This paper provides brief information on communication issues within organizations. Information exchange is one of the most vital parts of any company. Today, more research is being conducted on this subject matter. Generally, both organizational structure and characteristics of individual employees impact the communication processes. Therefore, barriers related to both aspects are covered in the text, along with their descriptions, common causes, and potential solutions. I work as a Logistics Engineer for an oil company that distributes fuel to commercial customers and government organizations, so there are going to be references to real-life scenarios. Communication is vital because accurate coordination is necessary for this company to function correctly.
Executive Summary
There is a link between how companies approach communication and their performance. The effectiveness of information exchange and the results of the organization’s activities are directly related, as evidenced by a study conducted among employees of Western companies (Boies, Fiset, & Gill, 2015). Leadership styles that are used within organizations also play a vital role in improving team performance and facilitating creativity (Boies et al., 2015). The researchers suggest that different areas of transformational leadership should be emphasized to reach different sets of outcomes (Boies et al., 2015). However, among other critical processes, trust between team members and effective communication is the most significant (Boies et al., 2015). For instance, most of the coordination activities of our logistics team occur during in-person meetings. Lack of trust would serve as a significant hindrance to completing the tasks of the meetings.
Main Issues
There are negative consequences that are associated with improper communication or lack of it. The first outcome is that the coordination of the organization’s processes will be disrupted, and the activity planning will experience a severe disorder (Mumby & Kuhn, 2018). Another might re-perform the work completed by one employee, which will be a waste of resources. The image of the organization, which indirectly or directly affects the profitability, performance, and, therefore, the sustainability of the organization, might get injured (Mumby & Kuhn, 2018). For instance, one logistics engineer receives certain information from a client organization. If I interact with the same organization and begin to request the same information, this will be negatively perceived by the client. They may even switch to another oil supply company and end our partnership.
Lack of communication also has adverse effects on new employees. Their adaptation is going to be difficult because they will spend much more time understanding the processes taking place in the organization and on finding out the responsible persons (Mumby & Kuhn, 2018). Not to mention that in the absence of a proper information-sharing system, present employees might not even be aware of the appearance of a new employee.
Discussion of Main Issues
The presence of well-functioning communications in organizations contributes to the solution of many critical organizational problems. In particular, this allows companies to coordinate the activities of individual structural units in the organization with respect to a common goal, ensure stable relations with the external environment, provide organizational units with necessary working information and target instructions, and much more (Mumby & Kuhn, 2018). However, the creation of communication networks and the formation of sustainable communication channels are fraught with a number of difficulties. These challenges can be divided into two groups – problems at a system level and issues with interpersonal communication.
Structural Problems
The main problem of interaction between the elements of the organizational structure is ambivalence in the relationship between the individual structural units of the organization. In this case, the orders and directives of the governing body may not be suitable for the situation, may not be understood by subordinates, may be duplicated, or a new message may contradict the previous announcement (Tolbert & Hall, 2015). In addition, in the event of an ambiguous situation, horizontal connections between individual departments or members of the organization become unreliable, and information is received chaotically, which may lead to information hunger or, conversely, an excess of conflicting information (Tolbert & Hall, 2015). Under these conditions of uncertainty, the following types of barriers in communication processes may intensify.
Information distortion. The distortion of messages is a phenomenon in which information that is not adequate to the real situation is received in the structural units of the organization, which leads to a significant slowdown in the pace of work in the organization. Peters and Waterman believe that decision-making and the implementation of the solution should begin at the same time (2012). Understanding how to do the work is just as important as deciding what to do (Peters & Waterman, 2012). On this principle, many successes have been achieved in various firms (Peters & Waterman, 2012). Distortion of information leads to incorrect goal setting, which immediately affects all other components of the organization. It is beneficial to mention the kinds of distortion because solutions differ based on types.
The most common type is unintentional distortions that arise due to a lack of information, ambiguity, or difficulties in interpersonal connections. There are also intentional distortions that pose a significant risk to decision-making and setting goals in the organization since, in this case, the intermediate link in the communication chain does not agree with the message content (Tolbert & Hall, 2015). For instance, an employee may oppose the judgment of a higher governing body and seek to change the nature of its impact.
The last type is filtering of the information, in which the data that is not needed at the moment is omitted. This operation in the communication process can lead to loss of information, harmful simplifications that cannot contribute to the enactment of effective management decisions (Baker, 2015). The detrimental filtering effect can be observed when top managers strive to supply only information of positive nature without bringing the most acute existing problems to the attention.
Infobesity. Information overloads are observed in those cases when members of the organization are not able to effectively respond to all the information they need and are forced to filter out a particular part of it, the least important, in their opinion. However, this specific piece of information may be necessary to ensure the normal functioning of the organization (Tolbert & Hall, 2015). Extraordinarily often, information overload is observed among managers who take too many responsibilities and attempt to solve all issues related to managing the activities of organizational units (Mumby & Kuhn, 2018). The lack of precise filters does not allow the managers to adequately use the most crucial part of the information coming to them.
Bad organizational structure. Shortcomings in the structure of the organization have a significant negative impact on the functioning of communication channels. The most common of these deficiencies is an unsuccessful configuration in which there are a large number of administration levels (Tolbert & Hall, 2015). In this case, information, when passing from one level to another, will be lost or distorted. This fact is especially actual for upward communication flows – from bottom to top, from subordinates to managers.
Another vital drawback associated with the structure of the organization is the lack of stable horizontal connections between the individual units. For example, this can happen when the organization’s management allows only vertical relationships, and communications between groups of the same level are considered insignificant and unnecessary (Tolbert & Hall, 2015). Such a phenomenon is most often observed in highly centralized and formalized linear structures, where bureaucracy poses a hindrance to the company’s survival. The place where I work is an example of such a company, and it is often challenging to communicate with the members of different logistics teams.
Conflicts in the organization between individual groups and units are also a fundamental problem. Very often, these conflicts are embedded in the structure of the organization (Tolbert & Hall, 2015). Units or managers who are in a state of conflict can not only break communication ties within the organization but also use communication networks to achieve their own goals (Tolbert & Hall, 2015). For instance, our company has a construction department that serves all other teams, and in the wake of approaching deadlines, there are conflicts between groups on who should receive the services of the construction team first. Each of the participants will use the organization’s communication channels to discredit the other and elevate themselves.
Problems on Individual Level
Culture. As the world becomes more culturally sophisticated and pluralistic, the importance of cross-cultural communication is growing. The ability to communicate, despite cultural barriers, has an influence not only on organizations but on regular individuals as well (Tolbert & Hall, 2015). Cultural barriers are agents of a broader context that are formed historically and associated with national identity, traditions, and norms of behavior in individual countries and regions (Tolbert & Hall, 2015). Ignorance of them, for instance, the specifics of the organization of life, marriage, and family, religious worship, and guest etiquette can complicate communication, and in some cases, lead to the severance of business relations. This problem is relevant to our company because employees come from all parts of the world and there is a need to establish an effective communication channel between them.
Numerous examples from the historical practice of the interaction of cultures indicate that in the process of intercultural communication, conflict potential always exists. On the way to mutual understanding in the process of communication, people, faced with diverse ethnocultural interests and differences, are forced to seek a more complete and adequate knowledge of themselves and their partners (Tolbert & Hall, 2015). To do this, they often have to revise some of the values of their own culture. In addition, communication partners react differently and with varying degrees of adequacy to each other’s cultural characteristics. Hence the range of such reactions is quite extensive – from a passive rejection of the values of different cultures to actively opposing their manifestation and affirmation.
Physical hindrances. Physical barriers are interference caused by people, objects, or phenomena. For example, noise drowning out the speech, a significant distance or obstacles between participants in communication, natural disasters, or other emergency situations. For an efficient information exchange to take place, necessary physical conditions should be met. This means having a suitable room, an adequate distance between the participants, and required technical equipment. Time is also a factor that impacts the quality of communication. When too little time is devoted to a conversation, for example, not all necessary information may be transmitted. Therefore, participants should understand how much resources they need in terms of time. During the information exchange, improperly functioning digital devices can serve as a barrier to successful communication. Internet connectivity issues and electricity outages are some of the many examples.
Language. Very often, in situations of intercultural communication, it is found that not all of its participants have the same amount of language knowledge. Such circumstances cause language barriers, which are usually divided into three main types – stylistic, semantic, and phonetic. Stylistic boundaries are expressed in the discrepancy between the linguistic styles of participants, who, when interacting, use specific terms that are incomprehensible to other partners. For example, in verbal communication between a software engineer and an art expert, the use of only their professional vocabulary can lead to a complete mutual misunderstanding between the participating parties.
Semantic barriers arise because of the incorrect meaning of symbols and words used in communication, which in many languages are ambiguous and can have different interpretations. In the process of communication, from several possible meanings of the terms used, the correspondent should choose one that would be unambiguously perceived by the recipient. Very often, however, the same phrase may have different meanings in different cultures (Tolbert & Hall, 2015). Therefore, when participants try to communicate in a language that they do not know perfectly, they often believe that words and phrases have only one meaning – the one they intend to convey (Tolbert & Hall, 2015). However, in doing so, they ignore all other definitions and thereby create communication problems.
Phonetic barriers to perception arise as a result of the inability to discern or incorrect pronunciation of sounds. Understanding foreign language speech requires the correct recognition of sounds and words (Tolbert & Hall, 2015). The complexity of reproducing the sounds of a foreign language is caused by historically established differences in the structure of the speech apparatus of speakers of different languages. These differences are due to linguistic accents, erroneous emphases, confusion of words in phrases and whole sentences, which produce difficulties in understanding verbal information.
Solutions
Each head of the organization can have a friendly and efficient team capable of achieving their common goals. Forming and improving such a group is no less important than the production activities of the company (Tolbert & Hall, 2015). Among the many conditions, the most important is the organization of internal and external communications and mitigating the barriers that pose a hindrance to efficiency, effectiveness, high performance, and productive atmosphere.
Overcoming Organizational Problems
Leaders at all levels of the organization should know the information needs of their own, their superiors, colleagues, and subordinates. The leader must learn to evaluate the qualitative and quantitative sides of their informational needs, as well as other information consumers in the organization (Tolbert & Hall, 2015). Information needs mostly depend on the goals of the manager, decisions made by them, and the key performance indicators, as well as their department and subordinates.
Solving Individual Issues
In overcoming the barriers of communication, each individual must have a particular set of psychological skills. They must be able to relieve excessive tension, mobilize to take the initiative in the discussion, emotionally tune into the situation, choose appropriate forms of verbal and non-verbal exchange, and use emotions as an effective means of communication. In other words, overcoming this group of communication barriers involves mixing the knowledge about themselves with their understanding of the partner and their culture.
Trials of Recommendations
Training is also essential, and organizations should allocate resources to increase the communicative competence of their employees. Training could be in the form of language and culture courses, team-building activities, and seminars (Tolbert & Hall, 2015). Workers should be armed with necessary methods of overcoming the communication barriers that may arise when exchanging information with their colleagues or external parties. This strategy should be applied at an organizational level to be successful.
Review and Measurement of Results
Feedback systems might be useful to organizations to the same extent that feedback can help improve interpersonal information exchange. Such systems are part of the control and management information system in the organization (Tolbert & Hall, 2015). Employees should be able to discuss new ideas, share their problems with managers, and think about possible solutions together with their seniors. Such an open-minded culture will help improve the situation around communication issues and make room for progress. The same feedback system can be used to measure whether there are any improvements in terms of communication.
Conclusion
Apparently, one of the conditions for any organization to exist and progress is the existence of relationships between employees. The basis of such links is the communication process. Therefore, effective communication is a necessary condition for organizations to function successfully. This text discussed the most critical causes of communication problems because knowing these reasons is extremely important for building a system of effective communications and preventing possible problems. Managers should choose a systematic approach for solving the issues because communication barriers take place both at an organizational level and between individuals.
References
Baker, A. C. (2015). Catalytic conversations: Organizational communication and innovation. Oxfordshire, GB: Routledge.
Boies, K., Fiset, J., & Gill, H. (2015). Communication and trust are key: Unlocking the relationship between leadership and team performance and creativity. The Leadership Quarterly, 26(6), 1080-1094.
Mumby, D. K., & Kuhn, T. R. (2018). Organizational communication: A critical introduction. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Peters, T. J., & Waterman, R. H. (2012). In search of excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-run companies (Collins Business Essentials). New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Tolbert, P. S., & Hall, R. H. (2015). Organizations: Structures, processes, and outcomes. Oxfordshire, GB: Routledge.