Organization Behavior Study

Organization Behavior Study

In an organization, there are activities that usually happen on a daily basis. The interaction of the employees happens on a daily basis because everybody works as a team in an organization and every employee needs one another. This is for the purposes of the company to work effectively to emerge successful. Therefore, communication is a very important tool in organizations. The problem is that people in the organization may think that they are communicating but that might not be the case. This is because some of the people may feel oppressed, left aside or even as if there opinion is not heard. On the other hand, other people may think or feel as if everything is going on very well. It is because of this reason; Deborah Tannen has highlighted key points and arguments in his article, “The power of talk.”

Discussions

            In the article, Tannen has discussed the different elements used in communication. Particularly these elements can be described as linguistics. She has discussed how people misunderstand one another while communicating in an organization. This misunderstanding can lead to the wrong judgment of a person. In case of such situation, it can lead to a loss instead of success. Additionally, Tannen has discussed that men and women have different communicating skills (Tannen, 1995). In addition to this, she has said that everybody has his own unique elements of communication that are natured from the time one is born the time one becomes an adult. It is because of this reason, it is difficult to ascertain all the information that a person might be communicating to another person .

            One of the key elements in the article is the art of conversation. In a company or an organization, people talk to one another by the use of conversations. In a meeting, people are expected to air out their views and objections by the use if conversation. In the article, Tannen says that the first elements of conversation people are able to understand them. These first elements are the physical or heard details of a conversion. The only problem is that a remarkable number of people, especially the mangers, are not able to the second elements of conversation (Tannen, 1995). These are the invisible elements, which cannot be seen or heard by the party listening to the conversation.

            In an organization, many managers assume that they really understand and know what there juniors are saying. This might not be true because in a conversation it is not easy to know whether a person is confident, honest or lying. For instance, employees in a company have perfected the art of lying to their managers so that they can be given fake bonuses and sick-offs. According to the article, this is true since nobody can decode all the information that a person is trying to communicate in a conversation.

            Additionally, the article has indicated that a person can be wrongly misjudged in the process of a conversation. This can be false and it can be true. This is because; in an organization, there are employees who have been working together for many years. These employees have been able to learn one another and understand. They are able to know what the other is going to do even before he or she does it. Therefore, this is can be said to false. However, Tannen supports her claims in the article by indicating that activities that happen routinely can be predictable but in a conversation it is not predictable to know what a person is thinking and what he or she is about to say (Tannen, 1995).

            Another key point that Tannen has discussed in this article is that there are different communication elements and skills between the men and the women (Tannen, 1995). Critically looking at this point, it is true because men and women are very different. Men are assertive and they usually want to take charge of the situation. Everywhere, there is no man who would like to be down played or belittled. Men always want to feel superior despite the situation they are in. on the other hand, the women always want to be heard and be support by the men. Therefore, in a conversation, the women will tend to contribute towards a point but the men will take charge by supporting the contribution.

            Additionally, this point is true because, recently, women want to be heard in the different organization and they are try to prove themselves that they to can do what a man can do. In the process, the women have become assertive in their conversation. On the other hand, the men have become protective of their territory. They will do anything so that they cannot be overtaken by a woman. A woman might be helping a man who is probably the manager, but instead of the man taking the conversation seriously, he belittles it. Therefore, when the two are conversing they can easily misjudge one another because both of them do not know the other invisible communication elements.

            Tannen has discussed another key point by saying that this communication element s whether invisible or visible are natured from the time somebody is born through out until he or she dies. This is can be true or false but it all depends on how a person looks at it. For instance, the proponents of this statement say that when a child is born everybody is usually very keen in teaching him or her how to talk. As the child continues to grow, he or she starts learning the art of communication. In this case, by the time the child is old enough he or she has already learned the different communication skills. Additionally, there is a saying that says, “You cannot teach an old dog new tricks.” On the contrary, the opponents say that the statement is not true because the communication elements that were used before when a person was a child are not the same communication skills a person uses when he or she is old. Critically, the point can be true or false.

            Lastly, the article states that people high are on senior position communicate well and are likely to reward those people who they are similar in characteristics. This point also can be critically viewed on two sides. The first side is that the point might be true because everybody tend to favor somebody who they are in agreement. For instance, Tannen has indicated that managers will tend to reward those juniors they note that they have the same suggestions are have similar points in a meeting (Tannen, 1995). On the contrary, the other side thinks that this statement is false because, managers often do want to be seen to take sides because this can affect their professionalism.

Conclusion

            Communication is a key element in the organization today. Without communication, an organization cannot work effectively and it can fail miserably. Additionally, communication is a strategic tool for success in organization. Therefore, managers need to understand how the different elements and skills of communication work. It is because of this reason; Tannen has written key points on elements of communication namely conversation, linguistics, period and the gender. However, these points may be true or false but this depends on how a person critically views them.