Introduction
Most journalism organizations are aware of the great contributions of strategic communication with customers and/or stakeholders. Terry Mohan states that the main aim for a professional means of communication is usually to facilitate the communication of ideas and concepts between the management and the employees in any organization in the journalism industry (Terry, 2008).
In this case, we find that communication is an important tool in any business environment and it actually calls for a very effective and efficient means of communication, because when communication is rightly used in a journalistic organization then the chances of being successful in the arena is high since the employees are motivated and thus they improve their performance. Therefore terry tries to inform the managers that to have professional communication in an organization they will therefore be required to have some skills in communication and also they should come up with an organized and planned communication channel that is easy and simple to be understood and used by the organization as a whole (Leidner, 2009).
Purposes for professional communication
Through her studies, we find that the main purpose of strategizing professional communication in an organization is to inform employees of the objectives and goals of the organization and the direction that should be followed to achieve the objectives in the organization. Professional communication in an organization entails oral, written and visual communication, Terry Mohan indicates that this principle blend together with the improved technology to enhance communication in various journalism fields which may include technical writing, usability, and media design therefore it must focus on how the information within an organization is created, passed down and digested. Since Communication in modern society has constant changes and the progress of technologies often outpaces the number of expert practitioners the choice of means of delivery must be well calculated (Clampitt, 2005)
Strategies for Professional communication in a journalism organization
Professional communication requires the managers in a journalistic organization to know who the audience, their needs are and how they are to be segmented. It also puts into consideration the organization’s message, the tone it should be conveyed in and for how long, for best results. When making a professional strategy, it’s important to verify which media channel best works to the organization’s advantage for this communication to yield expected results then there should be the availability of needed materials to facilitate the same (Thomson and Rampton, 2003). The means that exist in the journalism organization or new ones that could be effectively introduced should be sorted out. The target audience also matters when strategizing and choosing a means of delivering the message in this case effectiveness of a certain means is put to valuation.
Terry Mohan shows that the objective of the communication strategy is also a factor as far as professional communication in an organization dealing with journalism is concerned. The outcome expected by the organization is important and could be hindered or boosted by good means of communication and high levels f professionalism.
When strategizing a means of communication in a journalism organization the context of the message to some extent dictates what channel to use (Terry, 2008). Professional communication is that sad or bad or extremely good news that needs to be communicated face to face rather than email professional communication includes concerns with praxis and social responsibility.
Reporting on a weekly basis
Weekly reporting is the best strategy for communication within an organization, this strategy is normally used by the management towards the employees and this can be done through internet services such as the email, the advantage for this strategy is that it gives enough time to the employees to think and air out their view on a particular issue being discussed. In this case, the employee is allowed to make their comments towards their work during the week and also give their recommendations (Leidner, 2009).
Listening
Listening is also regarded as one of the communication strategies through which, we find that the communication manager in the journalism organization is required to give the employees an ear and take in their complaints and compliments these may be issues concerning their, job security, safety salaries or even the challenges they face while working. The listening strategy can only be implemented through open air forums and by listening the employees will feel appreciated and also be motivated to continue carrying out their duties. In the cases where no one listens then the organization will be opening a loophole for failure in managing its workforce, because it may lead to the resigning of the employees or even striking and thus affecting the productivity of the organization (Clampitt, 2005).
Meeting with the employees
The meeting with employees normally indicates that the management creates time to communicate with the employees on a one to one basis but in cases where distance is a barrier then this should be done through telephone conversations and this should be considered as a routine in the firm, the aim of this strategy is to communicate various issues that are beneficial or affecting both the management and the employees at large, this issues may be career development or the changes in company policies this will actually bring awareness to the employees in the firm (Terry, 2008).
Repeating strategy
We find that it is natural for a human being to be forgetful and for the manager to ensure that the organizational objectives and policies are understood and adhered to then he or she should be in a position to repeatedly state them to the employees so that they can apply them while carrying out their duties and for this strategy to be successful then the communication manager should ensure that during repetition he or she should not pass mixed and confusing information to the employees this means that the message should be the same as the first message conveyed (Thomson and Rampton, 2003).
Feedback
In any type of communication, feedback is more important in determining whether the communication was successful or not and for this to happen in a journalism organization then the managers need to be responding to their employees for example by either giving credit to a better job done or even advising them on the steps to be followed in times of a crisis, this will actually motivate the employee and thus leading to better productivity. We also find that employees should also be in a position to give feedback to the management on issues affecting them while carrying out their duties (Thomson and Rampton, 2003).
Direct communication this strategy should be implemented in a journalism organization since there are some issues that need to be handled among the employees on a face to face basis such issues may be very burning issues affecting the employees in an organization and they may some kind of workplace bullying, in such cases, the manager can not use the internet to communicate with the parties involved in such vices.
Witty
This strategy requires the manager to have a humorous communication with the employees in the organization, this makes the managers’ work easier, since the employees find him or her friends and they become open and free to pass any information regarding any improvements that need and also the challenges arising in the firm to the manager Clampitt, 2005).
Courteous speech
The managers are therefore required to use courteous speech while addressing the employees, this may be a way of indicating to them they are appreciated and valued in the organization. This speech may involve thanking messages, welcoming messages and well-wishing messages they are regarded as one of the ways of motivating employees in an organization(Terry, 2008).
Importance of professional communication in a journalism organization
Many organizations such as journalism organizations comprehend the importance of developing strategic plans, especially where long-term decisions need to be made. The point is without knowing the correct means of communicating the department responsible fails. It’s therefore advisable to include communication methodologies for communicating within or without the journalism organization. Therefore in this case we find that communication strategies carry a number of advantages to the organization and are as follows, it enables the firm too;
Identify and create a common driving force
A strategy identifies and outlines what is needed to clearly communicate information in an organization. It also makes it easier to choose the means of passing it i.e. the means an organization uses should enable the journalism organization to better achieve the goals it has designated for itself.
Outline boundaries in a working context
Professional communication is fundamental to a smooth running and working environment. Some journalism organizations based on the nature of work hold a casual atmosphere but professional communication demands that discussions such as politics, sex and religion should be avoided. In case information passed down an organization seems to embarrass, disgust or annoy the intended audience then the management should quickly get a remedy and an appropriate means. The pros and cons and final consequences are clearly outlined.
External reputation
Professional communication consciously boosts employee advocacy in shaping an organization’s external reputation, it creates a rapport between an organization and the rest of the world, which then registers in performance (Leidner, 2009).
Change or transition of management
Professional Communication is an important contributor to successful change or transformation programs in any journalism organization. Working environments consequently experience unexpected changes, and therefore the management should be able to adopt a professional means of communication to ensure that its goals and plans are maintained especially where there may be a lack of agreement between involved parties (Carey, 2007).
Regulation and compliance
In some cases, it’s a legal requirement for certain communications to take place in an organization and the best example is the communication policies established by the European Union which provide that the employers are expected to hold consultations with their workforce on business decisions that affect them, like health insurance or redundancy at work and therefore professionalism is highly recommended in the means an organization chooses to effectively communicate this issue and how essential it is for employees to comply with the companies’ policies on corporate governance.
Togetherness In the organization
The reason behind professional communication is not to dominate or control employees but as an everyday guide.
This can only happen when the organization is professionally proactive in its communication and coordinates its efforts to convey consistent messages in times of crisis (Clampitt, 2005).
Recommendations
Any journalism organization should also plan regular exchanges of staff between teams so that more people may have a broader idea of what is taking place within the firm, decide who needs to know what since not everyone can have access to every piece of information, give regular feedback so that whoever is reporting to you know whether the information and analysis are useful and relevant, design management structures that will help in the flow of information that is the firm should avoid overloading managers expecting them to do everything, clarify roles and responsibilities so that the team may know which information they need to give to whom, it should also plan cross-team discussions which will focus on common issues and concerns (Clampitt, 2005). When all this is done and achieved by the firm then there will be a responsibility of presenting an accurate and honest image of the firm and the situation, whereby, a positive picture of how people cope and support themselves in times of emergencies. This may also lead to collaboration through which there will be a joint advocacy work with other organizations which is identified and taken since more voices are powerful than one leading to the success of journalism organizations.
Conclusion
One of the most reliable ways of creating and maintaining job satisfaction in any journalism organization is personal feedback and organizational integration, and this heavily relies on the means an organization chooses to use to communicate its intentions to a targeted audience. Managers need to use the right communication strategies in organizations. They may sound very simple but very few managers implement them. They include listening to the grievances of the employees. By the way, it costs nothing to just listen. It highly affects the efficiency of the employees. Managers also have to learn to use courteous speech when addressing the employees. The employees can always communicate how they are faring at work by giving weekly or monthly reports. Information technology has to be incorporated in organizations to enhance communication. These strategies help in producing efficient employees (Thomson and Rampton, 2003).
List of references
Carey, J. 2007. Communication as culture: essays on media and society. Winchester: Unwin Hyman, Inc
Clampitt., P. 2005. Communicating for Managerial Effectiveness, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc
Leidner, D. 2009. Knowledge management systems; Issues; challenges and benefits; Communications of the AIS,
Terry, M. 2008 communicating as professionals. 2nd edition, Sydney Cengage learning: Thomson, C. & Rampton, L. 2003. Human Resource Management: New York Melbourne press.