MODULE 2

SOFT SKILLS
Understanding Soft Skills And Importance- Major Soft Skills- Communication- Critical
Thinking- Interpersonal Skill- Team Work- Problem Solving (Concepts Only)

Soft Skills
Soft skills refer to a series of personal qualities and attributes that allow individuals to
interact effectively and harmoniously with others. Unlike hard skills, which are specific skills
related to technology or work, soft skills are more general and transferable in various
professional and personal settings. These skills are essential in today’s interconnected and
collaborative world, as they strengthen communication, relationships and overall
effectiveness in the professional and personal spheres. The development of soft skills is
important for personal and professional growth as it increases communication, collaboration,
leadership and overall effectiveness in different contexts. Continuous practice, self-reflection
and feedback can help people improve and refine their soft skills, which ultimately leads to
greater success and satisfaction both in their personal and professional lives.
Definition of Soft Skills
Soft skills refer to a set of personal characteristics, social abilities, and behavioral
characteristics that enable people to interact effectively with others and navigate interpersonal
relationships. These skills are usually non-technical and transferable in various fields and
industries. Soft skills include communication, teamwork, problem solving, adaptability,
leadership and emotional intelligence. They are essential to personal and professional success
because they improve collaboration, build a positive relationship and contribute to overall
efficiency in different environments. Unlike hard skills that can be measured and quantified,
soft skills are more subjective and difficult to measure directly. They involve personal
characteristics, attitudes and behaviors that contribute to effective communication,
collaboration and interpersonal interaction. Soft skills are not limited to specific jobs or
industries. They are relevant and useful for various occupations, roles and fields. Soft skills
are essential for success whether you work in business, health care, education, technology or
other fields. They can develop and improve throughout life. Although some people can
naturally have certain soft skills, everyone can improve their interpersonal skills through
practice, self-awareness and continuous learning.
Soft skills can be transferred from context to context. For example, effective communication
skills learned in a professional environment can be applied to personal relationships and
community involvement. This versatility makes soft skills valuable in different areas of life.
The development of soft skills is an ongoing process. This involves self-reflection, seeking
feedback and actively seeking opportunities to practice and improve these skills. Participation
in professional development programs, participation in workshops and seeking mentorship
can help to continuously improve soft skills.

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Some of the soft skills that are appreciated and valued by any companies are:
Creativity: every job whether it is working for a factory, corporate office, working on site
with different institutions all of them require creativity. It is known to bring innovations and
adds news solutions to the problem.
Use of humor: Humor makes any environment light. A person with good sense of humor
displays a strong personality as it helps in building good relations trust and reduces stress.
Confidence: A person with self-confidence will take initiatives and will be better with
making decisions. Self-confidence is also important to work underpressure. It also boosts
other soft skills learned.
Honesty: An honest person is trusted more and earns dignity that makes one valuable for any
organization.
Friendliness: Friendly people are sociable, persuasive and he can be good stress busters. But
at workplace, it is also important to maintain professional environment.
Common sense: Common sense, they say is quite uncommon. But its presence in an
individual take faster decisions is the sense that everyone should know yet many people lack
it.
These soft skills add to any personality and makes the person valuable for his/her co-workers,
seminars, and the organization as a while.
Objectives of Soft Skills
The objective of developing and enhancing soft skills varies depending on the goals and
context of each individual. However, some common objectives of the development of soft
skills include:

 Effective communication: One of the main objectives of the development of soft skills
is to improve communication skills. This includes improving vocabulary and writing
skills, active listening, non- language communication and adapting communication
styles to different audiences. The aim is to express ideas clearly, communicate
messages effectively and foster understanding and collaboration.
 Collaboration and teamwork: Soft Skills Development is intended to promote
collaboration and teamwork capabilities. These include developing interpersonal
skills, building trust, solving conflicts, promoting the positive team dynamics and
valuing different perspectives. The aim is to contribute to the creation of a
harmonious and productive team environment and achieve collective objectives.
 Leadership and influence: Soft skills development often includes leadership and
influence goals. This includes cultivating leadership qualities such as effective
decision-making, motivating others, inspiring others, delegation, mentoring and
positive impact on others. The aim is to develop the skills required to guide and guide
individuals and teams towards achieving the desired results.

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 Emotional intelligence: An objective of developing soft skills is to increase emotional
intelligence. This includes goals such as increasing self-consciousness, understanding
and managing one's emotions, recognizing and empathizing with others' emotions,
and developing interpersonal sensitivity. The objective is to navigate social
interactions with empathy, to build strong relationships and to effectively deal with
emotions.
 Problem solving and critical thinking: The development of soft skills also involves
objectives related to problem solving and critical thinking skills. This includes setting
goals to improve analytical skills, creativity, adaptability, decision-making and
solving problems with a solution-oriented mindset. The goal is to improve the ability
to analyse complex situations, critically think and develop innovative solutions.
 Adaptability and Flexibility: The development of soft skills often focuses on targets
related to adaptability and flexibility. This includes developing objectives to cope with
change, manage ambiguity and uncertainty and adapt quickly to new situations. The
goal is to be resilient, open and receptive to changing circumstances.
 Personal and Professional Growth: Soft Skills Development is aimed at fostering
personal and professional growth. This includes objectives such as self-ref lection,
continuous learning, feedback, and opportunities for professional development. The
goal is to continuously improve soft skills, expand knowledge and abilities and
achieve personal and career goals.
 Relationship Building and Networking: The objective of the development of soft
skills is to strengthen relationships building and networking skills. These include the
creation of rapports, the establishment and maintenance of professional relationships,
effective networks and the promotion of mutually beneficial relationships. The goal is
to develop strong professional networks, build trust, create opportunities for
collaboration and career development.
 Customer service and client relationship: Soft skills development often focuses on
achieving excellent customer service and building positive client relationships. This
includes objectives such as active listening, empathy, problem-solving, and effective
communication with customers and clients. The aim is to ensure the satisfaction of
our customers, build long-term relationships and promote loyalty.
 Conflict resolution and negotiation: The development of soft skills aims to improve
conflict resolution and negotiation skills. These include the development of
constructive conflict resolution strategies, active listening, effective communication
during negotiations, and the search for win-win solutions. The aim is to manage
conflicts productively and achieve mutually beneficial results.
 Time management and organization: The objective of the development of soft skills is
to improve time management and organizational skills. This includes setting targets to
improve priority, planning, goal-setting and effective use of resources. The goal is to
optimize productivity, meet deadlines, reduce stress and improve the balance between
work and life.
 Presentation and public presentation: Soft skills development often includes
objectives relating to improving presentation and public presentation abilities. This

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 includes establishing objectives to increase confidence, clarity, persuasive
communication and active delivery of presentations. The aim is to effectively transmit
information, influence audiences, and create meaningful presentations.
 Cultural competence and diversity awareness: The objective of the development of
soft skills is to promote cultural competence and diversity awareness. This includes
objectives such as developing intercultural communication skills, including tolerance
of diversity and respect for different cultural perspectives. The aim is to promote
inclusiveness, create inclusive work environments, and effectively work with
individuals of different backgrounds.
 Continuous improvement: The development of soft skills often includes continuous
improvement objectives. This includes setting objectives to seek feedback, self-reflect
and actively pursue opportunities for growth and development. The aim is to
continually improve soft skills, expand knowledge and adapt to changing
environments and requirements.
Importance of Soft Skills
Soft skills complement technical expertise and are highly valued by employers. They are
important to promote effective communication, teamwork, leadership, adaptability and
personal growth and can lead to success in different professional and personal environments.
Soft skills such as creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving drive innovation and
creativity. These skills enable individuals to think outside the box, to create new ideas, and to
solve problems from different perspectives. In today's competitive landscape, creativity and
innovation are highly valued.
Soft skills can have a positive impact on the general well-being. Effective communication,
stress management and resilience help people establish healthy relationships, manage stress
and maintain a balance between work and life. The development of soft skills strengthens
personal satisfaction and contributes to a more fulfilling and meaningful life. They are crucial
to working in a diverse global environment. Cultural sensitivity, intercultural communication
and adaptability enable people to work effectively with people of different backgrounds and
perspectives. Soft skills help to bridge cultural differences and promote understanding in
multicultural environments.
In short, soft skills are important because they enable individuals to adapt to change, solve
conflicts, stimulate creativity and innovation, promote emotional intelligence, contribute to
the personal brand, shape workplace culture, improve overall well-being, adopt global
perspectives, and thrive in a rapidly developing world.

 Hard skills and soft skills arc both important skills to have in the working world.
 Employers need employees who arc reliable, responsible problem- solvers with good
social skills who have the ability to work on a team so they seek graduates with soft
skills obtained during study and work experience rather than degree-specific
knowledge and often opt to hire graduates from any discipline.

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  Soft skills arc essential for those entering the working world because these workers
arc the business leaders of the future. Business leaders must obtain soft skills as well
as hard skills in order to be viewed as effective leaders.
 The skills most demanded by today’s employers are soft skills such as the ability to
work with others, to communicate effectively, to demonstrate initiative and self-
direction, to solve problems, and to demonstrate a positive work ethic.
Soft skills arc very important as they help:

 To handle interpersonal relations

 To take appropriate decisions
 To communicate effectively
 To have good impression and impact to gain professional development.
Soft skills arc character traits and interpersonal skills that characterize a person's relationships
with other people. In the workplace, soft skills arc considered a complement to hard skills,
which refer to a person's knowledge and occupational skills. Sociologists may use the term
soft skills to describe a person's "EQ" or “Emotional Intelligence Quotient," as opposed to
"IQ" or "Intelligence Quotient."
Types of Soft Skills
There are different types of soft skills, and most of them are important for your organization
to thrive, whether it's a small business or a large corporation.
Some of these types of soft skills: -

 Communicative skills.
 Thinking skills and Problem-solving skills.
 Team work force
 Life-long learning and Information Management
 Entrepreneur skill
 Ethics, moral and professionalism
 Leadership skills
Each of the above soft skills comprised of several sub-skills. These sub-skills arc divided into
two categories of implementation. The first category delineates the soft skills that every
individual must have and the second category represents soft skills that arc good to have.
Despite the emphasis being put on the soft skills that must be I present (must have), it is also
encouraged to inculcate the soft skills that arc good to have. All elements of soft skills must
be acquired by each individual student and evaluated effectively and comprehensively. Table
-1 shows the seven soft skills and the two categories of sub-skills respectively.
It can be observed that education is an essential tool for achieving sustainability. We all
realized that the current economic development trends arc not sustainable and that public
awareness, education and training arc the key elements to move our society towards
sustainability. Only a quality future human capital can envision development of its nation to

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 meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs. Therefore, the inculcation of soft skills among the students will be two
prongs, to produce quality human capital and to develop their knowledge, understanding,
values and skills as well. How the two skills blend together will be discussed here.
Table -1 Type / Elements of Soft Skills “Must Have” and “Good To Have”

SL NO Soft Skills Must Have Elements Good To Have Elements

(Subskills) (Sub-Skills)
1 Communicative Ability to deliver idea clearly, Ability to use technology
Skills effectively and with confidence during presentation.
either orally or in writing
Ability to discuss and arrive at
Ability to practice active a consensus.
listening skill and respond.
Ability to communicate with
Ability to present clearly and individual from a different
confidently to the audience. cultural background.

Ability to expand one’s own

communicative skill.

Ability to use non-oral skills.

2 Critical Ability to identify and analyse Ability to think beyond.
Thinking and problems in difficult situation
Problem Solving and make justifiable evaluation. Ability to make conclusion
Skills based on valid proof.
Ability to expand and improve
thinking skills such as Ability to withstand and give
explanation, analysis and full responsibility.
evaluate discussion.
Ability to understand and
Ability to find ideas and look for accommodate oneself to the
alternative solutions. varied working environment.

3 Team Work Ability to build a good rapport, Ability to give contribution to

interact and work effectively the planning and coordinate
with others. group work.

Ability to understand and play

the role of a leader and follower Responsible towards group
alternatively. decision.

Ability to recognize and respect

other’s attitude, behaviour and
beliefs.
4 Life-Long Ability to find and manage Ability to develop an inquiry
Learning & relevant information from mind and seek knowledge.
Information various sources.
Management

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 Skill Ability to receive newideas
performs autonomy learning.
5 Entrepreneurship Ability to identify job Ability to propose business
skill opportunities. opportunity.

Ability to build, explore and

seek business opportunities
and job.

Ability to be self-employed.
6 Ethics, Moral & Ability to understand the Ability to practice ethical
Professional economy crisis, environment and attitudes besides having the
social cultural aspects responsibility towards society
professionally.

Ability to analyse make problem

solving decisions related to
ethics.
7 Leadership skill Knowledge of the basic theories Ability to understand and take
of leadership. turns as a leader and follower
alternatively.
Ability to lead a project.
Ability to supervise members
of a group.

COMMUNICATION
Communication is the process of exchange of information, ideas, thoughts and feelings
between individuals or groups. It is a fundamental aspect of human interaction and plays a
key role in personal, professional and social environments. Effective communication requires
not only the transmission of a message, but also ensuring that it is correctly understood and
interpreted by the receiver.
The key elements and concepts of communication include:

 Sender: The Sender is the person or entity initiating the communication process. They
have messages or information that they want to convey to others. The sender encodes
the message into a form that can be transmitted to the receiver.
 Message: The message is the content or information that the sender wishes to
communicate. It can be conveyed through verbal, written or non-verbal means such as
words, gestures, facial expressions or visual aids.
 Channel: Channel refers to the medium in which the message is transmitted. Whether
a telephone conversation, phone call, email, written documents, presentations,
videoconferences or other forms of communication technology, it can be a form of
communication technology.
 Receiver: The recipient is the person or group who receives the message. They
receive and decode messages to understand the meaning of them. The interpreter's

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 interpretation of the message can be influenced by his own experiences, knowledge
and cultural background.
 Feedback: Feedback is the response or reaction of the receiver to the message. It can
be oral or non-oral and provides information to senders on how the message was
understood and received. Feedback helps ensure effective communication and, if
necessary, provides clarification or adjustments.
 Noise: Noise refers to interference and barriers that can interfere or distort the
communication process. External noise (e.g. environmental disturbance) and internal
noise (e.g. preconception, prejudice, linguistic barriers). The reduction of noise is
important to ensure clear and accurate communication.

By understanding and practicing the key elements of communication, individuals can

enhance their ability to express themselves clearly, understand others better, and build strong
relationships in various personal and professional settings. Effective communication is a
valuable skill that facilitates collaboration, resolves conflicts, conveys ideas, and fosters
meaningful connections.
Seven C’s of Effective Communications
It is very important to have a clear understanding of the real objective of you should
communication. Once the goal of communication is set there are other principles of
communication that will help you achieve your goal.
The seven C’s of communications are as follows:
1. Clarity
2. Correctness
3. Conciseness
4. Courtesy
5. Concreteness

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 6. Consideration
7. Completeness
Let us understand these seven C’s of communication in detail.
1) Clarity: Clarity plays an important role in successful communication. The message
designed to be delivered should be clear and should be easily understood by the
receiver. Firstly, what has to be communicated should be clear to the sender. Too
much communication at a time could confuse the receiver, so it is best to keep the
communication short and precise. The language should be kept simple and according
to the target audience or the receiver for example, if the communication is designed
for the higher management of an organization, then the language should be formal and
technical language may also be used. But if something has to be communicated to
general public, then it is advisable to keep it simple.

2) Correctness: It is very important to have command over language and to design a

correct communication message. Writing is an art that one achieves through constant
practice. It is important that the message should have correct grammar, punctuations
and also correct spelling. The accuracy of the message also presents a good image to
the receiver. To practice correctness it is very important to re- check the content for
grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. The level of difficulty of the language sould
also be kept according to the receiver and the sentences should be designed
accordingly.
3) Conciseness: The communication message should be brief and crisp sentences should
not be unnecessarily lengthy to facilitate understanding. The message should also
convey the point directly. An effective communication is concise saves time and
catches of the attention of the receiver and is retained. The communicator should
repetition in the message, use relevant information and avoid unnecessary expressions.

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 4) Courtesy: “Politeness costs nothing and gains everything.” The following quote is
very important when it comes to communication with others. A communication
becomes redundant if the experience of the receiver is not good. So courtesy becomes
one of the most important factors in designing a communication message. The
communication message design should be polite towards the sender. Uses of words
like thank you, I appreciate, please etc makes a message full of courtesy and while
verbally communicating the tone or the expression should sound genuine while
communicating these words. It is very important to say whatever is written or
communication message designed with full sincerity and for that one should use the
tone that sounds respectful. It is also very important not to include discrimination in
language for, racial, gender, color creed etc.
5) Concreteness The message should be specific and the point. Make your
communication message meaningful as unclear and vague message results to
distraction and the purpose of communication is lost in the process. You may also use
facts and figures in your message. It is recommended to use active voice rather than
passive voice.
6) Consideration: Always design the communication keeping the receiver in mind. It is
very important to design the communication message from the point of view of
receiver for whom it has to be designed. If the communicator is considerate than only
he or she can develop the “you attitude” and design a sincere message keeping in
mind the usefulness of the message. The “you” has to considered instead the “we” and
also keep in mind to be make the message positive and also optimistic in approach.
7) Completeness: Make sure whatever you want to communicate should be complete as
incomplete message leaves the receiver confused and can also lead to a completely
different meaning of the message as opposed to what was intended by the to source or
communicator
Verbal Communication Skills

Developing one’s language skills is essential for enhancing interpersonal skills. Verbal
communication can be expressed orally or in sign language. Language, grammar and
articulation of language is important to learn. It is essential to support language with effective
non-verbal skills like body language, facial expression and the voice modulation about which
we will learn in this unit.
Examples of Verbal Communication Skills

 Advising others regarding an appropriate course of action.

 Assertiveness.
 Conveying feedback in a constructive manner emphasizing specific, changeable
behaviours.
 Disciplining employees in a direct and respectful manner.
 Giving credit to others.
 Recognizing and countering objections.

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The following are some of the important aspects of verbal communication:

 An important aspect of verbal communication is how you greet the receiver and
introduce yourself. It helps you from the first impression on the receiver of your
communication which can be your interviewer, boss, colleges or any other common
audience.
 It is also important to choose your words carefully. These combined with the non-
verbal skills make for an effective communication.
 The communication situation also decides how words arc presented for eg. a
professional presentation calls for a formal language while an official dinner sees a
mix of formal an informal words and expressions. If the written communication is for
an official email even then the language will be formal but if it is about some festival
celebration then the language will change accordingly.
 Active listening is also very important to develop good verbal skills. As in case of
spoken communication until one listens to the receiver carefully, communication
cannot become fruitful. So, one should concentrate on what the other party has to say
and not be rigid one’s thoughts. One should be open to ideas and not be judgemental.
One should allow the speaker to complete what they arc saying and not interrupt in
between. One should also try to avoid noise and other distractions and be objective.
The same is applicable for written communication like taking notes in a meeting.
 Cultural factors arc also important to consider as they can influence the receiver. So
cultural factors should be kept in mind while drafting the message.
 During spoken communication, one should also keep in mind the tone, speed and
volume of the communication. Tone makes a great deal of difference in
communication, for example, if one says thank you in a sarcastic manner then the
whole meaning of the communication changes. The speed at which one communicates
is also important. You may have noticed that if someone speaks very slowly it gets
boring and when someone speaks very fast, the concentration of the audience gets lost
and the communication message is also lost. Communication volume is also important
as these days people suffer from information overload, i.e consuming huge amount of
communication from multiple resources. That too makes communication ineffective.
Advantage of effective verbal communication
Effective verbal communication has many advantages through which one can develop one’s
interpersonal skill;

 It builds good relations

 It can help in persuading others
 It brings clarity and leaves no room for confusion
 Helps in improving productivity
 It helps in increasing motivation levels.

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Non-Verbal Communication Skills
Communication also happens without the use of language whether spoken or written. The art
of using eye contact, body language, gestures, facial expression, different postures etc. is non-
verbal communication skills. Nonverbal communication is important in several ways.
Researches have shown that 35% of any communication comprises of verbal communication
while 65% is non-verbal. This illustrates the importance of nonverbal communication. Non-
verbal communication helps to develop effective interpersonal communication skills. Let us
learn and understand these:
Silence is an important part of non-verbal communication. It is important to learn the art of
silence and use it when required.
Five important roles of non —verbal communication skills

 Non verbal cues can be repeated and help in making verbal communication skills
strong.
 The non-verbal cues add as substitutes to the spoken language as expressions arc
enough to communicate at times.
 Many a times non-verbal communication especially body language can compliment
verbal communication and adds to the effectiveness of the communication. For
example while saying thank you to someone if you fold your hands and smile it adds
to the communication.
 Non verbal communication also helps in emphasizing upon what is being said. If
someone is patted on the back while being appreciated it adds value to spoken words
and the receiver feels that the appreciation is genuine.
 Body language never lies. If what you say is not what you mean, your body language
may contradict your speech and the receiver may be doubtful of your words.
Types of nonverbal communication
There are several types of nonverbal communications you should be aware of, including:
1) Body language
Body language is the way someone situates their body naturally depending on the situation,
the environment and how they arc feeling.
Example: Someone might cross their arms if they are feeling angry or nervous.
2) Movement
The way you move your arms and legs such as walking quickly or slowly, standing, sitting or
fidgeting, can all convey different messages to onlookers.
Example: Sitting still and paying attention in a meeting conveys respect and attention.

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 3) Posture
The way you sit or stand can also communicate your comfort level, professionalism and
general disposition towards a person or conversation.
Example: Someone might slouch their shoulders if they’ feel tired, frustrated or disappointed.
4) Gestures
While gestures vary widely across communities, they arc generally used both intentionally
and unintentionally to convey information to others.
Example: Someone in the United States might display a "thumbs up ” to communicate
confirmation or that they feel positively about something.
5) Space
Creating or closing distance between yourself and the people around you can also convey
messages about your comfort level, the importance of the conversation, your desire to support
or connect with others and more.
Example: You might stand two to three feet away from a new contact to respect their
boundaries.
6) Paralanguage:
Paralanguagc includes the non-languagc elements of speech, such as your talking speed, pitch,
intonation, volume and more.
Example: You might speak quickly if you are excited about something.
7) Facial expressions
One of the most common forms of nonverbal communication is facial expressions. Using the
eyebrows, mouth, eyes and facial muscles to convey can be very effective when
communicating both emotion and information.
Example: Someone might raise their eyebrows and open their eyes widely if theyfeel
surprised.
8. Eye contact
Strategically using eye content (or lack of eye contact) is an extremely effective way to
communicate your attention and interest.
Example: Looking away from someone and at the ground or your phone may convey
disinterest or disrespect.
9. Touch
Some people also use touch as a form of communication. Most commonly, it is used to
communicate support or comfort. This form of communication should be used sparingly and

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only when you know the receiving party is okay with it. It should never be used to convey
anger, frustration or any other negative emotions.
Example: Placing your hand on a friend’s shoulder may convey support or empathy.
Dimensions of Communication
In an organization, communication flows in 5 main directions-
1. Downward
2. Upward
3. Horizontal /Lateral
4. Diagonal
5. Grapevine Communication
Downward and Communication: Communication that flows from a higher level in an
organization to a lower level is a downward communication. In other words, communication
from superiors to subordinates in a chain of command is a downward communication. This
communication flow is used by the managers to transmit work-related information to the
employees at lower levels. Employees require this information for performing their jobs and
for meeting the expectations of their managers. Downward communication is used by the
managers for the following purposes -

 Providing feedback on employees’ performance.

 Giving job instructions.
 Providing a complete understanding of the employees’ job as well as to communicate
them how their job is related to other jobs in the organization.
 Communicating the organizations mission and vision to the employees.
 Highlighting the areas of attention.
Organizational publications, circulars, letter to employees, group meetings etc arc all
examples of downward communication. In order to have effective and error-free downward
communication, managers must:

 Specify communication objective.

 Ensure that the message is accurate, specific and unambiguous.
 Utilize the best communication technique to convey the message to the receiver in
right form
Upward Flow of Communication: Communication that flows to a higher level in an
organization is called upward communication. It provides feedback on how well the
organization is functioning. The subordinates use upward communication to convey their
problems and performances to their superiors.
The subordinates also use upward communication to tell how well they have understood the
downward communication. It can also be used by the employees to share their views and
ideas and to participate in the decision-making process. Upward communication leads to a
more committed and loyal workforce in an organization because the employees arc given a

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chance to raise and speak dissatisfaction issues to the higher levels. The managers get to
know about the employees’ feelings towards their jobs, peers, supervisor and organization in
general. Managers can thus accordingly take actions for improving things.
Grievance Redressal System, Complaint and Suggestion Box, Job Satisfaction surveys etc all
help in improving upward communication. Other examples of Upward Communication arc -
performance reports made by low level management for reviewing by higher level
management, employee attitude surveys, letters from employees, employee-manager
discussions etc.
Lateral / Horizontal Communication: Communication that takes place at same levels of
hierarchy in an organization is called lateral communication, i.e., communication between
peers, between managers at same levels or between any horizontally equivalent
organizational member. The advantages of horizontal communication arc as follows:

 It is time saving.
 It facilitates co-ordination of the task.
 It facilitates co-operation among team members.
 It provides emotional and social assistance to the organizational members.
 It helps in solving various organizational problems.
 It is a means of information sharing.
 It can also be used for resolving conflicts of a department with other department or
conflicts within a department.
Diagonal Communication or crosswise communication: Communication that takes place
between a manager and employees of other workgroups is called diagonal communication. It
generally does not appear on organizational chart. For instance - To design a training module
a training manager interacts with Operations personnel to enquire about the way they perform
their task. The Accounts people of an organization visiting different employees in various
departments for their IT calculation, bonus for workers etc. fall under diagonal
communication.
Grapevine Communication (Informal Communication)
Grapevine is an informal channel of business communication. It is called so because it
stretches throughout the organization in all directions irrespective of the authority levels. Man
as we know is a social animal. Despite existence of formal channels in an organization, the
informal channels tend to develop when he interacts with other people in organization. It
exists more at lower levels of organization. Grapevine generally develops due to various
reasons. One of them is that when an organization is facing recession, the employees sense
uncertainty. Also, at times employees do not have self-confidence due to which they form
unions. Sometimes the managers show preferential treatment and favor some employees
giving a segregated feeling to other employees. Thus, when employees sense a need to
exchange their views ,they go for grapevine network as they cannot use the formal channel of

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communication in that case. Generally during breaks in cafeteria, the subordinates talk about
their superior’s attitude and behaviour and exchange views with their peers. They discuss
rumors about promotion and transfer of other employees. Thus, grapevine spreads like fire
and it is not easy to trace the cause of such communication at times.
Example of Grapevine Network of Communication

 Suppose the profit amount of a company is known. Rumor is spread that this much
profit is there and on that basis bonus is declared.
 CEO may be in relation to the Production Manager. They may have friendly relations
with each other.
Advantages of grapevine communication
[Link] channels carry information rapidly. As soon as an employee gets to know some
confidential information, he becomes inquisitive and passes the details then to his closest
friend who in turn passes it to other. Thus, it spreads hastily.
[Link] managers get to know the reactions of their subordinates on their policies. Thus, the
feedback obtained is quick compared to formal channel of communication.
[Link] grapevine creates a sense of unity among the employees who share and discuss their
views with each other. Thus, grapevine helps in developing group cohesiveness.
[Link] grapevine serves as an emotional supportive value.
[Link] grapevine is a supplement in those cases where formal communication does not work.
Disadvantages of grapevine communication
[Link] grapevine carries partial information at times as it is more based on rumours. Thus, it
does not clearly depict the complete state of affairs.
[Link] grapevine is not trustworthy always as it does not follow official path of
communication and is spread more by gossips and unconfirmed report.
[Link] productivity of employees may be hampered as they spend more time talking rather
than working.
[Link] grapevine leads to making hostility against the executives.
[Link] grapevine may hamper the goodwill of the organization as it may carry false negative
information about the high-level people of the organization.
A smart manager should take care of all the disadvantages of the grapevine and try to
minimize them. At the same time, he should make best possible use of advantages of
grapevine.

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Types of barriers
Barriers to communication can be classified into the following broad categories: 1) Physical
or environmental barriers, 2) Physiological or biological barriers, 3) Semantic or language
barriers, 4) Personal barriers, 5) Emotional or perceptional barriers, 6) Socio-psychological
barriers, 7) Cultural barriers, and 8) Organizational barriers.
1. Physical or environmental barriers: These arc environmental factors which limit the
sending and receiving of messages. Often the term Noise is used as a blanket term to
refer to this kind. They include distance, noise, breakdown of communication media,
faulty mechanical equipments, etc.
i. Noise: It is the first major barrier to communication. Communication gets
disturbed by noise that occurs at the transmission level. For example, the noise of
traffic around a school obstructs the flow of information between a student and a
teacher. Similarly poor signal while talking over cell phone or using public
address system or watching TV also disrupts communication. Bad weather
conditions may also sometimes cause barrier to communication.
ii. Time and distance: These may also obstruct the smooth flow of information. For
example time difference between two different countries may affect
communication between two people. Another example will be two people working
in two different shifts may face problems in communicating effectively. Improper
seating arrangement in a class also may act as a barrier to the process of
communication.
iii. Wrong choice of medium: This can cause a barrier to communication if the sender
uses the wrong chnncl for the transmission of the message with is improper for the
audience. For example, if an expert uses an power point presentation for the
uneducated factory workers then they will be unable to understand it.
iv. Surroundings: Adverse or extreme weather conditions like, too hot or too cold,
their surroundings do have a direct effect on the effectiveness of communication.
As environment causes a psychological effect like, too hot weather will cause
restlessness and humididity, whereas too cold weather makes a person feel lazy to
communicate.
v. Inadequacy of message design/Poorly expressed message: No matter how clear
the idea in the mind of the sender, it may still get affected by use of poorly chosen
words, long sentences, complex words, poor organization of ideas, use of jargon.

2. Physiological or Biological barriers:

Physiological barriers arc related to a person’s health and fitness. These may arise due to
disabilities that may affect the physical capability of the sender or the receiver. Proper
functioning of the vocal chords, hands, fingers, eyes is necessary for effective communication.
For example:

 Speaking can adversely affected by stammering, fumbling, utterance of improper

sounds due to defective vocal organ.

17
  Listening can be ineffective as a result of defective hearing
 Writing can be failed due to hand injury, numbness, etc.
 Reading can be affected due to poor eyesight.
3. Semantic barriers/ Language Barriers: The term ‘semantic’ refers to the systematic
study of meaning of the words. Semantic barriers arc barriers related to language.
They cause obstructions in the process of receiving or understanding of the message
during the process of encoding or decoding ideas and words. The most common
semantic barriers arc listed below:

i. Misinterpretation of words: Different people mean different meaning while using the
same word.
ii. Use of technical language: It is often found that technical people use technical
language, which is related to their profession which is known as jargon. For eg: A
manager handed over an important document to a new assistant and told him to burn
it( here burn means copy in another computer.) But the new assistant took a different
meaning to the word burn and literally burn it with a match stick. Doctors, lawyers,
etc. uses a language which a layman cannot understand that, due to lack of knowledge
of that language.
iii. Vocabulary deficiency of both the sender and the receiver may cause semantic barrier
to communication.
iv. Multiple meaning of the words in different context: Different words arc used in
different ways as per the need/ message. For instance consider the word, ‘out’ in
following sentences:
 Get out of here
 Something is out of order in my car
 The truth got out at last
 He really stands out in his class.
 The workers arc going out on strike
Thus the word ‘out’ conveys a different meaning when used in different situations and
thus miscommunication occurs.
v. Connotativc meaning: It differs dramatically from denotative meaning. Eg: depart, go,
leave, get out, etc

4. Personal barriers:
Differences in personal and psychological makeup of individuals may create barrier between
people. They arise from judgments, emotions and social values of people. The following arc
some of the most common personal barriers.
i. Attitudes and opinions: Assumptions and negative feelings about the receiver, such as
hostility may have an effect on the message. In a typical superior subordinate
relationship, a subordinator may or may not ask questions, may even withhold
information due to fear. Some supervisors may not be open to suggestions and

18
 feedback as they presume that their subordinates arc not capable of advising them.
This creates indifference between them and subordinates do not feel motivated.
Attitude thus becomes a barrier to communication.
ii. Lack of self confidence: Lack of self confidence either on the part of the sender or the
receiver while communicating may be a barrier to it.

5. Emotional Barriers:
Emotional barriers arc associated with sentiments and emotions.
i. Blocked mind: Blocked mind considers only limited information and ignores or
rejects additional information. An individual who has a blocked mind is rigid and
dogmatic. He resists all contradictory communication and pays deaf car to new ideas.
ii. Bias and prejudice: if closed minded people arc asked for reasons for rejecting a
message, they may reveal prejudices. They react with anger and give a sharp rebuff
who tries to argue with them. This acts as a barrier in communication.
iii. Emotions: One’s state of mind plays an important role in act of communication. If the
sender is worried, excited, afraid, nervous, then he will not be able to organize his
message properly. Similarly if the receiver is not in a proper state of mind, he may
misinterpret the message.

6. Socio-psychological barriers:
They arc similar to perceptional barriers
i. Selective perception: This means that the receiver selectively see and hear based on
their needs, motivations, experience and expectations. In communication, this
tendency means that they hear what they want to hear and ignore other relevant
information
ii. Status consciousness: Differences in status and power between the sender and the
receiver may constitute another barrier. The subordinate feels very jittery, nervous in
front of the supervisor and the supervisors may be reluctant to pass complete
information.
iii. Prejudices: People who arc not open to discussions, new ideas, viewpoints and have a
closed mind may be a great barrier to communication.
iv. Halo Effect: Sometimes the listener may be too much in awe of or completely distrust
a speaker. When there is a lack of sufficient trust, confidence and faith between the
communicating parties, selective listening takes place. In these situations several
types of ‘noise’ enter the communication process. Similarly things like distrust, threat,
fear arc vital barriers to effective communication.
v. Physical appearance: Receiver may not like the sender’s physical appearance, voice,
pronunciation, accent, use of grammar or mannerism. This may cause the receiver to
discard the content. Communicator’s mood also influences his capacity to
communicate, for eg: he may be tired, sleepy, bored, etc.

19
 7. Cultural Barriers:Culture shapes the way we think and behave. Each group
categorized on the basis of nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, etc. has its own
distinctive culture. Cultural differences often cause communication differences. It
arises when individuals in one social group have developed different norms, values, or
behaviors to individuals associated with another group. The same category of word,
phrases, symbols, actions colors mean different things to different cultures. For eg: In
western countries black color is associated with mourning, while in the far cast white
is the color of mourning. In U.S people love to be called by their first name, while in
Britain, people arc addressed by their last name.

8. Organisational barriers:
i. Complex organizational structure: A complex org structure has long communication
channels which subjects to breakdown of communication.
ii. Too many levels in the organization: As the message has to pass through many levels,
there are chances of distortion, delays or total failure of the message.
iii. Time and timeliness: time pressures can be a serious obstacle as messages arc hastily
and inadequately communicated by managers.
CRITICAL THINKING

 Clear, rational and disciplined thinking

 A person with critical thinking uses a group of skills to analyze, unify and evaluate
what is seen, heard or read by them
 ability to analyze information and experiences in an objective manner
A way of thinking about particular things at a particular time; it is not the accumulation of
facts and knowledge or something that you can learn once and then use in that form forever,
such as the nine times table you learn and use in school.

Someone with critical thinking skills can:

 Understand the links between ideas.

 Determine the importance and relevance of arguments and ideas.
 Recognize, build and appraise arguments.
 Identify inconsistencies and errors in reasoning.
 Approach problems in a consistent and systematic way.
 Reflect on the justification of their own assumptions, beliefs and values.
The Skills We Need for Critical Thinking
The skills that wc need in order to be able to think critically arc varied and include
observation, analysis, interpretation, reflection, evaluation, inference, explanation, problem
solving, and decision making.

 Think about a topic or issue in an objective and critical way.

 Identify the different arguments there are in relation to a particular issue.
 Evaluate a point of view to determine how strong or valid it is.

20
  Recognise any weaknesses or negative points that there are in the evidence or
argument.
 Notice what implications there might be behind a statement or argument.
 Provide structured reasoning and support for an argument that we wish to make.
The Critical Thinking Process

 You should be aware that none of us think critically all the time.
 Sometimes wc think in almost any way but critically, for example when our self
control is affected by anger, grief or joy or when wc arc feeling just plain ‘bloody
minded’.
 On the other hand, the good news is that, since our critical thinking ability varies
according to our current mindset, most of the time wc can learn to improve our critical
thinking ability by developing certain routine activities and applying them to all
problems that present themselves.
 Once you understand the theory of critical thinking, improving your critical thinking
skills takes persistence and practice.
The Benefit of Foresight
Perhaps the most important clement of thinking critically is foresight.
Almost all decisions we make and implement don’t prove disastrous if we find reasons to
abandon them. However, our decision making will be infinitely better and more likely to lead
to success if, when we reach a tentative conclusion, we pause and consider the impact on the
people and activities around us.
The elements needing consideration arc generally numerous and varied. In many cases,
consideration of one element from a different perspective will reveal potential dangers in
pursuing our decision.
For instance, moving a business activity to a new location may improve potential output
considerably but it may also lead to the loss of skilled workers if the distance moved is too
great. Which of these is the more important consideration? Is there some way of lessening the
conflict?
These arc the sort of problems that may arise from incomplete critical thinking, a
demonstration perhaps of the critical importance of good critical thinking. Critical thinking is
aimed at achieving the best possible outcomes in any situation. In order to achieve this, it
must involve gathering and evaluating information from as many different sources possible.
Critical thinking requires a clear, often uncomfortable, assessment of your personal strengths,
weaknesses and preferences and their possible impact on decisions you may make.
Critical thinking involves reviewing the results of the application of decisions made and
implementing change where possible. It might be thought that we arc overextending our
demands on critical thinking in expecting that it can help to construct focused meaning rather

21
than examining the information given and the knowledge we have acquired to see if we can,
if necessary, construct a meaning that will be acceptable and useful.
INTERPERSONAL SKILL
Interpersonal skills are all about developing the people’s skill, the social skills, soft skills and
life skill which are all helpful in different aspects of life. One requires good interpersonal
skills to communicate with everyone on daily basis. Some people naturally inherit good
interpersonal skills, but these skills can be learned by anyone who wants to be a good
communicator and wants to develop good relationship with those they communicate. To
achieve these interpersonal skills, it is important to practice them on daily basis in both
personnel and professional space.
Employees in an organization who showcase good interpersonal skills are noticed, get good
opportunities and are also promoted faster as they are able to present their work better than
other and prove themselves as asset to the company. Interpersonal skills when used according
to the situation, people and culture along with appropriate tactics, can lead to effective
communications. Good interpersonal skills combined with technical skills is the key for a
successful career.

Interpersonal skills arc very important and arc used in different situations of life. It is
important for team building, developing communication skills, and for conflict management;
it also helps in developing persuasion skills, affirmation skills, adaptability in any situation i.e.
people and culture, as well as negotiation skills too. Let us discuss the importance of
interpersonal skills in detail.
Importance of Interpersonal skills
Interpersonal skills arc useful in everyday conversations and in many aspects of life. Let us
understand them one by one.

22
  Good interpersonal skills increase the chances of success of your communication no
matter whether its verbal (spoken or written skills) or non verbal (body moments,
postures, eye contact etc).
 Interpersonal skills also teach the art of active listening i.e. not just listening to the
words but also processing it in your mind and retaining what you deem important.
Then the receiver gives feedback to the sender thus making the communication
process two way.
 Good Interpersonal skill helps in building good relationship with people and develop
positive attitude.
Interpersonal skills for job search and at workplace

A job interview is not just a test of the knowledge or technical knowhow but alsc a test of
interpersonal skills required for the profile. Here are same pointer that will help you develop
these for a job interview:

 Be a Good Listener, listen carefully what interviewer is asking Job openings in the
field of law, marketing and sales etc require negotiation skills, remember not to be
aggressive while displaying them. Verbal and non-verbal skills are being speak
confidently and know that both your tested here.
 Most of the positions require you to work in team, so you will also be tested on your
team skills. For eg. the interviewer may give you situations and ask what you would
do when confronting such a situation? At that time remember what it takes to be a
good team leader and work effectively in team. The idea is to test if you can be a team
player and whether you could be a team leader.
 You could also be given situations or asked question to understand your conflict
management skills. The interviewer is looking for the best conflict management
tactics to be implemented according to the situation. Also collaborations is also one
area where you will be tested.
Interpersonal skills at workplace
Interpersonal skills are very helpful when it comes to workplace. It is important to be
knowledgeable and technically sound but it is of no use if you will not be able to share that
knowledge effectively. Let us understand what all interpersonal skills are important at
workplace:

 An important aspect of interpersonal skill set is negotiations skills. As you progress in

your career these skills come handy. They benefit both the employees and
organization.
 Problem solving skills are also important. This skill set increases productivity at
workplace.
 Team work comes next in the list. Primarily teamwork builds a positive environment
which gets quality work.
 Being skilled in making presentations, emails, projects proposals etc. enhances verbal
communication skills whether spoken or written.

23
  Appropriate eye contact, gestures and facial expressions etc also aid in
communicating effectively through interpersonal skills.
 These skills also enhance dependability, empathy and responsibility of employees in a
workspace.
TYPES OF INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
We may consider four broad categories of interpersonal skills social skills,
people’s skills, soft skills and life skills. Let us understand each one of them in detail.
1) Social Skills
Man is a social animal and socialization is important for excelling in life. Social skills are
learnt in childhood. Infact, learning begins with social skills. Any where you go including
both personnel life and professional life you will encounter we come across different types of
people, everyone you interact with may not be the same all the time and every individual has
to be dealt with differently. It is the art of socialization that helps us do so.
Below are some imports tips that you can use to develop good social skills and relationships
with people:

 Always remember every individual is not the same. Some people talk a lot, some are
introvert and don’t talk much but are good listeners, some people take a lot of time to
open up and develop trust, while you interact with anyone try not to judge the person.
Instead understand him as it her will help you in socializing better.
 Be emphatic towards others and try to think from their point of view. It will help you
develop better understanding of the person which eventually leads to developing good
relationship.
 A stubborn attitude is never welcome. Always corporate with people whether at home
or workplace. People who corporate are liked in turn will get cooperation from others
when they require it.
 Respect is very important in any social relationship. People who give respect also get
it in personal and professional lives.
 It is also important to maintain appropriate distance with people you work with. If
people don’t feel comfortable around you it becomes difficult to communicate and
maintain good social relationship. Especially in case of opposite genders it is
important to maintain a healthy physical distance. Bad breath, body odor is another
factor that could upset other so make sure you do not smell bad before you go near
people.
 People who are of complaining nature are not liked. So develop a positive attitude, be
thankful, and try to stay happy at home and workplace.

24
 2) Peoples Skills
People’s skills focus more on the interaction that one has with others. Developing people’s
skills is more about understanding the behaviour of the people you are interacting with.
Individuals have behavioral patterns which could be understood with time. Understanding
this pattern can help one to figure out how to deal with people with different behaviors.
People skills helps in better interaction, managing difficult people, and building trust.
Learning people’s skills lets you to develop an effective personality, develop interaction and
negotiation skills. Do you know how people at work perceive you? Do they find your
personality pleasing? Do they find you easy or difficult to interact? Do people like to work
with you. If not, why not? These entire questions along with others are important to develop
your personality. Self analysis is best, you may also take advice of your good friends.
Peoples skills also emphasizes on how to communicate effectively by being respectful and
empathetic. It teaches that building rapport with your target audience is must for effective
communication to happen as it builds trust.

3) Soft Skills
Other than learning soft skills, how well you develop and use them also depends on one’s
emotional intelligence. Especially in professions where one has to lookafter customer service
or deal with clients in a company these soft skills help a person to build good relationship
even without any specific training.
Some of the soft skills that are appreciated and valued by any companies are:
Creativity: every job whether it is working for a factory, corporate office, working on site
with different institutions all of them require creativity. It is known to bring innovations and
adds news solutions to the problem.
Use of humor: Humor makes any environment light. A person with good sense of humor
displays a strong personality as it helps in building good relations trust and reduces stress.
Confidence: A person with self-confidence will take initiatives and will be better with
making decisions. Self-confidence is also important to work under pressure. It also boosts
other soft skills learned.
Honesty: An honest person is trusted more and earns dignity that makes one valuable for any
organization.
Friendliness: Friendly people are sociable, persuasive and he can be good stress busters. But
at workplace, it is also important to maintain professional environment.
Common sense: Common sense, they say is quite uncommon. But its presence in an
individual take faster decisions is the sense that everyone should know yet many people lack
it.

25
These soft skills add to any personality and makes the peson valuable for his/her co-workers,
seminars, and the organization as a while.
4) Life Skills
The psychosocial competencies along with interpersonal skills that helps one to develop
problem solving skills, critical thinking skills, creative thinking and decision making skills
are counted under life skills. Life skills are important for a productive and healthy living.
Stress Management is an essential part of life skills as in professional environment where
quality work needs to be delivered writtin the deadline. You will be learning about how to
manage stress in other units to follow.

Emotional regulation is also important to learn. Every individual has to deal with personnel
and emotional life together. At times one might be dealing with crisis at personal or
professional front and it might lower one’s productivity. It becomes important to regulate
one’s emotions. Mediation, various exercises and certain tactics helps one to regulate the
emotional crisis that one may be going through.
Self-awareness: The first step is to understand what you are feeling and why are you feeling
a certain way.
Mindfulness: Mindfulness includes being aware of your surrounding what is happening
around you and in your body. There are many activities you can search to practice
mindfulness. It will help you calm yourself and concentrate on the present.
Cognitive reappraisal: It is a part of psychotherapy and anger management. Through
cognitive reappraisal one can alter the way he or she thinks. If at workplace you don’t like a
person to work with this can help you change the way you think about it and respond to the
person.
Adaptability: It teaches one how to do objective evaluation of one’s situation. For eg. you
may ask yourself questions like why you are feeling a certain way or how is the situation
affecting your work, what is important at the moment etc. This will help you think objectively
make you mindful and enhance productivity.
Self-compassion: Behind to yourself and practice self -care. It increases yourself worth.
Remind yourself your qualities and writes them in a piece of paper. Take out time for yourself,
mediate or do some yoga. Do some breathing exercise it will help you relax. It is also
recommended to keep a gratitude journal.
Emotional support: One can have support group in form of friends and family, counselors at
workplace or other support groups. The best support you could find is within yourself, so
seek help with yourself by self-awareness and mindfulness and if it does not help, one should
not hesitate to seek help outside.
These are some skills that could be learnt to regulate emotions and are very beneficial. It
helps one to regulate feeling and not let them affect the reactions. These life skills also help
one to think objectively and to display a regulated behaviour with self-control.

26
TEAM WORK
A team can be distinguished from a group. A group is two or more people who regularly
interact and influence each other; however, members of a group see themselves as individual
entity and produce individual output. A team is a type of group with a common objective,
whose collective and coordinated efforts result in a common output. A team may be described
as a group but not every group can be described as a team. The distinction between team and
group is presented in the table below:

Stages of Team Development

A team goes through various stages of development which can be categorised in to four main
headings namely, (i) forming, (ii) storming, (iii) norming and (iv) performing.
i) Forming: Once the team has been put together, the members may know or may not
know each other. At this stage the members interact and get to know each other better. A
rapport is established amongst the members which is extremely important for the succeeding
stages of team development as well as for the achievement of the team goal. Once the
members get to know each other better, they discuss about the team tasks and goals.
ii) Storming: As the name suggests this stage is that of discussion and arguments about
the team goal and making plans to achieve it. The team members also compete at this stage
for status, position and control in the team. At this stage tension between the team members
might also be created. It is extremely important for the leader to coordinate amongst the
members and manage the team members during this stage as it is most crucial for efficient
performance of the team.
iii) Norming: At this stage to some extent, balance prevails after the stage of storming.
Now the team is in position to work together. It is more settled as the team members are
already aware about the roles that they are expected to play and there is some kind of a
consensus with regard to the functioning of the team. The team is now ready to collectively
work towards achievement of the goal.

27
iv) Performing: Through the earlier three stages, the team develops and the members also
develop positive interpersonal relationship with each other and are more comfortable working
with each other. At this stage the team is ready to deal with complex challenges and achieve
the team goal.
A fifth stage might be added to this depending on whether the team is permanent or
temporary. In case it is temporary then the last stage is Adjourning where the team members
have achieved the team goal and are now no more required to work as a team and thus the
team is adjourned. At this stage the team members might be involved in winding up activities
of the team.
Types of Team
As per the needs of the organisations various types of teams can be employed. Some of these
types include (i) problem solving team (ii) cross functional team (iii) Self managing team (iv)
virtual team. These are discussed in detail below:
i) Problem Solving Teams: As the name suggests the main purpose of this team is
focusing on the problem and coming up with a suitable solution. The members of this team
meet regularly to examine work related problems.
Quality circles can also be formed under this type of team that mainly discuss and develop
solutions to issues that relate to quality, productivity or costs. For the quality circles to be
effective the members and the leader need adequate training in group dynamics, information
gathering and problem solving techniques.
ii) Cross- Functional Teams: The speciality of this type of team is that it consists of
members representing different departments or units in the organisation. For example this
type of team may consist of managers from different departments in the organisations like
finance, human resource, production etc. However, a problem can occur in these teams due to
failure in communication across functions, referred to as ‘functional silos’. ‘Functional silos’
occurs when the employees from a particular department are well aware about their own
work activity but are poorly involved in and have weak idea about activities of other
departments.
iii) Self Managing Teams: Also called as self directed teams, this is a high involvement
team in which there is no external supervision carried out on the functioning and activities of
the team. The team is empowered to carry out their activities, implement decisions and
evaluate results on their own.
iv) Virtual Teams: Due to technological advancement it is possible for employees in
organisations to work together as a team from different locations. Such teams are referred to
as virtual teams in which the members from different locations are electronically linked
together via networked computers. This type of teams not only saves time but also expenses
of travelling from different places. However members should be well trained in using
computers.

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TEAM WORK
Team work occurs when the members of a team work together and utilise their individual
skills to achieve a common goal. In this process the team members also support each other
and contribute collectively to the task and achievement of the goals. The goal assigned to the
team has to be clear and specific. If the goal is vague then it is not possible for the team
members to work collectively towards achieving it. Thus suitable care needs to be taken by
the team leader or the management in an organisation to see to it that the goal is clearly
understood by the team members.
For team work to be successful and goals to be achieved, proper planning and suitable
coordination amongst the members is of utmost importance. Each member should be aware
about the task he/ she is supposed to take up.
Suitable planning is to be carried out about the way goal will be achieved and the steps
involved and all the team members should be made aware about the plan. Smooth and open
communication amongst the team members will enhance the team work and facilitate
achievement of team goal.
Each member in the team should be aware about his/her role in the team. Any role ambiguity
will lead to ineffective team work. The role played by the leader is very important as he/ she
is the one who will have complete knowledge about the team goal and has to accordingly
distribute tasks to each member, carry out planning, coordinate the activities of the team and
create conducive environment for the team members to function.
All the members in the team are interdependent and thus have to collectively carry out their
work. This awareness about interdependence and readiness to be supportive and cooperative
are extremely important for the success of team work.
A team should consist of 4 to 12 members. A larger size will negatively impact the planning,
coordination and communication among the team members. Thus the size of the team should
be suitably maintained in order to enhance team work.
A leader also plays an extremely significant role in the team in terms of setting team goals,
planning and coordinating team activities, ensuring active participation of members and
promoting cohesiveness in the team. The leader has to display suitable leadership skills that
will enhance team work.
It is also important for the team leader to know his own strengths and how those strengths can
help the entire group He/ she should share power and information in order to empower team
members and reach goals. They also have the responsibility to enable members to find
answers for themselves asking questions and encouraging balanced participation. Most
important the leader should accept the concept of continuous on- the- learning.
In order to ensure smooth functioning of team and achievement of its goals the team leaders
should assign the right people to the right task, maintain diversity in the team in terms of
skills and knowledge. They should focus on the interpersonal relationship and
communication among team members and make expectations clear.

29
The team leaders are also responsible to administer rewards and positive reinforcement to the
team members and play a crucial role in removing road blocks and obstacles that keep the
team from performing.
The team leader while dealing with the team members should remember that each member
has something to add to his/ her team. They also need to fix goals that are measurable to keep
your team focused. They should always reward merit, but never let errors go unmarked. They
should ensure a degree of independence is essential in successful team work.
Delegation, openness of conduct and communication and a free exchange should be
encouraged. They should react positively to novel and creative ideas. A team leader should
also understand the strengths, weaknesses of his/ her team members. He/ she should carry out
regular performance evaluation and provide suitable feedback.
Problems Affecting Team Work
The problems affecting teams can be broadly classified in to six categories, namely, (i) goals,
(ii) team members, (iii) norms, (iv) decision making, (v) leadership and (vi) size. The
problems listed below can be categorised under one or more of the above six broad categories.
The problems affecting teams can be broadly classified in to six categories, namely, (i) goals,
(ii) team members, (iii) norms, (iv) decision making, (v) leadership and (vi) size. The
problems listed below can be categorised under one or more of the above six broad categories.
i) Changing Composition: Change in compositions of the team like transfers, changes,
additions of members can affect the functioning of the team. As the team develops through
various stages as discussed above, the members develop a rapport and interpersonal
relationship with each other. If the composition of team changes frequently, new members are
added or old members are transferred, the cohesiveness amongst the team members will be
hampered leading to disruption in functioning of the team and delay in the achievement of
team goal.
ii) Interpersonal relationship among members: Problems can occur amongst team
members if they lack suitable positive interpersonal relationship with each other. Team
members in conflict with each other are not only going to negatively impact the team
cohesiveness but will also change the team focus to the conflict rather than the task.
iii) Communication barriers: Lack of open and smooth communication between the team
members can interfere with the achievement of the team goals. Communication barriers can
also occur due to language and cultural differences amongst the members.
iv) Social loafing: Social loafing occurs when certain member of a team does not put in
his/her best, thus affecting team activity and team morale at the same time. The team
members might feel that the tasks in a team are not equally divided.
v) Inappropriate leadership style/ ineffective leader: A leader plays an extremely
important role in any team as he/ she is the person who carries out the planning and

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coordinates amongst the team members. Thus an ineffective leader or an inappropriate
leadership style will interfere with the effective performance of the team.
vi) Large size of the team: If the size of the team is very big it would be difficult for the
team members to coordinate and communicate with each other leading to chaos. Thus
depending on the task, a suitable size for the team needs to be decided which preferably
should be below 12.
vii) Role ambiguity: If the team members are not clear about the role they play in the team,
then it would not be possible for them to function effectively.
viii) Lack of trust: It is important that at an early stage of team development the team
members develop rapport and positive interpersonal relationship with each other that will
promote development of trust. Lack of trust amongst members will avoid them from sharing
information and knowledge with each other and negatively impact their functioning.
ix) Domination by one or more members: The team leader needs to ensure that each
member effectively contributes to the functioning of the team at the same time each member
has an opportunity to express himself herself in the team and contributes to the decision
making or problem solving process. Domination by one or members will lead to lowering of
morale and motivation amongst other team members as they might feel that their suggestion
and view points have not been considered.
x) Lack of motivation: Lack of motivation on part of the team members will disrupt the
performance of the team members. Thus the motivation of the team members should be
boosted by regular feedbacks rewards etc.
xi) Disagreement over team's purpose and tasks: Arguments and disagreements amongst
team members over the team goals and the direction of functioning can gravely impair its
functioning. This can be minimised by adopting effective strategies of group discussions by
the team leader and members.
Enhancing Team Work
For enhancing team work the following have to be considered:
Size: The size of the team plays an important role in enhancing team work. As discussed
earlier a team should be between 4-12 members. The size may also depend on the nature of
the organisation and the issue on hand or task to be performed. An optimal team size will
enhance team work it enhances coordination, planning and communication amongst the team
members.
Skills: At least three main skills need to be focused on while selecting members for the team,
namely, technical competence, problem solving and interpersonal skills. Individuals with
these skills will be able to function better as team members and will be in a better position to
achieve team objectives and goals.
Behavioural aspects of the team members: The behavioural aspects of team members is also
important in enhancing team work. The team members should be encouraged to speak

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respectfully to one another about one another, listen without interrupting, express opinions,
feelings openly, honestly, to make T’ statements and not ‘You’ statements while taking
responsibility, ask for help when needed, offer help when possible, make commitments
seriously and keep them up, support the team and each other and focus on problem and
solutions, not blame and accusations.
Open Communication: To ensure effective performance of the team, open communication
should be ensured. This will reduce disintegration of information and enhance team
functioning.
Goals: The team goals should be specific and clear and these goals should be clearly
communicated to the team members. Further performance standards should also be set as per
the potentialities of the individual members of the team.
Shared leadership: As far as possible shared leadership should be adopted, as it will give
opportunity to each and every member to act as a leader. This will also lead to increase in
morale of employees and lead to their individual growth.
Decisions/ solutions based on consensus: A team works collectively towards decision making
and problem solving. It is quite possible that members come up with varied and different
solutions. The ultimate decision and solution should be based on consensus so as to promote
the feeling of cohesiveness amongst the team members. The leader plays a crucial role in
ensuring this.
Supportive environment: The organisation and the managers should ensure supportive
environment for the team to function at its optimal level.
Stress management: Any stress amongst team members should be identified and managed, as
stress can interfere with effective functioning of the team. Yoga, meditation, rational emotive
behaviour therapy, relaxation techniques and other techniques can be used in order to help
employees deal with stress. An employee counsellor may also be appointed by the
organisation in order to help employees cope with their personal and work problems.
Training: Suitable training with regard to both skills and knowledge etc. should be regularly
provided. Training can be related to technical or interpersonal skills or with regard to a
technological advancement in the organisation. Various methods and modes of training
programmes can be utilised.
TEAM INTERVENTION STRATEGIES
As we have seen earlier there are various problems that can clog the activities of the team and
measures need to be taken by the management in order to ensure high performance amongst
team members. In this regard, certain team intervention strategies can be used by the
management or team leaders to enhance the functioning of the teams or reduce conflict
amongst the members. These interventions can be directed either at family groups or special
groups.

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i) Role Analysis Techniques (RAT]: This technique is mainly used to clarify the role
obligations of each team member, understanding expectations of team members. The
techniques consists of structured series of meetings, listing specific duties and responsibilities,
listing the expectations from others and learning what others expect from the individual. A
written summary of the whole discussion is also maintained. The technique is especially
useful for newly formed teams and teams with role ambiguity.
ii) Family Group Diagnostic Meeting: The purpose of this is to identify team’s problems,
but not to solve them. The meeting is normally scheduled away from the work situation. A lot
of preparation needs to be carried out prior to the meeting in order to understand the nature of
the team and goal assigned to them. Further at the meeting, diagnostic information is shared,
problem area identified and discussed and attempts are made to generate preliminary action
plan. This technique is mainly useful to find out the cause of any problem and to come up
with a preliminary action plan.
iii) Family Group Team Building Meeting: This is mainly used to improve team
effectiveness in order to solve the problem. It may last for 2-3 days. It involves a series of
meetings to ensure that the intended changes take place and remain stable overtime and can
be used with both family and special groups. It is useful to ensure stability of a group,
improve effectiveness and maintain the team cohesiveness.
PROBLEM SOLVING
The process of decision-making is closely linked to how we go about solving or responding
to problems. To solve a problem, you will need to identify the problem, closely observe and
read the problem, look at all the available information to understand the details of the
problem, break down the problem into different components, compare possible solutions, and
finally decide how to approach solving the problem. While we have already discussed many
of these steps in previous sections, here we will go through a few ideas that need separate
focus. We will do this through a few tasks.
Task 1: Describing the problem
Docs a problem already exist in the world, is it experienced by us in a ready-made version, or
do we construct and define the problem? Many problems, whether they arc long-term social
problems such as poverty or ecological problems such as climate change, already exist and
we are broadly aware of what they arc. However, to meaningfully respond to a problem, it is
important that we describe and clarify it for ourselves, so that we know what exactly we want
to respond to.
Now think of a problem that you experience in your everyday life. This could have to do with
how you get into exhausting fights with people who hold different political opinions from
yours, or how you feel under-confident about doing certain tasks, or anything at all. How
would you describe the problem?
To describe the problem, think of the following questions:
a) Where and when docs the problem occur?

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b) Docs the problem occur in a similar way every time, or is it different? Is there a
pattern to how the problem plays out?
c) What arc the different components of the problem?
d) What arc the immediate causes or triggers for the problem? What could be the deeper,
underlying causes for the problem?
e) Is the problem linked to other problems or issues?
Jot down your responses to each question, and then put it together as a short narrative if you
can. If you can describe the problem clearly and sharply, it will give you a sense of the
specific nature of the problem. For example, if you arc getting into fights with people who
hold different political opinions, you may realise that this problem occurs specifically on
social media platforms, that it is triggered by assumptions you hold about the other person
based on their linguistic skills, and that it is broadly linked to your lack of exposure to people
outside your social circle. If your interest is in influencing the other person’s opinion, and
perhaps even learning a thing or two from them, then it will be important to learn how to
have more constructive conversations. Once you describe the problem, you arc in a better
place to work on smaller aspects of the problem.
Task 2: Clarify your motivation
Why do you want to respond to a problem? Why do you want to solve it? Problem solving
cannot be a neutral activity. You arc always doing it because you have some interest in it.
Even if an organisation you work with has told you to do it, the organisation has an interest in
solving the problem, for which you have been assigned the work. It is important to clarify and
understand your motivation so that you do not feel confused and challenged during the
problem solving process. It also helps you understand what kinds of solutions you arc
actually looking for. For example, suppose you feel under-confident when you speak to
colleagues in your work space and you want to feel more confident. It is important to identify
why you want to feel more confident. Is it to help you improve your self-esteem, or because
you want to present yourself as more assertive, or because you want to more effectively
discuss work with your colleagues? It can be all of these reasons, of course. But once you
identify which ones arc more important, you can search for more precise solutions. To appear
more assertive, you will also need to work on your body language. And to effectively speak
about work, you will need to learn the relevant vocabulary in your domain of work.
Now think of a problem in your life that you would like to address and solve. Jot down the
reasons why you want to solve the problem. Identify which reasons arc more important than
others. Think of how the solutions can precisely respond to the reasons that arc more
important.
Task 3: Learn from implementation
Finally, it is important to remember that once you implement the solution, you have not
actually solved the problem. Instead, you have attempted to solve it, and even if it is a
successful attempt, you learn from it so that you can improve the solution over time.

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Think of a problem that you have successfully addressed in your life. Now jot down some of
your learnings from this attempt and think of how you can respond to the problem even more
effectively and meaningfully. You can think through the following questions:
a) Were you able to easily find a solution, or did you have to rethink many times and
cross many hurdles? Do those hurdles still exist? How would you navigate those hurdles now?
b) Were there any gaps or limitations in your solution? How would you address them
now?
c) Are there alternative solutions you can think of now? How would you compare your
original solution with alternatives?

Key Stages of Problem Solving

Stage Description

Clearly defining the issue or challenge. Ask: What is the

1. Problem Identification
problem?

2. Information Gathering Collecting relevant data, opinions, and facts.

Understanding the root cause using tools like Fishbone

3. Problem Analysis
Diagram, 5 Whys.

4. Generating Solutions Brainstorming multiple solutions (divergent thinking).

Comparing alternatives (convergent thinking) based on

5. Evaluating Options
feasibility, cost, time.

[Link] the Best

Selecting the most effective, practical, and efficient option.
Solution

7. Implementation Putting the solution into action.

8. Evaluation Reviewing results and learning from the process.

Common Problem Solving Techniques

Technique Description

Brainstorming Generating ideas in a group without judgment.

Root Cause Analysis Identifying underlying causes of a problem.

Analyzing Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and

SWOT Analysis
Threats.

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Technique Description

Mind Mapping Visual method to connect ideas and solutions.

PDCA Cycle(Plan-Do-Check-
Continuous improvement loop.
Act)

Types of Problems

Type Characteristics

Well-structured Clear goal, defined process (e.g., math problems).

Ill-structured No clear path; requires judgment (e.g., business crisis).

Complex Problems Multi-layered with many variables (e.g., global issues).

Important Qualities of a Good Problem Solver

 Analytical thinking
 Creativity
 Decision-making ability
 Persistence
 Team collaboration
 Time management
In other words, problem solving is a continuous process—the more you reflect on the process,
the more effectively you can respond to problems. Decision-making, too, is a process that
constantly evolves through reflection. Both decision-making and problem-solving, as we
have learned, need to be approached in a systematic manner, but the way to keep refining
them is by constantly analysing how you approach them, reflecting on both your successes
and failures.

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