Organizational Communication Concepts and Skills - Coursework Example

Organizational Communication Concepts and Skills Introduction Organizational process can be recognized as the method through which the individuals inspire denotation in the minds of other individuals through verbal or non verbal messages in the framework of a formal organization. Communication tends to serve different functions in an organization such as inform, regulate, manage, persuade, integrate and socialize. It can be analyzed that all the four functions seem to be quite crucial but the function that is quite neglected has been the socialization function. Therefore, if the organization tends to neglect socializing the employees, then in such cases the employees must themselves socialize. There are two distinct communication network taking place in organizational environment. They are formal as well as informal network. The formal network is making communication following the hierarchical structure of the organization. On the other hand, the informal network comprises communication following the grapevine (Cairo University, 2012). It is a well known fact that successful communication in an organization enhances the efficiency, minimizes the turnover of the employees and also helps in the development of the office atmosphere. The chief objective of this discussion is to propose a new communication structure for an organization. The five different concepts that the discussion shall evaluate are active listening, organizational culture, and conflict resolution, leadership strategies as well as formal and informal communication. Analysis of the Concepts Important For Successful Communication within an Organization Active Listening It is a well known fact that effective listening is significant for improving communication. However, the managers are not always found to be listening since active listening is not considered to be a natural procedure. Mental as well as physical efforts are needed on part of the listener. Intra-organizational listening can be considered as an influential competitive tool (Helms & Haynes, 1992). In the context of the business world, listening is considered to be a significant element of effectual communication in an organization. While communicating with the members of the organization, listening will assist in avoiding any kind of confusions, comprehending the work lucidly and thus creating a positive connection with whom the communication is initiated. The communication experts have agreed to the fact that active listening as a major factor which comprises behaviors such as empathetic body language, posing useful questions, validating employee expression via considerate conversation turn-taking along with rephrasing for ensuring mutual understanding. Active listening generally comprises the focus of the consultants upon the clients with an indication that they are listening closely to the issue presented and the client’s interpretation of this aspect (The University of Maine, 2012). For a communication to be effective and successful, it is vital for the listeners to motivate themselves to listen. They are supposed to decide precisely why they are listening. Active listening offers numerous advantages to the organization. It leads to save in time by means of people’s defenses and gain significant information without repeating the same conversation always. It permits the organization to evaluate a situation accurately (Kuboto, Mishima, & Nagata, 2004). However, one of the facts regarding active listening is that it is not an easy skill to be attained. It might as well require alterations in one’s own basic attitudes. Active listening carries an element of personal risk. Creating an attitude of sincere interest in the speaker is not an easy task. It can hence be created by being willing to risk viewing the world from the speaker’s point of view (Rogers & Farson, 2010). Organizational Culture Organizational culture is considered to be a significant component in the context of organizational communication. Culture is generally comprehended as how people make sense of their lives and is a complex experience that is flexible and continuously altering. The individuals as well as the broader systems in which the human lives are dynamic and constantly evolving, so does the culture. Culture impacts the adaption to the surroundings and is in fact impacted by change. When the concept related to culture is applied to the places of work, it can be interpreted that organizational culture is a framework of basic suppositions defining how the members are required to observe, think and feel regarding the problems. It is the organizational culture of any organization that identifies how it acts in response to the new contexts, learns from mistakes, and views events as opportunities or threats and whether it is reactive or proactive. In the era of competition, it becomes essential for the business houses to have a strong culture permitting it to improve via adaption and innovation while administering sound ways to communicate the culture of the organization to the members internally as well as externally (Swank, 2012). An experienced communication manager is capable of directing an organization by means of cultural discovery. This might comprise the methodologies such as observations, in-depth interviews with the managers as well as staff surveys where the features of the company are rated by significance. It needs to be remembered that the management of the organizational culture is not an easy task. It is considered to be a constant method of change as well as development. It is the organizational culture that identifies how the company deals with the change and competition and other environmental issues. Communication is quite essential factor in managing the organizational culture since it is a mode of alteration and the pacifier to the nervousness of change. Therefore, in order to best implement the organizational culture for improving the performance of the organization, the top management needs to play a crucial role. Change in the organizational culture triggers training initiatives so that cultural shocks can be avoided. Organizational culture is actually generated by the leadership of the organization and hence can become embedded into the core framework of the way things are communicated and the way in which the business is conducted on a day-to-day basis. It needs to be mentioned that a positive culture can have a major impact on the output along with the healthy work environment (Bisel, Messersmith, & Keyton, 2009). Conflict Resolution Conflict can be considered as a normal part of life leading to change and facilitating to resolve issue. It can be termed as a medium through which an individual grows and learns. It can be mentioned that if the conflicts are managed in a proper way then the outcomes can be favorable as well as life-changing. In certain relationships, conflicts are difficult to avoid. It alerts the individuals to their needs for communication as well as problem solving. Making use of the good communication skills is significant in order to reduce the negative impacts of conflict in an organization. Resolution of the conflicts would require comprehending the source of conflicts in relationships. Communication is the focal point of both conflicts as well as conflict resolution. Communication might be the source of conflicts in the organization and open and effective communication can instead assist in resolving the problems of conflicts. Hence, it can be mentioned that in order to best implement the conflict resolution strategies in an organization, it is vital for the communication to be clear and precise so that conflicts can be avoided. It has often been noted that conflicts tend to take place among the individuals when they feel that they are neglected. Hence, it is quite significant to maintain transparency at all the levels of the management and hence avoiding conflicts (Cornell University, 2010). Leadership Strategies One of the vital qualities for the leader is the capability to communicate effectively. It is by means of effective communication the leader is able to create, foster and thus generate the trust as well as comprehension required to encourage others to follow a leader. If there is lack of effective communication then the leader will not be capable of motivating others to attain the desired objectives. The objective of mastering to all the facets of leadership communication is to bring the prospective leaders close to the communication situation. Leadership communication requires forecasting the interruptions as well as interferences via audience analysis (Dean, 2012). Subsequently, it entails creation of the communication strategy controlling the rhetorical context and thus assisting in the proper transmission of the message. It is difficult to separate effectual communication from the effective leadership. Effective leadership takes place because of motivated, inspired and influenced people so that they can contribute towards the betterment of the organization. Hence, in order to effectively implement leadership strategies in an organization it requires a leader to communicate the followers the vision, mission as well as policies so that the followers are motivated and inspired to perform effectively. Most of the times, it is observed that the employees face problems observable to them in not comprehending the goals of the organization, their roles and what they are supposed to attain in an organization. Hence, there are leaders who can assist in communicating the goals of the organization to the employees and hence attain the obligation of the employees towards the goals of the organization (Davis, 2012). Formal and Informal Communication Informal communication assists in developing association among the members of the organization and the volunteers. It can be observed that the face-to-face interaction is one of the primary ways through which employees in the organization are capable of communicating informally. Informal organizational communication does not takes place within the formal lines of the organizational structure. Two main objectives are served by the informal communication channels. The employees are capable of contenting their requirements for social interaction in the workplace. Furthermore, informal communication can assist the members of the organization in enhancing the performance by generating alternative and faster means of communication (Guo & Sanchez, 2012). In the business organization, formal communication has a significant role to play. It is essentially associated with the formal organizational structure and hence moves through the formal channels’ confidently accepted positions in the organization chart. One of the significant benefits of formal communication is that it can be used for coordinating comparatively routine and repetitive transactions in an organization. In case of fresh as well as unplanned events the formal communication mechanism is found to be ineffective. A few of the components that appear to be a routine phenomenon are unexpectedness and uncertainty. Hence, under such circumstances, the organization needs to inculcate informal communication for the purpose of coordination in light of vagueness as well as equivocality. Informal communication is significant in endorsing the social functions of groups. It can be mentioned that in order to properly implement the informal as well as formal communication systems in an organization, the communication process must offer feedbacks that may take numerous forms each with a distinct intention. The various types of feedback that can assist in making the communication effective are descriptive feedback, evaluative feedback and prescriptive feedback. These kinds of feedbacks through proper communication can ensure that the employees in the organization are aware of the present strengths and drawbacks which can in turn increase employees’ productivity (Alanezi, 2011). Conclusion Organizational communication can be identified as the method of transferring information to the other people. It is one of the major challenges for the managers and the leaders owing to the fact that they are supposed to offer information that assists in efficient and effective performance in an organization. One of the main tasks of the communication manager in an organization is to maintain effective communication and hence identify the potential barriers that obstruct the communication process. By initiating a new communication structure in an organization, the issues related to the organization can be resolved. The five different aspects that can be introduced as part of the new communication structure in an organization are active listening, organizational culture, conflict resolution, leadership strategies and formal as well as informal communication. All the five aspects need to be implemented in an effective way by the managers of the organization so that it is capable of attaining success by improving the performance. Feedback has also a vital role to play in the communication process. Through feedbacks, the employees can obtain significant information related to their productivity and performance. It is significant for the organization to support open climate and hence value active participation of its employees in the communication process. Such climate in an organization will help to remove the hindrances related to the communication among the members of the organization. It will also help the members to express their suppressed feelings in front of the management. In light of this fact, the managers will in turn be capable of initiating strategies and hence resolving the problems. References Alanezi, A. S. (2011). Communication satisfaction and its relationship to organizational commitment among secondary teachers in Kuwait. Proquest. Bisel, R. S., Messersmith, A. S. & Keyton, J. (2009). Understanding organizational culture and communication through a gyroscope metaphor. Journal of Management Education, 20(9), pp: 20-50. Cairo University. (2012). Organizational communication concepts and skills. Retrieved from http://pathways.cu.edu.eg/subpages/downloads/Communication_Chapter_1.pdf Cornell University. (2010). Communication and conflict resolution. Retrieved from http://www.advance.cornell.edu/documents/communication_and_conflict_resolution.pdf Davis, L. A. (2012). Ability of leaders to effectively communicate and influence employees commitment to organizational goals. Proquest. Dean, R. J. (2012). Leadership communications and organizational change: A case study of the effect of leadership communications in shaping employee perceptions of change efforts at two nuclear power facilities. Proquest. Guo, K. L. & Sanchez, Y. (2012). Workplace communication. Retrieved from http://healthadmin.jbpub.com/borkowski/chapter4.pdf Helms, M. M., & Haynes, P. J. (1992). Are you really listening: the benefit of effective intra-organisational listening. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 7(6), pp: 17-21. Kuboto, S., Mishima, N., & Nagata, S. (2004). A study of the effects of active listening on listening attitudes of middle managers. Journal of Occupational Health. 46, pp:60-67. Rogers, C., & Farson, R. E. (2010). Active listening. Retrieved from http://www.gordontraining.com/wp-content/uploads/ActiveListening_RogersFarson.pdf Swank, A. R. (2012). Exploring organizational dynamics of organizational culture, entrepreneurial leadership, and strategy in small family businesses: An ethnographic collective case study. Proquest. The University of Maine. (2012). Effective communication. Retrieved from http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/pdfpubs/6103.pdf Read More