Purpose of Effective Communication in Organisation

Managers need to be effective communicators to achieve positive results in today’s organisations. Some of the purposes are –
? Seeking or receiving information, encouragement, control, selling proposals, confrontation.
? Talking to different levels within the hierarchy – to individuals, to groups, to departments – and externally to customers, suppliers, vendors, and other professionals.
? Using both formal communication - Meetings, reports, proposals, notices; and
Informal communication - counseling, advising, talking to other employees.
? Working in different roles: as Chairman, project leader, analyst, subordinate , colleague.
? Evaluating communications : are they facts, opinions, gossip ?
? Building up networks to obtain real information which may be given freely or concealed – which means you need to ask the right questions, or else you will find yourself drowned in data but starved of information.
? Trying to influence those over whom you have no power.

ORGANISATIONAL COMMUNICATION

Organisational communication can be External Communication and Internal Communication. Internal Communication is within the organisation, whereas, External Communication is the communication with the external stakeholders of the organisation. The importance and the purpose of the communication in organisation has been explained above.

Communication in organizations use two basic channels – formal and informal. Both are important and both carry messages – sometimes reinforcing and sometimes conflicting – throughout the organisation.

Formal channels are ones which have been set up by the organisation. Messages flow in three directions : downwards, upwards and sideways . The downward message consists primarily of information which is necessary for any staff to carry-out their work, such as policies and procedures, orders and requests which are passed down the appropriate level in the hierarchy. Upward messages are reports, requests, opinions, complaints. Sideways messages are between different departments, functions or people at the same level in the organisation.

There tend to be strict rules about the use of these formal channels. For communication to be effective, all three channels need to be open and unblocked at all times. The upward channel is the one which blocks most easily, and when this happens it is an indicator that an organisation’s policies, procedures and employee relations need to be reviewed.

Informal Channels spring up by virtue of common interests between people in the organisation – these interests may be caused by work, social or outside relationships. The grapevine is very powerful channel. It has been estimated that managers receive over half the information they need for planning purposes through the grapevine. Its messages may frequently be distorted, but they often carry more credibility than those coming from the formal channels. Informal channels become the only means of communication when the formal channels become blocked or break-down.
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