Communication as the Key to an Organizational Success - Essay Example

ISSUES IN ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION {Insert University name} {FaisalAlmutairi} {Insert Student’s name} October 11, 2012. ISSUES IN ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION INTRODUCTION Communication is the key to an organizational success. As noted by Besant (2011, p. 210), Communication is vital to interpersonal activities; it aligns employees’ activity within the organization. Communication is the manner of transmitting meaning from one person to another, from formal organization to the individual employee. This process gives complete understanding of a working environment thus, hopefully, a sound working environment for the employees and stakeholders. Therefore, an analysis of its communication is the only surest way of gaining fuller understanding of the functionality of every organization. Zhao and Huan (2008, p. 33) hold that this is the primary determinism of how members of the organization should behave in an organization if they are to advance in their career. Equally, communication is essential in the formation of individual employees’ roles and expectations. Theorist Robinson (2006, p 400) refers to this as role. The Defined roles are experienced by an employee or a department within the organization if the information needed is missing, inadequate or irrelevant. Communication has the potential for leading the organization to success. It is also a sufficient means of leading an organization to failure if it be inaccurate, inadequate or inconsistent with the organization’s objectives. Indeed, organizations have understood the importance of fostering communication and in almost all the management teams in any organization, there is a common agreement that with effective communication, success is guaranteed. This paper examines issues in organisation with a case study of Dell Inc. Elements such as organisational communication, culture, control, power, coercive control, co-operation versus competitive individualism, and thematic and metaphor analysis are used to understand communication within Dell. 2.0 THE ORGANIZATION Dell Inc. is an International technological company and its headquarter is in Texas, America. It was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell while he was still a student (Www.dell. Com). The company develops, sells and support computers and it produced its first computer: the Turbo in the same year. Dell Inc. also produces a range of electronic products. They include; cameras, printers, mp3 players, phones, I-pads and other related products. The company has over 20,000 employees, both skilled and unskilled and they take roles outlined in the numerous departments within Dell Inc. as indicated by Daniel, Spiker and Papa (2009, 311), this is a population that requires a structured chain of leadership that is sufficient to give direction to the day to day running of the organization. The organizational structure of Dell has three hierarchies. The CEO is top officer. He/she is nominally the controller and the manager of all aspects of the company. However, Zhao and Huan (2008, p. 30) have revealed that the CEO is not the overall decision maker of the company. With so many employees to oversee, the CEO is assisted by managers of department in supervision and implementation of fundamental directives. Managers fall in the second order of authority in the organization. The middle hierarchy is sub-divided into more specialized departments with the respective main departments charged with the responsibility of supervising them. The workers in the lower ladder are executors of the decisions of their seniors, but they do not participate in decision making. Dell’s structure is not designed to meet the diversity of its geographical multiplicity, but rather, it is functional in nature. The departments are sub-divided to meet every need of the company (Www.dell. Com). 3.0 ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION Thurow (2011, p. 97), studied Dell Inc.’s organizational structure and established that Dell has a very clear structure. It only has three levels of command. This allows for communication that is faster, direct and more accurate than organizations with long chains of command. The flexibility and distribution of authority gives no particular one person dominance over the organization. Even the CEO who is appointed consults with the chairman who also cannot make entirely dictatorial decisions. Contrad and Pool (2010, p. 231) have investigated the span of control in Dell Inc and they have found that there is a narrow span of control within this organization. The departments are compartmentalized into more specific and specialized units. This enables every manager to have few employees to work with, thus, limiting chores within the organization. Thus as explained by Besant and Webber (2011, p. 50) communication is more efficient, easy and direct in Dell Inc since every departmental head has specific roles in which he/she is highly specialized. The adoption of specialization in sub-departments further enhances the smooth flow of information in departments hence limiting confusion in the organization. This enhances efficiency and accuracy in operations. The authority is fairly distributed throughout the organization thus diluting the notion of superiority and dominance in the ranks. The decentralized structure enables the distributive flow of information. Generally, this structure is inclusive: It makes everybody in the chain of command feel part of decision making hence part of the information passed on. This boosts employees’ working morale. They profoundly feel motivated and involved. Robins and DeConzo (2009, p. 501) have also established that when the flow of information is decentralized like In Dell Inc. the flow of information is vertical, which brings in more consultation and efficiency. 4.0 ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE Guba (2008, p. 109) has found that Dell Inc. is rooted in virtuous norms that act as the driving force behind their endeavors. That is, to deliver technological solutions that is geared towards improving human. In so doing, the company focuses at attaining substance and growth with clarity. The company focuses on three core values: I. Delivering results that make a positive difference: mindful of their customers’ need to live a better and more efficient life, they are working to deliver their best. II. They are leading with openness and optimism: the company sees value in everybody. They do not disregard or condescend any information. They listen carefully and take action to deliver solutions. III. They win with integrity: their operations are legal and ethical. The company contributes its time, resources, technology and know-how to improve communities. They collaborate with other charitable organizations to aid in alleviating other peoples’ sufferings. The expansion of their business is designed to focus making other peoples’ lives and the society they operate in better. Guba (2008, p. 111) indicated that an organization with this kind of structure is committed to win fairly. Thus, Dell Inc. having incorporated the above core values are seen as committed to integrity and reputability. Their employees uphold a culture of positive, supportive and meaningful relationship with their customers and the rest of the stakeholders. In their marketing culture, they put models that adopt according to the rate of change of technology and customer preference in changing times. The company embraces collaboration and partnership with other companies to deliver more efficient products that meet the demands of the market. 5.0 THE ORGANIZATIONAL CONTROL The organizational control enables the management team to make key decisions which eventually take precedence. For instance, the management team deemed it fit to change from the long outstanding system of leadership to a functional team. It was found out that for that change to be workable and for it to increase the efficiency of work, departments had to be created to ensure that every employee is given a role within the functional team (Zhao and Huan, p. 200). Nevertheless, the managers and people in relevant key positions still take the lead and are directly answerable to the daily running of the company. Thus, as pointed out by Contrad and Pool (2010, p. 291), the functional system and distributive mode of leadership does not exempt managers from overseeing the running of their departments (Www.dell. Com). 6.0 ORGANIZATIONAL POWER The company is designed into smaller unitary departments which are easy to handle. Each sub-department has a manager in-charge thus making it easy to supervise and manage. Specialized departments ease the operations of the organization and thus Dell Corporation is a successful organization with three levels of operation, that is, the technical, management and community (Daniel, Spiker and Papa, 2009, p. 346). Given that technology is the focus of the organization, the nature of the task the technical level performs is vital to the Corporation. It is concerned with definite operations and distinct responsibilities, with the actual job or tasks to be done, and with performance of the technical function. Within Dell Corporation’s technical level is the actual production of goods: computer technologies first but also accessories for these types of products are the next substantial market in the electronics industry. Along with accessories, the demand for “smart” appliances for the home and office will also grow. More and more consumers will want their everyday appliances to be Internet-ready and able to think for themselves. These areas are where PC and notebooks can find and exploit opportunities (Robins, 2011, p. 36). The organization level as well as the community ensures smooth running of the company. 7.0 COERCIVE CONTROL Coercive control is forcing information and/or forcing people to do something or comply through threats and intimidation. Dell does not employ this method to compel its employees to work or comply. This is almost impossible because the task group contributes and participates in making the decisions which ensures that the final products are achieved (Besant and Webber 2011, p. 54). 8.0 CO-OPERATION VERSUS COMPETING INDIVIDUALS In Dell’s organizational culture, competitive individualism does not exist. People work in coordination and harmony within teams. Success of an individual or a department is celebrated by all. The employees in departments strive to work together to accomplish the tasks given to them in good time so as to avoid working extra hours since working extra hours results in low cumulative output. The culture of competency, accuracy and time management enable them to co-operate since the mentioned cannot be achieved individually (Zhuan and Huan 2008, p. 102). At the administrative level, Dell Corporation is concerned with the co-ordination and integration of work at the technical level. Resolutions at the administrative level relate to the capital necessary for performance of the technical function, and to the beneficiaries of the products or services provided. The administrative level is concerned with those activities involved in the recruitment of professional staff, training, and development within the organization and infrastructure, namely the systems of technology planning, finance and quality control. These are crucially relevant to an organization’s strategic capability in all primary activities. Decision-making is concerned with arbitrating between the organization and its external environment, such as the users of its products or services, and the procurement of resources; and the ‘administration’ of the internal affairs of the organization including the control of the operations of the technical function. 9.0 THEMATIC AND METAPHOR ANALYSIS Dell employs a variety of language use. There is an underlying recognition of the importance of formal registers of communication. The formal register emanates from a culture of primary origin. In essence, many employees within the organization resort to formal language. This system is extremely unfavorable for social interactions within the organization (Www.dell. Com). According to Thurow (2011, p. 88), the type of discourse used within an organization immensely influences the culture. In fact, culture and language registers are mutually exclusive. Advertising discourse portrays a relation between metaphors and metonyms in multimodal contexts. In advertisement and relay of information in regards to the company, the corporation insightfully ensures that all details of the organization are relevantly made available to the employees. The information about the company is made available in audio, visual and in print media. Dell cooperation outperforms its competitors (Daniel, Spiker and Papa 2009, p. 411). Dell has talented and well educated employees but, it does not have a superior business model (Robinson 2011, p. 39). Michael Dell affirmed in an interview that strong culture which is maintained within the company made them succeed. Brain and Company research found out that nearly 70% of business leaders agree: Culture provide the greatest source of competitive advantage. This culture has held the company together as it expands globally. Their strong culture marked by high level of integrity has made people to want to associate with them, hence leading to a large customer base. This culture has inspired loyalty in employees and makes them give their best to the organization. The company constantly motivates and inspires workers. The company aims high, so the employees adapt to that spirit of high achievement. This makes the employees embrace progress and dissatisfaction with the status quo. The strong culture in Dell Inc. has bounded people across the hierarchy (Www.dell. Com). Their belief fair treatment of people has consistently made them make positive decisions and advance their operations. Strong cultures make employees think and act like their bosses, enabling them to take responsibility for overall business performance. People in winning cultures are team players who display high levels of passion and commitment, which usually includes hard work (Guba 2008, p. 105). The success of an organization is greatly dependent on a number of factors, these factors cannot exist independently. Communication forms the key and the greatest ingredient of organizational success. As practiced in Dell cooperation, the levels of information flow should be as compact as possible to enhance direct relay of information (Www.dell. Com). The fact that there are relatively few chains of command enhances easy flow of information. It also enables easy decision making which virtually everybody in the organization feels part of. Well defined culture in an organization aids in the formation of a desirable working environment. It is the culture in the organization that is responsible for the reputation of the organization. An organization’s reputation determines who the people are who associate with the organization thus creating an atmosphere of good sales. Such an environment would also help to retain good employees and attract better workers. Defined departmental roles minimize confusion and minor disagreements in the organization. Focusing on specialization increases the affectivity and efficacy of the general outcome of the organization. Good working conditions, created by inspiring bosses, have high potency of organizational success. Inter and intrapersonal skills within the working environment also determine the organization’s success. Individualism and unhealthy rivalry and competition only cripple the outputs. Organizational structure also determines the functionality of its programs as established by Contrad and Pool (2010, p. 201). Organizations with rigid and long chains of command tend to be ineffective in execution of duties, but companies like Dell with small chains of commands are very effective and efficient. Decision making in this organization should also be consultative hence making everyone feel involved and part of the organization’s resolutions. Though there is a system of governance and management which is hierarchical, there is no single person who makes sole decisions, imposing them on others. In conclusion, in Dell Corporation, every level is vital and important in the success of its operation. Their focus of bettering human life by getting involved in charitable activities give the organization an advantage over other organizations. Focusing on the challenges that face the world with the intention of offering solution is the essence of an effective organization. Dell Inc. is committed to meet customers’ needs and demands. The company also seeks to improve peoples live at every opportune time. REFERENCES Besant, J. (2011). The Command of communication: American Journal of Technology, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 207-226. Besant, J. and Webber, R. (2011). The art of communication. The study of organizational structures, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 43-57. Robbins, S. P. (2011). Organizational behavior. Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. Robbins, SP and DeCenzo, D. A. (2009)., Fundamentals of management: Essential concepts and applications, 4th edn., Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. Contrad, C. and Pool, M. (2010)., Strategic Organisation communication: In a global economy., Belmont, (CA): Thomson Wadsworth. Daniels, T.D., Spiker, B. K. and Papa, M. J. (2009)., Perspective on organisation communication, 4th edn., Boston: McGraw Hill. Retrieved from http://www.dell.com/ on October 3, 2012. Guba, E. (2008)., Naturalistic Inquairy. Belmont, CA: Sage Publications. Thurow (2011)., Virtual organizations: The creation of value networks. University of Sydeny, NSW Zhao and Huan (2008)., Match analysis of Dell's organizational structure and strategy., Logistics Sci-Tech. Www.dell. Com dell company profile. Retrieved from http://www.dell.com/ on October 17, 2012. Read More