#2 --- Resolving Interpersonal Conflicts

The account below tells of the strife between a mother and her teenage daughter:

It is 1a.m. Mrs Lee was about to turn in after waiting 2 hours for her daughter to come home. Just then, Jessica fumbles with her keys and opens the house door in a drunken stupor.

Jessica: Hi mum. You’re still awake?

Mrs Lee: Yes. I was waiting for…

Jessica: [Rattling on] The party I went to was a blast! Allison and the girls want to make a weekend trip to Bali and they invited me along! How cool is that? They’re planning to leave on Friday morning so we can maximize our time there! I shouldn’t be missing much from school except my English Language and Maths classes. I think I should have enough money to pay for the trip myself. May I go pleeeease?

Mrs Lee: No! You’re getting way out of hand! Have you got any idea what day it is today?! It’s a Sunday! You’re back this hour when you have school in the morning tomorrow and now you’re telling me you want to skip school for an overseas holiday??

Jessica: I knew it! I knew you’d react this way! Why can’t you be as cool as Allison’s mum? It’s not like I’m making you pay for the trip…

Mrs Lee: That’s not the point! You’re clearly too drunk to make yourself coherent. Go wash up and sleep early! You still have school tomorrow!

Jessica: Ugh! I hate you!! [Jessica storms into her room and slams the door shut]


Jessica storms out with a duffel bag filled with her clothes, all ready to leave home for good. She grabbed her passport and some cash, stepped out of the main door and never looked back.
Was there a need for Jessica to react this way in return of her mother’s concern? Was there anything that Mrs Lee could have done to prevent her daughter from leaving home?

#1 -- Effective Communication

Effective communication encompasses the ability to articulate one’s thoughts as well as active listening from the other party. People in organizations typically spend over 75% of their time in an interpersonal situation; thus it is no surprise that the cause of many organizational problems is poor communication. Effective communication is an essential component of organizational success, whether it is at the interpersonal, intergroup, intragroup, or external levels.
In the process of conveying a message to another party, it is inevitable that part of its original essence is lost in the transmission. In many situations, the message that is heard is often far different than the one intended. This is especially true in cross-cultural situations where language and accent is an issue but is also evident among people of the same culture. Through this course, one may develop better oral communication skills, learning thought processing and articulation to express him/ herself better.

Furthermore, being a budding scientist, effective communication is vital when doing group experiments in the laboratory. Laboratory protocols with lengthy instructions can sometimes lead to misunderstandings between group members. On top of that, different people have different working habits, ranging from meticulous followers to domineering leaders. Being able to express my thoughts clearly to my laboratory mates and understand their working habits would make the experimental process and post-experiment report writing more efficient.

To sum up, effective communication is paramount to being a successful individual in society. The other factors that contribute to effective communication will be explored further in the coming weeks.