Effective communication is the basic need of an organization. Since effective communication develops commonness of understanding about organizational issues, managers need to understand the communication dynamics.
Some of the important features of effective communication are:
1. Common Frame of Reference:
The sender and the receiver should interact at a common level of understanding. If managers communicate with their down-the-line people in their own perceived languages, they will never be able to achieve the results.
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We can actually understand this basic requirement from our family. We interact with the children in their perceived languages and symbols. Without common frame of reference it is quite unlikely to develop common level of understanding. Hence, the manages need to communicate in such a manner so that receivers of their communication can understand it.
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This we have also learned from the world-class corporate leaders, who prefer to talk to workers in their (workers’) perceived way. To understand the common frame of reference, managers first need to understand the people around them and their behavioural pattern, interpersonal skills and knowledge base.
2. Mutual Congruence:
Communication contents in organization should be of mutual congruence, i.e., it should be on common interest of both the senders and the receivers. Many organizational problems are now resolved adopting the goal congruence model. Often, the erring workers do not listen to the managers, unless the managers communicate, keeping in view their interest areas.
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In dealing with the collective bargaining issues, unions generally show reluctance to understand financial ratio to comprehend company’s financial health; rather, they feel more interested in receiving the information in simple factual terms.
3. Compatibility in Communication Language:
Delivering a lecture in English to workers in a training session, who are not comfortable with the language, serves no purpose. To make the training message clear, rather we have to communicate with workers in their own understandable language. Dr Ishikawa of Japan carried the message of quality, adopting statistical process control tools of Deming and Juran of USA, developing fish-bone diagram. Cascading the message of quality successfully to the workers’ level, in their perceived style, helped Japan to excel in quality.
4. Compatible Environment:
Compatibility in environment, i.e., communicating with people of similar background, ensures effectiveness of our organizational communication. A common environmental premise for communication develops in organization when both the sender and the receiver of communication are culturally, economically, professionally, demographically and interest-wise alike.
For incompatibility in the environment of organizational communication, mangers always try to synchronize the premise with goal congruence model. Making the workers understand the threat of globalization and competition would be more effective, when we try to draw them to common interest areas, i.e., we all are at a stake, unless we together try to achieve the best.