Feedbacks are provided so that an individual can enhance their skill and knowledge and learn more about oneself. Feedbacks have been categorised into two types – positive and negative. Positive feedbacks are indicators that the path chosen by the individual is right and everything regarding that person is going well (Eppinger and Kray, 2011). For instance, in an organization if an employee is performing well, then his seniors will applaud him and provide him with positive reviews. On the other hand, the negative feedbacks are provided when the individual is not performing her tasks well. However, the most effective type of feedback has not been understood as of yet. It depends on the individual on how they react to the feedback and deal with it.
Feedback is the cheapest and the most inexpensive form of management tool that is used to rectify the mistakes of the employees or praise them to boost their motivation. Feedbacks serve as a guide for the employees to understand their performance standard (Plakht et al., 2013). Positive feedbacks and reviews act as motivators for the employees as they get praise for their good performance and efforts. Positive feedbacks provide a sense of achievement to the employee as they feel productive and satisfied as the feedbacks become their reward.
Feedbacks serve as a road map for the organizations based on which they develop their plan and policies for the employees. Based on the feedbacks received, an individual or an organization develops the future path or direction, which they will traverse on. Feedback is regarded as necessary and important because they provide insights on one’s behaviour, mannerism and characteristics. It being inexpensive adds to its effectiveness. It is readily available as everyone provides feedbacks to the company (Brown, 2010). All the stakeholders like customers, employees, owners, shareholders, public and others provide feedback to the company so that they can help them to enhance their performance. It is in the nature of all humans to put across their opinions in the form of feedbacks.
As per survey conducted regarding effectiveness of feedback, another thing noticed that positive feedbacks have helped the companies to motivate their employees to perform better. The positive feedbacks are provided when the senior management or supervisors feel that the employee has put in a lot of efforts in their tasks and have succeeded (Arbel et al., 2014). This boasts the confidence in the employees and they feel as an important part of the company. This level of satisfaction increases their productivity and efficiency. On the other hand, negative feedback has also helped the company to improve their performance in the market and employee performance within the employee. In cases when the negative feedbacks have been provided genuinely with care, it has motivated the employees to rectify their mistakes and improve in their job roles. It has served as a tool of continuous learning since feedbacks are an ongoing process. The company has also benefitted from the positive and negative feedbacks as they are able to enhance their customer service and market performance.
Most of the times, individuals avoid negative feedbacks at workplace or normal course of life. However, negative feedbacks is as essential as positive ones as they help in pointing out the errors and mistakes which the company or the employees are committing which has become an hindrance from making them the best (Kuhne and Tymula, 2012). For instance, if the customers provide feedbacks to the company regarding their products and services, then the company should take it seriously, as it will benefit the company to become market leaders. By working on the suggestions and complaints provided by the customers, the company will be able to improve their performance in the market by increasing their revenue generation and profit figures. At an individual level, negative feedbacks help in the process of career development also. The feedback will be received on the performance delivered which will help in enhancing it. Negative feedbacks are like a mirror, which determines the performance level of the company and an individual from the view point of others. Therefore, avoiding the negative feedback is a wrong approach that some people adopt.
It has been observed most often that people misconstrue negative feedbacks as criticisms. Criticism is defined as the judgement passed by someone on the merits of a person or activity with the aim of fault finding and demeaning the other individual. The aim of criticising an activity or person’s mannerisms or characteristics is to find faults in their personality and hurt them (Van den Bossche et al., 2010). The meaning of the two terms “negative feedback” and “criticism” is often misunderstood by people. The negative feedbacks are often considered to be harmful criticisms which are not well accepted by the individuals. The individuals feel that in the form of negative feedbacks, other are criticising them and making them feel inferior.
The negative feedbacks are generally regarded as constructive criticisms because it contains information, which can help the individual to improve their behaviours, mannerisms and characteristics. The negative feedbacks are not well received by the people. On receiving negative feedbacks, the individuals become stubborn and adamant and do not want to rectify their mistakes. They feel that another individual is trying to demean himself or herself and make them feel inferior. The negative feedbacks create misunderstanding between people and create bitterness in relationship. In an organizational setup, negative feedbacks can prove to be de-motivating for the employees also. If the feedback is not delivered or communicated properly, then the employees can misconstrue the meaning of it and develop a grudge for their seniors. Negative feedback can also lead to high rate of employee turnover by creating dissatisfaction among the staff hence, affecting their productivity level and overall efficiency of the organization.
It depends on an individual on how they deal with the negative feedback or criticism. The individuals should not be disheartened by the negative feedback they receive; instead, they should take it in their stride and work on it for their personal and professional improvement. The negative feedback should be treated as a problem and not as a defect of character. The individual should then assess the source from where the feedback has been received (De Stobbeleir et al., 2011). If the source is credible then the individual can rely on it and work on it to improve themselves. The reaction should be one of grudge or disgust; it should be one of understanding and application. The negative feedback received should be analysed and the loopholes in performance or mannerisms should be identified. The spirit should always be high and not one of experiencing failure or inferior.
The method of providing the feedback also matters. The feedback should be provided in a manner that it does not hurt the sentiments of the receiver. The negative feedback should be delivered when the time is right. The individual should not be given feedback in front of a crowd; it should always be on a personal level (Evans, 2013). The sentence should be framed properly in a sensitive manner so that it does not hurt the sentiments of the people. The person delivering or communicating the negative feedbacks should be sensitive towards the other person. They should know the pros and cons of it before constructing and delivering then feedback.
Conclusion
The power of feedback is immense and most used by individuals and organizations as it is least expensive and always available. It is in the human nature to individuals to provide feedbacks to others regarding their behaviour, mannerisms, characteristics and work. The organizations have also started using this tool to improve their market performance and customer base. The feedbacks have been categorised into two categories – positive and negative. The negative feedback is the main point of debate since it is mostly misunderstood as criticism. The people fail to understand the difference between constructive criticism and negative criticism, which makes their reactions worse. Negative feedbacks provide the person to improve himself or herself as the loopholes are pointed out to them. In this assignment, the learner has explained the concept of feedbacks along with a detailed discussion on negative feedback, criticism, and the effectiveness of it.