Purpose Of Effective Communication In Organization 555ve

Purpose of Effective Communication in Organization Introduction: Managers need to be effective communicators to achieve positive results in today’s organizations. Some of the purposes are –? Seeking or receiving information, encouragement, control, selling proposals, confrontation. ? Talking to different levels within the hierarchy – to individuals, to groups, to departments – and externally to customers, suppliers, vendors, and other professionals? Using both formal communication - Meetings, reports, proposals, notices; and Informal communication - counseling, advising, talking to other employees ? Working in different roles: as Chairman, project leader, analyst, subordinate, and colleague. ? Evaluating communications: are they facts, opinions, gossip ? ? Building up networks to obtain real information which may be given freely or concealed – which means you need to ask the right questions, or else you will find yourself drowned in data but starved of information. ? Trying to influence those over whom you have no power. Organizational Communication. Organizational communication can be External Communication and Internal Communication. Internal Communication is within the organization, whereas, External Communication is the communication with the external stakeholders of the organization. The importance and the purpose of the communication in organization has been explained above. Communication in organizations uses two basic channels – formal and informal. Both are important and both carry messages – sometimes reinforcing and sometimes conflicting – throughout the organization.

Formal channels are ones which have been set up by the organization. Messages flow in three directions: downwards, upwards and sideways. The downward message consists primarily of information which is necessary for any staff to carry-out their work, such as policies and procedures, orders and requests which are ed down the appropriate level in the hierarchy. Upward messages are reports, requests, opinions, complaints. Sideways messages are between different departments, functions or people at the same level in the organization. There tend to be strict rules about the use of these formal channels. For communication to be effective, all three channels need to be open and unblocked at all times. The upward channel is the one which blocks most easily, and when this happens it is an indicator that an organization’s policies, procedures and employee relations need to be reviewed. Informal Channels spring up by virtue of common interests between people in the organization – these interests may be caused by work, social or outside relationships. The grapevine is very powerful channel. It has been estimated that managers receive over half the information they need for planning purposes through the grapevine. Its messages may frequently be distorted, but they often carry more credibility than those coming from the formal channels. Informal channels become the only means of communication when the formal channels become blocked or break-down. There are three key points to keep in mind in directive communication: · Communication is what the Listener Does – You can talk as much as you want and however you want, what you say will not come through if it is not understood by the recipient. Human beings all process communication differently, some emotionally and some logically. Peter Drucker always believed individuals were either readers or listeners as well; finding out how one prefers to receive can effectively get your point across. Face to face, through e-mail, direct, with emotion,

through others are all valid ways to communicate. It is irrelevant what the sender feels is best, as it is the receiver that process and acts upon it. · Communicate the 80% that Matters – Effective leaders communicate the behaviors that drive the most important results. Directs who receive direction from those above them without context will assume it is all important. An example is a medical facility with lack of mission: “We have too many patients” “We need more beds” “It’s important we focus on service” “ given was speed is an issue, it is important we are more efficient”. What is the mission of this organization and what does it value? Who knows? Can every action be “important” or a “priority”? Never. Decide what message will impact 80% of the results you want by following the mission of your organization and reduce the excess. · Receive Confirmation that your Message is your Message – Any leader assuming their message got across with their team results in such team assuming they are working on the right things for their leader. This trap is revealed after the unexpected results come through. The leader does not understand how such easy direction fell through and becomes upset. The team does not understand why their leader is upset as they thought they were doing the right thing. Execution is not driven by assumption; when communicating any direction of critical importance, have the receiver repeat back to you on what the message was. The message should always come across clear in order to achieve the right results. Effective communication starts with the listener first and foremost. The audience decides how they perceive what is given to them. How they act is dependent on how well your message came across to them and what format they prefer best. Successful organizations have the majority of their teams moving upwards in a uniform direction not because it is written out on a wall or in a handbook; the leaders effectively tailor their communication so the audience is moving in the right direction.

Effective Communication is significant for managers in the organizations so as to perform the basic functions of

management, i.e., Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling. Communication helps managers to perform thei

jobs and responsibilities. Communication serves as a foundation for planning. All the essential information must be

communicated to the managers who in-turn must communicate the plans so as to implement them. Organizing also requires effective communication with others about their job task. Similarly leaders as managers must communicate effectively with their subordinates so as to achieve the team goals. Controlling is not possible without written and oral communication.

Managers devote a great part of their time in communication. They generally devote approximately 6 hours per day in communicating. They spend great time on face to face or telephonic communication with their superiors, subor-

dinates, colleagues, customers or suppliers. Managers also use Written Communication in form of letters, reports o memos wherever oral communication is not feasible. Thus, we can say that “effective communication is a building block of successful organizations”. In other words, communication acts as organizational blood. The importance of communication in an organization can be summarized as follows: 1. Communication promotes motivation by informing and clarifying the employees about the

task to be done, the manner they are performing the task, and how to improve their performance if it is not up to the mark. 2. Communication is a source of information to the organizational for decision-

making process as it helps identifying and assessing alternative course of actions. 3. Communication also plays a crucial role in altering individual’s attitudes, i.e., a well in-

formed individual will have better attitude than a less-informed individual. Organizational

magazines, journals, meetings and various other forms of oral and written communication help in moulding employee’s attitudes. 4. Communication also helps in socializing. In todays life the only presence of another indi-

vidual fosters communication. It is also said that one cannot survive without communication. 5. As discussed earlier, communication also assists in controlling process. It helps controlling

organizational member’s behaviour in various ways. There are various levels of hierarchy and certain principles and guidelines that employees must follow in an organization. They must comply with organizational policies, perform their job role efficiently and communicate any work problem and grievance to their superiors. Thus, communication helps in controlling function of management. An effective and efficient communication system requires managerial proficiency in delivering and receiving messages. A manager must discover various barriers to communication, analyze the reasons for their occurrence and take preventive steps to avoid those barriers. Thus, the primary responsibility of a manager is to develop and maintain an effective communication system in the organization. Implementation of Effective Communication in Organizational Behavior: 1.Determine the current level of your organization's employee morale and why low employee morale exists, if it does. One of the primary reasons for low morale is lack of communication, but other reasons may include ineffective leadership, working conditions and unresolved workplace issues, such as lack of promotional opportunities, performance appraisal results, compensation practices and productivity demands.

2.Conduct an employee opinion survey to determine employee sentiment about various workplace matters. Develop survey questions about work hours, pay and benefits, working relationships with supervisors and managers, and employee recognition and rewards. Analyze survey responses, and design action plans that address the most important issues. Encourage honest, candid responses from employees by providing assurance that survey answers are confidential and anonymous. Work to maintain the confidential nature of employee responses. 3. Develop an action plan that focuses on the various forms of workplace communication. Construct a list of communication ideas. Company newsletters, employee suggestion boxes, all-staff meetings, leadership training on communication methods and regular employee surveys are all effective ways to communicate with the workforce. Prioritize these types of communication methods according to feasibility and cost. 4. Discuss communication methods with upper management. Present your research, survey response analyses and action plans to company leadership. from the highest level of your organization is especially important in implementing a communication program. Provide company executive leaders with an announcement to employees about what steps the company will take to improve communication. In some cases, simply hearing firsthand from the highest level of management is sufficient communication on its own to convince employees of how important they are to the company. 5. Develop training for supervisors and managers on the best ways to communicate with their employees. Supervisor and manager communication with employees includes how to conduct performance appraisals effectively, how to give informal yet constructive to employees on a regular basis, and how to resolve employee issues or conflict using communication techniques.

6. Incorporate your new communication methods into company philosophy, mission and values. If appropriate, plan a fanfare event that announces newly created communications. Launching a company newsletter or establishing an in-house social networking site is perfect for this type of event. Create excitement about the inaugural issue of a company newsletter. Invite contributions from employees, and involve employees in the writing, editing and publishing of a company newsletter. Enlist IT staff expertise to create a private social networking site for posting company-specific information. Install employee suggestion boxes for soliciting anonymous employee comments that could become part of a regularly distributed company newsletter. 7. Continue to consider new ways to communicate with employees. Don't allow your communication plans to start out on a high note only to slowly disappear because of lack of interest or participation. One of the functions of company leadership and the human resources department is maintaining employee communication. If necessary, enlist the talents of interested staff. Monitor and upgrade employee communication whenever possible to constantly refresh your communication methods.

References:

1. Importance of Communication in an Organization retrived from http://www.managementstudyguide.com/importance-of-communication.htm

2.Purpose of Effective Communication in Organisation retrived from http://redoctober.xomba.com/purpose_of_effective_communication_in_organisation