Contemporary Communication - Essay Example

Contemporary Communication: Lessons from the Past and Future Considerations The importance of communication in career advancement and organizational success cannot be overstated. This however is a fact that needs to be appreciated amid ceaseless change as we are currently in an age of Communication Revolution characterized by technological innovations that concurrently makes communication better and challenging. Business organizations operating in this environment have to contend with the dizzying pace of the Communication Revolution that renders what today is hi-tech outdated tomorrow. The commonly pondered question thus is how communication can be undertaken effectively presently while at the same time keeping up with the pace of change into the future. It is important to balance the time-tested traditional communication values and the emerging technologies so as to achieve the desired organizational communication effectiveness which is imperative for organizational success. Basing on Bell and Smith’s Management Communication, this study explores the shared communication values for the present and the future, the communication revolution and its challenges, communication theory, the communication patterns within organizations and the barriers, after which all the lessons learnt are used to generate a practical conclusion for effective communications architecture. Timeless Communication Values There are several basic considerations that remain valuable in communication whether it is for the present or the future, classifiable as writing, speech and listening. In all of these, the basic concept is that there needs to be a balance between the intention (sender’s perspective) and the perception from the recipients. Tone, word choice and length of communication are the important considerations for written communication regardless of era. In terms of tone, communication is inevitably accompanied by a context of personality which may evoke either positive or negative response from the audience. The choice of words is another important aspect of written business communication, where simplicity and clarity is primary over use of unnecessary vocabulary. Unnecessarily long messages translate to more work and more time from the recipients and thus may be disregarded (Bell and Smith 6). Oral communicational considerations include pronunciation, enunciation, vocal varieties, gestures and eye contact which have been widely stressed over the years. As communication technologies continue to change, it is imperative that individuals adapt these values to the new medium, for example eyes, hands and facial expressions techniques for video-conferencing, streaming internet, video-taping and other emerging technologies. It is also important to plan for effective telephone communication since it remains central to organizational operations, hence the voice, manner and strategy for phone calls should be considered (7). Active listening skills are also timeless for effective communication whichever medium or technology is used, and is even more important as the daily listening requirements become astronomical. This calls for attentive and intelligent listening in terms of obtaining the gist of communication or lack of it, discovering what is not said or what is overstated and overcoming barriers that hinder reception of the message being communicated, whether such barriers are form the speaker, environmental or personal (7-9). The Communication Revolution: Challenges and Mechanisms for Adaptation From the humble beginnings of improvement of business document looks to use of email and facsimile technologies, high quality graphics and visual aids, full motion audio-visual technologies to the current use of wizards and the emerging automated speech recognition computing, the computer and internet have entirely revolutionized communication. It is also not clearly discernible where the revolution is headed, although social utility networking, natural language processing and virtual reality seem to be receiving a lot of attention from majority of the stakeholders (8-12). The Communication Revolution that has just been described is accompanied by a number of challenges besides the obvious benefits it has brought to business organizations. Individuals now have to contend with more words, more information and more ready-made messages. Regarding the first two, communication management now has to ensure the numerous words and data circulating daily is transformed to information for use in making decisions. Whereas templates may be appropriate in some business operations, one has to consider the need for suitability according to the intended audience, purpose of communication and circumstance. Suggestions that may help overcome challenges of more words, information and templates include grabbing attentional early, concise communication, proper and captivating formats, use of the right tone and efficient and natural communication. Another challenge that has accompanied the revolution is the need to plan for ceaseless change, where it is observed that communication technologies are changing in rates not experienced before. Identifying and streamlining the timeless communication values and commitment to life-long learning are two strategies that may keep an individual in a position to manage operations in the Communication Revolution. Communication Theory The context of the Communication Revolution and studies into communication within organizations can be explored better with knowledge on what research has established about communication. In doing this, a lot of insight can be gained on most of the observations and challenges that accompany organizational communication. Hence, a look into the theoretical knowledge on communication is important for the purpose of communication planning. One of the important aspects of existing knowledge on communication is the capacity of words to describe human experiences. On this, it is observed that different cultures have words describing things in their environment-words which may be lacking in other cultures due absence of the things being described. This means that humans create words to describe their experiences. Words may have different meanings to different individuals hence communicators should especially be aware of connotations which may bring out unintended meanings. Studies into lack of understanding reveal that it is usually due to a breakdown at one point in the communication process which usually flows from the information source, the signal, transmittal, channel and destination. It has also been shown that feedback is perhaps the best way to understand why understanding is not achieved in communication. Feedback is also important in establishing the needs of the audience during communication and thus improvement of the communication process. Censors act as barriers hindering communication from the sender to the recipient, which alongside filters from the recipients hinder effectiveness of communication. The medium has also been identified as an important component of creation of meaning in the message, as has the impact of technological advancement on communication (18-28). Communication Patterns within an Organization Identifying communication patterns within organizations is crucial in effective management of communication towards achievement of the organizations objectives and overcoming several challenges. All communication within the organization can be categorized as either structured or unstructured. The former involves formal patterns established for communication in the organization and is characteristically documented, more accessible and less subject to change. It includes organizational newsletters, weekly meetings and annual stockholders meetings. Unstructured communication on the other hand is “less fixed as to time and place” (30), and is characterized by personalization and its being more flexible and open-ended in comparison to structured communication. One of the most important unstructured information types is the organization’s grapevine- a potentially destructive line of communication that the manager may utilize for the good of the company. Disregarding the grapevine may be perilous, while wrong involvement may also be counteractive. Therefore, the manager should make time for it and participate in a natural way so as to source information and exert necessary influence. Communication patterns within the organization can be categorized basing on the number of individuals involved and the flow of communication; upward, downward or lateral. Issues of discretion, confidence and trust usually characterize lateral patterns of communication. Other considerations include feedback and communication contact throughout the organization or lack of it. Basing on these aspects, classifications of patterns include the triangle, broken triangle, pyramid, series, circle, hubs and spokes, legs and crossfire. Importantly, the legs pattern features different responsibilities for communication while the crossfire is the direct opposite where all individuals can communicate directly across the board. A manager can use different patterns of communication according to different settings as appropriate to enhance the effectiveness of communication (31-33). All the communication patterns discussed can also be classified as upward, downward or lateral, each with its pros and cons that the manager should consider in selecting one over the other. Although upward communication allows the top leadership to keep abreast with organizational challenges and grants lower-level employees a chance to contribute to decision-making, it can potentially worsen the time constraints of top management and bring to their attention trivial organizational issues or petty decision-making. The main advantage of downward communication in the organization is its capacity to elicit team spirit. It however may be seen as a command structure resulting in barriers due to resent of the perceived orders from higher-level managers. Lateral communication is accompanied by development of strong social bonds among employees and credibility of communication. However, it may serve as a recipe for mutinous groups strengthened by shared communication, and it may also be used to isolate certain individuals or sections of employees in the organization (33-34). Barriers to Effective Communication in an Organization It is observed that although organizations may get many aspects of their communication needs perfectly, but still suffer ineffective communication. This is usually due to a number of communication barriers whose determination and solution is a prerequisite to establishment of effective organizational communication architecture. Physical barriers to communication involve time constraints on both parties, problems with the physical medium being used to deliver the message and the physical environment in which the participants operate in (for instance heat, cold, and noise). Experiential barriers also exist, explained as unresponsiveness or inattention to communication due to perceived knowledge of what is being communicated. Cultural barriers within organizations may also impact communication. Perceptual barriers result in the audience filtering out information and gaining different meanings than the ones intended. Motivational barriers involve mental inertia in which the audience resists being drawn into communication. Emotional barriers may also take away from the intended message and are usually determined by the aspects of the communication itself. Communication also needs to follow the organization’s timelines so as not to be inhibited by organizational barriers. Linguistic barriers mostly due to chosen diction and vocabulary may also disorient the audience. Nonverbal barriers concern the gestures, posture and eye contact among other non-verbal determinants which may communicate other perceptions to the audience concerning the message being communicated, for example insecurity and embarrassment. Lastly, the communication being done may be in competition with other exciting activities and thus distract the audience, hence competition barriers (35-37). Developing Effective Communication Architecture After a discussion of timeless values of communication, communication in the context of the ongoing information age, the patterns of communication within an organization and communication barriers, the stage is now set for exploring development of communication architectures within organizations. Such architectures are usually underlying frameworks that can be discerned in successful communication systems. One of the components of effective corporate communication plans is their focus on being needs-based. In this, one has to consider the parties that need to communicate in the organization and the reasons for this, before determining the barriers between them and how to overcome these. The channel being used for communication should also have sufficient bandwidth; the quality and quantity of communication that the channels available can carry. Scalability and convertibility is also an important aspect of communication planning especially in times of crises where channels may need to be expanded. Communication architecture also ought to incorporate sensing mechanisms within its processes to detect problems. Sensing can be achieved through use of formal questionnaires, liaison individuals and informal strategies among other avenues. Finally, communication systems need to incorporate monitoring and maintenance systems within them to ensure that communication among the levels of employees is effective. Such monitoring and maintenance should be left to skilled communicators to ensure the communication systems remains effective and growth plans are practical and successful (38-39). Conclusion Communication has always been central to individual and organizational success, a fact brought closer home especially with the current Communication Revolution. Studying the revolution reveals that maintaining the basic values of communication and adapting to changes is the key to enjoying the superiority that accompanies technological advancement in communication. Planning for effective communication involves studying the different communication patterns in existence in organizations and the barriers that occur in such systems. The entire discussion then helps establish the considerations for effective communication architecture, where it is appreciated that communication planning should be needs based, have sufficient bandwidth and be scalable, besides having sensing and monitoring mechanisms. Works Cited Bell, Arthur H and Smith, Dayle M. Management Communication. USA, John Wiley and Sons, 2009. Print. Read More