Chapter 14

Communication in perspective
Five questions for organisational
communicators
Concluding session based around five questions, designed to
encourage further reflection and debate:
Question 1: How can we find out what we are communicating?
Question 2: How can we make better use of new and
emerging technologies?
Question 3: How can we learn to communicate ‘with emotion’?
Question 4: How can our communication practices reflect
increasing diversity?
Question 5: How do communication practices relate to
leadership and strategy?
Question 1: How can we find out what we are
communicating?
The communication audit
• a formal assessment of the effectiveness of an
organisation’s communication systems and
practices;
• may encompass both internal and external
communication;
• might include using the following tools:
− Questionnaire
− In-depth interviews
− Focus group
Question 2: How can we make better use of
new and emerging technologies?
• The creation of new internet-
based ventures (Case 7.2)
• Internet-based stakeholder
reporting (Case 9.3)
• Text messaging for customer
relationship management
(Case 10.2)
• Online recruiting (Case 11.3)
• Virtual team-working (Case
13.2)
Discussion topic 2

• Organisations of all kinds, including multinational

corporations and large public and voluntary sector
bodies, have had both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ experiences
of applying new technologies for the purposes of
communication.
• Which recent technological innovations do you think
have had the biggest impact on organisational
communication?
• Do you consider this impact to have been positive or
negative for organisations and their stakeholders?
Question 3: How can we learn to communicate
‘with emotion’?

Human emotion is a mysterious and powerful force,

which can have a profound effect on the
performance of organisations. Issues include the
following:
• Use of emotion in persuasive communication
(section 5.3)
• The role of ‘emotional intelligence’ in enhancing
feedback (section 6.5)
Question 4: How can our communication
practices reflect increasing diversity?

• Diversity in today’s organisations includes: national and

organisational culture, differences in gender and
(dis)ability etc.
• This has been driven by factors including:
− the internationalisation of businesses, governmental
and voluntary sector organisations;
− organisational responses to stakeholder activism;
− the blurring of organisational boundaries (sections
2.4, 7.3 and 7.4).
Challenges of increasing diversity

• Organisations need to learn how to accommodate cross-cultural

team-working, e.g.
− to enable virtual teams to engage in real-time working across
continents and time zones (section 13.6).
• Considering the needs of the ‘receiver’, e.g.
− Report writers and presenters need to pay particular attention to
the use of language, and may have to make difficult trade-offs
between creativity and clarity of expression (see section 3.4 and
case 7.4).
− non-verbal cues, such as the images used to reinforce promotional
or campaigning messages, may be ineffective or even offensive to
others (sections 5.6 and 10.4).
− human gestures, like those in face-to-face interviews or
negotiations, may need to be reviewed or modified (sections 11.3
and 13.7).
Question 5: How do communication practices
relate to leadership and strategy?

‘For every complex problem, there is a simple solution

– that is wrong’.
Bernard Shaw, Irish writer
Achieving effective organisational
communication – no simple solution
• Organisational communication is a complex phenomenon,
which is not open to simple ‘recipe book’ solutions. Effective
communicators require an open and analytical mind that can
draw on multiple perspectives in addition to their own
immediate experiences
• Leaders of organisations need to face up to their own
communication barriers; they need to be responsive to
changing environments and willing to abandon long-
established practices and assumptions in response to
evidence and informed advice.
• While a great deal can be achieved using existing knowledge,
effective communicators also need to be innovative, asking
new questions and experimenting with novel approaches.
Review for Exam
 Scoring system

Language Content
Language

Is it clear, direct, easy to read?

Will the readers understand it?

Will its tone help you achieve the purpose?

Can unnecessary words/phrases be deleted?

Is the grammar/punctuation correct?

Are there spelling mistakes?

The purpose
Have your clarified your purpose?
Have you identified your readers’ needs/characteristics?
Have you remembered these when considering the items
below?
Information
Have you included the main points?
Are points supported by evidence?
Is the information relevant to the purpose?
Format
What is the balance between sections?
Do the most important items have the most space?
Is the report easy to follow?
Is it easy to find information in the report?
Are headings and numbering clear?
Are the arguments followed through?
Accuracy
Do the figures add up?
Are the references correct, in the text and at the end?
Are all sources of information listed in the References section?
Are abbreviations consistent?
Presentation
Is the layout appealing?
Does it highlight important points?
Images
Are images clear?