02 - Importance of Communication To An Organisation - 21 August 2013-Print As Was

CHAPTER 2 -- IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION TO AN ORGANISATION
CHAPTER 2 :
THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION TO AN
ORGANISATION
Introduction
Basis of Decision Making and Planning
Smooth and Efficient Working of an

Organisation
C HA
O UT
PTE
LIN
Facilitates Co-ordination
E
R
Increases Managerial Efficiency
Promotes Cooperation and Industrial Peace
Helps in Establishing Effective Leadership
Motivation and Morale
Increases Managerial Capacity
Effective Control
1
Job Satisfaction
Democratic Management
Increases Productivity and Reduces Cost
Public Relations
Introduction:
COMMUNICATION IS A BASIC FEATURE OF ALL WORK
Work of any kind involves a considerable amount of inevitable

communication. This is because virtually every one at work must
communicate. Communication is the basis of any kind of human
endeavour. It does not matter what the field, neither how much you
know about your job or in your particular profession; you will find
that specialised knowledge alone is not enough to lead you to
success in your career. You will find that communication skills – in
their various modes – are not only vital but all-pervading.
Thus it has been established that an office manager spends about

75% of their working time in communication. Every office manager
has to communicate to get things done in any office. It is an
indispensable office activity and has an important role to play in any
business enterprise. In the opinion of Chester Bernard, “the first
executive function is to develop and maintain a system of
communication”. He called communication the foundation of all
group activities. In the words of G.R. Terry, “it serves as the lubricant
fostering for the smooth operations of the management process”.
WHAT HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGERS LOOK OUT FOR IN A PROSPECTIVE

EMPLOYEE
A survey was made [USA, 2010] of office managers in a wide range of

industries such as retail stores, distribution, services, banking and
finance, engineering and manufacturing, regarding how they ranked
the importance of various competencies they look out for in a
2
Prospective Employee. The table below summarises their ranking

scale.
As you can see from the table, oral communication skills competency
stands as No.1 on the list.
RANK COMPETENCY DESIRED

1 ORAL COMMUNICATION
2 SELF-MOTIVATION
3 PROBLEM-SOLVING
4 DECISION MAKING
5 LEADERSHIP
6 HUMAN RELATIONS
7 TEAMWORK
8 WORK EXPERIENCE
9 TIME MANAGEMENT
10 PERSONAL APPEARANCE
11 WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
12 ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
13 CREATIVITY
14 DELEGATION
15 MULTILINGUAL ABILITY
Other research work has also shown the over-riding significance of

communication-related skills in performing the following functions:
SERVING CUSTOMERS
WORKING ON TEAMS/COMMITTEES
TEACHING OTHERS
CONDUCTING MEETINGS
LEADING
NEGOTIATING
3
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
WORKING WITH CULTURAL/TRIBAL DIVERSITY
INTERVIEWING
RESOLVING CONFLICTS
LISTENING
The ability to communicate has been identified as the most

important factor in making an officer or a sub-ordinate ‘promotable
material’, more important than ambition, education and capacity for
hard work.
Further, university graduates who turn out to be the most successful,

in career advancement and salary, are those possessing personality
traits distinguishable of good communicators, namely:
a desire to persuade
an interest in talking and working with people
an outgoing, ascendant personality
In fact, graduates who scale the career ladder most successfully

report that they are enabled more by their competency of
communication skills than by the major subject they studied at
university.
Findings from a survey of the difficulties employers find with many

fresh-graduate job entrants show that the most common reason for
stunting their performance at work is their “inability to
communicate properly” or just “low communication skills”.
This fact emphasises why it is of extreme importance that all

organisations, public or private, in this country ought to provide
some form or amount of communication skills training.
4
THE BENEFITS OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION TO AN

ORGANISATION
The following are the benefits of effective communication to an

organisation:
(1)BASIS OF DECISION-MAKING AND PLANNING.
Communication is essential for decision-making and planning.

It enables the management to secure information without
which it may not be possible to take any decisions. The quality
of managerial decisions depends on the quality of
communication. Further, the decisions and plans of the
management need to be communicated to the subordinates.
Without effective communication, it may not be possible to
issue instructions and orders. Effective communication helps in
proper implementation of plans and policies of the
management.
(2)SMOOTH AND EFFICIENT WORKING OF AN ORGANISATION
5
In the words of George R. Terry, “Communication serves as the

lubricant, fostering for the smooth operations of
management process”. Communication makes possible the
smooth and efficient working of an enterprise.
THE ORGANISATION
ITS MAIN PURPOSE

= WHAT IT EXISTS TO DO
ITS LONG-TERM AIMS

= WHAT IT WANTS TO ACHIEVE
ITS SHORT-TERM OBJECTIVES

= STEPS TO MEASURE PROGRESS
DEPARTMENT OR TEAM TARGETS

= CONTRIBUTIONS OF DIFFERENT GROUPS TO ACHIEVE
OBJECTIVES
INDIVIDUAL JOB ROLES

= CONTRIBUTIONS OF INDIVIDUAL STAFF TO ACHIEVE TARGETS
It is only through communication that the management

changes and regulates the actions of the subordinates, in the
6
desired direction. This is because there is a direct link between

the specific tasks carried out by individuals and the aims and
targets of the business, as shown in the table on the previous
page.
It is the function of good, effective communication flows to

enable the smooth and efficient working of the organisation.
(3)FACILITATES CO-ORDINATION.
Management is the
art of getting things
done through others
and this objective of
management cannot
be achieved unless
there is unity of
purpose and
harmony of effort. Communication, through exchange of ideas
and information, helps to bring about unity of action in the
pursuit of common purpose. It binds the people together and
facilitates coordination.
(4)INCREASES MANAGERIAL EFFICIENCY.
Effective communication increases managerial efficiency. It is

rightly said that nothing happens in management until
communication takes place.
7
The efficiency of a manager depends upon his ability to

communicate effectively with the
members of his organisation. It is
only through communication that
management conveys its goals and
desires, issues instructions and
orders, allocates jobs and
responsibility and evaluates
performance of subordinates.
(5) PROMOTES COOPERATION AND INDUSTRIAL PEACE.
Effective communication
creates mutual
understanding and trust
among the members of
the organization.
It promotes
cooperation
between the
employer and the employees. Without communication, there
cannot be sound industrial relations and industrial peace. It is
only through communication that workers can put in their
grievances, problems and suggestions to the management.
(6)HELPS IN ESTABLISHING EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP
Communication is the basis of effective leadership. There

cannot be any leadership action without the effective
communication between the leader and the led.
8
Communication is absolutely necessary for maintaining man-

to-man relationship in leadership. It brings the Team Leader
(MANAGER) and the Team Members (SUBORDINATES) in close
contact with each other and helps in establishing effective
leadership.
Looking at the following table, it should be clear that all the

factors that influence team effectiveness have a bearing with
effective communication.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE TEAM EFFECTIVENESS

All team members fully understand the target and are committed to
√
achieving it.All team members are willing to put the team’s aims above
personal aims.All team members understand their own role in the team and
how this ‘fits with those of other members’.All team members take
√
collective responsibility for the work produced or undertaken.All team
members feel they have equal status with other team members.All team
√
members respect the views of other team members , even though they may
not agree with them. All team members are reliable and dependable.All
team members feel their own contribution to the team is useful and valued.
√
√
√
√
√
9
(7)MOTIVATION AND MORALE.
Communication is the means by

which the behaviour of the
subordinates is modified and change
is effected in their actions.
Through communication workers are

motivated to achieve the goals of the
enterprise and their morale is
boosted. Although motivation comes
from within, yet the manager can also motivate people by
effective communication, e.g., proper drafting of message,
proper timing of communication and the way of
communication, etc.
(8) INCREASES MANAGERIAL CAPACITY.
Effective communication increases managerial capacity too. A

manager is a human being and has limitations as to time and
energy that he can devote to various activities. He has to assign
duties and responsibilities to his subordinates. Through
communication, a manager can effectively delegate his
authority and responsibility to others and
thus increase his managerial capacity.
(9)EFFECTIVE CONTROL.
10
Managerial function of control implies the measurement of

actual performance, comparing it with standards set by plans
and taking corrective actions of deviations, if any, to ensure
attainment of enterprise objectives according to preconceived
and planned acts. Communication acts as a tool of effective
control. The plans have to be communicated to the
subordinates, the actual performance has to be- measured and
communicated to the top management and a corrective action
has to be taken or communicated so as to achieve the desired
goals. All this may not be possible without an efficient system
of communication.
(10) JOB SATISFACTION.
Effective communication creates job

satisfaction among employees as it
increases mutual trust and confidence
between management and the
employees. The gap between
management and the employees is
reduced through the efficient means of
communication and a sense of
belongingness is created among
employees. They work with zeal and
enthusiasm.
(11) DEMOCRATIC MANAGEMENT.
Communication is also essential for democratic management.

It helps to achieve workers’ participation in management by
11
involving workers in the process of

decision-making. In the absence of an
efficient system of communication,
there cannot be any delegation and
decentralisation of authority.
(12) INCREASES
PRODUCTIVITY AND
REDUCES COST.
Effective
communication saves
time and effort. It
increases productivity
and reduces cost.
Large-scale production involves a large number of people in
the organisation. Without communication, it may not be
possible to work together in a group and achieve the benefits
of large-scale production.
(13) PUBLIC RELATIONS
In the present
business world,
every business
enterprise has to
create and
maintain a good
corporate image in
the society. It is only through communication that
management can present a good corporate image to the
outside world.
12
Effective communication helps management in maintaining

good relations with workers, customers, suppliers,
shareholders, government and the community at large.
MRS CHOU LING PING

MATOVU
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Meet Mrs Chou Ling Ping Matovu. She is a Chinese business lady
married to a Ugandan, and owns a number of thriving international
enterprises with headquarters in Hong Kong. One of these businesses is
which which recently posted the following advertisement
on its website.
REQUIRED: MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS EXECUTIVE
13
Responsible for the coordination and execution of all marketing and

communications activities, such as media relations,
collateral production, advertising and promotional
programmes and all efforts required to effectively
represent the company and events to customers and
stakeholders.
Job Description
 Develop and manage the production of events’ marketing collateral

and ensuring deadlines are met
 Coordination of events’ advertising and promotional programmes
 Develop and coordinate advertising materials or related

communication activities such as media conferences
 Coordinate and manage media and public interest to generate coverage

and maintain awareness
 Handle and coordinate all media requests and enquiries in a timely

manner
 Develop and create media releases, key messages, media FAQs,

speeches, and presentations where required
 Co-ordination and management of events
 Media tracking and tabulation
 Keep current with marketing trends, innovations, communication

techniques and any media regulations
Relationship Management
 Reports to: Events Head and General Manager
 Internal Contacts: Writers and Designers, Information Technology

department, Accounts department and Top Management team
14
 External Contacts: Publishers, Printers,

Government agencies, other
communications / marketing coordinators,
PR and advertising agencies, journalists,
business associates and guests.
Academic and Proficiency Requirements
 Diploma/Degree in Marketing Communications / Marketing /

Business Communications
 Good interpersonal and communication skills
 Excellent command of written and spoken English
 Good command of written and spoken Afrikaans, Swahili and /or a

fourth language an advantage
 Effective research and writing skills
 Initiative, eye for details and a team player
 Resourceful, flexible and responsive in dealing with people
 Ability to work under pressure, short deadlines and extra hours on

assignment as needed
 Experience in collateral production, marketing and PR activities, and

project management are an advantage
 Computer skills with proficiency in MS Office applications,

applications namely, Word, Publisher, Power Point, Excel, Outlook,
and Access.
15
 Fresh graduates may also apply.
Salary and Fringe Benefits

DATE:
/ /
ASSIGNMENT day month
Monthly Salary starting at USD82,000 per month; chauffeur-driven limo;
year
Provide your particulars here below, please. Thank You.

residence in upmarket zone; free air travel four times a year; free medical
and dental; membership to executive clubs; and free education for two
biological children up to University.
Please state current/last-drawn pay, expected salary and availability to start

INDEX NO.COURSE:
work in your reply. Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.
ASSIGNMENT NO.1
Please state current/last-drawn pay, expected salary and availability to start
work in your reply. has in mind the THIRTEEN(13) ASPECTS OF THE
IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION TO A BUSINESS
Only shortlistedfor
ORGANISATION, candidates will requires
which it now be notified.
an employee to provide when s/he is
eventually procured and comes to occupy the advertised vacant position.
Imagine that you have been appointed as a Consultant member of the Interviewing
Panel set up by Mrs Chou Ling Ping Matovu. She has prepared the following
MARKS-AWARDING SHEETS but they are incomplete. She has put down ONLY the
thirteen(13) aspects of THE IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION TO
A BUSINESS ORGANISATION.
Detecting from the ad, write down the requisite corresponding qualifications, character
traits, and communication skills that wishes to procure by
hiring an individual that possesses them best.
ASPECT NO.1: BASIS OF DECISION-MAKING AND PLANNING
CORRESPONDING REQUISITE QUALIFICATIONS, CHARACTER

TRAITS, AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS AS SPECIFIED IN THE
ADVERTISEMENT
16
ASPECT NO.2: SMOOTH AND EFFICIENT WORKING OF AN

ORGANISATION
ADVERTISEMENT
17
ASPECT NO.3: FACILITATES CO-ORDINATION

ADVERTISEMENT
ASPECT NO.4: INCREASES MANAGERIAL EFFICIENCY

ADVERTISEMENT
18
FACILITATES CO-ORDINATION
ASPECT NO.5: PROMOTES COOPERATION AND INDUSTRIAL PEACE

ADVERTISEMENT
19
ASPECT NO.6: HELPS IN ESTABLISHING EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

ADVERTISEMENT
ASPECT NO.7: MOTIVATION AND MORALE

ADVERTISEMENT
20
ASPECT NO.8: INCREASES MANAGERIAL CAPACITY

ADVERTISEMENT
21
ASPECT NO.9: EFFECTIVE CONTROL

ADVERTISEMENT
ASPECT NO.10: JOB SATISFACTION

ADVERTISEMENT
22
ASPECT NO.11: DEMOCRATIC MANAGEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT
23
ASPECT NO.12: INCREASES PRODUCTIVITY AND REDUCES COST

ADVERTISEMENT
24
ASPECT NO.13 : PUBLIC RELATIONS

ADVERTISEMENT
25
DATE:
/ /
day month year
ASSIGNMENT
Provide your particulars here below, please. Thank You.
INDEX NO.COURSE:
ASSIGNMENT NO.2
MRS AKELLO MUSIIME, an expert in Employment and Labour Issues,

retired into private practice from a 13-year post with the International
Labour Organisation (ILO), in Geneva.
26
We have
extracted the
following
notes from
her lecture to
successful new job-
entrants on an induction training course
by an NGO for UN-EMPLOYED
GRADUATES, based in Machakos, Kenya.
In the course of one’s employment, Mrs Akello Musiime

began, there are both express (written) and implied
(unwritten) terms and conditions. Many of the
implied terms involve your personal attributes as an
employee – such as honesty, behaving responsibly and
observing confidentiality. These are so important that
OBSERVING
many organisations alsoCONFIDENTIA
include them in express clauses
LITY
Letter of Offer of Employment, VERBAL
in their HONEST just to make
Y COMMUNICATI
sure there are no misunderstandings subsequently.
ON SKILLS
The main attributes that any employer will expect its

COURTEto have are PERSONAL
employees shown in the diagram on the
PERSONAL
screen. SY ATTRIBUTE
PRESENTATI
S
ON
FOLLOWING
WRITTEN
INSTRUCTIO
27 COMMUNICAT
NS
PUNCTUALITY ION SKILLS
AND TIME
MANAGEMEN
Let me throw more light on these personal attributes.

 PERSONAL PRESENTATION:
This relates to the appearance of each of

employee as well as his or her personal hygiene.
This is important whether or not there is a
related policy or dress code set by your employer.
 VERBAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS:
These, as you already know, are important

because every employee needs to speak to other
people – from senior managers to their own
colleagues within the organisation, as well as to
external customers and contacts.
 WRITTEN COMMUNICATION SKILLS:
28
Again, as you already know, your Written

Communication Skills must be good – so that
messages can be clearly understood, emails are not
full of spelling or grammatical errors and all
communications sent externally give a good
impression of your employer.
 FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS:
This is, quite obviously, an implied term of your

contract – so long as the instructions are
reasonable and no one asks you to do anything
immoral or illegal.
 PUNCTUALITY AND TIME MANAGEMENT:
Punctuality and Time Management means not

only turning up on time each day – and simply
take your seat at your desk – it also means being
able to schedule your time appropriately by
making a programme, by thinking ahead. This
way you use your employer’s time appropriately
and always do the most important and urgent
tasks in their logical order or, quite often,
expediently.
 COURTESY to other people, both to your colleagues

and to the external contacts, is a vital facet of
your job performance.
 HONESTY does not just mean not stealing money

or receiving bribes. It also means not saying
something to someone’s face and another behind
their back, or walking off with a writing pad, or
stealing time from your employer by coming back
29
late from breaks or taking a ‘sick leave’

whenever you feel like having an extra-day off
after late disco night, or spending unreasonably-
long periods on private e-mailing, or phone calls...
 OBSERVING CONFIDENTIALITY:
This is an implied term of your contract but

some employers include it as an express term in
the Code of Conduct.
What U See Here

What U Hear Here
U Must Leave Here
1. Answer the following questions using the

space provided.
30
(a) List ten (10) instances where HONESTY

is an enhancing factor in business
communication in the life of an employee
at work.
(b) List ten (10) instances where COURTESY is an absolutely essential

factor in business communication in the life of an employee at work.
31
(c) List ten (10) instances where PERSONAL PRESENTATION is an

absolutely essential factor in business communication in the life of
an employee at work.
(d) List ten (10) instances where OBSERVING CONFIDENTIALITY

is a necessary ingredient of business communication in the life
of an employee at work.
32
(e) List ten (10) instances where PUNCTUALITY AND TIME

MANAGEMENT is part and parcel of business communication in the
life of an employee at work.
(e) List ten (20) instances where FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS is

NOT
an essential component of business communication in the life of
an employee at work.
33
34

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CHAPTER 2 -- IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION TO AN ORGANISATION

Basis of Decision Making and Planning

Smooth and Efficient Working of an

Increases Managerial Efficiency

Promotes Cooperation and Industrial Peace

Helps in Establishing Effective Leadership

Motivation and Morale

Increases Managerial Capacity

COMMUNICATION IS A BASIC FEATURE OF ALL WORK

Work of any kind involves a considerable amount of inevitable

Thus it has been established that an office manager spends about

WHAT HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGERS LOOK OUT FOR IN A PROSPECTIVE

A survey was made [USA, 2010] of office managers in a wide range of

Prospective Employee. The table below summarises their ranking

RANK COMPETENCY DESIRED

Other research work has also shown the over-riding significance of

WORKING WITH CULTURAL/TRIBAL DIVERSITY

The ability to communicate has been identified as the most

Further, university graduates who turn out to be the most successful,

In fact, graduates who scale the career ladder most successfully

Findings from a survey of the difficulties employers find with many

This fact emphasises why it is of extreme importance that all

THE BENEFITS OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION TO AN

The following are the benefits of effective communication to an

(1)BASIS OF DECISION-MAKING AND PLANNING.

Communication is essential for decision-making and planning.

(2)SMOOTH AND EFFICIENT WORKING OF AN ORGANISATION

In the words of George R. Terry, “Communication serves as the

ITS MAIN PURPOSE

ITS LONG-TERM AIMS

ITS SHORT-TERM OBJECTIVES

DEPARTMENT OR TEAM TARGETS

INDIVIDUAL JOB ROLES

It is only through communication that the management

desired direction. This is because there is a direct link between

It is the function of good, effective communication flows to

(4)INCREASES MANAGERIAL EFFICIENCY.

Effective communication increases managerial efficiency. It is

The efficiency of a manager depends upon his ability to

(5) PROMOTES COOPERATION AND INDUSTRIAL PEACE.

(6)HELPS IN ESTABLISHING EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

Communication is the basis of effective leadership. There

Communication is absolutely necessary for maintaining man-

Looking at the following table, it should be clear that all the

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE TEAM EFFECTIVENESS

(7)MOTIVATION AND MORALE.

Communication is the means by

Through communication workers are

(8) INCREASES MANAGERIAL CAPACITY.

Effective communication increases managerial capacity too. A

Managerial function of control implies the measurement of

(10) JOB SATISFACTION.

Effective communication creates job

(11) DEMOCRATIC MANAGEMENT.

Communication is also essential for democratic management.

involving workers in the process of

(13) PUBLIC RELATIONS

Effective communication helps management in maintaining

MRS CHOU LING PING

REQUIRED: MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS EXECUTIVE

Responsible for the coordination and execution of all marketing and

 Develop and manage the production of events’ marketing collateral

 Coordination of events’ advertising and promotional programmes