Taking a Step Back to Move Forward: Understanding Communication Skills and Their Characteristics in the Workplace

Autor/in	Touloumakos, Anna K.
Titel	Taking a Step Back to Move Forward: Understanding Communication Skills and Their Characteristics in the Workplace
Quelle	In: Studies in Continuing Education, 45 (2023) 2, S.188-207 (20 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Touloumakos, Anna K.)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0158-037X
DOI	10.1080/0158037X.2022.2030698
Schlagwörter	Soft Skills; Communication Skills; Work Environment; Human Resources; Grounded Theory; Discourse Analysis; Situated Learning; Interpersonal Communication; Employees + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Kommunikationsstil; Arbeitsmilieu; Humankapital; Diskursanalyse; Interpersonale Kommunikation; Employee; Arbeitnehmer; Beschäftigter
Abstract	Soft skills have been increasingly recognised as important in the workplace. They have been incorporated, moreover, in education and training curricula internationally. However, their conceptualisation lacks in theoretical grounding. This study fills this gap by taking a skills-utilisation approach (rather than a skills-requirements approach) and studying communication skills in the Human Resource function of two organisations, Flow and Energy. Key informants were participants in the events that were theoretically sampled (e.g. employees, candidates). Observations of interactions between HR professionals and their interlocutors, combined with conversations, interviews and organisational documents provided the data corpus. The analysis combined the key mechanics of grounded theory and discourse analysis. The conceptual framework drew on situated learning. Results indicate that communication skills should not be seen as decontextualised communication behaviours. Instead, communication skills require constant manoeuvring and alignment of communication behaviour (what people do) with the following three factors: the aim of the communication encounter, the actors' positional identities and the various forms of knowing they bring to the practice. This view unveils the tentative and elusive (rather than transferrable and universally applicable) nature of communication skills. Such an evidence-driven conceptualisation has implications for how soft skills should be researched, understood and developed/accredited. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01