Workplace communication

Workplace communication

Question 1

Workplace communication is the transmission of messages or information between one person to another or a group in the organization. Communication comprises verbal messages, text messages, phone calls, email voicemails or notes. Both verbal and non-verbal workplace communication is critical to every organization because it allows them to operate effectively and produce at the optimum level.  The ability to communicate effectively both vertically and horizontally can increase the morale, productivity, and commitment of employees. Excellent and robust communication is a must-have for a business that is forward-thinking because the benefits that come with it are immeasurable. Some of these benefits of excellent communication include team building, stable management, an opportunity for growth, the opportunity for innovation and creativity as well as giving every employee a voice to express their concerns (Kinnick, K. N., & Parton, 2005). An organization that is looking to improve its communication within its employees could consider the following key areas: defining the goals and expectations of the communication, precise delivery of the message, carefully choosing the right medium of communication and finally involving everyone in the team to increase cooperation.

As the company secretary at Jill & Jig Ltd, the assertive style of communication is the most preferable. This style has allowed us to express personal needs, ideas, feelings, and desires confidently and openly while being considerate and empathetic to the needs of the team members. This style has been instrumental in the workplace because no team-member feels left out or undermined; ensuring everyone is involved avoid any gaps possible as well as allow them to respond and suggest ways of improvement I future. In the previous workplace, we engaged in the passive-aggressive style of communication. Most colleagues felt like communication was being forced down their throats while on the other side, the proponent felt empty, powerless and resentful.

Question 2

A school secretary is a very important person in the administration of every school. Being the customer-facing personnel, he/she person handles various administrative tasks such as circulating general communication to students, teachers and parents, planning and booking an appointment with parents and other guests as well as attending to front office tasks like welcoming and serving walk-in or phone clients. A school secretary is conversant with the daily school timetable both for academics and extra-curricular activities. He/she acts as the face of the school and ensures essential information reaches the students and parents as well as receiving them warmly when they are around school. The history of school secretaries is long. In19th century, a secretary was the person who was involved in the day-to-day correspondence and activities of the influential people. The name generated from the general secretary to the financial secretary and eventually found a position; secretary. In 1870, Isaac Pitman, a school for secretariat courses where students received training to qualify as shorthand writers for commercial and professional people (Rimer, 1984). With time the professionals. After the emergence of the typewriter, the profession gained further recognition as people were employed to type for companies and schools. School secretaries are not just front office personnel who help with inquiries and general administrative duties but are the people who run schools whether directly or indirectly. They step in to assist teachers by informing the students about any changes, and they attend to the parents and students with inquiries, they pass essential messages through memos and direct communication especially when the senior school administrators are not around. Without a school secretary, the standard functionality of a school is dead.

Question 3

There are eleven different types of computer programs used in schools. These educational programs include the authoring systems, education games, simulations, graphic design, drill and practice software, reference software, desktop publishing, tutorial software, utility software, mathematics problem-solving program, and special needs software. The authoring system helps teachers to develop autonomous instruction software (Suppes,1968). The advantage is that teachers can use their creativity to develop new content for students’ use. The disadvantage of the authoring system is the possibility of failing to abide by the set syllabus. The educational games program helps schools combine gaming with education which motivates students to learn but also detracts students from other essential aspects of education or careers. The tutorial program gives the student a platform to learn and practice a new lesson which makes learning very easy and progressive but may students may fail to adhere if not carefully monitored. Desktop publishing like adobe InDesign helps schools to design flyers, handouts newsletters, among other graphic materials that are suitable for cost-cutting. The disadvantage with the internal use of graphic design is that the materials produced may lack professional touch as the program is for students who are still learning. The simulations software help schools deliver lessons like aviation. They are useful to give students a practical and hands-on practice for better understanding. However, since the lessons happen in a controlled environment, students may have a hard time when exposed to a real-life situation.

The referencing software is an educational program that facilitates easy such for reference materials such as, atlases, dictionaries, encyclopedia, bibliographic materials, and other related materials. The special-needs software addresses the needs of people with disabilities to help them to learn with ease. Students with disabilities such as blindness and deafness can easily learn by use of programs that speak aloud and others that synthesize speeches respectively. .Another program is the utility software which assists teachers in the preparation of tests, function, and quizzes as a grading book. The utility software, on the other hand, enables teachers particularly those with little technological experience to formulate exams and quizzes using computers. Finally, the Drill and Practice software is very resourceful to schools teachers can set drill and practice sessions as a way of developing skillsets among students.

Question 4

The pupil accounting primarily deals with keeping track of pupils within a school district at every given period. A pupil accounting secretary is vital to a school because it helps both internal and external administrators understand the track of the pupils from a glance. These programs are very vital for schools, particularly in this digital era and school administration needs to acquire at least a few if not all, to keep their students afloat with the emerging and growing technology (Simerly, 1990).

Question 5

School records are critical to the school for internal use and also to the external stakeholders such as government as they help in informing education planning as well as the allocation of resources to schools. Some of the advantages of keeping proper school records include; helps in keeping the necessary records with care, evaluating the school progress and also preserving the history of the school. The only disadvantage of keeping these records is the possibility of misuse in case they get in the wrong hands (Klem, & Connell, 2004).

Question 6

The payroll secretary is involved in recording and compilation of payroll and time data; this includes computing employees’ time worked, commission and production. He/she may also compute and post deductions and wages as well as preparation of paychecks (Wichroski, 1994). The role of a payroll secretary is critical to the overall school operation because it the one involved in ensuring the employees receive their salaries at the right time and deductions submitted by preparing the payroll data in a good time.

Question 7

The purchasing secretary is the person responsible for the coordination of workloads on a day-to-day basis of various departments to ensure required items are given to the departments with the approval of the manager by communicating with the internal or external vendors to supply. The/she also prepares and processes documents such as delivery notes, invoices, receipts, among others. (Bronars, & Famulari,1997). This position is vital to the school and every other organization because it helps cut down cost by maintaining a central purchasing point, helps a school get discounts as a result of bulk buying as well as monitoring of the usage of items across different departments.

Question 8

The school secretary is a multi-tasking individual whose tasks are endless. They perform their front office duties as well as step-up to provide communication as well as an action where possible. For instance, if the school headteacher or principal is not present and there is an important message to pass to the students or parents, the school secretary steps in to do so (Hart, 1985). In case a teacher is not able to deliver a class for whatever reason, the school secretary ensures that this message gets to the students. In case of any emergency in school, the school secretary is the one to inform the school administration and distribute messages to the students and parents as well. Simply the school secretary is the ideal case of ‘jack of all trades and a master of none’.

The school community has not treated the school secretaries or even other secretaries with respect and value they deserve in the community. This may be due to the belief that the job is for the people who performed poorly in school. Very few if any person cares to understand how involving and critical the role of a school secretary is.  Most institutions cannot function without this position. The community needs to understand the role the school secretaries play, especially in the school lives of the pupils and students. School secretaries facilitate the smooth running of studies and other school activities, thus, making life easier for the students.

References

1. Rimer, A. (1984). Elementary school secretary: Informal decision-maker. Educational Horizons, 63(1), 16-18.
2. Kinnick, K. N., & Parton, S. R. (2005). Workplace communication: What The Apprentice teaches about communication skills. Business Communication Quarterly, 68(4), 429-456.
3. Suppes, P. (1968). Computer-Assisted Instruction: Stanford’s 1965-66 Arithmetic Program.
4. Simerly, R. G. (1990). Stratonomics: Developing new leadership skills. Adult Learning, 1(4), 19-22.
5. Klem, A. M., & Connell, J. P. (2004). Relationships matter: Linking teacher support to student engagement and achievement. Journal of school health, 74(7), 262-273.
6. Wichroski, M. A. (1994). The secretary: Invisible labor in the work-world of women. Human Organization, 53(1), 33.
7. Bronars, S. G., & Famulari, M. (1997). Wage, tenure, and wage growth variation within and across establishments. Journal of Labor Economics, 15(2), 285-317.
8. Hart, J. (1985). The secondary school secretary—Some hidden and some developmental aspects of the secretary’s role. Educational Management & Administration, 13(2), 131-139.