Help! I’m on a Conference Call

Help! I’m on a Conference Call

1. How and why can conference calls facilitate effective communication in organizations?

A conference call is a medium of communication that facilitates effective communication. For organizations, effective communication is essential to attain organizational goals and to gain competitive advantage. Conference calls are characterized for being high in information richness—the amount of information supported by the medium and its ability to facilitate a common understanding among the people involved in the exchange of information.

When information has to be delivered and face-to-face communication is not possible, a conference call is a medium that facilities the communication process. Conference calls lack from the advantages of having access to the body language and facial expressions available in face-to-face communication. Nevertheless, the people involved in conference calls have access to the tone, emphasis, words, and way in which the message is delivered. Therefore, conference calls convey a large amount of information. Conference calls also facilitate communication when instant feedback is needed and it is not possible to relay in email or text-messages (Georges & Jones, 2015, pp. 477-482).

2. How and why might conference calls have the potential to lead to ineffective communication in organizations?

Conference calls in an organization can lead to ineffective communication for several reasons. Frequently, Conference calls have a mixture of virtual and present participants. Many times, virtual participants can feel as a non-important part of the group, and it is more difficult for them to develop affinity with the rest of the participants. Lack of interchange of facial expressions is r factor that makes these participants less involved and focused in the subject that is being discussed. Furthermore, the number of participants in a conference call is another key factor that can lead to ineffective communication; conference calls with more than 9 people increase the lack of interaction among participants and results in poor communication (Landro, 2014, p. 505).

3. What are some potential sources of noise in the communication process during conference calls?

Noise is anything that breaks up or delays the communication process (Georges & Jones, 2015, p. 479). Potential sources of noise in the communication processes are: A person that interrupts the other person that is talking, putting the line on hold, doing other task at the same time, leaving the mute on letting in the surrounding noises. Since more and more people work from home, noises such as kids crying, family members cleaning, door bells, as well as noises derived from eating and drinking (Landro, 2014, p. 505). Linguistics styles and cross-cultural difference can be