Communication Skills

Student’s Name

Date

Institutional Affiliation

Quality of communication

The quality of communication in this scenario is poor. There is a breakdown of communication between the patients, patient access staff, and the coordinator because there lacks clarity. For instance, a receptionist points out that the patient contact software is not working as it should; however, the coordinator ignores this direct statement. In addition, there lacks communication clarity between the patients and the practice as patients must call the facility to confirm their appointments, further proof that the existing patient contact software is not working. Also, based on the coordinator’s feedback, it is apparent that there is a communication breakdown between patients and the medical practice as the IT specialists found 893 unopened patient messages.

Type of Conflict

The conflict witnessed is a person vs. person conflict. The coordinator has conflict with the patient access staff.

How Defensive Climate Affects Team Members

The communication interactions between the patient access staff and the coordinator are defensive; hence there are elements of control and evaluation. Evaluation involves assigning blame, and it is evident when the scheduler tells the coordinator that it is about time she becomes part of the solution. Allocating blame results in resentment and anger, emotions evident when the coordinator quips that emotions and passion should be evident in every staff member. Control is evident in the way the coordinator ignores the direct statements of the other staff members and instead comes up with a different strategy of solving the problem. Based on the conversation between the coordinator and the other staff members, it is apparent that a defensive communication climate only results in conflict escalation, thus further resulting in communication breakdown, a factor that will further hinder open communication and collaborations in the future (Gibb, 2020).

Strategies To Resolve Conflict and Create Supportive Climate

To resolve conflict, the manager should use the strategery of compromise. The manager should first ensure that the entire team meets and agrees to talk formally to solve the conflict. They can then discuss a better scheduling protocol and make concessions hence establishing a common ground to come up with better alternatives for the existing scheduling protocol. Other concessions that can be made include determining the person responsible for the daily task for checking and replying to patients’ messages. Lastly, they should then address any lingering differences. Compromise is an effective strategy of conflict resolution as existing differences are not only addressed, but concessions also allow the development of mutually acceptable results (Chan, 2014). Moreover, the willingness to compromise creates a supportive communication climate.

Strategies To Improve Communication and Collaboration Between The Team Members

To improve communication and collaboration, the manager should actively listen to the entire team, ensuring that everyone feels heard and their opinions are important. The manager should also show compassion to all team members. Compassion enables the manager to understand everyone’s feelings hence understand their views and create positive rapport. Lastly, the manager should promote team-building activities that foster communication between team members and enable all team members to build strong and positive relationships with each other.

How The Manager Can Measure the Performance Of The Team

To measure the team’s performance, the manager can use the 360-degree feedback tool. This tool requires that team members determine whether they are meeting their goals, thus providing a wide perspective on the team’s performance. The manager can also use a graphic rating scale to provide a clear picture of the teams’ performance. Other tools of measuring performance include management by objectives. This tool allows the team and the manager to create a list of goals and set up timelines (Antoni, 2005). The ability to meet objectives within the intended timeline is an indicator of good performance. In contrast, the inability to meet goals within the set timeline indicates bad performance.

References

Antoni, C. (2005). Management by objectives–an effective tool for teamwork?. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16(2), 174-184.

Chan, J. C., Sit, E. N., & Lau, W. M. (2014). Conflict management styles, emotional intelligence and implicit theories of personality of nursing students: A cross-sectional study. Nurse education today, 34(6), 934-939.

Gibb, J. R. (2020). Defensive communication. In Shared Experiences in Human Communication (pp. 44-49). Routledge.