Organizational Communication Types and Purposes

Multinational Corporations and Global Communication

• Lecture 11 focuses on organizational communication and corporate language within multinational corporations (MNCs).
• Learning objectives include describing organizational communication types and purposes, discussing issues in choosing corporate language, and discussing power brokering issues.
• Organizational communication is categorized as internal and external.

Work Interaction versus Social Interaction

• Work interaction is task-oriented.
• Those with limited proficiency in the company's common languages may face social isolation due to communication barriers.
• Social interaction includes small talk and gossip to build networks.
• Information often spreads faster through informal channels than official channels.

Quiz

• The quiz tests understanding of communication types found in office corridors
• A correct answer is social interactions

Internal and External Communication

• Internal communication takes place within an organization (e.g., HQ and subsidiaries).
• External communication involves interactions with external parties (e.g., suppliers and customers).
• Fredriksson, Barner-Rasmussen & Piekkari (2006) explores the theme of MNCs as multilingual organizations.

Organisational Communication - Internal Communication

• Types of internal communication include horizontal, vertical (downward and upward), and diagonal.

• Horizontal communication involves information exchange between departments at the same level.

• Vertical communication (downward) transfers information from higher levels to lower levels (e.g., managers to employees).

• Upward communication transfers information from lower levels to higher levels (e.g., employees to managers).

• Diagonal communication involves communication between different levels and different departments.

• Examples of internal communication include: production managers communicating with purchasing managers on shipments of materials, management announcing company mergers to lower staff.

Interunit Communication

• Interunit communication is influenced by formal organizational structure (e.g., centralization vs. autonomy) and informal relationships among managers.

• Ghoshal, Korine, and Szulanski (1994) highlight that relationships among managers significantly positively impact ongoing communication within the HQ and among subsidiaries.

• Strong interunit communication helps improve information flow within an MNC.

• MNCs should invest in interunit networking to improve information flow.

• Shared understanding is essential, and the informal relationships act as supporting elements to the formal organizational structure.

How to Reduce Problems in Interunit Communication

• Reducing information processing needs is key, but challenging for most MNCs.
• MNCs can try to increase information processing capacity.

Organisational Communication - External Communication

• External communication includes communications and interactions with outside parties.

• Senior management typically deals with the external public image.

• Middle management generally deals with operational tasks (purchasing, hiring, and marketing).

• External communication utilizes various channels (e.g. websites, social media, advertisements, news releases, conferences and public engagements).

Issues in Choosing Corporate Language

• Corporate language is used throughout a corporation at all levels.

• Company speak often reflects the company's culture and operating methods.

• Options for choosing a corporate language include a) using the headquarters' language, b) using local languages or c) using a third language.

Benefits of Having a Corporate Language

• Efficiency in cross-border communication within a geocentric MNC.

• Effective global and regional integration.

• Clearer information channels help employees understand and operate within the organization.

• Promotes a strong corporate culture, and sense of belonging.

• Reduced translation and communication costs.

Problems of Having a Corporate Language

• Employees may experience difficulty functioning using the corporate language.

• A company's top management may perceive language-challenged employees as incompetent.

• Employees can seek assistance from colleagues who speak their native language, which could result in using the wrong personnel to address a problem.

• Informal knowledge-sharing through networks can suffer, and valuable communication resources can be dispersed.

• Employees can exclude themselves from business information and communications when company language skills are limited.

What if There is No Corporate Language?

• HQ policies and procedures may not be efficiently disseminated to subsidiaries without shared language proficiency.
• Communication amongst subsidiaries and headquarters may fail.
• Effective negotiations with external parties becomes challenging.
• Conflicts may arise within cross-cultural teams.

Issues in Power Brokering

• Employees with good corporate language skills have an informal power advantage.
• Employees who are not fluent in the corporate language can be less effective in communications, especially in negotiations and obtaining support or influence with their colleagues.
• Language skill proficiency has a direct impact on employee career growth and success.

Language and Cultural Differences

• Different cultures and language groups may have differing operational definitions that are not compatible with one another.
• Decoupled language clusters are common in MNCs.

Studied Language Skills and Corporate Language

• The study identified language proficiency (specifically English) differences by regions, and the influence on decision making, power dynamics, and communication within MNCs.

Is English Chosen as a Corporate Language?

• Surveys show differences in English fluency across geographical regions.
• English fluency is reported as excellent in some regions, and only adequate in others.

Language Skills of Managers

• In different regions, language proficiency levels may vary greatly.
• An ideal circumstance is that all managers have good language skills.

Power/Authority Distortion

• HQ Managers and subsidiary managers with deficient corporate language skills can experience power disparities.
• Managers without good language skills are frequently not promoted within an MNC.

Finally, Work Value Today

• The work environment is constantly changing.
• Knowledge and skills must continually adapt and be upgraded, because they are not always something you are taught.
• Lifelong learning and adaptability are necessary.

Language is a Power Asset

• Language ability allows employees to control resources (information and social networks), thus increasing their power within the company.
• Language is considered a cultural capital that enables significant and varied influence in the business environment.

Explore communication types in organizations: horizontal, diagonal, upward, and downward. Understand their purposes, from information sharing to issue resolution. Identifies factors impacting effective communication.