specialist: support on how to sell effectively the product Nutritionist: endorse your product Question2. You need to learn more about ways to encourage the performance of team members. Make a list of three people/ departments you might build workplace relationships with to achieve this identifiable outcome for the team and the organisation and describe the contribution they could make. Union: provide insight on what could motivate or decrease employees well being and productivity HR managers: offer support in the process Motivational coach: assist in motivational techniques Activity 8 Question1. You have recently attended and industry event where you met a contact who you think would be able to provide you with a lot of advice about how to market your organisation. What would you do to begin to develop and maintain the relationship? Why would you do this? Question2. A person from another department has referred a lot of new clients to you. They do not have to do this. It does not form part of their job description. Identify three things you could do to develop, maintain and show that you value the relationship. Thank them via email Give them a small incentive or gift Praise them for their niceness Activity 9 Question1. Propose two methods for identifying difficulties in workplace relationships. Question2. Natalie and joseph are work mates. Joseph has young children and likes to have time off during school holidays to look after them as he has difficulty finding others to look after them during these period. He become very upset that Natalie always asks for time off during school holidays even though she does not have children. She argues that she wants this time off because her boyfriend is a schoolteacher and this is the only time they can spend time together and travel. They cannot both have time off over school holidays as this would leave their department short staffed. The situation is causing difficulties in their workplace relationship. a. What strategy would you use to resolve this situation? Briefly describe each step of the strategy to be used. consult with each parties and see what are the options that they are willing to negotiate an enter into. I will then evaluate the options and amend it according to organizational policy and what is allowed by the organization Then I will provide them with the feedback b. Describe a win-win, win-lose and lose-lose resolution for this situation. A win win situation of this resolution would be that both of them get a time off but, each will have to take turn from one school holiday to another. Activity 10 Question1. Explain the processes and systems that can be established to manage and resolve conflict constructively. Firstly, meet with all of the people involved individually. Based on individual meetings the manager will have a clear picture of the key issues and what each person considers important and the common ground. These are the key ingredients to a successful mediation, satisfying each person's needs and bringing the people together, based on common ground. Arrange to meet with both people. Encourage each person to summaries their view, uninterru pted. This is essential as often people involved in conflict do not feel heard. Sometimes resol ving workplace conflict is as easy as providing a forum for people to express their views. Pay careful attention to each person's concerns. Sometimes people have shifted since your first meeting with them. Do not bring up issues that they decide are not important at the joint meeting. Summaries the key issues once you have heard from all the people concerned. Encourage the people involved to discuss options for resolution. Ensure everyone involved is satisfied before concluding the meeting. Question2. Two workers are engaged in a conflict related to who should answer their manager's phone and take messages when the manager is not present. They both feel that they are too busy and too important to be required to do this. Describes the signs you would look for to identify they are handling the conflict constructively. Basically, constructive conflict is when you and another person resolve your disagreement in such a way as to build trust and respect for each other. It also means that you actually deal with the conflict, rather than suppress or avoid it. Question3. Provide two example of: a) Emotionally based conflict. unintentionally embarrased by another worker worker telling secret to other people b) Values based conflict. cultural difference disputes moral conflicts c) Needs based conflict. money conflict time conflict Question4. Outline a conflict management process. Activity 11 Question1. Identify and describe three qualities that would help leaders to provide guidance, counselling and support to assist co-worker in resolving their work difficulties. Good listeners Good problem solving Compassionate Question2. You are talking to co-worker who is very upset that another worker has given them information that was inaccurate and this caused them to look bad in front of another manager. You ask them what the worker said them they confronted them and they reply by saying, 'who cares? There's just no excuse for what they did. Nothing they can say can make it right'. List three pieces of advice you would offer them. Advices I would give them are: If you don't tell me what happened, how can we help make the situation better. Tell them to calm down and let us know what happen so we start finding the solution to it. If those words are not true, eventually people will know the truth through your consistent good actions If the issue really bothers your then we can raise the issue to the manager Activity 12 You are working with two employees because one has made some negative comments about the other's culture. Draw up a 1-2 page action plan that could be used to address this identified difficulty. Training on diversity within the workplace Counselling for both parties Communicate about diversity policies and procedures Encourage interaction through informal bonding Summative assessment 1 Question1. Choose and explain how one system, policy or procedure can support the development of effective work relationship focusing on interpersonal styles, communications, consultation, cultural and social sensitivity, networking of conflict resolution. Policy can help manage employee's behavior such as policy with the topic that provides an overview on bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment and how these should be handled including prevention of incidents occurring and the legal repercussions should an incident arise, this allowed for the employees to know what is appropriate and what is not and how they should conduct themselves within the workplace. Furthermore, the help developing a sense of culture of relationship building within the workplace which promotes healthy relationship within the workplace as well as promote positive culture of the organisation that is helpful for both organisation as well as the employees themselves. Question2. Describe communication techniques leaders can use to initiate networking conversations, including requests for help. Communication is about more than just exchanging information. It's about understanding the emotion and intentions behind the information. Effective communication is also a two-way. It's not only how you convey a message that it is received and understood by someone in exactly the way you intended, it's also how you listen to gain the full meaning of what's being said and to make the other person feel heard and understood. More than just the words you use, effective communication combines a set of skills including nonverbal communication, engaged listening, managing stress in the moment, the ability to communicate assertively, and the capacity to recognize and understand your own emotions and those of the person you're communicating with effective communication is the glue that helps you deepen your connections to others and improve teamwork, decision making, and problem solving. It enables you to communicate even negative or difficult messages without creating conflict or destroying trust. Question3. Outline one relevant piece of legislation from any level of government that affects business operation, especially in regard to work health and safety (WHS), environment issues, equal opportunity, industrial relations and anti-discrimination and explain how these are relevant to managing effective relationships. OH&S legislation basically set out guidelines that obligated to the employees and employers. The Act sets out the key principles, duties and rights in relation to occupational health and safety. The general nature of the duties imposed by the Act means that they cover a very wide variety of circumstances, do not readily date and provide considerable flexibility for a duty holder to determine what needs to be done to comply. It is relevant to managing effective workplace relationships as you must take into consideration of your obligational duties. Summative assessment 2 Project You are a manager of team of workers. You have come to realise that you have poor workplace relationships with those workers and that workers have poor relationship with each other. Describe what you could do to improve these relationships to ensure that morale improves, productivity increases and a sense of teamwork is developed. Make sure you explain why effective workplace relationships are necessary. You will need to discuss: Communication in relation to be achievement of work responsibilities Consultation The resolution of issues raised by workers The cultural diversity of workers Ethics Winning the trust and confidence of workers Interpersonal communication styles Networking The management of conflict Any relevant legislation Workplace relations are very important to accomplish success at work. What one says, does matter more than the designation, qualification and experience. Hence, it's vital to know the rules of better relationship management Workplace relations are very important for the sustenance of a person. More so, at the workplace these days, where changing office dynamics has made office almost a second home. These days there are certain offices, which even encourage both spouses to work at the same workplace. When considering workplace relationships, consider the interpersonal interaction between individuals within the organization. The influential sharing, the decision making, experience sharing and support system . Job Performance and even competition is something that is affected heavily by relation to others as well. It might be safe to say that the stronger the relationship between individuals within the organization the more likely they will share the same views and attitudes towards the company as well as their supervisor. To take a deeper look into workplace relationships several studies were examined to show the overall aspect and importance of how employees relate. The relationship between peer coworkers and their supervisors depends heavily on the quality of communication between the individuals. The good or bad relationship ultimately affects employee satisfaction and commitment to the organization.The better the relationship is between a supervisor and their subordinate the more trust worthy they feel of each other. Their goals become more common and the team interest is geared towards the main objectives instead of personal gains. The better the relationship also equals less chances of turnover within the company. Peer relationships are just as important as the supervisor subordinate relationships. The peers are where the individuals get their support system on a more personal level. Most likely the peers will understand each other better having to do the same type of work and at times having to report to the same supervisor. Peers are also a key to gaining information that may not be common knowledge. Peers may also relate to each other better if they have common similarities such as marital status and children. These relationships tend to have a little different dynamic than the supervisorsubordinate relationships as they can be broken out into acquaintance, friend to close friend or even best friend Conflict in the workplace is a commonplace experience. It occasionally becomes a major incident when the underlying causes are not identified and an action plan put in place to correct the issues that would have arisen. But how do we identify the issues and determine the appropriate course of action for the response? Depending on the size and location of the business as well, there are laws in place on what can and cannot be done when responding to conflicts among employees. These conflicts quickly diminish productivity in the workplace, while destroying employee morale. As a matter of practical concern to the individual employees, these conflicts also initiate health problems, which can be detrimental to both the employee and the organization. To deal with conflict, strategies to avoid open communications between the parties discourage the resolution of the conflict, and may suppress any hidden agendas. This technique of repressing either party's personal goals in order to subvert direct conflict may also prevent the rebuilding of a harmonious relationship. Alternately, using cooperative strategies in resolving the issues can be very beneficial. But overactive cooperation can be both positive as well as negative. Positive in helping to improve the relationships amongst employees, but negatively in that employees may be feeling obligated to identify with the company's objectives in the conflict resolution. Unresolved employee conflicts can result in \"Lost institutional memory, low productivity, bad morale and high turnover all cost real companies real dollars\". The increase in workplace diversity has now been identified as a leading cause of many interpersonal workplace conflicts. In a study be the Society for Human Resource Management, fort percent of HR professionals have observed the generation gap as a source of conflict amongst workers. One cause is identified as the difference in perception of values amongst the different generations. That the conflict is not the value itself, but more the perception, has been the cause of conflict. This has lead parties to react differently to each of the opposing positions. Margeret Sanchez (2009) has identified that resolving conflicts is critical in developing an understanding of shared goals of the workplace. Managing Workplace Romances In organisations which are concerned with continuous improvement and with ongoing business success, managers must build trustbased relationships, develop effective communication systems and processes, share information, base decisionmaking on consultative processes and provide opportunities for staff to develop the competencies they need. They must also be aware of relevant legislation, codes of practices and ethical principles. The following practices and actions are suggested: 1. Being honest: from my point of view this is the first step to build trust. Tell the truth, sharing honest information and don't stealing. 2. Using good judgement: Knowing what information to share, when to share it and when not to share it. Protecting employee's personal information and company or competitors proprietary information as if it were your own. Thinking twice before sharing a blunt, unsolicited judgement. Extreme truth may hurt the recipient, destroying truth and Avoiding \"just between us\" secret conversations unless necessary to the benefit of the company. 3. Being Consistent: Being consistent in work and behaviours, being always on time and stay at least the required hours, meeting or exceeding the job description and the company standards and fulfilling your promises. This is very important to be respected for those you work with. 4. Be honest in nonverbal communications: More than half of communications' impact is in nonverbal communications. Looking in other in the eye with comfortable and direct eye contact and exhibiting open body language: open arm versus closed across the chest etc. 5. Having Mutual Beneficial attitude: Genuinely caring about others, nurturing mutually beneficial relationships with open communications and willingly accepting information and constructive critique I will develop effective communications systems and processes: 1. Showing active listening and displaying empathy when appropriate. 2. Understanding difference and diversity. 3. Knowing what questions to ask at the right time. 4. Understanding the needs of the audience. 5. Conveying information clearly and concisely. 6. Communicating relevant and timely information. 7. Responding and giving appropriate feedback, to close the process, feedback is essential in any communication process. Observing the audience response and ask for feedback to ensure that you are being understood as intended. 8. Using appropriate body language and paralanguage because Understanding how effective your own verbal and nonverbal communication skills are, and how you can influence the behaviour of other through communication