Introduction

The topic of this assignment is to study “Communication competencies in the socialization process in the direct selling business”.

Objectives

There are many objectives of doing this assignment. So, the objectives of this assignment is to let us understand the following:

1. Definition of communication competencies, socialization process and direct selling business.
2. The influence of communication competencies to the socialization process in the direct selling business.
3. The relationship of communication competencies in the socialization process in the direct selling business.

Communication competencies

Communication is the process by which information is exchanged between different individuals through a common system of interaction by using symbols, signs, or behaviours. Communication is the ability to listen to others and also can communicate in an effective manner at the same time. For most people, communication can be defined as simply talk and it is a natural event that occurs in daily life. Communication competency is the ability for someone who is able to communicate with another person in order to reach their goals through interactive and suitable interactions. Besides, communication competency also means the ability to achieve communication goals in a manner which can maintain the relationship on terms acceptable to those who are involved. Particularly, it is a type of skill level that human resources professionals should practises and it is responsible for managing others which must be attained and possessed. In order to achieve competency in communication, there are six criteria which a communicator must meet which include flexibility, involvement, management, empathy, effectiveness and appropriateness.

For the flexibility, the communicator needs to be very flexible to adapt different kind of situations and willing to change the behaviours of others in order to achieve goals. Adaptability may require a person who is communicating with other people always be sensitive to both the goals itself and also the people who is responsible for achieving the goals.The other skill that required to achievecommunication competency is involvement in the conversation. This requires the communicator to interact directly with the other parties and the interaction includes listening to the needs and concerns of others.Secondly, the other skill required to achieve communication competency is involvement in the conversation. This requires the communicator to interact directly with the other parties. Interaction includes listening to the needs and concerning of others. Thirdly, being able to manage the conversation requires the communicator to adjust how they interact with each other, control the conversation and social interactions. It also requires the communicator to control the direction of the conversation takes. Fourthly, empathy means the ability of communicator to show that they understand where the others are coming from and understand their problems to share their own emotions. Fifthly, effectiveness is the ability of communicator to reach the goal of the conversation and the ability to meet both the requirements of the communicator and the other parties who are involved. Lastly, appropriateness is the ability to adhere the expectations of the situation on hand. One of the primary measurements for attaining communication competency is depends on how appropriate the conversation is in achieving the goals.

Socialization process

Socialization is a learning process which begins shortly after birth. Early childhood is the period of the most crucial and the most intense socialization. It is then which we acquire language and learn the basics of our culture. Besides, it is also a process when much of our personalities take shape. During socialization, we learn the language of the culture which we are born into as well as the roles we are to play in life.However, we continue to be socialized throughout our lives. Socialization can also be defined as a process which may lead to acceptable, or ‘moral’, outcomes in the opinion of society said. Individual views on certain issues, such as economies or race, are deeply influenced by the view of the society and at last, it became a “normal” and acceptable outlook or value to have within the society. For example, human infants are born without any culture. Then, they must be transformed by their parents, teachers, friends and others into cultural and socially skilled animals. The general process of acquiring this culture is referred to as socialization. Besides, socialization can also be defined as the process by which children and adults learn from others through daily activities. We begin our learning from others during the early days of lifeand most people can continue their social learning all through life.Socialization is important in the process of personality formation. While much of human personality is the result of our genes, the socialization process can imitate it in particular directions by encouraging specific beliefs and attitudes as well as selectively providing experiences.

Direct selling business

Direct selling is the marketing and selling of products directly to consumers which are away from fixed retail location. It is marketed through the independent sales representatives who are also referred to as consultants or distributors. A very small percentage of direct sellers are employees from the companies whose products they sell. It is a type of sales channel where the products are marketed directly to customers while eliminating the need for middlemen such as wholesalers, advertisers and also retailers. They are independent contractors who market and sell the products or services of the company and in return for a commission from those sales.Direct sellers do not necessarily have to sell door-to-door even though that is usually how they get started out. Many of them sell their products through the phone or even through the mail or via a personal website. Direct selling can be conducted as one-on-one, in a group, as a party format or selling online. There are many benefits of online selling. The factor that makes direct selling such an attractive career option is the flexibility which it offers. Those who are engage in direct selling are known as independent contractors who determine how much time and energy they want to invest in their businesses. They can set their own hours, define and control their work-family life balance. An Independent sales representative is they become their own boss. Besides, direct selling is also a way to own a business with the most minimal capital investment. The other strengths of direct selling isdue to its tradition of independence, service provide to consumers, and commitment to entrepreneurial growth in a free market system. Direct selling provides accessible business opportunities to people who are looking for other alternative sources of income, and the entry for direct selling is generally not restricted by gender, age, education, or any other previous experiences. Around the world there is a substantial majority of direct sellers are women and most work in their direct selling businesses are based on a part-time basis.

The influence of communication competencies to the socialization process in the direct selling business

As we know, direct selling business is emphasize to the “inheritance” rather than closing deals, with provide different seminars or courses for different level to independent distributors. Mostly courses are major in how to recruit the potential customers with the communication and social skills. So, socialization is the process by which whether children and adults learn from others. Therefore there are differences in outcomes for teenagers and adults due to socialization process after they attend the courses which organize by direct selling companies and apply when selling products or recruit new members. This is because the mentality and needs in the between of teenagers and adults are different. So, it is very important to choose to the proper ways in communicating with others in order to reach communication effectiveness in communication competencies and to reach the communication’s objectives. The common definition of direct selling business for a customers and fulfil their materialism but for adults they are more preferable to sustain with consistent income in order to have more time with their families. “Zero Attitude “is another point which is emphasize by the direct selling companies, they are require the new independent distributors to learn and manage in communication competency, the ability for them to communicate with potential clients to reach their goals through interactive and appropriate interaction. Therefore, a good interaction between each other is very important in the socialization process. The interaction includes listening to the needs and concerns of others. It also requires the independent distributors to be aware of how potential clients perceive them and to know what to say in response to all of this. Direct selling business normally are being misunderstood by the public which they are applying impropriate way to “brain wash” new incomers but practically they are “cloning” or “inheriting” their culture of communication and social skills to become a mature distributors which can lead them to be able to expand their business and recruit new incomers independently. Direct selling business also requires a good communication competency in order to develop the messages which the sellers want to deliver to the targeted customers about the products selling.

The relationship of communication competencies in the socialization process in the direct selling business

In conclusion, there is a strong relationship between communication competencies and socialization process in the direct selling business. It is very important to have a good communication competency in the socialization process in order to bring out good outcomes in the organization through the socialization process. This is very important as the communication competency is about communicating with other in order to reach their goals through interactive interactions and socialization process is the process when much of our personalities take shape and adapting the culture which affected by the surrounding environment. Without a good socialization process in the process of communication in an organization, there will never have a good communication competency to produce good outcomes from the communication process. With a good communication competency, a person who has good communication and promoting skills when selling the products through direct selling method can makes the targeted customers to have a more understanding about the descriptions and usages of the certain products. So, with a good communication competency, this will lead to successful in most of the trading process especially for the direct selling business. Besides, a good communication competency will also can prevent the misunderstanding of the products’ information to happen or cases such as customers feeling blur about the marketing products to occur.

References

COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE DEFINED. (29 Jan, 2000). Retrieved 6 April, 2014, from http://www.uky.edu: http://www.uky.edu/~drlane/capstone/commcomp.htm

What is Direct Selling. (2014). Retrieved 8 April, 2014, from http://www.avoncompany.com: http://www.avoncompany.com/earningsopportunity/directselling.html

What is the socialization process. (July, 2001). Retrieved 8 April, 2014, from www.soc.ucsb.edu: http://www.soc.ucsb.edu/faculty/baldwin/classes/soc142/scznDEF.html