Nonverbal Communication Can Serve Just As Important Part of Communication As Verbal

Nonverbal communication can serve just as important part of communication as verbal communication. Working together, they create a whole that is able to fully express how a person thinks and feels to the other person that is receiving their message. There are six functions of nonverbal communication that include accent, complement, contradict, regulate, repetition and substitution for verbal communication.

The function of accenting nonverbal communication is to add attention, emphasis or punctuate the verbal communication that is going on between the two parties. This adds to the layers of the conversation. An example of accenting is hand gestures that point out the direction a person has gone or other gestures that help to explain the verbal communication. The function of complementing is when the nonverbal communication helps to support the verbal message, but would not work to replace it. The distance that a person stands can be one example of complementing. According to ( ), “Standing four feet away from someone might indicate that this person is a stranger” (p. 82). The function of contradicting nonverbal communication acts to show when the verbal communication does not match up with the nonverbal communication, and can show that the person may be conflicted or lying about the verbal information they are providing. This can offer a great deal of clues about the person’s state of mind when dealing with a complicated issue. An example of this is when a person is giving bad news, but the contradicting nonverbal communication that they are giving off makes it appear that they are happy about the news, such as smiling.

The function of regulating nonverbal communication is the use of nonverbal communication to help the speed of the conversation or the way that it flows. An example of this would be during a conversation when one conversationalist holds up their hand to stop the other person from continuing their verbal communication, so that they are able to speak next. The function of repeating is similar to complementing in that it helps to communicate the thoughts and feelings of the person speaking, but unlike complementing, it can be used alone to express the same as the verbal communication. An example of this would be a head shake or nod to reply yes or no to the question. The function of substituting nonverbal communication is similar to complementing and repeating but different in that it is used without verbal communication. This usually occurs when a person is busy or unable to fully communicate.

Eyes, eyebrows, head nods and hand gestures can all be a way to communication using substitution. For instance, a short hand wave can be used to communicate hi to another person while walking by to acknowledge their greeting.

These six different functions of nonverbal communication can work to improve the way that a person communicates. A conversation would not have the same emphasis without nonverbal communication cues, and it can help to add depth to the conversation. It is vital to fully communication emotion, feelings and thoughts in a conversation, and it is vital to look for these nonverbal communication functions when speaking with others. Behavioral management is a method of management that takes into account that a manager or supervisor is managing people rather than machines or robots. There is a social need that can come into play with the workplace. Understanding the characteristics of behavioral management can help managers and supervisors better motive their employees in the workplace.

One characteristic of behavioral management is that the managers are more willing to be involved in a slightly democratic workplace in that they give their employees a great deal of importance in decision making. They are willing to listen to what their employees have to say, and allow them to have input into important decisions. This can be helpful because many times a manager may not understand all of the ins and outs that a particular position may have, and the employees may be better prepared to say why a particular solution would not work while suggesting something that could be a better solution. It can help the department run more efficiently because employee input will be valued highly rather than disregarded. There may be some situations where they take control, and make an executive decision, but overall, they are willing to let the voices of those that work for them help in guiding the way that they manage their department.

Another characteristic of behavioral management is that the manager understands how that their employee may have other things occurring in their life that can impact how they are performing their duties. According to ( ), “A behavioral manager believes that his or her job is to lead and to ensure that the workers have everything they need to do a good job” (p. 260). This may mean that a manager takes a moment to speak with their employee to see if there is something that they might do to better help the employee focus on the task on hand. Something as simple as asking an employee how they are doing or giving them a moment to share their feelings about what has been going on in their life can be enough to help them put that aside, so that they can be better able to get their job done. This does not mean that the manager will be willing to let the employee neglect their duties but that they will help the employee to get to their tasks. A manager that does not offer a moment to employees that are struggling can find that these employees become unmotivated to work, and even resentful that they have to be at work when other matters in their life are tugging at them.

These characteristics of behavioral management make it stand out from other methods of management. The Hawthorne Studies may not have achieved the purposes that this study was originally designed for, but it did achieve some insights into what can motivate people while they are working. Keeping the understanding of the fact that people are the ones working makes behavioral management an important method of management. According to ( ), “Madeline Hunter, known mainly for her work in education, proposes a two-part system of motivation” (p. 367). She helped to develop a theory of motivation that managers are able to use to help their employees work more efficiently and offer higher quality.

The five extrinsic factors in Hunter’s theory of motivation are level of concern, success, feedback, interest and a feeling tone. Managers are able to utilize these factors individuals or combine them to help in motivating their employees.

The first extrinsic factor is level of concern. To utilize level of concern, a manager has to hold their subordinates responsible for their actions. They must be accountable for their duties.

One way to accomplish this would be to institute a policy on the quality and quantity of work that is required in a particular day as this is signally what is really important to be accomplished in a day. Employees should be more motivated to improve their quality and quantity of work.

The second extrinsic factor is success. Success is a motivator because it makes people feel accomplished. Not succeeding at a task can demotivate a person to work at their best. This means that a supervisor should be aware of the tasks that their employees are doing. An employee that does not do well at one of their tasks should be monitored, and help should be offered to improve their success at the task. Feeling as though they are not accomplishing anything because of that one task may make the person feel that they are not motivated to work on their other tasks in an effective and efficient manner, and could even cause turn over.

The third extrinsic factor is feedback. Everyone wants to know how well or poorly that he or she are doing with something. Managers and supervisors can use feedback to motivate employees that are already doing well to help them stay motivated on that task while employees that are not doing well can also be motivated by feedback. Feedback can be used as a tool to help improve the problems, so that they eventually gain positive feedback. The fourth extrinsic factor is interest. The amount of interest that a person has for a task will impact how motivated that they are in finishing it. Managers may have to find a way to make their employees more interested in the more boring tasks that can be necessary for a position. The fifth extrinsic factor is feeling tone. This is the tone that is set by the way that the manager or supervisor communicates with their employees. This can be a positive feeling tone, a neutral feeling tone or a negative feeling tone. A positive feeling tone can be the most motivating but may not be appropriate depending on the situation. A positive feeling tone is when the manager asks the person to do the task whereas a negative feeling tone is an order. A neutral tone is just a statement of a fact rather than a question or order.

Managers and supervisors are always looking for ways to improve the way that their employees that work for them. The theory of motivation that Madeline Hunter posits is a great way to try to motivate employees. The best thing about these methods of motivation are that they are free to use, and anyone can do it. Management and change can be difficult topics to cope with in the workplace.

Employees can be very resistant to change, and without their support change can be difficult to get through. Finding ways to manage change and better facilitate change can be helpful.

Management by objectives (MBO) can help with dealing with change as it allows employees to be participating in the change process.

According to ( ), “Sometimes referred to as results management, MBO’s major focus is on involving managers and their subordinates jointly in developing specific goals and objectives.

Naturally, estimates of future results must fit into the overall scheme of the organization’s goals and objectives” (p. 448). This is an opportunity for managers and their employees to work together to formulate goals and objects along with ways that they are able to go about reaching these goals and objectives. These goals and objectives must be reasonable and agreed upon by other parties involved in the process. It may be that compromises must be made between the two parties to find a mutually agreeable middle ground. This coordination between managers and employees will give each a chance to improve the tasks of a position that will ultimately help each employee better uphold the organization’s goals and missions. This will then become the future benchmark for each of the positions within the department until further changes may need to be made. This benchmark can be used for evaluations, and can even be applied towards teaching new employees their position as they can learn about what is expected from them by the manager.

The RIO process relates to MBO in that it can be a way to break-down MBO in an easy to follow pattern for managers. R stands for supervisory responsibilities that that a manager would have in play for a particular position. This is the responsibilities that a manager will have towards their employees. I stands for indicators, which is referring to the existing conditions of the workplace. This could be information of injuries and other related data that could have an impact on workplace, such as the amount of time that is lost in dealing with an injury. O stands on the mutually agreed upon objectives that were created. This usually has to deal with the quality and quantity of work that is being produced by the employee. Overall, this can be seen as an agreement or contract between the two parties in which they both agree to have responsibilities toward the other.

Making changes to a department to find the best way to run it can be scary to any employee who may worry about these changes may do to their job. One way to help facilitate the changes to maximize the department’s efficiency is to utilize management by objective as it can give a voice to the employees during the process. It can help to take the fear away of the unknown because they will be involved in the change process. Overall, this is an excellent way to get employees excited and motivated for change.