The Managerial Problem - Case Study Example

Managerial Problem: Poor Communication Name Institution Date Table of Contents Abstract 5 Introduction 5 Research problem 6 Research design 7 Literature review 7 Analysis of Results and Data 11 Conclusion 17 References 18 Abstract Communication problems are some of the challenges that face most of the organizations in the world. This problem has the potential of affecting the performance of the organization. The mangers may have poor communication skills and hence conflicts with the employees. The communication problem among the employee is also a major concern for the managers. Poor communication also directly contributes the lack of understanding among the team members within an organization. The human resource managers are frequently faced with challenges arising from the communication process. The paper thus presents a literature review evidence to show the gravity of the matter and how it impacts the management Introduction The managerial problems are common in most business organizations due to the diverse nature of the employees and the management. Communication problems have a potential of damaging the career of a manager as well as impacting negatively on the performance of the organization (Leonard et.al, 2004). The communication problems should therefore be clearly understood by the managers for the purpose of avoiding conflicts and poor performance within an organization. Poor people skills and communication is one of the greatest managerial problems that face most of the business organizations globally due to the failure by the managers to understand personal problem facing the employees (Bovee, 2008). This results to misunderstandings between the managers and the employees. It becomes quite difficult for a simple problem to be solved within an organization. Managers may be too demanding without understanding the reasons why the employees perform poorly. This often results to employees being subjected to various actions which end up frustrating them even further and hence resulting to poor performance. The paper is a research based on the communication problem that is one of the greatest managerial problems in organizations. Research objectives To determine the factors leading to communication problems. To establish the relationship between communication problems and organizational performance. Research problem Do communication problems have any relationship with the performance of the employees? How does communication problem affect the performance of an organization? How does the leadership of an organization influence the communication process? How does communication problem affect the relationship of the employees? Research design The paper will involve the analysis of the situation based on the past research. However, for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy of the results, only the trusted sources of literature will be used. This includes articles from reviewed journals which offer quality information as to why poor communication is considered to a great managerial problem in most of the organizations in the world today. Literature review Communication and performance The communication process and the format of communication in most of the organizations contribute to the communication problems. The communication problem therefore, affects the management of an organization directly (Clampitt, 2009). In most organizations globally, the upward communication is quite problematic because of the relationship between the managers and the employees. Some managers are excessively strict and do not like associating freely with the employees. It is for this reason that communication becomes a problem with an organization. In some of the instances, the managers do not like being told that they are wrong for fear of being mortified. It thus becomes a problem within an organization to communicate with the managers. In some instances, the managers may not want to admit that their subordinates are right. This leads to poor performance within the organization as the wrong decisions are continually implemented. Communication among the employees themselves is poor in most organizations globally. An employee may feel undermined if they are corrected by their colleague regarding a poor business decision. The downward communication process used by most organizations directly contributes to the communication problems (Bovee, 2008). Most managers do not like being questioned and they expect the subordinates to follow their directives. This affects most business processes as the subordinates tend to fear asking more questions or explanations. This therefore discourages the open feedback within a business organization. The open feedback process is always important in terms of making improvements within an organization. The management of an organization therefore becomes disadvantaged to some extent. It is thus important for an organization to ensure that the process is carried out in a proper manner. The subordinates should be given the chance to question some of the directives that directly affects the business operations. Communication process within an organization is also worsened when the managers are not aware of which concepts to use. According to Jordan, et al. (2012), failure to understand communication concepts by managers contributes to managerial problems faced by most organizations globally. This applies to employees too. The upward, downward and line communication is thus important for an organization. Disagreements among employees and the management are also known to be the most common causes of communication problems within an organization (Guffey, 2010). The disagreements over the business decisions are mainly attributed to the difference in personality among the workforce. This has a huge impact on the operations of the business organization as the implementation process may be affected. They directly affect the communication process as it discourages the teamwork within an organization. The managers may be unwilling to work with some of the supervisors or employees due to constant divergence in opinions. The productive time is wasted by the organization during the wrangles. Implementation of business processes may be slowed, causing managerial problems in the organization. It is however, important to note that not everyone is perfect for the managerial duties. Some of the mangers are not perfect at all and hence contributing to the communication problem within an organization. These types of managers are the ones responsible for poor communication as they always believe that they are right. Wrong decisions have always been made due to the lack of sensitivity by the managers. This is an indication that the managerial problem requires a lot of understanding for the purpose of solving it (Guffey, 2010). Communication of individuals within an organization is directly related to the personal skills. The communication problem is important for the managers as it is always important to understand the problems facing the employees (Clampitt, 2009). Performance of the employees can also be affected by the problems they face in their personal lives. Communication entails understanding the people one has to work with so as to know how to deal with them. Poor communication skills lead to ineffective decisions. This is because some of the managers make decisions without understanding why the employees are not performing well. This is therefore a problem that has to be understood by the managers (Malik et al, 2011). It is important for the management to train the managers on the concepts of communication skills. This is to avoid conflicts with the employees who may be facing personal problems at the work place. The communication process within an organization is usually encouraged by good relationship between the managers and the subordinates. This reduces conflicts and hence streamlining the management processes. The employees will also be confident with the management if their problems are addressed (Hamilton, 2010). Theoretical framework According to the evidence gathered from the literature, the communication problem is caused by factors such as poor relationship among the employees, poor personal relationship and lack of good leadership skills. Conceptual framework The communication problems are directly linked with the performance of the organization. Below is the conceptual framework. Further variables of the study are represented in the model below: Hypothesis H1: Organization Culture affects the communication within an organization. H2: the management affects the communication process and degree of communication within the organization. H3: A relationship exists between communication within the organization and performance of the organization. Analysis of Results and Data Factors that affect organizational communication Communication problem is a managerial problem according to the evidence gathered from the literature review. The communication problem influences the methods used by the managers to communicate with their subordinates. In a research by Jordan et al (2012), out of the 50 employees interviewed 40% of them said that the organizational culture, 20% stated that it was the management while another 20% attributed poor communication to inadequate training on effective communication. 10% were indifferent of the specific factor that affects communication. However all agreed that the decision that management makes depends on the degree of communication and that communication influenced performance of the general organization. Communication in the management Watson surveys revealed that 3 (33%) employees out of the sampled 10 reported that their employers were effective communicators however resisting change. The remaining 67% were ineffectively communicating their resistance to change. 70% of organizations agree that they will employ skilled managers with effective change communication abilities. 30% are indifferent and among them 20% do not give responses. Communication has a great impact on the management of most organizations in the world. Out of the more than 1000, 28% of respondents in the National association of IT professionals study attributed failure of projects to poor communication. 185 attributed project failure to inadequate resources, 13.2% stated unrealistic deadlines as the main cause. In a study carried out by Madhavaram (2012), the feedback process was tested. 18, who are 60% out of the 30 employees sampled agreed that it was an important aspect of communication. 10 employees, 33% of the whole, felt that most their management did not really consider their feedback and as result, they dint see its importance. The rest had no opinion. The feedback process by the employees is therefore important for an organization as it enables the managers to know their needs. Communication and organization culture An organization is likely to suffer resistance from the employees due to the methods of communication used as a result of its culture. Nichols (1992), quoted by Rollinson (2002) conducted a research where 70% indicated controversy in hierarchical communication, 20% had no problem with it while 10% were for both free and hierarchical communication. Statistics indicated 80% only 20% fully understood as delivered reduction in the understanding capacity. there is therefore a high response to the effectiveness of hierarchal communication provided by organizational structure on communication in the organization. Resistance by the employees amounts to the wastage of time and resources and hence poor performance (Hamilton, 2010 : Rollinson & Broadfield, 2002). Diagrammatic representation of Functional Organizational Structure and the flow of communication (Hamilton, 2010) The case study of Slaw, a legal firm indicated 40% fraudulent claims attributed to poor communication to employees (downward communication) for cases against agents of real estate. 60% of cases related to other management and organizational issues. However, less than 50% a 40% indicator is still high. Poor communication in an organization therefore slows down the implementation of crucial business processes. This has a direct impact on the managerial progress as it increases the cost of operations for an organization. Effect of Communication on organizational performance Communication affects the skills of the employees in the organization. According Kumar (2012) research, out of 50% Hyderabad industries employees interviewed, 70% said that incentives influenced their performance, 30% were not influenced by the incentives while 10% were indifferent. Offering incentives is one way of communicating on employee performance by the HR department. The highest number, 32 were influences by the incentives out of the whole number 50. This is evident that communications through incentives will influence employee performance. The Watson study involved communication of organization financial performance indicated 50% and more assurance of profits for communicating companies and only 33% for ineffective communicators. In this, 60 American companies out of 100 reported that they receive such profits. This is evident that effective communication will increases turnover by increasing employee performance as indicated by the response. Watson’s study also indicates 18% increasing numbers of absenteeism for ineffectively communicating organizations. Employees of a company were interviewed and 1/3 (33%) of them were genuine. 2/3 (67%) of them forged excuses for absenteeism, for matters related to poor communication. Out of these, 50% attributed to lack of information. The company’s productivity reduces by 10% for any 5% employee absenteeism. It is therefore true that ineffective communication leads to absenteeism and affects productivity. A study of Sears, a retailer indicated a 5% increase in employee attitude increased customer satisfaction by 1.3% resulting to an increase in company revenue by 0.5% (Rucci, 1998). Poor communication discourages the productiveness of the employees as their personal problems are never considered. This is because it not only affects the relationship with the employees but also the decision making process within an organization (Rollinson & Broadfield, 2002). Recommendations Business organizations need to develop policies regarding communication within the organization. This will solve the problems of interaction between the employees and the managers. It is also important for the employees to understand how to communicate with their managers. This is for the purpose of avoiding unnecessary conflicts during the business operations. Guidelines should be developed for the purpose of enhancing the communication process. It is also important for the business organization to ensure that the managers are well trained to handle the employees. This is for the purpose of ensuring that they know the problems facing the employee and how it affects their performance. A feedback mechanism should also be developed for the purposes of creating a friendly environment for the employees. This will solve the issues that may arise when the employees are not pleased with the decisions being made by the managers. A mechanism that encourages the resolution of disputes within the organization should also be developed. This is for the purpose of ensuring that the conflicts are reduced and settled. The conflict management training is also important for the purpose of promoting the understanding and communication process within the organization. The interaction between the managers and the employees should also be enhanced for the purpose of encouraging the communication process. Conclusion Communication is a managerial problem that affects the operations of a business organization and increases costs of operation. It is evident that some managers do not understand the concepts of communication process. This affects their relationship with the employees as they do not correspond with them effectively. The employees on the other hand may also have poor communication skills which affects the managerial process. It is thus important for the business organizations to ensure that the communication problem is solved through the mechanisms put in place. Both employees and mangers require training on the communication concepts. The ability of the managers to solve the communication problem is therefore important and it may impact positively on the organization. References Bovee, C. (2008). Business communication today. New Delhi: Pearson Education India. Clampitt, P. (2009). Communicating for Managerial Effectiveness: Problems¦ Strategies¦ Solutions. Sage Publications, Incorporated. Guffey, M. (2010). Business communication: Process and product. Southampton: South- Western Pub. Hamilton, C. (2010). Communicating for results: A guide for business and the professions. Covington: Wadsworth Publishing Company. Jordan, S. et al. (2012). Editors' Perceptions of Ethical and Managerial Problems in Political Science Journals. PS: Political Science & Politics, 45(04), 724-727. Kumar S. N. Arjun, 2012. Entrepreneurial Spirit and Motivation in Small Scale Industries: A Study of Mahabubnagar District. AP, India. Madhavaram, S. (2012). Managerial action and resource-advantage theory: conceptual frameworks emanating from a positive theory of competition. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 27(7), 582-591. Malik et al (2011), Organizational Effectiveness: A Case Study of Telecommunication And Banking Sector of Pakistan. Far East Journal of Psychology and Business. Vol. 2 No 1. Pakistan. Rollinson, D with Broadfield, A (2002) Organisational Behaviour and Analysis An Integrated Approach. Second Edition. Prentice Hill. Rucci, A., Kirn, S., & Quinn, R. (1998). "The Employee-Customer Profit Chain at Sears", Harvard Business Review, Vol 76, No 1, pp. 82-98 Leonard, M., Graham, S. & Bonacum, D. (2004). "The Human Factor: The Critical Importance of Effective Teamwork and Communication in Providing Safe Care", Quality and Safety in Health Care, 13, 85-90, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1765783/pdf/v013p00i85.pdf Appendix Interview Questions 1. Why is the communication problem a major concern for the management? 2. What are the major comunicatio problems facing the organization? 3. What are the causes of the communication problem? 4. How does the communication process affect the management? 5. What measures can the management put in place to combat the communication problems? 6. What group within the organization is mostly affected? 7. What is the relationship between the people skills and communication problem? Read More