Communication Barrier at 2 Sister Foods Group - Case Study Example

Contents Acknowledgements 1 Abstract 2 Introduction 2 Aims of the research 3 Literature review 3 Research methodology 6 Questionnaires: 7 Observations: 8 Results 9 Data analysis 9 Discussion of findings 10 Integrity of the research: 11 Validity 11 Time scale 11 Conclusion 12 Recommendations 12 Appendices 14 Bibliography 17 Acknowledgements I want to acknowledge the Almighty God who gave me the strength and the chance to carry out this research. Thanks to 2 Sisters Food Group Company for their assistance. Finally, am grateful to my lecturer for his professional guidance while carrying out this assignment. Abstract Communication barriers are common in multicultural organizational setups. Modern societies are composed of individuals who are multicultural and multiethnic. Leading companies have to deal with workforces who are not native language speakers. This has proved to bring both advantages and disadvantages to the concerned organizations. Food industry heavily depends on communication. There is a need to have mechanisms that deal with communication barriers in an increasingly globalised society. Introduction Communication plays a pivotal role in organizational success. Communication barriers in organizations result in serious challenges to organizations’ stakeholders. Employee performance declines sharply and employers lose the employee confidence because of communication barriers. Inadequate verbal and non verbal communication results in bitterness and a significant gap between the employees and employers. Communication barriers must be identified in order for effective communication to happen. In the food industry, business processes heavily relies on communication. Understanding communication barriers leads to enhancing communication. This paper aims at investigating the communication barriers at 2 sisters Food group and identifying how communication can be improved in a multicultural organization. The research also aims at pointing out the impacts of communication barriers to the productivity of the business and general operations. Communication barriers affect the relationship between employers and employees. The food industry sector employs a significant number of people. The success of the industry depends of communication effectiveness. In this context, communication is viewed as meaningful interaction among the people in an organization. This interaction results in the meaning being perceived and understood by the parties. This process can be interrupted by a variety of barriers resulting to business failures. Improved communication depends on the elimination of the communication barriers. Aims of the research To establish communication barriers that exist in organizations i.e. 2 Sisters Food Group To assess the impact of the communication barriers on the productivity of the organization To find of ways of enhancing communication effectiveness Literature review The literature review is dedicated to having a deeper and better understanding of various theories and models that guide the phenomenon of communication. It could therefore be said that the literature review is being undertaken as a form of conceptual framework on communication to have a better understanding of existing models of communication and selecting the most appropriate model that can be instituted at 2 Sisters Foods Group Scunthorpe. After a thorough analysis of various models of communication, the constructionist model is selected as the model that applies best in the case of 2 Sisters Foods Group Scunthorpe. This is because in the first place, the constructionist model of communication views communication as a social phenomenon (Tourish 2010). This is because they look at the sociology of communication and thus argue that the through message that exists at any point in time is the message it self. What this means is that communication is seen as a totality in its presentation and thus include other components of it like the packaging and historical context. It is in light of this that other communicators holding on to this notion argue that the communicator cannot expect his message to be judged differently from the style and performance that backs the entire communication (Bolman & Deakm 1997). Having looked at communication as a social phenomenon whereby style and performance are judged as an integral part of the communication process, commentators have said that for communicators like some of the workers at 2 Sisters Foods Group Scunthorpe who cannot express themselves well in the first lanaguge of their customers, they could build on the constructionist model of communication to still make a lot of impression in their communication to their customers (Gopal 2004). According to Ruler & Lange (2003), The theoretical principle underlining this position held by these commentators is that the essence of communicating is not just in making ones self understood but also presenting ones self as a socially integral person (Bovee & Chaturvedi 2008). They argue further that apart from spoken communication, there exists other forms of communication such as gestures that can make the receptor understand the communicator and so all that the communicator must do is to show an excellent social image of himself and the rest such as decoding the information and comprehending it will happen latter on. In the case of 2 Sisters Foods Group Scunthorpe therefore, it would be more important for a worker to try communicating by using respectful gestures and attitude to the customer so that the customer can have a very good social impression about the worker even before thinking of trying to understand what is communicated. Once this is done, it is said that the customer would like to continue doing because he would perceive the communicator as having a good social standing. Notwithstanding the strong points and arguments made for the constructionist model of communication, there remain other schools of thought like Bovee & Thill (2008), who do not share the view that the social presentation of a piece of message is more important than content of the message being communicated. Typical examples of people who argue this way are those who uphold the linear model of communication. In the opinion of these communicators, the process of encoding a message in the communication is highly paramount and so should supersede all other factors. The linear model therefore would not look at other components of communication such as feedback. But this has been largely condemned as a wrong way of modeling communication in a modern world where the avenues of communication are increasingly becoming more through the use of technology and globalization. The constructionist model is therefore perceived as more suitable for the current case as employees of 2 Sisters Foods Group Scunthorpe do not have any other option in their communication efforts than to build on the provisions of other recognized components of communication that are identified by the constructionist model to get their messages through to their customers. With this notion in mind, further literature has been reviewed to suggest that one reason why the constructionist model is appropriate for new learners of particular language is that it takes its source from the CBS model of communication, which gives credence to clarity, brevity and sincerity, as part of the purposes of communication (Canary 2011). The social recognition that the constructionists model gives to communication has resulted in the creation of the term symbolic interactionist to stand for the wider theory of social constructionist. This is because by touting social constructionist as symbolic interactionist, credence is then being given to the product of communication as being the creation of meaning involved in the act of communication through the means by which something is said (Lutgen-Sandvik 2010). Ideally therefore, communicators ought to understand that much focus is going to be given to ‘how’ they communicate and not ‘what’ they communicate under the constructionists model. It is for this reason that communication has been said to be one of the ways of forming and reforming a person’s identities (Locker 2000). Such an identity needs to be positive to ensure that lasting communication takes place. It also needs to be positive to ensure that there will be future communication between the same people of whom the communication was taking place. Furthermore, the identity needs to be positive so that the initiator can be guaranteed of having all forms of requests made during the communication granted. But for the communication to be positive, Eisenhardt & Bourgeois (1988) stressed again that the communicator needs to present himself well to those he is demanding audience from . Such means of presenting one’s self well includes using polite and respectful gestures, being clear, brief and sincere, and being conscious of the communication needs of the other party. Research methodology When researching in the field of cross-cultural traits with regard to business arrangements in 2 Sisters Food Group, the best approach was to use both the qualitative and quantitative methods of research. The nature of the research required details. It needed studies to be done among both employers and employees to establish personal familiarity and respect with regard to business communication barriers. The qualitative and quantitative research method is one of the most exploited methods of research by other writers. It also is known as triangular or mixed method of research. One of the biggest merits of the triangular method is that the data collected from one method complements the data collected in the other method. This means that comprehensive opinions are obtained by the research for quality analysis. This involved surveying the members of the organizational community in 2 Sisters Food Group, between both employees and employers by the researcher. This also involved four communication concept initiatives, which were considered to be reasonable in influence and capacity, in the communication tendencies and trends among organizational stakeholders. Questionnaires: The aim was to get a wide range of opinions. Questionnaires were designed, to collect fundamental factors about business communication dynamics. This meant that some of the questionnaires were used in 2 Sisters Food Group and while the rest were used in a few like minded organizations. The questionnaires were 10 in number. Some of the questions in the questionnaire required the employees and employers in the organizational fraternity to state what affects their mode of communication. This included questions into the mode of conducting business communication while signing business agreements. The questionnaires established the communication barriers the business people have while dealing with customers in organizations. The questionnaires had an open section where the employees and employers discussed their experiences with customers during transactions. The research also focused on employee relationships. The questionnaires required the respondents to state their biggest expectation from their peers and organization at large. The questionnaires tried to access the level of exposure among the business community when it came to inter communication skills and communication barriers. The research came up with the real impact of the business communication attitudes in 2 Sisters Food group. This reflected aspects of communication barriers. Based on the literature review and groups, a self constructed five-item structured questionnaire became imperative. The questionnaire was prepared to use 5- point Likert scale. Employees and employers expressed a broad range of opinions in the focus groups on the key issues, in discussion. The used of the structured questionnaire was inspired by cost effectiveness and relative convince of the method. The questionnaire research method was also known to provide greater cover and anonymity than other research methods. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to increase the quality of date and findings. Respondents were required to show to what measure or extent they agreed with the statements in the scale. The responses ranged from: agreeing strongly, disagreeing strongly. The respondents had to respond to items such as; internal organizational politics can escalate communication barriers in this organization. This was followed by; inadequate skills in English language hinder effective communication in 2 sisters Food Group. The last section dealt much of the demographic factors and information of the employees and employers. The questionnaire was subjected to a pilot test to increase its reliability and appropriateness. Observations: Data was collected by observing communication barriers and effectiveness in Skuthorpe. This involved looking at the conduct of communication trends and comparing them with the observations made in the other similar organizations. This included the nature of communication with clients, the length of interactions and the general observations. Results Table 1 Communication Barriers(%) In firm Agreement Agree Neutral Disagree Firmly Disagree Poor English knowledge 18 42 14 14 10 Local tone 4.7 33.3 12.7 30.7 14.7 Opposite sex 2.6 10.0 18.0 40.0 29.3 Bad temperament 17.3 38.0 26.0 14.7 4.0 Outdated technology 14.0 52.0 25.3 6.0 2.7 Technical jargon 7.3 32.7 28.0 27.3 4.7 Personal life 2.0 27.3 28.0 30.7 12.0 Monotony 8.0 44.7 28.7 14.7 4.0 Internal politics 19.3 37.3 28.0 13.3 2.0 Data analysis The respondents were requested to rate the impact of communication of barriers in the process of communication. 18 per cent agreed that lack of English skills had a negative impact in communication. 42.6 per cent disagreed. Less than 50 per cent thought that the local languages develop communication barriers. More than half of the respondents disagreed. Most of the respondents are comfortable with communicating with members of the opposite sex. 38 per cent thought hot temper is a potential communication barrier. 17 per cent agreed strongly. More than half of the respondents said defective communication technology is responsible communication barriers. Thirty two per cent of the respondents had difficulty in technical jargon, in the Food industry. Near 50 percent of respondents blamed job monopoly for communication process inconsistencies. The same percentage blamed internal politics for communication barriers in organization. Discussion of findings According to literature review, the psychological communication barriers arise from psychological distance between communicating parties. Psychological counseling deals with the issue of hot temper. In an organizational set up, the sender is expected to be rational and should dwindle before passing any information. According to the research, organizational barriers constitute 15.8 points variance. According to the results of the research, job barriers constitute 18.20 per cent variance. They include organizational policy, ethics, technology and organizational culture. Employees must be trained to understand the strength of diversification while at the same time overcome the barriers of globalised environments. The findings show that fostering an ambiance that enhances team work in organizations is critical. The literature review and the findings show a common ground when it comes to the impact of the communication barriers in organizational setups. This creates a way of addressing the communication barriers as stated in the research questions and aims. Integrity of the research: The integrity of the research depended on both the analytical and ethical adequacy. Data was collected only with permission from authorities, where necessary. This meant that there was be voluntary participation from the respondents, data protection, the purpose of the research shall be made clear and that the participants shall be assured of an opportunity to see and read that research report. Validity Validity is the degree of accuracy and reliability of the process of research and data. It entails defining the data and measures of collecting data. Constructive, predictive and content validity are enforced in the process of data collection. The assessment of content between individual concept and items define the dependability of standard research. The content validity was consistent with literature review and the use of instruments used in previous researches. Reliability indicates how the data was collected and measured. This differs with validity. It is the degree to which a variable or variables is consistent with the intended measure. Time scale Preliminary preparations of the research took one week. This involved preparing the research team and giving the team data collection skills. The research activity took one month. This involved involve giving out the questionnaires and conducting interviews with the targeted number of respondents. Data collection took two weeks Data analysis took 1 week In total, the entire project took 2 months Conclusion The communication barriers in a multicultural organization have enormous effects to the productivity of the organization. Communication barriers range from semantics to psychological communication barriers. Communication effectiveness is directly proportional to organizational productivity and growth. Communication barriers in 2 Sisters Food Group have the potential to affect the quality of service delivery. The communication effectiveness strategies must be deliberate. According to the results of the research, local tone, background and social factors contribute to communication barriers. In a multicultural organizational set up, it is essential to encourage multilingual qualities. The organizational leadership should focus and promoting communication openness through team building and training sessions. Friendly working conditions facilitate effective communication. They include clear communication channels where employees can air their grievances and opinions. Organizations should promote the use of common language in a working environment. Recommendations The study exposed statistically the contribution of communication barriers. The personal barriers included the local dialect of tone, hot temper and failure to be eloquence in English language. It is therefore, imperative to plan for workshops to eliminate these communication barriers. The opposite sex was a significant communication barrier factor. The 2 Sisters Food Group needs to plan from training sessions to improve the use of English among the workers to facilitate the communication in the multicultural set up. This shall entail improving pronunciation and speaking skills. The employers and managers need to speak in the language understood by the receivers. The 2 Sister Food Group needs to arrange for psychological counseling. It is recommended that the organization arranges for workshops to deliberate on conversational differences between the members of the opposite sex. This shall lessen the communication barriers that exist between the sexes. Communication barriers in the food industry affect the profitability of the organization. Personal communicational barriers should be overcome through personal initiative and conscious efforts and training. The structures of the 2 Sister Food Group should be designed in such a way that personal life does not interfere with professional conduct. This includes establishing family friendly organizational policies. According to Gopal (2004), deliberate effort should be made to speak a language that is common for the organizational fraternity. The food industry should enact policies that shall address the communication barriers that affect the employers and employees. An easy way is to reduce the use of defective technologies. Cutting edge technology should be used by organizational departments to play a leading role in communication among employees. The human resource department should develop fair policies that enhance teamwork and job satisfaction. This can go a long way in reducing the internal organizational politics that have a negative impact organizational communication. Effective communication cannot be separated from organizational policy. One of the recommendations is to promote the flow of communication in a free atmosphere. Transparency in organization provides that employees and employers share information freely and remain committed to the goals and mission of the organization. Therefore, effective communication leads to improved performance. This gives the organizations like 2 Sisters Food Group a competitive advantage. Well designed communication systems and productive environment yield competitive advantage. It enhances job satisfaction and employee confidence. This inspired the employees to perform to the maximum. Organizational policies should be strategically designed to address and enhance communicational effectiveness in multiethnic organization. This includes minimal use of vernacular when addressing employees or employers. Organizational values must be designed to incorporate the multicultural nature of organizations without impacting negatively on the need for organizational teamwork. Reducing the hierarchies that act as communication barriers between juniors and top level managers is vital. Organizational bureaucracy is one of the leading causes of communication breakdown in food industries. Therefore, 2 Sister Food Group should view the diversity as an asset and invest in ways and means of promoting organizational harmony. If organizational communication barriers are left without proper policies, they can reduce job performance significantly. Concerted efforts should be taken to reduce the gap between 2 sisters Hotel Group management and employees. Empirical evidence from the study confirms that communication barriers, though a challenge, are surmountable. Appendices Questionnaire given to respondents 1. The fact that the language used by most customers is not my first language makes communication ineffective Firmly agree [ ] Agree [ ] Neutral [ ] Disagree [ ] Firmly disagree [ ] 2. Customers find it difficult to understand what I say to them Firmly agree [ ] Agree [ ] Neutral [ ] Disagree [ ] Firmly disagree [ ] 3. Customers are satisfied when I accompany verbal communication with gestures Firmly agree [ ] Agree [ ] Neutral [ ] Disagree [ ] Firmly disagree [ ] 4. Customers praise my social interactivity during communication Firmly agree [ ] Agree [ ] Neutral [ ] Disagree [ ] Firmly disagree [ ] 5. My employers have expressed interest at my rate of learning the new language Firmly agree [ ] Agree [ ] Neutral [ ] Disagree [ ] Firmly disagree [ ] 6. I would be a better employee and offer better customer service if the language of customers was my first language Firmly agree [ ] Agree [ ] Neutral [ ] Disagree [ ] Firmly disagree [ ] 7. I am stressed at work because of communication barriers Firmly agree [ ] Agree [ ] Neutral [ ] Disagree [ ] Firmly disagree [ ] 8. I see communication experience as a learning process Firmly agree [ ] Agree [ ] Neutral [ ] Disagree [ ] Firmly disagree [ ] 9. I am undertaking personal skill development and training to equip my communication skills Firmly agree [ ] Agree [ ] Neutral [ ] Disagree [ ] Firmly disagree [ ] 10. Language barrier is not the only communication problem I face at work Firmly agree [ ] Agree [ ] Neutral [ ] Disagree [ ] Firmly disagree [ ] Bibliography Bolman, L.G. & Deakm, T.E. 1997 Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice and leadership 2nd edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Bovee, C. L., Thill, J. V., & Chaturvedi, M. 2008. Business communication today 9th ed. Delhi: Pearson Education. Canary, H. 2011. Communication and organizational knowledge: Contemporary issues for theory and practice. Florence, KY: Taylor & Francis. Cleary, S. 2004 "The communication handbook - a student guide to effective communication, 2nd Edition" Juta & Co. Ltd Gopal, N. 2004, Business communication: Oral and written. New Delhi: Galgotia Publications Pvt. Ltd. Grasso, L. P., Golen, S. P., & Burns, A. 2005, Managerial perceptions of barriers to internal corporate communication within and across hierarchical levels. ABEA Journal, 24. Guo & Sanchez, 2005 “Workplace Communication Organisational Behaviour in Health Care” John and Bartlett Publications, p. 77-110. Locker, K. O. 2000. Business and administrative communication 5th ed. Boston: Irwin McGraw-Hill. 2 Sister Food Group 2012 online Available at: http://www.2sfg.com/ (Accessed: 1 January 2013). Lutgen-Sandvik, P. 2010. Destructive organizational communication: Processes, consequences, and constructive ways of organizing. New York, NY: Routledge. Tourish, D. 2010. Auditing organizational communication: A handbook of research, theory, and practice. New York, NY: Routledge. Read More