Poorly Informed Walrus

Introduction

Question1. Barriers to communication that is evident in the fable.

It is clearly shown that, the barriers to the communication in the fable of the poorly informed Walrus are due to the Walruses who are fearful of the reaction of the Old Man considering him as being known to be having a terrible temper which had been revealed in the past. It is evident the Old Man had no communication with Walruses but he could only talk to Basil who is the second of Walrus in command who on the other hand could relay the messages. The Old Man’s lack of concern for Walruses caused them not to feel that, they can happen to go to the Old Man with a fearful concern of his reaction. The Old Man became unaware of walruses who were gradually moving on and on, by the time he had they were all disappeared (Worth, 2004).

In addition, the Old Man didn’t get to understand how that could have happened, particularly since the whole thing was going so fine. For this case, an effective communication has to be effective on both the ends; however, it could eventually start with the Old Man. If he had been less anxious as well as, more amenable and friendly, there would have not happened to be the issues of the walruses becoming afraid tell him the bad news, and since they were scared to tell him bad news, they just chose that they could just leave. Consequently, the Old Man was worried on how this could have happened as well as, lost all of his walruses.

Question2 .What communication “lessons” does this fable offer to those who are serious about careers in the new workplace?

The communication “lessons” that this fable provides to those who are serious about careers in the new workplace is that to have as well as, run an organization which is effective, one must have very effective communication. The manager must maintain an amenable demeanor as well as, not to be perceived as intimidating by other people in the organization. If not, employees will not draw near the manager with the potential problems that the organization may be encountering that need an immediate awareness, and attention. This is very important since time efficiency is decisive, or critical in keeping an organization afloat. As for the walruses, it was too late. Another lesson that is learnt from the fable is that one may lose his/her employees if one doesn’t show that he/she cares about the needs. Ranting along with raving all the time causes threats and maybe a lack of productivity, hence causing the employees to “walk on egg shells.”

Question 3. Discuss the communication barriers, active listening challenges, and cross-cultural challenges in your organization

Communication is the process in which information can be transmitted and understood between two or more people. Effective communication is essential in organizations because increases performance relative to integrative work dexterity; it also fulfils the employee needs and improves a quicker decision-making. However, Active Listening abstracts the ability to listen well and it is an important tool for understanding others.

“Cross-cultural communication often involves several barriers preventing success, the aim of this report is to identify the various problems that may arise in an attempt to explain how to overcome them” (Arnold & Boggs, 2007).

Question4. Actions taken by the boss to minimize communication challenges.

Everybody knows that communication, or lack of communication is a major issue in every organization. Managers in every organization have tried very hard to find ways on how they can minimize communication challenges. These ways includes; the manager to create knowledge base where they share the knowledge about the customers or products. Managers on the other hand, may publish announcements to every employee in an organization. Lastly, the managers should encourage workers to share their problems and opportunities with blogs.

References

Arnold, E., & Boggs, K. U. (2007). Interpersonal relationships: professional communication skills for nurses (5th ed.). New York: Saunders-Elsevier.

Worth, R. (2004). Communication skills (2nd ed.). New York: Ferguson.