EFFECTIVE TEAM WORK AND

COMMUNICATION
Assessment 1

Student Name:

Student Number:

Module Code: BMSW4002

Module Title: Effective Team Work and Communication

Lecturer’s Name: Lloyd Beharry

 Table of Contents

Communication...........................................................................................................................................2
Effective Team working and communication...........................................................................................2
1) Clearly Managed and Reachable goals.........................................................................................2
2) Greater efficiency, better solutions.............................................................................................2
3) Positive work relationships..........................................................................................................3
4) Reducing and diffusing solutions.................................................................................................3
Models Of Communication......................................................................................................................3
1) Linear model of communication..................................................................................................4
2) Interactive model of communication...........................................................................................5
3) Transaction model of communication.........................................................................................6
Communication Skills..............................................................................................................................7
1) Listening.......................................................................................................................................7
2) Nonverbal Communication..........................................................................................................7
3) Clarity and Concision...................................................................................................................7
4) Friendliness..................................................................................................................................7
5) Confidence...................................................................................................................................8
6) Empathy.......................................................................................................................................8
7) Open-Mindedness.......................................................................................................................8
8) Respect to all...............................................................................................................................8
9) Feedback......................................................................................................................................9
10) Selection of Right Medium.......................................................................................................9
References.................................................................................................................................................10

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 Communication

Communication comes from the Greek word ‘communicare’ which means to be together, or to
share. American Management Association defines communication as any behaviour that results
in exchange o meaning. Communication is also defined as a process of involving the
transmission and reception of symbols eliciting meaning in the minds of the participants by
making common their experiences.
Effective Team working and communication
To be a good team member, it is necessary to clearly communicate the ideas with the other
team members of the group. Team work success is integrally based on good communication
skills. You should have good skills to convey the information through different mediums such as
emails, calls and in person. It is important to talk in a very friendly and professional manner.
Effective team work needs good communication among the team members, so each member
should have a sound knowledge of communication skills. Effective team working having good
communication skills results in the following outputs:

1) Clearly Managed and Reachable goals

To successfully achieve the goals, good and clear communication is important for the team
members. The project details are communicated through the team leader to the team members,
and then work is divided to the members equally and fairly according to the expertise of the
members. Just like one member is responsible for customer care, other for presentation
preparation and other for the document preparation. When these tasks clearly explained and
assigned to the members, the group can complete the project before deadline without stress
and goals can be achieved with ease. (Ashman, n.d.)

2) Greater efficiency, better solutions

When the tasks have clearly explained and assigned to the team members of the group, it will
help the members to focus on their tasks freely. When they have clear understanding about
their tasks and know the deadlines of those tasks, they would work more effectively and on
time. Clear communication also helps during uncertain situations for example when you are not
able to complete the tasks within the assigned time then team members jump in to help and
give better solutions before the whole team process breaks down.

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 3) Positive work relationships

With good communication skills a trust worthy relationship between team members can built
which helps to grow and create an environment of positive and professional relationships
among team.

4) Reducing and diffusing solutions

When number of people in a group works for a common goal, there are more chances of conflict
to happen within the group. Whatever the reason is behind the conflict, good communication
skills let the teammates to talk about the problems and feel heard. When there is an
environment of positive relationship, it is easy for teammates to express their thoughts clearly
and honestly which results in better solution of the problem which is best to everyone’s interest.

Models Of Communication

To illustrate how things work Models are used to serve that purpose. Various aspects of
communication are visually represented through Models of communication which helps to ease
the process and making it simple to comprehend. There is basic three models of communication
widely used where the first two models discussed here are simplistic but the later model
provides much greater detail and insight into the process of communication. Models serve a
very useful purpose to thoroughly understand communication and its aspects, as they allow to
see specific concepts and steps within the communication process, to define and apply the
communication concepts. (Nevrlova, 2016)

The three models of communication discussed below are the Linear, interactive, and
transactional models. Though these models differ from each other but still they contain some
common elements. In Interactive and Transactional model of communication there are five
elements involved, i) Participants ii) Messages iii) Encoding iv) Decoding v) Channels. The
participants in communication model acts as the senders, receivers or both. The message
delivered through communication models can be verbal or nonverbal message being conveyed
from sender to receiver. For example, when one says “Hi” to a friend, they are sending a
message of greeting that the friend will receive. The process of turning ones thoughts into
communication form is known as Encoding, whereas decoding is the process of translating the
encoded message. For example, you are feeling lonely and you want to go outside to hangout
so you encode the following message to your roommate: “I’m feeling bored. Do you want to
hang out tonight? As your roommate receives the message, he/she will decode your

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communication and make meaning out of it. Communication is not only verbally as we use non-
verbal expression to communicate as well. Just to take the above example for reference another
way to communicate to our roommate is by making communication non-verbal.

1) Linear model of communication

This model is also known as Electronic or Mathematical theory/model of communication. In this

model communication is seen as a one-way process (as shown in figure 1.1). In it the sender or
encoder of the message sends a message to the receiver who receives the message. It takes
into account external factors such as ‘noise’ which can create interference in the communication
process. Though the receiver is included in the model but the role or involvement of the receiver
is limited and receiver is not directly part of an ongoing process. In this process we assume that
the receiver has received and understood the message as it has been sent. The best example
of Linear communication model is Radio as the communication made through this mode is one-
way and the verbal message is encoded by the sender that is transmitted by a radio and
eventually reaches the receiver’s ears when he/she tuned in to a channel in order for that
message to be decoded. Though in this type of communication the sender is not sure either the
message is received or not, but with the right and working equipment the chance of receiving
the message is pretty strong. (Ashman, n.d.)

However, there are few shortcomings of this model such as a) The flow of communication is
flowing in one direction only, that is, from sender to receiver. But not vice versa. b) The listeners
are portrayed as completely passive having no impact on the sender. c) The communication
process is presented as a strictly sequential process.

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 N
OI
SE B
A

Encoded
Message Decoded
Message

N
OI
SE

Figure 1: Linear Model of Communication

2) Interactive model of communication

The key feature which distinguishes this model from Linear model is ‘feedback’. As is this model
the receiver is not only receiving the message and decoding it but also the receiver is
responding to the feedback (as shown in figure 1.2) making it a two-way communication. This
model also points out that communication happens best when the ‘fields of experience’ of the
sender and receiver are similar. For example, in a classroom one of the students asks the
instructor a question regarding the topic which is being taught, so by asking the question the
student has become the sender and instructor the receiver however the instructor after
decoding the message will respond to the feedback and the instructor will send the message
back with the answer to that question. As in Linear communication where there is one sender,
one message, and one receiver, this model distinguishes from that as it has two sender-receiver
who exchange messages. To keep the process of communication ongoing each participant
plays a dual role of sender and the receiver.

However, there are few shortcomings of this model such as a) This model presents
communication as a sequential process. b) The model designates one person as sender and
the other as receiver. c) It does not capture the dynamic nature of real-life communication and
how it changes over time.

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 (Elkins, 2012)

Figure 2: https://biznewske.com/wilbur-schramm-model-of-communication/

3) Transaction model of communication

The transaction model attempts to take the strength of the past models while overcome the
weaknesses of the models. This model takes into account that noise is present through the
whole process of communication. It also takes into account the fact that how people
communicate changes over time. It sees communication taking place within social systems
which have an impact on how communication occurs. Communication seems to happen when
the field of experience of both communicators matches. Furthermore, this model doesn’t assign
the ‘terms’ of sender or receiver to the people communicating, rather they are referred to be
‘communicators. (Bhasin, n.d.)For example, you ask your friend about his test grades a
message is sent and the receiver receives the message with feedback and at the same time he
sends back a message by asking about your grades so a two-way communication is established
where both the sender and receiver is communicating simultaneously with each other. This
shows that in Transaction model sending and receiving of messages is taking place
continuously without any sequence.

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 (Bhasin, n.d.)
Figure 3: https://www.marketing91.com/transactional-model-of-communication/

Communication Skills
Communication is the essential part in any kind of workspace as a good communication skill will
always help you achieve fruitful results. With changing technologies, the mode of
communication is changing as well. In order to have a strong and effective communication skills
following are the 10 must skills in order to clearly communicate your message with others:

1) Listening

No matter how good you are in conveying your message to other if you are not good in listening
to others then you lack the basic communication skill set to be a good communicator. To be a
good listener is essential for effective team working communication as it will help you to
understand and interpret another team member’s message and respond appropriately. (Kinsey,
2021)

2) Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal communication plays a vital role in communication as your body language, the
gestures you make with your hands and eye contact they all append to the message you are
trying to convey to others. Having strong nonverbal communication skills let you convey your
message within a team in a strong and effective manner. For example, by conveying a message
in person to the team you are looking in the eyes of your teammates it will demonstrate that you
are totally focused on them. A strong body language and hand gesture while communicating
withing the team represents how confidently you convey your message to the team.

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 3) Clarity and Concision

A good communicator is the one who delivers the message to the point instead of making it too
long or short for the receiver (Kinsey, 2021). There is a chance of losing the focus if the message
delivered is too lengthy also if the message is too short there can be a chance of not
understanding the message. Therefore, having a strong communication within the team there
should be total clarity of message and it should be to the point.

4) Friendliness

A sense of friendliness while communicating with the team both face to face or written form is
another essential skill for communication for effective team working. A friendly tone or a simple
smile while communicating with the team members would create a friendly environment where
the team members can communicate openly and in a honest manner. Also, while
communicating via email, it is essential to start the email with “I hope you all had a good
weekend" as it can personalize a message and make the recipient feel more appreciated.

5) Confidence

Showing confidence while communicating within the team is also an important aspect of a
strong team working communication skill. As if the message is delivered with confidence and
you believe in what you say then the team members will take the message seriously and act
upon it with total believe.

6) Empathy

At workplace when you use simple phares with your team members it portrays that you are
listening and understanding the opinion of another person. Listen to your conversational partner
carefully helps for you to understand and feel what the other person feels like and what he is
thinking. This active listening makes easier for you to show empathy to your conversational
partner. At the same point, even you disagree with your co-worker you have to understand and
respect the point of view of your co-worker.

7) Open-Mindedness

A good communicator within a team always listens to the other team members point of view with
open mind rather than interrupt them and give message across. As a team, it’s a right of every

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team member to give opinion and on the other hand other team members listen to them with
open mind even if it’s not the interest of any of them.

8) Respect to all

When you give respect to the point of view and ideas of others team members then they will
tend to communicate with you even more. Simply making eye contact and listening carefully
makes the other person confident and feel appreciated. On contrary, at workplace if you use
phone or look somewhere else during conversation, the conversation can go wrong and no one
will be willing to talk to you with interest as it gives negative impact on the sender. On emails,
show respect if there is delay from the other side or from your side during conversation.

9) Feedback

Giving and receiving feedback appropriately is one the most important communication skill.
Giving positive feedback to the team members can increase honesty among them. Even simple
verbal feedback like "Good Work" can increase motivation. Through emails you can send
feedback to your team members such as “Good Job Done”. Don't take feedback personally as
it's for the work you are doing and it's not for your own's sake. Listen to the feedback carefully
and ask question at the end if you are not sure about something. (2011-2021, 2021)

10)Selection of Right Medium

It's important to choose the best way of communication according to the situation. For example,
if you want to talk to your team leader about their change in salary, layoffs of team members, it's
better to communicate with them in person rather than doing it over email. When using the right
medium of communication, it will help to have a positive response.

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 References

Bhasin, H., n.d. Transactional Model of Communication. [Online]

Available at: https://www.marketing91.com/transactional-model-of-communication/

Elkins, C. K. B. F. N. J., 2012. Predicting Users' Perceived Trust in Embodied Conversational Agents Using
Vocal Dynamics. Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference of System Sciences, pp. 579-
588.

Nevrlova, S., 2016. The Effectiveness Of Teamwork and Communication Within the Company. s.l.:s.n.

These Are the Communication Skills Employers Look for in Employees. (2021). Retrieved 5 December 2021,
from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/communication-skills-list-2063779

2011-2021, (., 2021. Effective Team-Working | SkillsYouNeed. [online] Skillsyouneed.com. Available at:

<https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/team-working.html> [Accessed 5 December 2021].

Ashman, M., n.d. Introduction to professional communications.

Kinsey, A., 2021. Importance of Team Communication Skills. [online] Small Business - Chron.com.
Available at: <https://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-team-communication-skills-3079.html>
[Accessed 5 December 2021].

The Balance Careers. 2021. These Are the Communication Skills Employers Look for in Employees.
[online] Available at: <https://www.thebalancecareers.com/communication-skills-list-2063779>
[Accessed 5 December 2021].

Pfrimmer, D., 2009. Teamwork and communication. The Journal of Continuing Education in

Nursing, 40(7), pp.294-295.

Khudayberganov, R.K.U., 2021. Language and Communication Models. International Journal of

Progressive Sciences and Technologies, 24(1), pp.436-440.

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