Introduction
The absence of effective communication is a concern in many contemporary organizations. Since imperfection is an attribute of communication, failure to embrace a streamlined exchange of information between and among organizational stakeholders is the root of many conflicts that hinder employees’ and companies’ performance. Organizations in various industries, including the healthcare sector, continue to face the challenge of poor communication, despite their obligation to deliver high-standard services and products to clients.
As a result, the need for professionals in various sectors to adopt proper communication skills is imperative because this strategy fosters satisfaction among the concerned stakeholders. Similarly, the integration of appropriate communication tools in organizational settings is also crucial because it allows individuals, including nurses, patients, and medical practitioners, to interact more efficiently.
The literature review of several articles used in this paper indicates the degree to which poor or appropriate communication can influence various organizational elements such as teamwork and the delivery of quality services in hospital settings. Hence, strategies, for instance, the use of facilitators of effective communication and training, among others, are recommended.
Literature Review
Profession Complexities and Human Performance Limitations
The study by Leonard et al. examines the issues that affect the effectiveness of teamwork and communication in healthcare organizations (85). According to these researchers, the lack of joint efforts and efficient communication in healthcare environments undermines the delivery of high-quality and safe care to patients. In particular, Leonard et al. reveal issues such as medical care complexities and intrinsic limitations of human performance, which inhibit the realization of teamwork and communication in medical facilities (85).
This situation interrupts the provision of a high standard and secure services to clients. As such, regardless of healthcare professionals’ skills, experience, and motivation levels, the inevitability of mistakes among them calls for the adoption of effective communication and collaboration.
Consequently, these scholars emphasize the need for healthcare organizations to implement embedded standardization tools such as the situational, background, assessment recommendation (SBAR) framework (Leonard et al. 86). This situational briefing model encourages the use of an appropriate, critical, and assertive language to promote quality and safe care in hospital settings. Embedded standardization tools simplify communication among healthcare experts, despite their inherent differences.
Job and Client Difficulties
Difficulties experienced by healthcare professionals and patients may negatively affect communication between these two sides, thus destabilizing the delivery of first-class services. According to Loghmani et al., job and patient difficulties in Iranian ICU facilities hinder the efficiency of communication between caregivers and the patients’ relatives (67). Furthermore, misunderstandings regarding treatment also lead to miscommunication between patients and nurses, thereby resulting in conflicts.
Such disagreements extend to patients’ families and healthcare professionals. As such, Loghmani et al. identify participation, emotional support, and spiritual care as the facilitators of effective communication between patients’ relatives and nursing officials (67). These strategies help to minimize job and patient-related difficulties.
Lack of Spontaneity in Communication
Kravits et al. explore the usefulness of Picture Exchange Communication Systems (PECS) in enhancing the spontaneous communication skills of a six-year-old girl with autism at her home, as well as the school setting (225). These researchers argue that young individuals with autism lack impulsive communication skills. In this case, most of the interventions applied, such as the augmentative communication systems (AACs), concentrate mainly on the utilization of physical or verbal prompts.
Consequently, children with autism develop a dependence on prompts, as opposed to spontaneity, thereby facing difficulties while communicating (Kravits et al. 225). PECS is identified as a promising instructional intervention that promotes the development of spontaneous communication skills among autistic children. Specifically, it increases their interaction with peers in various environments, including at home and school (Kravits et al. 229). Enhanced spontaneous communication skills allow children with autism to engage in active, verbal interactions rather than passive, non-verbal communication, thus improving their relations with peers and adults in different environments.
Communicator Competence and Leadership Style
Madlock argues that supervisors’ communication competence levels and their leadership styles affect job and communication satisfaction among employees (61). This researcher purposed to conduct an inquiry that sought to uncover the impact of managers’ task leadership styles, relational headship techniques, as well as communicators’ competence on job and communication contentment among workers.
According to Madlock, supervisors’ failure to demonstrate relational and task-oriented behaviors undermines employees’ contentment with job and communication (71). Additionally, managers’ poor communication competence interferes with workers’ satisfaction with an organization (Madlock 72). This study reveals that both leadership styles and communication competence levels demonstrated by administrators influence their capacity to satisfy employees.
Key Communication Skills
According to Maguire and Pitceathly, the failure of healthcare professionals to demonstrate essential communication skills interferes with the accurate identification of patients’ problems (697). It also inhibits the delivery of services that can satisfy patients. Hence, it is difficult for sick individuals attended to by healthcare professionals who have poor communication skills to experience smooth psychological adjustments due to the reported poor satisfaction with the services accorded.
Maguire and Pitceathly argue that doctors with adequate communication skills experience not only a great level of job contentment but also minimal work-related stress (699). Factors attributed to the observed communication issues among doctors include the lack of adequate attention to communication skills during undergraduate or postgraduate training and insufficient practical and emotional support from colleagues.
Communication Embarrassments
In a recent inquiry, Voinea et al. explore the concept of managerial communication embarrassments as an aspect that denotes the imperfection of communication in the organizational setting (171). These researchers identify communicators as the main generators of embarrassments associated with managerial communication due to various endogenous and exogenous factors. Notable endogenous elements that contribute to embarrassments in managerial communication are subjective in nature. They may include conflicts, disagreements, differences in opinions, and the lack of consensus between managers and subordinates.
On the other hand, exogenous factors that lead to communication embarrassments between administrators and subsidiary staff members are objective or physical in nature. The communication environment, media, and noise, and the selected communication channels can trigger such degradation (Voinea et al. 171). Overall, objective and subjective factors that influence the communicator can destabilize the effectiveness of communication between managers and subordinates as manifested through embarrassments.
Recommendations
The deployment of embedded standardization tools of communication is useful in dealing with profession-based complexities and human performance limitations. It is also crucial for organizations to consider incorporating proper assertion and critical language to deal with human and job-related factors that hinder proper communication (Leonard et al. 85).
Addressing job and patient difficulties that result in misunderstandings among nurses, patients’ families, and healthcare experts requires the adoption of facilitators of effective communication such as participation, emotional support, and spiritual care. Additionally, the creation of new rules and the application of innovative methods of ICU team communication constitute a strategic approach to fostering effective communication between patients’ relatives and healthcare professionals.
Intervention tools that promote the spontaneity of communication among the disabled such as children with autism, are also appropriate. Specifically, the adoption of PECS as an instruction tool for children with autism is recommended because it facilitates the development of spontaneous communication skills (Kravits et al. 225). The absence of essential communication techniques among professionals calls for the need for training, which is easily accessible today. Furthermore, nurses should offer practical and emotional support among themselves to mitigate cases of poor communication as a way of enhancing the delivery of quality services.
Leaders and supervisors need to demonstrate a great deal of communication competence because this move boosts satisfaction among employees. In addition, the deployment of relational and task-oriented leadership styles is crucial for streamlining communication between supervisors and workers (Madlock 62). Moreover, the inevitability of communication imperfections requires managers to consider the impact of endogenous and exogenous factors of communication. This consideration can help to mitigate embarrassments that characterize managerial communication.
Communication is a fundamental element of organizational processes. Nonetheless, communication imperfections are inevitable due to various factors, including job complexities, human performance limitations, job, and client-related difficulties, communicators’ competence and leadership styles, the absence of crucial communication skills, and embarrassments (Voinea et al. 172).
Hence, it is vital to recommend professionals in various industries to adopt evidence-based measures and practices that facilitate effective communication after identifying the underlying barriers. Consequently, stakeholders in the healthcare sector, including patients, will be assured of satisfactory services because nurses and medical doctors will be free of stress, which results due to conflicts associated with inefficient communication.
Works Cited
Kravits, Tamara R., et al. “Brief Report: Increasing Communication Skills for an Elementary-Aged Student with Autism Using the Picture Exchange Communication System.” Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, vol. 32, no. 3, 2002, pp. 225-230.
Leonard, Michael, et al. “The Human Factor: The Critical Importance of Effective Teamwork and Communication in Providing Safe Care.” BMJ Quality & Safety, vol. 13, no. 1, 2004, pp. 85-90.
Loghmani, Laleh, et al. “Factors Affecting the Nurse-Patients’ Family Communication in Intensive Care Unit of Kerman: A Qualitative Study.” Journal of Caring Sciences, vol. 3, no. 1, 2014, pp. 67-82.
Madlock, Paul E. “The Link between Leadership Style, Communicator Competence, and Employee Satisfaction.” The Journal of Business Communication, vol. 45, no. 1, 2008, pp. 61-78.
Maguire, Peter, and Carolyn Pitceathly. “Key Communication Skills and How to Acquire Them.” BMJ, vol. 325, no. 7366, 2002, pp. 697-700.
Voinea, Dan V., et al. “Embarrassments in Managerial Communication.” Polish Journal of Management Studies, vol. 11, no. 2, 2015, pp. 171-180.