Communication in Organizations

This article discusses the importance of communication in organizations, the different types of communication, and their functions. It also explores the significance of active listening and intercultural communication competence in improving organizational performance.

Running head: COMMUNICATION IN ORGANIZATIONS
Week 8
Communication in Organizations
Name
Affiliate Institution

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As a business student I have learned of the structure of the company as being sophisticated,
formal and central. Its complexity is evident in the number of departments that interact with each and
affects the operations of one another. That said, all these departments are managed from a single and
central point, usually the firm's headquarters. This means the communication will always come to from
that central point and trickle down to the different departments as required (Vaagan, 2017).
The vastness of a company means the communication within it is also complicated. Karras
(2017) states, organizational communication, complex and vast as it is, is precise and intended for a
particular function. These functions, I discovered, are divided into three major categories, production
function, maintenance function, and innovation function. Production function involves setting the
standards for systems. This means creating protocols for the firm's operations, in other terms, creating x
to accomplish y. This, of course, is for organizational performance.
Maintenance function is introduced after the company has established itself. This function is
useful to continue the communication within the firm to keep the standards of the company. Regarding
communication, Karras (2017) writes, the organization maintains its existing, helpful communication
platforms and mediums to retain the current organizational communication.
And finally, innovation function. In this instance, the institution improves its communication
through innovation. Karras (2017) gives the following example if a firm’s size increases and more
departments or branches emerge, then the institution, through innovation, changes its systems to
improve and accommodate the changes.
Lauring (2011) classifies the major types of organizational communication as internal and
external communication. Internal communication is the exchange of information between managers,
leaders, and employees. It bears many forms from documents, electronic communications, meetings,
face-to-face communications to telephone calls. The functions of internal institutional communications

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are almost limitless. It serves as a platform to inform of organizational transformations, changes or
developments.
Through internal communications, CEOs and senior managers have a chance to improve on the
employee morale and satisfaction by exploring employee complaints and answering questions. In
addition to this, internal communication is also useful during employee training, for example in the
instance of a new development that the employees are not familiar with, training is necessary to inform
the employees. These developments may include new business strategy, product unveiling or review
and customer service management.
Internal communication is also functional during employee compensation and issuance of
benefits. Employees are rewarded through benefits, which include but not limited to- promotions,
bonuses, and awards. Salaries are issued through statements and payslips. These are written forms of
internal communication (Hyun-Jung Lee, Yoshikawa, and Reade, 2018). Finally, internal
communication is crucial in planning business strategy meetings and unveiling the final strategy. At
these meetings, Hyun-Jung Lee, Yoshikawa, and Reade (2018) state that the leadership determines the
risks so they can maximize its profits and avert any loss. The company needs to stay safe at all times,
and a strategy meeting is a way to improve on safety. To get any profits, the firm has to do business. It
is here that external communication comes in.
External communication, meanwhile, is the communication intended for anyone outside the
organization, ranging from shareholders to customers. Its forms are almost self-evident, advertising,
building the company brand and image and shaping public opinion on issues that are paramount to the
company (Velten & Dodd, 2016). Like internal organizational communication, external communication
is beneficial to the institution’s survival. Some of the functions of external organizational
communication include advertising and promoting products and services offered by the company

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(Isotalus and Kakkuri-Knuuttila, 2018). Any time a new product is released or there is an improvement
on the services offered, then the customers have to be informed, enter, external organizational
communication.
Another function is branding and brand advertisement. Isotalus and Kakkuri-Knuuttila (2018)
give the importance of a brand to any business today. They state that companies have to have a brand,
an identity, which is established during strategy meetings and then communicated to the public through
external communication. Regularly, companies will communicate its brand to the public through
advertisement to demonstrate their values and image. Finally, still on values, the company can also
communicate issues that are important to it (Ainsworth, 2013). For example, Apple coined the brand
'Think Different' to describe its values of pioneering technological innovation and to promote their new
product iPhone and iPod. At this point, Apple was communicating its values while at the same time
sharing with the public those issues that are important to them.
My research has thusly determined that for all types of communication, a media has to be
chosen. My research has proven that the difference between media are numerous but the narrow down
to a few. For verbal communication, the gap varies in their feedback time and their ability to relay
meaning in the message, meaning their ability to convey cues. For nonverbal communication, the major
difference is in how personalized the message is and the variety of languages used (Fall, Kelly,
MacDonald, Primm & Holmes, 2013).
Formal communication is a systematic relay of information from up to bottom or bottom-up.
while informal communication is none hierarchical and doesn’t always have a who or when. But, I
deduce that that does not make them any less useful than formal communications. An example
provided by Fall, Kelly, MacDonald, Primm & Holmes, (2013) argues that informal communication
can be used to verify the validity of a previously relayed formal communication. The major
components of a formal communication system are downward, upward, diagonal and horizontal.

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Informal communication manifests itself in the form of rumors, gossip, grapevine, and urban
legends. Although rumors within the workplace have been condemned for being poisonous to the firm,
it bears some significance to the existence of the firm. For example, rumors are a means by which
individuals in a firm communicate; the collective can make sense of a formal message and explain its
context (Lauring, 2011). Lauring (2011) goes ahead to say that they help manage the threat and in most
people's view, rumors are viewed as helpful and not disastrous for the company. Rumors too have its
characteristics, for example, they are informative and declarative instead of being directive and
interrogative, this is because rumors are informal, and they are an understanding of a collective. Many
statements are considered before the rumor fully gains ground. And since rumors arise from unclear
situations, there still exists a potential for a threat.
I have come to the realization that communication within an organization/institution is
inevitable, for a business to exist there has to be communication. The different types of communication
within or without the company are divided majorly into two categories, formal and informal
communication. The company to communicate issues and notices that command the operations within
the organization will use official notification. Directives, notifications for product launches, strategy
meeting, salaries, and benefits are all forms of formal communication. Vaagan, (2017) definitively say
that these communications are specific and intentional. They are as brief as possible while relaying the
information entirely.
These two types of communication are essential to the organization. My essay argues that it is
through these two channels alone that a business can survive and maintain an image to the public that is
intended. In other words, the business builds a brand through these two types of communication.

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As a prospective employee, I have learned that communication in an organization is inevitable.
Therefore, it will be essential to understanding the context of these communications for a better
interactive platform that is beneficial to all. As business communications student, I should be able to
integrate their studies to fit different lifestyle to overcome barriers and provide better organizational
communication. Another concept useful for my future employment is the active listening which
promotes relationship building and has been proven to improve both mental and physical health.
Conclusion
The importance of active listening to an individual’s health is supported by many reasons;
firstly, the correlation between information judgments and its effects have been settled, implying that
when people determine assisting behavior definitely, there is an accompanying positive change in
effect. Secondly, active listening is probably able to help disclose and understand hard emotions.
Therefore, the studies of organizational communication and active listening, to me as a future
employee, should help improve the performance of an organization.

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