Improving Organisational Communication - Literature review Example

Improving Organisational Communication Insert (s) Table of Contents Importance of Organizational Communication 4 Results of Ineffective Communication in Housing Industry 6 How a Structure Effects Communication in Housing 8 Why its Important to Communicate 10 Conclusion 12 References 13 Improving Organisational Communication Introduction Organizational communication is a process through which social activities are coordinated and collected for achieving the goals of both the collective groups and individuals. It is a part of general communication and is normally considered to be one of the most critical aspects of effective management in any work place environment (Griffin, 2011, p.18). One of the most important things required for the achieving success in the workplace is communication skills. In an effective communication process, the listener must understand the things told by the speaker and his intentions. Generally, managers spent their maximum time in communicating with different employees in many forms like discussions, meetings, email, letters, reports etc. For efficient and effective work proper communication of the employees is required. Organizational network is an aspect of communication flow. Sometimes organizational communication becomes very fragmented and diverse. It can be divided in micro, macro, formal and informal levels. An organization has internal and external communication practice. The internal communication includes presentation, newsletter, meetings performance review etc. External communication of an organization includes media, public etc. For its fragment nature it is experiencing dramatic changes than any other organizational theories and practices. Earlier in small organizations communication was very informal. But with the increase in organizational size the process of formal communication was the main concerned of the managers. In the present world the communication process in a firm became very varied and complex. It has become an important organizational function. Figure 1: Communication Process Source: http://www.mybusinessprocess.net/the-communication-process/ Importance of Organizational Communication In the business world, organizational communication is critically important as it can help in building employee trust as well as improve the productivity and the workflow of a firm. Numerous recent studies have particularly revealed a strong relationship between the level of organizational communication and job performance and employee satisfaction, job performance and a feeling of trust among the employees. As a result, no business organization can exist without communication. According to Griffin (2011, p.34), strong communication with different levels of management can create a sense of value in the employees which makes the work environment positive. Organizational communication has an important role in building relationship between the employees and with all the levels of the company. Open communication helps the employees to express their views and ideas which results in forming innovative solutions. It prevents the staff from having the feeling of isolation and establishes a collegial environment in the organization. Communication develops effective and efficient teamwork. For having a strong relationship the work performance of the employees also improves. Ambiguity and confusion creates tension and negative feelings. On the other hand, organizational communication also provides information to the employees and has a vital role in reducing misunderstanding. It can also help the employees to collaborate which increase team productivity. Presently the organizations have many departments which work on same project but on different facts. Communication helps to improve the streamline process. The staff can communicate about the requirements, potential structures, feedback etc which creates a strong result. It helps the employees to gain compliance. Feedback is a two way communication process which can be both upward and downward. It enables the organization to know about employees or customers view for achieving the best performance (May and Mumby, 2005, p.29). Communication has an importance in preventing problems. Organizational communication motivates the employees. This process influences in changing individual attitude within the organization. It reduces the difference between the employees and brings them together. It socializes the employees. Organizational communication influences in the controlling process. It has the importance in controlling the behavior of the employees. Organizational communication also has the importance in forming organizational policies. Effective and clear communication can establish policies benefiting the company and its employees. It helps to increase the proficiency of the managers in receiving and delivering messages. Proper organizational communication improves the moral of its employees. It decreases the conflict between the different managerial levels in the workplace. Communication integrates the personal and the organizational objectives. Through written communication the organization delivers its purposes and objectives very clearly to its employees. It avoids confusions and misunderstandings. The process of communication helps in rationalizing. The management is able to clarify the reasons of their instructions in a best possible way that the employee can understand. This is particularly important for allowing the employees to highlight different issues to the upper level of the management. Meeting is a vital communication process which helps in the discussion of different issues of the organizations affecting the business. In this regard, organizational communication plays an important role in the decision making processes or organizations as it can help in identifying problems, creating responses and sorting out solutions. Results of Ineffective Communication in Housing Industry Ineffective and poor communication can cause the failure of projects in housing industry. If the communication is not clear and delayed then it can affect all the overheads of costs (May and Mumby, 2005, p.93). The materials cost of the housing industry increases with the time which affects the budget of the project, its financial conditions and expenditures. Scheduled construction can be delayed for poor communications. Information for miss communication results in wrong work. Ineffective communication leads to the waste of time. In the housing industry at the early stage of the construction process errors can be rectified but in the latter stage making adjustments to those error become very problematic and costs extra money. Improved communication can reduce these problems. If the project and the construction ideas are communicated properly to the owners then the end result of the construction becomes perfect and the construction process of the house is easy. Housing industry is a rapid growing industry of the world. With the increase of population the demands for house also increases. People are having different preferences and ideas regarding designing and building of his house. Therefore the housing industry often experiences different problems of ineffective communications. If clear communication is not there with its customers then the housing industry will not been able to understand the need and desire of its individual customers. These desire and needs differ a lot from customer to customer. According to May and Mumby (2005, p.42), the absence of effective communication also creates problems within the organizations of housing industry. If the project manager dies not communicate properly with his staffs about the housing construction then the employees will construct the building according to their idea which will result the failure of the desired project. Constructions in the housing industry require lots of capital. Therefore those constructions need to be sold in a proper value maintain the profit margin. But the absence of effective communication does not popularize the construction project. As a result the customers become unaware of the housing projects and its features. Those projects cannot get their deserved values and the housing company faces a loss for this. Interior design is an important part of the housing industry. In most cases, people design their houses or offices according to their choices by making clear communication with the interior designers. As a result, the absence of clear and effective communication causes a failure of constructing desired interior designs. In addition, it can also lead to a huge financial loss. For example, there are different qualities of same material which can be used in the housing industry. Ineffective communication can results in using low quality material for the construction. Therefore those housing projects are not long lasting and it creates a negative growth affecting the industry. Ineffective communications in the housing industry results in the customers’ dissatisfaction which has a negative impact on this industry. Customization is one of the important things of housing industry. Finally, constructing customized product depends largely on the effective communications of the company with the customers. How a Structure Effects Communication in Housing The management structure in any organization normally affects communication in a number of ways. Generally, different types of organizational communication are set up by different companies focusing on its specific industry. It helps in achieving the goals and the objectives of the companies. Housing industry is a construction based industry which required a strong communication. Slightest miscommunication can affect this industry very badly. In this industry both ways communication is very important. Projects based works are mainly done in the housing sectors. Therefore the project managers, supervisors and other workers involved in the project always have to communicate directly and clearly. There are many chances of misinterpreting things which can results in huge loss (Mullins, 2007). Figure 2: Matrix Organization Structure Source: (Griffin, 2011) The housing industry has a diverse mixture of functional and divisional organizational structure. In this structure the project manager bring together the skilled employees of the company by maintaining the divisions. Divisional managers are also there. In the housing industry project managers looks after the different housing construction projects and coordinates which the members of the project. All the departments of the organization who are associated with a project needs maintain a strong communication among themselves. The project manager normally allocate the responsibilities to the project members in a clear and understanding way so that the housing project can develop properly (May and Mumby, 2005, p.108). According to Mullins (2007), the housing industry normally has dynamic organizational structure that follows matrix structure. In this regard, organizational communication helps to share much information among the team members. It increases the knowledge depth of different housing projects. The companies of housing industry have its specific goals and objectives. In the matrix structure organizational communication contributes a lot in the development of the company. Information and instructions are forwarded from the upper level to the base level of the organization and they are again passed on to the upper level from the base level after doing necessary implications and modifications. Generally, the matrix structure improves the management functions of the housing industry by coordinating with the individuals of the project. This helps in maximizing the strengths of the employees. The project supervisors are in directs contacts with the other employees of the project. Therefore can guide them through simple communication process which helps to avoid many misunderstandings huge can create huge loss. The details of the housing projects are coordinated across various departments of the organization through the process of communication. On the other hand, matrix organizational structure of the housing industry may also help to maintain contact with all the employees through strong communication. Lastly, it also helps to enhance the decision making power and motivation among the employee. This organizational structure has many reporting lines and more than one boss. These factors influence to form strong relationship of the employees working on the project site with other members of the project. According to Paton (2013), this strong relationship is based on the organizational communication. Why its Important to Communicate Communication is an important factor in the rapid growth of the housing industry. Both external and internal communication is required here. In external communication housing industry uses media, press, social networking sites etc to communicate with the potential customers. The importance of this communication is the housing companies can create a market for its products and attracts customers. Moreover the organizations needs to maintain proper communication with its customers as the customer can have different ideas about the construction which the housing companies must know before selling the products to them (Paton, 2013). Organizational communication plays an important role in maintain a link between the desired product and the final offered product. It is often seen that ineffective communication delay’s the construction process of the housing projects. It results in huge financial loss in the project. Therefore effectiveness of internal organizational communication is very important. Communication improves the work performance of the employees of this industry. It helps in establishing clear ideas about the job responsibilities. A huge amount of money is always involves in this industry. Effective communication help in maintaining quality work. Quality is a vital thing in construction. Organizational communication helps in keeping the standard quality in the projects. In the housing industry both way communication is required. Generally, effective communication helps in expressing the views and problems of the employees in the workplace which influences the development of the housing projects. The employees get motivated by involving in organizational communication process. They can state the condition of the project and the necessary changes required in it. Organizational communication makes this process easier as employees normally feel valuable when they get the chance to state their opinions (Mullins, 2007). This creates a good impact on their work performances which is beneficial for housing industry. For example in the housing industry of United Kingdom, Sheffield Housing Company is a reputed one. It maintains a matrix organizational structure. The company has many housing projects which are operated by different divisions of the company. But all of these divisions are interlinked with each other by the process of strong and effective organizational communication. Figure 3: Organization and Communication Structure of Sheffield Housing Company Source: Sheffield Housing Company (2014) According to Sheffield Housing Company (2014, p.1), Sheffield Housing Company has many divisions in its housing business. The project managers mainly look after the housing projects. The manager coordinates with all the members of the project and forwards information to the upper level of the organizations. The company has maintained a strong internal communication which creates a good impact in the development of their projects. Sheffield has a strong hold in its external communication process. The company uses media for its communication. It publishes news about its different projects on newspapers, magazines and social media sites. This plays an important role in attracting its customers by various communication processes. The strong organizational communication of the company helps to maintain the quality of their work which has become a vital factor contributing in the success of the organization. With the perfect amalgamation of external and internal organizational communication the company has become a strong player in the housing industry of UK. Conclusion In conclusion, improving organizational communication is critically important for the success of any organization particularly in the housing industry. Generally, clear and transparent communication helps to grow trust among the employees and stimulates innovative ideas and creativity among the individuals of the organizations. On the other hand, ineffective communication in housing industry may result in huge losses in the housing projects as it can lead to low employee morale, increased conflicts within the organization, and consequently lower productivity. References Griffin, R. 2011. Management. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. May, S. & Mumby, D. 2005. Engaging Organizational Communication Theory and Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Mullins, L. 2007. Management and organizational behavior. Edinburgh: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Paton, S., 2013. Management: An introduction. London: Pearson Education. Pietroforte, R. 2002, Communication and Information in the Building Delivery Process, PhD Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Sheffield Housing Company (2014). Management of Sheffield Housing Company. Available at Read More