Human Relations & Development I Questions & Answers

HUMAN RELATIONS: INTERPERSONAL JOB-ORIENTED SKILLS, 12e

Andrew J. DuBrin

CHAPTER 1

A FRAMEWORK FOR INTERPERSONAL SKILL

DEVELOPMENT 1-2Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

OPENING THOUGHTS

 Effective interpersonal relationships must be combined with technical knowledge and good work habits to achieve success.

 Courteous employees help a company succeed.

 Poor interpersonal skills can hurt your career.

 Interpersonal skills enable you to connect with others, helping you to become successful.

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THE BOOK PLAN

 Three-part strategy of this book is (a) key concepts, (b) suggestions or behavioral guidelines, and (c) a variety of exercises.

 Interpersonal skills training teaches you how to interact with people by putting these skills into practice.

 Interpersonal skills training involves soft skills rather than hard skills.

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SEVERAL SOFT-SKILL COMPETENCIES

 Translating and conveying information.

 Interpreting emotions of others.

 Being sensitive to people’s feelings.

 Resolving conflicts calmly.

 Avoiding negative gossip.

 Being polite.

 Practicing cooperation and teamwork.

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Soft Skills, continued

 Soft skills training is important because combination of human effort and technology is needed to produce results.

 Soft skills are often the difference between adequate and outstanding performance, because dealing with people is part of many jobs.

 Leading executive coach says that building relationships with people is as important for employees as it is for the CEO.

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A MODEL FOR IMPROVING INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

Goal (desired state)

Assessing reality

Action plan

Feedback on Actions

Frequent practice

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FINE POINTS ABOUT GOAL SETTING

1. State each goal as a positive statement.

2. Formulate specific goals.

3. Formulate concise goals.

4. Set realistic goals as well as stretch

goals.

5. Set goals for different time periods.

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REALISTIC GOALS

 Goals should present realistic challenges.

 Easy goals are not very motivational.

 Goals that stretch far beyond capabilities can

lead to frustration and despair due to failure.

 Self-efficacy (confidence in one’s ability to

carry out a task) helps determine realism.

 Several goals that stretch capability might be

included in your list of goals.

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ACTION PLAN

 Is the mechanism to change relationship

between person and environment.

 Can also be explained as a series of steps

used to achieve a goal.

 Personal goals will be elusive without an

action plan.

 Self-discipline is needed to implement action

plan.

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FEEDBACK ON ACTIONS

 Obtaining feedback on consequences of

actions helps to measure effects of actions

against reality.

 Feedback should include short as well as

long-term measure of effectiveness of

actions.

 Long-term measures are important because

skill-development is of major consequence

and has long-ranging implications.

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FREQUENT PRACTICE

 This final step makes true skill

development possible.

 Practice helps skills to be integrated into

regular conduct.

 Skills become habits as they get

programmed into the brain.

 Interpersonal skills involve practice of

many good habits.

1-12Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

IDENTIFICATION OF DEVELOPMENTAL NEEDS

 A developmental need is a specific area in which a person needs to change.

 To improve interpersonal skills we must first be aware of how we are perceived by those who interact with us.

 To ensure that required change occurs, we need to be truthful to ourselves about the areas that need change.

 Solicit and invite feedback from others.

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1-14Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

Developmental Need Identification, continued

 Review the areas of behavior that receive consistent feedback.

 Ask opinion of the people who know you well to help you identify needs for improvement with respect to interpersonal skills.

 Reflect on feedback from performance evaluations. What constructive suggestions did you receive from the evaluation?

 Solicit and invite feedback from others.

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Developmental Need Identification, continued

 Self-Assessment Quiz 1-1 will help you identify your interpersonal development needs.

 You are now ready to develop action plans towards building the needed skills.

UNIVERSAL TRAINING NEEDS FOR INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS

 A universal training need is a common area for improvement, such as better verbal communication skills.

 Chapters 2-17 deal with universal training needs. Treat each chapter as an opportunity for development.

 The 16 broad areas for universal training needs are listed next.

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1. Understanding individual differences.

2. Mastering self-esteem and self-confidence.

3. Interpersonal communication.

4. Behaving appropriately when using digital devices.

5. Developing teamwork skills.

6. Problem solving and decision making as a group.

7. Developing cross-cultural relations.

8. Resolving conflicts with others.

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9. Becoming an effective leader.

10. Motivating others.

11. Helping others grow and develop.

12. Building positive political skills.

13. Acquiring customer service skills.

14. Enhancing ethical behavior.

15. Understanding stress management and personal productivity.

16. Practicing job search and career management skills.

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DEVELOPING INTERPERSONAL SKILLS ON THE JOB

 This course emphasizes the learning of interpersonal skills.

 Sheds light on the opportunities that exist in the workplace for developing interpersonal skills.

 Explains how the dual opportunity for learning soft skills is similar to learning of hard skills.

 Allows you to study written material, then apply the information to an on-the-job problem.

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INFORMAL LEARNING

• Can be defined as the acquisition of knowledge that takes place naturally and outside a structured learning environment.

• Trend is for companies to integrate formal and informal learning.

• Employees can learn a lot by observation.

• Coaching brings about informal learning.

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SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENTAL EXPERIENCES

 Being presented with unfamiliar responsibilities.

 Proving yourself.

 Resolving issues with employees.

 Influencing without formal authority.

 Coping with a difficult manager.

The on-the-job challenges listed above require well-developed interpersonal skills.

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