Communications in Organizations

Communication is one of the most frequently discussed dynamics in the corporate. In

practice, effective communication is a basic prerequisite for the attainment of corporate
strategies and human resource management, but it has remained one of the biggest
problems facing modern management. Communication is an extremely broad topic and
of course is not restricted to the organizational behavior. Some estimate the extent of
its use at about three- fourths of an active human being’s life, and even higher
proportions of a typical manager’s time. “Real Managers” in their day-to-day behaviors,
found that they devote about a third of their activities to routine communication-
exchanging and processing routine information. More important, however, is the finding
that the communication activity made the biggest relative contribution to effective
managers.

Contribution to real managers’ effectiveness:

Routine communication- 44%
Human resource management- 26%
Traditional management- 19%
Networking- 11%

There seems little doubt that communication plays an important role in managerial and
organizational effectiveness. Yet, on the other side of the same coin, ineffective
communication is commonly cited as being at the root of practically all the problems of
the world.

The Role of Communication

Early discussions of management gave very little emphasis to communication. Although

communication was implicit in the managerial function of command and the structural
principle of hierarchy, the early theorist never fully developed or integrated it into
management theory. At the same time, they did generally recognize the role of informal
communication in relation to the problem of supplementing the formal, hierarchical
channels. But the pioneering theorist Chestar Barnard, in his classic Functions of the
Executive, was the first to develop the idea of the central, important role
communication plays in the organization.

Barnard’s contribution
Barnard’s was convinced that communication is the major shaping force in the
organization. He ranked it with common purpose and willingness to serve as one of the
three primary elements of the organization. To him, communication both makes the
organizational cooperative system dynamic and links the organizational purpose to the
human participants. Communication techniques, which he considered to be written and
oral language, were deemed not only necessary to attain organizational purpose but
also a potential problem area for the organization.

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Barnard also interwove communication into his concept of authority. He emphasized
that meaning and understanding must occur before authority can be communicated
from manager to associate. He listed seven specific communication factors that are
especially important in establishing and maintaining objective authority in an
organization. These are the following:
1. The channels of communication should be definitely known.
2. There should be a definite formal channel of communication to every member of an
organization.
3. The line of communication should be as direct and short as possible.
4. The complete formal line of communication should normally be used.
5. The persons serving as communication centers should be competent.
6. The line of communication should not be interrupted while the organization is
functioning.
7. Every communication should be authenticated.

Modern perspective
The first dimension of the managerial communication model represents a continuum
ranging from the humanistic interactor (who frequently interacts both up and down the
organization system and exhibits human-oriented activities) to the mechanistic isolate
(who communicates very little, except on a formal basis). The other dimension describes
a continuum from the informal developer (who communicates spontaneously in all
directions and exhibits activities related to developing his or her people) to the formal
controller (who uses formally scheduled communication interaction and exhibits
monitoring/ controlling activities). This empirically derived model describes two major
dimensions of managerial communication. It provides a framework for how managers
communicate on a day-to-day basis and can be used as point of departure for formally
defining communication and the interpersonal processes of communication in today’s
organizations. Humanistic interactor

Informal Formal
developer controller

Mechanistic
isolate

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Managerial Communication Model: How Managers Communicate

The Continuum of Communication in Organizations

Communication Interpersonal Nonverbal

Media and Communication communication
technology

The Definition of Communication

Most definitions of communications used in organizational behavior literature stress the

use of symbols to transfer the meaning of information. For example, one analysis
stresses that communication is the understanding not of the visible but of the invisible
and hidden. These hidden and symbolic elements embedded in the culture give meaning
to the visible communication process. Of equal, if not more, importance, however, is the
fact that communication is a personal process that involves the exchange of behaviors.
For example, Ivancevich and Matteson noted that “communication among people does
not technology but rather on forces in people and their surroundings. It is a process that
occurs within people.” This personal perspective of communication has been made
particularly clear by Nickerson, who has found that many people tend to assume that
the other person has the same knowledge that they do, and they communicate on this
basis. The result is often communication breakdown.

In addition to being a personal process, communication has other implications. A

communication expert emphasizes the behavioral implications of communications by
pointing out that “the only means by which one person can influence another is by the
behaviors he performs- that is, the communicative exchanges between people provide
the sole method by which influence or effects can be achieved.” In other words, the
behaviors that occur in an organization are vital to the communication process.

The continuum can be used to identify the major categories of communication that are
especially relevant to the study of organizational behavior. On the extreme is
sophisticated communication media and technology, and on the other extreme is
relatively simple nonverbal communication. The middle ground is occupied by
interpersonal approaches, which represent the personal perspective.

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Communication Media and Technology

Choosing a Medium for Communication

In communicating effectively, it is important to choose the “right” medium- and there
are wide ranges of choices. The Wall Street Journal reported that the average U.S.
employee sends and receives over 200 messages daily. The breakdown was as follows:
Telephone- 51
E-mail- 36
Voice mail- 22
Postal mail- 19
Interoffice mail- 19
Interoffice mail- 19
Fax- 14
Post-it Notes- 12
Telephone message slips- 9
Pager messages- 8
Cell phone- 4
Overnight couriers or messengers- 4
Express mail- 3

All are important, but the most effective medium for communication depends on the
information richness and complexity.

The matter of information richness- the best of medium depends on the right degree of
richness. Information richness can be defined as “the potential information- carrying
capacity of data.” If the medium conveys a great deal of information, it is high in
richness; if it conveys very little information, it is low in richness. So alternative media
can have varying degrees of information richness.

Information richness can be measured by four factors. One is feedback, which can range
from immediate to very slow. A second is the channel that is used to convey the
information, and it can range from a combination of audio and visual to limited visual. A
third is the type of communication, such as personal versus impersonal. The fourth is
the language source that is used, including body language, natural, or numeric.

The richest form of communication is face-to-face. It provides immediate feedback and

serves as a check on how well the information has been comprehended. In addition, this
form permits the parties to the communication to observe language cues such as body
language and voice tone. Another form that is high in richness is the telephone,
although it is not as rich as face-to-face communication. On the other hand, formal
numeric media such as quantitative computer- generated reports or online video
displays have low richness. These forms provide limited visual information and
impersonal data.

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The issue of complexity- in communicating information for the purpose of passing on
data or discussing problem situations, managers must match their voice od media with
the complexity of the issue. For instance, a highly complex situation would be the
communication of a decision to downsize some of the company’s divisions. Those who
are going to be affected by the message will have questions, concerns, and dears that
have to be addressed. So the corporate will have to communicate this situation in a
deliberate, detailed way. On the other hand, low-complexity situations are routine and
predictable, detailed way. On the other hand, low-complexity situations are routine and
predictable and can be handled through the use of rules or standard operating
procedures. An example is a communique to all salespeople reminding them that their
expense reports are due by the 15th of the month. The challenge for the manager is to
choose the appropriate medium.

There are three zones of communication effectiveness. The most effective zone is the
one in which the complexity of the problem or situation is matched appropriately with
the richness of the medium. For example, when faced with a simple situation, a
manager should choose a medium that is low in richness. Conversely, if a problem is
very complex, the manager should opt for a medium that is high in richness. If managers
do not match the situation and the medium correctly, they will be in one of the other
zones- the overload zone or the oversimplification zone.

The overload zone is one in which the medium provides more information than is
necessary. An example is the use of face-to-face communication to convey a simple,
routine matter such as reminding someone to attend a weekly meeting; an e-mail could
easily accomplish this. The oversimplification zone is one in which the medium done not
provide the necessary information. For example, posting a memo through the corporate
intranet relating that management has decided to downsize and terminate 10 percent
of the workforce is going to cause a great deal of concern and anxiety. The personnel
will want to know more about the decision, who will be affected, and how management
intends to handle the matter. A more detailed medium-rich approach is needed.

Senior- level managers tend to spend much more time in face-to-face meetings than do
lower-level managers. Given that these executives are far more likely to be dealing with
ambiguous and complicated situations, these results are consistent with those noted
here regarding the importance of matching the situation and the media richness.

Management information systems (MIS)- closely related to media is communication

technology applied through management information systems. Although management
information systems do not have to be computerized, normally they are. MIS not only
involves generating, processing, and transmitting information but in recent years has
come to play a vital role in the strategy, the decision process, and management of
knowledge in today’s organizations. Although conventional wisdom is a computer-

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mediated approach is more effective, a recent research found decreases in member
satisfaction compared to face-to-face groups.

Although MIS is usually associated with integrated networks of information that support
management decision making and e-business, MIS can also be used for strategic
planning, improved customer service, and communication per se.

Telecommunications- closely related to computerized MIS is the telecommunications

explosion. In fact, the boundaries between computing and communicating are becoming
very blurred. Today, computers communicate and telecommunication networks
compute. In addition to computers, telecommunications use telephone and television
technologies and both a wireless technologies. Whether wireless or over fiber optics,
the telephone, television, and computer will combine to form a very powerful, but
potentially user-friendly, communication system.

Some of the telecommunication techniques widely used to communicate in today’s

organizations include telephone caller ID, electronic mail, voice messaging, and
electronic bulletin boards and chat rooms. E-mail is so popular that every day millions of
e-mail messages are sent, and many executives report that they spend an hour or more
daily reading and responding to them. Caller ID displaying the number of the person
calling can be connected to a computer for many uses.

Telecommuting- an outgrowth of the communications technology explosion with

special relevance to corporate is telecommuting. Examples include home page, browser,
chat room, netiquette, URL, and search engine. The term telecommuting is used and
defined in many different ways and includes both flexible scheduling and the use f
advance information technology.

Nonverbal communication
Nonverbal communication can be defined as “nonword human responses (such as
gestures, facial expressions) and the perceived characteristics of the environment
through which the human verbal and nonverbal messages are transmitted.” Thus,
whether a person says something or, equally important, does not say anything,
communication still can take place.

Body language and paralanguage- there are many forms of nonverbal communication.
Probably the most widely recognized is body language. Body movements convey
meanings and messages. This form of communication includes facial expressions and
what people do with their eyes, feet, hands, and posture.

Besides the obvious meaning attached to things such as a firm handshake or touching
the other person when making an important point, at least one communication expert
believes that what the person does with the lower limbs is the key to body language. He
explains, “that is where the tension and anxiety show. The person may claim to be

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relaxed, yet the legs are crossed tightly, and one foot thrusts so rigidly in the air that it
appears to be on the verge of breaking off. Insight: people concentrate on hiding their
tension from the waist up. The real state is revealed in their legs and feet.” Even a
person’s clothing can become important in body language. In addition to dress, physical
appearance in general seems important.

Besides the truly silent dimensions of nonverbal communication such as body language,
time (being late or early), or space (for example, how close one gets during a
conversation or seating arrangement in a committee meetings), there are also ways in
which people verbalize what are an important dimension of nonverbal communication.
Sometimes called paralanguage, these include things such as voice quality, tone,
volume, speech rate, pitch, nonfluencies (saying “ah”, “um”, or “uh”), laughing, and
yawning. For example, tone of voice (genuine or fake) is important in customer service.
Also, who says a word (for example, whether the boss or a coworker asks for
“volunteers”) and in what environmental context it is said make a difference.

Improving nonverbal effectiveness

Here are some specific suggestions to improve nonverbal communication:

1. Look at what is happening in the situation- when nonverbal behavior is an

emotional response, it reflects what is going on at the moment and can be used to
better understand the person’s nonverbal behavior.
2. Consider the discrepancies between the nonverbal behavior and the verbal
statements- if there is a mismatch, then this should be a signal for closer
examination of what is going on. Sometimes the nonverbal signals are more
accurate than the verbal ones.
3. Watch for subtleties in the nonverbal behavior- for example, the difference
between a real smile and a fake one can usually be detected.

Culture differences must also be recognized in nonverbal communication.

Interpersonal communication
In interpersonal communication, the major emphasis is on transferring information from
one person to another. Communication is looked on as a basic method of effecting
behavioral change, and it incorporates the psychological processes (perception,
learning, and motivation) on the other hand and language on the other. However, it
must be noted that the explosion of advanced information technology is also having an
impact on this human interaction process. Listening sensitivity and nonverbal
communications are also associated with interpersonal communication.

The importance of feedback

There must be both a sender and a receiver in order for interpersonal communication to
take place. The sender is obviously important to communication, but so is the neglected
receiver who gives feedback to the sender.

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The importance of feedback cannot be overemphasized because effective interpersonal
communication is highly dependent on it. Proper follow-up and feedback require
establishing an informal and formal mechanism by which the sender can check on how
the message was actually interpreted.

In general, feedback makes communication a two-way process and is the problem with
much of e-mail that turns out to be only one-way. There is continuing research evidence
that feedback not only improves communication but also, in turn, leads to more
effective manager and organizational performance. The following are the characteristics
of effective feedback:

1. Intention- effective feedback is directed toward improving job performance and

making the employee a more valuable asset.
2. Specificity- it is designed to provide recipients with specific information so that they
know what must be done to correct the situation.
3. Description- it tells the employee what he or she done in objective terms, rather
than presenting a value judgment.
4. Usefulness- information that can employee can use to improve performance.
5. Timeliness- as a rule, the more immediate the feedback, the better.
6. Readiness- employee must be ready to receive it.
7. Clarity- it must be clearly understood by the recipient.
8. Validity- in order for feedback to be effective, it must be reliable and valid.

Other important variables in interpersonal communication

Besides feedback, other variables, such as trust, expectations, values, status, and
compatibility, greatly influence the interpersonal aspects of communication.

Downward communication
Katz and Kahn identified five general purposes of top-to-bottom communication in an
organization:
1. To give specific task directives about job instructions
2. To give information about organizational procedures and practices
3. To provide information about the rationale of the job
4. To tell subordinates about their performance
5. To provide ideological information to facilitate the indoctrination of goals

Upward communication
The flow of messages from lower to higher levels is upward communication. Upward
communication keeps higher levels informed about what lower level workers are doing,
what their problems are, what suggestions they have for improvements, and how they
feel about the organization and their jobs. Status effects can potentially interfere with
the effectiveness of upward communication.

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Lateral communication
People must be willing and able to communicate across departmental or functional
boundaries and to listen to one another’s needs. New organization designs are
emphasizing lateral communication in the form of cross-departmental committees,
teams, or task forces and the matrix organization.

Communication networks
Some work arrangements involve interacting groups whose members work closely
together on tasks and in which close coordination of activities takes place. Information
flows to everyone. This interaction pattern results in a decentralized communication
network in which all group members communicate directly and share information with
one another. Sometimes these are also referred to as all-channel or star communication
networks.

Other work arrangements involve coacting groups whose members work on tasks
independently, while linked through some form of central coordination. The required
work is divided up and then largely completed by individuals working alone. Each
individual’s activities are coordinated and results pooled by a central control point. This
creates a centralized communication network, with the central person serving as the
“hub”. Sometimes these are called wheel or chain communication networks. They work
best when tasks are easily routinized or subdivided.

Communication barriers

1. Physical distractions- any number of physical distractions can interfere with the
effectiveness of a communication attempt.
2. Semantic problems- semantic barriers to communication involve a poor choice or
use of words and mixed messages (keep it simple and small).
3. Mixed messages- it occurs when words say one thing while nonverbal cues say
something else.
4. Cultural differences- people must always caution when they are involved in cross-
cultural communication. A common problem is ethnocentrism, the tendency to
believe one’s culture and its values are superior to those of others. The difficulties
with cross-cultural communication are perhaps most obvious in respect to language
differences.
5. Absence of feedback- one-way communication flows from sender to receiver only.
One-way messages are often frustrating for the receiver, who may be left unsure of
just what the sender means or wants done.
6. Status effects- status differences in organizations create potential communication
barriers between persons of higher and lower ranks.