Health And Mental Hygiene Research Paper.

Health And Mental Hygiene Research Paper.

Communication is an integral aspect of any organization. It is the stream of information passed around through channels that ensure all operations run smoothly within the establishment. Within organizations, individual communication occurs in three forms: interpersonal,  supervisor-subordinate, and inter-unit. Health And Mental Hygiene Research Paper.

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Interpersonal communication refers to the processes which involve person-to-person interactions. It occurs between co-workers, members of the board, and even administrative personnel. Singh (2014) suggests that this form of communication is integral to successful job performance. Supervisor-subordinate communication, on the other hand, comprises information paths and exchange between supervisors and one or more subordinates. Health And Mental Hygiene Research Paper.

Consequently, this type of communication impacts job outcomes and employee satisfaction. Of the three forms of individual communication, the interaction between supervisor and subordinate are the most problematic. Assistants are hesitant to engage in upward dialogue that they presume may affect them negatively. Finally, inter-unit communication occurs between departments or programs that are part of the organization. It is a fundamental part of integration processes, hence relevant to management. Louhiala-Salminen & Kankaanranta, (2012) propose that internal communication within organizations generates competitive advantage for the entity because knowledge is shared effectively. In essence, all forms of personal interaction are essential for an organization.

Overview of Organization

New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene and the New York City Department of Education are equal partners in the running of the Office of School Health in a joint program.  The Office of School Health offers health amenities and preventative services to students affiliated with the department of education. The program provides school or student-specific services aside from general programs/services. For instance, the Automated Student Health Record is part of the tools used by the establishment to avail school nurses with information that is vital to students’ health care.

It is through this organization that patients receive comprehensive immunization records detailing the vaccines administered, lot number and even manufacturer of the medication.  Consequently, when students are requested to provide immunization information, and; therefore, they can use the given data. Additionally, some student-specific services include the Condom Availability Program which is meant to ensure students have access to free condoms, health information, and referral at all times.  The Office of School Health provides various services to the New York City Department of Education (DOE) which is the leading school district in the United States. 1.1 million Students in approximately 1,800 schools are under the DOE umbrella.

Current Communication Practices

The Office of School Health (OSH) partners with various disciplines. As such, the  program requires constant communication to run smoothly. Particularly, the communication ranges from within schools, across departments, and with other institutions affiliated with the organization. OSH offers a good model for analysis of communication within an organization. In essence, communication is vital to the development of strong relations between individuals and departments in an organization (Piekkari, Welch & Welch, 2014). On that account, managerial decisions comprise downward communication flow. On the other hand, responses from subordinates comprise an upward flow of communication. The following literature will expound on current communication practices within OSH and difficulties impacting the processes.

Interpersonal Communication

Interpersonal communication is evident in all OSH interactions because it has an impact on each stakeholder.  It is the most common form of transmission used in the organization to handle complaints, inquiries, workplace problems; and to establish employee relations. A person’s communication skills impact their personal and professional capacity (Brun, 2010). Presumably, students engage in interpersonal interaction when they seek health-related assistance from the school nurse or attending physician. When an OSH official interacts with students and their families, the preferred form of communication is interpersonal as it creates a platform for candid one-on-one conversation. This form of communication is essential for institutions and companies.

In various settings, interpersonal communication can be hindered by multiple barriers that impact progress. For example, lack of clarity is a primary barrier to effective communication. The OSH covers a lot of schools, hence, interacts with individuals from various cultural backgrounds whereby language can hinder communication. Language barrier affects effective communication which can lead to inadequate delivery of services and failure to achieve organizational goals.

Supervisor-Subordinate Communication

The communication between managers/administrators and their subordinates is essential for achieving goals and objectives. In essence, this form of communication is further categorized into downward and upward channels of interaction.  Downward communication involves messages being sent from shareholders of OSH to its management. In addition, it can involve a nurse giving students instructions. Conversely, upward communication is the transfer of information from student or parents, to employees of OSH, its senior management, and shareholders. This form of communication necessitates openness, understanding between individuals, and precise message delivery. Pricipally, supervisor-subordinate communication impacts job satisfaction, decision outcome, and overall interaction in the organization. If a subordinate perceives the supervisor as a willing, and receptive listener, they likely to engage in open communication. However, if they feel threatened or uneasy about the individual, then communication is hindered.

Supervisor-subordinate communication necessitates a delicate balance of the relationship because leniency can lead to failure while strong-arming subordinates can cause barriers to communication. While OSH is a joint program between two establishments, it operates as a separate entity hence communication between shareholders and the management team at OSH employs this type of communication. A micro-management approach can negatively impact this form of communication because the subordinate feels unappreciated. Notably, many barriers to supervisor-subordinate communication exist within the organization.

Inter-Unit Communications

The OSH is a multifaceted organization; as such, its structural makeup requires the development of departmental units to cater to various operations. For this reason, communication between departments is essential because all units are connected and devoted to the success of OSH. It is necessary for departments to share accurate and reliable information to improve efficiency and reliability. For example, a student from the DOE may be required to provide the school physician with immunization records. Therefore, communication will occur between the DOE and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene before the physician gets the documentation. The OSH offers preventative, and healthcare services which are affiliated to different programs or departments yet the organization cannot run smoothly without interaction between all units of the organization. Health And Mental Hygiene Research Paper.

Inter-unit communication has several complications. Sometimes miscommunication between different departments can cause severe damage to the organization.  Internal communication is crucial to the active service delivery of an organization (Ruck & Welch, 2012). Nonetheless, inter-unit communication can be affected by various issues like mistrust, misaligned vision, and differing motivation (Reiche, Harzing & Pudelko, 2015). If communication breakdown between departments occurs, then the supply chain of the organizations is affected. Services offered by OSH to the DOE schools would suffer because it is the ability to work as a single unit that makes the work of the organization successful.

Improving Communication Practices at OSH

The current communication practices as the Office of School Health are functional, but a lot can be done to tap into the potential of effective communication. Health And Mental Hygiene Research Paper.Strategies for improving communication practices are applicable in some instances for OSH. Notably, when these strategies are implemented, the organization is sure to prosper. Each of the remedies needs to deal directly with problem and type of communication it affects for the solution to work.

Figure 2, Improving Current Communication Practices at OSH

Interpersonal communication is the first channel of knowledge sharing, and as earlier stated, at OSH there are some issues with this form of communication. For instance, language barrier acts as a hindrance to communication (Lauring & Selmer, 2011). With a culturally diverse school district, it is hard to have effective communication when language is a hindrance. Health And Mental Hygiene Research Paper.Language impacts the internal operations of an organization including human resource management, and service delivery (Piekkari et al., 2014). Consequently, the OSH can counter this problem by hiring a culturally diverse staff and providing translator services to clients. This approach is inclusive as it considers all clients of the organization, and it has other benefits besides improving communication.

While the provision of translators is helpful, the organization can work on improving the corporate language system.  Additionally, communication requires trust, and if an individual feels that a person can be trusted with information, they are more likely to share it. Building a culture of open communication can foster improvement of organizational interactions as well. Health And Mental Hygiene Research Paper.

Supervisor-subordinate communication is at the core of company operations. It entails all the transfer of knowledge that directly relates to the organization’s objectives. For this reason, all aspects that hinder effective communication should be eradicated to avoid failure and attain company goals. A major hindrance to this form of communication is the strained relationship between supervisors and subordinates. Song (2014) highlights that subordinates find it hard to approach their supervisor with a problem or suggestion because the move is often unappreciated. When subordinates perceive their supervisors as receptive, they often engage them in constant upward communication. Health And Mental Hygiene Research Paper.Contrary, when supervisors perceive their subordinates as lacking sufficient absorptive capacity, then effective knowledge transfer is hindered because they withdraw information (Song, 2014). It is imperative for OSH to develop an open-door policy that is geared toward the development of a shared vision. Subordinates are entitled to appropriate feedback from supervisors, and they, in turn, have to present their superiors with relevant information at all times. Additionally, internal relations have to be established to ensure that ranking at the workplace does not impact job outcome. A good relationship between supervisor and subordinate develops from a common understanding of what is essential.  Health And Mental Hygiene Research Paper.

Communication barriers to inter-unit communication are detrimental to the entire organization. Issues of mistrust, misunderstanding across departments, and misaligned vision can negatively impact the services of an organization. Consequently, several solutions are available to counter the effects of miscommunication.  Social relationships impact knowledge transfer; hence, the use of team building exercises to develop connections between staff in various departments improves communication (Lauring & Selmer, 2011). When individuals in multiple units have some form of association, then communication is often efficiently conducted, and knowledge transfer is not hindered. Health And Mental Hygiene Research Paper.

Additionally, development of organizational goals that incorporate each department makes it easy for the various units to comprehend knowledge shared and its purpose. Harzing and Pudelko (2015) argue that shared vision, interest, as well as motivation are integral to successful knowledge transfer. All these processes are bound to improve the inter-unit communication and benefit the organization immensely when adequately integrated into business strategy.

Conclusion

Communication is integral to business processes within an organization. Notably, the communication channels can be categorized into interpersonal, supervisor-subordinate, and inter-unit communication. The communication channels at OSH follow similar paths and are explored in the above literature to reveal some of the issues that impact communication within an organization. For instance, language barrier is a problem that affects all forms of communication and can be eradicated through the provision of translators and development of a corporate language system in the establishment.  Supervisor-subordinate communication is often influenced by a reluctance to communicate or the withholding of information. Health And Mental Hygiene Research Paper.primarily, this develops due to strained relations in the workplace. Hence, developing an open door policy can improve this form of communication and ensure goal attainment becomes a reality. Within organizations, inter-unit communication is often affected by lack of shared vision, and engaging personnel in team building exercises remedy this and investing in internal relations because people that know and understand each other work better together.

References

Brun, J. P. (2010). Missing pieces: 7 ways to improve employee well-being and organizational effectiveness. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. Health And Mental Hygiene Research Paper.

Harzing, A-W. & Pudelko, M. (2014). Hablas vielleicht un peu la mia language? A comprehensive overview of the role of language differences in headquarters-subsidiary communication. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25(5), 696-717. http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.jyu.fi/10.1080/09585192.2013.809013

Lauring, J. & Selmer, J. (2011). Multicultural organizations: Common language, knowledge sharing, and performance. Personnel Review, 40(3), pp. 324-343. https://doi.org/10.1108/00483481111118649

Louhiala-Salminen, L. & Kankaanranta, A. (2012). Language as an issue in international internal communication: English or local language? If English, what English? Public Relations Review, 38(2), pp. 262-269. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2011.12.021

Piekkari, R., Welch, D.E., & Welch, L.S. (2014) Language in international business: the multilingual reality of global business expansion. Cheltenham: EdwardElgar Publishers.

Reiche, B. S., Harzing, A-W., & Pudelko, M. (2015). Why and how does shared language affect subsidiary knowledge inflows? A social identity perspective. Journal of International Business Studies, 46(5), 528-551. doi:10.1057/jibs.2015. Health And Mental Hygiene Research Paper.

Ruck, K. & Welch. M. (2012). Valuing internal communication; management and employee perspectives. Public Relations Review, 38(2), pp. 294-302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2011.12.016

Singh, A. K. (2014). Role of interpersonal communication in organizational effectiveness. International Journal of Research in Management and Business Studies. 1(4), pp. 36-39. Health And Mental Hygiene Research Paper.