The Role And Future Trends And Implications Of Communication Within Organization

Contents

Introduction. 1

Roles of communication within an organization. 1

The effects of some emerging trends in the role of communication. 4

Workforce diversity. 4

Technological development. 4

Globalization. 6

Changes in the nature of work. 7

Challenges and implications in future. 7

Introduction

            Over the years, there are many trends that have been observed within an organization. These trends are such as workforce diversity, technological development, globalization and changes in the nature of work. These trends have affected many areas in an organization; this paper will look at how these trends have affected the role of communication within an organization. Communication can be a very tricky concept to master within an organization especially one that has complex levels and multiple issues. When there is effective communication within all parts of an organization both workflow and productivity can be improved. Therefore efforts to improve the communication processes within an organization are important to ensure the organization remains strong.

Roles of communication within an organization

            Effective communication is quite significant for managers in an organization so that the basic functions such as planning, organizing, leading and controlling can be achieved within an organization. Communication has a key role in helping managers perform their duties and responsibilities. Communication also serves as a foundation for planning; all the essential information must be communicated to the managers who in turn must ensure that the plans are communicated so that they can be implemented. Organizing also requires effective communication with others about their job tasks. For team goals to be achieved, leaders such as managers must communicate with their subordinates. Communication prevents employees from feeling isolated and hence building of teamwork that creates a more collegial atmosphere in the office. When relationships are strong, employees are better able to trust one another and work together more effectively.

Communication can also help the employees collaborate more effectively which makes a more productive team overall. When there are multiple departments that are working on different facets of the same project, communication aids in streamlining the process and hence improve the final results. When there is open communication among the staff, potential issues, requirements and feedback are communicated and this translates to stronger results. Therefore with communication everyone is on the same page and hence problems are prevented in the near future. Controlling is not possible without any form of written and oral communication. There is a lot of time devoted to communication by managers this include face to face or telephone communications with their superiors, subordinates, colleagues, customers ,suppliers and other stake holders. Written communication is used by managers whenever oral communication is not feasible (Management study guide, 2012).

Effective communication is therefore termed as a building block of successful organizations. Communication promotes motivation through informing and clarifying to the employees about tasks that are to be done, the manner they are performing the tasks and how their performance can be improved if it is not up to the required standard. Communication also acts as a source of information to the organizational members for the process of decision making as it ban help in the identification and assessment of alternative course of actions. Communication can also play a crucial role in altering individual’s attitudes this means that well informed individuals have better attitude than less-informed individual. Organizational magazines, journals, meetings and other forms or written and oral communication have a role in molding employees’ attitudes. There is also improvement of socializing through communication within an organization the presence of people in an organization fosters communication. Communication is also essential in building of relationships between staff members and between levels employees both on a professional and social level. An atmosphere of open communication ensures that the employees feel safe to express their ides that will result to benefits of combined experiences from the staff when coming up with innovative solutions.

Communication also has a role in controlling organizational members’ behavior in various ways. Employees within an organization must comply with organizational policies, perform their job efficiently and communicate any problem that they encounter as they perform their duties and also their grievances to their superiors. Within an organization, confusions and ambiguity can lead to generation of negative feelings and tense atmospheres. Roles and responsibilities are made clear to every employee through communication hence the role of communication for clarity within an organization. Communication therefore reduces misunderstanding and cuts the costs that are associated with mistakes. Employees trust can also be build by effective communication. Clear and open communication comes with a sense of transparency within an organization this in turn builds trust between the levels of employees. When employees are kept in the dark there can be development of resentment, tension and feeling of low job security among the employees. Therefore strong communication ensures that they feel valued and trusted. When communication is done openly there will be a reduction in the feelings of uncertainty and cluelessness about the state of the company that in turn reflects on the employees who will feel they are working on a more positive environment and they also feel secure and safe (Management study guide, 2012).

The effects of some emerging trends in the role of communication

Workforce diversity

In the past years, workforce diversity is increasingly becoming an essential business concern. Every organization aims to attract and retain the very best employees available, therefore workforce diversity refers to policies and practices that seek to include people within a workforce that are considered different from those in the prevailing area. The workforce in the current years is a reflection of the considerable mix of cultures; ages, religions and races. Employees from different cultures come with different expectations, values and communication styles. These in turn must be understood and intergraded in the organizational culture for a successful work atmosphere. Workforce diversity therefore affects the role of communication in an organization since the diverse employees from the different cultures and races need to be communicated to with little or no misunderstandings. Therefore workforce diversity ensures that different communication styles are incorporated within an organization so that the responsibilities of the employees are clearly stated and this reduces any misunderstandings in the organization. This also calls for acceptance and working in harmony in a diverse workplace and all this foster the role of communication (McInnes, 2012).

Technological development

            Developments in technology and communications always go hand in hand. Technological developments have brought about various changes in communication. These include the speed and costs of communication. Faster and cheaper methods of communication within organizations are now in use such as the internet and this has led to efficient communication system. Therefore information can be passed within the organization with great speed and feedback communicated with the same great speed and hence the functions of the organization run smoothly. Computers and internets have made it easy the process of creating and editing documents when features such as automatic spell and grammar checks. This ensures that the documents are written fast and with no mi.............