Organizational Communication

Communication Problems in Communication Problems in OrganizationsOrganizations

Peace Team

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Contents

1. What is communication?

2. What is organizational communication?

3. The communication process.

4. Importance of orgaizational communication.

5. General types of communication.

6. Types of organizational communication.

7. Organizational communication problems: causes, effects and resolving.

4. Communication planning: why & process.

5. Case studies.

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What is communication?

“the lubricant of organizations…”

The art of being able to structure and transmit a message in a way that another can easily understand and/or accept

Using symbols (words) to attempt to create shared meaning (mutual understanding) that will result in an effect on the

two of them.

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What is organizational communication?

A program that focuses on general communication processes and dynamics within

organizations. Includes instruction in the development and maintenance of:

interpersonal group relations within organizations;

decision-making and conflict management;

power and politics within organizations;

and how communications socializes and supports employees and team

members. 

(source: U. S. Department of Education)

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The communication process

Sender ReceiverChannel

Noise

Feedback (2 way communication)

Person A

Person B

Sender1. Intended meaning2. Encoding

Receiver3. Decoding4. Perceived meaning

Sender5. Intended meaning6. Encoding

Receiver7. Decoding8. Perceived meaning

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Importance of organizational communication

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COMMUNICATION TYPES

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General types of communication

Verbal Non - verbal

Signals Symbols Body language

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Types of organizational communication

Internal communication

Communication within a company . And can take many forms.

External communication

Covers interactions with those outside the organization.

This may be with the public, employers, community organizations, local authorities, job centers, careers offices, funding bodies, specialist agencies and other training providers.

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Types of organizational communication (cont.)

Directional communication

Upward and downward communication have the following problems:

1. information overload

2. lack of opennessWithhold information even if sharing is important

3. Filtering Some information is left out Message can be distorted by adding personal interpretation

Employee satisfaction with upward communication tends to be lower than their satisfaction with downward communication. (Gibson 1985)

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1. Causes

1. If I know it, then everyone must know it!

2. I told everyone, or some people, or ...?

3. Did you hear what I meant for you to hear?

4. Our problems are too big to have to listen to each other!

5. So what's to talk about?

6. If I need your opinion, I'll tell it to you.

Orgznizationl Communications Problems

Sender Side Receiver Side

1. Perception Selectivity/exposure filtering out of unpleasant things and focusing on or

recalling things not heard. Retention filtering of things that feel good, and the tendency to forget

those things that are painful.

2. Experiential Barriers The difficulty in understanding things not personally experienced.

3. Emotions Communication can involve tension, fear , anger and other emotions and

can hamper ability to speak clearly Emotions influence both what is said and what is heard.

4. Defensiveness Adjustments people make to avoid acknowledging personal inadequacies

that might reduce their self-esteem

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2. Effects / Signs

1. You find it hard to get some people to

cooperate.

2. Replies to messages are being

delayed or completely ignored.

3. Groups in the organization are failing

to reach their goals.

4. Mistakes are cropping up more and

more often.

5. People are resorting more to criticism

and placing the blame on other

people.

6. Morale of teams is going down.

7. Productivity is dull or at zero level.

8. You receive many complaints.

9. Moments of conflict result in

expressions of anger.

10. There is significant employee

turnover.

11. Business is going to your

competitors instead of to you.

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3. Resolving

Listen to the people involved or who have caused the communication problem.

Secure the help of a neutral negotiator if the problems have deeply-rooted causes.

Make a survey to maintain confidentiality.

Initiate group counseling or training.

Improve leaders communication skills.

Search the history of the organization.

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PLANNING OF COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

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Why planning?

Because internal communication strategies are developed, reactively, when there

is a crisis or major event that clearly requires addressing communication issues.

So, strategic planning principles are:

long-term focus 

clear values, goals 

comprehensive, pervasive methods 

consistent messages  

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Planning process

1. Identify the common culture needed/wanted .

2. Identify the available communication tools.

Paper-based

Electronic

Management behavior

3. Determine what tools are suited to which goals.

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Planning process (cont’)

4. Develop a description of how each tool will be used.

5. Plan for remediation.

6. Plan For Implementation.

7. Implement.

8. Continuously Monitor and Revise.

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GE Real Estate Case Study

CASE STUDIES

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GE Real Estate Multinational Company Case Studyhttp://www.gecapitalrealestate.com/cms/servlet/enter

1. Problem definition

GE Real Estate is a multinational commercial real estate investor.

employees consistently say that they prefer to hear 70% of corporate information

from their managers.

2. Suggested solution

developing a manager’s communication workshop that includes a face-to-face

presentation covering:

the fundamentals of communication;

a reference booklet;

assessment templates;

a communication plan template;

a communication scorecard;

subsequent ongoing Manager’s

Minute email messages.

Adobe Acrobat Document

Adobe Acrobat Document

HTML Document

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GE Real Estate Multinational Company Case Study (cont.)

3. Results

Every other year, the company receives employee feedback through an in-depth

opinion survey:

The actions of senior leaders are consistent with what they say?

Communication in this business is open and honest?

Senior leaders provide a clear direction for my business?

My immediate manager respects people as individuals with different styles, skills and experiences?

The scores have risen by approximately 10% over the past five years and now show:

More than 90% of the employees understand their job responsibilities and say they want to be working with the company one year from now.

Over 80% of employees say the senior leaders provide them with a clear understanding of the business vision, mission and strategy.

Over 70% respond positively regarding their manager’s ability to listen and understand their need to know how their roles and work contributes to the business goals.

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Challenger Shuttle Explosion Case Studyvideo.flv

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What happened?

Losses:

7 lives lost

In addition to:

Several families sued NASA management

gave up $10 million incentive fee

NASA launched on unmanned rockets

and of over $2 billion in hardware

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Case discussion

Unclear NASA Goals

• President Ronald Reagan, in an important policy speech on the national space

policy on July 5, 1982 declared that the shuttle was “fully operational”.

• This speech shaped NASA goals and increased the pressure on NASA

organization .

• This pressure was undoubtedly felt by individual decision makers and setting

the stage for the Challenger explosion.

Engineers at Morton Thiokol, the contractor responsible for building the solid rocket booster, had vigorously

“opposed the launching of Challenger”

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Case discussion (cont’)

NASA Policy.

– As NASA attempted to meet the increasing flight schedule of the space shuttle

to achieve the new goals ,the agency encountered a number of constraints and

operating problems.

– These constraints made it increasingly difficult for NASA to reach its goals in an

acceptable way-that is, with the high level of safety expected of it.

– The disjunction between the organizational goals of NASA and acceptable

means available (Safety Instructions )

NASA ignored Safety Instructions

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Case discussion (cont’)

NASA Structure

– The Organization Chart of Space Shuttle Challenger project consist of IV Levels

– More than 30 people were in at least 25 communication situations during this

period discussing the O-ring problem.

– None of the concerns reached levels I or II , only level III managers were given

the opportunity to evaluate the concerns of the engineers.

– The level I and II managers would have viewed matters differently than those at

level III (“I can assure you that if we had had that information, we wouldn’t have

launched “) (Kennedy Space Director )

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Conclusion

The Challenger accident is not individual mistake , it is organization mistake

Lack of external communication

Unclear Goals and disrespect organization policy.

Lack of an effective internal communication systems

– The bad news seldom flows up in an organization.

– Top level manages need to be aware of this fact and take steps to create a

climate in which all critical information good or bad is communicated upward.

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Thank You

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References

http://ezinearticles.com/?6-Powerful-Ways-to-Solve-Communication-Problems-at-

Work&id=652778

http://managementhelp.org/mrktng/org_cmm.htm

http://performance-appraisals.org/Bacalsappraisalarticles/articles/comstrat.htm

http://www.internalcommshub.com/open/news/turnover.shtml

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4JOjcDFtBE

http://content.authorstream.com/ppt/177900_633758259289737500.pptx

http://dc118.4shared.com/download/117379210/99b08e58/

Organizational_Communication.ppt?tsid=20091109-204008-77bcc6f4

Work place communication text book, by Simon Thompson & Melanie Bhagat, ISBN 1-74123-305-4