Improving Organisational Improving

Organisational
Communication: Developing Communication

a Management Strategy 25
Sandra E. Robinson
Social Services Department, Berkshire County Council, UK

Introduction
The Social Services Department in which the study took place had been under
considerable pressure to review its service provision with a view to increasing
efficiency, effectiveness and economy of resources in terms of perceived value
for money to the ratepayer. Inevitably, this pressure was perceived by some
staff as an exercise in cost reduction and as a threat to role stability if not to
professional standards.
At the same time, the image of social work had been damaged by the publicity
surrounding a number of "failures" including the death or serious mistreatment
of children and elderly people where social services was involved. The level
of self-esteem of social workers and social services departments had not been
improved by the delays in the Government to response to the Griffiths Report.
This recommended that the lead role in caring for elderly, and mentally frail
or handicapped people in the community should be taken by local authorities.
The Government finally responded and the White Paper, "Caring for People",
that followed, is due for implementation in April 1991. This gives somewhat
more limited responsibilities to local authorities than those recommended in
the Report.
As a response to these pressures, a departmental reorganisation took place
within Harrow Social Services in April 1988. The department moved from a
generic fieldwork structure where residential and day-care services were
separately managed, to an integrated functional model within four specialist
divisions. This project concerns the fieldwork section of the Disability Division,
within which the author was a manager at the time of the assignment. The
Division is the largest of the four specialist groups and has approximately 800
staff, of whom a large proportion are part-time manual workers.
The Division is responsible for the management of several residential homes
for elderly people, a number of day centres and luncheon clubs. In addition
it provides meals on wheels and a home care service as part of a large domiciliary
and fieldwork operation. The tasks of the fieldwork service are broad and may
range from arranging for a bus pass or a walking stick to be supplied to an elderly
person, to drawing up plans and following them through for a major house
adaptation for a disabled person.

This article is a project summary submitted to the International Management Centres in partial
fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Business Administration.
 The changes that took place at the time of reorganisation were considerable,
IJPSM particularly for fieldwork staff. For most staff, including managers, it involved
3,1 a change in job content, in supervisor and in location. The reorganisation has
also led to a large number of changes in procedures in the way that services
are accessed byfieldworkers,on behalf of their clients, since many resources
and budgets have been decentralised.
26 A move towards working more closely with the community in local
neighbourhood offices was a major thrust of the reorganisation in the Disability
Division. This required a change in attitude on the part of many staff, and in
workplace and colleague support.
The Problem
In any organisation the impact of such a degree of change on staff would be
considerable. It was to be expected that staff would take time to learn and settle
into their new roles. Although there was a degree of overt resistance at the
time of the reorganisation, followed by a somewhat difficult and frustrating first
year for managers and staff alike, by the end of that year the reorganisation
was beginning to "bed down".
However, the Divisional Management Team perceived a persistent difficulty
in getting some staff to work to the new roles and to the objectives it had set.
The communication of management information was seen to be a problem. It
was considered by the Assistant Director, responsible for the management and
budget of the Division, that there was resistance and opposition to some of
the changes by the middle management group and front line staff which led
to decisions taken by the Divisional Management Team not being implemented.
The problem was perceived as a possible breakdown in communication between
the senior and middle management groups, and/or the middle management group
and the front line staff.
The specific problems which the project addressed arise from the following:
(1) Resistance to the various changes by fieldwork staff
(2) Loss of goodwill by some staff
(3) A perception of lowered morale
(4) Lack of trust between senior management and staff
(5) Middle management as a filter to communication between senior
management and front line staff.
Aim of Project
The aim of the project was to review perceptions of the current communication
system, and to seek ways in which these perceptions might be improved. The
communications of the Division would be reviewed in order to test their
effectiveness in relation to levels of performance of both management and front
line fieldwork staff in attaining divisional objectives.
An effective communication system, important as it is to the successful
functioning of any organisation, has a particularly vital role to play in a social
servicesfieldworkdepartment where the product is centred around personal
relationships.
 The field of organisational communication is very broad. For the project to Improving
be manageable, it has not included a consideration of communication in its widest Organisational
sense, such as an examination of written materials or formal management
information systems. It has concentrated on the ways in which ideas and Communication
information are communicated through people within the organisation.
To understand something of the nature of communication generally, and
organisational communication specifically, a study of relevant literature was made. 27
This proved very valuable in informing the design of the project.
Definition and Theory of Communication
Drucker, in his article, "What Communication Means"[1], quotes an old riddle
asked by mystics of many religions. It asks, "Is there a sound in the forest
if a tree crashes down and no-one is around to hear it?". The correct answer
is no, since whilst sound waves may exist, without someone to hear them there
can be no sound. He draws a parallel between this and the role of the
"communicator" who can only "utter" until someone hears. Thus, the
communicator cannot communicate, he can only make it possible for the recipient
to hear and, if the recipient understands, to perceive. That perception would
be based on long experience and on a common language. For Drucker,
communication has only occurred when the recipient responds.
There are many different definitions of communication in the literature.
Although some of the definitions make reference to the response of the recipient
in terms of "influence", they do not give this part of the process the same
degree of stress as Drucker. For organisations, the responses of staff to
managerial communication can make the difference between success and failure
in the effective attainment of organisational goals. The response may be explicit
or implicit. In the case of the Division, the failure of staff to implement
management's decisions is, in Drucker's terms, a communication response.
For the most part, writers now agree that communication implies a sender,
a recipient, a message, some relationship between the sender and recipient,
a response or effect, a context for the communication, and a range of
circumstances to which messages refer[2].
A basic requirement for communication to take place is the use by all parties
of a shared or common language. Hall[3] outlines the way in which not only
the spoken language of different peoples is culturally determined, but also the
"silent language", that of gestures, tone of voice, the setting in which
communication takes place, as well as the rules of each society governing
communication. Thus the way in which communication is received is dependent
on a number of different variables, such as the climate in which it occurs. It
may be seen that the process of communicating is liable to "noise" or
"distortion'' through a lack of shared meaning between sender and recipient,
or different perceptions of reality. It may also suffer from deliberate distortion
depending on the motivation of the parties involved in the communication.

Organisational Communication
Organisational communication is central to the process by which people and
their work activities are organised to meet organisational objectives. Thus it
IJPSM serves an integrating role between organisational and individual purposes and
3,1 systems.
The type of organisation, its structure and culture will determine to a large
extent its mode of communication. The more hierarchical the structure, the more
inflexible it is likely to be. The more "layers" it has, the more difficult communi-
cation becomes since its members are separated from one another within a complex
28 and sometimes impenetrable framework. More differentiated organisations will
require methods of "integration" in order to operate successfully.
Kanter[4] contrasts integrative and segmentalist approaches to corporate
thinking. The former activity embraces change in companies where the culture
and structures are also integrative in style, encouraging problems to be seen
and treated as "wholes". Such organisations are characterised by a team-
oriented co-operative environment, where multiple perspectives are taken into
account in decisions which provide coherence and direction to the whole
organisation. In contrast, segmentalist approaches are "concerned with
compartmentalising actions, events and problems and keeping each piece isolated
from the others"[4, p.28].
This approach assumes that problems need to be carved into pieces and given
to specialists, working in isolation, to be solved. Such organisations operate
with the minimum of integrative exchanges across segments. Change is
threatening to these organisations since it is likely to disturb the neat array
of segments. Here past structures are allowed to dominate the future, leaving
the organisation unlikely to be able to cope with uncertainty and change.
Recent literature demonstrates an increasing recognition on the part of large
organisations of their difficulties with regard to communication and organisational
flexibility. In order to survive, organisations have to adapt, rapidly to uncertain
environments characterised by constantly increasing competition, swiftly
advancing technologies, and closer scrutiny by consumers, government and public
interest groups [5]. Responsiveness and flexibility are the key attributes
necessary for organisations to adapt to meet the challenges ahead.

Open Communication
Kanter[5], Peters[6] and Carlzon[7] agree that an "open system" is required
to achieve this, where the culture enables the enhancement of trust and
openness amongst its members. The ability of the organisation to facilitate two-
way communication is of vital importance in the successful creation of an open
system. What is required is a genuine recognition by top management that each
staff member has the potential to provide a valuable contribution to the
organisation, in terms of ideas and information, as well as in day by day
functioning. "Responses" from staff need to be acknowledged and action should
follow to demonstrate that these responses have been heard.
Achieving an environment where communication can be effective and where
the workforce is responsive and adaptable becomes a necessity for organisational
success.
Motivation is key in achieving such an environment and the quality of the
relationship between supervisors and staff is most important in this respect.
Middle managers, as well as being central to the motivation of their staff, are
also the group who may provide the most effective barriers to communication Improving
within organisations. Therefore it is considered important to ensure that they Organisational
have high levels of motivation and commitment to organisational objectives. Communication
According to Peters[6] and Carlzon[7] this is best ensured through a process
of involvement and participation with all staff, so that people have access to
as much organisational information as possible. They see a need to change the
role of middle manager from that of a controller, employed to ensure that 29
instructions and procedures are followed, to that of a facilitator, an expeditor
and barrier destroyer whose task is to enable front line staff to deliver a quality
service or a product.
Creating such an environment requires commitment and skill on the part of
senior management. The problem perceived by senior managers in the Disability
Division of decisions apparently not being implemented, and of some staff not
undertaking the roles and responsibilities required of them, could be due to
a "breakdown" in communication at one or more points in the system. The
project was undertaken in order to establish whether there really was a problem.
If one was found to exist, the project would indicate where and why it was
occurring. Thus, solutions could be sought to ensure a greater degree of
commitment by staff to the achievement of organisational objectives.

The Fieldwork Survey

The research was conducted by means of an attitude survey of the effectiveness
of Divisional communication. Following discussions with NALGO (the relevant
Union) to ensure co-operation, a questionnaire was distributed by internal mail
to all 107 staff of the fieldwork section. An undertaking was given to ensure
the confidentiality of responses. The response rate was high (78.5 per cent)
indicating the degree of interest and relevance of the study perceived by
respondents.
The questions asked concerned individual attitudes to the following areas:
• Role clarity;
• Role expectations;
• Attitudes to work;
• Understanding of objectives;
• Access to supervisors;
• Attitudes towards management and supervision;
• Access to information;
• Vertical and horizontal information flows.
The staff surveyed were from the following three groups:
(1) middle management (MM);
(2) front line field workers (DFW); and
(3) consultant practitioners (CTM). (This group undertakes some front line
fieldwork but also has a professional supervisory role.)
Some interesting differences were found in their responses to the questionnaire.
IJPSM Survey Responses
3,1 The results of the questionnaire by fieldwork staff has demonstrated those areas
which have been most effective from a communication viewpoint, and where
there has been some degree of miscommunication. It has also indicated where
there could be gaps between the expectations of groups of staff, including
managers, and the reality that they perceive. The survey demonstrated that:
30
(1) There were generally high levels of motivation towards their work amongst
the staff groups surveyed. But a quarter of field workers (DFW) and 18
per cent of Consultant Practitioners (CP) did not feel motivated to do
the best job they could. This is likely to have implications for the quality
and level of service offered to customers.
(2) There was confusion about work instructions.
(3) A quarter of front line fieldwork staff felt unclear about the results
expected of them (Table I).

I have clear job instructions:

Total DFW MM CP
(%) (%) (%) (%)

Strongly agree/agree 27 31 31 18
Strongly disagree/disagree 45 41 38 65
Table I.

As a group, middle managers (MMs) demonstrated much greater role

clarity than did Consultant Practitioners (CPs) or Disability Fieldworkers
(DFWs). Of the latter two groups, 30 per cent of CPs were unclear as
were nearly 20 per cent of DFWs. This lack of clarity was also reflected
in their response to questions on clear job instructions and results
expected of them, with CPs expressing most confusion in these areas.
Whilst the middle managers' perceptions of their role were clear (100
per cent), these perceptions may conflict with those of more formal job
instructions and/or job descriptions. There may be an expectation amongst
members of the organisation that they should have formally written job
instructions, (the "how to do the job"), as well as a job description.
The requirement for detailed written rules and procedures is a common
feature of organisations where role culture predominates as people within
formal hierarchical and segmented organisations tend to have a low
tolerance for ambiguity.
(5) Considerable difficulties were perceived in accessing information. A huge
amount of information is required in fieldwork and therefore further
detailed questions would need to be asked to determine what type of
information this concerned.
(6) There appeared to be difficulty or confusion on the part of fieldworkers
over the role of line managers versus professional supervisors.
 (7) This confusion seems to be shared by the professional supervisors Improving
themselves who were the most unclear of all staff about their role. Organisational
(8) Senior managers were perceived as being out of touch with the work Communication
of the Division as shown by the responses below (Table ID.

Senior Managers in the Division really know what work is being done: 31
Total DFW MM CP
(%) (%) (%) (%)

Strongly agree/agree 13 12 23 6
Strongly disagree/disagree 66 64 53 83
Table II.

If staff do not feel their senior managers are aware of the type and quantity
of work that they are doing, they are unlikely to feel confident of senior
management's ability to plan or make appropriate and informed decisions
having an impact on the work that they do.
(9) Middle Managers may be concentrating too heavily on the regulatory
aspects of their role at the expense of the facilitating, enabling, coaching
and developmental aspects. Although a number of staff expressed some
degree of satisfaction, a quarter of front line fieldwork staff were
dissatisfied with their manager's ability to listen to them and to notice
their successes as well as their failures. A third or more fieldworkers
also felt dissatisfied with their managers regarding:
• feedback on personal performance levels;
• "coaching" for their job;
• regularity of supervision sessions.
(10) There appeared to be an emphasis on formal instructional communication
through vertical communication channels.
(11) It appeared that middle management provided a filter or blockage in the
vertical channels. This relates to formal communication regarding
instruction and general information, and to the flow of ideas and innovation.
(12) The communication channels are not working effectively.
Organisational Characteristics
The relationship between the structure and culture of an organisation and its
mode of communication has been discussed earlier in this article. Many of the
problems highlighted as a result of the survey are related to the Division's
organisational features.
For example, the main features of the Disability Division, and the Social
Services Department as a whole, can be described as being hierarchical in
structure, with centralised controls, systematised procedures and diversified
functions. Within the Disability Division, the predominant culture is that of role,
IJPSM with elements of task culture to be found particularly amongst the professional
3,1 staff, and power culture discernible at the top of the hierarchy. The Division
operates within a bureaucratic structure, which is segmented and differentiated
by task and place of work.
The reorganisation followed a need for change perceived by senior management
in response to internal, external and environmental requirements. The structural
32 changes were led by management and resisted by many staff, particularly those
who were to become fieldworkers in the Disability Division.
The reorganisation produced a new organisational structure in which the same
bureaucratic features were present. Segmentalism was increased in the new
structure of the Social Services Department as a whole by a structure on the
basis of specialisms and, also in the Disability Division, by the creation of 27
small neighbourhood-based teams, from the original nine centralised teams.
It appears that the underlying principles of structure, and the organisational
culture of the new Division have reinforced those of its predecessor. However,
within this framework management nevertheless sought to achieve a significant
shift in attitude and work practices. Communicating within segmented
organisations is difficult and requires integrating devices. The Management Team
may not have paid enough attention to the need for these, or the needs of staff
to feel involved in the change process. Management's remoteness may be seen
as both lack of visibility and use of upward communication channels.

Summary of Survey Findings

Following the reorganisation, the structure of the organisation had changed
leading to significant changes in roles, not only for managers, but for front line
staff too. These role changes had been resisted, but appeared to have been
largely accommodated. Senior management were seeking a commitment from
staff to the new roles, and for staff readiness to meet the task requirements.
The survey revealed a high commitment to task in general, but a degree of
confusion over the specifics, such as job instructions and expectations by
management. It also showed that communication channels were blocked,
probably by middle management; that there were low expectations of
management in their development role, and low levels of trust of senior
management. Perceptions of fieldwork staff were that two-way communication
was not taking place throughout the organisation, with a gap in knowledge and
expectations on the part of front line staff and senior management.
It may be seen that the structure and roles had changed within the Division,
but within a framework which had reinforced hierarchical authority and further
segmented the organisation. Whilst changes in role had been required of staff,
no action was taken by management to "manage" a change in culture and,
consequently, achieve the changes sought in people's values and attitudes.
In order to meet management expectations there needs to be a positive
investment in shifting the culture to one that is more adaptive and flexible and,
therefore, better suited to the current needs of the organisation. However, such
a change cannot be achieved without changing outdated, but current, underlying
assumptions. This clearly carries with it some degree of risk since the
assumptions requiring adjustment are not only those of staff, but may also be Improving
those concerning long-held and cherished management style and beliefs. Organisational
Communication
How to Achieve Better Communication
A higher degree of congruence is needed between the expectations of
management and those of staff, which are currently differentiated. Those
expectations are out of alignment through the inability of the organisation to 33
make effective use of the available communication channels. Thus, a
communication strategy needs to be employed which will help to close the gap
between management demands and staff expectations towards the successful
achievement of organisational objectives.
A number of options were explored of which the following seemed the most
appropriate:
(1) The introduction and establishment of a team-briefing system.
(2) Setting up regular meetings between senior managers and groups of
fieldwork staff.
(3) Undertaking a Divisional exercise to clarify job content, roles and job
expectations, conducted by management for all staff.

Team Briefing
The purpose of introducing a team-briefing system is to ensure that all staff know
and understand what they and others in the Division are doing and why. The
system requires managers and their teams to meet regularly to discuss issues
relevant to their work. A central brief is prepared by senior management, which
is communicated to all staff. But the essential difference between this and
"cascading" systems, is that a local brief is prepared by each manager to provide
local and relevant information for each team. Since there is a structured base
to team briefing, briefers can follow their own style and pattern of communicating
to the team. Monitoring of local briefing is undertaken by management who,
therefore, become better informed. Upward feedback is ensured by feedback
sessions with senior management following each team briefing.
The Division's current team and meeting system could easily be adapted to
that required for team briefing. Training in essential skills, including those of
listening, would be undertaken. The emphasis throughout for managers would
be not only on the "sending" aspects of information, but also on the "receiving",
the listening role. The system would "complement'' the usual day-to-day activity
of managers in communicating with their staff, and not substitute for it.
The recommendation to introduce team briefing specifically addresses the
problem of the effective dissemination of management information identified
by the sponsor for the project. It provides a framework within which senior
managers are able to monitor how, when, where and to whom information is
given. It also provides for a response from staff following the briefing, in the
feedback sessions. Its implementation would be a statment of senior managers'
commitment to the process of communication with all fieldwork staff and should
also help to improve the climate within which communication takes place.
IJPSM Regular Meetings between Senior Managers and Groups of Fieldwork Staff
3,1 The current setting in whichfieldworkstaff meet with senior managers contains
many barriers to effective communication. These should be overcome by
organising meetings to include:
• informal meetings with small groups (not more than 15 people);
34 • staff randomly selected across the Division, and formally invited;
• meeting content to be the presentation of ideas and developments by
senior managers, with stress laid on listening to staff responses;
• action by management to follow promises or commitments made at
meetings.
The objective of the meetings would be to:
• demonstrate senior management's interest in sharing information with,
and listening to, all staff;
• increase the flow of information through the vertical and lateral
communication channels;
• improve the perceptions offieldworkers "with regard to senior management
and their commitment to communication;
• enable senior management to be in much closer touch with the work
of the Division and staff views and ideas;
• increase levels of trust, commitment and motivation on the part of
fieldwork staff.

Divisional Exercise to Clarify Job Content, Roles and Job Expectations, Conduc
by Management for all Staff
This exercise would be undertaken in the regular "supervision" meeting held
between each manager and staff member. It would include:
• identification and articulation of the Division's purpose;
• identification and articulation of team purpose;
• clarification of areas of individual effectiveness;
• identification of individual output requirements.
Managers would require training before undertaking this exercise which would,
in itself, form part of the process of developing more effective communications.
The exercise would ensure that each team and individual understands their
purpose and contribution to the achievement of organisational objectives. This
is most important not only for job and personal satisfaction but also for effective
management.
Conclusion
In recommending the three options above, it is likely that any improvement
in communication will only be sustained if senior managers are committed to
unblocking the channels and creating serious opportunities for two-way
communication. Each of the options would provide an improvement in the overall Improving
functioning of the Division, but each represents what Kilmann[8] refers to as Organisational
"a quick fix". Each may be viewed as dealing with a symptom, rather than Communication
addressing the root of the problem. It is clear that the structure and culture
of an organisation has a profound effect upon the ability of organisational members
to communicate effectively with one another towards the achievement of
organisational objectives. It has been seen that segmented and hierarchical 35
organisations have to work hard to avoid becoming inflexible and unresponsive
to change.
The Division is facing an uncertain future. It requires a structure and culture
that will aid its ability to adapt to change. Thus, a significant change in the
approach of senior management is needed to achieve this. The opportunity
exists to work on a programme of a long-term nature, whereby a change in
culture could be achieved. This would enable greater involvement and
participation by staff, increasing levels of commitment and motivation. It would
lead to the emergence of a "fitter" and more flexible organisation, integrated
in approach as opposed to segregated, able to encourage and grasp new ideas
and initiatives towards the more effective achievement of the organisation's
objectives.

References
1. Drucker, P., "What Communication Means", Management Today, March 1970, pp. 91-3,
150-1.
2. McQuail, D., Communication, Longman, London, 1975.
3. Hall, E.T., The Silent Language, Anchor Books edition, 1973.
4. Kanter, R.M., The Change Masters, George Allen and Unwin, London, 1983.
5. Driskell, L.P. and Goldstein, J.R., "University Theory: Theory and Practice in
Organizational Communication", Journal of Business Communication, Vol. 23 No. 3,
Summer 1986, pp. 41-56.
6. Peters, T., Thriving on Chaos, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1987.
7. Carlzon, J., Moments of Truth, Ballinger Publishing Co., Massachusetts, 1987.
8. Kilmann, R., Beyond the Quick Fix, Jossey Bass, 1984.