Business Communication & Conflict Management in BPO

Advocacy (Based on SDG):

The researchers’ main interest/focus is to determine and understand how Business Process Outsourcing Employees, particularly Call Center Agents and how they maintain proper business communication and peaceful conflict management as they associate with various co-workers and clients. They will know what it means to be in the BPO Industry as they discover the hardships and efforts of call center agents in the Philippines, specifically Quezon City which is one of the largest cities in the country.

Interest/ Focus:

Various articles and testimonies have inspired the researchers to pursue their research topic which is all about knowing the business communication skills and the conflict management of BPO Employees in Quezon City. Recently, call center agents shared their experiences working in the BPO Industry; they had to face “full understanding of callers’ main issues” and fingers being pointed at by their team because of negative feedbacks, as well as the threat of being sacked because of poor performance (Aragon, 2018). Moreover, reported cases of conflict in work teams among call center agents are reported. Despite call center agents working towards a common goal, diversity cannot be helped. These include structural disagreements, such as levels of participation and interdependence among employees due to various preferences (Executive Boutique, 2011). However, some BPO companies, such as Telus, provided ways for their employees to strengthen the bond and team building among call center agents in the Philippines. According to Warren Tait, VP for brand, marketing and culture in Telus Philippines, the company’s area of advantage is their team member experience which is a valuable part of their business. This is proven by involving members in Customer Service Representative (CSR) programs, which in turn will help them gain leadership, personal growth and education (Go, 2016).

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In relation to the Philippine setting, it is known that employees are divided into different folds of team, which makes them prone to encountering conflict of interests. Due to these differences, employees’ cooperation and communication skills are being tested as they associate with co-workers and even their clients. Moreover, the researchers want to place focus on how BPO Employees struggle to fit the standards and demands of the constantly developing Business Process Outsourcing Industry as they continue to face threats of modern technology, changes in economic status, and stability of workforce.

Existing Problem/ Issues/ Concerns:

According to Stanley Deetz (2000), Critical Communication Theory is defined as the maintenance of organizational communication and organizational control in companies where diverse interests of people are given voice and political and economic interests are being acknowledged. The main highlight of the theory is applying critical communication in order to ensure that both human and corporate interests are given priority, so as to maintain stability in a company. Moreover, the theory aims to go beyond the fixed notions of organizations. Critical Communication Theory is directed towards taking into account the democratic aspirations of the people as well as the power centers in a certain organization; in other words, every side has to be heard. Reforms in communication are to be made constantly to promote productivity and democracy within a company (Deetz, 2000).

In relation to the study, the researchers used Critical Communication Theory as their basis to highlight how the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Employees manage themselves and how they communicate or cooperate with their co-workers and to their clients to maintain productivity within their organization. Their daily lives wherein they have to converse with different types of people shaped them to who they are today. Moreover, there are a lot of strategies that BPO Employees have incorporated within themselves since the industry is directed on human interactions – and at the same time, making sure that conflict is reduced or suppressed to avoid further difficulties.

Theoretical Basis:

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)

Demographic Profile of the Employees:

• Age
• Sex
• Years in the company as an employee
• Shift
• Type of
• Highest education attainment
• Avoiding

Significance of the Study:

1. BPO Employees, especially Call Center Agents

They will be able to get more knowledge about their communication skills and conflict management; which will lead them to competency. They will be able to learn how to control their temper and develop their patience. In this way; the employees will also be able to avoid conflicts with their costumers which may leave a good impression to both employees and company.

2. BPO Applicants

They will know if they have in them the skills that are needed to be a BPO Employee. Moreover, the findings in this research can help them adjust to the demands of the Business Process Outsourcing Industry.

3. Employers

The study will help the employers to know if the applicant has the skill and qualifications to be a BPO employee. They will also know who among their employees has good communication skills and conflict management because these are the people that they need to have a more successful company or industry.

3. Future Researchers

The study can help the future researchers to be aware and knowledgeable about communication skills and conflict management especially when they get to engage with Business Process Outsourcing employees.

4. Students

The study will help them to realize that they need to have good communication skills and conflict management if they plan to work and talk around so many people to avoid conflicts with their future customers, as these are the key qualities to become full-fledged business professionals in the future.

Statement of the Problem / Objectives

This study aims to research about business communication skills and conflict management of selected call center agents of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Industry who are currently working in Quezon City. Furthermore, the study aims to give objective and precise answers to the following questions that will help in attaining the study’s objective:

1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents?
   1. a. Age
   2. b. Sex
   3. c. Years in the company as employee Shift
   4. d. Type of Account
   5. e. Highest education attainment
2. How effective is the level of communication skills of the BPO employees?
3. What are conflict management skills (category) of the BPO employees?
4. What is the relationship between the level of communication skills and conflict management skills of the BPO employees?

Hypothesis

This study generally aims to research about business communication skills and conflict management of selected call center agents of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Industry who are currently working in Quezon City.

Listed below are the following hypotheses that give the conclusion to the results of the study:

There is no significant relationship between the level of communication skills and conflict management skills of the BPO employees.

There is a significant relationship between the level of communication skills and conflict management skills of the BPO employees.

Scope and Delimitation:

As students, the researchers should know how the call center agents do their job, and what the difference of their work from others is. Moreover, the researchers would like to know what skills that employees from the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry must display, as well as the personality that they must portray to meet the standards for conflict management. Call Center Agents are the specific subjects that are chosen for this research since they are the best example of a job with frequent human interaction, particularly with how they manage conflict with rude customers or contradicting co-workers. The researchers know that their job is to interact and converse with various customers. In handling problems, the researchers wish to discover how they maintain good business communication.

· What do you want to do?

The researchers decided to exclude the other aspects of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Industry due to its broadness. They only decided to focus on the call center agents and not on the other fields such as medical transcription, game developing, and the like. Moreover, the researchers only placed their focus on the call center agents’ skills on how to maintain proper business communication and management of conflict in their industry, when it comes to co-workers and clients, and not directly on the specific struggles that they are facing or their own opinions. In this research, the researchers only focused BPO Industry on the Philippine setting, so the Business Process Outsourcing in other countries is excluded from the scope of the study.

· What you don’t want to do?

This study will be conducted on the 1st Semester of academic year 2019-2020, in partial fulfillment of the requirements in Research in Daily Life 2. In the halfway of the data gathering period however, the researchers will be targeting to contact some call center agents working for various Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies in Quezon City to conduct a survey, so as to attain their objectives for pursuing this research.

· When will you conduct the study?

The researchers who are from Lyceum of the Philippines University Manila Senior High School will conduct their research in Quezon City. Quezon City is also known as the 'City of the Star' and the former capital of the Philippines, it was composed of small individual towns. In addition, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is a business

· Where will you conduct the study

practice in which one organization hires another company to perform a task that the hiring organization requires for its own business to successfully operate. The researchers decided to pick Quezon City as their sole locale for the study because there are a lot of BPO companies as well as employees working for them to earn a living.

The respondents of this study will be Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Employees specifically Call Center Agents located in Quezon City. Composing of thirty (30) members, both male and female, the randomly sampled respondents will be asked by the researcher for consent and approval to answer the survey questionnaire until the desired number of respondents, which is thirty (30), is reached. They will be asked to answer the survey questionnaire that the researchers will provide to them which supplies the information the researchers need.

· Who will be your respondents?

The researchers choose Call center agents because their job has to do with business communication skills and conflict management. In addition, they are knowledgeable and have sufficient experience to answer the problems posed in the present study. In this way, the researchers will be able to answer the main research questions.

· Why choose them?

A Survey-questionnaire, Elemental Truths by Adkins, R. (2006) and Conflict Management Styles Assessment by Blake, O. (2018), will be used in gathering data which consists of items that will determine and asses the Employees' Business Communication Skills and Conflict Management. At least thirty (30) chosen participants will be asked to answer a survey which let them choose their preferred response by checking the number option based on their Personal feelings and perception along the given area. The questions that are present in the survey are direct supporting questions that will help answer the main research questions as aforementioned in the Statement problem of the study. In this way, the researchers will be able to gather in-depth data with the help of a survey-questionnaire.

· Which instrument will you use?

Definition of Terms:

· Business communication

It is defined as the information sharing among people within and outside an organization that is performed for the commercial benefits of the organization. For instance, it is how a call center agent shares information to promote its product or services to potential customers.

· Business communication skills

It is defined as the ability to convey information to another effectively and efficiently in the business aspect. In application, as call center agents, listening carefully to customers is critically in order to provide accurate and satisfying answers. With that in mind, a business professional need to have great attention to detail and pick up on the things the customer is and isn’t saying as well as their co-workers.

· Business process of outsourcing

It is defined as the business practice in which one organization hires another company to perform a task; hiring organization requires for its own business to successfully cooperate. Moreover, the employees will be able to communicate well and avoid conflicts with their costumers which may leave a good impression to both employees and company by extending help to maintain order in the exchange of transactions.

· Conflict management

It is the process of limiting the negative aspects of conflict while increasing the positive aspects of conflict. Its aim is to enhance learning and group outcomes including effectiveness or performance in an organizational setting. For example, how call center agents able to learn how to develop their patience and control their temper as they converse with various clients and co-workers.

References

Achieving Organizational Performance Through Business Process Outsourcing

• 2015
• Agha, E. & Kolowaloe, I.
• European Scientific Journal
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Communication Within the Workplace

• 2005
• Hamer, B.
• University of Wiscosin-Stout
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• Business Communication: Nature, Importance, Process and Other Details

N/D

• Chand, S.
• Your Article Library
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• A Descriptive Study of Workplace Conflict Management Styles in Indian Organizations
• 2013

Abbas, S. & Joshi, N.

Research Gate

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267394739_A_Descriptive_Study_of_Workplace_Conflict_Management_Styles_in_Indian_Organizations

The Role and Impact of Business Communication on Employee Performances and Job Satisfactions

• 2017
• Nabi, N, Foysol, K. & Adnan, S.
• Arabian J Bus Manag Review
• https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/the-role-and-impact-of-business-communication-on-employee-performancesand-job-satisfactions-a-case-study-on-karmasangsthan-bank-li-2223-5833-1000301.php?aid=91849

Conflict Management, a New Challenge

• 2016
• Madalina, O.
• ScienceDirect
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212567116302556