Organizational Culture and Communication Climate - Admission/Application Essay Example

Organizational Culture and Communication Climate Organizational Culture and Communication Climate Organizational communication is a very important aspect of business organization’s existence. This is because of the manner in which it enables the linking of persons in the organization, thus enabling them to achieve their common goal. Without proper communication, a business organization is likely to suffer from poor interactions. It is mostly described as the process through which coordination and collection of activities in a business organization are undertaken in order to ensure the achievement of the business organization’s collective and individual goals. Organizational communication is a very important aspect of effective management in a workplace scenario. This paper aims at discussing the most appropriate communication strategy that should be adopted by Patricia Daniels, who was recently appointed as the head of the technical support department at a software company. Looking at this organization, it can be noticed that its culture clan culture because it is similar to a family type of organization. In a clan culture organization, there are some characteristics that were evidenced such as teamwork that receives reward on the basis of the team not an individual. Workers have quality on how to improve their own work and the company performance, for empowering the environment for the employees at a company. The environment can be better managed through development of employee teamwork and customers through as partners. The major task of this type of management is to empower employees and to facilitate the employee’s participation, loyalty, and commitment. However, some of these aspects of the clan organization culture are not evident in the department in question. Though the clan culture organization was advocated for decades, managers find it difficult to plan and when making decisions is uncertain, an effective way to coordinate in organization activity is to ensure employees share the same value, goals, and beliefs. The clan culture is typified by a friendly place of work where people share a lot among themselves in a company. The organization is held together by loyalty and traditional were commitment is very high. The success of an organization is defined in terms of concern for people and internal climate. The organization places a premium on teamwork, participation, and consensus. In her first week, Patricia Daniels was unsure of what she was to communicate her messages to her workers in the organization. In the organization, the staff relaxed especially about coming to work, especially coming to work on time where she was to enforce the rules. Some employees were very notorious when they arrive thirty minutes to an hour late. The same employees would always take extra time before and after lunch break, where lateness was just one issue with the organization. One employee may take some days of claiming that they are sick, according to the supervisor they had their personal days. The group had a reputation of been gruff with some employees who always request for technical support for other employees. The workplace at the organization was not as clean as it could be. Some employees desired more professionalism, and this is where they did not want to carry the weight of the responsibility if others were not ready to share the burdens. Meetings were haphazard informal sessions without any genuine agenda any time a meeting was called upon by the supervisor. These are where communication climate is a metaphor for the quality of the relationship in an organization. The aspects that should be followed in an organization that should not miss are for example: trust, openness, and supportiveness. In the organization, communication is characterized by trust were in this organization employees should trust their employers in an organization to ensure team work. Top management, for example supervisors, and employees should be honest and sincere towards each other. Employees should speak up without fear. In the organization, employees should be open to employers as it is one of the essential characteristic of an effective in a communication. Employees should be seriously informed of what is going on in an organization. In this organization, healthy communication climate is actively that involves employees in for decision-making. For example, decentralizing duties decision making responsibilities by structurally offering opportunities to contribute to innovation and strategic decisions. As a result, staffs experience a strong sense of being heard and of having influence. The organization supportiveness should be extended to the employees and should be taken seriously. Employees and supervisors should listen to each other and be aware of the problem that they run into. Both employees should show genuine interest in their team as they work as one team. For Patricia Daniels to make sure that the communication strategy that she adopts for the department that she is in charge of is appropriate that she is well aware of the audience that she aims at reaching. Given the state in which the department was at the time Patricia Daniels joined really proves that she will have to be careful with the choice of her audience choice. Lack of knowledge of the audience might mean that the whole communication process might end up being fruitless. Therefore, it can be simply concluded that a person who is aware of the audience to which they are communicating to will have it easier in getting the message to the audience. The first category of people that Patricia Daniels should consider to be her audience is her subordinates. Looking at the situation of the department that Patricia Daniels is supposed to be in charge of, someone can simply realize that she will be communicating to 20 individuals in the department. The department has employees working on both part time and full time basis. It has five part time employees. The department has two administrative assistants. It is unfortunate that one of the administrative assistants had applied for the post that Patricia Daniels is currently holding but was not considered on the basis of his connection to the person who was previously in charge of the department. This is a clear indication that Patricia Daniels will have a hard time having proper communication with such individual. This is not only the individual with whom she is likely to have problems with. Majorities of the people that work under this department are likely to be in support for a status quo. This will simply imply that the adoption of a new organizational culture is likely to be met with negativity by a majority of the individual working for the department. This shows that the department can be said to be divided into three main types of audience. These will be those who were not comfortable under the previous regime. These people had the belief that the department had the capability of performing better were it not for the laxity that reigned in the department during the previous regime. There is the other category of audience who were enjoying the comfort zone under which they could do things in the way they wish, and at the pace in which they think suits them best. This will mean that she will have to devise a good communication strategy that will get both parties to eventually participate in the implementation of the new organizational culture and climate. For a business management to have effective communication within an organization they must come up with a strategy that will enable them to have the proper communication in the organization eventually. This should also be the case for Patricia Daniels and the department, which she was taking control over. According to Zaremba (2010), the first step towards coming up with an organizational communication strategy is always setting up communications goals. In this case Patricia Daniels will care to make sure that the primary goal of the communication is to get all the members of the department get to the agreement with the organizational culture and climate that she is planning to introduce in the department. This is because the main reason as to why she got was given the appointment was to change the culture and climate at the department. After setting up the goals of the communication strategy, the efficiency targets of the organization’s communication strategy. According to Zaremba (2010), the efficiency targets usually supplement the organizational communication goals and making the communication functions more effective. This will include factors such as delivery channels, rates of communication and mode of feedback. She should also consider making an appropriate network of communication that will be used in the department. In this case, she should make sure that she emphasizes on the need for individuals in the department to use formal networks of communication though informal communications might be used in some situations. They should also consider using horizontal networks because of the way they enable business managers to have effective communication between them and their subject. Given the type of culture that Patricia Daniels would like to introduce in the department. There will definitely be a need for there to be a way in which the department will fill the gap between their current culture and the goals that they tend to achieve. This can only be achieved through communication. In the strategy, Patricia Daniels should be aware of there being a possibility of tension arising as a result of the change in organizational culture and communication climate. In this case, she is likely to expect primary tension from those who are allied to the administrative assistant who had applied for the post she was given and those who would feel that the new culture is straining them. Patricia Daniels should also make sure that there are measures in place to enable the department to measure the effectiveness of the communication strategy that they plan on adopting. The thing that should be at the Frontline in measurement is the outcome of communication in the organization. This should specifically focus on the various communication activities that will be used in the department. The other thing that Patricia Daniels should be aware of is the attitudes and the possible response of the employee in her department to the change in culture. Given that a majority of the employees in the department were used to the previous culture and regime it will be good for her to anticipate negative response. She should also make sure that she puts in place measures such as seminars and meetings that will have activities that will usher in the employees into the new organizational culture and communication climate. Without proper communication, a business organization is likely to suffer from poor interactions, affecting performance. Reference Zaremba, A. J. (2010). Organizational communication. New York: Oxford University Press. Read More