Organizational Communication

Lecture 1.

Ing. Jiří Šnajdar 2013

Organizational communication is a relatively new field. The first textbook in the area was published les than 40 years ago.

Many universities did not have a single course in organizational communication until 1980 – early 1990s.

The growth in the last decade has been rapid. Now scholars and business practitioners identify communication as 1. central to organizational activity, 2. multidimensional and 3. Problematic.

Most of us know, firsthand , that organizational communication can be difficult. We may attend poorly run meetings, hear long and rumbling briefings, etc.

Organizational communication deals with all of these areas and many others. Organizational communication is multifaceted and complex.

Three such foundational planks/ points relate to centrality, pervasiveness, and complexity of organizational communication.

„Organizational communication is the vital link in the chain of events that is the proces of managing business. It is the single factor that makes an organization viable, successful, effective, enduring.“ Roy Foltz

Communication is not frill that provides a value-added dimension to the organization or the individuals who comprise it. It is a central factor that determines the organizational constitution. It is a vital to an organization as your heart is to your health.

Communication actually consists of a great deal more than what individual managers say or information that managements publish.

Organizational communication is multifaceted and complex. The range of communication issues affecting organization is extensive, and the cause of any one communication problem is often more complicated than it appears to be.

To some communication referes to speaking, listening, and writing skills. To others communication is perceive as something related to the technologies that are employed to facilitate the communication.

Organizational communication consists of electronic communication, printed matter, such as newsletters, magazines, and internal memoranda, as whatis meant by internal communication. Organizational communication issues include all of these areas and many more.

There are several common myths or misunderstandings about what is meant by organizational communication.

Organizational communication pertains only to business and those who study business.

It is easy to train someone to be effective communicator in organization.

Organizational communication is the role of HR or corporate communication people.

People know how to communicate. We can all speak, hear. Most of us can use internet. Certainly inteligent people can communicate well.

Shearing a sophisticated vocabulary makes a group, and members of that group, effective organizational communicators.

What is Essential for Organizational Communication?

The proces whereby members gather pertinent information about their organization and the changes occuring within it.

The coordination by communication of a number of people who are interdependently related.

The proces of creating and exchanging messages within an organization in order to help organization to cope with the uncertainties of a changing environment.

The proces of creating, exchanging, interpreting and storing messages within a systém of human interrelationships.

The study of sending and receiving messages that create and maintain a systém of consciously coordinated activities.

These definitions all have valuble atributes. Organizational communication is a field of study. It involves creating, sending, receiving, and interpreting information. Effective organizational communication helps organization cope with uncertainty and exists within a complex systém of interrelationships.

The communication is a nonlinear proces that occures when people intentionally or unintetionally send and recieve verbal and nonverbal message.

Communication in fact it is not linear it is not one-way phenomenon.

Communication can be intentional or unintentional. Organizational women and men must comunicate to function.

More significantly, people could not „not communicate“ even if they wish to „not communicate“.

Communication can be verbal or nonverbal.

A verbal message is one that uses words to convey meaning. Any message, whether spoken or read, that uses words to relay meaning contains verbal messages.

Nonverbal communication involves more than just body language. Time, tone of voice, smell, dress, size, and touch all contribute to what is prceived as meaningful.

Studnts of organizational communication need to remember that nonverbal messages do not actually mean anything until receiver decodes them.

Even verbal messages do not mean anything until receiver decode them.

However with nonverbal messages there is considerable room for misinterpretation.

The act of sending message, in and itself, does not mean that communication has taken place. This is often misunderstood aspect of communication, especially in these times of technological availability.

If a senior administrator sends employees electronic reports, but employees do not read the reports, we cannot say that the manager has communicated the message dispite the fact that a cogent message have been broadcast.

In short, message received is message communicated.

Once a message has been received it cannot be eradicated. Someone might say the words, „I take that back“, but this does not erase the prior message.

Communication is different from understanding. Some people think of communication as being synonymous with understanding.

As significantly, an ability to come to agreement does not mean that two people are not communicating effectively.

Communication is contextual. There are several levels of communication.

Intrapersonal communication – communicating with yourself.

Dyadic communication – refers to communication in groups of two. Interpersonel exchanges, formal or informal.

Group communication – group meetings are a common context of communication in organizations. Groups are defined as bodies of 3 – 15 people.

Public communication – presentations by senior executives.

Public communication is a more linear context, but public commnication involves feedback and in certain situation, involves a great deal of interaction.

Mass communication – whether print or electronic involves disseminating information to large, sometimes unknown receivers.

We must be able to read, write, speak, listen and use basic communicating technology.

Being a skilled communicator,involves more than just having sklil competences.

Communication sklil reflects the ability and willingness to aply capabilities intelligently.

Networks – an organization requiers networks to connect related units in its systematic environments.

Establishing and cultivating these channels is a challange.

Culture – is important for organizational communicators in at least two ways. Organizations can have their own culture. Communication affects the evolution of these cultures and concurrently, organizational culture affects communication quality. Organisations are often multinational.

Power – if people can understand the rudiments of organizational communication they can become more effective and powerful in terms of their personal daily aktivity, their contributions to the organization as a whole and their opportunities to become proffessionally fulfiled.