Monday, March 31, 2008

6 Powerful Ways to Solve Communication Problems at Work

Is your organization suffering from severe communication problems? Someone once said that "communication is the lifeblood of an organization" - and it truly is. An organization that is experiencing a breakdown in communication will not live for very long because many problems will crop up and eventually cause the organization to die a natural death.

If your organization is experiencing communication problems, you must do what you can to resolve these as soon as possible. The life of your organization is at stake.

How do you know if your organization is experiencing communication problems? There are 12 possible signs that you should look out for:

1) You find it hard to get some people to cooperate.

2) Some people are being left out of the communication loop.

3) Replies to messages are being delayed or completely ignored.

4) Groups in the organization are failing to reach their goals.

5) Mistakes are cropping up more and more often.

6) People are resorting more to criticism and placing the blame on other people.

7) Morale of teams is going down.

8) Productivity is dull or at zero level.

9) You receive many complaints.

10) Moments of conflict result in expressions of anger.

11) There is significant employee turnover.

12) Business is going to your competitors instead of to you.

If you find that there are some or many (if not all) of these warning signs present in your organization, it is advisable for you to take steps to address such problems before they kill your organization.

How does one correct or resolve such problems? There are different steps to take to counter the prevalence of communication problems in organizations.

1) First, listen to the people involved or who have caused the communication problem in the first place. Doing so allows you to uncover the depth, nature and roots of the communication problem for that particular group of people.

2) If the problems are quite vast and have deeply-rooted causes, you may want to secure the help of a neutral negotiator. This third party may be able to get inside the problem more thoroughly than an insider because when communication problems crop up, the group involved may choose to clam up or point fingers rather than admit to their role in creating the problem.

3) To maintain confidentiality, it is possible to use a tool such as a survey. People who might be scared to tell the truth because of reprisals would then have another safer option compared to coming out of the crowd.

4) After you have uncovered the problem and its roots, you may choose to initiate group counseling or training. The point of this is to address the problem of the group, rather than focusing on just one person. Finger-pointing is avoided. The saying "united we stand, divided we fall" should become the motto of the group.

5) It is important for the leader to have great communication skills so that communication problems can be resolved. communication skills are required to diagnose communication problems, and naturally, provide the necessary solutions. Leaders who lack adequate communication skills might benefit from more training in communication.

6) Do your research - perhaps the communication problem you are experiencing now has occurred before in the history of the organization. And perhaps someone knows the solution that could work now. So look inwards into the heart of the organization, ask around, and you may find the way to properly address your organization's communication problems.

Remember, if your organization is already suffering communication problems, don't wait for these symptoms to get worse. Good communication is necessary for an organization to function properly and stay viable amidst the influx of a multitude of challenges from the environment. Act immediately on communication problems and stem the bleeding of your organization.

Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced a very popular free report: 10 Simple Steps to Developing Communication Confidence. apply now because it is available only at: conversation starters

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Why Does Cold Air Fall and Warm Air Rise?

cold air falls and warm air rises. Why? Discuss!

Many of us experience the effects of falling cold air and rising warm air on a regular basis. It is happening all the time in the air above and around us and is one of the components in our weather systems. You may notice that when there is no heating or air conditioning operating in your house, the rooms upstairs are slightly warmer than those downstairs. Another example is the hot air balloon that works precisely to this principle. By heating the air inside the balloon, the craft will be lighter than the surrounding air and will rise. This is actually the result of cold air gushing downwards around the balloon at the same time as it is rising.

So why does cold air fall? That is simple: it is heavier than warm air. And why is it heavier? That is slightly less simple, but only slightly. As with any gas, the air (a generic term for the mixture of the gasses in our atmosphere), contains molecules that move (or agitate). This movement (or agitation) is greater as the temperature rises. The molecules move in ever greater orbits, taking up more space. This causes the mass of the air to expand. Although the total mass of a lump of air has not changed, the mass is more spread out and so any given cubic area of it will be lighter. An analogy is found with popcorn. A half pound of popcorn before being popped may fit into a cup. After popping, the same corn would fill a large saucepan. Its total weight will be more or less the same half pound that it always was, but if you filled up the original cup with the popped corn, it would weigh less than the unpopped corn as the rest of it would no longer fit into the cup. Expanding hot air is similar. A cup of cold air would weigh more than a cup of hot air.

As we are playing the why game, let's continue. Why do the molecules move about more when it is warmer? They absorb energy through electro-magnetic waves that smash into the molecules. In short, this is energy transfer by radiation. So we have a collection (several trillion, lets say) of molecules that are very agitated and another collection which are far less agitated. The agitated collection is spread out and thus light. The collection that are less agitated is heavier. The heavier stuff falls downwards, while the light stuff rises.

As well as being the main process behind hot air balloons, the movement of air according to its temperature is a critical factor with the weather. Forecasters must ensure that these movements are factored into their modelling systems in order to produce a decent weather forecast. Air conditioning designers and must also take these factors into account as must architects. In order to preserve valuable heat, warm air must be prevented from escaping through the top of a building. As well as conserving heat, the movement of colder air downwards must also be considered when designing refrigerators and refrigeration systems.

If you have a few minutes, try this experiment. Firstly make sure nothing has been put into your refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Then, leave a thermometer inside the refrigerator, making sure it is placed at the bottom and then close the door. After 10 minutes, open the door and straight away and note the reading on the thermometer. Then place the thermometer on the top shelf and close the door. After 10 minutes, take the reading as soon as you open the door. You will notice a difference - perhaps as much as 1 to 2 degrees. This may not be such a big issue for us at home most of the time. For commercial kitchens, however, this difference maybe critical when ensuring food is kept at an optimum temperature. Commercial fridges are often fitted with a fan that evens out the colder and warmer air, thus negating the tendency for cold air to fall and warmer air to rise.

If you take large freezer stores - the ones that hold thousands of boxes of stock - the movement of air around the facility is an extremely important factor. The fans that blow frozen air into the store are always situated near to the ceiling, allowing it to diffuse downwards. Eventually, of course, the goods in the freezer store will need to be taken out and moved to another location, typically loaded onto a truck. If frozen goods are loaded onto a frozen truck this is no problem. Occasionally though, only a small quantity of frozen goods may be needed and the use of a large truck whose temperature is set at a frozen temperature would be wasteful if only a few boxes were being despatched. This is where insulated pallet shrouds or roll cage covers come into play. These enclose the pallet or roll cage, protecting frozen goods for up to 8 hours within an ambient environment (they also protect ambient goods such bakery products and bananas in a chilled or frozen environment). When a roll cage is used, the insulated roll cage cover works at its best when the cage is full of products. When it is half full then - you guessed it - the cold air falls to the bottom. This is fine at first (assuming the goods are in the bottom half), but after a while the warmer air that has risen to the top will start to affect the top layer of goods. This is where a temperature insulated divider must be used to make a seal and protect the goods in the half full roll cage.

So now you know the whys and hows of cold and warm air and now you also know why your feet get cold in winter!

Vernon Stent is the content writer for 5es.co.uk, where you can purchase or rent roll cage insulation covers and dividers and pallet covers.

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A Bit of Football History for Your Party

football historical facts are fun use at a super Bowl or football themed party. Take notes and create fun trivia games from the following infomation.

nfl Football is one of the most popular american sports, attracting thousands of participants and millions of spectators annually. The forerunner of american football may have been a game played by the ancient Greeks, called harpaston. In this game there was no limit to the number of players. The object was to move a ball across a goal line by kicking, throwing, or running with it. Classical literature contains detailed accounts of the game, including its rougher elements, such as ferocious tackling.

most modern versions of football, however, originated in England, where a form of the game was known in the 12th century. In subsequent centuries football became so popular that various english monarchs, including Edward II and Henry VI, forbade the game because it took interest away from the military sport of archery.

In 1920, the american Professional football association was formed; one year later it was reorganized and in 1922 was renamed the national football league. fifty years after the inception of the first pro football association, combined sixteen nfl teams with ten afl teams to comprise one league with two conferences.

nfl Football party supplies like paper plates, napkins, and cups are a nice way to complete a nfl Football party Theme. Party decorations using nfl Football Party Themes like a football piata can act as a centerpieces and can also double as party prizes. Party favors like nfl Football stickers, whistles, foam fingers, football shaped caps, and helmets fit an nfl Football Party Theme.

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