“People in organisations”

L/617/1153
Level 4

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Table of contents:
1.1 /The benefits of effective communication organisations…...........................................page 3-4
1.2 /Policies and procedures used to enhance communication within organisations… ....page 4-5

1.3 /Explain legislation relevant to communication within organisations…........................ page 5-6

1.4 /How organisational structure impacts on the communication methods used… ....... page 6-8
2.1 /Assess the benefits of team-working to individuals and organisations….................. page 8

2.2 /Why teams might fail to meet their objectives… ...................................................... page 9

3.1 /Implications of different ways in which people work remotely… ................................. page 9-10

3.2 /Common working practices used by those working remotely in different contexts….page
10-11
3.3 /Leadership styles suitable for remote working… ....................................................... page
12-13
4.1 /How HR department can provide support and monitor people within the workplace….page
14-15
4.2 /Policies and procedures designed to support and monitor people in the workplace….page
15-16
References… ....................................................................................................................... page 17

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1.1 /The benefits of effective communication to organisations
One of the benefits of effective communication is accuracy and timely
information. It is very important for staff in an organisation to have a
proper knowledge about the products/services provided by the
company, in order to avoid misleading information to customer, that
may affect the business’s image. Inaccurate information can lead to
customer retention and decrease customer satisfaction.
Efficiency is another advantage of effective communication. Efficiency is
how successfully and fast a performance can be done. It is a very
important factor that can increase customer satisfaction. Employees
need to be knowledgable information and proper skills in order to do an
effective job at helping customers, either with answering a question or
give advise on which product may meet their requirements. When thing
tare done efficiently in an organisation, customers are more pleased
with the experience, as it was not time consuming and it can increase
productivity.
Effective communication can also lead to strong relationships which
therefore, leads to increased productivity and builds a strong customer
relationship. If effective communication is properly established,
employees can have a clearer objective, resulting in more efficient
performances and good team work, resulting in a more positive work
environment.
Effective communication means an innovative environment in which
ideas are being shared among people in the organisation. This leads to
great ideas and innovation, which therefore results in a boost of morale
and productivity. In a safe environment, employees tend to create
strong relationships, trust and loyalty.
Clear messages is another advantage of effective communication.
Effective communication sets clearer goals and objectives, which help
employees have a better direction towards their tasks and increase
efficiency and quality of production. Having clear messages and
objectives also helps employees focus on specific tasks, which can
result in better quality and positive feedback from customers.
Lastly, effective communication is essential for customer and supplier
relationships. Customer and supplier relationships are based on good
communication and trust. Customer rely on good quality services,
which comply with their requirements. For example, advice from staff
regarding what product is best to serve its needs and wants. In this
situation, the customer relies on an appropriate and effective response.
If the customer feels satisfied with the experience, it will come back or
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reference it to family and friends, therefore increase sales and customer
loyalty. For a good supplier relationship, you also need trust and good
communication. This can lead to fair business partnership, reduce of
costs, faster deliveries. It’s important to set goals on both agreement so
it’s fair on both parties and it’s also important to be flexible with
payment.

1.2 /Policies and procedures used to enhance communication

within organisations
One of the procedures used to enhance communication within
organisations are protocols. A good example would be email
communication. In organisations, sometimes managers need to reach a
high number of employees for sharing information. The easiest and
formal way is emailing. Email communication is best used in this
scenario, because it is not time consuming, giving the opportunity to
reach all favourable staff all at once. Emails can be misunderstood
easily, which is why is very important that they contain a clear subject,
date and time and regards.
Team briefing is another method of enhancing communication within
organisations. It refers to a gathering between managers and staff
aiming at sharing information on a face-to-face basis, in order to
comprehend the information in a more effective way. Questions may be
asked and ideas may be shared, in order to encourage innovation and
develop a sense of vision.
Newsletters, posters or bulletins are an easy way of communicating
with people in an organisation. These publications can be shared by
email or by distributing them around the organisation. They can be used
to inform staff about different change of policies or important events
coming up. They can raise knowledge about products, benefits and
new features, in order to make employees aware of these changes so
they can be prepared when they get in contact with customers. They
are not only aimed towards staff, but to customers too. Customers
within the data base of an organisation can receive newsletters
regarding new products, new collections and promotions in order to
raise awareness and penetrate the market.
Cascading through the organisation, starting with the top leadership
and ending with front-lined employees creates clear objectives for all
employees. If employees have clear tasks, it makes it easier to focus
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and to achieve performances based on that task. With this method it’s
easier to maintain order and update news and boosts productivity.
Lastly, policies. Policies are used to address issues to employees of
an organisation. Effective communication in this case can help staff be
aware of changes and rules within the organisation. If communication is
not effective, policies are useless and employees will neglect them,
therefore resulting in poor performances. This is why employees need
to have easy access to policies.

1.3 /Explain legislation relevant to communication within

organisations
1. Data Protection Act 1998, GDPR 2018
The Data Protection Act 1998 is an act, set up by the UK Parliament,
containing rules regarding individual’s personal information and how
this must be use in order not to protect them against misuse or abuse.
This legislation is essential in organisations, as it protects individuals
and their private data against the public. This is important for
communication within an organisation, as all staff needs to be aware of
and have the same knowledge of the rules applied, because it is illegal
to share information stored about an individual.
2. Privacy and electronic communication
Privacy and electronic communication is a European law focusing on
privacy rights when electronic communication is being made. For
example, customer privacy, when its location data is being stored or
cookies, which are used to record an individual’s browsing history for
marketing purposes. This is also a regulation that all staff needs to be
aware of, especially when contacting customers. Communication
between organisation and customer needs to apply these laws,
otherwise customers might feel that their privacy has been invaded and
might result in the organisation being sued.
3. Freedom of information Act
This act provides access to information covered by public authorities,
such as government or local authorities. It gives citizens the freedom of
accessing information about series of agencies. This act helps spread
awareness of issues in the government, it gives people an opinion,
which is important, because we need to know why we should trust our

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government and it also boosts public confidence. So, this is important
for communications within organisations, because everybody should be
aware of regulations, in order to have the same knowledge about the
issues and avoid errors throughout the organisation and communication
with customers.
4. Equality Act 2010
This act protects individuals from discrimination. Either if it’s based on
gender, disability, sexual orientation or race. It covers all characteristics.
Its aim is to assure every individual with equal right in work place
environments and avoid discrimination. This act is important for
communication within organisations as it is very accessible for
everybody, it gives individuals opportunity and freedom of speech.
Organisations should also make it easier for individuals to communicate
with them, as easy as accessing information.
5. Confidentiality
Confidentiality agreement is a contract which binds parties together in
order to keep some information undisclosed from the public. This is to
protect informations known only by the employer and employee. This
act is important for communication within organisations, as it gives the
option of disclosing information from the public, either if it’s between
employer and employee or employee and customer. This helps protect
private information from the public, as it might create disagreements
and conflicts and customers, as well as employees feel more safe in
working with organisations.

1.4 /How organisational structure impacts on the communication

methods used
1. Tall/Flat organisational structure
This structure refers to how the level of management is structured. A
tall structure means that the CEO is at the top of the leadership and he
is the one in control of the decision-making process. This structure
limits communication, because the CEO is the one making decisions for
the organisations and he is in charge. Staff does not get the chance to
share ideas, therefore this structure has a negative impact on
communication within organisations. A flat structure means that more
employees and other less levels of management are involved in the
decision-making process. This type of structure offers employees the

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chance to be innovative and share ideas and creates a good
communication channel within the organisation.
2. Matrix organisational structure
This type of structure has more managers to report to, rather than one,
like in most organisations. It is used in organisations with multiple
product lines and it increases efficiency and productivity. This structure
boosts communication within organisations, as staff needs to report to
multiple management teams and a lot of information flows around the
work environment. Although it enhances communication, conflicts may
appear. Because there are multiple bosses running the organisation,
employees tend to choose their loyalty for a specific person, which can
lead to break of confidentiality or spread of rumours, which can harm
the business.
3. Regional organisational structure
This type of structure focuses on different regions in which units of the
organisation are structured and divided into. Organisations choose this
type fo structure in order to have access to multiple locations and
according to demand be closer to local customers. Regional structure
boosts communication with local customers, which leads to customer
satisfaction, because organisations working closely with customers
have a better knowledge of their demands.
4. Remote offices
Remote office is an individual office of an employee, which is not
placed in the organisation, but is situated close to potential customers.
The purpose of this office is to offer flexibility for the employee and to
closely work with customers from a professional environment close to
them. This structure offers a great communication channel between
employee and customer, because it provides an increase in productivity
and efficiency, as there are no distractions within the work environment
and employees are easier to be reached.
5. Dotted line reporting
A dotted line reporting refers to the reporting an employee has to
deliver to a dotted line manager, which is a manager who evaluates the
employee’s work, other than the top manager who supervises the
department or organisation. This is done to record the employee’s
progress. This has an impact on the communication within the
organisation in terms of management style of the managers. Each
manager has its own style and this can lead to confusion and

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misleading information, if managers are not on the same page when it
comes to reporting the employee’s performances.

2.1 /Assess the benefits of team-working to individuals and

organisations
Team-working can bring a lot of beneficial aspects to individuals and
organisations. Firstly, it can create synergy. Synergy is a concept in
which the value of cooperation of more organisations can result in a
greater outcome, rather than individually. Organisations use synergy in
order to increase productivity, produce more revenue and reduce costs.
Secondly, by team-working individuals might find self-belonging and
motivation, but it’s very important to make your team mates aware of
your goals, set clear objectives and communicate properly. Usually,
employee find themselves more motivated in a safe and friendly work
environment, which also results in higher quality outcome. A sense of
belonging can be achieved when ideas are being shared and listened.
Thirdly, team-work results in better results and enhanced productivity.
Because in a team-work environment every individual participates
through sharing innovative ideas, decision-making comes much easier,
as creativity and productivity is more efficient. In order to achieve
efficiency is very important to choose your team closely, in order to
achieve a balance and encourage communication, therefore
encouraging creativity and efficiency.
Fourthly, team-work can not only improve the team as a whole, but
also the individuals. Working in teams teaches each individuals how to
have self-confidence by collaborating with ideas and concepts. By
doing so, each member of the team is able to enhance its skills and
experience and together, reach to an innovative result. This is an
opportunity of self development, because team-working can teach a lot
of skills, such as enhance in the ability of communication, problem
solving, listening, collaboration and leadership. All together, creates the
skills required and self-development that everybody needs in order to
succeed.

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2.2 /Why teams might fail to meet their objectives
Communication is the most essential factor in a team-work, as it is the
base of a strong relationship. Communication is important, because
teams need to communicate projects, objectives and goals that need to
be achieved. By doing so, they are able to increase efficiency in their
work, increase productivity and create better outcomes. If
communication fails, then there is not enough clarity about objectives
and misunderstanding may occur, which can lead to conflict or
controversy.
The absence of an individual can lead to errors in a team-working
environment. Because every individual taking part in the team-working
has a task to achieve, the absence of one person can lead to
misunderstandings, missing data, therefore not being able to achieve
the objective of the task. It can also lead to unbalanced team work,
meaning the take might have to make-up for the missing information
that was supposed to be generated by the absent individual.
Lack of clarity regarding the objective of the team is another factor
that can lead the team to failure. Is essential that the team discusses
the tasks and goals, appointing every individual to a specific task. If
that information is not clear enough it may lead to errors, inefficient
work and poor performance.
Lastly, the leadership style is important, as the leader guides the
individuals. A good team leader has the responsibility to track progress
of work and monitor the progress of the team, in order to analyse what
has been done and what’s been missing and discuss how to improve,
otherwise people feel too comfortable, resulting in missing work or poor
performances. It’s very important for the leader to keep the other
individuals motivated at all times and clarifying the objectives of the
team.

3.1 /Implications of different ways in which people work remotely

Remote working is a way of working outside an employee’s
professional office. Usually work is done at home, from home, at
regional offices, it can be virtual working or global working.
Working at home or home based is when an employee performs its job
from home, rather than a professional office in an organisation. By
choosing this kind of remote working employees get the chance of
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having flexible working hours, being their own boss and can also
increase productivity, but because this type of working environment can
get a little too comfortable, limitations may appear. Working from home
can come with many distractions and this can affect the efficiency of
tasks. Because there is no supervision and direction, tasks may
become delayed and it can create errors, as there is no measurement in
the work done.
Regional offices is another type of remote work. This refers to offices
placed in specific geographical areas where employees can work
closely with local customers. The advantages of working in regional
offices is that employees have a wider access to local resources and
clients are more attracted to this kind of business, as it is more
convenient for them in terms of distance.
Virtual working is similar with working home based, but in addition is
using modern technology to do the work. This type of work is
recommended for people who need a flexible timetable. It is much
cheaper, as you don’t have to worry about high overhead costs and
employee’s satisfaction is higher, but in the same time, just like home-
based work, it can reduce efficiency.
Global working is the most common type of work. It refers to
employees working in international labour. Working in a company offers
you endless opportunities, such as personal development, access to
technology, the opportunity to grow and make relations. The
disadvantages are that employees don’t benefit of flexible schedules.
Language is also one of the limitations, as an employee may have to
face with international customers and languages won’t intersperse.

3.2 /Common working practices used by those working remotely in

different contexts
One of the common practices used when working remotely is
investing in technology. Because working from home has grown
immensely over the years, more companies have the option of allowing
employees to work from their homes, but without technology this
cannot be done. Investing in modern technology can help companies
and employees in many ways. Having a modern technology to work
with gets work done more efficient, as programmes are more
developed, it works faster and increases efficiency, as it cuts down

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errors and it can be a competitive advantage as long as there is a latest
technology implemented in the company, therefore to the employees.
Sometimes, when working remotely, employees tend to get lonely.
This is because working from home for a long period of time is isolating,
as employees don’t get to feel connected in daily activities and it’s also
harder to get promoted and develop and it doesn’t provide relationships
with colleagues, so it’s harder to create friendship bonds.
Communication barriers may appear when working remotely. Because
there is a lack of face-to-face communication between employees and
the company, there isn’t always a good communication. There are
chances of employees not understanding correctly tasks or not have
access to modern technology or technology at all. There are also
distractions, noises and internet errors that may appear and affect
communication.
Working in different time zones is a common practice in remote
working. Being able to hire employees from around the world can result
in high quality outcomes and can increasingly expand the company, but
having to work with different time zones is hard to coordinate each
employee and delays will appear, which might affect customer
satisfaction.
Cultural diversity is another practice that employees might need to
face when working remotely. Every culture has its own practical
methods of handling things, every culture has a personality, a language,
so it’s important to take all these factors into consideration when
collaborating with a remote team. Some employees may not know
international languages very well, some may be quicker at solving
errors or some may have different work ethics understanding. For
example, in India, employees are used to work around 12 hours/day
with multiple breaks and in China, employees work around 2200 hours/
year, taking in consideration that delays are something very uncommon
in both cultures.
Employees don’t always know the best time management approach
for remote work, this is why distractions appear and the efficiency of
work done usually decreases. It’s very important for all employees to
keep a schedule of working hours and breaks, in order to avoid
distractions and create a work environment in which individuals can feel
motivated.

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3.3 /Leadership styles suitable for remote working
Firstly, Douglas McGregor is a psychologist who developed two
theories about the relationship between management style and
manager’s beliefs and he named them Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X
is all about authoritarian leadership style, because he believed this is
the appropriate one if employees have little motivation. This theory
assumes that employees dislike their work, have no responsibility and
need to be controlled and forced to deliver their work efficiently. Large
companies tend to choose this kind of theory because of their tight
deadlines and multiple tasks that need to be delivered by a large
number of employees. Theory Y focuses on a more friendly leadership
style approach towards employees if they seem motivated and
trustworthy. This theory encourages employees to share ideas and be
collaborative in order to create a trust-based relationship and a safe,
friendly work environment. This style assumes that employees like their
work, are motivated and have responsibility over their actions.
Secondly, the empowerment leadership style is a very common one. It
focuses on the leader’s ability to empower employees, in order to reach
a maximum success. Empowerment refers to motivating employees by
implicating them in the decision-making process, encouraging them to
share their ideas and make them part of the organisation as a whole.
This can motivate staff into enhancing their productivity, increase
efficiency of work and organisational decisions.
Thirdly, The Goleman leadership style was developed by Daniel
Goleman and it contains 6 stages:
1. The Affiliative Leader, which is focusing on encouraging employees
to collaborate with each other and try to solve conflicts, so it can
create value within the team.
2. The Democratic Leader, which is focusing on the help of the
employees and their expertise in a specific domain, in order to help
with the decision-making process. This style is used when
managers are dependent on their employees and their experience
to solve an issue.
3. The Commanding Leader, which is a more strict type of style. It is
used when top leaders appoint an employee effectively to a specific
task and it needs to be done efficiently. This is usually put into
practice when there is a demanding task that needs to be done
quickly.

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4. The Pacesetting Leader, focuses on employees with high knowledge
and expertise to do high quality work. In this style, employees are
expected to work independently and deliver efficient results. By doing
so, employees feel stimulated and can independently develop and
grow, though it can cause stress and it’s very time demanding.
5. The Authoritative Leader, which is a style used for motivating
employees. This is used when the leader was great knowledge in
domain and can guide its employees towards the desired organisational
objectives. Employees need to follow directions from the leader and the
leader needs to help, guide and motivate employees into efficiently
handle the work.
6. The Coaching Leader, is focusing on the development of the
employees. This is done by identifying strengths and weaknesses and
help employees empower their strengths in order to improve their skills
and knowledge. A strong communication is required, in order for
employees to understand what needs to be improved and how the
leader can help with development.
Finally, the Aidar leadership style that was developed by John Adair. It
contains 3 stages: Achieving tasks, Managing the group which make up
the team and Managing individuals which make up the team. This
model was made so that it can lead leaders into the right direction,
according to these 3 steps. It can help leaders with planning,
controlling, supporting and evaluating employees in such ways that
their work will increasingly develop and it guarantees a successful
leadership.
In conclusion, i think the best leadership style appropriate for remote
working would be the empowerment style, because employees who
work remotely can face distractions while staying at home or get lonely
and bored. This is why is very important that they are kept motivated
and are pushed towards finishing the tasks, in order to avoid delays,
errors and misunderstandings.

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4.1 /How HR department can provide support and monitor people
within the workplace
Employees are the base of an organisation, which is why they need to
be handled very successfully, in order to deliver the wanted output. The
Human Resource department handles the employees, by creating
policies to keep things in order. Policies like recruiting policies, which
handle recruiting employees and the processes they need to go through
in order to achieve the desired knowledge and be perfectly qualified to
enter the job, employee security policies, which assures each individual
the necessary protection of data, employee training and development
policies, which focuses on providing employees the necessary training
in order to enhance skills and have the right knowledge about the
organisation to assure a clear path and future self-development of
employees or discrimination policies, which focuses on gender or race
discrimination. This is to assure employees of all condition necessary
for a safe working environment in which employees can develop and
deliver good results.
The are several other sectors in which the HR are involved. Dealing
with employee’s disciplinary issues or any issues regarding conflicts in
the work place is one of them. This is because managers don’t always
have the proper knowledge and the HR department is specialised in
this domain. They can offer guidance, to employees and managers
when needed and make decisions regarding the position of the
employee, depending on its accusations.
Recruiting and support for employees that leave the organisation. HR
recruits every individual that enters the organisation, by making sure
they are qualified and making sure they get the necessary training. It is
important to go through a selection criteria when looking for the right
candidates, in order to maximise strength within the organisation and
result in the wanted objectives. For the selection criteria, the HR
department needs to go through job descriptions, person specifications
and interviews for background check and to make sure they are
qualified for the job. For employees leaving the organisation for
retirement or because of redundancy receive guidance and advise for
future opportunities and go through the policies and procedures
necessary.
Employment contracts. An employment contract is a written
agreement between employer and employee. Its aim is to protect
organisation data, like financial resources. Higher positions require this
kind of contract, those who have access to these private data.

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 Flexible working and family friendly care. If an employee wants to
reduce his/hers working hours, it needs to go through the HR
department. It can either be done informally or go though the flexible
working scheme. Flexible working refers to part-time working, less
hours of work or even work from home. The HR is a family friendly
department. The department allows family friendly leave for maternity,
paternity, personal issues or emergencies and also offers flexible
working hours for parents.

4.2 /Policies and procedures designed to support and monitor

people in the workplace
Firstly, one of the procedures designed to support and monitor people
in the workplace is coaching and training. Training is the process of
enhancing the skills and knowledge of the employees. If trained well,
employees might become more efficient with their work and increase
productivity and quality. The benefits of this procedure is that it boosts
employee morale and job satisfaction, decrease in the number of errors,
it saves manager time, as it no longer needs supervision and
employees might get the chance of promotion, which will help them
grow individually and receive future opportunities.
Secondly, mentoring is an important procedure to help support
employees. Mentoring is when people look up for you and your support
to guide them into the right direction. It’s very important to create a
strong, trust-based relationship with employees, where they feel
respected, recognise their strengths and weaknesses and encourage
them, earn their trust and advise them when needed. All these factors
will help employees develop their leadership skills, improve job
satisfaction and self-development.
Thirdly, performance reviews. Performance reviews is an assessment
managers develop in order to measure an employee’s performances
and evolution. The aim of this assessment is to monitor strengths and
weaknesses, determine bonus packages and assessing potential
growth. The advantages are that managers have a clear statement of
each employee’s overall performances, making it easier to select
promotion packages and by determining strengths and weaknesses will
provide employees with special training which will develop their skills
and knowledge

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 Lastly, performance appraisal, which is a review of employee
performances and contribution to the organisation which is done
annually. The aim of this performance is to determine a clear picture of
an employee’s overall contribution and performance, in order to discuss
future matter of payment and promotion. This is also used to determine
what future training is necessary for employee development. The
performance appraisal offers employees the opportunity for assessing
their performances, motivate employees to improve and develop their
skills in order to reach promotions.

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excellence/
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#core-functions
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•

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