communication within the organization
...feelings. Feelings are positive when the touch is perceived to be natural. A person gets the opposite feeling when the touch is perceived to be manipulative or insincere. Body Language is one of the most powerful ways that humans can communicate nonverbally. It is used to portray moods and emotions and to emphasize or contradict what is being said. Time can be used very differently with respect to individuals and even cultures. Time perceptions include punctuality, willingness to wait, and interactions. Time use affects lifestyles, daily agendas, speed of speech and movements, how long people are willing to listen. The way time is used can provide information about people as individuals. Communication within the organization can cause problems internally, with the customer, and culturally. Internal communication involves communication through channels with an organization. Examples would be memos, meetings, speeches, and phone conversations. Even though it might seem simple, some leaders or employees misinterpret the communication. Unclear instructions can be remedied by further conversation. There are some common problems with internal communication stated from Carter McNamara. “If I know it, then everyone must know it” The most common communication problem is managements’ assumption. Just because they know what is going on does not mean everyone does. “ I told everyone, or some people. or …?” This is a problem because management or employees are not aware of what they told to whom, which they meant to tell everyone who needed to know. “Did you hear what I meant for you to hear?” Employees or managers might misinterpret what is being said to them, which this confusion could lead to a major problem or issue later on. These are just some of the communication problems that can occur within the organization. Organizations follow three steps to have effective internal organizational communication. “First, all players must have the appropriate skills and understanding to communicate well”. Sometimes this is not an easy task since some people do not understand certain issues. “Second, Effective organizational communication requires a climate that supports effective communication”. This would involve trust, openness, and good practices to make communication effective. “Third, effective communication requires attention”. The organization needs to show an intentional effort and show management or employees that communication should not be taken for granted. (Improving Communication, 2003) According to Yankee Farms Credit, 95 percent of the time lack of communication is the top reason why businesses have high employee turnover or other employee problems, such as low productivity. Good communication can help any organization relate to their employees and by selecting the best communication form might give some understanding of how communication is flowed through the organization. Communication with the customer is important due to the fact that they won’t buy your products and services because, they will not see the benefits. The risk of failing to communicate key messages to employees and channel partners is that they will not have their specific and crucial roles in managing and responding to the needs of the customer. Companies across a wide range of industries have discovered that there is a tremendous value in speaking formally and systematically with customers about their needs and expectations and this is where negotiation becomes a key element with communication. Negotiation is the process of conferring to arrive at an agreement between two different parties, each with their own interests. From resolving a labor dispute to orchestrating a merger to getting a new company off the ground, negotiation plays a vital role in nearly every aspect of business. Studying the difference between negotiating via E-mail or conducting it Face to Face is drawing the interest of researchers. “Face to Face meetings foster rapport and offer fewer openings for misunderstanding and deceit”. E-mail is the new way to communicate throughout the organization. “E-mail is a tricky new area. Since it lacks social context cues, it allows more talk time for both parties, which could make the negotiations smoother”. (Martha Lagace, May 23, 2000) Different cultures also effect the communication within the organization; every country or region has a unique common heritage, joint experience, and shared learning that produces its culture. While Americans value individualism and personal responsibility, other cultures emphasize group and team oriented values. As different cultural traditions meet in the marketplace and inside organizations, managers face tough choices about the values that they and their organizations will live by. In order to be effective, they must find ways to deal with differences in how people think about matters such as authority, fairness, responsibility, and even the very purpose of business. Managers in today’s organization need to recognize cultural differences and how they can affect communication. The single greatest cultural barrier that can effect communication across different organizational or national cultures is ethnocentrism. “The belief in the superiority on one’s own race is known as ethnocentrism, a natural attitude inherent to all cultures”. (Guffey, 1994, p.46) To help organizations to avoid this it is helpful to learn other cultures and respect other cultural values. Other ways to help communicate to other non-english speaking cultures would be; speak slowly and enunciate clearly, listen without interrupting, use simple English, and check frequently for comprehension. In order for organizational and interpersonal communications to be successful, managers and employees must take a look at the barriers that will cross them. Barriers to successful communication include lack of language or listening skills, physical distractions, lack of trust, rivalry, power and status issues. Such barriers can interfere with communication between individuals or groups within the same organization, or the same could happen from different organizations, or between the whole corporation. Nancy Foster from Harvard Business School states: “that good communication skills are mutual respect skills. Ideally, each person will show respect for the others as well as respect for their self”. Whether the message is verbal or written, consider the question words: what, where, when, why, who, how, which. What is the message, where will communication take place, when (time of day or time of year) will the communication occur, why is the communication needed (what is the purpose for or result of this communication), who is the audience that will receive this communication, how will the message be communicated which ideas will be presented (and in what order). The sequence of the message can be numerical, alphabetical, chronological, or progressive. Organizations have many ways to enhance their communication skills, although they need to realize that communication is a two-way process. The speaker gives information and the listener provides feedback. If the listener does not provide feedback, then the speaker must ask for it. By improving communication skills most people first think of enhancing their writing or speaking skills. However, the best thing organizations can do to enhance communication skills is to focus on listening skills. People within the company could be more open minded rather than having selective listening or being stereotypical which can become barriers. Trying to listen actively will also be a benefit on improving your listening skills. Having a conversation and making eye contact is a good way to help speakers feel comfortable and convinced that you are interested in what they have to say. Developing better sending skills can enhance an organizations communication. “By simplifying language people can enhance the senders communication and what is simple will vary depending on the audience”. (Guffey 1994) One of the best things a sender can improve on is un...