Page 39 - Communication in Organizations Basic Skills and Conversation Models

Part II

Dialogues

Introduction

In Part I we discussed a series of basic communication skills. In Part II we deal with
several different types of dialogue. For each of the dialogues a conversational model will
be presented. A common feature of these models is that there is a structure to the phases
involved in the conversations. For each phase an explanation is also given of its most
important goals. We also look at which basic communication skills should be used in
order to reach those goals.
Which different conversations are actually involved? Chapter 4 deals with interviews.
The interview is a method of making a systematic analysis of opinions about a certain
subject.
Before one gets to be an employee of a company, one usually has to go through a
selection procedure. Chapter 5 therefore deals with the selection interview and is written
from the point of view of the selector or selection committee. In this chapter a model is
presented of how to gather information in a systematic and honest way about the
suitability of different applicants for the jobs they are applying for.
Chapter 6 deals with job application interviews, and treats the subject of conversations
from a different angle than the other chapters in Part II. Those chapters deal with
conversations where the people involved are already working in a company. Chapter 6 is
from the point of view of a person not yet working for the company, but actually trying to
get a job there. As this book is meant to serve as an aid for students studying different
subjects who are still faced with acquiring a position in the marketplace, it seemed useful
to include a chapter which deals specifically with the communication skills necessary for
job applicants.
Once one is actually working in a company, one’s job role usually serves a specific
function. In Chapter 7 the performance evaluation interview is discussed. The purpose of
this type of conversation is to balance out the interests of the individual employee against
those of the company in an optimal way. In this case not only is the functioning of the
employee a subject for discussion, but also that of the managerial position. This
conversation type is contrasted with the job evaluation interview, which is more of a one-
way conversation, where a manager assesses the prospective employee. The performance
evaluation interview often includes decisions regarding promotions and salary increases.
In this chapter we limit ourselves to a model for the performance evaluation interview.
No separate model for the appraisal interview is presented because there is not much of a
dialogue going on. It is more a one-way assessment that should be delivered as clearly as
possible.