SMM20103 ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION

 TOPIC:

1. INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION

BACKGROUND OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION:

• The basis for understanding human process in organizations.
• To be aware of communication skills that you as a university’s graduate should possess in order to meet organizational expectation.
• Start a career as a communication professional in an organization or as an academic scholar in the field.

BRIEF DEFINITION

1. Defining Organizations

• We are born in organizations, we are educate by organizations and we spend most of our lives working for them.
• We patronize organizations, play in them and pray in them.
• We typically associate the term organization with large corporations but about 60 years ago we acknowledged the diversity of organizations and pointed out that we are all organizational people
• So, what is an organization?
• We can agree that PETRONAS is an organization but many would argue about whether a family should be viewed as an organization
• Etzioni (1964): social units or human groupings that are deliberately constructed and reconstructed to seek specific goals
• For example?
• Rogers & Agarwala -Rogers (1976, 6): a stable system of individuals who work together to achieve, through a hierarchy of ranks and division of labor, common goals
• Although definitions are diverse, they share several common threads – An emphasis on goal-directed behavior, coordinated actions, information sharing, decision-making and human relationships
• Organization is an open communication system among people within a specific context for the purpose of achieving common goals through cooperative effort.
• System is an independent set of components which relate to each other in a structured, organized manner

2. Defining communication

• Communication is sharing & understanding symbols/images of reality through verbal and non verbal behavior.
  

3. Organizational communication

• Studying organizational communication requires us to look at how communication
  processes (in a system) contribute to the coordination of behavior in working environment toward organization’s goals. (Miller:1995)
  
• Nearly every modern work on organizations points to the importance of communication for achieving organizational objectives, furthering human relations, making sound decisions.
• Theorists defined communication in diverse ways but regardless of the perspective taken, each acknowledges and incorporates several communication components:
  

3. Defining organizational communication

• Tortoriello, Blatt & DeWine (1978, p.3): the flow and impact of messages within a network of interactional relationships
• Wilson, Goodall & Waagen (1986, p.6): An evolutionary, culturally dependent process of sharing information and creating r/ships in environments designed for manageable, cooperative, goal-oriented behavior
• Goldhaber (1993, pp. 14-15): the process of creating and exchanging messages within a network of interdependent relationships to cope with environmental uncertainty
• Organizational communication is system of  pathways through which messages flow (communication patterns) of interaction among people who comprise the organization (who communicates with whom?)
• Organizational Communication is also defined as a program/activities that focuses on general
  communication processes and dynamics
  within organizations

TYPES OF ORGANIZATION

• Organizations oriented to economic production
  
• Common stereotype of organizations.
• Typical profit making business organizations, which manufacture products/offer services for consumers.
• Economically self-sufficient
• Organizations oriented toward political goals
  
• Those designed to generate and distribute power and control within society.
• Generally funded and empowered by local, state and federal governments
• Designed to generate and distribute power within society
• Organizations oriented to integration/social goals
  
• Are those that mediate and resolve discord among groups and individual members of society.
• Oriented toward helping solve social problems.
• Organizations oriented to pattern maintenance/cultural/education goals
  
• Promote cultural and educational regularity and development within society.
• Help to socialize the public into learning and following norm structure of a given society.
• Help preserve society by diminishing and managing health problems and by making it possible for individuals to return to normal functioning within society

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION IN ORGANIZATION

• Formal
• Outward
• Downward communication
• from upper to lower(such as manager to employer or superior to subordinate).
  
• Types of messages: Job instructions, job rationales, procedures and practices
  information, feedback, and indoctrination
  
• Upward communication
• From lower to higher levels of the organization (such as communication initiated by subordinates with their superiors).
• Types of messages: performance on the job, job related problems, fellow employees and their problems, subordinates perceptions of org policies and practices, tasks and procedures
  
• Horizontal communication
• Flow of messages across functional areas at a given level of an organization (this permits people at the same level to communicate directly).
• Type of messages: facilitates problem solving, info sharing across different work groups, task
  
• Informal communication
• This is commonly known as The Grapevine
• Indicates the health of the organization
• Adds to employee satisfaction & commitment
• Indicates employee concerns
• Effective managers use The Grapevine effectively
• Is 75-95% accurate
• Travels fast
  
• The ‘Grapevine’ emerges from social and personal interests of the employees rather than formal requirements of the organization
  

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION CONTEXT

• Public Context
→speaker addresses an audience of several people. Purpose maybe informative, persuasive, entertaining or continuation
• Small Group Context
→ comprises of 3-20 people who interact in face-to-face situation for the purpose of achieving mutual goals.
• Interview Contexts
→ generally occur between two people. One person has the primary responsibility of asking questions which the other persons tries to answer.
• Brief Encounter Contexts
→occurs two people who interact freely to share information or to reach agreement on an idea. Normally in casual situation.

THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION IN ORGANIZATION

Communication helps organization members:

• By enabling them to discuss critical organizational experiences and develop relevant information
  
• To accomplish both individual and organizational change
• To accomplish both individual and organizational goals by enabling them to interpret organizational change
• By enabling them to coordinate their fulfillment of personal needs with their accomplishment of their evolving organizational activities evolving organizational activities

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION REMAINS A PRIORITY

Qualities/ skills believed to be most significantly related to the success in the organization

• Speech communication skills
• Written communication skills
• Persuasiveness
• Self-quality
• Motivation
• Initiatives
• Assertiveness
• Loyalty
• Leadership
• Maturity
• Enthusiasm
• Punctuality
• Appearance

2. ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION ETHICS

3. CLASSICAL & HUMAN THEORIES OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION

4. ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION, CLIMATE, CULTURE AND GLOBALIZATION

5. LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATION IN ORGANIZATION

6. ORGANIZATIONAL IDENTITY AND DIVERSITY

7. GROUP & TEAMS IN THE WORKPLACE

8. DECISION MAKING IN ORGANIZATION

9. CONFLICTS, POWER AND POLITICS IN ORGANIZATION

10. BARRIES OF COMMUNCATION IN ORGANIZATION

11. TECHNOLOGY IN ORGANIZATION

12. CORPORATE AND STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS