Cammunication Channels - Essay Example

?Communication channels Communication channels refer to modes of transfer of information from a sender to a receiver. Some examples of communication channels are face-to-face communication, telephone, meetings, and letters. This paper explores communication cases to determine the most appropriate communication channel for each case. Situation 1 A company’s competitor has acquired it and 15 percent of its employees will be laid off in the next three months. Best communication channel The best communication channel for the case is the use of internal memo that is selected on the following criteria. Formality Poor feedback potential Poor interpersonal warmth It is economical Justification A memo formal and develops a general perception of an organization’s official position because any employee who reads it knows that it is a communication from the organization’s authority. The legal scope of the case also requires formal communication to facilitate implementation of the acquisition. Another reason the channel is its poor feedback potential. While the case requires immediate delivery, any form of feedback is not necessary and should be discouraged because they do not add value to the adopted position. Adopting a channel with a poor feedback capacity such as a memo would therefore benefit the organization’s management (Robbins and Coulter, 2007). The nature of the message, being a bad message to the employees, also requires a communication channel that is generally associated with unfriendly types of information. Memos, for instance, is poor on “interpersonal warmth” and this prepares the recipient of the possibility of some bad news (Robbins and Coulter, 2007, p. 295). This is therefore beneficial to recipients who are emotionally unstable as it allows them to prepare and adjust before receiving the exact news. Memo would also be suitable because of its relatively low cost that makes it economical to the management (Robbins and Coulter, 2007). Situation 2 A customer has sent an email to complain about an employee. Investigations have proved validity of the customer’s claim and the issue must be communicated to the employee. Best communication channel The best communication channel is face-to-face communication and is selected based on the following criteria. Efficient room for feedback Confidentiality Ease of encoding It is friendly Justification Face-to-face communication has efficient feedback ability and therefore allows for the employee’s response to the customer’s complaint. This is because in as much as the claim is believed to be true, a good decision making or conflict resolution requires hearing both parties to a case. Confidentiality of the communication channel that leads to protection of human resource factors such as the employee’s motivation and confidence in work also makes face-to-face communication the best channel. This is because the case could have been an isolated instance of a mistake and a personal approach would identify the mistake to the employee without causing embarrassments. The ease of encoding information in the communication channel will also ensure that the employee understand the concern and will lead to corrective measures. The involved friendliness of face-to-face communication also has a positive effect of offering leadership to the employee who may need training and guidance in the course of duty (Robbins and Coulter, 2007; Guffey and Loewy, 2012). Situation 3 The company’s founder, who is popular among members of the organization, has died of a chronic disease and information about his death needs to be communicated to the members. Best communication channel Group meeting of all members of the organization would be the best communication channel as illustrated by the following criteria. Involved time Cost Instant feedback Ease of encoding Justification The ability of group meetings to deliver a message instantly ensures delivery of the message as soon as possible. This is because its limited time constraint makes it suitable for the situation that requires immediate delivery of the sudden news. The channel is also cost effective since the speaker and the audience can easily be converged by notice and information be delivered at no cost. The ability of group meetings to allow instant feedback also identifies its applicability to the case since the channel is direct. This is because members of the organization can ask questions for clarifications. Group meetings also have the advantage of ease in encoding a message, a characteristic that eliminates misunderstanding of the delivered message (Robbins and Coulter, 2007). Situation 4 The organization has made a decision to give bonus to a section of its employees. Best communication channel The best communication channel for the situation is application of Email and is selected based on the following criteria. Cost Confidentiality Decoding ease It is formal Justification Email is cheap and will therefore be economical to the management. It is also confidential as only the recipients are expected to receive the message. The confidentiality is important in maintain cohesion and motivation among all members of the organization. This is because lack of confidentiality would demoralize employees who have not received bonuses. Keeping the awards confidential however retains the level of motivation among employees who are not rewarded and it motivates the rewarded employees. The channel is also easy to decode since it only involves reading and because the recipients are expected to be literate. Another reason for selecting the channel is its average level of formality that will facilitate confidentiality and at the same time not cause suspense among the recipients. The level of formality facilitates confidentiality because official business communications are personal. It, however, does not cause suspense and anticipation as summon for face-to-face communication would cause (Robbins and Coulter, 2007; Lehman, Dufrene and Lehman, 2010). Situation 5 One of the employees has performed outstandingly and met a customer’s specifications. The employee is to be acknowledged for his efforts. Best communication channel A group meeting would be the most appropriate method for acknowledging the employee based on the following selection criteria. Cost Time constraint Ease of decoding Confidentiality Justification The channel is cheap and would therefore be economical. Similarly, it would ensure immediate communication and would link the acknowledgement and the employee’s effort effectively. The ease of encoding of the process also communicates the aim of the acknowledgement effectively and is likely to motivate the employee and other employees to work hard and meet customers’ expectations. The low level of confidentiality of the channel also ensures that other employees know about the acknowledgement. The reason for the publicity is to motivate other employees by the single outstanding performance (Robbins and Coulter, 2007). Reference list Guffey, M and Loewy, D 2012, Essentials of business communication, Mason, Cengage Learning. Lehman, C Dufrene, D and Lehman, C 2010, Business communication, Mason, Cengage Learning. Robbins, S and Coulter, M 2007, Management, New Jersey, Pearson Prentice Hall. Read More