A Memorandum to the CEO of an Organisation - Essay Example

Section/# Communication – Memorandum and Analysis Memorandum: When one begins to examine communication within business, the ultimate rationale for performing such a level of analysis is usually contingent upon maximizing profitability by creating a more efficient approach to communication. Naturally, difficulties in the communication process, regardless of their origin, negatively impact upon the overall utility and efficiency that a given firm can promote within the market. As such, rather than seeing communication theory and application as somehow useless, and more appropriate approach would be to come to the realization that communication theory play a powerful role in helping to determine whether or not the given business entity will continue to deliver as high level of profitability within the market or it will ultimately suffer. The function of this brief memorandum is to elicit a level of understanding with regards to the overall importance that organizational culture has upon communication. Naturally, discussing other more detailed elements of the communication process would also be valuable (Alexandru & Ioan, 2013). However, in the situation in which a given firm or business entity suffers from an unclear delineation of organizational culture, the ultimate level to which the stakeholders can understand the vision, mission, and day-to-day business strategy that is being promoted is greatly limited. It is the hope of this author that such a discussion will not only elicit a level of understanding with regards to the matter which organizational culture impacts upon mutation, it will also provide a secondary analysis of the manner through which strategies and existing literature with regards to communication and organizational theory can help to alleviate these issues. Civitas faces an important issue with regards to its further development. A review of extant literature and news articles reveals the fact that the NGO seeks to ameliorate the issues of Romanian public officials. Due to the fact that the Romanian government is ill equipped to speak to the full spectrum of training needs that these public officials engender, Civitas has stepped in to fill this void; providing human resources counseling, training elected leaders, and developing regional businesses by providing public speaking engagement and basic business training to these stakeholders. As can clearly be witnessed, this particular entity is one that engages with stakeholders on a wide variety of different fronts. However, a core issue that has been presented from the review that was conducted was the fact that the internal stakeholders of the NGO are facing a crises of involvement and scope. As the NGO grows and attempts to integrate with the needs of external stakeholders, it is becoming more and more apparent that developing a strong internal form of communication and mission will be integral as a means of furthering the goals that have thus far been denoted (Swani et al., 2013). At its core, organizational culture cannot and should not be underestimated. If one stops to consider some of the most successful firms or plans of the recent past, a core commonality has existed within all of them. This commonality is of course the fact that they have effective approaches to communication and a rigid understanding of culture that is impressed upon nearly each and every stakeholder within the firm. Yet, rather than understanding these two aspects as somehow unrelated and dissimilar, and more actionable approach would be to understand the interrelationship that exists between organizational culture and communication (Savundranayagam & Orange, 2014). Ultimately, rather than devolving into a “chicken and egg question”, it must be understood that organizational culture is improved and directed via useful and effective means of communication. Further, useful and effective means of communication help to instill and create/redirect and evolved, further levels of organizational culture. Within this understanding, the overall importance that this has with respect to defining the future and promoting the continued success of a firm cannot be underestimated. In such a manner, promoting the development of organizational culture via effective communications strategies is something that each and every firm that seeks to grow and diversify its approach to the business environment should seek to engage (Valvi & Fragkos, 2013). Yet, rather than just pushing forward towards a more streamlined method of organizational improvement and more effective cultural communication, the firm or entity in question much first thoroughly understand the direction it hopes to move by enabling these aspects. Far too many firms have failed and/or diminished their market presence because they did not take the time to develop a clear cultural communication strategy before implementing rush changes to the way in which the inter-departmental and cross-sectional forms of communication are represented (PISTOL, A, & STREINU-CERCEL, 2013). One of the most important understandings that an employee and an employer can have beyond the scope of work duties to be performed is the level and extent to which the employee will reflect the sense of culture that the firm necessarily espouses. Naturally, one of the key determinants of any job interview is so that the employer can seek to determine a rough baseline of how well the given individual will coalesce into that of the company’s culture (Schultz, H 2013). As a function of this determination, the employer should seek to measure prevailing attitudes, diversity awareness, ritual interpretation, level of likelihood that key differences will be put aside and the employee will assimilate into the culture of the organization, as well as a host of others. As such, the following section will describe the mechanisms through which such an approach can effectively been engendered within Civitas. Analysis: Oftentimes, when attempting to analyze or understand the communication process, organizational theory and the means through which an organization can reach out to its respective stakeholders and engage them with a particular understanding is an inseparable aspect of understanding the way in which communication can be maximized within the group setting. With respect to the case in question, it is abundantly clear that many communication issues, as well as organizational failures, help to ensure that Civitas will not achieve a degree of overall success (Soba & Aydin, M 2013). As a function of highlighting these areas, the following analysis will engage the reader with a discussion and understanding of the following questions: an identification of the existing processes noted within the given case study, a comparison between the different processes with an explanation of how the voluntary organization could improve the appropriate communication strategy, and identification of recommended improvements, and a recommendation of methodology by which this organization can gain a further level of access to systems of information and knowledge in the future. Firstly, after examination of the existing process of communication within Civitas, it is very clear that the organizational structure that is been represented lends itself to a range of difficulties. In essence, the small organization itself is predicated upon political ideology and action within the population. However, the level and extent of action that the stakeholders are able to engage is necessarily limited (Erickson et al., 2011). Ultimately, the individuals that is responsible for integrating this change, and directly engaging with stakeholders within the community, are involved directly as leaders; therefore heavily leveraging the transformative power that volunteers can bring to bear. This in turn requires all volunteers within the organization to merely shuffle paperwork and engage in a laborious and otherwise non-interesting tasks that do not capture the imagination or interests that Civitas holds as its core tasks (Matthews, 2013). The root effect of all this is one in which the overall interest in the organization and its mission is diminished as the stakeholders find themselves ensconced within and monotonous routine that have little if any bearing to the original reason/rationale for which they sought to volunteer for the organization in the first place. An alternate communication strategy that could of course been engaged as a means of maximizing the level of positive communication that existed within the organization would be with respect to increase in the amount of interpersonal communication place. Ultimately, from the case that was described, the stakeholders became increasingly detached from the goal and vision that they had assumed they would be taking part in (Godfrey et al., 2011). However, if the reader were able to engage in a further level of interpersonal communication as a means of maximizing the level of engagement that was evidenced, the utility of all stakeholders would be improved (Bochenek & Blili,, 2013). Even though it is clear and apparent that leadership is most certainly dedicated to the mission and quite obviously acting in a frantic manner in order to get the great amount of work done that they have, the overall level of work that these leaders are able to pour into the organization is not as effective as they might assume; lending itself to a situation in which they are performing more work than is necessary due to the fact that they are not engaging, on an interpersonal level, the energies, focus, conditions, and drive of the stakeholders that make up the backbone and skeleton of this organization (Goldreich et al., 2012). The level of communication engagement is an absolute necessity if organization in question is to experience a level of sustained growth and stakeholder buy in (González-Díaz et al., 2013). Of all of the levels of importance that communication plays within this particular case, it is the issue of increasing stakeholder “buy in” that portends that the greatest benefit for the organization as a whole. The underlying reason for this is quite obvious (Johansson et al, 2012). As the past is indicated, individuals that had previously been quite excited to leverage their own creative energies and personal assets as a means of focusing upon the issues that this particular organization set out to the fact, they were soon disheartened by the fact that they found themselves encompassed by a litany of mundane tasks that did not appear to aid or facilitate the same factors that they believed they would be engaging upon when they first sign up for this particular opportunity (Gao et al., 2008). An alternative approach that can most certainly be utilized with regards to the communication strategy employed within the organization is with respect to a type of directional communication (Appan et al, 2012). Ultimately, directional communication is one that helps to create a definitive vision and promotes the development of values, beliefs, and actions, in tandem with the stakeholders so that engagement with the process is effected to a higher degree. Such an approach could not only help to engage the stakeholders within the organization in question, it could ultimately eliminate many of the reasons that have led to the decrease in more row that has been witnessed over the course of time represented within the case study. A further level of communications engagement that could be effected is with regards to what is known as communication networks. Ultimately, the case study revealed the fact that different individuals within the organization were tasked with different roles. Not surprisingly, this is a core aspect of how each and every organization is able to function (Dennis et al., 2008). With some people being responsible for keeping the books, some people being responsible for publications, and still others being responsible for keeping track of core business compliments of organizational preparedness, each individual that has volunteered is ultimately a type of “cog in the wheel” of this particular machine. However, even though a level of frustration and dissatisfaction has been caused as a result of individuals finding themselves prematurely laden with specific tasks that do not have a clear level of impacts upon the organizational goals themselves, seeking to communicate the overall importance of these jobs and engender a type of importance with respect to their ultimate impacts would be a successful way of engaging these stakeholders and promoting the importance of their respective roles Mohr & Nevin, J 1990). From an analysis of each of these different communication strategies that has thus far been discussed, it is clear and apparent that the organization that has been described failed on many counts. Ultimately, as a result of the fact that stakeholders feel uninvolved in the occurrences of the vision or mission of the organization, they drive to support it with their efforts has decreased precipitously; from the time in which they first chose to join the organization (Dobrescu, 2012). Tangentially, the amount of work that leadership finds it necessary to perform as a function of covering for the lost moral that is the result of a failed communication strategy/structure, causes the divisions that have thus far been analyzed to worsen. Further, in order to improve upon this situation, some core changes must be implemented. The first change that must be engaged is one that will require the leader to re-interpret the way in which this particular organization functions. Ultimately, the core strength that it has is with regards to the fact that it has the potential to engage diverse stakeholders and encourage them to take part in a vision or mission that otherwise captures their imagination. Yet, once these individuals integrate with the organization to find themselves slotted into a brainless job that merely requires a repetitive level of work, the more owl and interest that they previously had begins to wane. As such, without diminishing the necessity of accomplishing “boring work” that the leadership must find a way in which this boring work can be juxtaposed alongside interesting aspects that will continue to engage the productive energies, imagination, and interest of those individuals who are participating with the organization (Cockburn-Wootten & Cockburn, 2011). Furthermore, it must also be realized that effective communication plan would also be inclusive of impressing upon the leadership that all of the interaction and engagement with the community and societal stakeholders need not falls squarely upon their shoulders (Turner, 2013). As such, volunteers, at least in some capacity, could be utilized to take some of this burden from the leader; providing a situation in which further level of engagement would be allowed and the overall amount of work that would find itself piling up on the leader would be reduced. Finally, in a situation in which this particular student would find themselves having the opportunity to work as a volunteer at such an organization, one personal plan that might be engaged with respect to promoting a further degree of communication skills is contingent upon the development of new ideas and new approaches (Bridges et al., 2000). Ultimately, from the case that has been provided, it is clear that almost all of the stakeholders are relatively young college aged individuals that began to integrate with a particular organization/job due to the fact that they believed it could provide them many associated benefits; both in terms of experience and in terms of the fact that the organization promised to engage upon core issues that they were tangentially interested in. However, upon arriving and finding themselves slotted into and uninteresting and rather menial role, the level of communication of these stakeholders were able to promote was limited. Rather than voicing their concerns and seeking to offer alternative ways in which they might promote the interests of the organization, these individuals were merely content to settle into the unhappy roles that they found laid out for them without seeking to engage fellow stakeholders or the leader with improving upon the situation (Xiaojun & Venkatesh, 2013). Although it is of course possible that if the leadership were told of the frustrations and misery that the stakeholders experienced, he/she might be inclined to merely tell them that they were free to leave if they felt in such a manner. However, it is equally possible, if not more possible, at such a leader might seek to improve upon the situation of his/her stakeholders as a means of improving upon the integrity and overall level of engagement of the organization was able to promote to the societal stakeholders. In such a manner, an active and engaged group of volunteers, committed to making the organization a better place, could easily have a powerful impact with respect to the way in which the leadership continues to define the manner through which the organization function. From the information that has been included within this particular response, it is clear and apparent that this particular organization faces a severe crisis with regards to its level of communication and the manner through which the organization distributes work and vision (Sigmar et al., 2012). Naturally, communication can impact greatly upon the level of stakeholder buy in; however, this factor in and of itself is not enough to change the dynamics of the way in which the organization behaves (Ngwenyama & Lee, 2007). In order for this to take place, it will be necessary for the manager/leader to reengage the personnel assets that they have and seek to distribute the work in such a manner that the mundane tasks of day-to-day business do not take up all of the time that these stakeholders and that the agency. As is so often the case with regards to theoretical approaches, one particular communications theory is not appropriate in addressing all of the issues that have been represented within this particular case. Instead, a joint approach that leverages communications theories and seeks to engage in the organizational distribution of work will be the most effective in helping to salvage the potential of this particular entity (Ki & Brown, 2013). Although it is easy to blame the manager/leader with respect to the fact that they had failed to include the respective stakeholders in the mission and vision of the agency to an appropriate degree, it must also be understood that a convenient balance between those issues that must be handled by a professional and those that could be handled by a volunteer must be struck. However, even with that being said, it is also necessary to understand that levels of communication, although not sufficient towards changing an organization single-handedly, have a massive impact with regards to the overall approach and culture that can be created. As such, a review and analysis of management and leadership, in tandem with a new level of communication, will be required in order for the organization to once again find it operating at its maximum potential and engaging as many stakeholders as possible. Bibliography Alexandru, B, & Ioan, P 2013, COMMUNICATION STRATEGY ABOUT BUSINESS MODELS: STAKEHOLDERS PERSPECTIVE,Annals Of The University Of Oradea, Economic Science Series, 22, 1, pp. 1434-1442, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Appan, R, & Browne, G 2012, THE IMPACT OF ANALYST-INDUCED MISINFORMATION ON THE REQUIREMENTS ELICITATION PROCESS, MIS Quarterly, 36, 1, pp. 85-106, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 January 2014. Bochenek, L, & Blili, S 2013, Profiling corporate communications strategy: Mastering organisational learning - A dynamic maturity model for corporate communications strategic management, Marketing Review, 13, 2, pp. 143-165, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Bridges, S, Keller, K, & Sood, S 2000, Communication Strategies for Brand Extensions: Enhancing Perceived Fit by Establishing Explanatory Links, Journal Of Advertising, 29, 4, pp. 1-11, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Cockburn-Wootten, C, & Cockburn, T 2011, Unsettling Assumptions and Boundaries: Strategies for Developing a Critical Perspective About Business and Management Communication, Business Communication Quarterly, 74, 1, pp. 45-59, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Dennis, A, Fuller, R, & Valacich, J 2008, MEDIA, TASKS, AND COMMUNICATION PROCESSES: A THEORY OF MEDIA SYNCHRONICITY, MIS Quarterly, 32, 3, pp. 575-600, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 January 2014. DOBRESCU, M 2012, REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIATE INTEGRATED COMMUNICATION STRATEGY IN AN ORGANIZATION,Annals Of Eftimie Murgu University Resita, Fascicle II, Economic Studies, pp. 395-399, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Erickson, S, Weber, M, & Segovia, J 2011, Using Communication Theory to Analyze Corporate Reporting Strategies, Journal Of Business Communication, 48, 2, pp. 207-223, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Fatima Oliveira, M 2013, Multicultural Environments and Their Challenges to Crisis Communication, Journal Of Business Communication, 50, 3, pp. 253-277, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Gao, H, Darroch, J, Mather, D, & MacGregor, A 2008, SIGNALING CORPORATE STRATEGY IN IPO COMMUNICATION, Journal Of Business Communication, 45, 1, pp. 3-30, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Godfrey, A, Seiders, K, & Voss, G 2011, Enough Is Enough! The Fine Line in Executing Multichannel Relational Communication,Journal Of Marketing, 75, 4, pp. 94-109, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Goldreich, O, Juba, B, & Sudan, M 2012, A Theory of Goal-Oriented Communication, Journal Of The ACM, 59, 2, pp. 8.1-8.65, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 January 2014. González-Díaz, B, García-Fernández, R, & López-Díaz, A 2013, Communication as a Transparency and Accountability Strategy in Supreme Audit Institutions, Administration & Society, 45, 5, pp. 583-609, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Johansson, M, Carlsson, M, & Sonnander, K 2012, Communication difficulties and the use of communication strategies, International Journal Of Language & Communication Disorders, 47, 2, pp. 144-155, CINAHL Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Ki, E, & Brown, K 2013, The Effects of Crisis Response Strategies on Relationship Quality Outcomes, Journal Of Business Communication, 50, 4, pp. 403-420, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Kim, S 2011, Transferring Effects of CSR Strategy on Consumer Responses: The Synergistic Model of Corporate Communication Strategy, Journal Of Public Relations Research, 23, 2, pp. 218-241, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Lee Hunter, M, Van Wassenhove, L, Besiou, M, & van Halderen, M 2013, The Agenda-Setting Power of Stakeholder Media,California Management Review, 56, 1, pp. 24-49, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Matthews, P 2013, Communication Strategies and Intensive Interaction Therapy Meet the Theology of the Body, New Bioethics, 19, 2, pp. 97-110, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Mohr, J, & Nevin, J 1990, Communication strategies in marketing channels: A theoretical perspective, Journal Of Marketing, 54, 4, pp. 36-51, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. PISTOL, A, & STREINU-CERCEL, A 2013, RISK COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES USED IN THE 2009 PANDEMIC INFLUENZA A H1N1PDM, Acta Medica Transilvanica, 18, 4, pp. 163-166, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Schultz, H 2013, A Hybrid Recursive Model for Teaching and Learning Business Writing, Business Communication Quarterly, 76, 1, pp. 82-104, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Ngwenyama, O, & Lee, A 2007, Communication Richness in Electronic Mail: Critical Social Theory and the Contextuality of Meaning, MIS Quarterly, 21, 2, pp. 145-167, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 January 2014. ŠALKOVSKA, J 2012, THE FEATURES OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS IN THE CONDITIONS OF ECONOMIC CRISIS, Region Formation & Development Studies, 7, pp. 153-162, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Savundranayagam, M, & Orange, J 2014, Matched and mismatched appraisals of the effectiveness of communication strategies by family caregivers of persons with Alzheimers disease, International Journal Of Language & Communication Disorders, 49, 1, pp. 49-59, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Sigmar, L, Hynes, G, & Hill, K 2012, Strategies for Teaching Social and Emotional Intelligence in Business Communication,Business Communication Quarterly, 75, 3, pp. 301-317, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Soba, M, & Aydin, M 2013, Product Placement Efficiency in Marketing Communication Strategy, International Journal Of Business & Management, 8, 12, pp. 111-116, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Swani, K, Milne, G, Cromer, C, & Brown, B 2013, Fortune 500 Companies Use of Twitter Communications: A Comparison between Product and Service Tweets, International Journal Of Integrated Marketing Communications, 5, 2, pp. 47-56, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Turner, R 2013, Harnessing the Power of Electronic Communication, Collector (0010082X), 79, 5, pp. 26-28, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Valvi, A, & Fragkos, K 2013, Crisis communication strategies: a case of British Petroleum, Industrial & Commercial Training, 45, 7, pp. 383-391, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 February 2014. Xiaojun, Z, & Venkatesh, V 2013, EXPLAINING EMPLOYEE JOB PERFORMANCE: THE ROLE OF ONLINE AND OFFLINE WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION NETWORKS, MIS Quarterly, 37, 3, pp. 695-A3, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 27 January 2014. Read More