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Assessment point 1

‘Effective communication can enhance the productivity and the flow of the organization’.

Discuss the above statement by emphasizing the importance of communication in the

workplace.

Pitman Nkuta

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UU-PSY-701-ZM-16456

Michalis Khalil

04 April 2020

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Effective communication is the lifeblood of all successful organizations. Through

communication, business organizations coordinate activities, transmit important

information, motivate workers and train them to handle organizational tasks. It is also a

mechanism through which employees share ideas, form workplace and interpersonal

relationships. Therefore, effective communication can enhance productivity and the flow

of the organization. Firstly, the essay will define key words in the topic; communication

and productivity. Secondly, the main body will use models to describe communication

as a process. Additionally it will discuss barriers to effective communication and

indentify strategies aimed at preventing the problem. Thirdly, the essay will draw the

conclusion.

Communication is the process involving the interchange of verbal or non-verbal

messages within a continuous and dynamic sequence of events (Owen, 2011).

Productivity is the evaluation of the efficiency of individuals, groups, organizations, and

countries (Färe, Grosskopf, & Roos, 1996).To understand communication it is to vital to

appreciate how information flows from the sender to the receiver.

The sender encodes or turns thoughts into a message. The receiver decodes or

turns the message into thoughts. Where appropriate, the receiver may send feedback.

The message is the product of the encoding process. The channel is the medium

through which the message passes. Feedback is process that involves finding out

whether the receiver has received and understood the message. As the message

passes through all these stages, it encounters noise interference that undermines its

quality (Cardon, 2014 p.52).Models of communication help us to understand the

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process of communication in different perspectives. One of the models is the

transmission model.

The transmission model portrays communication as a linear and single process.

It involves a sender transmitting a message to a receiver. It places emphasis on the

sender and message in that a receiver is seen as a target and not part of the process.

The sender assumes that the message reaches the intended target or not ( McClintock,

n.d). For example, when it is announced on the radio that Coronavirus has become a

global epidemic, the announcer assumes that people are either listening to the radio or

not. He has no feedback confirming whether the audience has received the message or

not. Though the model is simple to understand, it lacks feedback making it less

effective. Another model of communication is the interaction model.

According to the Osgood-Schramm Model of Communication (Schramm, 1954) is

circular in nature. It is composed of four components of the model namely

encoder/sender, decoder/receiver, message, and interpreter. This model considers

communication as a two-way process. The two participants in the communication both

act as the encoder, decoder, and interpreter. Interpretation is emphasized in this model

because decoding can be achieved when the message is interpreted (Schramm, 1954).

According to symbolic interactionism by Blumer (1969), words and symbols have

no logical connection with the objects they describe. Symbolic interaction refers to “the

language and gestures a person uses in anticipation of the way others will respond”.

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Since components of communication such as verbal, written, and nonverbal symbols

are arbitrary in nature, it is difficult to know their meaning without learning a language.

The meaning of words, non-verbal cues and symbols only become evident when we

learn a language. We learn a language through our social interaction thereby enabling

us to ascribe meaning to both verbal and non-verbal cues.

Channels of communication include verbal, non-verbal, face-to-face, video

conferencing and mass media (Lengel, & Daft, 1988). The diversity in the

communication channels places the responsibility on the sender to evaluate the

message and then choose the most suitable channel to convey it. For instance, if fire

breaks out in the workplace, the most appropriate channel to use it he phone because it

instant (Riggio, 2013 p.280-281).In organization settings though, information flow in

different directions. One of these is downward communication.

Downward communication entails the transmission of rules, policies, procedures

and performance feedback from management to employees. Management provides the

needed motivation for employees to achieve greater efficiency and productivity through

this mechanism. Nevertheless, it does not have a provision for employees to participate

in decision-making (Annah- prah, 2015).Another drawback is that management does

not ask for employees’ suggestions and feedback whilst making important decisions.

This results in lack of employee engagement (Robins & Judge 2013, p.339). The

limitation of upward communication however is supplemented by upward

communication.

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Upward communication is the mechanism through which employees participates

in the decision making process. As they report problems in operations, make

suggestions to improve production and air their complaints, they enable management to

make corrective actions to better the prevailing situation (Jablin, 2001).Upward

communication, enable management to identify issues employees consider important

thereby tapping into their anxieties (Robins & Judge, 2013, p.344. During upward

communication, not all the vital information reaches top management. This is because

of filtering. Filtering is the misrepresentation of facts to influence the receiver to react in

a certain way. Filtering prevents members of the organization to see the real picture of

issues that require agent attention. The flow of information in the organization also takes

the form of horizontal communication.

Horizontal communication is the flow of information between departments among

employees of equal status (Lunenberg, 2010). For example, a sales manager engages

in horizontal communication if he shares information about product demands with the

production manager. The merits of horizontal communication are that it enables

employees to coordinate, uphold teamwork and develop efficiency. Nevertheless,

horizontal communication has drawbacks. It leads to loss of control and discipline in that

it does not emphasize formal rules of authority. It also results in time wasting because

of the arguments arising before reaching a consensus (Annah-Prah, 2015).From my

own perspective, horizontal communication would not be an effective way of conveying

information in emergence situations that require making quick decisions. Workplace

communication may also take the form of group and public communication.

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Group communication is a “dynamic process where a small number of people

engage in a conversation.”(Mclean, 2005).Public communication is the situation where

one person speaks or writes a message to a group of people. The advent of computer-

mediated communication has added to the complex nature of communication.

Computer mediated communication has increased the transfer and access to

information. It has also affected the way work is conducted. Virtual organizations

involving workers who live apart use tools such as video conference to have virtual

meetings and communicate frequently. The current outbreak of the corona virus has

made virtual teams and telecommuting feasible options for large organizations. (Tracy

&Fishbane, 2020).Nevertheless, choosing either of the options would come at a cost.

Computer- mediated communication leads to cyberloafing as employees use their work

time to surf the internet and connect with friends on social media. In a study (Grover,

2014) discovered that 64% of 1000 workers in the U.SA surf the internet while working.

If the same study was to be conducted today, the percentage would drastically increase

as most workers are using social medial platforms to find out about the spread of Covid

19 virus. Therefore, internet use is costly and reduces productivity (Boxall & Macky,

2014).

According to the Media richness theory, another limitation of computer- mediated

communication is the perceived lack of verbal and non-verbal cues. Non-verbal cues

supplement our verbal communication as it allows a person to display nuanced

emotions in interpersonal communication(Griffin 2011, p. 138).Whatever direction

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communication takes; several factors undermine its quality. One of the factors is

physiological noise.

Physiological noise refers to the factors such as illness, injury, fatigue and stress.

These factors interfere with our ability to listen and process information. Good listening

enhances employee productivity and satisfaction (Cooper, 1997).Because much of the

communication in organization is through oral transmission, listening is considered to be

the most important of all skills (Hunt & Cusella,1983).By interfering with our ability to

listen, physiological factors definitely exert an adverse impact on productivity and

organization flow. Other factors that interfere with effective communication are

psychological factors.

Psychological factors include our emotions and moods. According to an

introduction to Organization Behavior (2012, p.363) emotions and moods influence a

receiver to ignore and distort the sender’s message. Likewise a sender’s emotions and

moods affect his or her ability to present ideas and feelings effectively. In effective

communication, a sender and receiver should be open to speak and listen to one

another irrespective of their differing opinions or personality. Therefore, during a

communication encounter, both the sender and receiver should manage their emotions

and mode. Multicultural factors also affect communication.

Multicultural factors have benefits and downsides. Multicultural factors in a

workplace promote creativity, adaptability and tolerance (Adler, 1991 as cited in Riggio

2013, p.288). Nevertheless, variations in culture present challenges to workplace

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communication (Falkheimer and Heide, 2006). A study conducted by Hofstede,

revealed that communication problems arise where there are differences in cultural

values (Hofstede, 2001). In the study conducted by Gut, Wilczewski and Gorbaniuk,

(2017), found that 95% of workers cited lack of respect for their culture as being

responsible for workplace arguments thereby impeding effective communication.

Another factor that hampers effective communication is the credibility of the source.

According to the Source credibility theory by Hovland and Weiss (1953), we are

likely to be persuaded by people we trust rather those we consider incompetent. When

employees perceive the manager’s trustworthiness, they are likely to attach more value

to his message. On the other hand, employees who regard their manager as

incompetent will devalue his message. To gain acceptance of employees, a manager

should strive to build credibility. Thus, credibility of a source affects the effectiveness of

communication (Lirtzman & Shuv-Ami, 1986).Jargon also undermine effective

communication.

Use of jargon creates confusion among workers of different disciplines (Cooley,

1994)."Jargon is the language of specialized terms used by a group or professions".

When used among professionals of the same field, jargon is a faster way of

communicating. However, use of jargon among people of different professions tends to

be confusing (Wright, n.d.). Another barrier to effective communication is the grapevine.

Grapevine is an informal network that hinders effective communication (Riggio,

2013, p.300). Studies indicate that 70% of all communication in the organization

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happens at the grapevine level. Grapevine usually precedes official communication and

leads to workplace gossip. The fact that grapevine has no specific sender creates a

sense of distrust among employees. Nevertheless, it is a readily available source of

information for many employees seeking information about their company (Kurland, &

Pelled, 2000). To prevent barriers to effective communication, the following strategies

are essential.

Deficiencies in upward communication can be solved through suggestion

schemes, open-door policy, exit interviews and counseling (Keyton, 2008).According to

an introduction to Organization Behavior(2012,p.360), filtering can be avoided by not

only sending messages in multiple ways and seeking information from various sources

but also provide incentives to reward employees who desist from filtering(Introduction to

Organization. Cultural barriers can be avoided through multicultural awareness training

(Clements & Jones, 2008). Prevention of grapevine involves transmitting official

messages quickly and accurately (Crampton, 1998).Training employees on emotional

intelligence will prevent miscommunication that results from misunderstandings,

emotions and moods (Cardon, 2014, p.239-381)

Communication is a process involving the transmission of a message from a

sender to the receiver with a prospect of getting positive feedback. Communication can

be verbal, non- verbal or written. Before sending the message, the sender must choose

the most appropriate channel. In organization settings, communication follows formal

lines of authority. Communication may be upward, downward and horizontal. However,

informal lines of communication such as the grapevine exist side by side with formal

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lines of communication. As information passes through the encoding and decoding

stages, noise interference emerges and distorts the quality of the message making it

less effective. When communication is effective, it enhances productivity and

organization’s flow. To the contrary, inefficient communication negatively affects the

productivity and flow of the organization. Without communication, no organization can

exist. In view of this, there is no reasonable doubt that effective communication can

enhance productivity and the flow of organizations.

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