Introduction
Communication is a very essential tool to all human beings at all life levels. This is because it makes things happen through bringing about understanding among different individuals. Communication becomes even more important where a large group of people, for instance, in an organization are involved. Organizational communication is a crucial element that should always be maintained at the best standard under all circumstances since its failure is likely to cause problems to the whole organization.
Organizational communication holds all other organizational units together. It is also essential in facilitating change in management. This paper gives an in depth discussion of the role of organizational communication in change management for Wachovia/Wells Fargo Merger with much emphasis being given to the organizational aspects that are influenced by communication (Miller, 2008).
Role of organizational communication in change management for Wachovia/Wells Fargo Merger
Management is a very complex issue in organizations as it entails holding together the different arms of the organization. It includes aspects like planning, staffing, organizing, directing, and coordinating. The Wells Fargo and Wachovia Merger came into being after Wachovia was absorbed by Wells Fargo.
Merging of two companies is not an easy task and it therefore needs a lot of coordination in order to avoid any form of conflict of interests that could arise due to differences in terms of values or other aspects like organizational culture. Organizational communication was therefore a very handy element during and even after the merging process and its role in the Merger is evident.
As stated earlier organizational communication plays a great role in organizations, Wachovia/Wells Fargo Merger being one of them. In order to have a better understanding of the role of organizational communication, organizational or rather management issues that are linked with communication for instance hierarchy and its components, decision making process and leadership and its constituent will be discussed.
Organizational communication influences the organizational structure/ hierarchy including how power and responsibilities are shared among different individuals in the organization including the administrators, the management body, and the rest of stakeholders.
Organizational communication is also a key element and it plays a crucial role in influencing decision making as it enhances understanding and hence coordination of ideas. It also affects leadership style and how practices and activities are carried out. Leadership entails directing other elements to get things done and it could be carried out in different styles for instance social, task or balanced leadership approach.
Task oriented leadership entails leading people based on assigning tasks appropriately while social style of leadership involves use of social aspects like motivation to make things happen. Balanced leadership style on the other hand entails using a variety of aspects from different styles in an effort to balance leadership and hence achieve success. Balanced leadership style was preferred in the Wells Fargo Merger so as to ensure that all aspects in both companies are incorporated in an appropriate manner.
As for the sake of the Wachovia/Wells Fargo Merger, organizational communication has influenced a lot of aspects. It has enhanced integration of aspects from both companies hence increasing efficiency like in reducing the number of regional offices which has been made possible by effective integration.
A new organizational structure, different from what was either used in Wachovia or Wells Fargo Merger was adopted to allow for efficiency and success. The hierarchy was also changed through organizational communication where new regions opened up and additional managers were hence appointed (Konish, 2011).
Although organizational communication has helped the Merger to a great extent, the process has not been without some barriers. Some of the barriers included conflicts of interests where not all parties were in line, leading to a lot of delay in decision making as a lot of time was taken in reaching into conclusions for instance on the number of offices to be eliminated and the managers to be recruited for the new regions.
Cultural differences were also another major factor that hindered effective communication. This entails individual differences as well as organizational culture differences.
To deal with these barriers, strategies were laid down to ensure that every concerned individual was included in decision making so that all interests were brought to a balance and hence everybody felt well represented. Cultural difference on the other hand was handled by appreciating all the cultural aspects deemed to add value to the organization while doing away with what was thought to drag back the organization (Rothacker, 2010).
Conclusion
It is evident that organizational communication is a critical element that should be enhanced in every organization. This is because it plays a great role in setting things into place through coordinating all the arms of management. All the barriers to effective communication should be dealt with in a strategic manner since failure in organizational communication means failure of the whole organization.
Reference List
Konish, L. (2011). “Wells Fargo Creates New Regional Structure; Moves to streamline operations follow the recent trend of leadership changes at other firms.” On Wall Street 21.6 (2011): 15. General One File. Retrieved from https://onwallstreet.financial-planning.com/news/wells-fargo-creates-new-regional-structure
Miller, K. (2008). Organizational Communication: Approaches and Processes. 5th Ed. New York: Cengage Learning.
Rothacker, R. (2010). Banktown: The Rise and Struggles of Charlotte’s Big Banks. New York: John F. Blair, Publisher.