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Organizational Communication Flows

Information can flow in four directions in an organization: downward, upward, horizontally, and diagonally. The size, nature, and structure of the organization dictate which direction most of the information flows. In more established and traditional organizations, much of the communication flows in a vertical—downward and upward—direction. In informal firms, such as tech start-ups, information tends to flow horizontally and diagonally. This, of course, is a function of the almost flat organizational hierarchy and the need for collaboration. Unofficial communications, such as those carried in the company grapevine, appear in both types of organizations.

Downward Communication Flows

Downward communication is when company leaders and managers share information with lower-level employees. Unless requested as part of the message, the senders don’t usually expect (or particularly want) to get a response. An example may be an announcement of a new CEO or notice of a merger with a former competitor. Other forms of high-level downward communications include speeches, blogs, podcasts, and videos. The most common types of downward communication are everyday directives of department managers or line managers to employees. These can even be in the form of instruction manuals or company handbooks.

Downward communication delivers information that helps to update the workforce about key organizational changes, new goals, or strategies; provide performance feedback at the organizational level; coordinate initiatives; present an official policy (public relations); or improve worker morale or consumer relations.

Upward Communication Flows

Information moving from lower-level employees to high-level employees is upward communication (also sometimes called vertical communication). For example, upward communication occurs when workers report to a supervisor or when team leaders report to a department manager. Items typically communicated upward include progress reports, proposals for projects, budget estimates, grievances and complaints, suggestions for improvements, and schedule concerns. Sometimes a downward communication prompts an upward response, such as when a manager asks for a recommendation for a replacement part or an estimate of when a project will be completed.

An important goal of many managers today is to encourage spontaneous or voluntary upward communication from employees without the need to ask first. Some companies go so far as to organize contests and provide prizes for the most innovative and creative solutions and suggestions. Before employees feel comfortable making these kinds of suggestions, however, they must trust that management will recognize their contributions and not unintentionally undermine or ignore their efforts. Some organizations have even installed “whistleblower” hotlines that will let employees report dangerous, unethical, or illegal activities anonymously to avoid possible retaliation by higher-ups in the company.

Horizontal and Diagonal Communication Flows

Examples of channels that carry external communication include press briefings, fact sheets, press kits, newsletters, magazines, brochures, news releases, annual reports, invoices and purchase orders.

Horizontal communication involves the exchange of information across departments at the same level in an organization (i.e., peer-to-peer communication). The purpose of most horizontal communication is to request support or coordinate activities. People at the same level in the organization can work together to work on problems or issues in an informal and as-needed basis. The manager of the production department can work with the purchasing manager to accelerate or delay the shipment of materials. The finance manager and inventory managers can be looped in so that the organization can achieve the maximum benefit from the coordination. Communications between two employees who report to the same manager is also an example of horizontal communication. Some problems with horizontal communication can arise if one manager is unwilling or unmotivated to share information, or sees efforts to work communally as threatening his position (territorial behavior). In a case like that, the manager at the next level up will need to communicate downward to reinforce the company’s values of cooperation.

Diagonal communication is cross-functional communication between employees at different levels of the organization. For example, if the vice president of sales sends an e-mail to the vice president of manufacturing asking when a product will be available for shipping, this is an example of horizontal communication. But if a sales representative e-mails the vice president of marketing, then diagonal communication has occurred. Whenever communication goes from one department to another department, the sender’s manager should be made part of the loop. A manager may be put in an embarrassing position and appear incompetent if he isn’t aware of everything happening in his department. Trust may be lost and careers damaged by not paying attention to key communication protocols.

Diagonal communication is becoming more common in organizations with a flattened, matrix, or product-based structure. Advantages include:

· Building relationships between senior-level and lower-level employees from different parts of the organization.

· Encouraging an informal flow of information in the organization.

· Reducing the chance of a message being distorted by going through additional filters.

· Reducing the workloads of senior-level managers.

Barriers to Effective Communication

Even though the setting is informal, can you identify some signs that indicate that good communication is taking place? Check your ideas with the author’s list at the end of this section.

Common sources of noise are explained in this section. How many of these examples can you remember affecting your conversations with friends, classmates, or coworkers?

Physical Conditions

Sometimes “noise” is just exactly that—loud or distracting sounds that make it impossible to hear or concentrate. Or the general level of background noise can be so intense that it is hard to focus for long on one particular voice. A room may be so hot or so cold that people can’t get comfortable and cannot pay attention. Outside activities may be a distraction to those with a view out windows. Finally, it may be lunchtime or too close to quitting time to keep people focused. Fortunately, with some awareness and advance planning, physical barriers to effective communication are some of the easiest to overcome.

Filtering

Personal and particular experiences color how people view the world and how they communicate. A message sender sees the world through one set of filters (experiences and values) and the receiver sees it through a different set of filters. Each message has to pass, therefore, through at least two sets of filters. The more similar people are in lifestyle, experience, culture, and language, the more similar their mental filters are likely to be and the less distortion should occur. This is why people who come from very different social and economic situations than their audience must work extra hard to say exactly what they mean to avoid confusion. Also, the fewer people involved in the transmission of a message, the greater the chance that it will be received as the sender intended. In business, however, messages may be summarized by a manager and relayed through an administrative assistant who has clarified or edited the message. Messages exposed to many filters should be repeated in various ways to make sure they were understood as the sender intended.

Selective Perception

Selective perception is the tendency to either “under notice” or “over focus on” stimuli that cause emotional discomfort or contradict prior beliefs. For instance, some people live purposefully healthy lifestyles by frequently exercising and eating only nutritious food but still smoke cigarettes. Psychologists believe that they are selectively ignoring the evidence that smoking is dangerous to their health. They have chosen to disregard the information that would make them feel guilty or fearful about this habit. This is called perceptual defense. Selective perception can also be vigilant, meaning people are extra sensitive to things that are significant to them. If a manager doesn’t like a particular employee, for example, she may be super critical of that person’s behavior and notice every time he is a minute late to a meeting. On the other hand, a favorite employee coming late to work one morning might elicit concern that she had car trouble. Selective perception introduces bias into the communication process.

Information Overload

We have all been in situations when we felt that too much information was coming at us. When this happens, we feel overwhelmed and fear that we will not be able to retain any information at all. Sometimes it is not just the quantity of communication but the level that causes overload. If the message contains information that is new to the receiver, including processes or concepts that are not familiar, then the chances of overload increase greatly. The sender should break up the message into more palatable or digestible bits and reduce the amount of information that has to be absorbed at any one time. One technique is to make a high-level announcement and then follow it up later with more details. The sender has the primary responsibility to check that the receiver has understood the message. This means that a manager may have to adjust a message to reflect the various experiences of the employees. A new employee may need repeated explanations before beginning an operation, whereas an experienced employee may start rolling his eyes at the same old instructions.

Semantics

Semantics is the study of the meaning of words and phrases. You might hear one person say to another “Let’s not argue semantics,” meaning he doesn’t want to get caught up in trivial and unimportant details or playing with words. But semantics is extremely important in effective communication. There are some semantic rules in English that may trip up non-native English speakers, such as the concept of subject-verb agreement and gender pronouns. These can cause confusion, as seen in the following examples:

· Six man is coming to the meeting on Tuesday. (How many men are coming?)

· Rachel is going to introduce the speaker at the conference. He may be asking you for information about her to make the job easier. (Who is asking for information, Rachel or the speaker?)

When your audience involves people whose native language is not English or individuals of different educational backgrounds, messages need to be direct and clearly stated to help ensure they are understood.

Denotation and Connotation

Confusion can also arise from the use of language by people from different educational levels, culture, and dialect. For instance, the terms lift and braces denote two entirely different meanings in the United States and in England. A Londoner might reasonably ask her partner if he was planning on wearing braces with his pants.

Some words have a connotation for one group of people that is not shared by another. “That’s sick!” could be a compliment or an insult, depending upon the listener. (You probably already know that slang does not belong in written business communications.) Fortunately for all of us, paying attention to the context of the message often reduces confusion. The meaning of homophones (buy, by, bye; meet, meat, mete; pair, pare, pear) and homographs (read, read; lead, lead) are often easily understood by their context or pronunciation.

Emotional Disconnects

Almost the first thing parents learns is never to try to have a rational discussion with a screaming toddler or an angry teenager. If they wait until the young person is more receptive to what they have to say, the odds of a successful conversation improve dramatically. Adults also experience emotional disconnects that affect the chance of successful communication. For example, when a person is feeling stressed or anxious, an expressed concern is more likely to be interpreted as criticism. Constructive criticism made while an employee is emotionally fragile may be perceived as a personal attack. If possible, it is better to postpone a communication if there is a strong likelihood that the intended receiver will misinterpret it because of his emotional state.

Credibility

There are better ways to communicate your credibility than reminding everyone of your position.

In communication, the validity of the message is tied to the reputation of the sender. If the receiver doesn’t trust the sender, he will view the message itself with skepticism or suspicion. If the sender is trustworthy, the receiver will likely believe the message despite her personal opinions about that subject. In other words, the trustworthiness of a communication, regardless of format, is heavily influenced by the perceived credibility of the source of that communication.

Source credibility describes the sender’s positive characteristics that affect the receiver’s acceptance of a message. A manager’s source credibility is based on experience, knowledge, and interpersonal skills. Managers who deal openly and candidly with employees will find it easier to solicit the kind of feedback that tells them whether their message has been understood.

Message Sent—But Was It Received?

After delivering a message, how does the sender know if the receiver got the message that was intended? Is it the job of the sender or receiver to make sure that the communication has been understood? The answer is that both ends of the communication chain have some responsibility to verify what was both said and heard. In the workplace, however, the manager has the primary responsibility because a main part of her role is to gather and disperse information so organizational goals can be achieved. Managers need to have strategic conversations by asking questions and collecting feedback. One technique to gather feedback is active listening.

Active listening is a communication technique that has been around for many years and that has been used successfully in all types of endeavor—not just business. Parenting classes, marital relationships, public schools, counseling, and tutoring are just some of the areas where active listening is a valued skill. As the name implies, the focus of active listening as a tool for improving communication is on listening rather than talking. (Think here of the expression “You have two ears and one mouth for a reason.”) It is a process where the listener sets aside his own thoughts to concentrate more clearly what the speaker is actually saying instead of what the listener thinks the speaker is saying.

It takes practice to master the basic techniques of active listening, and you will probably feel awkward applying the technique in the beginning. But because the point is to increase effectiveness by decreasing the possibility of misunderstandings, it is worth a little discomfort. The basic method is briefly summarized in these steps:

· Look at the speaker and make eye contact to indicate that the speaker has your undivided attention.

· Note the body language of the speaker to help process the speaker’s message. Is the speaker angry, frustrated, frightened, rebellious, or tentative? Classic signs of anger include arms folded tightly in front of the body or held rigidly at the side. Fright or guilt may be shown by the refusal to look at you directly in the eyes or continually shifting gaze away from the listener’s face. The speaker may be feeling confrontational if his arms are on his hips and his legs are spread apart as if ready to move. If the speaker is constantly turning away from you, she may be hiding something and definitely wants to leave. If any of these signs are present, it is probably better to finish the conversation at a later time.

· Don’t allow yourself to prepare a response before the speaker has finished his remarks. Keep your mind open and free of judgment until the end.

· Ask questions to verify or confirm what you heard the speaker say. You might even ask a question or make a statement using the very same words as the speaker. “I heard you say that you were unhappy with the way John is managing the team.” Or “You said that you feel left out of the decision-making process for the project.”

· Wait for the speaker to confirm or to correct your understanding of his message. He may respond with something like “Well, unhappy is too strong a word. I meant that there are times when I disagree with the decisions that John makes.” Then you can respond, “OK. You are not completely unhappy. You don’t always disagree with John.” Here you are confirming your understanding of the speaker’s corrected statement.

Business Communication Channels

There’s a well-known expression that goes “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.” It’s really both.

A communication channel is the medium, mean, manner or method through which a message is sent to its intended receiver. The basic channels are written (hard copy print or digital formats), oral or spoken, and electronic and multimedia. Within those channels, business communications can be formal, informal, or unofficial. Finally, communications can be rich or lean.

Channel richness refers to the amount and immediacy of information that can be transmitted. Face-to-face communication is very high in richness because it allows information to be transmitted with immediate feedback. A tweet is very low in richness because it allows only 140 characters to be transmitted with no feedback. On the other hand, face-to-face communication is limited to one person communicating with a few other people in close proximity, whereas a tweet can go out to thousands of followers around the world. The following diagram shows the richness of different types of communication.

Different types of communication media have varying channel richness.

Oral Communications

Oral channels depend on the spoken word. They are the richest mediums and include face-to-face, in-person presentations, mobile phone conferences, group presentations, telephone, video meetings, conferences, speeches, and lectures. These channels deliver low-distortion messages because body language and voice intonation also provide meaning for the receiver. They allow for immediate feedback of the communication to the sender. They are also the most labor-intensive channels in terms of the number of people involved in the transaction. Oral channels are generally used in organizations when there is a high likelihood of the message creating anxiety, confusion, or an emotional response in the audience. For instance, a senior manager should address rumors about layoffs or downsizing in face-to-face meetings with management staff. This allows the receiver (audience) to get immediate clarification and explanations, even if the explanation is a simple but direct: “At this time, I just don’t know.”

Oral communications are also useful when the organization wants to introduce a key official or change a long-established policy, followed up with a written detailed explanation. Senior managers with high credibility usually deliver complex or disturbing messages. For example, a senior manager will usually announce plans to downsize in person so that everyone gets the same message at the same time. This will often include a schedule so people know when to expect more details.

Written Communications

Written communications include e-mails, texts, memos, letters, documents, reports, newsletters, spreadsheets, etc. (Even though e-mails are electronic, they are basically digital versions of written memos.) They are among the leaner business communications. With written communications, the writer must provide enough context that the words can be interpreted easily. The receiver should be alert for ambiguity and ask for clarification if needed. An e-mail sender cannot take receipt for granted. Most people receive too much e-mail and sort and filter it quickly, sometimes incorrectly.

Written messages are effective in transmitting large messages. Humans are limited in the amount of data they can absorb at one time. Written information can be studied over time. Reports can include supporting data and detailed explanations when it is important to persuade the receiver about a course of action. Written communications can be carefully crafted to say exactly what the sender means. Formal business communications, such as job offer letters, contracts and budgets, proposals and quotes, should always be written.

Electronic (Multimedia) Communications

Television broadcasts, web-based communications such as social media, interactive blogs, public and intranet company web pages, Facebook, and Twitter belong in this growing category of communication channels. Electronic communications allow messages to be sent instantaneously and globally. People can talk face-to-face across enormous distances. Marketing and advertising can be targeted to many different types of customers, and business units can easily communicate in real time. This is especially important when customers must be advised of product recalls or security issues.

Although extremely effective, the widespread utilization of electronic communications for business purposes can also be risky. In recent years, the private communications and customer files of many large corporations have been hacked and their data stolen. In 2016, New Jersey Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield was fined $1.1 million for failing to safeguard the personal information of medical patients. The company stored unencrypted sensitive data including birth dates and Social Security numbers on laptops that were stolen out of their main offices.

MAJOR TYPES OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION CHANNELS
TYPE OF CHANNEL	ADVANTAGES	DISADVANTAGES
Oral communications	Build relationships and trust; accelerate decision making due to immediate feedback	Spontaneous nature may lead to unwise statements; people are unable to refer to the communication once it is said unless a record is made.
Written communications	Message can be revised for exactness; can be archived for reference; can be studied. Appropriate for legal and formal business functions.	Message is static; sender does not receive immediate feedback. Hard for the sender to gauge if the receiver has understood.
Multimedia	Instant, global, and adaptable to multiple targets.	Technical difficulties and hack attacks threaten the security of organizations and their customers/clients.

Which Channel Is Best?

Quite simply, the best channel is the one that most effectively delivers the message so that it is understood as the sender intended. Nuanced or emotionally charged messages require a rich medium; simple, routine messages don’t need the personal touch. If you want to advise your department that at 2 p.m. you want to have a five-minute stand-up meeting in the hallway outside of your office to congratulate them on meeting a goal, then send a quick e-mail. You really don’t want people to reply with questions. E-mail is a lean medium but works very well when the content of the message is neither complex nor emotionally charged. On the other hand, a telephone call is a more appropriate channel to apologize for having to cancel a lunch date. The speaker can hear the sincerity in your voice and can express their disappointment or offer to reschedule.

A good rule of thumb is the more emotional the context of the message, the richer the medium should be to deliver the message. But remember—even face-to-face business meetings can be followed up with a written note to ensure that both parties are truly on the same page. If a meeting results in assignments or agreements, then a written note will be useful documentation for future reference.

Practice Question

Tailoring a Message to an Audience

Steve Jobs, one of the founders of Apple, was a great communicator who used his passion, focus, and storytelling ability to make his presentations memorable.

Have you ever had to converse with a young child and really needed him to listen to you? You probably knelt down so that you were at eye level. You may have even put your hand gently on his arm to focus his attention on you. Speaking clearly and slowly in words that you knew he understood, you made exaggerated facial gestures of fear or surprise or happiness to emphasize your points. In brief, you tailored your message to your audience so that it would be effective.

Although the channel of communication you select to transmit your message is important, so also is knowing the intended audience. Effective communicators seem to instinctively adjust their styles to their audience, but it is a skill that can also be learned. The way the information is conveyed should complement the audience, whether it is one person or a roomful of people. Three factors are involved in tailoring a message: the sender, the message itself, and the audience.

The Sender

For the majority of everyday business communications, a manager needs only to focus on presenting a professional image. On different occasions, she may want to present herself as a serious and responsible leader, a technical expert, or informally casual. But when uncertain what a situation calls for, always err on the side of professionalism. Studies have shown that an audience reacts initially to the demeanor of the speaker and not to what is being said. If you appear nervous, your audience will pick up on that and become nervous as well.

The Message

The first step in tailoring a message, of course, is to choose the right communication channel. But even then, there are questions to ask about the message itself that will influence how it is presented. Some of these questions are listed below:

· Which channel suits the content best? A critical or urgent message may demand the fastest channel, whether that is in-person, text-message, or e-mail. A scripted presentation requires planning and preparation. Businesses can use journalists or Twitter for brief announcements. If you want to demonstrate how your organization does something, clarify values, or construct common meanings for people across an organization, you might tell a memorable story in either an oral or written presentation. Decide which channel best suits the content.

· What do you want to achieve by sending the message? Is it intended to persuade or to inform? Are you just reassuring your boss that everything is on track? A face-to-face communication is much more effective than an e-mail or report in trying to convince someone to change a belief or a behavior.

· Does the message require interaction from the audience or is it more of an “information dump”? Don’t try to deliver a rationale for a $1 million investment in a phone call, especially if you need supporting evidence. Allow enough time to answer all questions.

· Will visual aids help the message or will they just distract from it? Arguments that a new computer software program will increase your department’s productivity will need to be backed by solid evidence presented in charts or graphs. But excessive or unfocused visuals may irritate senior-level managers who want just the concise summation and the triple bottom line (economic, social and environmental impacts).

· Do you have to establish your credibility? Does the audience know you? Are you speaking to people who know more than you about the topic? The answers to these questions will influence how you design your message.

· Most importantly, before deciding on a communication, ask yourself why the audience should care about it. When you know, then tailor the communication so that it answers that question. The story of United Airlines Flight 4311 is example of a CEO who failed to identify his primary audience and ask himself what they cared about before he spoke. In June of 2017, a seated passenger was informed by the flight attendants that his seat was needed and that he would have to leave the plane. He refused to give up his seat and was eventually dragged, literally kicking and screaming, off the plane. The video immediately went viral. In an effort to prevent a public relations nightmare, the CEO initially blamed the passenger and defended the actions of the United Airlines employees and security guards. When public outrage grew and customers threatened a boycott, the CEO finally realized that the first communication should have focused not on the employees and the company but on the passenger, who was, after all, a paying customer.

The Audience

You can’t tailor your communication to the sender if you don’t know your audience. Here are some questions to consider when getting to know your audience.

· How big is your audience? Is it one person or a large group? One individual means getting “up close and personal” as opposed to a conference room. If a large group, is it diverse or fairly homogenous? Do you need language translators or signers for the hearing impaired?

· What is the status of your audience? Is the audience mostly senior-level managers, peers, or subordinates? Your body language, presentation, and formality will vary depending upon the status of the group. Although subordinates may be more easily put at ease with an informal, relaxed approach, high-level managers usually want to get straight to the point and move on to the next thing.

· Can you establish empathy with the audience? The more the audience trusts you, the easier it will be to retain their attention. Notice the audience—are people shifting around, avoiding eye contact, yawning, or are they nodding in agreement and focused? You may have to adapt your message to meet the mood of the audience.