Communication Skills in the Workplace

Abstract

This paper is a review of the job selection criteria of a shipboard 3rd Officer. The review focuses on the requirements to communicate effectively. It discusses how a manager can assist the company in achieving its goals through effective communication. It also discusses how effective communication can reduce barriers caused by cultural differences. Communication is an essential skill for any entity to achieve its goals in the global and multi-cultural maritime industry. As such, effective communicators are high in demand by businesses who are looking for managers who can achieve the company’s goals.

Introduction

Celebrity Cruises is recruiting a shipboard 3rd Officer to assist the Master of the ship with the safe navigation and operation of the company’s vessel. The selection criteria for this job includes the ability to 1) resolve problems and to work without supervision, 2) collaborate and work well up, down and across the organization, and 3) speak English clearly, distinctly and cordially with guests.

In the multi-cultural maritime industry, communication is an essential skill for any entity to achieve its goals. In this fast-paced and competitive market, a manager like the shipboard 3rd Officer must be able to successfully communicate his thoughts and ideas with the crew in order to achieve the company’s goals. The officer must be an effective communicator who is able to understand and empathise with his receiver, and transmit his intended message in the right context and channel while monitoring feedback, thereby reducing any communication barriers (Dwyer 2013).

Effective communication

The 3rd Officer must be able to collaborate and work well with his Master, fellow officers and crew in order to achieve his ship’s goals and the company’s objectives. This was one of the job requirements stated in the advertisement. In order to achieve this, the 3rd officer must be able to communicate effectively. An effective communicator should not only be able to transmit messages. He should also be able to gather feedback on his message in order to refine the reception of his message by the receiver. On board a cruise ship, the 3rd Officer will often need to give instructions to the crew to carry out some deck work, for example. When doing so, he needs to communicate a clear performance strategy to his crew, and refine this performance strategy through constant monitoring of feedback (Zaccaro, Rittman & Marks 2001). In so doing, he could raise the efficiency of his team, reducing his crew’s fatigue and empowering them to achieve more for the company.

Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment

The ability to work in a multi-cultural environment was not explicitly stated as a job requirement because effective communication encompasses this aspect. The ability to work in a multi-cultural environment hinges on the ability to understand and adapt to different cultures. One of the job requirements stated was the ability to speak English clearly, distinctly and cordially with guests. This proficiency in English forms a basis of communication in the workplace for the officer to communicate with his guests and crew. Communication ‘is about understanding and not just language’ (Holden 2001, p. 615). Making use of this basis of communication, the communicator should then try to understand their guest’s culture further. This may be done by expressing to your guests ‘that you want to be sensitive to their culture’ and that you want to learn about it (McNamara 2006, p. 64). Being sensitive to the guests’ culture makes them feel at home and is directly related to the company’s goal of delivering the best vacation experience for their guests. An effective multi-cultural communicator should always endeavour to reduce communication barriers which are caused by cultural differences.

Conclusion

Communication is an essential skill for any entity to achieve its goal in the fast-paced and multi-cultural maritime industry. ‘In a recent survey of recruiters from companies with more than 50,000 employees, communication skills were cited as the single more important decisive factor in choosing managers’ (Mind Tools n.d.). Evidently, businesses are constantly in the search of effective communicators who can achieve business goals for their shareholders.

References

Dwyer, J. 2013, Communication for Business and the Professions, 5th edn, Pearson Australia,
New South Wales, Australia.

Holden, R. 2001, ‘Managing people 's values and perceptions in multi-cultural organisations: The experience of an HR director’, Employee Relations, vol. 23, no. 6, p. 615, from ProQuest database, accessed 20 March 2014.

McNamara, C. 2006, Field Guide to Consulting and Organizational Development: A Collaborative and Systems Approach to Performance, Change and Learning, Authenticity Consulting, LLC, Minnesota, U.S.A., p. 64.

Mind Tools (n.d.), Why communication skills are so important, http://www.mindtools.com/Co mmSkll/CommunicationIntro.htm, accessed 20 March 2014.

Zaccaro, S.J., Rittman, A.L. & Marks, M.A. 2001, ‘Team leadership’, Leadership
Management Quarterly, vol. 12.

References: Dwyer, J. 2013, Communication for Business and the Professions, 5th edn, Pearson Australia, New South Wales, Australia. Holden, R. 2001, ‘Managing people 's values and perceptions in multi-cultural organisations: The experience of an HR director’, Employee Relations, vol. 23, no. 6, p. 615, from ProQuest database, accessed 20 March 2014. McNamara, C. 2006, Field Guide to Consulting and Organizational Development: A Collaborative and Systems Approach to Performance, Change and Learning, Authenticity Consulting, LLC, Minnesota, U.S.A., p. 64. Mind Tools (n.d.), Why communication skills are so important, http://www.mindtools.com/Co mmSkll/CommunicationIntro.htm, accessed 20 March 2014. Zaccaro, S.J., Rittman, A.L. & Marks, M.A. 2001, ‘Team leadership’, Leadership Management Quarterly, vol. 12.