8-2 Module

7

Stakeholders of Effective Communication

Introduction

Effective communication remains the most important component of any teamwork but is often the greatest challenge faced by employees in the modern work setting. It is not just individual relationships that may suffer, but the whole team’s productivity can also be hindered as a result. To deal with this problem, it is essential to know who the stakeholders are and how their values and beliefs affect them. This paper will assess the various stakeholders who are the problem of hard interpersonal communication, along with their view values and projected expectations, as well as the established organizational culture. Moreover, we will talk about how personal values can be coordinated with the culture of the organization and the way the leadership helps out in shaping the proper perception of communication to the employees.

Stakeholder Groups and Their Values

The stakeholders in the problem of difficult interpersonal communication can be categorized into five main groups: employees, the management, clients and shareholders/investors, as well as the organization at large. Accordingly, each group has its own set of values that influence the way they behave and how they attach importance to good communication.

For employees, the one thing that counts is the feeling of being heard and appreciated in the workplace (Smollan & Morrison, 2019). Furthermore, they rate high-quality and transparent communication from managers as important and they are motivated by chances to grow within the company. Unlike employees, managers are focused on the role of effective communication as a tool to meet teams' targets as well as maintain positive cohesion among members of the team. Among those other things is the fact that they consider the skill of giving and receiving feedback as highly important. The key element in communication is integrity and customers value communication that is honest, transparent, and serves their needs timely. Shareholders and investors need to have good communication continually to know the organization's results and the processes of decision-making. As far as the organization is concerned, it is the communication that builds a good one with a strong and positive company culture and also strengthens the relationships between the employees and the stakeholders.

Stakeholder Groups and Their Beliefs and Expectations

The perspectives stakeholders have about communication effectiveness are often a determinant of what those stakeholders expect from the communication channel (Diers-Lawson, 2019). The members of staff could consider communication as one of the most essential parts of their job just because it allows them to express their ideas freely and voice their concerns. The reason for this is that they expect to receive managers who are going to approach them with an attentive ear and resolve the problems they are engulfed with promptly and respectfully. In the opinion of managers, clear communication is one of the most important aspects of achieving the team objectives and they hope that employees will actively participate in team meetings and give feedback that is based on facts.

The customers and clients might be used to feeling that good communication with a company is proof of the company being trustworthy and honest. Thus their demand may be for expeditious and clear correspondence without any lurking problems on the products, services, and other matters of concern. Shareholders and investors view rapport as being the very first step towards making sound judgments about investments and thus requesting regular progress updates concerning the entity’s performance and programs. The organization might believe that real communication is instrumental in envisaging a harmonious environment that is driven by efficiency and productivity. Due to that their expectation could be that all participants listen, be open to comments and suggestions, and also try to find a solution to communication barriers.

Existing Organizational Culture and Values

The existing organizational culture is an element that can be reviewed by assessing the norms and values that currently exist in a company. Regarding communication, the current culture is likely to value a traditional horizontal structure, where the direction of information flow from management to workers without an avenue for feedback and discussion is possible. This would certainly enable the expression of information with great speed and accuracy, but it may also reduce the possibility of workers' involvement in the brand strategy and decision-making. Also, there is a chance that the culture that already exists values efficiency and describes results without stressing honest and open dialogue among teams.

This existing culture may reflect the contrary culture, which most probably, doesn't correspond to the institutional values that include values such as collaboration, transparency, and respect. An organization may have the said principles written down, but the current culture might not be so supportive of the systems and structures that promote these values. Thus, the differences between the stated values and the existing culture may cause a disconnect which may eventually impact the organization's effectiveness in communication and other areas (Graham et al., 2022). In such a case, leaders need to be sensitive to the issue, respond accordingly, and create a healthy culture that supports a positive organizational communication culture.

Alignment of Individual Values and Organizational Culture

The values of the stakeholders and the values of the organization must align to be able to sustain good communication within the team structure. Discord between the values is an obstacle to the smooth implementation of component strategies and cooperation among groups of participants. For instance, if the company emphasizes collaboration but managers pursue individual excellence, then the employees will not find it comfortable to address their concerns and share their views. This, in turn, may lead to stifled creativity and innovation within the team.

Thus, individual values should be in harmony with the organization’s values in a declaration. This leads to a more constructive and pleasant work environment and is, also, the basis for effective communication between various stakeholders. Through the interaction of employees, managers, customers, shareholders, and the organization themselves, we get to build up a culture where the values of proper communication are at the core of everybody’s practices, consequently making the working results and the collaboration better. The leader's responsibility is to integrate the personal values of the members with the values of the organization and create an atmosphere where employees can freely communicate and share their ideas.

Leadership Actions for Healthy Perceptions

Leadership is one of the key factors that contribute to the promotion of a healthy perception of communication. They must therefore create management actions that are aligned with the core values of their respective stakeholder groups. This, for instance, implies that you need to create an atmosphere of active communication and open-mindedness in the team meetings and provide the employees with the opportunities of providing feedback on any issues, that concern the employees. Any gaps or hindrances in the communication should be identified and addressed. In addition, leaders may serve as role models by talking about and living up to the mentioned values and practices.

Besides that, leaders can teach and conduct workshops and training as well to improve the communication skills of employees including listening actively, resolving conflicts, and assertive communication (Chatman et al., 2020). It is also useful to recognize that proper communication is important if two parties are to achieve their individual and organizational goals. A leader can make the team members around him form good perceptions of reality about communication in the organization by taking initiative and consistent action that is in line with the core values of the stakeholders.

Conclusion

In conclusion, communication is a pivotal ingredient to any team dynamics and it involves different stakeholders like employees, managers, customers, and investors who stand for all the interests of the organization and its stakeholders. Every stakeholder group is accorded its own set of values and beliefs that inform their own set of expectations for communication. Nonetheless, there might be a gap between the values and the culture already in the organization which may lead to communication difficulties. Through the integration of the personal values of employees and organizational values and encouraging leaders' actions aimed at promoting healthy perceptions, a positive and productive communication culture can be created. Leaders should realize the values of each stakeholder group and attempt to play a part in removing any impediments that may hinder communication.

References

Chatman, J., Johnson, A., White, E., & Bell, R. (2020). The leader as Effective Communicator. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3574367

Diers-Lawson, A. (2019). Crisis Communication. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429437380

Graham, J. R., Grennan, J., Harvey, C. R., & Rajgopal, S. (2022). Corporate culture: Evidence from the field. Journal of Financial Economics, 146(2), 552–593. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2022.07.008

Smollan, R. K., & Morrison, R. L. (2019). Office design and organizational change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 32(4), 426–440. https://doi.org/10.1108/jocm-03-2018-0076