Communication in Organizations

Communication in Organizations

• Communication flows vertically (superior to subordinate), horizontally (peer to peer) and diagonally (manager to employees of other work groups)
• Communication can serve as a tool to appraise the individual or team, and their contribution to the organization.
• The purpose of communication is to evaluate one’s own inputs or other’s outputs, or to evaluate ideological scheme

Communication Channels

• Downward communication is communication from superiors to subordinates in a chain of command.
  • Downward communication is used by managers to provide feedback on employees’ performance, give job instructions, communicate the organization's mission and vision to the employees, and highlight areas of attention.
• Upward communication provides feedback on how well the organization is functioning.
  • Subordinates use upward communication to convey their problems and performances to their superiors.
• Lateral/ Horizontal communication occurs at the same levels of hierarchy in an organization (i.e., communication between peers).
  • Lateral communication is time-saving, facilitates task coordination, provides emotional and social assistance to organizational members, and can be used for resolving conflicts of a department with other departments or conflicts within a department.
• Diagonal or Crosswise communication is communication between a manager and employees of other work groups, and can lead to conflict if there is a misleading picture of the employees’ assumptions.

Paralanguage in Business Organizations

• Paralanguage is nonverbal communication, like language; it convey the message about what people are communicating, even without hearing the words.
• Voice is the first thing that comes out when we utter something, and it can reveal gender, background, temperament, and more.
• Clarity in voice is essential for effective communication, especially in jobs requiring clear and pleasant voice, like in call centers or for radio jockeys.
• Tone can be harsh, soft, pleasing, or sharp, and is used to convey an Outlook consciously or unconsciously.
• Intonation helps to refer to the pattern of sounds that are felt during communication.
• Mastering tone and intonation is important for effective communication and can make speeches more influential and interesting.

The Business Writing Process in the Digital Age

• Businesses communicate digitally, orally, or in print.
• Business writing differs from other forms of writing in its purpose, economy, and audience-orientation.
• Business writing is:
  • Purposeful, solving problems and conveying information.
  • Economical, presenting ideas clearly and concisely, length is not rewarded.
  • Audience-oriented, concentrating on looking at a problem from the perspective of the audience instead of seeing it from your own.
• Business writing should be concise and clear.
• The ability to prepare purposeful, concise, and audience-centered messages does not come naturally, but can be achieved through practice and study.
• The business writing process includes 3 stages: prewriting, drafting, and revising.

Prewriting

- **Analyze** your purpose,  your desired outcome or belief from the receiver, and the communication channel to be used (face-to-face conversation, group meeting, e-mail, letter etc.).
- **Anticipate** your audience by profiling them.
- **Research**  to gather data to provide facts.

Drafting

- **Organize** your information by researching company files, previous correspondence, and the internet.
- **Adapt** your message to suit your audience.

Revising

- **Edit** your message to be sure it is clear, concise, conversational, and readable.
- **Revise** to eliminate wordy fillers, long lead-ins, redundancies, and trite business phrases.

Developing the “You” View

• Focus on the benefits to the receiver rather than yourself, creating an empathetic message.
• Use second-person pronouns (you, your) instead of first-person pronouns (I/we, us, our) in your business writing.

Explore the various types of communication flows within organizations, including downward, upward, and horizontal communication. Understand how these communication channels impact feedback and employee performance evaluation. This quiz will help you assess your knowledge of organizational communication structures and their purposes.