Proper communication mechanisms in management structures are one of the major reasons behind organizational successes. The successes are achieved through organizational objectives and goals attainments. Management is the process of dealing with or controlling people or things to obtain a certain outcome. Communication is the process of exchanging or conveying information via writing, speaking, or using many other forms of medium like television, posters, and signs, among others. The literature on management communications has existed since ancient times, and it has tried to deduce different aspects of communication in an organizational setup. The paper will examine key effective communication norms in a business setup, the role of interpersonal communication at different levels of management, barriers, and the definite techniques used to overcome such barriers and the role of international and interpersonal communication in global businesses, among other subjects related to communication in businesses. The research paper reviews some of the past information on organizational communication to express the principles of management communications and how they are used effectively to achieve organizational goals and objectives.
Effectiveness of Communication Norms
Effective communication norms are one of the key attributes and contributors alongside other management strategies to a successful business environment. The communication revolution has become apparent since the industrialized world in the 1970s. Revolution in communication as a management tool is pegged on improvements caused by experience and the need for effective communication (Bell & Smith, 2011). Literature, as a form of record, demonstrates how communication has evolved and suggests that it will continue to change as businesses are faced with new challenges in the future. Some of the effective communication norms revolve around the structures and cycles through which communication is disseminated, the skills and desire possessed by the communicator, the timeliness of the communication, and the mode of communication among other issues.
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Structure and cycle assimilate to the levels of management in a business. It translates to communication channels that have evolved in the business since its inception. Communication channels refer to the cycle through which a communication stream follows. For instance, a CEO would communicate to superior managers, who would pass the same communication to mid-level management, then low-level management before they disseminate the same information to their team leaders and employees. It is uncommon to find an organization whose CEO would communicate some of the issues of the business directly to their employees. The hierarchical approach to communication acts vertically in both ways. From the CEO through to employees or from the workers up to the CEO. This approach or cycle ensures that information flows through all levels of the businesses’ structure. The availability of information and easy access makes it easier for personnel to access it when they need to make critical decisions that are beneficial to the business (Morgan, 2014).
Communication is not a mere skill that anybody in a business setup can possess. It is a science that individuals develop through experience after being set with underlying levels of the skill from tertiary institutions. Without the proper skill and knowledge on communication, management communication becomes an uphill task in business, therefore asserting that the norm is critical to making communication effective. Inadvertently, the desire to communicate also factors in from the personnel’s point of view. Take, for instance, a manager who is not motivated in their role, lacking the desire to communicate. As such, effective communication is hindered in the business. The phenomenon supports the notion that skill and desire for communication are determinants of effective communication norms.
Timeliness of management communication constitutes its effectiveness in achieving a business objective. If a communication meant to change business tactics to capture more clients during summer and is communicated in autumn besieges, the objective of the business to capitalize on a rare opportunity. Therefore, communication has to be done promptly for it to be effective and enable businesses to achieve their goals. Management should have a system in place to notify the recipient of the message sent in order to realize the prompt communication. The notification enhances the reaction time hence promptly. It is the role of the recipient to check whether they have a notification. However, it is of added advantage that the same system notifies the sender that the communication has been received (Normore et al., 2019). The system presents a formidable solution to timely communication as a component of effective communication norms in management.
Mode of communication plays a vital role in different levels of management communication. Ideally, mode addresses how information is disseminated to its recipient. The mode would determine the simplicity in which the recipient will understand the information and act on it. For instance, short unvital information can be disseminated through verbal expression, while detailed complex information can be disseminated through email as it gives the recipient the freedoms to go back and consult the information and gain a better understanding. As a manager, the objective of passing information is for the recipient to receive it, understand it, and pass it on or react to it. Two categories come up when focusing on the mode of communication: Formal and informal modes of communication. Formal communication includes emails and is constituted as a set of rules that all stakeholders in the business adhere to. Other formal communication modes include meetings, conferences, telephone calls, and business’s periodic news releases. Informal communication is mostly personal, unofficial, and commonly verbal (Normore et al., 2019). In as much as this mode of communication is encouraged in a business setup, it is easy for information to lose meaning or seriousness, thus not befitting the effectiveness of the communication norm. Mode of communication is, therefore, an active communication norm.
Role of Interpersonal Communication
Interpersonal communication in the context of a business is the communicative interaction that takes place between people or groups that are symbiotic of one another and have knowledge about each other, mostly on a professional level (DeVito, 2015). In my view, I would simply put it as the transformation of information from one individual to another or a group. Communication varies in different organizations because organizational agendas and objectivity differ widely. As discussed in the introductory section, attaining set goals and objectivity builds up towards the tenacity of communication and, by extension, interpersonal communication existent in the organization. It varies in different organizations simply because organizations have different objectives. Ostensibly, communication has to be effectively handled for the business to achieve its goals and objectives (Singh, 2014).
The role interpersonal communication plays in achieving organizational goals can be determined by analyzing the kind of leadership communications in a business setup. Normally, the CEO or the managing director communicated issues, business policies, and strategies as they constitute the roadmap towards attaining business objectives. Given the vitality of information, there is a need for it to be communicated to other levels of management. The movement of communication from top management to lower-level management is vertical communication and the same when information moves upwards. Interpersonal connotes a form of personal relationship, which is evident in organizational setups. Interacting with one another daily builds up a relationship between employees. This level of attachment exposes a brief nature of someone’s attributes agreeable by other employees. Nature guides leaders in knowing how to deal with one another. How a manager communicates to employee A will be quite different from the way they communicate with employee B. Employees A and B are different in their brief nature of existence. Employee A may understand business strategies better than employee B; therefore, he needs less communication supporting the strategy. The understanding of these communication cues is the beginning of rendering the function effectively in an organization.
Horizontal communication is another level through which communication is disseminated. However, the form of communication is amongst peers. On a managerial level, managers of the same caliber communicate issues of policy and strategy pertinent to the business. It brings to the realization that horizontal and vertical communication is not the same and introduces a different aspect of what the role of interpersonal communication in a business entails. Vertical communication is through different levels of position-wise and skill-wise. Therefore, interpersonal communication should help employees deduce that the information being passed down or up is meant for a different audience who may not have the knowledge they have calling for simplicity or complexity. The same applies to horizontal communication. When simplifying communication, managers or employees are educating their juniors and peers on complex issues (Morgan, 2014).
Interpersonal communication decrees interaction on a personal level. The notion breaks the ice and makes communication easier between superiors and their juniors. Efficient communication substantiates the free flow of information, making it easier for decision making and exercising of management skills. The phenomenon helps a business advance its agenda and diversify operations to meet its goals and objectives.
Communication Barriers and Overcoming Them
Communication barriers are the factors that impede effective transference of information from one person to the other or between departments. Without going into the finer classifications of communication barriers, according to Longest, Rakich, and Darr (1992), they are either interpersonal or environmental. Interpersonal barriers arise from personal characteristics and the nature of interactions individuals have with one another. Environmental barriers arise because of the ecological location of an organization. However, such barriers can be overcome if management and employees acknowledge and understand that they exist.
Ecological barriers may exist but take a lot of resources in overcoming them. For instance, if the location of the business is what impedes communication in employees, moving it to a different location is not a one-day affair. Interpersonal barriers are easy to overcome because the power to overcome such barriers lies with an individual. Management has the sole responsibility for ensuring communication is effective. When communication is effective, the business will achieve its goals and objectives. Communication is effective when it provides clarity to the business’s mission, builds personal relationships in the business, creates commitment among employees, and defines the expectations from everyone.
It takes excellent communication skills to overcome interpersonal communication barriers. Therefore, managers should use their knowledge to identify and comprehend the barriers before coming up with solutions. Comprehension from the perspective of how the barrier affects communication and business performance by extension will help in finding effective solutions. Understanding the cause is the beginning of solving the problem. As a Team Leader, I am tasked with managing a team to perform to meet organizational goals optimally. Performance in the organization is measured through Key Performance Indicators, and via periodic reviews, I can tell whether there is a communication challenge on team members. I conduct performance reviews personally on face to face basis. The setup allows one to listen, sympathize, and offer counsel on the way forward. The approach improves the relationships between parties, thus eliminating interpersonal communication barriers and progressing objective business attainment.
Role of International and Intercultural Interpersonal Communication in Global Business
Globalization is revolutionizing businesses in different ways, especially on the fact that it has presented business with extensive markets to achieve its objectives. The global market is characterized by different people with a different culture, which revolutionizes communication and interpersonal communication. Technology has played a larger role in the progress of intranational and intercultural interpersonal communication and its role in global business.
The world is comprised of different races and different cultures. To do business beyond original geographical ecologies, an organization must digress beyond geographical and cultural barriers to succeed in doing business. Interpersonal communication is the basic level through which barrier-breaking transcendence can be achieved. Through technology, emails, websites, and social media platforms, as well as shipping networks, have enabled business centralized in one location to expand its operations to other regions in the world. However, when businesses expand to other geographical regions in the world, they are required to open new regional establishments with employees and management, preferably of the cultures that exist in that region. International and intercultural interpersonal communication plays a greater role in amalgamating global businesses to the headquarter business. Management from HQ can communicate business policies and strategies on the backdrop of regions and cultures that the other businesses strive.
The role of international global communication and intercultural interpersonal communication is to introduce employees and managers to the new facts about business in other global environments and its people from a cultural standpoint. It helps management learn new concepts that they can implore in their organization and accord other managers in global positions the same opportunity. The spectacle introduces a new culture in the business that can be practiced across all branches.
Verbal and Nonverbal Management Communication
Verbal communication is the oral interaction between two individuals or a person and a group. The basic form of verbal communication is dialogue and is effectively executed on an personal level of communication-based based on the importance of relationships between individuals (Nicotera, 1993). Therefore, for free flow communication, the business must have developed a verbal communication channel originating from the acquittance of the participants. The norm enhances the effectiveness of communication in verbal communication.
Nonverbal management communication is the use of non-word means to share information between individuals in a business. There four basic nonverbal management communication systems comprise face and eye expressions, paralanguage, proxemics, and kinesics. Non-verbal communication forms generally exist to aid in verbal communication. For instance, imagine a manager talking to an employee with a straight face without facial expression or eye contact. From a simple frown, an employee could tell that the manager does not like the idea. Paralanguage constitutes tone, pitch, or how an individual speaks. Once again, imagine a manager speaking in one tone, not changing pitch or manner of speech. It’s an odd occurrence. Proxemics involves the amount of space an individual thinks wise to maintain between them and the person they are communicating with. Closer proximities mean they are more intimate like a friend or colleague working under the same level in a business. Further proximities could indicate a more professional relationship, maybe between an employee and their boss. Kinesics stands for body language. Both verbal and nonverbal management communication plays a critical role through which information is transmitted in the business.
Effective Written Management Communication
Alongside nonverbal and verbal management communication exists written management communication. It involved written text used to communicate through the different documents and channels found in a business. Documents comprise of brochures, memos, letters, and business profiles, among others. Platforms through which written management communication are transmitted include email, social media, websites, and in their raw physical forms when sent as mail or posted on the notice board.
Effective written management communication has to be simple, sometimes accompanied by imagery, precise, and polite for it to achieve its objective. The essence of communication is that employees or managers in a business must understand the message communicated in the written management communication (Normore et al., 2019). Through the research review, it is now apparent that communication plays a vital role in the operations of a business. Communication is used in different critical forums in a business, such as making presentations, conflict resolution, and team meetings.
Audience Engagement During A Presentation
Presentations are forums through which information is passed from an individual to a group of people. In the context of a business, it is the best forum through which information can be disseminated from a manager to their employees. Such a forum is key to discussing business strategies, policies, and issues facing it. However, most presentations are faced with the challenge of keeping the audience engaged. Solutions to the challenge vary and aid in ensuring that management communication during presentations happens effectively. When the audience is engaged, information is received and understood, making execution for objective optimization easy.
To keep the audience hooked, integrate engagement exercises in different parts of the presentation, especially when it is long. Invite suggestions, opinions, and questions after completing each section of the presentation. Use personal experiences as examples to keep the audience interested in the presentation. The effectiveness of the communication impartment is equally reliant on the recipient’s ability to receive the information.
Conflict Resolution
Conflict is a common occurrence in the organization and could hinder objective optimization. Therefore, it is tantamount that managers or leaders act as mediators between the warring factions. To do this, some skill in management communication must have been honed. Managers can have some form of interpersonal communication between the two separately then engage them both to encourage communication. Communication is an effective way of expressing issues and frustrations between conflicting parties.
Techniques for Leading Teams and Group Meetings
Team meetings are also another forum where management communication is exercised. Moderators who are the team leaders or managers have the responsibility to run the meeting effectively. The purpose of the meeting should be achieved, and all participants engaged in the process. Teams do not feel inclusive of the process if the team leader is the only individual speaking in the forum.
All participants should be allowed to voice their opinion on issues, policies, and strategies that will ensure business goal optimization. Being a part of the process of making strategies and policies makes teams or employees own them and easily executed on the ground. Therefore, management communication should become a norm that all businesses should employ if they wish to survive, compete favorably, and achieve their objectives. Different literature reviews on management communication, the scenarios in which management communication is used, and the levels where it practiced and applied ascertain that management communication is valuable to businesses and effectively used by them to achieve organizational objectives.
References
Bell, A. H., & Smith, D. M. (2011). Management communication . Willey India.
DeVito, J. A. (2015). The Interpersonal Communication Book . Pearson Education Ltd.
Morgan, J. (2014). The future of work: attract new talent, build better leaders, and create a competitive organization . Wiley.
Nicotera, A. M. (1993). Interpersonal communication in friend and mate relationships . State University of New York Press.
Normore, A. H., Javidi, M., & Long, L. W. (2019). Handbook of research on strategic communication, leadership, and conflict management in modern organizations . Business Science Reference, an imprint of IGI Global.
Rakich, J. S., Longest, B. B., & Darr, K. (1992). Managing health services organizations . Health Professions Press.
Singh, A. K. (2014). Role of Interpersonal Communication in Organizational Effectiveness. International Journal of Research in Management & Business Studies , 1 (4).
