Concepts Important for Successful Communication in Organizations - Research Paper Example

? Concepts Important for Successful Communication in Organizations Communication is the process by which a message is transferred from the sender to a receiver through a specified medium with the purpose of creating understanding. Communication is an essential ingredient not only in personal interactions but also in organizational interactions. Effective communication increases productivity, reduces employee turnover and improve the general office working environment (Tourish & Hargie, 2004). Whether you are the manager or a regular employee at any organization, the better you communicate and interact with others –the better working relationships you will develop with others. It is important to understand that not all employees come from strong communication backgrounds and therefore new employees must be brought up to speed on the crucial communication methods (Guffey & Almonte, 2010). Effective communication is therefore built on some essential aspects or concepts that this paper is going to discuss. These concepts are crucial for any communication to succeed and accomplish the function it is intended for. The first concept is listening. This is paying attention to someone with who you are actively engaged in a conversation with. I believe that this is the most important concept in communication because individuals have to pay attention so that they are able to interpret the message from the sender of the speaker and provide feedback (Bovee, Thill, & Schatzman, 2003). Poor listening will lead to the receiver misunderstanding a message or not getting the concept at all which is very bad in business. It is bad because chances of organization losing an opportunity that would have made a difference are high (Guffey & Almonte, 2010). While interacting with people within the organization, listening will help and individual avoid confusion, be able to understand tasks clearly and generally create a positive relationship with the speaker. Communication is a two way process just like listening. One listens to the message from a speaker so that they can act. It goes beyond the mere words that come from the speaker to the body movements conveyed by the speaker. Words may be negated by body movements and this may cause confusion if the receiver was not paying attention to the speaker (Wycoff, 2004). Active listening therefore goes beyond the obvious and may also entail empathizing with the speaker and this makes you understand the speaker better and in so doing foster effective relationships which are essential in any organization. According to the Harvard Business Review, sensitive listening is the key to effective management and the busy executive spends 80% of his time listening. Psychologists say that listening is the greatest high touch value and this is because it gives the speaker a sense of worth. One may not be able to convince someone that you respect him by telling them so but you may be lucky in getting this message across if you behave in a respectful manner through active listening. Benefits of listening include improved office communication, better and improved relationships, cordial working environments and fostering peace and avoiding conflicts. The second concept is organizational culture. McQuail (2005) defines culture as a process but that it can also refer to some shared attributes of a human group such as their physical environment, tools, religion, customs and practices or their whole way of life. It is therefore a set of assumptions that members of a given community share. Organizational culture can be defined as a pattern of shared basic assumptions that a group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration that has worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore, be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems (Anaeto, 2010). An effective organization culture creates norms values and assumptions usually taken for granted but which exist in the day to day working of the organization. Organizational culture is managed through effective communication which functions to communicate the organizational goals and objectives. It is through communication that people interpret organizational messages (French, Rayner, Rees, & Rumbles, 2011). One message within an organization may be interpreted as positive while the same message may be interpreted in another organization as negative. This is because each organization creates a culture of its own which is unique in its own way and helps people interpret organizational messages and information (French, Rayner, Rees, & Rumbles, 2011). Successful communication will only be achieved when the message is within the organizational culture within which people in the organization use to infer meaning. This means that the organizational culture must be managed effectively if any communication has to succeed (French, Rayner, Rees, & Rumbles, 2011). Managing organizational culture may involve two strategies and these are dependent on contextual factors relating both to the external and the internal environment. If the culture is bad it affects overall communication and therefore the best strategy to manage it is by transformation which entails breaking the existing patterns and creating new ones that support effective communication. On the other hand if the culture is considered as good the most appropriate strategy is conformity which means maintaining order and continuity (Willcoxson & Millet, 2000). Third is conflict resolution, which refers to the successful mediation of an existing problem within the organization. Conflicts are a common phenomenon in the organization. Their resolution may either portray the organization positively or negatively. Successful conflict resolution is based on successful communication between the conflicting parties (French, Rayner, Rees, & Rumbles, 2011). There are a number of conflict resolution strategies all of which are based on communication. These include mediation, avoidance and negotiation among others. Successful communication within the organization requires that organizations create mechanisms through which conflicts can be resolved amicably. People need assurance that whenever problems occur they can find help immediately and that they can be solved within a short time. A separate office need to be created in the organization that will deal with conflicts that may arise. Such an office must have experienced counselors who are impartial and who are skillful enough to handle organizational problems (ken-ichi, Mariko, & Yoichiro, 2000). Most of the time conflicts are caused by communication breakdown between two parties. A problem may arise between two parties and because they are unable to communicate find it difficult to solve the problem. In such situations it is important that a third party is able to come in between to solve the stalemate (Tourish & Hargie, 2004). The conflicting parties should be brought together with the mediator who will listen to both sides of the story. After this he has to find a common ground from which to begin the reconciliation process with both parties participating in the exercise. Communication is very essential in this part (Ross, 2000). I once had a conflict on a very small matter with my colleague and it was proving very difficult to solve it because my colleague did not want to listen to me. This necessitated the help of a third person. Successful conflict resolution can only occur in a conducive environment where both parties are willing to listen to each other in order to solve the problem. The fourth concept is leadership strategies that are employed by managers within the organization. There are very many leadership styles and these either promote communication or inhibit communication within the organization (Willcoxson & Millet, 2000). Leadership styles that inhibit communication most of the time are the source of conflicts that occur in the organization. The autocratic leader for example is one who makes decision on his own without consulting other members of the organization. These kinds of leaders often make decisions based on their own ideas and judgments and rarely accept or even consider the advice from fellow colleagues. They dictate the work to be done and make sure decisions are implemented to the latter. This kind of leadership is viewed as bossy dictatorial and controlling and leads to resentment among organizational members. People are treated like machines and in the process bottle up emotions which erupt after some time causing lots of problems within the organization (Jack, LaFrance, & Ginter, 2003). There is no one leadership style that is appropriate but a style is appropriate in given situations. Effective leadership involves speaking and listening. It is not one way but a two way thing. A leader must listen to what the subordinates have to say whether it adds value or not. People want to feel appreciated for the little things they do in the organization and therefore they must be given a chance to express themselves (Jack, LaFrance, & Ginter, 2003). Successful leadership entails successful communication which is achieved through active listening and listening with empathy. Organizations in order to be productive must implement strategies that foster harmony and unity in the organization. Such strategies when incorporated into leadership styles can be very beneficial for organizations (French, Rayner, Rees, & Rumbles, 2011). These may include discussion groups, problem solving groups, consultations among others. I once worked in an organization where one had to follow orders and there were no consultations. It was very difficult to work in such an organization and I saw little progress towards achievement of organizational goals because of the poor communication. The fifth concept is formal and informal communication strategies. Communication is formal if it is communicated from the management to the subordinates through official channels of communication such as memos. It is informal if it is communicated between subordinates or communication in social interactions and also within families (Tourish & Hargie, 2004). The difference in the two is the language that is used and the themes that are evident in the messages communicated. Successful communication in the organization involves the use of both formal and informal communication channels. When communicating instructions, directions, it is good to be formal so that the information is taken seriously and implemented as required. In cases where feedback from employees is required it is important to use the informal communication methods because employees will freely discuss ideas and come up with solutions to situations that may have proved difficult. Effective informal communication requires understanding of people and their needs. Informal communication can be both verbal or written. Both require a relaxed structure and tone than the formal methods. On the other hand the formal communication has a specific structure depending on the organization. Organizations need to understand the working mechanisms behind the two communication methods and establish ways through which they can be implemented to foster organizational good and increase productivity (Bovee, Thill, & Schatzman, 2003). Informal methods can do through establishment of forums, workshops, and seminars. Formal communication can be implemented through formal communication channels such as memos, circulars, letters etc. research shows that informal communication is critical to organizational functioning because it supports production and the social relations that underlie it, it provides a critical facility that collaborators rely on to start joint work, maintain it and drive it to conclusion. In conclusion, communication is a broad concept that entails many aspects. For effective communication to occur it means that both parties must be willing to actively listen in order to understand the message and give feedback. The interpretation of the message and the feedback that people provide in the organization is dependent on the organizational culture. If the communication is not fruitful because of the problem of culture or listening conflicts arise which must be resolved in order that organizations continue functioning normally. Organization functioning on the other hand is based on effective leadership styles that incorporate the views of people so that people feel part of the organization. Poor leadership styles are a source of conflict and pent up emotions result in loss of trust in management something that can only be solved through appropriate communication. The communication can be formal or informal and in any case must always foster understanding within the organization. Formal channels such as memos enhance communication because they give orders that must be followed as they are official. In formal channels such as forums and consolations are critical in normal functioning of the organization. All these concepts are interrelated and its only through proper mechanisms that communication can be successful. References Anaeto, S. G. (2010). Managing Organizational Culture for effective Communication. The Social Sciences, 5(2): 70-75. Bovee, C. L., Thill, J. V., & Schatzman, B. E. (2003). Business Communication Today. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. French, R., Rayner, C., Rees, G., & Rumbles, S. (2011). Organization Behavior. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Guffey, M. E., & Almonte, R. (2010). Essentials of Business Communication. Toronto: Cengage Learning. Jack, D. W., LaFrance, K. G., & Ginter, P. M. (2003). 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