Communication is a core aspect of the attainment of organizational objectives. Communication assists in the sharing of information among workers, and between the workers and bosses. Communication promotes coordination, smooth operations, effectiveness, and conducive work environment. Every function in an organization requires communication, managerial functions need communication to ensure effective achievement of objectives. Communication problems can, therefore, have adverse effects on an organization.
Managers have to effectively communicate with the employees and employees effectively communicate with each other. Communication problems will hinder the proper flow of information among these participants. It is, therefore, important to solve the communication problems within an organization. This research project seeks to identify ways to improve communication between managers and workers and among employees. The project seeks to solve this problem within the organization using a participative approach with the managers, workers, and the human resource department.
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Data Gathering
This research requires the gathering of data to ensure that communication problems are prevalent in most organizations. It is important to involve all parties of an organization to gather necessary data. Participation by all parties will ensure that data is more efficient and reliable. This research will apply the survey design to gather data on the study. Questionnaires will help gather data in a faster and less time-consuming way. Questionnaires will include both open-ended and close-ended questions that relate to communication problems. The goal of the questionnaires is to gather information on the communication state of the participants within their organizations. Questions on communication methods, frequency, and effectiveness will help gather reliable data for the research.
According to Coughlan & Coghlan (2002) , action research is interactive, that is, it requires cooperation between the researchers and subjects. This project will achieve this by use of open-ended questions in the questionnaires. Open-ended questions will prompt more participation with the subjects of the research. Open-ended questions allow respondents to include more information – answers are not limited to choices. The respondents can include their true feelings on the issue and understanding of the problem. This inclusion enables the respondents to contribute to the body of knowledge of the research. These questions will also manage response errors, disregard of the questions to only fill in answers, in data gathering. This will help gather reliable data that is actionable and concurrent with the action problem.
The research is also interactive because also managers will participate in the survey. The action research is on communication problems within the organization. Managers are also part of the organization; hence including them will ensure data gathered is concurrent with the research. Employees may have their insights on the problem and so will managers. The participation of both parties will help gather more conclusive data that can help in action planning and implementation.
Data Feedback and Analysis
The best method of data analysis is descriptive statistics and regression analysis. Descriptive statistics will analyze the gathered data in terms of mean, frequency, mode, deviation, and range. This will help determine whether all respondents face communication problems within their organizations. The descriptive statistics will also help determine whether communication problem is more between managers and workers or among the workers. The analysis will also help determine the main causes of the problem – the cause of communication problem with the highest frequency. Descriptive statistics will help analyze the data to gather information concurrent with the research problem.
Regression analysis is important in determining the relationship of variables presumed to affect communication in the organization. It is important to determine whether these variables have any effect on communication as this will help determine ways to deal with them. The significance of these causes will help determine the prioritization strategy in action planning and implementation.
Data analysis methods are not fully sufficient in the action research. It is important to gather feedback on the data analysis findings from the respondents of the survey. Feedback helps determine the reliability and applicability of the findings in the project. For instance, if employees and managers feel that the data analysis does not provide the true causes of the communication problem then the data is unreliable and non-applicable to action planning. It is important for feedback to align with the objectives of the study – improve communication within the organization. According to Coughlan & Coghlan (2002) , action research follows its own unique criteria. In this research, the criterion is uniformity between the study findings and the feedback from the respondents. This criterion will help give the best knowledge of the research problem; hence better solutions and implementation of the action plan.
Action Plan and Implementation
The knowledge gathered in the research process has to be concurrent with the research to ensure effective solutions. The knowledge has to solve a problem and contribute to the issue of communication within an organization. Taking this into account, the goal is to solve the communication problem within the organization – between employees and managers, and among employees. The knowledge gathered on the causes of the communication problem will help determine the best solutions. This information is then incorporated in the action plan to solve the problem of communication while providing a holistic understanding of each stage of the plan. The plan has to incorporate the diverse corporate environment and structure of operation. Such a coherent action plan will ensure ease in implementation of the plan in the organization. A plan that meets these criteria will help effectively solve the problem by taking into account constraints like resources and corporate environment that may hinder effective implementation.
The timeframe, resources, and knowledge required during implementation are important to include in the action research. It is important because it develops a holistic understanding and integration of knowledge in the process. The action plan includes the steps that the organization will take to incorporate the change in the communication process. The action plan will also provide the persons in charge and time to implement each action. All action items will be concurrent with the knowledge and findings of the research.
Evaluation
The evaluation process involves an assessment of the merit of the action plan in solving the communication problem between employees and managers, and among the employees. The assessment will take place annually to ensure there is merit in how communication takes place in the organization. Evaluation will ensure participation of all parties to ensure reliable feedback on the merit of the action plan. All the participants will take part in a second survey that will analyze the success of the initial actual plan and provide feedback on possible changes. The new knowledge will help make necessary improvements to the action plan to ensure further solving of the communication problem. Evaluation will also help incorporate any changes in the organizational environment that may affect communication. This integration will help derive a better action plan for the organization after a period of implementation.
References
Aguinis, H. (1993). Action Research and Scientific Method: Presumed Discrepancies and Actual Similarities. Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences, 29 (4), 416-431.
Coch, L., & French, J. (1948). Overcoming Resistance to Change. Human Relations, 1 (4), 512-532.
Coughlan, P., & Coghlan, D. (2002). Action Research: Action Research for Operations Management. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 22 (2), 220-240.
