Why Communication Has Turned Out to Be Crucial in Companies - Case Study Example

Report Name: University: Date: Table of Contents Report 1 Table of Contents 2 Abstract 3 Introduction and Background 4 Case Analysis 5 Alternative Perspectives 7 Conclusion and Recommendation 8 References 10 Abstract The significance of internal communication in realising organizational success cannot be overstated. The credibility of the leader is considerably crucial in the organisation’s communication and leadership process since leaders are considered broadly as a crucial information basis for employees. It is not possible to have good human relations without communication. Besides that, effective communication is needed not just for human relations but as well for successful and good business. Practically, organisations must have communication so as to succeed. In contemporary organisations, managers are spending most of their time communicating in different forms such as emails, letters, face-to–face discussion, meeting and so forth. Furthermore, employees are progressively realizing that communication is a crucial part of their day-to-day work because the majority of work-related activities are rooted in teamwork amongst employees in diverse functional groups. It is for this reason why communication has turned out to be crucial in companies, especially in joint ventures. In view of this, the report explains the background of the joint venture case offering a case analysis as well as alternative perspectives that could have been applied. Introduction and Background Organizational leadership according to Men (2015) is a type of organisational influence that offers a crucial context of the organisation for internal communication practice that is effective. Leadership, on one hand, impacts the organizational infrastructures like the development of organizational structure, culture, as well as communication climate. Leaders who are considered as employees’ information sources, on the other hand, play a crucial part in cascading communications to low-level workers and in communicating worker complaints to top management. With regard to the case, a new joint venture between companies from South America, Japan, and the United States was created. For this reason, a steering task force was created with the purpose of designing a new product line for the newly formed joint venture with José being appointed as the chair of the task force. The new joint venture company was to focus on making, selling as well as servicing pet caskets, mostly for cats and dogs. The task force had representatives from three companies, and all members were selected based on their expertise in different fields. In the first task force meeting, the market for pet caskets was reviewed by José, emphasising that the task force role was developing the new product’s initial design parameters so as to meet growing demand across the globe. After opening the meeting for suggestions as well as comments; Mariana Preus, a representative of South American company, suggested that the existing production designs in Argentina plant were top-class designs that utilised the latest processing technology; therefore, there was no need of entirely designing a new product line. Noto Takeshi a representative from Japanese company concurred with Mariana and advised the committee to recommend the existing designs since they were adequately top-class. Although José maintained that the goal of the joint venture was to entirely change the product as well as its manufacture based on industry data and solid evidence and that the current designs had been overruled because they are expensive to manufacture, the taskforce members still maintained that the existing designs were suitable. They all concurred that the existing designs are suitable to perform the needed job and asked José to communicate to the council of presidents recommending utilisation of the existing designs. Case Analysis Basically in a more dynamic as well as complex task, a leader is required since they are expected to maintain a strategic focus on supporting the vision of the organisation, expedite the setting of organisational goals, educate, as well as assess achievements (Sohmen, 2013). For a task to be completed successfully, there must be effective leadership and communication. Communication according to Mickan and Rodger (2000) involves a discernible exchange of information as well as subtle interactions of values, attitudes and power. For a taskforce to be effective, it must have reliable processes of communication with responsibilities that are clearly defined. Importantly, individuals must regularly listen to one another and work together so as to generate a mutual knowledge that improves communication. The processes of a team are crucial for team performance, and normally mediate exogenous variables influences. Zaccaroa, Rittmana, and Marks (2001) posit that the majority of leadership theories mentioning team processes consider them as moderators pointing out leadership behaviours, and to certain circumstances they are most effective or appropriate. Considering that José was the chair of a steering taskforce tasked with designing a new product line for the new joint venture company, he lacked the authoritative figure to communicate the council of presidents’ vision to the members, rather he allowed Mariana to dictate the way forward. Mariana insisted that the existing designs of pet caskets are satisfactory for doing the needed job; thus, convincing other to deviate from the vision of the new joint venture company. José exhibits democratic style of leadership, which is a collegial and very open style of team leadership. As evidenced in the case, José allowed Ideas to move freely amongst members of the committee and discussion was somewhat free-flowing. Basically, democrat leaders occasionally build a setting wherein members anticipate that their idea will be implemented (Choi, 2007). The principles of democratic leadership approach exhibited by José include; deliberation, self-determination, equal participation and inclusiveness. In this case, José should have taken an organized approach by implementing a well-thought-out plan before communicating it to the taskforce members. Bearing in mind that the existing designs had been rejected by the council of presidents, José failed to communicate effectively to the committee that their purpose was to design a new product and not to offer recommendations. Traditionally, leaders exhausted most of their time communicating through different forms such as, memos, face-to-face discussions, meetings, reports, and so forth However, nowadays employees are progressively establishing that communication is an important aspect of their daily work, particularly now production and research processes emphasise greater teamwork as well as collaboration amongst employees in diverse functional groups. Still, the changing technologies of communication have led to the transformation of both organizational and work structure; thus, technologies as well as communication practices, have turned out to be critical in every organization (Heerwagen, 2010). In a company, the upward flow of communication is aimed at providing channels for information the feedback up the organisational hierarchy (Lunenburg, 2010). José was recommended to write a memo to the council of presidents, but being an upward communication he is worried that he failed to communicate the vision of the joint venture company to the committee members as required. Still, there are various forms of information that José can communicate upward to the council of the presidents: the problems and exceptions provided by the members of the committee so as to make the presidents aware of the issues deliberated and challenges that stemmed from the taskforce meeting. Given that the taskforce offered suggestions of using the existing designs, José the ideas should be communicated effectively as suggested by the members without fear. According to Aswathappa (2005, p. 430), the majority of employees are worried that expressing their true feelings concerning the company to their boss is dangerous. Besides that, there is a fairly widespread conviction that disagreeing with the top leaders can result in demotion and that top management are less interested in issues affecting the employees. Many organizations experience the cultural differences when communicating through the existing channels (Shachaf, 2008). In companies operating globally with diversified labour force, cultural differences can create enormous challenges. In this case, for José to communicate effectively to the presidents he must first understand the existing cultural differences and be able to translate messages by means of the upward communication channel to the council of the presidents. Alternative Perspectives Even though joint decision making as well as interchanges (either formal or informal), can improve communication, the steering taskforce initial meeting should have had a clear agenda that could have enabled José to clearly communicate the vision of the new joint venture company to the committee members. It is imperative to know that effective team performance stems from a number of fundamental attributes; first, the committee members should fruitfully integrate their personal actions. Each member should have a unique and specific role, where each role performance contributes to taskforce collective success. This connotes that the inability of the taskforce to design a new product line was not only contributed by José inability to assert authority and communicate the vision, but as well in the taskforce collective failure to synchronize as well as coordinate their individual contributions. Joe should have utilised an autocratic approach to leadership so as to be able to mobilize the members of the committee towards the vision.  As pointed out by Lebitso (2014, p. 97), this style of leadership is suitable when a new vision is desired, or when the vision path is unclear. The taskforce needed autocratic approach to leadership because the committee members, especially Mariana are drifting aimlessly.  Besides that, tasks such as designing a new product line are normally very hard, and therefore, Jose as the leader of the committee should have prepared himself by researching so as to develop a foundational knowledge that he could have shared with the members of the taskforce. Conclusion and Recommendation In conclusion, the report has explained the background of the joint venture case offering a case analysis as well as alternative perspectives that could have been applied. Basically, in the organizational context, group behaviour and groupthink are crucial aspects since they determine the coherence as well as the cohesiveness of the organizational communication and organizational culture. Therefore, group behaviour should have been indoctrinated in the taskforce so that the members could have conformed to the rules and regulations governing the new joint venture company. Evidently, all organisational processes are rooted in the behaviour of people as well as communication amongst them. Without a doubt, Jose as the taskforce leader lacked the ability to influence other committee members to succeed. Jose should have used autocratic approach to leadership so as to ensure the vision of the joint venture is communicated effectively, and the goal of the taskforce is realised. As mentioned in the report, communication is crucial, not just in ensuring the taskforce cohesion, functionality and progress, but as well for effective leadership. Jose should have ensured that all members understand the purpose of the steering taskforce and what was expected of them before allowing the members to deliberate and offer suggestions. Imperatively, he should not have allowed Mariana and Takeshi to dictate the way forward, rather he should have communicated the objectives and expectations of the committee concisely, clearly, and correctly. References Aswathappa, K. (2005). Human Resource And Personnel Management. Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Choi, S. (2007). Democratic Leadership: The Lessons of Exemplary Models for Democratic Governance. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 2(3), 243-262. Heerwagen, J. (2010, December 15). The Changing Nature of Organizations, Work, and Workplace. Retrieved from The Whole Building Design Guide: https://www.wbdg.org/resources/chngorgwork.php Lebitso, M. C. (2014). Corporate Lessons: Managing effective organisations. Stellenbosch: AFRICAN SUN MeDIA. Lunenburg, F. C. (2010). Formal Communication Channels: Upward, Downward, Horizontal, and External. Focus On Colleges, Universities, and Schools, 4(1), 1-7. Men, L. R. (2015). The Role of Ethical Leadership in Internal Communication: Influences on Communication Symmetry, Leader Credibility, and Employee Engagement. Public Relations Journal, 9(1). Mickan, S., & Rodger, S. (2000). Characteristics of effective teams: a literature review. Australian Health Review, 23(3), 201-208. Shachaf, P. (2008). Cultural diversity and information and communication technology impacts on global virtual teams: an exploratory study. Information and Management, 2, 131‐142. Sohmen, D. V. (2013). Leadership and Teamwork: Two Sides of the Same Coin. Journal of IT and Economic Development, 4(2), 1-18. Zaccaroa, S. J., Rittmana, A. L., & Marks, M. A. (2001). Team leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 12, 451–483. Read More