Espoused Theories - Jigsy



Espoused and In-Use Theories

Of Communication and Conflict

By

Doug O'Rear

A Paper Presented in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements of

LEAD 515 Leadership Communication and Conflict Resolution

November 6, 2009

Abstract

There are two popular theories that help describe how an individual will act or behave in a particular situation. Espoused theories are those accounts of how an individual will express, explain, or guess their behavior. In other words, this is how the individual believes they will act or expects others to act in a particular situation. Theories-in-use are how the individual actually behaves or performs the particular functions. This paper discusses some of my espoused theories and theories-in-use as they pertain to leadership communication and conflict resolution. It also will describe my plan to improve my consistency of my espoused theories and my theories-in-use as they relate to leadership communication and conflict resolution.

Table of Contents

Abstract 2

Table of Contents 3

Introduction 4

Intrapersonal Espoused Theories 5

Intrapersonal Theories-in-use 5

Interpersonal Espoused Theories 6

Interpersonal Theories-in-use 7

Conflict Espoused Theories 7

Conflict Theories-in-use 8

Differences in Espoused and in-use Theories 9

Conclusion 10

Reference 11

Introduction

In order for an individual to be effective at work or to be an effective leader, they must have some measure of self-awareness. "Self-awareness is knowing your motivations, preferences, and personality and understanding how these factors influence your judgment, decisions, and interactions with other people." "Internal feelings and thoughts, interests, strengths and limitations, values, skills, goals, abilities, leadership orientation, and preferred communication style are just a few of the elements that self-awareness comprises." (De Janasz, Dowd, 2009, p.5)

All of the elements that incorporate self-awareness also help comprise one's espoused theories. With so many variables, it is safe to assume that no two people will have the same espoused theories for every situation they may encounter in their life time. There is no right or wrong with an individuals espoused theories. It may be different from everyone else's, but it does not necessarily make it wrong.

Every company has a set of strategies and core values that it cascades from top to bottom that must be embraced by all in order for them to be successful, especially by those in a leadership position. These values and strategies will also influence an individual's espoused theories. What is interesting is that within the same company, the influence of such values and strategies will vary from department to department and from person to person. As an example, inspection and engineering may feel that quality is the most important indicator of the company but manufacturing and assembly may rate productivity over quality. To make matters a little more complex, if there was an injury in the facility and upper management said that safety now overrides all actions, one's previous espoused theories will again have been altered.

I went into detail about the influences that can affect one's espoused theories for a reason. They are unique to the individual. They often may change as the environment or situations change. One of the most fundamental and accepted styles of a successful leader is to lead by example. This involves being honest, trustworthy, punctual, respectful, courteous, along with many other attributes. They do not expect some one to do something that they themselves would not be willing to do. They avoid the "do as I say, not as I do" situations. "Leaders set an example for all constituents based on a shared understanding of what's expected. Leaders must be able to gain consensus on a common cause and a common set of principles. They must be able to build and affirm a community of shared values." (Kouzes, Posner, 2007, p.60)

Intrapersonal Espoused Theories

A lot of one's intrapersonal communications comes from an individual's behavior, personality, attitudes, and perceptions. When I am doing interviews for employment, aspects of these traits I look for include their motivations, having a good personality, self-confidence, dependable, decisive, optimistic, agreeable, and being high spirited or outgoing. I like for people to give me a lot of information freely without me having to pry and yank it out of them. Pleasant, fun-loving people are fun to be around and help create a great working environment. A company can never have too many people that help bring a positive atmosphere.

Intrapersonal Theories-in-use

I have an ISTP personality type. I like to gather facts before making decisions, I enjoy challenges as long as they are not vague or abstract, and I learn quicker from observing than from doing. I consider myself to have a good personality, although one may not see it until they get to know me. I have confidence in myself and my abilities but am not one to boast. I am very dependable and loyal. I am not very outgoing or high spirited and am often labeled as even tempered. Based on these theories-in-use, I probably would not hire myself if I were to interview myself although I would consider myself to be a great asset to any company that would employ me.

When I have new hires, I will often tell them to jump in and learn the process even though that is not how I would be comfortable in learning. I want to see first and then act. A lot of the information I will give new hires may be basic or generalized information whereas I personally would prefer informative and precise directions or information. Based on this information, there is definitely some contradiction between my espoused theories and my theories-in-action with regard to intrapersonal communication.

Interpersonal Espoused Theories

A key component to interpersonal communication has to do with the act of listening. Listening involves a lot more than just hearing the words of what the other person has to say. "Effective listening has three dimensions: sensing, processing/evaluating, and responding." (De Janasz, Dowd, 2009, p.115) It seems as though a large majority of people have been taught the skill to present and respond but few truly know how to listen. "Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply." (Covey, 1989, p.239)

I believe that giving an individual your full attention when they are speaking is the proper way to listen. It is very comforting as a speaker to see your target audience anticipate your next word or to nod with approval or even paraphrase what you have stated to acknowledge understanding.

Other forms of interpersonal communication include verbal messages and persuasion. Both can be critical with how an individual or team will respond to you which will ultimately show how effective of a leader one will be. Many factors influence how effective one will be but I believe you should always be upfront and direct with an individual even if you happen to be the bearer of bad news. I know I would personally prefer to just be told something then to have someone beat around the bush and make me figure out what they want to say.

Interpersonal Theories-in-use

Even though I strongly believe that one should always give their full attention when being spoken to, there are times when this is not possible or not necessarily a good business practice. I will always try to find a quiet location to talk to minimize the distractions, but I will keep my cell phone on. If a customer calls or if there is an emergency on the shop floor, I must respond immediately despite being disrespectful to the person that was speaking. All I can do is hope the individual understands. I personally find it annoying when I am talking to someone and they take a call in the middle of it.

I have mentioned that I like to be upfront and direct when giving out information. Many months ago, I had the disheartening task of giving many employees there layoff notices. To avoid a lot of hardships, human resources gave each supervisor a talk sheet of what to say and how to say it. To me it was beating around the bush. I suppose some of the employees may have preferred this method but I know that many did not.

Conflict Espoused Theories

There are too many different aspects of conflict that I have my own espoused theories on, therefore I will only discuss a couple of them but it should be enough to state my point. I will begin with bullying, although not necessarily with regard to the workplace. I personally was never really bullied at school, but I did have an older brother that was often a pain and we had many quarrels. When I raised my boys, I told them that they had better never start a fight at school, but if they are being bullied and must defend themselves, let them have it. Do not give in to their intimidation tactics. My general reasoning is that if the bully knows they cannot get away with it, they will stop the behavior.

The other aspect of conflict I have an espoused theory on has to do with conflict styles. As a foreman, we are taught that the best form of resolve is a win/win situation. This entails pursuing a collaboration style of resolution. " A collaborative conflict does not conclude until both parties are reasonably satisfied and can support the solution that has been found. Relationships are better, not worse, than when the conflict began." (Wilmot, Hocker, 2007, p.162)

Conflict Theories-in-use

With regard to bullying, it is easy to tell someone not to take the intimidation from the bully and to fight back. However, if the bully is a lot bigger or older than you, or if there is more than one, then perhaps fighting back is not the best course of action even though it is your espoused theory.

With regard to conflict styles, even though we are advised to try and reach a win/win situation, there are times when a statement needs to be made and perhaps a less cooperative style would be more appropriate, such as compromising. "Effectively dealing with conflict with a person or group requires people to develop an understanding of other perspectives, to become better able to differentiate others' points of view from their own, and perhaps to reshape their own points of view." (McCauley, Van Velsor, 2004 p.8) If you happen to have all of the facts and ammunition, then you could even use a competitive style to make your point.

Differences in Espoused and in-use Theories

I am a firm believer that to be a successful leader, one must have integrity and be trustworthy. The easiest and best way for a leader to gain the trust of their followers is to lead by example. Basically, you do what you say you are going to do, but you also do what you expect others to do. Although I have seen many managers or leaders talk on one side of their mouth and then do the opposite, I personally cannot readily think of any situations where I blatantly disregard my espoused theories by my theories-in-action. Only in extreme circumstances would there be much variation between the two.

If the concept of these theories is that a leader says one thing but then purposely does something else, then that is not a good leader. A leader must always make the best decisions based upon the information they have and the current situations. Just because occasionally what one preaches may vary a bit from what they do does not necessarily make them a bad person or leader. Although a bit extreme, an example would be a father that stresses the importance of always fulfilling promises and to never lie. He then promises his kids to take them to Disney World this coming weekend. Unfortunately, late that week there is a death in the family and he cancels the plans. Is he a liar and untrustworthy for breaking his promise or did an extreme circumstance come up that forced him to make the proper decision despite going against his normal espoused theories?

A leader has to make a lot of decisions based on the information they have and the current situation. Even though their decision may look like it contradicts their espoused theories, often times there are probably some other factors that are not known to the follows, therefore it is the perception that is false, not the leader.

Conclusion

I have discussed some of my espoused theories as well as some of my theories-in-use as they pertain to many of the intrapersonal and interpersonal communications and various conflict topics we covered this session. Although there are sometimes discrepancies between espoused in in-use theories, I feel the examples I have provided show that in extreme conditions, it is not necessarily a leader contradicting their set paths but instead a lack of all the details from those on the outside looking in.

References

Covey, S., (1989), The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York, New York:

Simon & Schuster

De Janasz, S.C., Dowd, K., (2009), Interpersonal Skills in Organizations. (3rd ed.) New York, New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Kouzes, J., Posner, B., (2007), The Leadership Challenge.(4th ed.) San Francisco,

California: Jossey-Bass

McCauley, C., Van Velsor, E., (2004), Handbook of Leadership Development. (2nd ed.)

San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass

Wilmot, W., Hocker, J., (2007), Interpersonal Conflict. (7th ed.) New York, New York: McGraw-Hill

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