17/11/2014. Session 3 COMMUNICATION ACROSS THE ORGANISATION CMC101. Learning objectives

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1 Session 3 COMMUNICATION ACROSS THE ORGANISATION CMC101 Learning objectives After studying this chapter you should be able to: 1 Discuss the role and purpose of organisational communication. 2 Describe formal and informal communication channels. 3 Differentiate between formal and informal organisational structures and explain the impact of different structures on organisational and interpersonal interactions. 3 Describe the patterns of interaction in small group networks. 4 Discuss strategies that can improve organisational communication. 2 Copyright 2013 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) /Dwyer/Communication for the Professions/5e Communication networks Copyright 2013 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) /Dwyer/Communicati on for the Professions/5e 3 1

2 4 Copyright 2013 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) /Dwyer/Communication for the Professions/5e Factors that affect communication in organisations An insight into how communication happens across an organisation may be gained by identifying factors that affect communication flows These factors can be: organisational individual cultural 5 Copyright 2013 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) /Dwyer/Communication for the Professions/5e Theories about the role of organisational communication Communication can control and motivate those working in an organisation Good organisational communication achieves understanding that balances the needs of the individual and the organisation 6 Copyright 2013 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) /Dwyer/Communication for the Professions/5e 2

3 Organisational culture Organisational culture is a pattern of shared assumptions and beliefs Members learn about appropriate behaviours and share them with new members 7 Copyright 2013 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) /Dwyer/Communication for the Professions/5e 8 Copyright 2013 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) /Dwyer/Communication for the Professions/5e Organisational communication channels Copyright 2013 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) /Dwyer/Comm unication for the Professions/5e 9 3

4 Informal communication networks 10 Copyright 2013 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) /Dwyer/Communication for the Professions/5e Organisational structures Organisational structure refers to how authority and responsibility for decision making are distributed within an organisation It involves: reporting relationships range of duties ways decisions are made communication flows within the organisation 11 Copyright 2013 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) /Dwyer/Communication for the Professions/5e Formal organisational structures Complexity is a factor of the number of sections, departments, individual job functions and titles in an organisation Formalisation in an organisation is the existence of firmly structured lines of communication, authority and control Centralisation refers to the degree of decision making power located at the highest level Hierarchy is an organisational system that moves through a number of levels 12 Copyright 2013 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) /Dwyer/Communication for the Professions/5e 4

5 13 Copyright 2013 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) /Dwyer/Communication for the Professions/5e Knowledge management structure 14 Copyright 2013 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) /Dwyer/Communication for the Professions/5e Informal organisational structures An informal organisational structure comprises communication links or networks not formally recognised or legitimised Informal communication networks convey information within the informal organisational structure Informal networks have advantages and disadvantages 15 Copyright 2013 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) /Dwyer/Communication for the Professions/5e 5

6 Patterns of communication and interaction An organisation s communication structure reflects the communication channels and pattern of communication across the organisation Network analysis identifies patterns of interaction, cliques and the connectedness and openness of groups 16 Copyright 2013 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) /Dwyer/Communication for the Professions/5e 17 Copyright 2013 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) /Dwyer/Communication for the Professions/5e Strategies for improving communication Mechanistic organisations operate in a stable, highly structured environment Organic organisations have low formalisation, horizontal communication and coordination, and participative decision-making, and are responsive to changes in the environment 18 Copyright 2013 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) /Dwyer/Communication for the Professions/5e 6

7 Changing structures to improve communication With increasing world competition, organisations must deliver results They must seek ways of incorporating fast and accurate decision making into their existing structure This has meant improving the: flow of communication amount of communication accessibility of key personnel involved in decision making 19 Copyright 2013 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) /Dwyer/Communication for the Professions/5e Developing horizontal channels In traditional structures, strong horizontal channels based on business functions rather than the status of staff improve communication flows 20 Copyright 2013 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) /Dwyer/Communication for the Professions/5e Structures of work groups Autonomous or semi-autonomous work groups have responsibility for decision-making and achieving results A free-form structure encourages communication and interaction because an individual or a group is given almost total freedom to complete the task New networks are empowered to make decisions and knowledge is shared along all channels 21 Copyright 2013 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) /Dwyer/Communication for the Professions/5e 7

8 Using social media for communication 22 Copyright 2013 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) /Dwyer/Co mmunication for the Professions/5e 23 Copyright 2013 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) /Dwyer/Communication for the Professions/5e 24 Copyright 2013 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) /Dwyer/Communication for the Professions/5e 8