Communication

1. Communication

2. Contents • Methods • Motivation and communication • Effective communication • Barriers to effective communication • How to improve communication • Difficulties with larger organisations

3. Communication • Transferring information from one part of the business to another that leads to some outcome, changed behaviour or changed practice • Formal Communication – established and agreed procedures • Informal Communication – channels not formally recognised – ‘the grapevine’

4. Communication • Process: Finance Dept Change in payment systems E-mail Sender or Instigator Channel Receiver Medium Feedback

5. Communication • Methods: • Verbal – face to face • Written • Electronic • Visual • Audio • Group meetings • Notice boards • Text

6. Communication and Motivation • Better communication increases motivation as workers respond from attention (Mayo) • In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs communication is key to achieving the higher level needs • Employee empowerment needs good communication so workers know what they are doing • Teams need to be able to communicate to work effectively together

7. Motivation and Communication • If employees are well motivated can impact communication as they are more likely to speak to senior employees • Poor levels of motivation are likely to have a negative impact on communication • Communication and motivation are related – if one increases it is likely to have a positive impact on the other

8. Effective communication • Effective communication has the following benefits: • It makes change easier – this is particularly important to businesses who are in industries which are changing rapidly • It increases commitment from employees • It increases coordination • It helps ensure that all employees are working towards the same objectives

9. Communication • Barriers to Successful Communication • Ability of the sender – how much the sender understands of the message they are trying to send • Content – including technicalities and jargon • Method of communication – including style and body language where appropriate! • Skills and attitude of the receiver • Organisational factors – complexity of the organisation, scope of the organisation • Cultural attitudes • Perceptions, prejudices and stereotypes • Inappropriate target for the message • Technical capabilities – ICT

10. How to improve communication • Communication can be improved by: • Staff training in communication skills • Keeping information to a minimum • Increasing awareness of cultural and linguistic differences

11. Difficulties for larger organisations • As organisations grow they often experience problems with communication which can lead to diseconomies of scale • These may be caused by: • Communication overload • Too many levels in the hierarchy • Decentralisation

12. Difficulties for larger organisations • Larger organisations need to manage communication to ensure it is effective • They can use ICT to speed up communication throughout the business • Clear messages need to be communicated down the chain of command

13. Summary • Communication is the passing of information between parties • Communication can be classified as formal and planned or informal • There are many methods of communication including written, verbal, audio etc • Motivation and communication – In businesses where there is good communication levels of motivation tend to increase • If workers are motivated they tend to communicate better • Effective communication brings many benefits to the business including increasing flexibility of the business and providing direction • Barriers to effective communication mean that communication can fail to meet its purpose • Communication can be improved with staff training, keeping information to a minimum and increasing awareness of linguistic and cultural difficulties • Larger organisations often experience problems with communication causing diseconomies of scale