COMMUNICATION IN ORGANIZATIONS

DR.T.MUTETEI
Organizations rely on communication to accomplish tasks, acclimate changes,
complete tasks through the maintenance of policy, procedures, or regulations
that support daily and continuous operation, develop relationships,
coordinate, plan, and control the operations within its scope.
This ensures high productivity, integrity and responsibility in the organization.
Communication is the act of giving, receiving, and sharing information.
In other words, talking or writing, and listening or reading.
Good communicators listen carefully, speak or write clearly, and respect
different opinions.
Communication is the act of giving, receiving, and sharing information. In other words, talking or
writing, and listening or reading. Good communicators listen carefully, speak or write clearly, and
respect different opinions. Also communication can be described as a transmission and consecutive process that
occurs when people intentionally or unintentionally send and receive verbal and non-verbal messages. “We cannot
withdraw our cards from the game. Were we as silent and as mute as stones, our very passivity woul d be an act.” Jean Paul Satre.

Communication is the act of giving, receiving, and sharing information. In other words, talking or writing, and listening or reading. Good communicators listen carefully, speak or write clearly, and respect different opinions. Also communication can be described as a transmission and consecutive process that occurs when people intentionally or unintentionally send and receive verbal and non-verbal messages.
“We cannot withdraw our cards from the game. Were we as silent and as mute as stones, our very passivity would be an act.” Jean Paul Satre.
 Communication can be described as a transmission and consecutive process
that occurs when people intentionally or unintentionally send and receive
verbal and non-verbal messages.
 Organizational communication is a process that involves creating, sending,
receiving, and interpreting information.
 This is a study of why, how, and with what effects organizations send and
receive information in a systemic environment.

Types of communication

Formal communication and Informal communication.

Formal communication generally has a specific organizational structure and a

standardized and carefully crafted message.For example memo, press release.

 Informal communication, also known as the grapevine, is free flowing and

spontaneous.

 This kind of communication takes place between employees one on one or in

small groups.
 Internal communication and external Communication.

 Internal communication takes place between members of the organization.

 It can be among the entire company or in small groups of people, such as

departments or project teams.

 External communication contains messages that are specifically for people

outside of the organization, like customers, prospects, partners, the media,
competitors or regulating bodies such as the government.
 Oral communication and written communication.
 Oral communication uses spoken words for communicating and can take place
between two people, within small groups of people or even among the entire
company, such as at an annual meeting.
 Though oral communication may seem informal it may also be structured.
Written communication uses written words for communicating.
 Many business owners have to prepare lengthy and complex business plans.
They may also take part in creating contracts and financial documents.
 Directional communication.
 Communication can flow downward, upward or horizontally.
 Downward communication is communication that flows from one level of a
group or organization to a lower level.
 Group leaders and managers use it to assign goals, provide job instructions,
explain policies and procedures, point out problems that need attention, and
offer feedback about performance.
 When using this form of communication managers must explain the reasons
why a decision was made.
 Upward communication is a type of communication that flows from a lower
 level to a higher level in the group or organization.
 It is used to provide feedback to higher-ups, inform them of progress towards
 goals, and relay current problems.
 Upward communication keeps managers aware on how employees feel about
 their jobs, co-workers, and the organization in general.
 Horizontal communication is a type of communication that takes place among
 members of the same work group, members of work groups at the same
level, managers at the same level, or any other horizontally equivalent
workers.
 Lateral communication is needed if a group or organizations vertical
 communication is effective as it saves time and facilities coordination
Process of communication

 Sender-The sender is the source of the message that initiates the

communication.

 The sender has a message or purpose of communicating to one or more

people.

 He/ she initiates a message by encoding a thought.

 Encoding-Encoding takes place when the sender translates the information or

message into some words, signs or symbols.

 In encoding the message, the sender has to choose those words, symbols or
gestures that he believes to have the same meaning for the receiver.
 Message-The message is the actual physical product of the sender’s encoding.
When we speak, the speech is the message.

 When we write the writing is the message.

 When we gesture, the movements of our arms and the expressions on our
faces are the message.
 Channel-The channel is the medium through which the message travels. The
sender selects it, determining whether to use a formal or informal channel.
Formal channels are established by the organization and transmit messages
related to the professional activities of members.

 They traditionally follow the authority chain of the organization. Other forms
of messages follow the informal channels which are spontaneous.

 Decoding-Decoding is the process through which the receiver interprets the

message and translates it into meaningful information.
 Receiver-The receiver is the person (s) to whom the message is directed, who
must first interpret the symbols in an understandable form. This step is the
decoding of the message.

 Noise-Noise represents communication barriers that distort the clarity of the

message.

 Feedback-Feedback is receiver’s response to the sender’s message. The receiver

communicates reaction to the sender through words, symbols or gestures and
checks on how successful we have been in transferring our messages as originally
intended.
Influence of communication to organization
behaviour
 Effective communication is strategic for organizational goal achievement.

 However ineffective communication may result in uncertainty and

dissatisfaction.

 Effective communication enhances organizational relationships and

minimizes strikes and lockouts.

 Organizational purposes and goals are sometimes defeated when vertical,

horizontal and downward communication is not effective, which further leads
to costly actions like strikes and lockouts.
 In most organizations, managers concentrate on meeting targets and delegate
the role of effective communication to come from human resource
department, which puts a strain on the free flow of information that assists
the staff in understanding the organizations objectives.
 Organizational communication is key for process improvement
 In most organizations, managers concentrate on meeting targets and delegate
the role of effective communication to come from Human Resource
Department, which puts a strain on the free flow of information that assists
the staff in understanding the organizations objectives.

 Organizational communication is key for process improvement in any

organization
 Speaking up at work can play an important role in an
organization’s performance and survival, affecting critical issues
like innovation, safety and operational improvement(Ancona and
Caldwell,1987;Edmondson,2003;Lepine and Van Dyne,1998;Scott
and Bruce,1994).

 For organizations to perform well, people at all levels need to feel

empowered to be able to communicate areas for improvement.
Key benefits of effective communication

 Increases innovation-In organizations where employees have a conducive environment to

openly communicate ideas, more innovative ideas are brought forward with ease and
are put into consideration and implemented faster.

 Effective communication builds people’s attitude-Communication helps employees

maintain a positive attitude as they become well informed and perform the duties in
the right manner which leads to better productivity.

 Effective communication increases loyalty-When there is a good line of communication

across the management of an organization employees tend to be comfortable discussing
any issues. As a result they become more loyal to the organization.
 Enhances skills-Effective communication helps managers to identify hidden
talents in the organization and tap into their skills.

 Helps in management-With effective communication, the management can

understand the issues affecting employees, similarly employees are also able
to understand the policies of the organization.
Challenges/ barriers to effective
communication

1. Lack of employee engagement

Communicating with employees is almost impossible within organizations where

people are not motivated and engaged.

2. Irregular communication

Communicating with employees just for the purpose of releasing big news or
changes is not enough. Therefore, communications directors have to develop a
continuous communications plan to keep their employees informed and engaged.
3. Communication inconsistency

Inconsistent communication is another challenge that IC professionals are facing

today.

If you don't use an employee communications platform, it may be challenging to

reach your employees at the right time.

Having an employee communications app is critical when it comes to keeping

your employees informed and engaged.
4. Information silos-Information silos is a term used for situations when
information just gets lost. This is one of the main problems that directors of
communications are facing, especially in large organizations.

5. Lack of feedback-Something that communications and HR professionals wish to

have more is employee feedback.

Employee feedback is closely correlated with employee engagement and

satisfaction. Therefore, a lack of feedback may result in lower employee
engagement rates in the workplace
6. Email overload-In organizations where emails are the only communication
means, there might be an overload of received mails and one might miss an
important mail amidst the non-important mails.

7. Irrelevant content-Same as we expect from our favorite social media platforms

to show relevant content in our news feeds, today’s employees expect their
employers to share the right information at the right time.
8. Language barriers

Since we live in a world where employees can work from any part of the world,
language barriers have become a big challenge for communications directors.

9. Lack of fun

Making your internal communications fun is one of the best ways to drive
engagement and adoption. There are various employee engagement solutions
today that can add some fun to your employee communications efforts.
 Organizations should embrace effective communication to:

 maximize productivity,

 process improvement,

 increase innovation,

 creativity and skill, and to minimize missed opportunities, misunderstandings, the

dissemination of misinformation and mistrust together with conflicts.

 All this will enable the organization achieve its set objectives and goals.
References

Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. (2012). Essentials of organizational behavior.

Robbins, S. P. (2003). Organizational behavior. New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India.

Nzuve, S. (1999).Elements of organizational behavior. Nairobi: University Press.

https://
opentextbc.ca/principlesofmanagementopenstax/chapter/types-of-communications-in-organ
izations/

https://samphina.com.ng/effective-communication-organization