Effective communication throughout a workplace is an essential ingredient to align people’s efforts towards achieving organisational goals. Yet it seems that ‘communication problems’ are continually mentioned as one of the main difficulties for most organisations. Your boss, the CEO of ABC Company, has asked you to investigate the question
In the workplace communication is important so that activities can be conducted effectively. Managers should make effective communication a priority because it has been seen that if there is proper communication channel in the workplace then company can easily achieve goals and objectives. By having effective communication it can be easy for the managers to conduct the activities in a right direction. In this paper the issue related with formal communication channel will be explained. In this the ideas which are included are related to the ideas that will help to minimize these issues.
It has been evaluated that communication which take place within the companies is related with the organizational communication. The information flow can be formal or informal. Channel of communication is a means through which it can be easy to communicate the message. The communication that passes through various points in a company can be related to channel of communication. There are various modes of communication like informal and formal (Austin, and Pinkleton, 2015).
It can be evaluated that formal channel of communication is managed by the managers or the individuals who are in the top hierarchy in a company. It is an official channel that is structured to form a communication chain so that company can easily achieve goals and objectives. The information which flows through Formal channels is correct, authentic and also legal. Formal communication focuses on memos, reports, orders and letters that flow up and down in the hierarchical system in a company and it is also presented to the public (Allen, 2016).
There are many features which are related to the formal communication. It has been seen that formal communication takes place between the superiors. It can be done in oral or written manner. The communications that take place between the top management in the office space are formal in nature. In this communication there are various disadvantages which create issue. The first disadvantage is related with the formal communication that involves the hierarchy of communication (Jensen, 2015). It is important to follow hierarchy that makes the communication more time consuming. In formal communication there is no free flow of information and also there are set of activities which consist of adding the information in the stringent practices. Also the issue is related with the hierarchy seen in the formal communication. It is a human touch that takes place between the top levels and also between the lower levels that ceases to focus on various companies (Banerjee, Adhikari and Nigam, 2016).
There are also many advantages on which focus should be given by the managers so that communication can take place in an effective manner. It has been analyzed that formal communication enhances the image of the companies in a formal manner. It also empowers the employees at the managerial position by focusing on the decision making strategy. If there is formal communication in the workplace then it can help to enhance the productivity at many levels. Through formal communication it can be possible to keep complete information which can also help to manage the overall activities (Cardon, 2014).
This channel of communication is one of the unofficial and unstructured channel that is not prescribed by the company but exist due to the personal and social needs of the individual in a company. It has been evaluated that the information which passes by focusing on the informal means and is not official (Holmes and Stubbe, 2015). The communication which takes place is related with the gossips and rumors. The informal chain can take place within the company and it is also known as grapevine. A grapevine is managed and controlled by the individuals within the company and no particular rules or regulations are followed. It can be stated that the information through grapevines can be spread in a fast manner (Gargiulo, 2014).
There are various characteristics related to informal communication. First is related with the informal communications that are present in middle and lower rings of the company. This type of communication also takes between the people who are working in the company. It is also spread and discussion is made on the rumors. The issue which is related to the informal communication can be analyzed by focusing on the disadvantages of informal communication. The communications that take place in the company give negative effect on the communication channel of the company. The communication does not take place in an effective manner but it is a communication that takes place between friends in the workplace (Ihlen and Heath, 2018). The issue which is faced by the company is related with discipline. When the employees focus on the informal communication approach then it has been seen that it gives negative impact on the overall productivity level. It is important for the manager’s to focus on maintaining the communication channel so that goals and objectives can be achieved effectively (Conrad, 2014).
There are also various strategies that should be taken into consideration by the managers so that flow of communication can take place in an effective manner. These strategies or the tactics should be considered at the time of communicating (Kramer, 2014). There are three strategies downward, upward and horizontal. These strategies can help the managers to control and manage the activities in an effective manner so that goals and objectives can be accomplished easily.
Downward communication takes place when information and messages flow down through the formal chain of command and also by hierarchical structure. It can also be said that the words and messages that start up the upper level of the company hierarchy and also it moves from the bottom levels. It has been seen that in this type of communication is a flow of information and messages from the top level to the lower level. This type of organizational structure helps to achieve success and growth in the market. The leaders and managers share the information with the lower level of the employees it can be stated as downward communication (Shockley-Zalabak, 2014). The examples of downward communication are that it consist of the mission and strategy of the company and also elaborate the vision.
Proper downward communication helps to offer employees a proper understanding of the information which is received. In the organization the information by the managers is given to the subordinates that help to behave according to the expectation level of the communicators. This should be adopted by the managers so that effective communication can take place in the workplace. This type of communication can take place through manuals, memos and policies (Jacobs, Yu and Chavez, 2016). In downward communication the board of directors also gives direction to the subordinate so that activities can be conducted with proper manner. When direction is given by the top management then it helps to motivate the employees. This should be adopted by the managers to reduce the issues in the workplace.
This type of communication is related with the flow of information from the front line employees to the managers, supervisors and also by the directors. It has been seen that with this strategy it can be easy for the managers to create effective workplace communication and also through this goals and objectives can be achieved. The benefits which are related to the upward communication are feedback and mutual trust.
It can be evaluated that the managers can get feedback from the workers which can assist to enhance the organizational development. This can help to manage the activities and also make effective communication. Next benefit is related with the mutual trust and it has been seen that this type of communication channel can bring trust between the employees and managers and also through this they do not hesitate at the time of communicating. This strategy is effective and should be adopted by the managers to minimize the issue which is prevailing in the organization.
It is the transmission of the information among the individuals and departments. Through this the information flows to the different hierarchy and it is an effective communication channel. This should be considered by the manager so that growth can be achieved in the workplace. This strategy is the best strategy that can also help to manage the activities and give direction to the employees to conduct the activities (McQuail and Windahl, 2015).
Conclusion
So, by focusing on the report, it has been see concluded that managers should take effective communication as a priority as it can help to accomplish goals and objectives. There are two types of communication channel formal and informal that creates issues in the workplace. Therefore, to minimize it the managers should focus on the strategies or the tactics related to upward communication, horizontal and also downward so that flow of communication can take place effectively.
References
Allen, M., 2016. Transformational Organizational Change, Reinforcing Structures, and Formal Communication. In Strategic Communication for Sustainable Organizations (pp. 139-188). Springer, Cham.
Austin, E.W. and Pinkleton, B.E., 2015. Strategic public relations management: Planning and managing effective communication campaigns (Vol. 10). Routledge.
Banerjee, P., Adhikari, B. and Nigam, R., 2016. Dynamics of workplace communication: A new age model. International Journal of Management, IT and Engineering, 6(12), pp.1-16.
Cardon, P.W., 2014. Business communication: Developing leaders for a networked world. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Conrad, D., 2014. Workplace communication problems: Inquiries by employees and applicable solutions. Journal of business studies quarterly, 5(4), p.105.
Gargiulo, T.L., 2014. The strategic use of stories in organizational communication and learning. Routledge.
Holmes, J. and Stubbe, M., 2015. Power and politeness in the workplace: A sociolinguistic analysis of talk at work. Routledge.
Ihlen, O. and Heath, R.L. eds., 2018. The Handbook of Organizational Rhetoric and Communication. John Wiley & Sons.
Jacobs, M.A., Yu, W. and Chavez, R., 2016. The effect of internal communication and employee satisfaction on supply chain integration. International Journal of Production Economics, 171, pp.60-70.
Jensen, R.W., 2015. The Role of Public Relations and Organizational Communication in Environmental Management. An Integrated Approach to Environmental Management, p.277.
Kramer, M.W., 2014. Managing uncertainty in organizational communication. Routledge.
McQuail, D. and Windahl, S., 2015. Communication models for the study of mass communications. Routledge.
Shockley-Zalabak, P., 2014. Fundamentals of organizational communication. Pearson.
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