Communication in Corporate organisations
Communication
• Workplace communication (Bhatia and
Bremner-eds, 2014)
• Business communication (Mullins, 2010;
i. How people communicate within their own
business organisations
ii.How business people communicate with others
outside own organisations, in or not in in
business (Nickerson, 2014):
Conception of Communication
• Functionally, (like in the management of) corporate
organizations), it is a flow of information from one
person to another (Axler, 1984).
• A way in which people interactively create, sustain
and manage meanings (Conrad and Poole, 1998).
• The aim of communication is to share meaning(s)
and response(s).
• At its complicated level, communication is both “a
process” and “an outcome”
• As a process, Communication entails several components;
• The source of the info (sender/encorder) who
communicates the thought/idea.
• On the other end of the spectrum there is a receiver
(decoder) (Shannon & Weaver, 1949)
At some comprehensive levels (Hellen, 2004);
• The context of communication
• Piece of info/message
• The necessity for the media/medium
• Feedback
As an outcome, it ensures shared ideas/meaning. When this
is not/ineffectively achieved, then there is a
communication gap.
Introduction to Comm skills
Successful communication in organizations may
be a complicated matter, requiring at least several
competencies, which include;
•Linguistic competence; i.e. grammatical rules to
produce and comprehend language structures, e.g.
sentences:
Includes the technical and formulaic expressions
about the field
•Socio-linguistics competence; knowledge and
skills required to deal with the social dimension of
language use; formality, non verbal behaviors,
cultural references (diversity)
• Strategic Competence: Processing,
production/reception of messages or information to
accomplish functional communicative functions/roles
Timing, accuracy, right media, approach to communicate ,
techniques to get people informed to accomplish goals
• Discourse competence:
Is how people communicate using talk or writing in
commercial organizations in order to get their work done.
This requires a connectedness and cohesiveness of
communication
*Communication is a linking process of management;
it is the way managers/administrators conduct the
managerial functions of planning, organizing, staffing,
directing, and controlling
*It is the primary means by which people obtain and
share information; decisions are often dependent upon
the quality and quantity of the information shared
*Communication (info) vs. empowerment in an
organization. An employee cannot do anything
constructive in a work unit unless he or she is informed
of what, when, how and who to accomplish a particular
task
Types of Communication
Verbal vs. Non-Verbal
Verbal communication takes place through oral
(face to face or electronic conversation) or textual
(written) words, such as letters, memos, mails etc.
Non-verbal communication; involves the use of
wordless (mostly visual) cues. These include
Proxemics (physical environments or distance
between interacting individuals
Haptics (touch)
Paralanguage; oral para-languages (voice quality,
rate, pitch, speaking styles etc.) and textual
paralanguages (e.g. writing style, spatial
arrangement of words or physical page layout)
Formal and informal Comm…ref word notes
Organisation chart
Authority structure
Mission statement
Goals and Objectives
Policies and procedures
Job description
Financial resources
Products and services
• Formal Communication
Follows the channels and levels of bureaucratic structures
of organization(s) (cf. Koontz, 2001).
Stipulated by Government Standing Orders of the Public
Service (2009) & Public Service Act (2019)
Informal communication
• It is more the result of the situation than the people or
their roles.
• Under this, rules and hierarchies, as ways of
coordinating activities are eliminated.
• Usually circumstantial, and lacks pre-specification.
• The information is accurate, though often somewhat
incomplete, which may lead to misinterpretation.
Formality in communication (Kraut et al.,2002)
Patterns of communication
• It is shaped mainly by organizational
structure/chart and the leadership style in an
organization (Greenberg and Baron, 2011).
• The organizational structure, which defines the
lines of accountability also define the
communication pattern
• Government Standing Orders of the Public
Service (2009) & Public Service Act (2019)
• Context/circumstances eg. technology
Patterns
Downward communication
•Information flow from higher to lower levels of an
organization, through written or verbal, e.g.
meetings, speeches/presentations announcements
etc. Its purpose may entail
Giving directions on implementation of goals,
strategies, and objectives of an organization
Job instructions and its basis; how to do a specific
task and how the job relates to other activities of the
organization
Defining the organization's policies, rules,
regulations, benefits, and structural arrangements in
order to get some degree of uniformity in
organization practices
Socialization; picnics, retreat, motivation for
commitment and a sense of belonging and
orientation to new roles etc.
• Downward communication provides a channel for
directives, instructions and information to
organizational members
Upward communication
•Feedback for problems and exceptions to routine
performance in order to make the leader aware of
difficulties
•Suggestions for improvements; to increase the
quality or efficiency of organization
•Periodic performance and accounting reports that
inform the leader how members and departments
are performing
•Performance feedback; departmental progress
reports, individual performance appraisals, and
other means are used to tell departments
•Accountability of the staff
Horizontal communication;
Basically for coordination; to tie together activities
within or across departments on organization or
within divisions in a school-wide organizational
system. Horizontal communication falls into one of
three categories (Canary, 2011).
•Intradepartmental problem solving
•Interdepartmental coordination
•Staff advice to line departments
Barriers to effective Business communication
Barriers may exist between the participants of
the communication in an organization.
The failure to communicate due to interference
by factors/hindrances. Barrier are therefore
factors/barriers which may prevent the
information sharing among participants
These may be;
Personal factors, i.e. emotions, stress, fear,
psychological, competence/ skills, willingness
to listen, selfishness etc.
Physical barriers; environment which can prevent
information sharing; distance, noises, breakdown of
communication media, eg. connectivity, radio, power
etc.
Semantic barriers; these are results of the
symbols/words we use to communicate; difficult,
ambiguous words
Cultural barrier; social status of participants
(inferiority); cultural b/ground; language differences;
religion
Information overload (when there is too much to
communicate)
Overcoming communication barriers
• Improving organizational communication climate
• Focus on the topic
• Understand the audience
• Use simple and familiar language
• Elimination of the noise level
• Active listening
• Simple organizational structure (participative)
• Provide feedback
• Trainings
• Proper media selection
