COMS 155: WORKPLACE
SKILLS
Holly Manning
Johnson County Community College
,COMS 155: Workplace Skills
Holly Manning
Johnson County Community College
,This text is disseminated via the Open Education Resource (OER) LibreTexts Project (https://LibreTexts.org) and like the
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State University Affordable Learning Solutions Program, and Merlot. This material is based upon work supported by the National
Science Foundation under Grant No. 1246120, 1525057, and 1413739.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not
necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation nor the US Department of Education.
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This text was compiled on 09/13/2026
, TABLE OF CONTENTS
Licensing
1: Communication Basics
1.1: Communication in Context
1.2: Elements in communication
1.3: Why Is It Important to Communicate Well?
1.4: Your Responsibilities as a Communicator
2: Culture in the Workplace
2.1: Intercultural communication
2.2: Cultural Diversity
2.3: Demographic Diversity
2.4: Gender Diversity
2.5: How Biases Are Formed
3: Verbal and NonVerbal Communication
3.1: Principles of Verbal Communication
3.2: Language Can be an Obstacle to Communication
3.3: Improving Verbal Communication
3.4: Principles of Nonverbal Communication
3.5: Types of Nonverbal Communication
4: Perception and the Self
4.1: Perception Process
4.2: Perceiving Others
4.3: Perceiving and Presenting Self
4.4: Improving Perception
5: Listening
5.1: Hearing versus Listening
5.2: The Value of Listening
5.3: The Three A's of Active Listening
5.4: Strategies to Enhance Listening
6: Conflict in the Workplace
6.1: Understanding Conflict
6.2: Sources of Conflict in an Organization
6.3: Conflict in the Work Environment
6.4: Dealing with Conflict- Different Approaches
6.5: Managing Intercultural Conflict
iii
SKILLS
Holly Manning
Johnson County Community College
,COMS 155: Workplace Skills
Holly Manning
Johnson County Community College
,This text is disseminated via the Open Education Resource (OER) LibreTexts Project (https://LibreTexts.org) and like the
thousands of other texts available within this powerful platform, it is freely available for reading, printing, and "consuming."
The LibreTexts mission is to bring together students, faculty, and scholars in a collaborative effort to provide an accessible,
and comprehensive platform that empowers our community to develop, curate, adapt, and adopt openly licensed resources
and technologies; through these efforts we can reduce the financial burden borne from traditional educational resource costs,
ensuring education is more accessible for students and communities worldwide.
Most, but not all, pages in the library have licenses that may allow individuals to make changes, save, and print this book. Carefully
consult the applicable license(s) before pursuing such effects. Instructors can adopt existing LibreTexts texts or Remix them to
quickly build course-specific resources to meet the needs of their students. Unlike traditional textbooks, LibreTexts’ web based
origins allow powerful integration of advanced features and new technologies to support learning.
LibreTexts is the adaptable, user-friendly non-profit open education resource platform that educators trust for creating,
customizing, and sharing accessible, interactive textbooks, adaptive homework, and ancillary materials. We collaborate with
individuals and organizations to champion open education initiatives, support institutional publishing programs, drive curriculum
development projects, and more.
The LibreTexts libraries are Powered by NICE CXone Expert and were supported by the Department of Education Open Textbook
Pilot Project, the California Education Learning Lab, the UC Davis Office of the Provost, the UC Davis Library, the California
State University Affordable Learning Solutions Program, and Merlot. This material is based upon work supported by the National
Science Foundation under Grant No. 1246120, 1525057, and 1413739.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not
necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation nor the US Department of Education.
Have questions or comments? For information about adoptions or adaptions contact or visit our main website
at https://LibreTexts.org.
The LibreTexts name, logo, and book covers are trademarked by LibreTexts, Inc. (a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization) and
protected against unauthorized use.
This text was compiled on 09/13/2026
, TABLE OF CONTENTS
Licensing
1: Communication Basics
1.1: Communication in Context
1.2: Elements in communication
1.3: Why Is It Important to Communicate Well?
1.4: Your Responsibilities as a Communicator
2: Culture in the Workplace
2.1: Intercultural communication
2.2: Cultural Diversity
2.3: Demographic Diversity
2.4: Gender Diversity
2.5: How Biases Are Formed
3: Verbal and NonVerbal Communication
3.1: Principles of Verbal Communication
3.2: Language Can be an Obstacle to Communication
3.3: Improving Verbal Communication
3.4: Principles of Nonverbal Communication
3.5: Types of Nonverbal Communication
4: Perception and the Self
4.1: Perception Process
4.2: Perceiving Others
4.3: Perceiving and Presenting Self
4.4: Improving Perception
5: Listening
5.1: Hearing versus Listening
5.2: The Value of Listening
5.3: The Three A's of Active Listening
5.4: Strategies to Enhance Listening
6: Conflict in the Workplace
6.1: Understanding Conflict
6.2: Sources of Conflict in an Organization
6.3: Conflict in the Work Environment
6.4: Dealing with Conflict- Different Approaches
6.5: Managing Intercultural Conflict
iii
