Organisational Communication and COVID-19: Barriers and Strategies for Brit-Tech

This report discusses the importance of organisational communication and the impact of COVID-19 on it. It describes general theories of organisational communication and identifies barriers faced by Brit-Tech employees due to remote work. The report concludes with strategic recommendations to overcome these barriers.

Business
Communication

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................2
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................2
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................2
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................3

INTRODUCTION
Large multinational businesses are complex entities which require extremely streamlined
and efficient administration and operational productivity to properly manage them and keep them
profitable over a long period of time. The existence of properly defined communication lines and
channels is also very important as the link between management and the various teams of
employees functioning from all over the globe has to be robust to ensure the MNC's keep their
activities in check (Galli, 2019). This report will highlight the various theories of organisational
communication and the barriers affecting it due to the changes that occurred in the workplace
and working style of employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic in organisational context of
Brit-Tech, a multinational technology solutions provider.
MAIN BODY
General theories of organisational communication
The flow of communication in an MNC is dictated by variety of theories and models
which can be applied to study the current process of information distribution and hierarchy of
authoritarian power, some of the most prominent of which are stated herein.

 Webber's Classic Organizational Theory of Fixed Structures – This theoretical
framework was identified and delivered by very respected theorist of general
management, Max Webber and is one of the first ones to properly define the
organizational hierarchy and strict downwards flow of information in companies. Webber
with the help of this theory put emphasis on the fact that in multilayered and properly
established companies, each and every position of management is defined by it's set rules,
duties and responsibilities which makes communication subject to hierarchical standards
(Howard-Grenville, 2020). This theory clearly states that information and conversations
that are held between managers and their subordinates in a professional setting must be
impersonal and subject to zero bias. In order to prevent miscommunication, all the
information is channelled through pre-set hierarchical positions which has also led to the
criticism of this theory as it doesn't involve any avenue to display innovation and
creativity due to being very rigid.
 Tompkins and Cheney’s Organizational Control Theory – This theory is the natural
extension of the Webber's theory which addresses a lot of criticisms labelled towards it's
rigidity and strictness in communication flow as it states that modern organisations have
moved past the need of being completely bureaucratic but are still far from being
displaying complete fluidity in flow of communication. This theory divides the way
control and communications dynamic exists in companies into four major parts which are
simple, bureaucratic, technical and cultural. All these classifications allow different
degrees of freedom in regards to communication as the two former styles follow strict
communication through hierarchies while the latter half facilitate interventions and
communications through machines and from employees themselves by making their roles
and responsibilities clear in a non-regulated environment.
 Deetz’s Managerialism Theory – This popular concept was introduced by Stanley
Deetz and points towards communication and control in an organisation as a game of
perception driven by democratic, political and economic interests of all parties involved
in business operations. Deetz with the help of this theory states that the perceived image
of a company by outsiders and it's workforce drive the way it allows communication to
channel in the hierarchical structure and there is increased focus on diversity.

Barriers of communication that affected Brit-tech employees
The COVID-19 pandemic has been quite disruptive to human life and the various day to
day activities that take place in daily life and it has also altered the way business is done going
forward in a major way. Amidst the chaos induced by the Coronavirus, the corporate workplace
adapted by displaying worldwide adoption of remote work facilities for the workforce with
allowed a majority of them to work at their own convenience from their preferred locations away
from the traditional workplace (Kuo, Wu and Lin, 2018). This practice was very successful as it
was a perfect compromise between ensuring the robust health of the employees and keeping
them safe and keeping the business operations afloat and efficient. However, many companies
like Brit-tech are facing challenges regarding communicating and motivating it's workforce to
come back to work from their homes since the pandemic situation has begun to normalize to
some extent. The various barriers relating to communication which are currently at play in Brit-
tech are listed herein.
 Physical Barriers – Many enterprises have not adapted their company infrastructure to
the pandemic which has resulted in employees not having full confidence in the top
management and leadership to protect them from coronavirus by implementing hygienic
systems and regulating physical contact like Brit-tech. There is also apprehension in the
workforce regarding taking modes of public transportation to work during peak hours
where physical contact is nearly unavoidable.
 Emotional Barriers – Working from the comfort of their own homes has let the majority
of workforce of Brit-tech become complacent and fall in love with the sheer comfort and
convenience of working at their own leisure and schedule and having constant contact
with their families and loved ones. Going back to regularly scheduled corporatised
programming doesn't seem great in comparison.
 Interpersonal Barriers – Since a major part of the workforce has been away from the
workplace for so long, many Brit-tech employees are suffering from low confidence and
self esteem because they no longer think themselves as expert communicators and are
afraid of meeting their peers again in a formal environment. There is also a divide in the
workforce between vaccinated and non-vaccinated people which are both critical of one
other.

Strategies for Brit-tech to overcome the identified barriers
Even though Brit-tech is facing a lot of problems in relation to it's workforce which has
become habitual of working at home at their own pace as it desperately wants the things back to
normal in their company including a regularly schedules workplace which the employees are not
happy with, there are many approaches it can take to alleviate this issue (Liebowitz, J. ed., 2020).
Proper management of human resource of any company is very important determinant of it's
success and such barriers can only be removed by formulating policies and plans which are
entirely employee oriented, some examples of which are described below.
 The company should make vaccination compulsory for all it's employees since it's the
best prevention method available against the coronavirus and taking a gamble with the
health of the entire workforce over a few people is not worth it. This will also go a long
way in gaining the trust of employees that the company cares about their safety.
 No employees should be forced to take public transport to work, they should be
provided company run cabs with proper systems of hygiene at place.
 Brit-tech should relax the rigidity in their operational schedules and make sure the
employees work at their own pace initially to slowly get in the groove of work
 The company should host regular informal lunches, entertainment sessions and
activities to foster informal communication among employees to get rid of their
anxiety about this whole situation and make them appreciate the company of their
colleagues again.
CONCLUSION
In the above concluded report, there was a detailed discussion on the importance of
organizational communication and the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on the entire
process and how companies are still facing challenges due to poor connection towards it's
workforce. The various general and widely accepted theories of general organizational
communication were described such as Webber's classic organizational theory and Deetz's theory
of managerialism and various barriers to communications were also identified which rose due to
appearance of mass remote working due to the ongoing pandemic. The report was concluded
with strategic recommendations about how firs can successfully tackle these barriers.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Galli, B.J., 2019. Barriers to effective communication and stakeholder management in project
environments and how to overcome these barriers. International Journal of Applied
Logistics (IJAL), 9(2), pp.39-57.
Howard-Grenville, J., 2020. How to sustain your organization's culture when everyone is remote.
MIT Sloan Management Review, 62(1), pp.1-4.
Kuo, C.C., Wu, C.Y. and Lin, C.W., 2018. Supervisor workplace gossip and its impact on
employees. Journal of managerial psychology.
Liebowitz, J. ed., 2020. The Business of Pandemics: The COVID-19 Story. CRC Press.