Organisational Structure and Communication Flow - Essay Example

Advancements in information technologies have brought about transformation in the work and organizational structure. Communication today is an important part of the work for the employees and it has also transformed how they relate to each other. Communications in small organizations was largely informal in the early 1920s but as organizations increased in size formal top-down communication became a matter of concern for managers (Baker, 2002). Today communication is the essence of success in any organization – be it work-based or non-work based, be it a religious institution or a sports club. Changes in organizational forms have made the communication process varied and complex, which is vital to organizational functioning and success. How a housing group evolved itself through the right communication process will be discussed here. XYZ Ltd, a housing group, is dedicated to delivery of excellent services and towards meeting that end they have changed their structure several times. The senior managers are constantly under pressure and due to time constraint would take decision unilaterally. Housing allotments were done without scrutinizing their backgrounds. Whenever any dispute arose, internal, private communication like emails were abused and highlighted. All these demonstrate that there was no communication among the peers and the line managers. The top management also did not have proper communication channels with the subordinates. Their only means of communication was through email both for urgent or routine matters. The management overlooked the fact that the pace of work is faster and the workers are more distributed. This requires greater coordination and communication amongst workers. Organizations are not merely collection of individuals but are viewed as systems of events and processes (Goldhaber et al., 1978). Structure of an organization refers to the pattern or arrangement of regularly occurring interactions in a communication network. The degree of uncertainty and complexity in the environment affects the structural complexity of the environment. It has also been found that interactive relationships follow functional work relationships in the organization. The behavior of the network participants are affected by their position in the network as well as the properties of the group process. In other words the pattern of interaction connects the individual to the flow of information in the network. At XYZ Ltd three individuals were interacting with each other and arriving at a decision for their respective work area. They were then communicating directly with their supervisor, who compiled the information and forwarded a consolidated report to the top management. In this case, the three individuals, even though interacted with each other cannot be termed ‘group’ because they had different fields of activity – marketing, facilities, and allotment. They needed to interact with each other to satisfy the queries of the customers who applied for housing. Each of these managers had five subordinates who gathered information or directly liaised with the applicants. There was hardly ever any face-to-face (F2F) communication and managers became used to giving instructions and even firing over email. The subordinates did not feel comfortable in direct communication and preferred to hide behind an email to express their grievances. Even leave application was made and granted through emails. This lack of personal touch affected the service delivery and the firm was not able to achieve its goal of excellent quality of service. According to Haden (2006), today e-mail has become the standard practice within an organization to exchange information even within the organization. Harwood points out as organizations and their internal mechanisms have evolved and become more complex, skills need to match to be able to construct an effective information management system. Verbal communication could lead to misunderstandings. Emails contain information or instructions in ‘black and white’, which cannot be denied by either party. While emails may be the most convenient method of communication, it has been found that non-verbal cues are equally important and these can only be perceived during F2F communication. Besides, the skill to receive messages is as important as the skills associated with sending messages, says Baker. In modern organization, on-going, dynamic and informal communication process ensures effective conduct of work. Baker contends that communication focuses not just on the accuracy of the content but on the non-verbal cues as well as the content. Communication is a symbolic interaction that creates meaning and one’s sense of both self and society. At XYZ there was vertical as well as horizontal communication. The subordinates communicated with their managers (marketing, facilities and allotments) who in turn communicated with each other (horizontal) as well as their supervisor (vertical). The supervisor then communicated with the top management (vertical). Vertical communication can involve both upward and downward communication flows but at XYZ it was always upward flow of communication. Downward communication occurred only when the managers or supervisors needed to fire the subordinates although downward communication is most effective if top managers communicate directly with immediate supervisors and immediate supervisors communicate with their staff (Baker). If the flow of information from the supervisors is right it can enhance the satisfaction level and the performance of the employees. If the supervisor is provided input by the top boss, he feels competent to take decisions but here the supervisor was merely a post office transmitting information. He had no decision taking authority. The true rule of effective downward communication is to communicate orally and then follow it up in writing. It serves to satisfy the hierarchy of employees’ communication needs. The upward communication that took place at XYZ was basically a duty, a compulsion and the need to comply with the organizational requirements. It tended to be crisp, and lacked the personal touch. Sometimes, the subordinates even overlooked vital information. They even never made any suggestions because they experienced that their ideas were filtered and never implemented. They were also under the impression that managers barely had time to read the essential mails and had no time to look into suggestions. Even when they noticed some untoward incidents in the organization, they were scared to even send email to their supervisor/managers because of fear of reprisal. Thus the situation is grim and certain modifications are suggested for the overall improvement of communication and ultimately the service delivery. The basic function of communication is to affect receiver knowledge or behavior by informing, directing, regulating, socializing, and persuading (Baker). At XYZ only informing took place and there was no direction or persuasion in their communication process. This needs urgent transformation. For a communication to be effective it must be received and understood and only then it can produce resultant action (Kalla, 2005). At XYZ very often the emails were misunderstood. The intention was not correctly conveyed as communication was just through emails. . Effective communication leads to good personal relationships and trust within the team; it creates a positive environment within and around the team and only then can the team achieve its goals. Lack of communication can lead to lack of cooperation and coordination. It can create confusion among the team members while effective communication should be informational, motivational, and evaluative and have emotive function. None of these were present in the way messages were sent out to each other. There is a tendency for inappropriate use of email. Email messages carry very little information about people’s physical and social characteristics, it does not convey subtle gestures or non-verbal cues, it can be misinterpreted or misconstrued, and could lead to conflicts (WOC, 2004). If for some reason some managers do not check emails regularly or are unable to attend to the email messages on a particular day, important information may go unattended. It can lead to information overload an over reliance on technology. E-mail has been described as ambivalent, hybrid, multivalent or ambiguous; its richness as a medium has been debated (Hewitt, 2006). There are also claims that written communication is not the best medium for getting the message across in every situation, and is often not the best way to motivate employees. Effective communication can take place when the participants achieve a shared understanding, stimulate others to take action and encourage people to think in new ways (Kalla, 2005). According to the Social Presence Theory face-to-face is the richest form of communication (WOC, 2004). Human beings demand acknowledgement. It is not only an act of courtesy or cultural norms to nod at a person or smile. It conveys a feeling of acknowledgement and belongingness and hence this mode is recommended as a means of communication for reinforcing trust in relationships. Face to face interaction is important beyond carrying information. It helps to maintain good relations with the subordinates, vendors and others. When this comes from the top bosses to the lower level of employees it has worked wonders. Recognition promotes motivation within the organization. It persuades people to perform better. F2F is considered appropriate for tasks requiring greater interpersonal delicacy or for communicating delicate messages. Every employee seeks recognition. This role is important beyond carrying information. It helps to maintain good relations with the subordinates. Recognition promotes motivation. It persuades people to perform better. Empathy is essential at all levels and is more nonverbal in nature. It provides emotional support and this should be stressed upon. The employees would then overcome the fear and become confident to extend suggestion for the enhancement of services. Difficult issues can be resolved through discussions (Gollan, 2006). Honesty, trust, openness, employee participation, all helps to achieve high motivation among staff. Hence the housing group should change its communication strategy and encourage more of F2F communication which can be followed by emails. References: Baker, K. A., (2002), Organizational Communication, Chapter 13, 08 April 2008 Goldhaber et al., (1978), ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION: 1978, HUMAN COMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH / Vol. 5, No. 1, FALL 1978 Gollan, P. J. (2006), High involvement management and human resource line sustainability, Handbook of Business Strategy, pp. 279-286 Haden C, (2006). An Effective Information Management Strategy, gtnews.com, 08 April 2008 Kalla, H. K., (2005), Integrated internal communications: a multidisciplinary perspective, Corporate Communications: An International Journal Vol. 10 No. 4, 2005 pp. 302-314 WOC (2004), The Hierarchy of Communications, http://www.wireone.com/html/learning/whitepapers/hierarchy_of_communications.pdf> 08 April 2008 Read More