Blog Post # 2 : Resolving Interpersonal Conflicts

In a program, there are two university students Anna and May. Anna has been the co-ordinator for a year. She was well praised and congratulated on an excellent job done. Anna due to commitments could not continue with the post and hence, a willing candidate May was selected for the post for the current year.

A month into the program, Anna has been getting complaints about May. Complaints include lack of response when necessary, pushing the work onto co-workers and a sense of non-interest. Anna being the ex-coordinator and a senior member of the program talked to May about her responsibilities and asked her whether she was really interested in handling the post again. May replied that she was, however, the sloppy attitude still persisted. This time, Anna gets angry which led to a very stern conversation with May and told her that if she continues in this way, she would be taken out of the program. May gets upset and starts to cry.

A possible causes for such conflict could have been:
Self-Denial: May was not able to balance her work as a coordinator and her school work but refused to acknowledge the fact.
New Comer: Being new to the post, she was still getting used to it.
Peer Pressure: Anna was being pressurized from the committee, to have a proper successor.
Conflict of Personality: Anna being a perfectionist herself got irritated with May’s carefree attitude.

During the conversation at the end, May might have felt a sense of failure which led to her break down. She might have been depressed and pressurized. Anna on the other hand, must have felt like she was being pushed around to get results by the committee. She probably felt disappointed that her successor was not efficient. She must have also felt frustrated from all the peer pressure and her personal commitments.

What could Anna have done to avoid such a scene? Was there a better way for her to approach May? And what could May have done? Could she have handled the situation better?

Blog Post #1 Effective Communication

Communication is a process that we are all born with but is taken for granted by many. Communicating with family, friends, peers, superiors or even strangers is something that happens in our day to day life. Something that comes naturally to everyone, isn't it? But, how many of us communicate effectively? There must be at least one case of misunderstanding in all our lives because of our inability to communicate effectively.

I was taught the importance of effective communication pretty early in my life, when I had to travel back and forth between two countries. I spent my childhood and teenage life in two very different countries – Japan and India. In Japan, I also attended an international school for a couple of years – the majority of the students and even teachers were American. Thus, even at a young age, I was exposed to various cultural differences. Being able to speak three languages fluently, I have come to realize that I unconsciously tend to change my approach, tone and even mannerism when I switch between them or when I am talking to someone from that specific country. Growing up in different environments and amongst different people has taught me that effective communication plays a key role in bringing everyone together. Understanding the culture, customs, values, non-verbal cues, various ways of speaking (formal, informal) and such are very important in order to communicate effectively with a person from a different cultural background whether in a social setting or in a workplace.

I have always had problems in organizing my thoughts and expressing them clearly. I believe that in learning to communicate effectively I will be able to overcome these barriers and be able to step into the working world more confidently. Job search, conveying the proper ideas, understanding instructions appropriately form my superiors, business correspondence, report documentation and attending meetings, will soon be something my working world will revolve around and I hope to be armed with the necessary weapons. While browsing the textbook, I realized there is more to communicate effectively than in just listening, talking and understanding a person's cultural background - to 'actively' listen, to overcome various barriers (emotional, psychological, environmental), to give the right non-verbal cues and so on. Learning all these various ways of developing effective communication will provide me with the opportunity to improve myself as an individual and also as important member of the society.