project

1. Effectiveness of Communication in an Organization Group Number 1
Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
Effectiveness of Communication in an Organization
I. INTRODUCTION
Communication is one of the most basic behaviors that can be observed within
every organization regardless of their size. No organization or any kinds of group can
achieve its goal or even exist without communication as it is an indispensable element
of all social interactions. A company, in order to effectively run, needs an efficient
teamwork of managers and workers and these teamwork or cooperation cannot be
attained without efficient communication. All members of an organization from the
top to the bottom influences one another and coordinate their activities through
communication in some way or other.
There are various types of communication from verbal communication
transmitting messages through written or oral channels to nonverbal communication
including body languages. Among them, we will specifically focus on the oral form of
communication within a company since the definition of organization connotes any
group consisting of more than two people, and thus too vague to deliver our intended
thesis. We will try to define and explain what the positive / negative communication
examples are between employers and employees and then analyze the factors that
have influences on these aspects. To be more specific, we will delve into the needs
required for the good communication which can be summarized largely into the
hierarchy, feedback, and efficiency.
In a company, a hierarchy is very important. From CEO to an intern, everyone has
to know their role and the way of communication to their upper or lower class
workers. Feedback is also a significant factor, since managers need to admit their

2. lacking sides and improve their management. The same, too, goes to employees.
Efficiency is the most important part, since clear and intelligent communication helps
to understand each other’s initiatives and to effectively organize the tasks.
After demonstrating how these factors affect the communication, and thus the
overall performance of a company, we will present practical real-life examples as a
case study and see how these positive and negative communication works in the
actual life and what role they play in producing organizational accomplishments.
Now, we will analyze the factors influencing on the communication aspects.
II. FACTORS
1. Hierarchy (Vertical Communication)
First of all, how we communicate within an organization may differ depending on
the company’s social structures. In a dominant model of the hierarchal organization,
there is a single top power and the number of workers increases as the levels of power
decreases. Basically saying, it could be explained by a pyramid model. In hierarchal
organizations, such as Daewoo International, Samsung, LG and other major
companies, how we deliver the information to the superior and vice versa plays a vital
role.
Within these organizations, employees have to deliver information (reports) to
their immediate superior and also superiors need to communicate with their
immediate subordinates. Through this method of communication, the organization is
able to effectively deliver the information as this can reduce the time and lessen to
amount of information to only necessary points. For example, an employees from
sales department are more likely to directly report to their team leader and that team
leader would sum up all the reports and deliver it

3. to his/her immediate superior. Also if some lacking is found in that report, a
superior is likely to tell it to the team leader, no to the whole team. By this way,
organization tasks rotate much more smoothly and fast.
Moreover, it is important to communicate with one’s superior in a proper way.
Employees need to know the manners of how to treat both upper and lower status
workers. Especially, in Eastern countries, where tradition and culture play a major
role, people tend to be very conservative. In such hierarchal organizations,
inappropriate communication will only lead to misunderstanding and emotional
conflicts. Thus, depending on how strongly hierarchy influences the organization, the
way of communication changes - to whom we deliver the information and in what
manner we communicate.
2. Feedback
Organization works more effectively when each employee knows exactly about
their role. There are many ways to guide employees including a membership training,
tests, etc. but the most effective method would be a feedback. Feedback is a crucial
factor that positively influences the employee’s performance. Thanks to it, an
employee is able to learn about his/her own strength and weakness, thus evaluate
oneself. However, feedbacks should be given in both ways. Employer should also be
evaluated from employees’ point of view. Moreover, when inappropriately given, it
may have the reverse consequences, decreasing the organization’s performance.
Feedbacks should be specific which focuses on a certain behavior and it would be
recommended to avoid general feedback giving as it would only confuse the listener.
Also, it should be given from an objective point of view, rather than pointing out the
problem because of personal emotion. It should be given systematically, not every

4. time the employee makes a mistake. This way, the recipient would receive the
feedback as a mean for evaluation, not as the superior’s nagging.
The most substantial thing about the feedback is that an employee understands the
feedback. Other way, it would be meaningless to give feedbacks, since there would be
no progressin the organization’s performance. Thus, a manager has to make sure
that a recipient properly understands both positive and negative feedbacks.
3. Clarity and Negotiation
In an organization, it is inevitable to encounter conflicts. By a conflict, we mean
facing straightly disagreements in opinions, goals and values or even personalities.
Those disagreements are usually results of inappropriately used communication skills
which lead to defective performance and conflicts.
As already mentioned above in a hierarchy part, it is very important to whom we
communicate and in what manner. However, it goes also to how clearly we
communicate. To explain it in terms of a butterfly effect, a small miscommunication
may lead to an enormous damage on an organization. Thus, it is essential to deliver
the information very clearly, but also in a respectful manner at the same time.
The most significant method to avoid conflicts is a negotiation. Managers as well
as employees need to follow the basic rules in negotiation. They need to set clear
objectives and goals. It is also necessary to be well prepared with the data, so that
they have a basis to their arguments. However, they should maintain flexibility and
not push ahead with their own plans, as it is a dictatorial behavior, which is the
complete opposite approach sought in an organization

5. III. POSITIVE/NEGATIVE COMMUNICATION
1. Influence on teamwork between employers and employees
Communication is a fundamental aspect of teamwork and is relied upon for
successful business accomplishments. Therefore, business managers and employers
always want to build better team communication. Communication in developing an
effective team happens on two levels: communication between team members and
communication from management to the team. Managers should hold regular
meetings to keep a team updated on important information and to offer training.
These are the kinds of tools a team needs from management and the company to be
effective. To develop effective team communication, we need to understand how
communicationaffects teamwork positively and negatively. That understanding will
help us to promote good communication habits.
Positive communication skills make us seem friendly, smart and helpful. This
helps us to connect with people. Positive communication is more likely when we
express our feelings and thoughts clearly and directly, acknowledge the other person’s
feelings and our attitude is respectful and caring. Positive communicators ask about
others rather than focusing on themselves, use humor when appropriate and respond
appropriately to others. Besides, subtle body language can also make a big difference
in how we perceive someone. Positive body language makes a person seem interested
and engaged in conversation. Examples of positive body language include standing up
straight, making eye contact with peers, and nodding occasionally to show
attentiveness.
In contrast, negative communication skills makes us come across as rude and
uninterested. A person with negative communication skills may speak too loudly or
too softly, not paying attention to the other person. The content of their conversation

6. may be selfish, pretentious or dishonest. Common elements of negative
communication include rumors, misinformation, misinterpretation, incomplete
information and employee slander. People with negative communication skills are not
good listeners and may be impatient or interrupt others during conversation. Likewise,
people can make poor impressions on others by displaying negative body language.
This includes failing to make eye contact, slouching, crossing arms or shifting during
conversation. Some physical behaviors, such as looking around or checking watch
during conversation, are downright rude.
When communication channels in a team are properly established and information
flows easily between teammates, then that increases the ability of staff members to
interact. Team members learn how to interact more efficiently with each other to
perform their job duties, and they are better able to understand the strengths and
weaknesses of each teammate. As a result, it helps employees and managers form
highly efficient teams.
Employees trust each other and the management thus reduce unnecessary
competition within departments and helps employees work together harmoniously.
Conversely, poor communication within a team causes misunderstandings that lead to
internal conflict. A team that spends its time misinterpreting information and creating
conflicts is not able to be a productive work unit. The team can focus on company
tasks as opposed to wasting time sifting through conflict.
Also, an improvement in employee morale can result from effective
communication. Although pay is a concern for many workers, it is not their only
concern. Employees appreciate good communication coming from management. It
produces a healthy work environment. When employees are satisfied with their jobs,

7. they are motivated to efficiently perform their duties with a positive attitude. This can
stimulate employees’ creativity. On the opposite end of the spectrum, inadequate,
inefficient and insensitive communications negatively impact morale. Failing to
communicate effectively in a workplace leads to frustration and confusion among
employees. Decreases in employee performance and enthusiasm can be severe from
both a business and personnel standpoint, leading to increased rates of employee
turnover as well as absenteeism. When workplace morale is low, employees are more
likely to feel stress and encounter conflicts with colleagues. Employees experience
stress can affect their attention to detail and put them at risk for making errors. Then
they tend to focus on how to eliminate or avoid the source of the problem at the
expense of actively thinking about their job responsibilities. In business, the result can
mean financial losses. Besides, a team with an effective communication system can
be easily trained by the company, or by the team manager. When communication is
not functioning properly within a team, training information does not get distributed
to the entire team. The staff members that received the information are up to date
while other parts of the group still need to be brought up to speed on new
developments. Good team communication helps to maintain employee development
and keeps the entire team updated with new information.
Workplace productivity relies on the active engagement of employees. Negative
communication, whether from superiors or peers, can quickly lead to disengagement.
An atmosphere of negative communication can be extremely difficult for a workplace
to recover from. Intentional and unintentional negative communication erodes trust,
and it pervades discourse to the point where information must be checked several
times before it is acted upon. The longer negative communication is allowed to

8. degrade the quality of communication and teamwork in the workplace, the longer it
takes for the workplace to recover and become productive.
In fact, without doubt, the words that we use can have a huge impact on the overall
affect of the message, however, what's even more influential in our communication, is
the tone of the message and the body language that we are displaying at the time.
Therefore, the same communication can be delivered in two entirely separate ways
and if we are not careful, we can have an unintended but negative affect on another
person.
In speaker’s mind, their original intention might appear to be positive, however, it
may be received and perceived by others in an entirely different way. The result of
this could mean an entirely different outcome to the one intended. In order to
communicate effectively, we must be conscious of the tone that we use, the body
language, which we display, and the facial expression that we project.
Strong leaders are masters of this craft. They communicate exceptionally well and
inspire people along the way by well understanding that using positive language tends
to reduce conflict, improve communication, reduce defensiveness in others and helps
portray the speaker/writer as credible and respectable. A successful leader knows how
to convey unpleasant news using positive communication skills to soften the impact
in order to get the outcome that both sides desire.
In short, communication is essential for maintaining a productive workplace. By
understanding the effects of positive and negative communication in the workplace,
employers should be able to develop policies that help to decrease the problem and
encourage positive communication.

9. 2. Practical examples
Conclusion
As we have seen, regardless of the type of organization, communication is the key
element that maintains and sustains connections in it. What person A says to person B
not only has an impact on those two people but, since organizations are systems, it
also affects on the whole system. Effective communication is crucial to any
organization and helps it in many ways. In fact, communication is held to play a role
in product development, customer relations, employee management business'
operations and so on.
On the other hand, when the communication is misleading organization’s members
tend to neglect about the importance of having a good communication that leads to a
critical situation and the organization faces difficulties in several aspects such as
reduced productivity, wastage of resources, delays in deliveries and workplace
conflicts. Communication gap could be a huge enemy within a particular
organization, which affects creativity together with profit. Therefore, an effective and
efficient communication system requires specific skills. A manager must discover the
barriers to communication, analyze the reasons for their occurrence and take steps to
avoid those barriers. Thus, the primary responsibility of a manager is to develop and
maintain an effective communication system in the organization.
By identifying the level of communication satisfaction within the organization we
get an insight into organizational forces, but simultaneously also get an insight into
weak points in the area of communication within the organization. Lastly, it is
important to develop awareness about how important communication is which is
shown through individual growth, job satisfaction and motivation of the employees,
which again leads to employees’ loyalty towards its organization.

10. When communication is effective, it tends to encourage better job performance,
job satisfaction along with job involvement, which triggers such a confortable office
atmosphere.
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