Why study Organizational Communication?

1) Org comm provides the basis for understanding virtually every human process that occurs
in organizations.
2) To be aware of communication skills that you as a college graduate should possess in
order to meet organizational expectation.
3) May start you down the path to a career as a communication professional in an
organization or as an academic scholar in the field.
Areas
Theory
Gender
Diversity
Conflict
Relationships
Culture
Structure
Leadership
Nonverbals
Climate
Technology
Consulting
Ethics
Vision/Mission

of

Org

Comm

Organizational Communication Structure

The most central idea in functionalist perspective of organizational communication.
Definition:
System of pathways through which messages flow or Patterns of interaction among people
who comprise the organization (who communicates with whom?)
Types of Org Comm Structure

Formal
Informal

Structural
Think
of
an
organization
each of these organizational structures.

that youve

belonged

to

that

Task
fits

You will provide the story

Formal
Communication Structure
Definition: Communication through officially designated channels of message flow between
organization
positions.
Usually
found
in
organizational
charts,
policy
manuals, or hierarchial structures

3
Types
1) Downward Communication

of

Formal

Communication

2) Upward Communication
3) Horizontal Communication
Downward Communication
Definition: Communication that flows 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.
Pro- efficient
Con- managerial control

(fast)

Upward Communication
Definition: Transmission of messages 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.
Pro: promotes
morale
among
Con: not enough superiors encourage subordinate

all

employees

Horizontal Communication
Definition: 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 coordination between departments and project teams.
Pro: Effective
Con: Not efficient (time consuming)
Informal Communication
Definition: Episodes of interaction that do not reflect officially designated channels of
communication. The grapevine emerges from social and personal interests of the employees
rather than formal requirements of the organization. Informal comm is inherent and even a
necessary aspect of organization life.
Pro: Creates
a
relaxed,
comfortable
Con: Should not become a substitute for an ineffective, formal system

climate

As blood flows, it pumps oxygen through the body to sustain life. Likewise, communication
is the lifeblood of projects and organisations. Just as the heart works to distribute oxygen
throughout the body, the project manager continuously circulates project information from
the external stakeholders to the project plan documentation, to the internal stakeholders, to
the project plan. This cycle of communication and information flow is iterative and continues
throughout the life of the project. Without it, stakeholders and the project team can be left
wondering where things stand and what decisions have been made.
The communication plan-like the project plan-is a necessary part of the project. However,
when thinking of the project manager's role in communication planning, organisations and
project teams too often think solely of the documents that establish the frequency, roles,
responsibilities, recipients, and channel for which communication will be dispersed during a
project. If you don't look beyond the written word and the outline prepared in the early phases
of a project, you are setting yourself up for project losses. While you need to understand who
is involved in the project, it is equally important to understand what information is needed
and the level at which they need to receive it.
There are some definite musts for the communication plan. The communication plan should
be scalable and must be prepared based on the scale and depth of the project. Just as you
wouldn't send out a SWAT team to catch a shoplifter, you wouldn't prepare an elaborate
communication plan for a straightforward project that involves only a small group.
Understanding the needs of stakeholders and developing an appropriate plan for
communicating progress-information, successes, risks, and changes-is paramount. The
operative word when creating the plan document is "appropriate." Be careful not to overcommunicate irrelevant information, otherwise, stakeholders and the project team may
become overwhelmed with information and disregard relevant future information.
The general rule I like to follow is to communicate information when its presence or absence
will have some direct impact on project success. How does one identify when information
will have a direct impact on the project? Typically if something impacts the scope, time, cost,
risk, or quality of a task, this warrants escalating through the appropriate communication
channels. It's not always clear to see if something will affect the critical path without
performing some analysis, but for changes to pre-defined critical path activities, this is also
an area that requires prompt attention and communication. Information that will impact the
project-either good or bad-is vital to the project stakeholders.
In a similar vein, collecting relevant information from stakeholders is important. This
information can be obtained standing at the water cooler or by more formal methods.
However you gather it, once the information is received and validated, it should be analysed
to determine the impact on the project. Any changes affecting deliverables or expectations
should be discussed with all stakeholders and the necessary documentation updated and
circulated.
Let's dig a little deeper in the area of expectation management. The art of communicating and
understanding stakeholder needs as at the top of my personal list of drivers for project
success, regardless of the size of the project. Scaling the communication plan appropriately to

fit the audience is necessary for continued project buy-in and interest. The ability to
communicate with individuals on various levels with various project interests is important for
successful project management. You should become intimate with the needs and background
of individuals involved with your project in order to relay an appropriate message to each
member of the team, be it internal or external. Different individuals on the project team and
those on the other end of the project have specific desires and individual objectives they are
interested in achieving. Keeping individuals interested in the project is all part of the process.
While the plan documents help establish some rigour in the process, be careful not to become
too rigid and only allow communication at selected periods. If you notice that stakeholders
are requiring more frequent communication, perhaps this is an indicator that the plan
document needs to be updated as the project is not as straightforward as once thought. For
smaller scale environments, additional levels of communication may involve in-person
dialogue, whereas for larger, more geographically dispersed groups, this may involve more
formal written methods. It's important to understand the communication styles of those
involved with your project and to cater an approach that is most effective to your unique
project and stakeholders.
Finally, give some thought to the delivery method. There are various channels to deliver
project communication. Analysing your audience, the type of information being
communicated, and the urgency of the information should all be factored in to the delivery
method. Technology has brought us collaboration tools and document repositories for
distributing project related communication. But be careful not to throw a tool at an audience
and expect your job to be done. Tools are excellent supplements, allowing individuals to 'pull'
information. However, imposing a delivery method that is inappropriate to your audience or
the project may result in un-accessed information, which remains idle. In addition to making
sure the tool and communication medium is appropriate to the areas already mentioned, the
tool must already be accepted, heavily promoted, and fully integrated within you organisation
prior to use.
The single most important differentiator I have seen to project success is communication. It
requires an understanding of all facets of the project and keen intuition. Once a channel is
established and information is flowing at the appropriate levels, trust can be established and
true business problems solved. The success of a project and the perceptions of the
stakeholders involving the project is on the line. The PM serves as the heart of the effort,
ensuring everyone receives all pertinent information, so that the right decisions are made at
the right time throughout the life of the project.
A project team flowing with effective communication is empowered to make more
contemplative and educated project decisions. Remember, just as blood doesn't flow by itself,
neither does communication. Both require interaction on the part of the team and
stakeholders.
BASIC PURPOSE OF COMMUNICATION:
SAVES
TIME
What is the purpose of (formal) communication? A response to a query of this nature would

be more beneficial it attempts were made to understand the business situation where success
or failure of issues is always measured in terms of man-hours spent in the completion of a
task. Let us take an example. Suppose the boss issues instruction to his subordinate does it to
the best of his ability. However, the end result is a miserable failure because the manner of
completion does not match with the expectation of the boss. A lot of time has been wasted as
a result of miscommunication on the part of the two member of the same organization. In
fact, more time would now be spent on rectifying the errors that had crept up in the first
instance. If the amount of time used in completion of this particular task is calculated, it
would be seen that double the time necessary has been taken.
HELPS IN COORDINATING, COLLATING AND ISSUING INSTRUCTION:
The example cited above is one of the most common and prevailing examples of
miscommunication resulting from a lack of feedback in organization. This however, is not the
only criterion that qualifies for an in depth study of communication. Let us take a look at the
communicative competence required at three different in an organization.
In the business situation the role of a manager, as he goes higher up in the hierarchy is to
coordinate, issue instructions, and then present it. All these activities require effective
communication skills. The sooner these skills are honed, the earlier it is for the manager to
accomplish tasks. Similar is the case of the junior manager up the ladder of success
possessing almost the same academic qualifications and almost similar personality traits.
Only one of them would be to make it to the managing directors chair. Without doubt it
would be the candidate with excellent communication skills.
BRAING
IMPROVEMENT
IN
SPEAKING
ABILITIES,
LISTENING,
INTERACTING,
WRITING,
CONVINGCING
AND
PERSUADING:
Prior to entry in any organization, certain communicative abilities are also looked for in
candidates. Ability to speak, conduct oneself properly in an interview, get along with others,
listen carefully and accurately, make effective presentation, prepare good yet brief report,
make proposals, sell ideas, convince and persuade other are some of the attributes looked for
in a candidate. If an individual possesses these attributes or can train himself to excel in them,
he himself would realize how much easier it is for him not only to secure a comfortable
position in an organization but also to achieve success.