Multimedia Presentation & Reflection

PLS PAY ATTENTIOPMN TO THE INSTRUCTION I BELIEVE THE ASSIGNMENT IS DIVDED INTO TWO. IN ORDER TO AID YOU JOB I HAVE ATTACHED MY LAST ASSIGNMENT WHICH YOUR WORK IS GOING TO BE BASED ON. PLS ALSO READ THIS WORD ATTACHED WITH THIS INSTRUCTION BELOW. (POWERPOINT :ADD NOTES LIKE THE INSTRUCTIONS SAYS. PLS AND WORD  DOCUMENT We live in a world with complicated communication issues, challenges, and problems. An understanding of how communication works can help us make sense of today’s pressing problems and devise solutions for them.

To develop that communication competence, you must become a more mindful communicator and vigilantly self-monitor. Competent communicators have cognitive knowledge about communication that they have drawn from observations and instruction; understand that individual, social, and cultural contexts that affect competence; and are able to adapt to those various contexts.

Objectives:In completing this presentation, you will

apply analytical skills to interpreting, using, and delivering information

create a professional and appropriate multimedia presentation for a specified purpose and audience

demonstrate your understanding of communication processes in a specified setting

Articulate how you aim to resolve your workplace communication problem and improve your communication with others.

Background:Please begin this assignment by reading the following information carefully. n.b.These instructions are available in both the Weeks 7 and 8 content areas.

For this project you will use a multimedia presentation format of your choice that includes a voiceover component, to create a presentation to your classmates and instructor that explains and reflects on what you learned about a communication theory and how it can be used to understand and potentially resolve your workplace* communication problem.

Content: Do not simply copy and paste your research paper into your presentation. Address the following in your presentation:

Tell your classmates about your workplace* communication problem and the communication theory you explored. How can it be used to resolve other communication problems?

Explain what you learned from this investigation about communication in the workplace* that will help you in your career?

Explain what you learned about your own communication skills and style from this investigation. What improvements do you think you should make in them?

Why is understanding communication in organizations important?

Format:You will want to edit, revise and edit your script again. Once you know what you want to say and how to say it, attach your script as a transcript in Word .doc, .docx,or .rtf format only to your presentation or copy it into the “Notes” section at the bottom of each slide. If you use a Word document attached to your presentation, you can simply double-space the text, indent the paragraphs, number the pages, and include a title, your name, and the date centered at the top of the first page.

Make sure to use quoted, paraphrased, and summarized material from your research in the script and to source it using APA-style citations and references.

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Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Olamide Olatunji
University of Maryland Global Campus
Comm 300
04/21/2024
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Cognitive Dissonance Theory
With the recent rise in the global population, workplaces have started increasing their
hiring to meet the massive surge in demand for products and services. Such increased
processes of hiring new employees have resulted in increased cases where employees need
help to communicate around the workplace effectively, and this has thus created friction and,
at times, affected organizations’ operations (Liu et al., 2020). For instance, many
organizations are experiencing issues related to communication due to cultural diversity.
People from all races are getting hired in workplaces, forcing employees to work together,
sometimes creating operational inefficiencies. Therefore, this research aims to identify
measures that can be adopted to ensure that differences cease to be communication problems
in work problems. To ensure an in-depth analysis of the communication problem currently
experienced in workplaces, cognitive dissonance theory is essential in helping to understand
the communication issue and get possible resolutions.
The cognitive dissonance theory is used in workplaces to help the management
understand and resolve significant communication problems. This theory was developed by a
psychologist known as Leon Festinger in 1957 and classified under the psychological theories
(Mills et al., 2019). According to this theory, people, especially employees, naturally desire to
engage in cognitive consistency; they seek to establish some form of harmony in their
thought processes and instances where some form of inconsistency occurs. They experience
some form of cognitive dissonance that creates extreme discomfort, also known as
psychological tension.
The cognitive theory comprises essential components such as cognitive dissonance,
dissonance reduction, establishing the magnitude of the dissonance, and selective exposure.
Cognitive dissonance is the issue that increases the psychological discomfort individuals
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experience when they hold conflicting beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors. Dissonance reduction
occurs when individuals are motivated to reduce dissonance and restore consistency (Mills et
al., 2019). This is mainly done when people change their thought processes and align
themselves to minimize discomfort. The dissonance level significantly depends on the
importance of beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors involved. The more inconsistency there is, the
greater the discomfort experienced.
The other components of the cognitive dissonance theory include selective exposure
and post-decision dissonance. Selective exposure occurs when people seek information to
confirm their beliefs and thus avoid any information that contradicts them (Lee et al., 2019).
This level of selective exposure helps maintain consistency and thus reduces dissonance.
Reduces the post-decision dissonance mainly after decision-making, where equal options are
involved. In this case, people may experience doubts or regrets about their decisions, leading
to increased efforts to justify them. This is mainly done as the individuals seek to reduce
dissonance. Therefore, cognitive dissonance theory provides essential information on how
individuals manage inconsistencies and thus can be widely applied in understanding
employee behaviors.
This communication theory examines the psychological issues that affect employees
through conflicting beliefs, attitudes, or other behaviors. The issues, therefore, affect
employees’ mental space since they destabilize their cognitive functionality, which has been
previously affected by the communication processes in the workplace. This communication
theory, therefore, ensures that issues relating to cultural diversity are adequately identified
and concisely analyzed to have a clear resolution for the problems.
According to the cognitive dissonance theory, when individuals experience some
scenarios that cause increased discomfort, they are likely to spread incorrect and inconsistent
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messages in the workplace (Yahya & Sukmayadi, 2020). For instance, when employees seek
to have issues such as friction that arises with cultural diversity issues, then such employees
will have a tough time communicating with fellow employees within the workplace. Cultural
diversity issues arise with differences in race, religion, and cultural norms. These issues have
been majorly established due to globalization in production processes. When people are in
situations that destabilize their psychological processes, communication problems are likely
to arise.
Using the cognitive dissonance theory, cultural differences that cause increased
discomfort in the employee’s daily practice can be understood and adequately addressed. This
theory helps identify the persistent cultural inconveniences that cause employees to have
increased differences in their daily practice (Yahya & Sukmayadi, 2020). For instance,
employees who hail from different regions are expected to have significant differences
associated with them. Some of the differences that employees may face include differences in
cultural backgrounds that affect how the different employees communicate. There are
cultures where there is a specific preset communication structure when people of different
gender are communicating.
In the workplace, some people need to recognize cultural diversity, leading to
increased discomfort and thus derailing communication. These cultural differences may even
lead to increased tension in the workplace. However, communication issues can be effectively
addressed using the cognitive dissonance theory. Therefore, the cognitive dissonance theory
allows management and employees to properly analyze communication and address
challenges that may arise from cultural barriers (Karacay et al., 2019). This analysis is
essential in ensuring that the communication problems in the workplace are adequately
addressed, therefore allowing for increased communication efficiency. This is because the
theory provides a framework for effectively describing cultural differences. Cultural norms,
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values, and communication processes contribute to cognitive dissonance, especially when
people have conflicts over beliefs and attitudes. A concise description of the cultural
differences can help the proper scientific challenges be understood and effectively addressed.
The cognitive dissonance theory presents strategies that can be adopted to ensure that
cultural barriers resulting from employee diversity issues are effectively addressed. Resolving
these issues would mean the development of proper intercultural communication in the
modern-day workplace (Yang et al., 2022). This can be done by adopting effective
communication styles such as always seeking clarification on any form of communication,
developing social skills such as empathy, and understanding other people’s cultural
perspectives. These strategies are effectively formulated since employees will adequately
state issues that cause psychological differences regarding cultural differences. Byations and
workplaces can communicate effectively by addressing the cognitive dissonance associated
with cultural differences. This leads to stronger relationships among the employees, thus
creating an inclusive and supportive working environment.
Using the cognitive dissonance theory knowledge, issues relating to communication
breakdown due to cultural differences can be effectively resolved. This can be done through
management sensitizing employees to appreciate cultural diversity in the workplace. This is
done by highlighting the advantages that different cultures bring to enhancing the
organization, such as increasing creativity, which ultimately promotes the quality of products
and services produced at the organization (Karacay et al., 2019). When the employees are
sensitized to the advantages, they can effectively understand that some of the issues that
cause workplace differences due to cultural differences only require proper adaptation to the
cultural differences. This will lead to post-decision dissonance, and therefore, the employees
will agree to embrace each other cultures and thus reduce workplace conflicts.
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In conclusion, all workplaces are characterized by increased cases of employees
having work-related problems. To ensure that these issues, such as cultural differences, are
resolved, then understanding the psychological aspect of employees is essential as it will preempt employees’ sources of discomfort regarding cultural issues. The cognitive dissonance
theory, therefore, provides valuable information on the framework that can be followed to
identify, describe, analyze, and resolve cultural issues in the workplace. When all employees
understand the cause of the discomfort, proactive steps can be adopted to promote
communication and collaboration among employees.
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References
Harmon-Jones, E., & Mills, J. (2019). An introduction to cognitive dissonance theory
and an overview of current perspectives on the theory.Cognitive Dissonance, Second Edition:
Reexamining a Pivotal Theory in Psychology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0000135-001
Jeong, M., Zo, H., Lee, C. H., & Ceran, Y. (2019). Feeling displeasure from online
social media postings: A study using cognitive dissonance theory. Computers in Human
Behavior, 97, 231-240.
Karacay, G., Bayraktar, S., Kabasakal, H., & Dastmalchian, A. (2019). Role of leaders
as negotiation agents for counterbalancing cultural dissonance in the Middle East and North
Africa region. Journal of International Management, 25(4), 100704.
Yahya, A. H., & Sukmayadi, V. (2020). A review of cognitive dissonance theory and
its relevance to current social issues. MIMBAR: Jurnal Sosial Dan Pembangunan, 36(2), 480488.
Yang, N., Lin, C., Liao, Z., & Xue, M. (2022). When moral tension begets cognitive
dissonance: An investigation of responses to unethical pro-organizational behavior and the
contingent effect of construal level. Journal of Business Ethics, 180(1), 339-353.
Zou, X., Chen, X., Chen, F., Luo, C., & Liu, H. (2020). The influence of negative
workplace gossip on knowledge sharing: insight from the cognitive dissonance
perspective. Sustainability, 12(8), 3282.