The Role of Communication in the Prosperity of Industries in the USA - Research Proposal Example

RESEARCH Lecturer The role of communication in the prosperity of industries in USA In deed, communication brings harmony which plays a critical role in the development of industries world over. However, over the years, many corporations have disintegrated as a result of poor horizontal and vertical communication channels. This has often resulted into many board room wars that have eventually left such organizations in tatters. The paper was therefore, aimed at carrying out an extensive research to find out if designation, age and the level of education of employees in such organizations affect their communication. Hence, a descriptive research with a target population of 1000 was conducted in 16 major corporations in Maryland, USA. They were subjected to an investigation in which they were given questionnaires to fill and answer a series of questions during oral interviews. It hence found that actually, age, designation and level of education are great determinants of the flow of communication in these organizations. This made the research to conclude that it is vital for the management of such organizations to put a lot of efforts to strengthen interpersonal communication in their respective organizations. It further recommended that it is essential for them to strengthen communication by recruiting well trained personnel to man the customer care department, organize for frequent inductions on communication to all the emp0loyees. This was found to be essential in building the reputation of these firms and work forth to establish a good rapport between them and the general public. Introduction This research was aimed at unveiling the major factors that affect communication in the management of business organizations. Actually, communication is paramount for the success of any given business enterprise. As highlighted, many companies have collapsed as a result of poor communication within and without. This has, of course, been the major challenge for many Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) today (West, R., & Turner, L.H., 2007). More specifically, a lot of focus was put on the employees to ascertain the extent to which age, gender and the level of education determine the smooth flow of communication in such corporations. In fact, these were the variables that were explored to help carry out a substantially valid and reliable research. Obviously, there was a combination of both the null and descriptive hypothesis that would be used as a frame work to guide the researcher in the whole process of research. Some of them included, but not limited to the following: i) Does age of an employee determine the way they communicate to others in an organization? ii) Is it a fact that the level of education of an employee plays an important role in determining the quality of their communication in a business organization? iii) Is designation a major factor in determining the nature and quality of communication between the employees in an organization? iv) Is it true that the top management is not obliged to show any respect to those in the lower hierarchy compared to them? Hence, in this regard, age and the level of education are acting as the independent variables. They can exist without an unnecessary influence from the other variables. However, the quality of communication is the dependent variable whose use directly relies on the effects of the others. Unlike the other two, it can not exist on its own. Literature review Being that this was not the first research to be conducted put the researcher in a better position to rely on a substantial information from a variety of writers who had carried out such a research long before. This acted as a secondary source of information in this research. (de la Vergne, Susan. 2005).found out that it is very essential for the management of any business organization to prioritize vertical communication at all times. This, as he claims, is the sole determinant of the success of any bureaucratic organization. Because, naturally, such organizations have a hierarchy of leadership that must work in harmony, but only if communication is flawless. Besides, Bertram, G. et al(1986) also recommended in his research that it is important to carry out an internal research in a disguised manner to find out the various issues that may act as an obstacle to an effective communication in any formal organization. This, as per his opinion is fundamental in identifying the weak areas and help in making the required improvements appropriately. If done, as per the recommendations, it will help in giving rise to a good and prosperous company. Consequent reviews were retrieved from the articles by Escamilla, C. F. and M.M. Gregory(2007). According to these authorities, it was found out that the success of an organization is reflected from its cordial relationship with the general public from which it draws its clients. According to them, the surest way to obtain this success is through establishing a good rapport with them, but only through proper communication(Foss, K. & Littlejohn, S., 2008). Actually, these sources were considered very important because they stood a better chance to give a sound authority to this reach. Besides, it would be an ample opportunity to give this a research a relevant source and background from which the research used as bench mark. Research design During this research, various designs were employed. These included the ones listed herein: i) Historical methods Because this is a historical issue, it was deemed appropriate to explore historical methods in dealing with it. Hence, this was used to help in the critical analysis of the developments that have taken place in this area over the years. It will be useful in tracing whatever has been happening in this area ever since its evolution. This is what made the researcher to argue in favor of the review of the available literary materials that have been written to contain the useful information in the role of communication in the development of organizations. ii) Survey method A lot of research was conducted on various industries in Maryland. Here, a group of stakeholders including employees, management, clients and all other concerned stakeholders were chosen as respondents. They were subjected to a lot of research procedures through the use of various research tools(Dianne S., 2010). In order to access the respondents, a series of surveys were conducted. It was felt that it is mainly through a series of such surveys that the researcher would be in a position to retrieve adequate data that would give the true picture of what is happening on the ground. Sampling procedure As already mentioned, this research had a target population of 1,000 people in 24 industries. However, this was a large population that could not be easily used as a subject of this research (West, R., & Turner, L.H., 2007). Hence, a representative population was carefully taken to give a small sample of what would proportionally represent the actual figures on the ground. So, as expected, sample populations were taken using the following recommended methods of sampling: Simple random sampling which is a process of selecting a proportion of the population in which each and every person has an equal chance of being chosen. It can be mathematically represented as shogun below: 1. Target population= 1,000 Sample population=300 1 person= 300/1,000 So, a chance of selecting a person= 3/10 2. Target company= 24 Sample company= 16 Probability of selecting a company= 16/24 This was considered to be unbiased sample because, it never had any form of discrimination. It means that each and every individual company or respondent had an equal chance of being selected to represent the entire population. Data collection During the collection of data, the following tools were used: i) Interviews After the identification of the population sample, one of the instruments used to collect data from them is though the of interviews. Here, they were individually taken to an identified place where they were asked a series of questions. This was orally done as the respondent had to be with the researcher one on one to answer the series of questions asked. It was preferred amongst other instruments because it would create room for asking of extra questions and seeking for further clarifications as deemed appropriate. However, being that the researcher was personally present during such interviews somewhat altered the respondents results since their answers could be influenced by the prevailing conditions then. This could make it possible for the respondents to manipulate their responses, hence leading to the collection of misleading information. ii) Use of questionnaires This involved the use of a form with per designed short questions that were given to individual respondents to answer. In this form, a series of questions targeting the kind of data to be collected were given to the respondents to fill. It consisted of a combination of open and closed ended questions that were all deemed relevant to the research topic. After being sent to them, they were urged to fill all the questions and then submit it back to the researcher in time. It was used because it would stand a better chance of addressing nearly all the questions to be asked. Similarly, given that the respondent would be answering the questions away from the researcher, they could do it honestly and autonomously without an unnecessary interference from the researcher. Findings After the carrying out of all these procedures, the data was collected, analyzed and interpreted. The following findings were made: i) One’s position in the firm is a great determinant factor in an organizational communication. The senior staff usually commands a lot of respect from their juniors which they are accorded. However, it was found out that they do not reciprocate. ii) An employee’s communication is greatly affected by their age. The generation gap says that the old people demand a lot of respect from the younger people which they often don’t get. iii) Gender deference also plays an important role in the communication in an organization. It was found that the females are good in communication as compared to the male folk. This can be illustrated in the following tables and diagrams: 1. Age Vs communication SEX/RESPONSE YES NO UNDECIDED MALE 30% 60% 10% FEMALES 35% 55% 10% 2. Gender Vs communication SEX/RESPONSE YES NO UNDECIDED MALES 40% 25% 35% FEMALES 60% 32% 8% 3. Designation Vs communication SEX/RESPONSE YES NO UNDECIDED MALES 62% 28% 10% FEMALES 71% 29% 0% Recommendations As a result of these findings, the following recommendations were made: i) The company should put a lot of emphasis on communication. They should employ people with a good mastery of communication skills, or offer orientation to the new recruits on the basics and importance of communication as an integral part in the development of these organizations. ii) For an organization to strengthen proper communication within their structure, they should be keen to organize for periodical inductions, trainings and seminars to disseminate useful information regarding communication to their employees. During such, the employees will be enlightened on the changing trends in communication and how to cope up with them(Heider, F., 1958). iii) The companies should change their policies and rules regarding communication. Stringent regulations should be put in place to govern the conduct of employees. This should be done after putting in place, a professional and dedicated team of experts in the public relations department to sell the image of the company to all the relevant stakeholders including the clientele. References Baxter, L., Braithwaite, D. (2008). Engaging theories in interpersonal communication: Multiple perspectives. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Foss, K. & Littlejohn, S. (2008). Theories of Human Communication, Ninth Edition. Belmont, CA. Heider, F. (1958). The psychology of Interpersonal Relations. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Dianne S. (2010). Business communication (2 e[d]. ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Centage Learning. West, R., & Turner, L.H. (2007). Introducing Communication Theory. New York: McGraw-Hill Appendices Questionnaire Answer the following questions 1. Name(Not compulsory)………………………………. 2. Age…………………………………….. 3. Gender……………………………….. 4. Company Name…………………………………. 5. For how long have you been working here? (Tick appropriately) Less than 1 Year……...... Up to 3 years…………… Over three years………… 6. How can you rate communication in this company? (Tick appropriately) Excellent……… Very good……… Good…………… Bad……………. Vey bad……… 7. In your opinion, does the following affect communication: i) Gender? YES…………..NO………… ii) Age? YES…………..NO…………. iii) Designation? TES……….NO………….. iv) Any other factor? (Specify)……………. 8. What role has management played in promoting better communication in this firm? ……………………………………………………. 9. In your opinion, what do you think should be done? …………………………………………………….. Read More