OB assignment on Communication in Organization :)

1. Communication in Organizational Behavior
The role of communication in organizational behavior is a vital one, as miscommunication typically
reduces productivity and increases error and waste. Accurate communication transmitted in a
supportive manner often results in increased morale and may also lead to a greater sense of
camaraderie among staff. Within organizations, having a more open communication policy may provide
a safety valve to vent problems before these issues impact productivity. Another
role communication plays in organizational behavior includes equipping stakeholders to clearly
communicate the organization's mission. Maintaining an accurate record of the organization's activities
and encouraging civil and positive engagement with customers and stakeholders are two other
important roles played by communication in organizational behavior.
Failure to transmit accurate instructions may negatively impact communication. This may result in an
increased error rate, and diminished productivity in the workplace. If a supervisor's instructions are
misunderstood, serious consequences may result. These may include injury to employees or offending a
highly valued client.
Clear, consistent communication, on the other hand, often encourages more productive
workplace behavior and increases morale. The role of this type of communication in
organizational behavior results in workers feeling more in control of their environment. Encouraging
productive communication between staff and clients has been demonstrated, in many cases, to increase
customer satisfaction as well.
Equipping stakeholders to accurately communicate an organization's values and mission is another
important aspect of communication in organizational behavior. Sometimes companies take new
employees or board members through an orientation session in order to give them a historical and
current picture of the organization. This helps ensure that all of those associated with the organization
communicate similar messages about its mission and goals.
Instituting an open-door policy for employees may also be a part of facilitating accurate
communication about the organization to those outside it. This often supports public relations
initiatives, as disgruntled employees or those who have unresolved issues may disseminate hostile
reports, thus causing a public relations problem for the organization. From a proactive standpoint,
equipping stakeholders with accurate information about the organization often facilities positive public
relations.
Maintaining an accurate record of corporate events is generally deemed critically important. In almost
every case, there are laws in place that require organizations to adhere to various reporting
requirements. Transmitting inaccurate information may incur criminal penalties as well. For example, if
the organization is a corporation, certain internal communications, such as minutes of corporate
meetings, are required to be kept for a certain period of time.

2. Methods of Communication:
Numerous new instruments have emerged over the years to help people communicate effectively
Oral Communication:
Oral communication could be said to be the most used form of communication. Whether it is to present
some important data to your colleagues or lead a boardroom meeting, these skills are vital.
We are constantly using words verbally to inform our subordinates of a decision, provide information,
and so on. This is done either by phone or face-to-face.
The person on the receiving end would also need to exercise much caution to ensure that he/she clearly
understands what is being said this shows therefore, that you would need to cultivate both your
listening and speaking skills, as you would have to carry out both roles in the workplace, with different
people.
Written Communication:
Writing is used when you have to provide detailed information such as figures and facts, even while
giving a presentation.
It is also generally used to send documents and other important material to stakeholders, which could
then be stored for later use as it can be referred to easily as it is recorded. Other important documents
such as contracts, memos, and minutes of meetings are also in written form for this purpose.
It can be seen in recent years however, that verbal communication has been replaced to a great extent
by a faster form of written communication, and that is email.
You could also use videoconferencing and multiple way phone calls with several individuals
simultaneously. Apart from a few glitches that could occur, these methods of communication have
helped organizations come a long way.
Body Language:
Although the most common methods of communication are carried out orally or in writing, when it
comes to management techniques, the power of non-verbal communication must never be
underestimated.
Your smile, your gestures and several other body movements send out a message to the people around
you. You need to be mindful of this while dealing with your employees and customers.
Always remember to maintain eye contact. This would show that you are serious and confident about
what is being said.

3. Factors Affecting Communication in Organization
Organizational communication is influenced by many factors, look at this list of following
factors:
Formal channels of communication
Authority Structure
Job Specialization
Information Ownership
Barriers to Organizational Communication
Effective communication is needed for productivity. Open or effective communication is not
always obtained. Diwan (2000) asserts that, “the problem of effective communication is unfortunately
greater than just the recognition of its scale and importance.” People may be unaware that their
attempts at communicating have not been successful. Koontz (2001) summarizes the barriers against
communication, saying that, “communication problems are often symptoms of more deep-rooted
problems. For example, poor planning may be the cause of uncertainty about the direction of the
organization.”
Similarly, a poorly-designed organizational structure may not clearly communicate
organizational relationships. Vague performance standards may leave librarians uncertain about what is
expected.
Onuoha (1991) notes the following barriers:
Communication overload
Badly expressed message
Inappropriate medium/Language
Poor, listening/decode and premature evaluation arising from lack of understanding.
Grapevine with informal organizations within organizations.
Hostility between the participants
Bureaucracy
Improving Organizational Communication
Peterson (1962) observes that, “communication can and does affect work adversely if not
properly handled. There are graduations of degrees of these effects, ranging from a slight drag against
the progress of the enterprise to the causing of errors or misunderstanding of the philosophical
foundation of the main organization, and thereby make the output of the system virtually impossible,”
stating further that, “one ever-present cause of faulty communication is that, language, whether oral or
written, is itself faulty or imperfection when the meaning of words and sentences and equally the
emotional content is ambiguous.”

4. Barriers and other associated problems common with organizational communication climate
affect work productivity negatively especially where people and records are jointly managed together,
such as the case of academic libraries. The extreme need to improve or find solutions to the highlighted
problems and barriers is imperatively necessary. Champoux (1996) recommends the under-listed
improvement techniques among the operators and participants:
Champoux (1996) recommends the following techniques to improve communication:
1. Sender
Understanding of the background and culture of the receiver.
Expectation of feedback
Formal training in oral and written communication
2. Receiver
Knowing and understanding the sender
Make the receiver's level of understanding clear to the sender.
Understand the language and practices of the organizational unit to improve listening and
interpretation.
Feedback loop
3. Message
Clear
Brief
Simple
Unambiguous.
4. Medium
Reduce noise by using multiple channels.
5. The Organization
Organization Communication Audit to assess the current state of the communication system.
6. Technology
Electronic message system
Voice mail
Local Area Networking
Teleconferencing
Global Satellite Communication Mobile