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Business
Negotiations: A `Soft' Perspective
-- Reena Raj
The
realization that soft skills, an essential attribute in
the modern way of life, is the key to attain competitive
advantage, has made it the crying need of the hour, predominantly
in the corporate domain. Along with the discussion of soft
skills and their significance in nurturing global business
competencies, this article also purports the portrayal of
negotiations as essential soft skills for performance effectiveness
- both individual and organizational. Negotiations have
become a vital ingredient of the collaborative and team-based
business environment. The various strategies of negotiation
and the significance of fostering effective negotiation
skills are discussed at length. As the emerging businesses
are laden with conflicts, disputes and their settlement,
negotiation has become a fascinating terminology in the
turf of trade and commerce. This certainly emphasizes the
need to pay more attention to the soft aspects of negotiation.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
The
Intelligent Act of Emotions
-- Subhashini P
With
the world now treading on the path of high packed innovation
and increasing competition, the ingredients required to
ensure effective functioning of an individual have also
changed. Gone are the days when IQ remained the force to
reckon with. Today, the tide has, without any doubt, shifted
to EQ - the emerging force in the world of intelligence.
Over the last decade, there have been several research studies
conducted on emotional intelligence. These studies point
out the significance of emotional intelligence in professional
effectiveness. Emotional intelligence not only facilitates
work performance but also plays a vital role in team related
and leadership issues. The benefits of emotional intelligence
at the workplace suggest the need to train employees on
emotional intelligence, which would benefit both the individual
employees and the organizations at large. The present article
is an attempt to highlight the importance of emotional intelligence
in personal and professional spheres.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Interpersonal
Skills of Professional Women : A
Psychological Approach
-- R Krishnaveni
and R Thamaraiselvi
Interpersonal
communication is the `master key' to success in every profession.
However, it is so intrinsic to our current office-life situations
that overcoming the natural barriers like anger, fear, anxiety,
etc., and also achieving effectiveness during the interpersonal
process is undoubtedly becoming a complex act. This may
be due to the high influence of fast track changes in the
socio-economic and cultural aspects of professional lives.
Especially, women face communication challenges when they
tend to expose their feelings to others in the workplace
and this may sometimes lead to conflicting issues or even
cause damage to professional relationships. Hence, a descriptive
research was undertaken among women academicians to identify
the psychological barriers at the workplace for communicating
effectively with others. About 50 women from reputed educational
institutions were chosen at random as samples and a questionnaire
was used to ascertain their commonly suffered psychological
barriers that intrude into their workplace interactions.
An initiative was made to correlate some highly influencing
factors with interpersonal effectiveness and also to test
their significance in the process. Statistical tools like
Correlation, Regression and Independent Sample t-test were
adopted to substantiate the findings of the study. Some
suggestions were furnished to mitigate the natural blocks
in the process and to build strong professional relationships
with others. This survey can help the professional women
to understand the psychological influence in the interpersonal
process and to try and overcome them by revitalizing their
communication style in their office-lives. The study can
be further extended to women working in other fields like
banking, insurance, hospitals, hotels, manufacturing, etc.,
in order to optimize their interpersonal skills and ultimately
empower them throughout their career.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Executives
and the Stress Factor
-- Suvarna
Sen
Stress
is an experience. Psychologists have noticed that, to a
large extent, it is our perception that determines a stress
to be eustress or distress. Instances of executive stress
are rising rapidly in today's fiercely competitive business
environment where senior executives combat mental and physical
exhaustion. With increasing work hours and a new technology
involving laptops, e-mail and mobile phones, executives
can never really `switch off'. Stress affects not only the
physical and mental health of the individuals but also the
financial health of the companies. Keeping this in mind,
this article attempts to probe into the what(s) and the
why(s) that executives perceive or not as stress.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Modeling
Employer Branding Communication : The
Softer Aspect of HR Marketing Management
-- Soumya Gaddam
Considering
the past research studies, `Employer Branding' has been
one of the "hottest strategies in employment".
It is an international concept where the demand is for skills
and competence. By creating brand images, employers are
struggling to differentiate themselves in both internal
and external environment. `Branding' is a term by itself
which gives a taste of innovative and creative possessions.
On the same lines, `Employer Branding' is also very prominent
in the Human Resource Management (HRM) field and acts as
one of the communication magic tools for acquiring and retaining
the talent in this fast changing technological era. This
article, through illustrative examples, provides a holistic
perspective on employer branding and the application of
concepts of employer branding used for attracting and retaining
the talent pool. It gives valuable insights into the practices
of HR executives and how they are related to employer branding.
The article further discusses different factors like psychological
motives, organizational cultures, values and branding strategies,
which influence the HR executives to attract and retain
the employees in the organization. The concept of `employer
branding communication' helps the companies to differentiate
themselves from the other companies in the field.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Book
Review
Therapeutic
Communication: Developing Professional Skills
-- Herschel
Knapp
Therapeutic
Communication: Developing Professional Skills, written
by Herschel Knapp, a mental health clinician, is a book
dealing with therapeutic communication. Therapy comprises
of communication, which facilitates the emotional and cognitive
exchanges between the therapist and the client. Communication
has different connotations in personal and business settings.
This book tries to introduce the basic communication skills
and principles used in therapeutic settings. The skills
illustrated in the book help in building rapport and in
increasing understanding. Independence, self determination
and empowerment are the skills which the clients develop
over a period of time.
©
2007 Herschel Knapp. All Rights Reserved. IUP holds the copyright for the review.
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