Effective communication: from stress management perspective

Stress free environment is an essential part of the working atmosphere in any organiasation. People from various backgrounds including different culture, language, social status and different states work together in armed forces.

A STUDY

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION: FROM STRESS MANAGEMENT

PERSPECTIVE

V Sivasubramanian

Research scholar, Department of Management Studies, Periyar Maniammai University, Vallam, Tanjavur

ABSTRACT

Stress free environment is an essential part of the working atmosphere in any organiasation People from various backgrounds including different culture, language, social status and different states work together in armed forces This status brought a variety of opportunities and challenges to the military environment Military environment mainly relies on good communication, that lead success of any tactical operation Effective communication lays a bridge between different people in uniform thus generates harmony and stress free atmosphere

at field units Poor communication in a multicultural environment creates poor relationships between soldiers and unfriendly work atmosphere which may lead to stress breeding environment in Indian Armed forces Difficulties in communication among multicultural soldiers which contributes to stress among soldiers have been examined through a random sampling technique from various participants The result shows that poor communication is a major problem that contributes largely towards anxiety and high stress level in uniformed services Common modes communications were phone, email and face to face communication Also nonverbal and pictorial representation is problematic style of communication

Key words: Environment, Communication, Anxiety, Stress Breeding Environment

Cite this Article: V Sivasubramanian Effective Communication: from Stress Management

Perspective International Journal of Management, 7(2), 2016, pp 159-165

http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp

1 INTRODUCTION

The world has become a global village now It is very common to see people involved in any organisation are from different backgrounds and locations This diversity may lead to poor communication as culture does have an impact on the behavior of individuals Conflicts will result in loss of trust among employees at time Diverse work groups experience strong conflicts (Pelled, 1999), communication between group members becomes more difficult (Ancona and Caldwell, 1992), the willingness to cooperate with fellow group members diminishes (Thomas, 1999) and group cohesion decreases (Harrison, 2002) All these process losses often result in high stress level and lower the work satisfactorily (Tsui, 1992)

The Armed Forces operate in a dynamic environment which presents several challenges to its personnel As the Armed forces are becoming more and more complex in terms of technology and operations, the amount of stress faced by the personnel is also increasing According to the Ministry of Defence India, the changing scenarios in India along with the environmental and operational commitments together have put enormous demands for adjustment on the uniformed services Different

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cultured people who in same uniform have their own way of interpreting languages and signs For example normal way of reading around the world is from left to right, whereas people from few countries like Saudi Arabia and Japan are having reading habit from right to left Cultural values are learned very early life as people are socialized into their respective environments within particular societies and are very difficult to relearn or change (Hofstede, 2001)

Effective proper communication will resolve conflicts or avoid conflicts Most soldiers’ disputes can be dealt with early or avoided through proper positive communication and thus leads to healthy stress free atmosphere Soldiers should develop their communication skills in order to work more effectively Clear, timely and effective communication is the proper way of communication The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightening and a lightening bug (Mark Twain, 1890)

2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Communication is the process of transmitting meanings from sender to receiver On the surface, this appears to be a fairly straight forward process There are several problems in the international scenario that can result in the failure to transfer meanings correctly Mistakes in cross cultural communication often go unnoticed by the communicators, but these mistakes have the potential to cause damage to international relationships and negotiations Mistakes and misinterpretations of subtle gestures of the hands and face, the use of silence, what is said or not said, and the intricacies of dealing with age and status often provide pitfalls for international managers (Aswathappa, 2008) Crucial issues in multicultural communications are: languages and culture, the differences between high and low context cultures, use of interpreters and nonverbal communication If these are taken care of intercultural communication will be effective (Aswathappa, 2008)

People tend to assume that the challenges on multicultural teams arise from differing styles of communication But this is only one of the four categories that can create barriers to a team’s ultimate success These categories are direct versus indirect communication; trouble with accents and fluency; differing attitudes toward hierarchy and authority; and conflicting norms for decision making (Jeanne.et.al, 2006)

Successful international management requires effective cross cultural communication Additionally, global business, activities such as leading, motivating, decision making, problem solving and exchanging information and ideas depend on the ability of managers and employees from one culture, to communicate successfully with colleagues, clients and suppliers from other culture (Aswathappa, 2008)

The organizations which employ us and the business which depend on our skills now recognize

that communication is at the center of what it means to be successful (O’Rourke, 2005)

3 STRESS IN INDIAN DEFENCE FORCES

Stress has been taking heavy toll of Indian Army Incidents of defence personnel including paramilitary personnel committing suicide and cases of soldiers running amok have become a common phenomenon On the average over 100 soldiers have been committing suicides annually since 2008 On

19 August 2012, in Rajya Sabah, Defense Minister of India Mr A.K Antony gave the number of suicides as tabulated below:-

Table 1 Suicide in Indian Army since 2003

Year No of Suicides Remarks

2012 till July 2012 69 On the average 110 Army men lose their life

2011 182

2010 115

2009 96

2008 123

2007 118

2006 129

2005 77

2004 100

2003 96

REFERENCE: The Tribune Chandigarh, India dated 20 Aug2012

This has been a great cause of concern for the Defence Forces Not only the human life is lost, it affects the morale of the troops The suicide rate is increasing in spite of the liberal policy providing various facilities to increase in pay by sixth pay commission, housing projects for army personnel, liberal leave policy etc The soldiers are still found under tremendous stress culminating into suicides increasingly Generally known causes of stress in army are frequent changes of places, colleagues and responsibilities, increasing impact of materialism and operational conditions peculiar to low intensity combat (LIC)

4 MANAGEMENT OF STRESS IN THE INDIAN ARMY

The Ministry of Defence confirmed to Parliament Committee (2009) that Indian Army has well laid out formalized Standing Operating Procedures (SOP) on all issues related to unit administration, welfare and man management in the units and formations In addition, numbers of letters on the subject insisting upon strict compliance of the same by Commanders have been issued The Commanders have been sensitized to the gravity of situation and superior Commanders in the chain are carrying out necessary checks during their interaction, visits and inspection of the units/formations

5 REMEDIAL MEASURES INITIATED BY ARMY

Based on the findings of various studies, Indian Army has initiated various remedial measures to manage stress among its personnel The details of such measures as revealed by Ministry of Defence are mentioned below

 Frequent Visits by senior staff officers apart from formation commanders to units to assess conditions of employment and living have been asked for focus on leadership, man management, motivation and morale Commanders at all levels to be more intimately involved with their Command

 Contact between the leaders and the led, both formal and informal, has been further enhanced

to feel the pulse of the troops Commanders must be accessible and keep the channels of communication open

 The Junior Commissioned Officers and Non Commissioned Officers have been educated and sensitized to be alive to the sensitivity of the troops and treat them with due respect and dignity

 Characteristics of troops, temperaments and behavioral tendencies are being kept in mind while dealing with troops belonging to different regions especially in an all Indian Mixed Class Composition unit

 Unit administration and officer-man relationship is being accorded high priority Accountability of commanders down to section level has been enforced

 Buddy system is being expanded to be among four/five Personnel below Officers Rank to be effective

 Group activities like sports, games and recreational activities are being encouraged at

unit/formation level within the constraints of operational deployment

6 STRESS MANAGEMENT IN INDIAN NAVY

An in-house study titled “Occupational Stress in Naval personnel at INHS Aswini, Mumbai during 2005-2006 was carried out by Indian Navy The study concludes that the Naval personnel on board submarine and ship had lower level of occupational stress as compared to those serving on shore establishments Occupational stress was more in junior sailor’s as compared to officers and senior sailors The Indian Navy has its own mechanism to cater to the factors identified for causing or precipitating the stress related illnesses among the naval personnel and their families

7 STRESS MANAGEMENT IN INDIAN AIR FORCE

According to the information furnished by the Ministry of Defence in their written note on the subject, the Indian Air Force has a well-established system for addressing personal problems of individuals The relevant details of the extent system are reproduced below:-

(a) Redressal of Grievances A well-established system of speedy redressal of grievances exists

under Air Force Law for all personnel of the IAF The system is fair and has stood the test of time

(b) Organizational Support and Welfare of Personnel and Families A Welfare meetings are

held regularly for the personnel to address welfare related measures separately for Airmen, Non Combatant (Enrolled) and Defence Security Core (DSC) at all stations of the IAF The problems put up

by the station personnel are followed up by the Welfare Officer for remedial action and a feedback on the measures taken is given by him during the next meeting For the families, the Air Force Wives Welfare Association (AFWWA) meeting is held regularly wherein educational activities and welfare activities being provided by the administration are highlighted for the benefits of the Personnel below Officer Rank (PBOR) families by the senior ladies of the station

(c) Counselling/Interview with Commanders Counselling sessions are held by supervisors for

their subordinates on a regular basis Similarly, a system of interview with the CO/Station commander/AOC also in place

8 OBJECTIVE

To identify the various communicatin related factors which promotes the stress breeding environment

in armed forces and suggest the various measures to create stress free environment?

9 METHODOLOGY

The present study is based on both primary and secondary data Primary data has been collected with the help of questionnaires Secondary data has been obtained from previous research reports, parliamentary standing committee report on defense (India) and various report of IDSA, DIPR organization.The population was chosen based on respondents who had experience of minimum of three years of servive and above in Indian Airforce Sample size of 54 has been chosen from Airforce personnel using random sampling method The research questions were formulated and drawn from previous presented theories and conclusions about various studies on stress related studies carried out

by Indian Army ,Navy, Airforce ,DRDO and IDSA Organisations

10 DATA ANALYSIS

Selected variables for the analysis were poor communication is a real cause for stress in any organization, mode of communication, problematic mode of communication, preferred mode of communication, , factors help to reduce stress through better communication process and impact of periodical interviews in resolving stress problems To analysis data, descriptive statistic analysis for the frequencies, multiple response analysis for the frequencies and correlation analysis for relationship between variables were done using SPSS

11 RQ1 POOR COMMUNICATION IS CAUSE OF STRESS IN ANY ORGANIZATION

The questions to the Air force personnel included whether respondents feel poor communication is a problem of any organization It was observed from the analysis that poor communication is a problem

of any organization

Table 4.1 Poor Communication is a problem of any organisation Poor Communication is a problem Percentage (%)

Table 4.1 reveals that 65.4 % of the respondents “strongly agree” and 30.8 % of respondents

“agree” that poor communication is a problem of any organization Both “Strongly agree” and “agree”

implies that poor communication is the problem of any organization This conclusion is in line with the previous study that the impact of gap in communication will lower the customer‘s confidence and overall, it will impact growth” (Archana, 2012)

12 RQ2 MODE OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION TO REDUCE STRESS

The mode of communication used is listed and asked them to answer whichever is used by them The modes of communication listed were Face to Face, Mass briefing and Notice board or written communication

Table 4.2 Modes of communication Mode of Communication Percentage (%)

Face to face / in person 61.5

From the table 4.2 it is understood that 61.5% uses phone, 88.5% used email and 82.7% used face

to face communication It is concluded from the table that Email and Face to face communication are used more than phone communication

13 RQ3 PREFERRED METHODS TO FREE FLOW OF COMMUNICATION

Respondents were asked to list out their preference of mode of communication

Table 4.3 Preferred mode of communication Preferred Mode Percentage (%)

Periodiacal counselling Regular Interview Routine Debrief Social Gathering Total

15

25

35

25

100 From the table 4.3 it is very clear that Periodical counselling(15%) is preferred less, Routine debrief(35%) is preferred most The Regular Interview and Social gathering in preferred equally i.e 25%

14 RQ4 PROBLEMATIC MODE OF COMMUNICATION

The respondents were asked to answer, which mode of communication is a problematic among Seniors

to Juniors,Among Peers and Subordiate to Seniors

Table 4.4 Problematic Mode of Communication

The table 4.4 reveals that most problematic mode of communication is Subordinates to Seniors(55.8%) where as Among Peers(35.6 %) is the next problematic mode next communication while Seniors to Juniors (8.6%) communication indicates that it is less problematic mode of communication

Problematic Mode Percentage Seniors to Juniors 8.6

Subordinates to Seniors 55.8

15 RQ5 PROBLEMATIC STYLE

The respondents were asked to answer, which style of communication is a problematic among verbal communication, non-verbal communication and pictorial representation

From the table 4.5 it is understood that Nonverbal (51.2%) style of communication is the most problematic style of communication where as pictorial representation (30.5%) is problematic next to Nonverbal communication style Verbal communication (18.3%) is less problematic style Misunderstandings become more likely when we fail to understand that persons around the world and from different co cultures use nonverbal cues that adhere to cultural rules that are different from ours (Gamble, 2013)

Table 4.5 Problematic style Problematic Style Percent of Cases

16 RQ6 IS EFFECTIVE LISTENING HELPS TO COMMUNICATION PROCESS AND REDUCES STRESS

Factors including effective listening will improve better communication process thus reduces stress among soldiers and use of official format will improve better communication process, need of a common language for a better communication process and common communicator (mediating Person) for better communication process were measured using Likert scale

Table 4.6 Effective Listening Effective listening Valid Percent

Table 4.6 shows that the entire respondents agreed that effective listening will improve the communication process by answering strongly agreed (84.6%) and agreed (15.4%) Active listeners raise questions; clarify ambiguous declaration, and takes great pains to insure that they and their

counterpart have the same understanding of what has been said (Robert and Ezequiel 2001)

17 RQ7 IS REGULAR COUNSELLING HELPS TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATION

PROCESS AND REDUCES STRESS

Factors including effective listening will improve better communication process thus reduces stress among soldiers and use of official format will improve better communication process, need of a common language for a better communication process and common communicator (mediating Person)

for better communication process were measured using Likert scale

Table 4.7 Effective Listening

Table 4.6 shows that the entire respondents agreed that Regular Counselling will improve the communication process by answering strongly agreed (89.5%) and agreed (10.5%)

Regular Counselling Valid Percent

Chart 4.1 RQ8 Is Periodical Interview helpful to reduce Stress

From the chart 4.1 it is under stood that 16.7% “very helpful” 29.2% “helpful” and 37.5%

“somewhat helpful” reveals that periodical interview are helping in reducing stress among soldiers and will create a stress free environment in armed forces

18 CONCLUSION

The research findings show that poor communication is the one of the major factor that contributes towards stress among uniform personnel in Indian armed forces Common modes communications were Face to Face, Mass briefing and Notice board or written communication

Flow of communication from subordinate to seniors is identified as problematic mode which promotes stress among soldiers Also nonverbal and pictorial representation is problematic style of communication Eeffective listening, use of official format and regular interview are the variables which help to communicate in better way and ensure stress free environment in Armed forces

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