Organizational Communication

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Organizational CommunicationBy nature• Formal• Informal

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Organizational CommunicationFormal Communication

– follows the official chain of command – communication required to do one’s job– takes place within work arrangements

Informal Communication– not defined by the organization’s structural hierarchy– fulfills two purposes

• permits employees to satisfy their needs for social interaction

• creates alternative, and frequently faster and more efficient, channels of communication

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Organizational CommunicationBy direction• Upward• Downward• Diagonal

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Organizational Communication (cont.)Direction of Communication Flow

– Downward - flows from a manager to subordinates• used to inform, direct, coordinate, and evaluate

employees– Upward - flows from subordinates to managers

• keeps managers aware of employees’ feelings • source for ideas on improving operations• amount of upward communication affected by the

culture of the organization– trust and empowerment increase upward flow–mechanistic and authoritarian environment

decrease upward flow

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Organizational Communication (cont.)Direction of Communication Flow (cont.)

–Diagonal - cuts across both work areas and organizational levels• benefits efficiency and speed• e-mail facilitates diagonal communication

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Organizational Networks

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Three Common Organizations Communication Networks and How They Rate on Effectiveness Criteria

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Organizational Communication NetworksOrganizational Communication Networks

– combination of vertical and horizontal flows into a variety of patterns

– Types of Networks• chain - communication flows according to the formal

chain of command• wheel - flows between a clearly identifiable and strong

leader and others in a work group or team• all-channel - flows freely among all members of a

work team– no single network is best for all situations

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Organizational Communication (cont.)Organizational Communication Networks (cont.)

–Grapevine - an informal network that is active in almost every organization• important source of information• identifies issues that employees consider

important and anxiety producing• can use the grapevine to disseminate important

information• grapevine cannot be abolished

–rumors can never be eliminated entirely

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Approaches & Models

•Philosophy•Actions•Reactions•Advantages•Disadvantages

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ONE-WAY COMMUNICATION MODEL OF APPROACH– Arrow approach– developed by the Engineer Claude Shannon in 1949

• Philosophy: receptor’s feedback is not needed• Actions: by using a clear and precise language, the decision

that he/she transmits• Reactions: complain s about the lack of information and the

information reached is distorted.• Advantages: preferred in formal, rigid, plain and authoritarian

style• Disadvantages: inadequate distribution of the information

from the upper level of management to the lower levels

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• receptor’s response (reaction) to the received message• Philosophy: supposes the existence of the receptor’s response

(reaction) to the received message• Actions: presupposition that the manager must know problems,

opinions and views• Reactions: a harmonious organizational environment and in

cultivating agreeable relations• Advantages:

– Understanding of the employees, – the adaptation of the messages– the certainty that the message sent was correctly understood

• Disadvantages: communication comes from the large amount of time spent in discussions and debates

CIRCUIT APPROACH

INTERACTIVE COMMUNICATION

• Philosophy: exchange of ideas between those who communicate• Actions: trusts the subalterns’ professional competence and has

them informed and consulted about the occurring problems and the solution of such.• Reactions: employees’ creative skills are appreciated and their

participation into solving the problems that the company faces is stimulated• Condition: compatibility of those who communicate, from the

perspective of the level of knowledge, experience, share values and type of behavior.

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THE BEHAVIORAL MODEL

• Philosophy: the way in which the transmitter expects the receptor to react after receiving the message• Actions: anticipation of the possible response• Reactions: adapt the message in such a way as to get

a positive response• Advantages: Requires rich knowledge, skills and

experience.• Disadvantages: Parallel interferences

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