Communication is the “life blood” of any organization. People in organizations typically spend more than 75% of their time in an interpersonal situation; therefore, it is not surprising to find that the root of a large number of organizational problems is poor communication.
An organization is a group of people. They may be associated for a variety of reasons, such as business, political power, professional association, religious practice and affiliation, athletic team or association, social, or other purposes.
The factor that unites these activities is that they all require human beings to interact and react, that is, to communicate.
In these various organizations, people communicate in an equally large and varied number of ways. They can communicate to exchange information (internally with employees and externally with customers, shareholders and society at large. Organizations often generate and share ideas or plans. They may need to order supplies, contact and negotiate with customers, make internal policy or slogan decisions and publish their terms and conditions for doing business Organizations generally need to slogan and publish rules and procedures, develop proposals, write and issue contracts and agreements All of these elements are facets of the kaleidoscope of communication in the organizational life.
Effective communication, therefore, is an essential component of organizational success whether at the interpersonal, organizational, or external level.
It is easier to understand communication if we see it as a personal process that involves both the transfer and receipt of information. Communication is something that people ‘do’ and is closely associated with relationships between people. It is at least a two-way process, consisting of both the transfer of information and the understanding of that communication.
Add the additional complexities of the different divisions within organizations having to communicate with each other and the various modes and media that may be involved, means that being able to communicate effectively becomes a demanding but vital element to the success of any organization. any company.
The importance and benefits of effective communication
Communication is the “life blood” of any organization. A vital means to address the concerns of the company is through effective internal communication: downwards, upwards and horizontally.
Communication is the means through which an organization achieves its objectives.
– Leads to greater efficiency.
– Keeps people in the picture.
– Gets people involved with the organization.
– increases motivation to perform well;
– Increases commitment to the organization.
– Promotes better relationships and understanding between:
– bosses and subordinates and colleagues
– people inside and outside the organization
– Help people understand the need for change.
– Helps leaders understand how they should manage change.
– Reduces resistance to change.
Another way of looking at communication is as ‘an interpersonal process of sending and receiving symbols with meanings attached to them’. These word-symbols help us understand and anchor a common understanding around a complex idea; for example, we have a common understanding of the idea of a fast-running four-legged animal using the symbol-word “horse.” (Although we could have used the symbol for the word “cheetah” to express another complex idea of four-legged animal, etc., etc.) So, one measure of effective interpersonal communication management is that information is transmitted and relationships can be developed and built.
We therefore have the beneficial result of being able to exchange information on complex ideas and topics; sharing understanding between people, which together facilitate our ability, as social animals, to learn and thrive (which has resulted in our current superiority over other animals and evolutionary dominance).
Therefore, effective communication is critical to the success of an organization because:
1. Organizations are increasingly complex in both structure and technology.
2. Economic and market conditions are forcing greater efficiency and quality at minimum cost
3. More and more legislation means that leaders and executive teams are committed to interpreting and communicating these changes in policy, in the context of their own organizations.
4. People now have much higher expectations of what they expect from their work; not just a satisfying salary, but increased “meaning” and personal satisfaction from what they do.
5. Organizations are becoming more reliant on horizontal communication channels, as well as across cultures, continents, time zones, gender, and religious affiliation.
With such a more complex matrix, information must flow quickly between specialists and those who need to know, rather than up and down the hierarchy, with its inevitable delay and message distortion.
So when we look at the changes that are occurring in organizations today, it is clear that to be effective, managers and leaders require communication performance at the highest levels of competence.