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Information or Communication Flow Report

   

Added on  2019-10-01

8 Pages2698 Words152 Views
Blog: Information Flow

Information Flow1st August 2019Concept of organizational information flow Information or communication flow within an organization refers to the movement ofinstructions and communications within an organization. There can be several directions inwhich information flow takes place within an organization such as downward, upward,horizontal, diagonal and external. The direction of information flow within an organizationdepends on the size, structure and the nature of the business. In the case of the majority of thetraditional organizations, the flow of information occurs in a vertical motion that is in adownward and upward direction. In such situations, the managers give instructions to thesubordinates and hence the flow of information travels from an upward to a downward direction.Then, the flow of information also takes place when the communication occurs from thesubordinates to the employees in the managerial positions that lead to a flow of information in anupward direction. In the case of non-traditional or informal business organizations, liketechnology start-ups, the flow of information happens mainly in the horizontal and diagonaldirections. It can be said that this form of information flow happens in the case of organizationswith a flat hierarchy and there is the need for some form of collaboration. Apart from theseinformation flow, there are some unofficial communications in several organizations like thosethat occur in the case of company grapevines and this type of information flow might take placein the case of both formal and informal organizations. The success of an organization depends onthe effective communication flow or information flow that happens between the internalstakeholders as also between the internal and the external stakeholders of the organization.Therefore, there should be effective communication strategies in place for a business to succeedin terms of growth, profitability, and sustainability. Types of information flowInformation flow within an organization is extremely important in determining the success orfailure of the business in the long run. For example, it is essential for any type of businessorganization to be able to share information with all the employees effectively by the

management. When the management takes an important decision then it should becommunicated to all the staffs that are within the organizational hierarchy. This flow ofinformation happens in a vertical direction at the time when the management personnel givessome instructions that flow from an upward to a downward direction. The information musteffectively flow from the management personnel to the senior managers, middle-level managers,lower-level managers, senior executives and executives that are in the lowest position of theorganizational hierarchy. Then there can be a flow of information in horizontal direction also inthe case of communication between peers in an organization or in the case of organizations thatdo not have the traditional hierarchical organizational structure. Organizations with matrixorganizational structure can depict signs of the flow of information in a horizontal directionbecause there can be various departments that are at the same level of the organizationalhierarchy. Therefore, it is evident that for the success of a business organization, irrespective ofits size and organizational structure it is highly desirable that the organization is able todemonstrate the effective flow of information within the business premises and also with theexternal stakeholders of the business. This will ensure long-term growth, profitability, andsustainability of the business. So, it can be said that out of the various business strategies, thestrategies for organizational communication are highly important for ensuring the success of thebusiness establishment in the long run.Downward information flowThis form of information flow takes place when the person in top management and leadershippositions share instructions with employees working in the lower levels of the organization.Unless there is any request, the top-level management personnel do not expect to get a responsefrom the lower level personnel because they expect that the message that has been shared fromthe top management will be observed diligently without any question. For example, when theCEO of a company is changed and some new CEO is appointed in the business then there is adownward flow of information within the organization. Furthermore, in the case of a merger witha competitor, the management undertakes downward communication strategies where there willbe a flow of information from the top to the bottom. Apart from all these situations, otherscenarios where downward communication takes place are communications that are undertakenthrough videos, podcasts, blogs, and speeches within the organization. Another relevant example

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