Importance of Communication in Organizational Development Processes - Toyota - Case Study Example

Business Communication Name Course Institution Instructor Date Business Communication Introduction This essay aims to awaken the importance of communication in organizational development processes. In respect to this we will consider a case of Toyota product recall (Bapuji, 2016). The intention is to create conditions so that managers realize that communication processes are not only established by the sender and receiver. They are responsible for sharing ideas and success of teamwork (Bell, and Smith, 2011). During 2015, the Japanese automobile, Toyota, recalled more than six million vehicles worldwide when they found out that there was a problem in the power window in eight of its most popular models (Benenson, 2015). This issue developed after several reports stating that numerous vehicles experienced unintended short-circuiting on the window power switch. Hence, five of its North American facilities stopped producing these units. According to Pearson & Nelson (2000) Communication is vital for businesses, because the information contained in these communications can lead to both success and defeat of an organization (Galanes, Adams, & Brilhart, 2000). Today, companies, institutions and organizations are waking to this need. It is not possible today, companies remain oblivious to these facts, because the market as a whole undergoes constant processes of change as a result of political changes, economic and social (Bovee & Thill, 2010). Therefore, it is necessary for companies to create new perspectives, interests and incentives to employees for continuous improvement (Limaye, 2005). Role of communication after Toyota product recall Communication is an active process which involves a series of actions and reactions which aim to achieve a goal (Galanes, Adams, & Brilhart, 2000). To demonstrate this lets imagine the apology offered by the Toyota Company after the 2015 product recall. According to reporters at the hearing in Nagoya (Toyota CEO), the atmosphere was very tense between Toyota executives, and especially Toyoda, who was furious to see his family name sullied by this disgrace. This scandal not only affected him in a personal way but also it was an offense to his culture as a Japanese. Thus, even though the number of human beings who lost their lives by driving these unsafe cars cannot be compensated, at least there is an intention to take responsibility for their actions. In this sense, Benenson underlines the importance of a public apology by stating: The accountability and sincere apologies served to humanize the company and therefore to seek, as it were, some consumer redemption (Benenson, 2015). However, this strategy comprises not only a Public Relations practice but in the case of Japanese culture is more of a moral obligation. In this light, Benenson (2015) agree that there is a significant cultural aspect in the conception of the apology. He makes clear distinctions between an apology from an American and Japanese perspective. In the former, he states that the approach revolves a justification that explains a determined behavior as an excuse. Whereas in the latter, apologizing does not have to do with accountability but with a cultural context in which both parts the victim and victimizer- have to apologize to create a sense of social order (Bapuji, 2016). Apart from the human side analysed above, the second objective has to do with Toyota’s image restoration. It is important to mention that one of the major concerns Toyota had was the relationship with its employees (Benenson, 2015). Similarly to the concept of the Japanese apology, there is also one other important cultural factor: the link between the Japanese worker and their employers/place of work (Benenson, 2015). The Japanese have a strong commitment to their job, and they consider it also part of their lives. Many workers develop a solid sense of belonging towards their co-workers, bosses and the philosophy they stand for (Bapuji, 2016). Therefore, it was critical for Toyota to link consumers and employees as a means to convey a message of being concerned about both. Thus, the campaign “Your Toyota is my Toyota” was launched in several countries and represented the intention to wipe out the bad image provoked by the car recalls. Business Communication The business communication is going through major changes since the end of the last century, mainly due to the modern forms of relationship management and the rapid introduction of latest technologies. In this scenario, another complexity to the emerging companies, which are ordered to work with different audiences, content, language and speech (Bell, and Smith, 2011), for an excessive competition and a relentless pursuit of paradigms that favors the construction of new communication practices (Pearson & Nelson 2000). The great challenge for companies today is to recognize the great transformations in contemporary society: the new economy, new information and communication technologies and new work requirements (Gopal, 2009). From this perspective, communications acquire a key role in the planning of actions to achieve the goals of organizations (Limaye, 2005). Companies begin this decade with new strategies and working methods, valuing more information as a channel for its investments in the market (Bovee & Thill, 2010). Certainly, communication plays a strategic role, in that it allows companies to face the challenge of maintaining appropriate relationships with their target audiences (Bell, and Smith, 2011). As a result of a position of greater appreciation of public media is, customers or employees (Gopal, 2009), large companies are seeking new ways to ensure a good image. To achieve there, the policy adopted in most of them are basically centered on transparency principles, attitudes and purposes (Pearson & Nelson 2000). Impacts of Communication The lack of knowledge of both the standards and the company's mission, values ​​and human interaction in the workplace as a result, both the internal environment as well as the external environment (Galanes, Adams, & Brilhart, 2000), generate comments that undermine the company's image as a whole. Ineffective communication and lack of such knowledge triggering situations and discussions with proportions never imagined (Pearson & Nelson 2000). Today, there are aware that communication must be an instrument of fundamental importance in organizations (Galanes, Adams, & Brilhart, 2000). Taking into account that the inclusion of "values” with respect to human beings and the environment, contributes to the quality of products or services offered (Pearson & Nelson 2000). The encouragement of employee participation in the processes, the constant improvements brought by companies to their employees and the constant review of the goals (Chaney and Martin, 2014), objectives and values, seeking to reach the awareness of employees, benefiting not only the company itself, but assists in the formation and development of people as citizens (Bovee & Thill, 2010). Continuity The Communication has been trying to conquer space and working with intangible, difficult to measure quantitatively, suffers discrimination, criticism and a total ignorance on the part of some company managers (Limaye, 2005). However, the relationships between companies are increasingly complex, making communication acquires a relevant role with respect to the issue management, people management and imaging. Research has demonstrated the importance of communication in business, although some organizations (Ober, 2009), in practice, to ignore completely (Pearson & Nelson 2000). The high index of companies that cannot sustain competitiveness is related to communication problems (Galanes, Adams, & Brilhart, 2000). Today, companies use various media to stimulate sales, motivate employees and customers, improve brand image among the general public (Overton, 2008), involving distributors and suppliers and even accountable to society for the investment of funds received by the organization (Bovee & Thill, 2010). Design Allow the employee knows and has at its disposal devices that will provide growth opportunities in their profession in order to discover their own potential for professional performance (Limaye, 2005). Thus, you will be able to help the company develop themselves professionally, thus, widening their vocation so progressive and expanding its natural ability to be entrepreneurial responsible and committed (Bovee & Thill, 2010). Construction of new models. Procedures: In some cases, strict adherence to standards is a fiction. In practice, there is a separation between policy and practice (Pearson & Nelson 2000). Individuals find room for adjustment to the rule, followed only partially. Many procedures are ritualized and have its social function in the organization, but actually are not followed completely (Gopal, 2009). Individuals are charged according to the proposed standards, such as participation, initiative and innovation, but in reality do not get instructions, training or conditions to develop new skills and show the height of these new performance requirements (Bell, and Smith, 2011). However, it is necessary commitment, fitness and training of all involved, so that values ​​are maintained and recognized (Bovee & Thill, 2010). Verbal Communications: The verbal / oral is the most common and refers to the issue of words and sounds we use to communicate (Bell, and Smith, 2011), such as giving instructions, interviewing, report, or what is said: expression of ideas, desires (Limaye, 2005), opinions, beliefs, values, etc.. Nonverbal Communication: Unlike the verbal, does not use the vocabulary of words to communicate (Bell, and Smith, 2011). The objective in this case, "no" is verbally explain what is meant or what you're thinking, but if you use other means of communication, such as plates, figures (Chaney and Martin, 2014), gestures, objects, colors, and others who do be understood (Bovee & Thill, 2010). Forms of Communication The term "different forms of communication" refers to the instrument or form of content used to make the communication process (Galanes, Adams, & Brilhart, 2000). When that mass communication can be considered synonymous with media, while other media such as telephone, but are not massive individual (or interpersonal) (Bovee & Thill, 2010). Examples of communications: • Sound: telephone, radio. • Writing: books, newspapers, diaries, letters and magazines. • Audiovisual: TV and cinema. • Multimedia: various media simultaneously. • Hypermedia: CD-ROM and the Internet. Importance of Forms of Communication Sound: Telephone or radio is a broadcast system voices in the distance via cables, wires or radio waves. Written Communication: This has made distance learning possible, the same way that made the self-learning, through books, accessible to any reader (Gopal, 2009). The Newspaper is a print medium, usually a product of the set of activities called journalism, since the magazine is a periodical nature of information, journalism or entertainment, usually aimed at the general public (Bovee & Thill, 2010). Audiovisual Communication: All means of communication expressed with the joint use of visual components letters, pictures, drawings, charts, etc. And sound voice, music, sound effects, etc., everything that can be both seen and heard (Limaye, 2005; Galanes, Adams, & Brilhart, 2000). Multimedia Communications: It is the combination, controlled by computer (text, photographs, graphics) with the dynamics of video, audio and animation (Chaney and Martin, 2014). Communication Hypermedia: It is the meeting of various media in computer support, supported by electronic communication systems, which applies to various media means both as written and audiovisual (Limaye, 2005). Organizational productivity Effective communication is considered the most important tool for people and organizations who want to obtain and / or maintain success (Pearson & Nelson 2000). No technology, no matter sophisticated, addresses the shortcomings in human relationships. No use e-mail, intranet phones without human contact and feedback (Chaney and Martin, 2014). A well-known example is the game of "telephone" in which one person whispers a message into the ear of another, who whispers to the next, and so on (Limaye, 2005). Inevitably when the last person says the message aloud, it is quite different from the first to be told. The communication process is complex, because the sender can send a message and the receiver can "hear" or receive a completely different message (Bovee & Thill, 2010). This happens not only by failure in spoken communication, happens also to perform a task that had been handed the wrong person, often e-mails or letters poorly written (as) or poorly verbalized (Galanes, Adams, & Brilhart, 2000), professionals tend to misinterpret not be interactive subject, system failures and mistakes in the execution of work. So all these elements are of paramount importance and must be in harmony for the good development and organizational productivity (Pearson & Nelson 2000). Use of Means to Communicate Verbal Communication In interviews or meetings “face-to-face” is the richest medium because it allows a wide variety of suggestions for vocal tone, visual, body movements, language, and smell (Limaye, 2005). Although they are also prone to making mistakes, because it may convey emotions and feelings. You can take the form of informal conversations or formal talks (Bovee & Thill, 2010). Nonverbal Communication The objective of this communication is to improve communication, the image of a person, company, product or service (Limaye, 2005). With the use of visual communication, design and writing, apply custom jobs and targeted investment that seeks the return expected. Better communication Through verbal communication a person can more easily get what you want, inside or outside a company (Chaney and Martin, 2014), can make themselves understood or to understand if the same knowledge and know how to make better use of existing tools in it, thus providing greater ease of understanding He receives the message and explanation of whom to issue (Bovee & Thill, 2010). Conclusion Good communication is fundamental to the success of any organization (Gopal, 2009), after all, it is present in every moment of our day-to-day (Bovee & Thill, 2010). Transmit messages properly is one of the tools essential to the success of an organization (Gopal, 2009), an individual, a nation (Chaney and Martin, 2014). People need to be understood (Galanes, Adams, & Brilhart, 2000). For this reason, organizations like Toyota are trying more and more flexible communications and facilitate the flow of information between its employees (Limaye, 2005). This is one way to succeed, because the language and good communication are symbols of success (Overton, 2008). References Bapuji H (2016) Not Just China: The Rise of Recalls in the Age of Global Business. Springer. Benenson (2015) The Toyota Recall Crisis Case Study. Available from: http://www.bsgco.com/work/cases/toyota-reputation-management (accessed 04 July 2017). Pearson, J., & Nelson, P. (2000). An introduction to human communication: Understanding and sharing (p. 54). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. Bovee, C., & Thill, J. (2010). Business communication essentials: A skills-based approach to vital business English (4th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Limaye, Mohan R. (2005). Further conceptualization of explanation in negative messages. Business Communication Quarterly, 60(2), 38–50. Galanes, G., Adams, K., & Brilhart, J. (2000). Communication in groups: Applications and skills (4th Ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. Bell, A. and Smith, D. (2011). Management communication. 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