Communication in Organizations
Organizational effectiveness is impossible without positive feelings towards the
communication processes within the organization concerned, and with the external publics it
serves. Koschmann (2012) advocates a communicative approach to the understanding of
organizations. Organizational communication is all about taking a communication perspective to
the study of organizations, exploring organizations through the lens of communication.
Koschmann (2012) added that communication is organizational not just because it happens
within organizations, but rather because it coordinates the activities and interpretations of
multiple people into an organized, recognizable form and sustains or alters this form for
subsequent collective action. To study organizational communication, therefore, is to study the
fundamental social processes that create and sustain the dominant structures of our society.
Turkalj and Fosic (2011) maintain that organizational behaviour enables a better
understanding, predicting and control of organizational behaviour. Communication as an
element of organizational behaviour is observed through the level of group behaviour.
Communication is one of the central components of every organization; therefore, better
understanding of communication efficacy is the key to the overall organizational success.
Many businesses and government programmes have experienced one shortcoming or the
other in the past because of the failure to recognize the role and importance of communication
because an organization’s effectiveness hinges on good communication and so does the
effectiveness of groups and individuals inside the organization. It has been found that effective
communication improves job satisfaction which in turn improves productivity (Asamu, 2014).
Research has also shown that communication improves employee job performance (Goris, 2007)
while poor communication results to low employee commitment to the organization (Kramer,
1999 cited in Asamu, 2014).
Organizational communication research has mainly been conducted both in the business
management field and in the communication field; however, researchers in the public
administration field have provided little knowledge about organizational communication and its
roles and effects (Eunju, 2009). Several studies emphasize that effective communication can
enhance organizational outcomes (Garnelt, Marlowe & Pandey 2008; Pandey & Garnelt 2006,
Shonubi and Akintaro, 2016). However, customers are observed to be continually raising a
complaint or the other about the unpalatable treatment they get from commercial banks in
Nigeria. Their expectation of friendly and warm services from these financial institutions is met
with hostile reception at the customer service section and from bank tellers/cashiers.
Organizational communication is the exchange of oral, written and non-verbal messages
among people working to accomplish common tasks and goals. Organization communication can
either be a written or oral or both but usually, it is written (Daramola, 2012). He added that
organizational communication can be structured as: Formal Communication, Informal
Communication, Downward Communication, Upward Communication, Horizontal
Communication, Oral or Verbal Communication and Written Communication.
Communication is the glue that binds people together in an organization, even managers
spend majority of their time communicating in one form or another ranging from face-to-face
discussion, memos, notice boards announcements, group meeting, employees hand books/guides,
public lectures and so on. Today, however, more and more workers find out that an important
aspect of their work is communication which is the mutual exchange of understanding,
originating with the receiver that leads to effective and efficient work performance in an
organization because it is the essence of management.
Organizational communication behaviour is about human communication behaviour
within an organization, like the interface between human communication behaviour and the
organization, for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organization’s
effectiveness. Therefore, organizational communication behaviour is concerned with the study of
activities of workers in an organization and how their communication behaviour impacts on the
organization’s performance and public patronage.
Good communication is essential to the growth and development of any organization,
hence the need for effective communication. Enos (2007) observes that communication is one of
the most important dynamics in organizational performance. Communication problems are one
of the most frequent areas identified in surveys of organizational cultures as well as
organizational development and managerial literature. There are five levels at which managers
must employ their skills – upwards (communication to senior managers (executives); downwards
(employees, unions,); across (teams, colleagues): outward (customers, suppliers) and self (time,
skills).
All human interactions are form of communication. In the business world, nothing can be
achieved without effectively communicating with employers, employees, clients, suppliers, and
customers. Business all over the world today is very challenging and to stay profitable in the
highly challenging and competitive global market economy all factors at production (i.e. men,
machine and materials), should be wisely managed. Among the factors of production, human
resource constitutes the biggest challenge because unlike inputs, employee management
demands skillful handling of thoughts, feelings and emotions to secure highest productivity.
Effective organizational communication plays an important role in this challenge (Shonubi &
Akintaro, 2016).
When communication stops, organized activity ceases to exist, and individual
uncoordinated activities return in an organization. So, communication in an organization is very
paramount (Shonubi and Akintaro, 2016). Accordingly, for organization and human as a social
being, communication has a vital importance, whether pros or cons are an inseparable piece of
life and also it has an important role on all activities aimed at gaining organizational objectives
(Asamu, 2014).
References
Asamu, F. (2014). The Impact of Communication on Workers’ Performance in Selected
Organisations in Lagos State, Nigeria. Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 19(8),
75-82.
Bolarinwa, J. and Olorunfemi, D. (2009). “Organizational Communication for
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Library Philosophy and Practice, 2(1)
Daramola, I. (2012). Introduction to Mass Communication. Lagos: Rothan Press limited.
Enos, D. (2007). Performance Improvement: Making it Happen. (2nd Ed.). New Jersey:
Averbach Publications. Husain, Z. (2013). Effective Communication Brings Successful
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&Management Review, 3(2), 43-50
Koschmann, M. (2012). What is Organizational Communication? Retrieved from
https://www.academia.edu/2987170/What_is_Organizational_Communication
Shonubi, A. and Akintaro, A. (2016). The Impact of Effective Communication on
Organizational
Performance. The International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Invention,
3(3), 1904-1914.
Turkalj, Z. and Fosić, I. (2006). Organizational Communication as an
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