The importance of effective communication towards improving organizational perfomance free essay sample

Hampto,S and Webber (1999,pg204)they defined communication as the exchange of thoughts ,messages or information between sender and receiver and inference of meaning. According to H. F Moore and F. B Kalupa (2005 :84-85) communication is the process of transmitting meaning between individuals. All human society is founded upon the human beings’ capacity to transmit intentions, desires, feelings, knowledge and experience from person to person. Second communication refers to the technical means of indirect or medicated communication embracing media from tribal drums, smoke signal and stone tablets to telegraphy printing, broadcasting and films. Communication is very important in any organization because communication is concerned with selling the image of organization as well as maintaining the relationship between the organization and the publics, also gives an organization a good foundation to work with the surroundings communities better by communicating with his customers to know what to add in production so that to answer the need of his customers. We will write a custom essay sample on The importance of effective communication towards improving organizational perfomance or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Without communication in organization it is difficult to answer the need of his customers, to fight against other competitors as well as to create and maintain good relationship between n internal and external stockholders. Therefore the researcher focused to find out the importance of effective communication in an organization so that to achieve the organization objectives. Through a case study of TBL , The study intends to assess the importance of effective communication in improving organisational performance. 1. 1. 2 Historical background of TBL In early 1930, the Wright brothers established a brewery in Dar es Salaam . they did not meet with much success due to competition from cheaper foreign imports. In November 1933 Mr. Bill Tylo build a brewery I Tanganyika which was sited in Dar es salaam ,produced a bear known as tusker as well as tradition beer from maize. in 1936 it was decided to amalgamate Kenya brewers and Tanganyika brewer there by forming, which becomes known as best African brewes LTD. in 1964 when united republic of Tanzania was formed from former republic of Tanganyika and people’s republic of Zanzibar, Tanganyika breweries limit being socialism and self reliance ideology, all activities had to be handled by the state it is useless to say that Tanzania has to a large extent privatized a good number of its parastatal organization. Including Tanzania breweries LTD there was various factors that lead to this unpopular government policy same of which was financial mismanagement misappropriate of both capita and funds luck of serious commitment over or under employment and the like. The researcher through that improper budget planning which either refracted to over expenditure or low generating income was among the factors which contributes to financial problem in many of the privatized companies LTD or instruction including those to be privatized soon or later 1. 4 Research objectives 1. 4. 1 Main objectives The importance of effective communication towards improving organizational performance. 1. 4. 2 Specific objectives To know how effective communication contributes to improving managerial performance in TBL. To identify communication problems faced by the managers in TBL. To suggest means by which method of communication can be improved in TBL. 1. 5 Research questions 1. 5. 1 How effective communication contributes to improving managerial performance? 1. 5. 2 What are the communication problems that TBL face? 1. 5. 3 By What means methods of communication in TBL can be improved? 1. 5. 4 Is there ways to solve the communication problems facing TBL? 1. 6 significance of the study Findings of the study will be of great significance to a number of people and organizations since it brings awareness to people and organizations on what ways that organizations can create and maintain effective communication within organization and the significance of the effective communication towards organizational perfomance. Also the findings will help to create awareness to the publics and organization so that to ensure the effective communication. 1. 7 Limitation of the problem Despite the fact that effective communication is essential to any organization and thus effective communication is of importance in the small organisations as well as big companies, this study concentrated only at one big company (TBL). CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2. 0 Iintroduction This chapter will explain about related literature review,theoretical frame work, empirical studies as well as research gap 2. 1 Theoretical argument According to H. F Moore and F. B Kalupa (2005 :84-85) communication is the process of transmitting meaning between individuals. All human society is founded upon the human beings’ capacity to transmit intentions, desires, feelings, knowledge and experience from person to person. Second communication refers to the technical means of indirect or medicated communication embracing media from tribal drums, smoke signal and stone tablets to telegraphy printing, broadcasting and films. According to them, communication can be refer in different meaning depending on how it is used and the context. First, communication refers to the special process that makes interactions with human kind possible and enables individuals to be social beings. Communication must involve two/more processes, it is a tow-way exchange to information and understanding is applied. For example, a bulleting-broad announcement is not communication only when the announcement has been made, understanding and knowledge complete the true communication. Therefore even if we use adverts, seminars, face to face meetings and so forth, communication is effective when we get intended feedback and when an idea gets out of our mind into another Effective communication with employees, customer share holders, community neighbors and other publics is essential to good public relations. Relation with people is only established through communication with them. When communication is poor, misunderstanding and the like hood of conflict result. Barriers of successful sharing of thoughts among people in industry, labor, education, the community and government must be overcome by effective communication †¦. For a organization to have good performance it needs to have effective communication inside and outside the organization. Internal communication refers to the exchange between organization management and the internal publics that is the employees. External communication has to do with external public that are consumers, community, neighbors, dealers and distributors, suppliers, government agencies and legislators, educators and the like. The rapid growth of business organization has created various problems in both areas, external communication and internal communication. Communication with consumers, community neighbors, educators and government is increasing in volume and effectiveness. Employee is to be well informed about corporate policies so that they can communicate with the outside publics, communication involves three elements. The sender, the medium of communication and the receiver. The effectiveness of communication depends upon all three elements. If the sender is incompetent on the signal and the communication process fails. Communication is a responsibility of every employ of the institutions. It can be delegate solely to a public relation department everyone should participate, the president, staff and line management, and all rank of file employees. Employees and line executives communicate downward from lower to higher authority, competing the circuit of two – way communication at all levels of managements, there is also informal and horizontal cross communication between executives According to William,V (1992), the efficiency of group depends largely on how well the efforts of its members are coordinated but coordination doesn’t just happen. Satisfactory communication is necessary if possible are to achieve understanding and cooperation. And the higher one is on the organization ladder, the more time and energy he/she will likely devote to communication studies shows that aside from communicating-speaking writing, listening, reading and thinking (interpersonal communication) organization’s top administration does virtually nothing. And indeed there has been fantastic advancement in some areas with the aid of modern electronic equipments, it is possible to, receive, process, store, retrieve and reproduce information in speed to reach huge number of people in the process. If an organization is to succeed in competitive environment, its members will love to do more than just interdependence, they will have to collaborate and work together as a team. However, within many firms a technology skill is critical and grows more. But these skills alone will not guarantee the organization success. Above all, members of the organization must not â€Å"undo† each other. They must avoid every destructive form of competition. Some organization members are infighters back stabbers, or rumor managers. Such members at least in the short run may â€Å"win†. However the organization which tolerates such behavior generally ends up paying a dangerous cost which is the long term deterioration of its human arrest According to Haney (1995:15), trust is needed within the members of an organization and it must genuinely believe that the best way to help themselves and their organization is by being trusted of others and being trust worthy themselves. Communication includes non-verbal communication which might help in establishing trust. But also it suggests how communication/poor communication can lead to destruction. Good communication is essential in building trust within an organization but it is also crucial in maintenance of that trust. Trust is a precious but fragile commodity, it can be very challenging to create, but it can be easily weakened and even destroyed. Once that happens, trust can be extremely difficult to restore. Therefore, if an organization is to accomplish its objectives, its members must pull together but their willing to collaborate is not enough, they must know in which direction to pull. Organization objectives’ must be universally understood and accepted by its members. So here again the communication is vital. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Effective communication is triad consisting of leader, the members of the work group and the environment in which the work is to be performed. The leader’s job is to build an environment in which the framework can be achieved. One of the major objectives is to create and maintain credibility with the group work. Four factors influence this effort: drive, dependability, competence, and credibility. This effort is important in formal organization because its purpose is to provide specific instructions about the duties of the job and how to perform them. To provide the employees with rationale of doing particularly job an understanding about how that job relates to other jobs to provide necessary data regarding the procedures policies and practices of the organization, to provide performance feedback to employees regarding how they are doing and to provide information that will convey a sense of mission and an understanding of corporate goals. †¦.. Information is provided quickly and in a direct, face to face manner when presented orally, written method communication is more formality and permanent and quite often that is what formal communication is all about, the disadvantage for this is that the dozen of memos are sent weekly and effective downward communication can help improve organization performance. ( both writer and oral communication can complete the process of information downward the organization). However, management also need to focus on ways to improve upward communication the information flow from subordinates to superior. The main benefits for upward communication include: a. Feedback regarding employees’ altitudes and feelings b. Suggestions for improved procedures and techniques as well as for new ideas c. Feedback regarding how well the down ward communication system is working d. Information about production and goal attainments e. Request from subordinates for supplies, assistance and support. However, upwards communication is not seen as very effective. †¦. Effective communication is based on strategy. A manager communicates the parameter of actions to those who must act. The massage and message receivers of effective communication are based on intended economic results. Reputation is often overlooked in strategic planning. It is an attributed character that exists outside an organization and it is largely independent of it. A company can influence its reputation, but it cannot control it. Reputation is linked directly to credibility, indirectly to esteem†¦.. According to James,L (1995) Strategy and effective communication, Strategy is found together by communication which transmits goals, purposes and decisions to those who carry them out. it is inevitably found to individuals comprising an organization and how each person interprets the content of a strategy message. A company may move quickly at the top and ignore challenges of making strategic work at the bottom. Companies do not need to define their goals and strategies formally. They do not need to define them at all as long as they can communicate and gain coordinated action from participants in the economic transaction He adds that, Credibility becomes critical component of strategy when the key participant does not believe in a company’s goal and plans. A strategic message also must fit societal and governmental expectations if not, it can create dissonance. When a society expects a company to act one way and it acts in another, the company may find that public opinion, regulation and the law are thrown against it. Hence, its performance is disturbed †¦.. Traditionally, communication has been said to have four primary communication functions within the organization context a)An integrative function b)An informative function c)A command regulative function d)A persuasive function The informative function All members of the organization have the information that enable them to do their work. Informative communication is necessary to the performance of tasks, much of information desired by members of an organization has little to do with their actual tasks. For instance employee generally like to know the company’s financial standing how other division in the organization doing, how government regulations affect their organization and some of the personal achievements of employees. Such information does not assist the actual work flow in any direct sense but employees express a need to know it and the organization to know it and the organization should therefore ensure that they get it The command to regulative function A whole communication network of manuals, policies order, instructions and directives comprises the guidelines by which the entire organization is run and by its nature it only tells people what do not but at the same time rules out all their other alternatives. It is the means by which management exercises control of the system and managements’ ability to coordinate all the activities of organization depending on how well it executes this control Two characteristic of this command regulative function: one is they are peculiarly a management into prerogative. Orders and instructions always flow from superior down wards to subordinates. An order presumes the communication is in a position of authority to issue the command and to expect the receiver to comply Secondly, the content of the command and regulative message is essentially work oriented. They centre primarily on the task necessary to do one’s job. This is to say that, there must be communication system because employees at every level of organization need to know what is expected of them and what criticism are placed on their freedom to use their own judgment. Persuasive function Persuades function operates throughout the organization wherever people find it necessary to build a case for their ideas and their behaviors. Both managers and non- managers must use it. It is important to see how persuasive function supplements the command and regulative function because much of what happens in any organization happens because of persuasion rather them orders. †¦. Integrative function The whole range of communication activities designed by management to cause the employees to identify with the organization is hoped to feel that he/she is vital part of it. management has to design some channels of communication to keep the staff informed. They can use newsletters, newspapers, films and film, strips to explain the company’s financial picture/changes within the company. visits by top managements feel that building up the employees’ identification with the total company is worth the expenditure. Also the employee get sense of integrations through informal communication in the organization this is because, social relation among employees performs an integrated functions. Principles of effective communication According http://www. sideraod. com/ There are five principles which ensure effective communication the first principle is to get appropriate feedback. The second is to really connect with your audience, it is fallacy that the mere sending out of information is a communicative act. To connect with your audience you need to address their different needs as partners because communication is a two- way process. Decide what you want the outcome of your communication to be: to inform, persuade, shock, praise, criticize, shore, please, inspire. Whatever the aims is you need to plan your message medium, to trigger the emotion and cognitive responses that will ensure you engage you audience. The third principle of effective communication is to listen and understand first. Don’t send out a message until you know what your audience need. If you are concerned about the quality of somebody’s work. For example don’t, jump in and issue on official warning. First find out what the employees perception is. The fourth principle is to understand that communication is more than the surface meaning of words. You need to be able to interpret other people message. this is just another form of feedback for example, you make an announcement and your group is discussing the information with you they may feel inhabited about disagreeing openly but ready to signs because you don’t have to be openly aggressive to show disagreement: body language, kind of words they use, the tone of voice. Some body who is receptive will give you eye contact will rearm forward and will participate by asking questions , or offering to assist in some way The fifth principle is respect. To communicate with those we want to persuade we need to respect them. Just because they don’t agree with use, doesn’t make them inferior or wrong. They have cultural back grounds and history that have led them to a particular course of action. To translate that to the workplace, you will only gain the cooperation of employees if they know you respect them by not ignoring their needs and rights 2. 2 empirical literature reviews According to John Clark (2003) good communication is one of the missing ingredient to complete the essential tool for those who aspire to move into management, those who have recently taken on a managerial or supervisory role, and those who want to improve their effectiveness when dealing with people they manager or guide as well as improve their communication with other department in their company/organization. In any type of business, effective communication is essential because of information exchange and performance in organization. It is said that a business or organization is a human decision – making system in which the quality of the decision are determined by the effectiveness of communication apparatus when communication either by fax emails, telephone, text, memo or letters should ask ourselves if the message or instructions will be easily understood by the person receiving it. The most important limitations on people’s perception are often based or cultural or emotional differences. The fact that the unexpected communication may be resented is not the issue, what often happens is if the message has not actually been received at all. It has been neither hard nor seen when we communicate there are always demands that the recipient becomes some one, does things and believes something. Before we communicate we consider the recipient expectation and make reasonable assumptions about their expectation Effective communication is good for motivation. If the communication gels with the aspiration, the values and the point of view of the recipient, it is a powerful thing. However, if it goes against the goals and ambitions of that particular individual it is highly likely that the communication will either not be received at all or meet stiff resistance Communication process According http://www. amoils. com/ The message is sent to a receiver through a medium either verbally or non- verbally. The receiver then translates the words or non- verbal gestures into a concept information and return the feedback. The success of the transmission deepens on two factors content and context Content: Is the actual words/ symbols that constitutes a part of the message known as language. It should be either spoken/ write. We all interpret words in our own ways. So much so that even simple message could be understood differently. Context : is the way the message is delivered, the tone ,expressions in the sender’ s eyes, body language, hand gestures, and state of emotion (anger, fear, uncertainty, confidence and so on) As we believe what we see more that what we hear, we trust the accuracy of non verbal behavior more than verbal behavior. So when we communicate the other person notices two things: what we say and how we say it. Normally, communication is complete once we have conveyed the message properly, message hasn’t been communicated successfully unless the receiver understand it completely and this is done by using two way communication/feedback Values of communication According to Julias,T (1992) communication in our lives also say that communication has its value that are persona value which means that humans are taken into humanity which means that we gain personal identity as we communicate with others. Relationship value it means that communication is the key of foundation of relationship, also there is other value like professional value, as well as culture value which means that communication skills are important to the health of our society. 2. 3 theoretical frameworks Behavioral theory Business communication by Lehman and Dufrene,etal (1992) theory of communication include a recognition of the social situation in which an individual finds himself, he then examine the network through which communication flows and discuss the transmission and reception of information ,the individual response and his ability to make in his own behavior. Understanding of other’s personality is possible only after observation of how that person interacts with himself and others. Behavioral theory relate also to my topic because the manager of an organization is very important to understand the behavior of other workers so as to know how to control and organize the different issues in an organization through understanding the behavior of workers and through that the manager can bring positive change in organization because it become very easily for the him/her to maintain the issue of effective communication as well as to solve different problem that face organization by knowing behavior of his workers in organization. 2. 4 Research gap The other researchers concentrate much on providing meaning of communication and effective communication in an organization rather than other alternatives like identification of communication problems faced by the managers in the organization,means by which communication problems can be solved and how effective communication contribute to improve managerial performance to achieve organizational objectives, by doing so it’s now for authors to concentrate on other ways like giving out the origin, importance as well as effect of communication in an organization . this research intend to fill the gap. CHAPTER THREE 3. 0 METHODOLOGY 3. 1 Type of research The type of research used is qualitative used approach which places primary emphasis on inductive methods. This emphasis is derived from the preposition that each social system is uniquely constructed, meaning the things are different to different people (Anderson 1987:150) This approach is possible in this research in that it allows participants to present reality in their in their natural setting it is a systematic investigation that is used to understand the meaning of various phenomenon from how people perceive it (Kisilu 2006:70) Through this approach the research was able to get the information from respondents in their natural settings. The methods choosen for this research is to concentrate on respondents who will give the required information of about the importance of effective communication in improving organization performance 3. 2 Target population The target population in this research is TBL, its various publics few customers who use TBL products. The researcher takes into consideration that these people have been access of infor since they know hoe people work and communicate in their daily activities. The research choose this people because it can provide the information on if the effective communication the determinate of their organization performance. 3. 3 Sampling technique and Sample size A sample is selected populations form the whole population under study which represents the whole people. In this research sample are used with regards to problems of money, time and distance. The researcher used simple random technique which is a probability sample where each member each member of the people has on equal chance of being selected. It requires that each member of the people be dealt with in the exactly the same way. That is no fiasing, no stacking, of the deck in favor of certain member or against others (Anderson 1987:151). The sample size of the study had a total of 45 respondents The researcher selected the sample randomly form the organization and few customers depending on the scope of the study. Respondents form TSSL), 14 respondent external officials and customers and i3 respondents form various publics 3. 4 Data collection Data were collected through structural interview, questionnaire and observation. The collection technique used will add validity to the data collection than a single method 3. 5 Structure interview Interview involves presentation of oral – verbal stimuli and reply in terms of oral verbal response it can be used through personal or telephone interview. interview is good way of accessing peoples perceptions definition of situations and construction of reality The researcher interviewed the respondent ants to understand the importance of effective communication promoting the image of the organization. The researcher used structural interview because its good way that gives an opportunity for the researcher to observe and understand what the respondents explain to him/her in relation to the research topic 3. 6 Questionnaire Questionnaire consist of a number of questions printed/typed in definite order on a form or set of forms. The questionnaire can be mailed/distributed to respondents who are expected to read and understand and write down the reply it also allows respond, who are not easy approachable to be reached conveniently. The researcher uses self- administered questionnaire with both close and open questions 3. 7 Observation The research used observation so as to note facial expression and confidence of the respondents when responding questions. The information obtained under this methods related to what is currently happening it is also complicated by either the past behavior or future altitudes. So, by observing facial expression and confidence form the respondents the researcher gets more information .