Effective Communication in Organizations: A Reflective Report

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report analyzes organizational communication.

PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION PRACTICE
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Table of Contents
1. What topic discussed in this subject you find most interesting. Give a short description (with
referencing) of the topic?.................................................................................................................3
2. Write a personal reflection (with two or three supporting reasons) why you found this topic of
great interest.....................................................................................................................................4
3. How do you think you could apply it in your present or future professional career?.................5
References........................................................................................................................................7
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1. What topic discussed in this subject you find most interesting. Give a short description
(with referencing) of the topic?
Communication in an organization takes place when the messages are flown within the business
environments. I think that the topic I find the most interesting implies the different ways in
which communication within an organization takes place. Organizational communication refers
to the process of exchange of ideas, views, and information within as well as the outside of the
organization. Organizational communication takes place not only in the companies but also the
government agencies, hospitals, schools, military organizations, and other institutions. I find this
topic interesting as it has a wider scope including the encompassment of every activity taken
place from individual to mass communication. The domain of communication in an organization
is wider as it involves different ways using which the communication is undertaken within and
outside the organization. I believe that individuals undertake communication within the
organization using different channels such as mediated, written or face-to-face (Karanges, et. al.,
2015). There are different types of communication available to an organization named formal
and informal communication; as well as downward, upward and horizontal communication.
Formal communication refers to the communication takes place in a formal manner within an
organization while informal communication involves the exchange of casual, personal and social
messages within an organization. Formal communication may include conferences, newsletters,
meetings, and phone calls and others. Downward communication includes the flow of
communication from top-level management to low-level employees such as policy directives,
orders, and instructions. Contrary to this, upward communication involves communication from
a low level to top-level management including feedback, suggestions, and reports. When the
communication is undertaken at the same organizational level such as within departments and
does not involve another management level. Organizational communication is an interesting
topic since it implies the fact that an organization can avail any communication from within a
pool of different communication forms.
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2. Write a personal reflection (with two or three supporting reasons) why you found this
topic of great interest.
I find organizational communication as the most interesting topic since it has a wider scope
involving different ways for communication. Another reason is that organizations can avail
assistance to the large extent from the adoption of communication form. Organizational
communication is significant for the survival of an organization in the long run within the
competitive business environment. However, different communication ways attract significant
risks and disadvantages that can hamper the smooth functioning within an organization (Daniel
& Eze, 2016). I think that organizations may undertake communication in numerous ways on the
basis of the way of expression, organizational structure and direction as well. On the basis of the
way of expression, communication within an organization takes place in an oral and written way.
Oral communication involves direct communication using face-to-face oral words while written
communication involves communication using bars, charts, written words, pictures, and other
written tools.
Formal and informal communication is divided on the basis of organizational structure. On the
other hand, communication-based on the direction includes downward, upward and horizontal
communication. Another reason signifies that organizations get assistance in significant ways by
the utilization of different communication forms. Organizational communication helps in
offering a source of information as well as in the decision-making process. In another way,
different types of communication within an organization provide assistance in the conflict
management, encouraging motivation, socializing and most significantly offers the foundation of
organizational functions (Greenhow & Lewin, 2016). Last but not least, the reason that attracts
me towards the current topic is the risks and dangers involved in the adoption of organizational
communication. As an instance, formal communication creates a barrier for the uninterrupted
and free flow of communication and also a time-consuming process. Informal communication
contains the risk of developing misunderstandings and rumors within an organization that may
promote a negative environment. Apart from this, different ways of organizational
communication may also lead to misinterpretation and inaccurate information exchange.
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3. How do you think you could apply it in your present or future professional career?
Organizational communication is a considerable concept for any organization irrespective of size
and nature. For any profession, communication skills are vital as it leads to the exchange of
information and ideas. I think I could apply the communication skills within the organization in
the future professional career. Formal communication is applied mainly in the organizations
having a formal structure. I could apply a combination of formal and informal communication in
order to maintain a balanced flow of information. I would use formal communication techniques
for conveying the message to the senior management or subordinates. At the time of joining, I
would ask for a written job description in which all the information regarding my roles and
duties, pay rate, company rules and code of conduct is mentioned (Malhotra & Ackfeldt, 2016). I
would use business letters and emails for the purpose of communicating with any of the
company members.
I would use the method of official telephone calls for quickly contacting the office colleague or
senior management in order to discuss significant business issues. I would prefer to conduct
official meetings and conferences for the crucial business discussion. I would implement an
email program which would be handled by an employee appointed especially for this program.
This employee would be responsible for updating the newsletter or emails regarding the vital
information of the company. This could be any information such as changes in rules and
regulations or policies, health and safety measures, hosting of any official program or
announcing employee of the month. For implementing informal techniques for communication, I
would create a group on a social network such as Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.
This would not only assist in circulating company related updates but also provides the platform
of interaction to the employers and employees (Cardon, & Marshall, 2015). The employees
would use this platform for sharing information with each other. In another way, I would conduct
official meetings every month in which critical business discussions, games, contests and lunch
or dinner would be involved. Instead of hosting the meeting in the old meeting format, this
meeting would be based on the theme in order to motivate employees to participate in a large
number. I believe that absolute formal communication could lead to the rise of strictness and
boredom within the organization that can also cause de-motivation among employees. In this
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way, I would use formal and informal techniques for the purpose of communicating within the
organization.
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References
 Cardon, P. W., & Marshall, B. (2015). The hype and reality of social media use for work
collaboration and team communication. International Journal of Business
Communication, 52(3), 273-293.
 Daniel, E. C., & Eze, O. L. (2016). The Role Of Formal and Informal Communication In
Determining Empoyee Affective and Continuance Commitment in Oil and Gas
Companies. International Journal of Advanced Academic Research Social &
Management Sciences, 2(9), 33-44.
 Greenhow, C., & Lewin, C. (2016). Social media and education: reconceptualizing the
boundaries of formal and informal learning. Learning, media and technology, 41(1), 6-
30.
 Karanges, E., Johnston, K., Beatson, A., & Lings, I. (2015). The influence of internal
communication on employee engagement: A pilot study. Public Relations Review, 41(1),
129-131.
 Malhotra, N., & Ackfeldt, A. L. (2016). Internal communication and prosocial service
behaviors of front-line employees: Investigating mediating mechanisms. Journal of
Business Research, 69(10), 4132-4139.
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