Organizational Behavior of a Housing Group Dedicated to Delivery of Services - Case Study Example

ABC Co. Ltd is a housing group dedicated to delivery of excellent services. They have been operating for over a decade and continuously changing their system of communication with the objective of enhancing service quality. Effective delivery of service requires close communication amongst the peers and with the line manager. The top management too needs to have proper communication channels with the subordinates. Information is the most vital asset that an organization possesses but the information has to be disseminated at the right time and reached properly. Strategic decisions are taken on the information and information changes by the minute. It has been found that major decisions have been taken without consultation as the senior managers are under pressure to perform under time constraint. Housing is being allotted at times without taking into facts like the number of people or without scrutinizing their backgrounds. Besides, during a legal dispute, email contents which were essentially internal communication were highlighted. Hence security measures too are lacking. Any communication system involves people, technology and the equipment. Information from the top is conveyed through email because it is easy to conduct over great distances. Policy decisions and information can be conveyed through this channel across all departments and offices without fear of distortion of message because at this level the relationships are established and chances of misunderstandings are remote. Besides, email and communication can take place even when the receiver is not physically present in the office. He can access the information at his convenience and convey it further down the line. They have been communicating strictly and only via email for urgent as well as simple routine work. This is also the most cost-effective method of communication. There is hardly ever any face-to-face (F2F) communication and managers have become used to giving instructions and even firing over email. The subordinates do not feel comfortable in direct communication and prefer to hide behind an email to express their grievances. Even leave application is made and granted through emails. This lack of personal touch affects the service delivery and the firm may not be able to achieve its goal of excellent quality of service. As such, the firm is advised to alter its mode of communication. According to Haden (2006), today e-mail has become the standard practice within an organization to exchange information even within the organization. Harwood points out as organizations and their internal mechanisms have evolved and become more complex, skills need to match to be able to construct an effective information management system. Verbal communication could lead to misunderstandings. Emails contain information or instructions in ‘black and white’, which cannot be denied by either party. The system of electronic mail or email as is generally known is undoubtedly beneficial as emails can hold business records, pass on information, give instructions and collect reports. It is basically an exchange of computer stored messages between users on either public or private networks (WOC, 2004). It is one of the most popular means of communication and organizations use it to support both social and strictly professional relationships. Since people are mostly at the computer the whole day, email becomes an easy method to receive or send information. Email also overcomes the boundaries of time and space and people sitting across different offices can exchange information at their convenience. Another advantage with email is that with just one click a set group of people can be contacted and files are easy to send, be it document or image files. Nevertheless, as far as this housing group is concerned, for enhancing the service delivery quality, face-to-face communication is felt necessary. Besides, email as the only means of communication has certain disadvantages. There is a tendency for inappropriate use of email. Email messages carry very little information about people’s physical and social characteristics, it does not convey subtle gestures or non-verbal cues, it can be misinterpreted or misconstrued, and could lead to conflicts (WOC, 2004). If for some reason some managers do not check emails regularly or are unable to attend to the email messages on a particular day, important information may go unattended. It can lead to information overload an over reliance on technology. E-mail has been described as ambivalent, hybrid, multivalent or ambiguous; its richness as a medium has been debated (Hewitt, 2006). There are also claims that written communication is not the best medium for getting the message across in every situation, and is often not the best way to motivate employees. ABC Co. Ltd does not have system for in-house back up and in-house archives which needs to be maintained in a systematic way. Proper referencing or codes are not done which can help in retrieving emails when necessary. Effective communication is the essence of any business. During an emergency, there is a tendency to send out insufficient or incorrect information. This needs to be controlled. All involved should have clear understanding of the process. The methods of communication would largely depend on the managers concerned. It would also depend upon the urgency of the situation. Effective communication requires information to be distributed judiciously where it is needed. Before sending out any information, the sender should clearly identify the purpose, the accuracy, the urgency, and the recipient’s capability to assimilate and use the information. To reach a strategic decision managers may ask the subordinates to furnish written reports but this can be laborious and time consuming. Verbal communication becomes important at this stage. Under the circumstances it becomes essential to redesign the email system as a means of communication. At the same time, it is also essential to consider another method of communication. There are various tools available for communication but this would depend largely on the type of task, the type of industry and the number of people. According to the Social Presence Theory face-to-face is the richest form of communication (WOC, 2004). Human beings demand acknowledgement. It is not only an act of courtesy or cultural norms to nod at a person or smile. It conveys a feeling of acknowledgement and belongingness and hence this mode is recommended as a means of communication for building new relationships. Face to face interaction is important beyond carrying information. It helps to maintain good relations with the subordinates, vendors and others. When this comes from our top bosses to the lower level of employees it has worked wonders. Recognition promotes motivation within the organization. It persuades people to perform better. F2F is considered appropriate for tasks requiring greater interpersonal delicacy or for communicating delicate messages. Salary or contract negotiations progress smoothly when F2F interaction is there. Besides, the Social Presence Theory does not state that F2F is necessarily verbal communication. F2F enriches the communication process. It is richer than instant messaging, richer than telephone and definitely richer than emails. Every meeting and passing information cannot be F2F because of the cost factor. At the same time, relying wholly on email could cause confusion and erode relationships. For instance, when the company encounters a new customer for its housing project or a new vendor they could start with F2F as in this case communications become rife with non-verbal language to build trust and rapport. As the relationship is established, other forms of communication can be introduced. Care has to be taken though, to establish and retain customers it is essential to have F2F intermittently. When F2F is combined with other forms of communication, it maximizes creativity, efficiency, trust and rapport (WOC, 2004). Both means of communication have to be carried out simultaneously depending on the urgency and need. F2F makes it a two-way communication, which depends upon openness, trust and mutual respect. The employees too would feel comfortable that their suggestions are being considered. They then would feel a part of the organization. Email on the other hand is a useful tool for feedback from the employees on their views and suggestions. F2F is ideal for object-oriented discussions while email is easy to conduct over great distances. Communication can occur even the other party is not available through email but in F2F it is essential that both parties concerned are present. F2F has other advantages like group problem solving, high level of interactivity, helps overcome language and cultural barriers, and is preferable when sensitive information is being dealt with. In case when F2F is not feasible due to distances, the company can consider video conferencing as an alternative which is as good as F2F. Videoconferencing is a facsimile of F2F between two or more people at different sites. Computer networks are used to transit audio and video data to all participating sites. Videotapes, power point and white board can also be used for communication through videoconferencing. This is considered even better than any audio like telephones or email as a means of communication. With videoconferencing, people can show work-related objects during a meeting. Managers can even know whether the subordinates or others are paying attention or engaged otherwise and not responding to the ideas or presentation. Nevertheless, this cannot be adopted as a replacement to F2F but only when F2F is not possible or the officers at ABC are in remote locations and urgent discussions or decisions are considered necessary. Thus ABC Co. should support its communication system with F2F and when necessary even incorporate videoconferencing. It is essential to overcome the pitfalls and barriers of email as the only means of communication. The normal problems that can arise are not attending to mails on time, which could lead to losses. Besides, email has been used in litigation which should be avoided at all costs in the future. This means the security and privacy concerns need to be addressed. It may also happen that a particular email is not available when it is urgently required. This requires archiving all emails according to date and subject. In addition to emails, the company should seriously consider F2F as a means of communication. It cannot replace emails because for small bits and pieces of information F2F would be very costly. Nevertheless, F2F does have its own impact like recognition, trust, rapport, and motivation. F2F is also essential for starting new relationships and also intermittently when relationships mature. Both email and F2F should be adopted by the firm and a particular means used depending upon the situation. In case of urgency, and when F2F is not possible due to distances, videoconferencing is the answer. With the changes suggested, ABC Co. Ltd should be able to overcome the constraints and barriers that it currently faces in communication. References: WOC (2004), The Hierarchy of Communications, http://www.wireone.com/html/learning/whitepapers/hierarchy_of_communications.pdf> 18 April 2007 Haden C, (2006). An Effective Information Management Strategy, gtnews.com, 18 April 2007 Hewitt, P., (2006), Electronic mail and internal communication: a three-factor model, Corporate Communications: An International Journal Vol. 11 No. 1, 2006 pp. 78-92 Read More