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Communication Skills Training: Management Manipulation or Personal Development?Department of Communication, University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, County Antrim BT37 OQB, Northern Ireland.
Department of Communication, University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, County Antrim BT37 OQB, Northern Ireland. In a recent edition of Human Relations, Elmes and Costello (1992) reported the results of their observations of a communication skills training (CST) workshop. Their paper examined this approach to training from a dramaturgical perspective and argued that CST could be considered as an inherently manipulative means of strengthening management control within organizations. Given that there has been an explosive growth of interest in CST as a means of furthering personal development, in a variety of professional contexts, the present paper addresses the concerns raised by Elmes and Costello, by examining some of the central issues associated with this approach to training. Research evidence is reviewed which suggests that CST is an effective training medium which can be a positive force for strengthening relationships within the work environment. CST as a means of furthering behavioral change is examine in the light of the Elmes and Costello critique. Finally, the implications of these issues for the management of relationships at work are considered.
Key Words: communication skills training • organizational communication • dramaturgy • management • phenomenology
Human Relations, Vol. 47, No. 11,
1377-1389 (1994) This article has been cited by other articles:
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