Conflict – What went wrong and what should you do?
A, B, D and you have been working in a team to plan for an event for the members of your CCA since the summer vacation. The team has decided that having an “Ice Kachang”-themed party is the best. It was decided that B is to be the leader for this event while the rest are to be delegated work by him. The team appeared to be enthusiastic about the idea and you felt that it will work out fine.
However, after one month since the first meeting, B has not gave a single instruction or call for another meeting. You’ve tried calling A and D to seek their opinion. D replied that the semester is starting and she cannot be bothered about it anymore. She also said that whatever happened is not her concern as it is her final year in University and that she joined the CCA just to get the privileges. You’ve have heard of this mentality from other seniors who described D as a self-serving person.
A shared your anxiety and the both of you started to source for the Ice Shaver machines and suppliers of the ingredients by yourselves. You have informed B about it but B remains silent about the event. During this period of time, D called and asked about the progress. She laughed and remarked that it is stupid and a waste of energy to be working so hard.
You met A after two weeks and discussed about the findings. During the discussion, A pointed out that you have spelled “Ice Kachang” wrongly. She said that it is of a Malay origin and thus should be spelled as “Ice Kacang” without the “H” as in the Malay word for “beans”. You told her that the spelling doesn’t matter since everyone can understand. Furthermore, you told that should it be in the Malay form, it would be “Ais Kacang”. You went on to say, “Kachang” is a borrowed word and that in English pronunciation, it is appropriate to include the “H” simply because it reads correctly to the Malay pronunciation.
A became very irritated and said that she came from Malaysia and that it is spelled as “Kacang” there. You reminded her again that it doesn’t matter if everybody understands what it refers to. You carried on to say that in Singapore, either it is in the English form of “Ice Kachang”, or in the Malay form of “Ais Kacang” and that “Ice Kacang” is also seen because of the mixing of languages and culture.
A took great offend as she is majoring in Chinese Studies and she considers herself learned in language forms and how they changed. She remark that since you don’t want to learn (concede), she has no dealings with you and left after the heated exchange of words.
Personally, you have check with your friends who majors in English Language and also a Lecturer at CELC beforehand as you have noticed the differences in spelling. You did not mention this to A during the discussion because you do not want to show yourself as “right” and force A to accept it. However, A simply did not listen to reasons and left before you can pacify her.
You then called B who reprimanded you. He said that he already has everything planned and worked out but just need the rest of the members to execute whatever he tells them to. You pressed B for details but he cannot provide any. You feel that your entire time has been wasted.
What are the problems with the team, the problem with the team members and the problems with the actions you have taken? What should be the course of your actions from now?
Signs – A video
Hey People,
This is not one of the assignment posts, but i would like to show you all a superb video which i simply love. You’ll love me for it. Enjoy…
A simple short film about communication. Created by Publicis Mojo and @RadicalMedia
Director: Patrick Hughes
Why effective communication skills are important for me?
Effective communication skill(s): Effective – adequate to accomplish a purpose; producing the intended or expected result, communication – the interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs, skill – the ability to do something.
If you have the ability to convey and receive a piece of information, you effectively possess communication skills. However, to produce the intended result requires more explicit knowledge which can be innate or accumulated instinctively from experience. All of us possesses qualities that mark and make us effective communicators.
These qualities need not be taught to us because we would have learned them as we grow and experience the ever ongoing exchanges of information, thoughts and opinions regardless of medium in our life. Each member within a society interacts with each other by a certain way. The same individual would have interacted differently in a different social context.
How then do we know exactly what can be done and not? Through observation and evaluation of our own actions, one can simply be the best communicator without being ever taught. We wouldn’t shout to calm someone; we wouldn’t smile to make someone angry (unless in the right context)!
Why wouldn’t we communicate in a certain way? We achieve negative results in the past. What would we do? Evaluate and think of what we should have done and put into practice the next time.
Are these skills important for me then? No, I would have learned them one way or another; how can they be important?
ES2007S 