Communication in organization

Communication in organizations encompasses all the means, both formal and informal, by which
information is passed up, down, and across the network of managers and employees in a business.
The challenge for businesses is to channel these myriad communications so they serve to improve
customer relations, bolster employee satisfaction, build knowledge-sharing throughout the
organization, and most importantly, enhance the firm's competitiveness.

EFFECTIVE VS. INEFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

Perhaps the importance of good communication is best understood by considering what things
would be like in its absence.

ESTABLISHING COMMUNICATIONS
There is no formal history of business communication systems. It has existed in some form since the
first business owner hired the first employees and issued the first instructions. Those instructions were
the first official "employee communications," an action taken by management to make sure the
employee knew what management expected of him or her. Once the business owner hired enough
employees to create a staff, they reacted to those management mandates by creating the first form of
informal company communications, "the grapevine."

COMMUNICATIONS AS A FUNCTION OF MANAGEMENT

During corporate America's early history, which stretches back little more than 150 years, American
management operated as strict "top down" communications companies. Whatever the majority of the
company's owners said was the law. If the company had a senior management committee, strategies for
doing everything from selling product to dealing with employees would be discussed behind closed
doors. Once those decisions were made by managers, lower levels of management were asked to put
those decisions into effect. Employees had little input. They did as they were told or found work
elsewhere.

FORMS OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS

Although the content of corporate communications within the organization has remained fairly
constant through the years, technology has improved the way management and employees keep in
touch with each other.

ROADBLOCKS TO COMMUNICATIONS
Various writers on management topics have addressed the problems of communicating within an
organization. What follows is a short compilation of obstacles frequently encountered.

EXPECTATIONS AND PERCEPTIONS.

Old school managers of employees sometimes do not believe that employees can contribute anything
useful to the operation of a company other than their unquestioning labor. These managers separate
"management" from "employees" with the idea that managers will tell employees what to do.
SELECTIVITY.
Most people pick and choose what they actually retain when someone is talking. Any number of factors
can cause this, ranging from the respect a person has for the speaker to what the speaker is saying and
how it relates to what the employee is doing.

DISTRACTIONS.
Ringing phones, scheduled meetings, and unfinished reports all contribute to the problem of hurried
and sometimes misunderstood communications. Careful listening and understanding takes dedication.
Time must be put aside for communication.

KEYS TO GOOD COMMUNICATIONS

All forms of communication, even the lack of it, can have an impact. A stiffly worded, legalistic memo
to employees telling them not to talk to the press about impending litigation could be interpreted as
admitting that the company did something wrong. Management's repeated "no comments" to
employees and the press on rumored merger talks may only fuel speculation about company suitors,
how much the company will sell for, and how many employees will be laid off.