Communication In An Organization Management Essay

Communication In An Organization direction EssayCommunication in an organization is signifi croupt and its continuous potence is fundamental for the seamless consolidation of its intrinsic publics into the organization. Ferguson (1999), suggests that confabulation priorities must be capable of responding to the requirements of both external and internecine audiences. Appargonnt converse channels echo the well being of an institute. Clampitt (1991) suggests that effective native dialogue assists to improve an organizations victor. Clampitts proposition is unchanging with Heaths (2001) observations that effective internal conversation leads to increased productiveness, satisfied clients and maintenance of the organizational grammatical construction.Furthermore, Clampitt and Downs 1993 cited in Hargie and Tourish (2000) suggest that organizations turn a profit a lot from improved internal conversation. This takes improved productivity, reduced absenteeism, higher qualit y of service and products. Organizations overly experience increased trains of innovation, fewer strikes and reduced tolls of operation and high supply turnover. Taylor (2005) summarizes the benefits of effective communicating in the acronym as,SUCCESS specify as follows S- stronger decision making and problem solving U-upturn in productivity C-convincing and compelling corporate materials C-clearer, more streamlined work flow E-enhanced professional image S-sound business affinitys S-successful reply assured (p. 11).. For an organization to prize the effectiveness of its internal parley based on its employees attitudes roughly the firm, it take to conduct a parley depicted object (Argenti, 2009). Therefore, the assurance that effective internal communion systems exists is vital to the success of any organization. This construes that all the objectives undertaken by an organization are clearly understood by its employees.A talk analyseScott (2007) defines a parley audit as an indicator utilize in a token time to attention an organization assess its current parley practices and also to show how effective they are. She suggests that a discourse audit can also be utilize to identify areas with problems such as shit misunderstandings, arouse a go at itledge blocks, affirmation gaps, knowledge duplication or misrepresentation. McGann (2010) suggests that,a conference audit is a shooting of the organizations conferences programs, practices and activities. A confabulation audit ordain inform you on what is working, what is not working and what call for to be motleyd or improved in foothold of talk at heart the organization (p. 1).According to Hargie and Tourish (2000), converse audits rescue been employ to identify and reward good practice and at the same time succor organizations to come crisis and improve business performance. Snyder and Morris (1994) cited in Hargie and Tourish (2000) observe that on that point is a p ositive correlation surrounded by the employee perceptions of communication and job satisfaction which in turn correlates to the overall organizations effectiveness. This can be achieved by the results of the communication audit.Seitel (1995) states that, organizations utilize communication audits to analyze the perception of its constituents, evaluate the readership of its communication, annual reports and newsletters which are the vehicles of the organization. Further, the author suggests that, communication audits put up the organization with important education on how to solve problems resembling employees working at cross-purposes, uneven communication workloads and benchmarks against which public relations programs can be applied and measured in the future. The author concludes that, a communication audit pass on determine the communications systems which are being used by the organization, which are the approximately effective and if the teaching that is being transmit ted by the organization is regarded as adequate by its recipients. This deliberate is an internal communication audit of the CDF climb on and secretariat which aims to determine the effectiveness of the communication systems used inside the organization.History of CDF in KenyaIn the recent past, the government of Kenya has created a number of alternative windows to allow parcelling of resources directly to devolved government units in response to the adopts to ensure equitable phylogeny at the grassroots. For instance, thither has been substantial increase in resources committed at the constituency level and the local government units. When President Mwai Kibaki was in opposition he introduced a motion in parliament that sought to have cash in hand devolved at the grassroot level, however the motion was defeated by the then precede of state President Daniel arap Mois government.In the twelvemonth 2003 when H. E Mwai Kibaki took power, the Ol-Kalao atom of Parliament Hon. Eng . Karue having been a member of his party, brought the motion again to Parliament seeking the property to be devolved at the grassroot level and it was passed. Constituency Development parentage (CDF) became operational in 2004 with an annual budgetary parceling of a minimum 2.5% by the central government to each of the countrys constituencies. The fund aims to kick inress imbalances in regional development. It targets community sees at the constituency level, particularly those aiming to combat poverty. It also provides individuals at the grassroot the opportunity to make development choices that maximise their welfare in line with their needs and preferences.Some of other notable devolved funds in Kenya overwhelm the Community Development Trust Fund (CDTF), the Roads Fund, Constituency AIDs Fund, the Local Authority Transfer Fund (LATF), Women Enterprise Fund, Youth Enterprise Development Fund, Rural Electrification Programe Levy Fund (REPF), Free Primary fosterage Fund (F PEF) and the Constituency Education Bursary Fund (CEBF). The over-arching goal has been to improve the development outcomes by involving local communities in the decision-making ferment and instruction of projects (CDF scorecard Strategic Plan, 2010-2014).During the period of CDF existence, the fund has registered substantial achievements and has greatly contri justed in transforming the lives of Kenyans. The police detectives observations are that, the tinct of the fund is widespread that in all corners of the country single can never miss a project which has been financed from the CDF kitty. They include the improved infrastructure especially in the folksy areas in the form of rural access roads, education and health facilities. The fund has enabled many students to access education through bursary. In appurtenance it has enabled locals to build capacity at the grassroot level through empowerment in participation in project prudence through various committees.CDF has ori ginal a lot of media attention both positive and minus despite the fact that it has brought a paradigm shift in most of Kenyas rural areas in damage of development. However, just the like any other noble idea, the Fund has had its own share of challenges ranging from mode of financing, accountability to the public, political interference in identification of projects, approval and implementation of the projects, low level of awareness among communities on the operations of the fund among others. However, Gikonyo (2008) observes that CDF has been a great success despite the challenges faced by the fund. This idea has been seconded by New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD) as it acknowledges the Fund as whiz of the best innovations in Africas development and as a result many countries are seeking to adopt the CDF model.By law, the CDF is controlled by the Member of Parliament of a constituency. This amount is then shared among all the constituencies on an established formu la that factors in equality and the poverty levels of each constituency. Thereafter, the onus of disbursing and ensuring the constituencies use their share of the money efficiently and accountably falls with the CDF batting order and Secretariat. This system was established under CDF (Amendment) Act 2007 section 5 (CDF panel Strategic Plan, 2010-2014). However, this mesa and Secretariat is charged with the overall responsibility of managing the Funds and reporting to parliamentary Constituency Fund Committee (CFC) on its usage. The poster activities are also coordinated by a Secretariat based at its headquarters in Nairobi County. The CEO to the Secretariat is also the Secretary to the mature and the chief accounting mailr to the fund.The CDF Board and Secretariat just like any other organization is believed to have communication channels in place. These communication channels childs play an important role of information dissemination from one person to another. However, the y need to be evaluated so as to give the guidelines based on what is working, what is not working and what needs to be changed. The communication channels used by organizations include memos, telephone, emails, newsletters, website, notice board, suggestion box, meetings, annual reports and face to face. In this study the researcher will provide a credible baseline of the actual status of communication in the CDF Board and Secretariat with its internal publics.Problem statementGood internal communication is vatical to ensure low provide turnover, high quality of service and goods, improved productivity, reduced absenteeism, and reduced cost of operation. For an organization like CDF Board and Secretariat good internal communication is critical because it will ensure seamless integration of its internal publics. Staff retention is important to ensure such a novel organization has smirchrs farseeing enough to understand, establish and concretize its mandate to ensure it serves th e purpose for which it was established.A smell at the CDF Board and Secretariat website indicates that several senior officers have left the organization in a period of one year. Although no exit interviews were conducted to establish the reason for their departure, poor internal communication, according to Hargie and Tourish (2000) is a major cause of high staff turnover. These authors further suggest that an organization should conduct a communication audit between five and seven years or after any major change in the organization. This enables the organization to realize what is working and what needs to be changed in terms of communication. The high staff turnover at the CDF Board and Secretariat in the long run would increase the operation cost of hiring and training new staffs regularly and also paint a negative image of the organization. This study accordingly aims to investigate whether the CDF Board and Secretariat has effective internal communication and whether poor com munication could have contri buted to challenges like high staff turnover.Purpose of the studyThe purpose of this study is to conduct an internal communication audit of the CDF Board and Secretariat and to analyze the effectiveness of its communication channels between the CDF Board and Secretariat and its internal publics.Objectives of the studyGeneral objectiveThe general objective of this study is to carry out an internal communication audit of the CDF Board and Secretariat and to establish what communication styles are in place, how they work and the perceived effectiveness of the organizations communication.Specific objectives of the study will beTo establish the communication systems used to channelise amongst the internal publics of the CDF Board and Secretariat.To verify the effectiveness of the communication systems in meeting employees information needs.To establish employees perception on the relationship of internal communication to job satisfaction and employee retenti on.To document the strengths and weaknesses of the existing communication practices and propose a track forward.Research questionsThe issues that this study will address include-What are the communication systems that are used to communicate among the internal publics of the CDF Board and Secretariat?What is the perceived effectiveness of communication amongst the internal publics?What is the employee perception on the relationship of internal communication to job satisfaction and employee retention?What are the strengths and weaknesses of the existing communication practices at the CDF Board and Secretariat?Rationale/ significance of the studyThis study will help the organization to develop potential solutions to communication problems if they will arise and also help the organization to avoid other forms of crisis including high staff turnover. The study findings could also be adopted by the government of Kenya as a foothold of growth a comprehensive policy framework for intern al communication among public brasss in Kenya. Such a policy would ensure smooth flow of information on government policy and directives among the public servants, which would repeat to better service delivery to the public/citizens.Further, the study finding will contribute immensely to the body of knowledge in the country, and help scholars and practitioners better understand the subject of internal communication.At the completion of this study, the researcher will provide significant recommendations concerning communication issues from the research findings which will be useful to the organization. This will help the CDF Board and Secretariat to improve its internal communication systems for better and more effective internal communication within the organization.Assumptions of the studyThe following are the basic assumptions of the study.That CDF Board and Secretariat has got communication systems that can be audited.That the CDF Board and Secretariat employees will be truthfu l in responding to the research questions.That the CDF Board and Secretariat will allow the participation of its internal publics in this study.That the CDF Board and Secretariat will provide relevant information to the researcher.Limitations and delimitationsIn this study the researcher will focus on the internal publics of the CDF Board and Secretariat who include the CEO, the staff and the Board members. The researcher will not extend the study to the external publics. In addition, roughly employees may opt to withhold information due to fear of victimization. This is because most of the information that flows within the CDF Board and Secretariat is classified. To delimit this, the researcher will assure the respondents that the information provided will only be used in this study. In addition, most of the Board members do not report to the Secretariat head office on a daily basis they only meet on several occasions in a month. To delimit this, the researcher will make arrangem ents to have the interviews with the Board members when they are at the head office.Scope of the studyThe research will be conducted at the CDF Board and Secretariat head office which is situated at the junction of Uhuru Highway and Haile Selaisse Avenue at Harambee Sacco Plaza 10th floor in Nairobi. The study will restrict itself to the audit of communication of the internal publics of the CDF Board and Secretariat which includes the CEO, Board of Directors, management staff and subordinate staff.Definition of termsCommunication auditIs a snapshot of the organizations communication programs, practices and activities which inform the organization on what is working, what is not working and what needs to be changed or improved in terms of communication within the organization (McGann 2010). For the purpose of this study a communication audit will conceive a gauge which helps the organization to analyze its perceived communication to its publics.CDF Board and SecretariatIs the body w hich has been mandated by the Government of Kenya to manage constituency funds and report to the Parliamentary Constituency Fund Committee on the usage of the funds (CDF Board Strategic Plan, 2010-2014). For the purpose of this study it shall remain one and the same thing.Communication systemsThese are the communication networks which help in the flow of information from one level of employee to another. For the purpose of this study it shall remain one and the same thing.Effective communicationFielding (2006) defines effective communication as the management of flow of information, this room from the sender, the pith itself, the channel, the receiver and the feedback. Collins (2009) defines effective communication as the practical guidance on victimization communication vehicles and tools. For the purpose of this study, effective communication will mean transit of information and understanding between the sender and the receiver.Internal publicsBroom (2009), refers to internal p ublics as the employees including managers and people being supervised. Lundblad and Stewart (2005) define the internal publics as the individuals / bases in the employ of the organization. Seitel (1995) says that the internal publics are the publics who are inside the organization though they vary from one organization to another, depending on the nature of the organization. For the purpose of this study the internal publics will be the CEO, the Board of Directors and the employees of the CDF Board and Secretariat.High staff turnover.Staff retention..SummaryThis chapter covered the introduction and background to the study, defined a communication audit, and gave a brief history of CDF in Kenya, CDF Board Secretariat. Problem statement, objectives of the study, justification of the study and operationalization of terminologies has also been done in this chapter. The next chapter will cover the literature review, the role of corporate communication in conducting a communication aud it, theoretical, and conceptual framework.Chapter two Literature ReviewIntroductionThis chapter reviews a literature on communication audits and related concepts. Key topics covered include the role of corporate communication in conducting audits, empirical studies of internal communication audits, and the military operation of communication in organizations. Others include internal publics, and barriers to effective communication, communication systems, employee information needs and the theoretical and conceptual frameworks of the study.Communication auditsCommunication audits have been used as indicators to help organizations assess their current communication practices and show how effective they are. They are used to identify areas with problems such as frequent misunderstandings, information blocks, information gaps, information duplication or misrepresentation Scott (2007). More importantly, the communication audits provide a snapshot of the organizations communication progr ams, practices and activities. In addition, they act as a tool which helps one to know what is working, what is not working and what needs to be changed or improved in terms of communication within the organization McGann (2010).Contribution of communication audit to organizational successDowns and Adrian (2004) say that there is a purpose of organizations paying attention to communication only after a problem/crisis has occurred. The organizations need to overcome this behaviour by conducting a communication audit periodically. Knowing the problem early enough saves image, time and reputation. They add that, organizations have got the responsibility to monitor the effectiveness of the inwardnesss they send to the employees because the survival of the organization depends on the employees ability to change and coordinate the information they are receiving. However, the authors point out that communication is not the only challenge go through by organizations.Organizations need to have accurate impression of what their internal publics think of them, how they receive and transmit meanings. This amounts to the vastness of auditing communication in an organization (Hargie Tourish, 2009). For an organization to know how effective their communication is perceived based on employees attitudes it needs to conduct a communication audit. The results of the communication audit will guide the communication practitioners to produce the right internal communication programs for the organization (Argenti, 2007).According to Hargie and Tourish (2000) organizations that conduct communication audits enjoy a long running performance in the marketplace. This means that the results of the audit will help the organization to avert topsy-turvydom like misunderstandings, misrepresentation of staff, strikes, high staff turnover and poor performance. Furthermore, they suggest that the communication audits have been used to identify and reward good practice and at the same ti me help the organization to manage crisis and improve business performance. This idea concurs with Clampitt (1991) and Heath (2000) who say that as a result of conducting communication audits organizations have experienced increased productivity, employees job satisfaction and a positive maintenance of organizational structure.According to Hargie and Tourish (2009) organizations that have conducted internal communication audits have experienced high performance from their employees because there is a correlation between high performance and existence of effective internal communication programs. This idea concurs with Hicks and Gullet (1988) who say that there is a positive correlation with the openness of communication channels between the subordinate and the supervisor. The openness of communication channels can be realized as a result of communication audit where employees fitting and commitment to work become more significant. For instance, Arnold (1993) conducted a study of in ternal publics of General Motors in the coupled States of America. In his findings, a staff turnover rate of 30% in 1989 went down to 12% by 1991. In addition, the companys bad debt percentage went down from 3.2% to an average of 0.4% per month.The role of corporate communication in conducting a communication auditAccording to Cornelissen (2011) corporate communication practitioners have a role to act as intermediaries between the organization and its stakeholders, and he refers to this process as boundary spanning. Kitchen (1997) defines boundary spanning as the mechanism used by organizations to gather and analyze data about their surround. He insists that the public relations practitioners/boundary spanners play an important role of strategic decision making. This idea is consistent with Tripathi (2009) who says that the boundary spanning officiate of corporate communication is supposed to help the management to gather information through conducting a communication audit, inter pret it from its environment and represent the organization to its publics. Steyn and Puth (2000) however, refer to the boundary spanning role as the mirror/delicate and important function of the corporate communication practitioner.Likely (2003) cited in Barker and Angelopulo (2007) says that the corporate communication has got the role to provide information for the evaluation of the internal environment of the organization. The evaluation of the communication will help the organization to identify strengths and weaknesses of the organizations communication and the management will be able to provide the input to the development of communication strategy.Empirical studies of internal communication auditsAt Daystar University some scholars have carried out studies on communication audit to assess the impact of communication channels in organizations. Ndegwa (1996) conducted an audit among Daystar University students. In her findings the study found that students received most of the information concerning the university from the weekly newsletter known as infospot and during chapel. In addition, students expressed a confide to get more information in general and at the same time they also snarl that there was need to improve the physical environment in the university. This audit was important to the university as the institution has increased the channels of information dissemination to the students.Wamba (1999) conducted a study on public relations audit of selected publics of the Kenya Wildlife Service. In her findings majority of the respondents stated that the organization meant what it said when it made an important announcement. This was in line with employee management relations. On the issue of employees complaints being taken seriously by the management 61% of the respondents concord that they were rarely looked into. This shows that the management did not care much about the needs of the employees. On the issue of communication from the managemen t, 70.6% of the respondents agreed that the management was interested in telling them what they thought staff ought to know rather than what staff cute to know.Ngugi (2004) carried out a communication audit of the internal publics of Kenya National Library Services. astir(predicate) 63.8% of the respondents stated that they would like to receive information from management. A small fraction of 1.3% of the respondents stated that they received information from the communication department. About 57.5% of the respondents stated that they had never heard about an internal news letter as much as it had been available. According to the study, the Kenya National Library Services had a policy guideline on forwarding issues to the management, but according to the respondents departmental heads did not forward their issues to the management (Ngugi, 2004).Pokumensah (2011) carried out a communication audit of the internal publics of the Elris Communication Services Limited. In his findings about 88% of the lower level employees received most of the trade union movement oriented information from their supervisors. This explained that the network for task oriented was top down. Another 80% of the lower level respondents states that they share task oriented information with their colleagues. This indicated that the horizontal communication happened among the employees of the same level of organizational structure (Mounter, 2003).In conclusionThe process of communication in organizationsCommunication is a continuous process of exchanging communicatory and nonverbal subjects. A heart and soul must be conveyed through some middling to the recipient. It is essential that this message must be understood by the recipient in same terms as mean by the sender and a response given within a time frame. Thus, communication is a two way process and is incomplete without a feedback from the recipient to the sender on how well the message is understood by him.According to Hicks a nd Gullett (1988) most organizations have taken communication for granted. They assume that if an individual can read, write and speak they are communicating. However, communication is not just speaking, reading and writing rather it is the transfer of information and understanding from the sender to the receiver.According to Watson and Hill (2000) communication includes five key factors that include the initiator, the recipient, the vehicle, the message and the effect. However, they argue that the communication process, sender, message and receiver are all subject to a multitude of cues which are likely to influence the message. Taylor (2005) suggests that as a communicator it is important to ensure that your message is understood, and stimulates the recipient to take subdue action.Communication can be affected by the context in which it takes place. This context may be physical, social, chronological or cultural. The sender chooses the message to communicate within a context. Sec ond is the sender / encoder a person who sends the message. A sender makes use of symbols (words or graphic or visual aids) to convey the message and produce the required response. For instance, a training manager conducting training for new batch of employees. Sender may be an individual or a group or an organization. The views, background, approach, skills, competencies, and knowledge of the sender have a great impact on the message.The verbal and nonverbal symbols chosen are essential in ascertaining comment of the message by the recipient in the same terms as intended by the sender. The trey component is the message which is the key idea that the sender wants to communicate. It is a sign that elicits the response of recipient. Communication process begins with deciding about the message to be conveyed. It must be ensured that the main objective of the message is clear. one-quarter is the culture medium which is the means used to exchange / transmit the message. The sender mu st choose an appropriate medium for transmitting the message else the message might not be conveyed to the desired recipients. The choice of appropriate medium of communication is essential for making the message effective and correctly interpreted by the recipient.This choice of communication medium varies depending upon the features of communication. For instance, written medium is chosen when a message has to be conveyed to a small group of people, while an oral medium is chosen when spontaneous feedback is required from the recipient as misunderstandings are well-defined then and there. Fifth is the recipient / decoder who is the person for whom the message is intended / aimed / targeted. The degree to which the decoder understands the message is dependent upon various factors such as knowledge of recipient, their responsiveness to the message, and the reliance of encoder on decoder. Last but not least is feedback which is the main component of communication process as it permi ts the sender to analyze the qualification of the message. It helps the sender in confirming the correct interpretation of message by the decoder. Feedback may be verbal (through words) or non-verbal (in form of smiles, sighs, etc.). It may take written form also in form of memos and reports among others (Management field of operations guide -Online).Internal publicsGrunig (1992) suggests that the employees who are the internal publics of an organization are the most important strategic publics of an organization. He further says that their communication should be part of an integrated and managed communication program. However, Baskin, Aronoff Lattimore (1997) argue that identification of the key publics by the organizations is important for the survival of the organization. Internal publics are the active publics of the organization and seek and process information about the organization or an issue of interest to an organization (Grunig, 1992).Importance of effective internal communication in organizationsAccording to Hamilton and Parker (1993) organizations are made up people and the decisions made on a daily basis are likely to affect the organization, customers, other workers and even the destiny of the organization. This idea makes internal communication to be an important aspect of the organization because it is through communication the organization can gain and offer the information needed to its publics which enables them to make successful decisions. Miller (2006), however, says that internal communication helps the organization to answer the following questions what information needs to be communicated to the publics? When should it be communicated? Who will be in charge of communicating to the public? How will the information be communicated?Millers proposition is consistent with Katz and Kahns (1966) observations that effective internal communi