Communication in organization assignment of o.b
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Communication plays a vital role in organizational behavior. Effective communication that is accurate and supportive can increase morale and productivity, while miscommunication reduces productivity and increases errors. Maintaining clear, consistent communication encourages productive workplace behavior and customer satisfaction. There are various methods of communication, both verbal like oral communication and written like emails, as well as nonverbal cues from body language that impact organizational communication. However, communication can be influenced by barriers like improperly designed reporting structures, unclear performance standards, and misinterpreted messages, so organizations must find ways to improve communication flows and overcome barriers.
Communication in organization assignment of o.b
- 1. Communication in Organizational Behavior The role of communication in organizational behavior is a vital one, as miscommunication typically reduces productivity and increases error and waste. Accurate communication transmitted in a supportive manner often results in increased morale and may also lead to a greater sense of camaraderie among staff. Within organizations, having a more open communication policy may provide a safety valve to vent problems before these issues impact productivity. Another role communication plays in organizational behavior includes equipping stakeholders to clearly communicate the organization's mission. Maintaining an accurate record of the organization's activities and encouraging civil and positive engagement with customers and stakeholders are two other important roles played by communication in organizational behavior. Failure to transmit accurate instructions may negatively impact communication. This may result in an increased error rate, and diminished productivity in the workplace. If a supervisor's instructions are misunderstood, serious consequences may result. These may include injury to employees or offending a highly valued client. Clear, consistent communication, on the other hand, often encourages more productive workplace behavior and increases morale. The role of this type of communication in organizational behavior results in workers feeling more in control of their environment. Encouraging productive communication between staff and clients has been demonstrated, in many cases, to increase customer satisfaction as well. Equipping stakeholders to accurately communicate an organization's values and mission is another important aspect of communication in organizational behavior. Sometimes companies take new employees or board members through an orientation session in order to give them a historical and current picture of the organization. This helps ensure that all of those associated with the organization communicate similar messages about its mission and goals. Instituting an open-door policy for employees may also be a part of facilitating accurate communication about the organization to those outside it. This often supports public relations initiatives, as disgruntled employees or those who have unresolved issues may disseminate hostile reports, thus causing a public relations problem for the organization. From a proactive standpoint, equipping stakeholders with accurate information about the organization often facilities positive public relations. Maintaining an accurate record of corporate events is generally deemed critically important. In almost every case, there are laws in place that require organizations to adhere to various reporting requirements. Transmitting inaccurate information may incur criminal penalties as well. For example, if the organization is a corporation, certain internal communications, such as minutes of corporate meetings, are required to be kept for a certain period of time.
- 2. Methods of Communication: Numerous new instruments have emerged over the years to help people communicate effectively Oral Communication: Oral communication could be said to be the most used form of communication. Whether it is to present some important data to your colleagues or lead a boardroom meeting, these skills are vital. We are constantly using words verbally to inform our subordinates of a decision, provide information, and so on. This is done either by phone or face-to-face. The person on the receiving end would also need to exercise much caution to ensure that he/she clearly understands what is being said this shows therefore, that you would need to cultivate both your listening and speaking skills, as you would have to carry out both roles in the workplace, with different people. Written Communication: Writing is used when you have to provide detailed information such as figures and facts, even while giving a presentation. It is also generally used to send documents and other important material to stakeholders, which could then be stored for later use as it can be referred to easily as it is recorded. Other important documents such as contracts, memos, and minutes of meetings are also in written form for this purpose. It can be seen in recent years however, that verbal communication has been replaced to a great extent by a faster form of written communication, and that is email. You could also use videoconferencing and multiple way phone calls with several individuals simultaneously. Apart from a few glitches that could occur, these methods of communication have helped organizations come a long way. Body Language: Although the most common methods of communication are carried out orally or in writing, when it comes to management techniques, the power of non-verbal communication must never be underestimated. Your smile, your gestures and several other body movements send out a message to the people around you. You need to be mindful of this while dealing with your employees and customers. Always remember to maintain eye contact. This would show that you are serious and confident about what is being said.
- 3. Factors Affecting Communication in Organization Organizational communication is influenced by many factors, look at this list of following factors: Formal channels of communication Authority Structure Job Specialization Information Ownership Barriers to Organizational Communication Effective communication is needed for productivity. Open or effective communication is not always obtained. Diwan (2000) asserts that, “the problem of effective communication is unfortunately greater than just the recognition of its scale and importance.” People may be unaware that their attempts at communicating have not been successful. Koontz (2001) summarizes the barriers against communication, saying that, “communication problems are often symptoms of more deep-rooted problems. For example, poor planning may be the cause of uncertainty about the direction of the organization.” Similarly, a poorly-designed organizational structure may not clearly communicate organizational relationships. Vague performance standards may leave librarians uncertain about what is expected. Onuoha (1991) notes the following barriers: Communication overload Badly expressed message Inappropriate medium/Language Poor, listening/decode and premature evaluation arising from lack of understanding. Grapevine with informal organizations within organizations. Hostility between the participants Bureaucracy Improving Organizational Communication Peterson (1962) observes that, “communication can and does affect work adversely if not properly handled. There are graduations of degrees of these effects, ranging from a slight drag against the progress of the enterprise to the causing of errors or misunderstanding of the philosophical foundation of the main organization, and thereby make the output of the system virtually impossible,” stating further that, “one ever-present cause of faulty communication is that, language, whether oral or written, is itself faulty or imperfection when the meaning of words and sentences and equally the emotional content is ambiguous.”
- 4. Barriers and other associated problems common with organizational communication climate affect work productivity negatively especially where people and records are jointly managed together, such as the case of academic libraries. The extreme need to improve or find solutions to the highlighted problems and barriers is imperatively necessary. Champoux (1996) recommends the under-listed improvement techniques among the operators and participants: Champoux (1996) recommends the following techniques to improve communication: 1. Sender Understanding of the background and culture of the receiver. Expectation of feedback Formal training in oral and written communication 2. Receiver Knowing and understanding the sender Make the receiver's level of understanding clear to the sender. Understand the language and practices of the organizational unit to improve listening and interpretation. Feedback loop 3. Message Clear Brief Simple Unambiguous. 4. Medium Reduce noise by using multiple channels. 5. The Organization Organization Communication Audit to assess the current state of the communication system. 6. Technology Electronic message system Voice mail Local Area Networking Teleconferencing Global Satellite Communication Mobile