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Effective Internal Communication
“How do managers improve their communication skills”
A t h e s i s f o r t h e d e g r e e o f B a c h e l o r o f C o m m u n i c a t i o n
b y M o n i q u e N a t a d a r m a ( 4 2 2 6 4 6 3 )
C o m m u n i c a t i o n s / A d v e r t i s i n g & D e s i g n M a n a g e m e n t ,
I n H o l l a n d U n i v e r s i t y o f P r o f e s s i o n a l E d u c a t i o n
R o t t e r d a m , t h e N e t h e r l a n d s
G r a d u a t i o n c o a c h : M r . S i m o n P a l s e r
4 O c t o b e r 2 0 0 6
Executive Summary
In a business world, communication plays a significant role in order to exchange or to
transmit actions and information between all target groups. An organisations main asset is
people. There are many types of communication means or tools used to promote a dialogue
and interactive participation between employees and managers, especially nowadays is this
technology era. Managers of the organisation as leaders need to be able to communicate
openly to the internal group which are the employees. If the response given by the
employees is insufficient, managers require to measure the effectiveness of the internal
communication and to evaluate methods to generate active communication within the
organisation.
The definition of ‘communication’ must initially be understood and perceived the same way
by the internal groups (i.e. managers, employees, trainees). Communication is a continuous
two-way process of exchanging information between two or more people through certain
means/tools, with the intention that both sender and receiver perceive the same message.
Sometimes people forget that communication is a two-way process, so it is not only sending,
but also receiving response to realize the message is well accepted and understood.
Therefore the following problem statement is raised:
“How do managers improve their communication skills?”
Effective internal communication starts at the top. CEO and managers play important roles
in the organisation development. Senior executives like the CEO provide leadership to align
the organisation with its vision, goal and strategy. Managers must recognise the
communication approaches (either formal or informal) to reach the participation and support
from the internal groups in order to achieve the short and long term plans of the
organisation’s success.
Other than the managerial functions, which are planning, organising, leading, co-ordinating
and controlling; they are require to be able to communicate with the internal groups
(employees, trainees, board of directors). One of the important communication skills that
managers need to practise is the ability to listen. By listening, employees will be willing to
speak or give certain responses. And if managers are open for suggestions that will bring
confidence and feelings of appreciation to the employees. The comments or ideas received
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through the available communication means require to be processed. And the employees
need to be kept up to date with the results or follow-ups. Otherwise, the desire to respond or
participation will be reduced, especially when there is no incentive from the managers. For
instance by conducting surveys; an interactive intranet as a medium to place news and to
receive response from employees; monthly internal newsletter (online or paper); a simple
and a useful method is by face-to-face meeting.
People are the essential assets for a company. If they have no motivation to come to work,
then the company’s objective will not be achieved. Consequently it is essential for managers
to have excellent communication skills in order to communicate with the right communication
means, the right timing and always be open to the employees.
"It is vital for the success of our companies that businessmen and women emerge as real
leaders and demonstrate their ability to communicate effectively, internally and externally."
(Sir Colin Marshall, chairman of British Airways)
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Preface
The background reason of this thesis’ topic is related to my graduation project. I have had
the opportunity to work at the “Consumer Lamps Europe” Business Unit, which is a Business
Unit of the PHILIPS Lighting Headquarters in Eindhoven. The project was about offering a
practical solution for the internal communication problem within the Business Unit
“Consumer Lamps Europe”.
I hope that the readers of this thesis would get a clear picture of how valuable effective
internal communication is within an organisation. An organisation consists of people which
are the most essential asset in an organisation. People communicate everyday.
Communication is a daily activity, that seems like an easy thing to do but often able to
create serious problems.
This thesis is my last school project and is the one that has taken the longest time to finish. I
realize that I have learned a lot during the graduation project at PHILIPS and also while
composing this thesis. Although it was not easy for me to work consistently on this thesis
especially during the summer holidays for at the same time I had to work on the graduation
project. Both graduation projects (practical and theoretical) were quiet challenging for me to
do.
In addition, I like to thank God for making it possible to finish all of the graduation projects
and of course, my parents who always support me no matter what. Also to my friends who
always encourage me every time I feel discouraged, especially for Maxime Vincent and Allia
Rambie. Last but not least, to my graduation coach, Mr. Simon Palser, who presented me
with the PHILIPS project and gave assistance during both practical and theoretical
graduation projects.
Monique Natadarma
Delft, October 2006
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary …..……………………...………………………………….………….....2
Preface…….………………………………………………………………….………………….4
Table of Contents…….…....………………………………………………….……………..….5
1 Introduction....................................................................................................................6 2 Communication..............................................................................................................8
2.1 History .....................................................................................................................8 2.2 Definition .................................................................................................................8 2.3 Models and theories ................................................................................................9
3 Communication in an organisation............................................................................13 3.1 Definition ...............................................................................................................13 3.2 A System theory ....................................................................................................14 3.3 Methods of communication approaches................................................................16 3.4 Main forms of communication in an organisation ..................................................18 3.5 Communication structures.....................................................................................20 3.6 Relation between corporate identity and corporate image ....................................21
4 Role of Communication ..............................................................................................22 4.1 Communication flows ............................................................................................22 4.2 Significance of internal communication .................................................................24 4.3 Problems ...............................................................................................................26
5 Effectiveness of internal communication..................................................................27 5.1 Ways to create effective communication...............................................................27 5.2 Basic principles to support the effective communication.......................................28 5.3 Internal communication means .............................................................................29
6 Case studies.................................................................................................................31 7 Conclusions .................................................................................................................35 8 Acknowledgements .....................................................................................................38 9 Annexes........................................................................................................................39
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1 Introduction
“Communication” is about people’s skill to express or exchange information in order to
achieve the desired needs. People already started to communicate with one another since
the beginning of life, through speaking and visualising (symbols, drawings), and also
communicating is part of daily life. From time to time, the forms of communication, theories,
methods and communication means (channels) develop rapidly, especially since the high-
technology era. Numerous communication means are invented to make people’s life easier
to keep in contact. The internet network provides the facility, either by instant messenger
(able to type message, speak and see the other person) or by e-mailing. These types of
exchanging messages are the most common ones since it is fast, accessible, user-friendly
and up-to-date.
The communication subject applies to the business world as well. It is the most essential
factor in the organisation’s daily activities because communication involves people, and an
organisation consists of people. It is not Human Resources’ responsibility anymore, but the
Corporate Communication department handles the internal and external groups within an
organisation. However the communication topic is always a part of Human Resources
because those two are closely connected and can not be apart. It is important for higher
levels of management and the departmental managers to maintain an interactive and open
relationship between employees at all levels. Therefore communication matters are very
crucial.
Managers require to master communication skills in order to lead and encourage the
participation of employees to accomplish the company’s objectives. Two-ways
communication has to be encouraged so that both parties are able to work as a team. A
suggestion box available for employees to submit ideas/comments, or an interactive bulletin
board/newsletter in the company’s intranet site where employees are able to submit
comments are examples to enhance employees’ participation. Other than through
technological communication means, a very effective way is to promote a face to face
meeting, such as a regular visit by the CEO or the president of the company to the
production factory, or an open forum in a casual event that can lessen the tension between
managers and employees.
The communication usually flows according to the hierarchy level in an organisation. There
are three familiar approaches within an organisation, which are the upward communication,
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downward communication and horizontal communication. Formal and informal
communication manners are accessible to assist a successful two-way communication
between managers, employees and peers.
Communication is a continuous process of exchanging information (a dialogue, not a
monologue) between two persons or more (sender and receiver), which means feedback or
response is highly required so that the sender is aware that the message is received and
understood by the receiver. Thus, the managers must measure the effectiveness of the
available communication means in the organisation. Otherwise it is useless to send
information through a variety of means but receive no response from the employees.
Hence, the main purpose of this thesis is to provide a theoretical background and contribute
my personal point of view based on my practical experience working on the internal
communication problem at PHILIPS Lighting. The communication skills methods are
explained throughout the chapters in order to answer my main question, which is “How do
managers improve their communication skills?”
The content of my thesis begins with a chapter of introduction, then several chapters
supporting my point of view, and it ends with a conclusion. The chapters are:
Chapter 2 - This chapter is about general information of communication and the related
communication theories or models.
Chapter 3 - This chapter is about the methods of communication approach (verbally or
interpersonal) and the organisation communication structure. A section relating to three vital
elements of corporate communication, which are corporate identity, image and strategy, are
also mentioned.
Chapter 4 - This chapter is about the internal communication flows and approaches to
deliver the desired message. Also, the essential factors referring the importance of internal
communication are included.
Chapter 5 - This chapter is about measuring the effectiveness of the action or the means
within the organisation. The variety of communication means is mentioned as well.
Chapter 6 – This chapter contains some examples of how companies manage their internal
communication
2 Communicat ion
In this chapter, the communication history, definition and models/theories are explained
generally. This communication background supports the fundamental information of
understanding the true meaning of communication.
2.1 History Communication started from the beginning signs of life. People exchanged information and
knowledge to further generations by speech (act of speaking) and symbols (representation
of an idea, image or object shape). Speech was initiated about 200,000 years ago. Symbols
were developed about 30,000 years ago, and then came another communication form,
writing about 7,000 years ago. For the past centuries, the worlds of communication and
telecommunication have experienced major progress, especially with the fast growth of
technology.
2.2 Definition The word “communication” originally came from the Latin ‘communicatio’ and Greek
‘communis’. Communicatio means informing, the transfer of information between people and
making connections in that manner. Communis means making something communal, or
letting people share in something or being connected. Both definitions emphasise an
interactive relationships between people through sharing information, either by words or
signs.
The definition of communication(s) according to the Random House Unabridged Dictionary
is:
com‧mu‧ni‧ca‧tion –noun 1. the act or process of communicating; fact of being communicated. 2. the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing,
or signs. 3. something imparted, interchanged, or transmitted.
4. a document or message imparting news, views, information, etc.
5. passage, or an opportunity or means of passage, between places.
6. communications, a. means of sending messages, orders, etc., including telephone, telegraph, radio,
television. b. routes and transportation for moving troops and supplies from a base to an area of
operations.
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One of the communication experts, F.R. Oomkes, said that the meaning of communication
concept is:
“The exchange of messages taking place between people who are aware of each other’s
immediate or mediated (possible) presence. This symbolic information is given, received
and interpreted partially on a conscious and unconscious level.”
2.3 Models and theories The communication models developed strongly in the 20th century with the experience of
World Wars I and II. Studies of propaganda, persuasion and subsequently the growth of
communication studies at colleges and universities across the US resulted in the further
development of communication models and theories. The models and theories facilitate
people to understand how the communication process actually works. The following
sections are some of the most common communication models and theories.
2.3.1 Laswell’s Verbal Model of Communication
In 1948, Harold Lasswell described that human communication is a linear or a one-way
process which one person acts on another person simply by using words. It is also called as
a transmission model because it assumes that communication is transmitted in a straight
forward manner, from a sender to a receiver. Laswell’s verbal model consists of five
questions that described of how the communication works.
Figure 1. Lasswell’s verbal model of communication (1948) Who? Says what? Through which channel? To whom? With what effect?
2.3.2 Shannon & Weaver’s Communication Transmission Model
Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver (1949) improved Laswell’s communication model by
adding the concept of noise. Noise is anything that interferes with the intended meaning of
communication. They illustrated the incident of communication as a repeated process. The
process starts with a sender that has the intention of passing on a message to a receiver.
For example: a manager (sender) sends meeting agenda (message) in a letter (medium) to
the secretary (receiver).
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Figure 2. The communication model of Shannon & Weaver (1949)
Feedback Encoding Decoding
Feedback
Sender Message Medium Receiver
• Sender, message
The communication process starts with the sender. The sender has the intention of
delivering a message to a receiver. The material types of the messages are: facts, ideas,
opinions, beliefs, emotions, motivation.
• Medium
For every message, the sender chooses a medium. The choice of medium often influences
the message, for instance, communicating by telephone is more informal than an official
letter to an office supervisor.
• Feedback
After a message is sent to the receiver, the receiver will often give a response to the
message. After that, the sender can reply again. Both responses are called feedback and
can be either positive or negative. Giving and receiving feedback is an ongoing process, as
indicated in the figure of communication model above.
• Encoding and decoding
Before a sender sends out a message, he or she has to decide how to create a message
that is easily understood by the receiver. The message of the sender needs to be adapted
before it can be transmitted to the receiver. This process is called encoding. Then the
receiver of the encoded message will have to decode the message. This means that the
receiver will change the information in such a way that he or she is able to understand the
message. This is called decoding.
• Noise
Noise is any interference or disturbance during the communication process. It occurs when
people have difficulties in concentrating on the message, such as because of a
psychological stimulus like feeling hungry or culture differences like language.
2.3.3 Theory of Reasoned Action
In Figure 3, it illustrates how external factors influence behaviour indirectly. This theory is
often applied in campaigns where behavioural change is the primary objective, such as
election campaigns. This theory only covers the rational decision-making process. However,
in real life situations some decisions are not made rationally.
Figure 3. Theory of indirect effects of external variables on behaviour
External variables - Demographic variables
Beliefs that the behaviour leads to certain outcomes Evaluation of the outcomes
Attitude toward the behaviour
Relative importance of attitudinal and normative components
Subjective norm
Intention Behaviour
Beliefs that specific references think I should or should not perform the behaviour Motivation to comply with the specific references
- Attitudes towards targets - Personality traits
2.3.4 Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Cognitive dissonance is a communication theory derived from social psychology, which
based on:
Cognitive, which means thinking or the mind.
• Dissonance, which means conflict or inconsistency.
In 1950’s and 1960’s, researchers tried to explain how people respond to dissonant
information, or rather, how people respond to information that conflicts with their previous
thoughts or knowledge. This theory indicates that:
Dissonance is a psychologically uncomfortable situation and motivates people to
get rid of it;
In a state of dissonance, people will avoid information that might add to the
dissonance;
In a state of dissonance, people will find information that reduces the
dissonance.
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Dissonance arises easily, especially in a society well-supplied with information. Many of the
responses to dissonance actually involve the exposure to (or avoidance of) the media. For
example, if someone does not believe the reports in the newspaper, even if these reports
are based on reliable and scientific sources.
2.3.5 Mass Media Theory
Mass communication is public communication, where the sender intends to communicate
with a large group of people (a mass public) using different kind of media forms. The sender
of the message intends to reach the public, even though the public never receive the
message. For example, an author writes an article in a magazine, even though not
everybody will read it, however the term mass communication is still appropriate because
the author had the intention of it reaching the public.
The electronic media and print media including broadcasting (radio, television); disc or tape
(video, computer); film/documentaries; internet (blogs, podcast for news, music, video); and
publishing (books, magazine, newspaper).
From all of the communication theories that are mentioned above, I consider that the model
of Shannon & Weaver was one of the first real communication models that is still widely
used until now. The model is used as a basic principle of understanding the meaning of
communication, which is a continuous two-way process, or a dialogue, between a sender
and a receiver. The information or message that the sender is sending to the receiver
requires a certain medium and the response of the receiver is called feedback. An
interruption or noise may happen during the process.
3 Communicat ion in an organisat ion
Following the general definition of communication and theories, this chapter gives further
explanation regarding the internal communication matter in an organisation (or a
corporation). Internal communication is part of the corporate communication activities that
deals particularly with the managers and employees at all levels in an organisation, as the
internal groups.
3.1 Definition Communication is an essential activity in people’s daily lives. This is also applicable to an
organisation. An organisation also has to communicate a message regarding its corporate
identity, image, vision, mission to the external (clients, distributors, buyers, competitors) and
internal (managers, employees) target groups. Some of the definitions of ‘Corporate
Communication’ according to the communication experts are:
“Corporate Communication is the total communication activity generated by a
company to achieve its planned objectives” (Jackson, 1987);
“Corporate Communication is the management instrument by means of which in the
most effective way all consciously used forms of internal and external communication
are adjusted to each other, in such a manner that the organisation reaches and
keeps the intended image with its most important target groups” (van Riel, 1998);
“Corporate Communication is the management function within an organisation which
is responsible for communication processes that are initiated from within the
organisation and thus trying to promote a sustainable interaction between an
organisation and groups of the public in the internal and external environment”
(Marieta Vos, 1999).
The key word concerning corporate communication is that it is a management instrument
and an activity to endorse interaction between both groups, internal and external within an
organisation. The activities include surveying the perceived image of the company in the
eyes of internal and external groups, promotional campaigns to attract new customers,
internal brochures/posters or announcement news on the company’s intranet site.
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Stakeholders Stakeholders are the so called target groups or publics that are involved in communicating
within an organisation. The stakeholders are divided into two groups: internal and external.
Although in this thesis my main stakeholder focuses only on the internal group, I find that it
is necessary to show the relationship with the external group. These two groups are
essential for the stability of the organisation. In Figure 4, the organisation appear to be at
the centre of the internal and external groups. Figure 5 Stakeholders relationship
Internal group
• Employees
• Works council
• Management
• Board of directors
• Retired personnel
• Temporary workers
• Interns
External group
• Government (local,
regional, national)
• Labour unions
• Customers
• Shareholders
• Banks
• Suppliers
• Media
Organisation
The organisation has different kinds of communication techniques to reach both groups. For
instance, an internal weekly newsletter published in the company’s intranet and employees
that are able to give response/feedback online. For the external group, like the media the
organisation can release a press release and a press conference, when a new product is
launched. (See Annex 1.Internal communication position in an organisation)
3.2 A System theory A system theory is one of the organisational theories that endorse into a successful
corporate communication. The features of the theory relates to a wider problem of
understanding the organisational structure, function and development of human systems
with the same principles that are used to understand living organisms. This theory started to
evolve from the nineteenth century until these days. Additionally, the system provides a new
correlation for the study of organisations and organisational communication –the living
organism. The concepts of the theory are: hierarchy, wholeness, openness, and feedback.
• Hierarchy
One of the important rules in a system is the principle of hierarchy. A hierarchy describes a
structure of the management of the business, from the top of the company – the managing
director, through to the production workers. Every organisation has its own product/service
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division (e.g. electrical, automotive); the division has its own departments (e.g. financial,
sales, production, human resource); then managers are in charge for major projects that
require the co-operation with the personnel. Managers need to control the personnel task
and generate communication between them. Figure 5 is an example of an organisational
structure. Figure 5. Organisational structure
• Wholeness
A s e elements bound together in mutual-dependent relationships. Wholeness
The e is regarding open or closed systems. An open systems is a system that
Feedback is a return process of an action, or in other words, a receiver gives response/
yst m is a set of
means that the effect of elements working in relationship to one another differs from the
effect of their isolated, individual actions taken together; or in other words referred to as
synergy (a condition in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts). For instance, a
group of advertising professionals gather for a brainstorming session. Members of the group
can interact, emerge and produce varieties of ideas during the session. They can collect
more possible ideas at the end.
• Openness
n xt concept
takes in (raw materials, capital), converts them into goods/services (via machinery, human
skills), then sent back to that environment, where they are bought by customers. On the
contrary, a closed system is self contained, does not interact with its external environment.
• Feedback
action back to the sender of the information. An organisation seeks feedback to improve its
performance and to review employees’ satisfactory on the job. All feedback processes
involve communication. Relationships among individual members in organisations depend
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my viewpoint, the four concepts of the System theory (hierarchy, wholeness, openness,
and
urthermore, the members of an organisation need to act as a whole group in developing
dditionally, in theory, both management and employees are able to agree on the tasks to
.3 Methods of communication approaches aches within an organisation: verbal and
rbal and non-verbal communication
on communication and information flow. Examples of feedback are financial audits,
performance appraisal, employees’ surveys and 360-degree feedback.
In
and feedback) are extremely significant in the process of achieving effective internal
communication. A clear structure of an organisation must be well defined in the hierarchy
feature. An organisation with more than one level of management may suffer from
communication problems that can interfere with almost any aspects of the organisation, like
one of the Business Unit in PHILIPS Lighting, which is the Consumer Lamps Europe.
Although it is only one of the Business Units, the organisation structure is so high
spread throughout many countries in Europe. That makes it difficult to communicate and
often creates internal problems due to culture differences or lack of information.
F
the end results. The correlation between the members and the action taken would affect the
company’s outcome. Also without openness between management and employees,
miscommunication or rumours would occur. The management team must ensure that both
managers and employees have access to the same content of information. Thus feedback
sessions are highly required in the communication process, to discover the positive/negative
response and whether the message is perceived as expected. Feedback usually is usually
measured by written or visual means (like surveys), or verbally (face to face meeting)
through formal or informal occasions. I suppose that people have more courage to be
honest when the feedback is done through surveys so they are able to be anonymous.
A
improve the organisation and capable to work together to support the vision and mission of
the organisation. In my opinion, however in practise, the same incentives must apply to both
parties, or else parties with differing incentives will develop different goals, adverse the
effect of the shared information. Managers may inform the goals, but if no coaching or
assisting given by managers of how to accomplish the desired results; employees may
perform a poor job. (See Annex 2. Key aspects to motivate managers)
3There are four methods of communication appro
non-verbal; one-way and two-way; inter-personal and mass communication; internal and
external.
• Ve
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Ver l s in the form of words, by orally (spoken) or
bal communication
ba communication is exchanging message
written forms. The science of nonverbal communication is called kinesis. Forms of non-
verbal communication are such as: graphical data (pie charts, histograms and maps),
human signals (body language, gesture, facial expression, personal touch) and visual signs.
Those forms of non-verbal signals are expressed through behaviour as well as verbally and
also have symbolic meaning. Both verbal and non-verbal forms of communication are used
simultaneously. For example, text, images and verbal are combined in a business report,
while presenters make use of words and gestures. Figure 6a. Examples of (non)-ver
• One-way and two-way communication
Bot o itting of the messages from the sender to the
munication
h c mmunication forms refer to the transm
receiver and are open for all kinds of feedback. One-way means communication in only one
direction to the audiences, including news broadcasts, posters, and speech. Two-way
communication involves both parties to interact, such as a face-to-face interview and group
discussions. Feedback is collected by answering surveys, personal meetings or through
available interactive response tools in the company’s intranet. Figure 6b. Example of one-way & two-ways com
• personal and mass communication
Ind u on communication ways to interact. When
Inter-
ivid al or group meetings are the most comm
the aims for publishing or broadcasting certain information to attract a larger group of
population, it is better to use mass media, like the newspaper, television, radio, or through
digital communication.
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Figure 6c. Examples of mass communication
• Internal and external communication
The r arget groups, depending on the department
o ganisation deals with a variety of t
function. For instance, the human resource managers tends to focus more on the
employees (internal) communication, while the marketing managers concern themselves
with the external group (i.e. suppliers). Both managers need the appropriate communication
approaches to reach the desired results, perhaps by organising ‘casual Friday drinks’ after
work-hour for open forum to maintain employees’ relationships with the management. Figure 6d. Example of internal and external communication
3.4 Main forms of communication in an organisation se organisations involve people.
here are three main forms of corporate communication, as follows:
Ma st important one from the three communication forms
operation between managers and employees, so that the desired goals are achieved.
Communication is the life source of an organisation becau
These days, the management team within an organisation realizes the need to express,
receive, deploy, transmit, or exchange information and also the efforts at communications
between the external and internal groups increase substantially.
T
1. Management communication
nagement communication is the mo
within an organisation. Early 20th century management writer, Mary Parker Follett defined
management as “the art of getting things done through people.” There are five management
functions: planning, organising, leading, coordinating and controlling. One of the manager’s
roles is to continuously persuade subordinates that the goals and mission of the
organisation are desirable. Communication is the responsibility of all levels of an
organisation, from the senior, middle, junior management, subordinates to the factory
workers. Thus the need of effective communication skills and the communication
channels/means are significant in order to generate an active communication and co-
For instance:
developing a shared vision, mission, objectives of the company;
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g and managing the change process;
I b e ends upon good communication by
ma r management levels and the departmental
arketing communication consists of the forms of communication that support sales of
goods and services. Advertising, branding, direct marketing, graphic design, marketing,
n
rganisational communication is used to cover the internal and external target groups, or
could be described as all forms of communication used by the organisation, other than
at “all communication activities
ithin the organisation must be integrated in order to support the achievement of the
initiatin
empowering and motivating employees.
eli ve that organisational success often dep
nagers, including the CEO as well. The highe
managers are obliged to motivate and to coach the employees of how to achieve the
organisational goals. (See Annex 3. Effective internal communication starts at the top)
2. Marketing communication
M
packaging, promotion, publicity, sales promotion are some of the forms. Marketing
communication takes the largest share of a company’s budget, including qualitative and
quantitative aspects, such as: financial data (e.g. advertising expenses), information on
target groups (e.g. patterns of media consumption) and data on the quality of external
agencies (e.g. advertising agency).
3. Organisational communicatio
O
marketing communication. For instance: public relations, public affairs, investor relations,
labour market communication, corporate advertising, environmental communication and
internal communication. All of those communication activities mainly focus on maintaining
the relationship between the organisation and the public.
According to the Finnish writer Aberg (1990), he stated th
w
organisation’s aims and goals.” Additionally, he stated that “the communication has four
functions: supporting internal and external core operations (to regulate); organisation and
product oriented profiling (to persuade); informing internal and external audiences (to
inform); and socialising individuals into a good organisational citizen (to integrate).”
The four communication functions are coordinated in order to make an effective contribution
in achieving the organisation’s goals.
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.5 Communication structures ommunication structure is a system or a network of the way how communication flows
se of exchanging information through the available
(iii) open circle structure
(iv) chain structure
hanges information with various individual
characters. This leads to fast decision-making, but not all the participants receive
(ii)
takes a lot of time and many mistakes can be made, but
(iii)
fied but decision-making leaves something to
(iv)
In m oin best solution to achieve a
two-way communication process. In reality however, communication processes often
3C
within an organisation, with a purpo
communication means. In Figure 8, four different types of communication structures exist in
an organisation: wheel structure, circle structure, open circle structure, and chain structure.
Figure 8. Communication structures
(i) Wheel
structure (ii) circle structure
(i) Wheel structure one person exc
the whole information.
Circle structure each participant has contact with two other individuals. The
exchange of information
the participants are more satisfied.
Open circle structure no central figure, but have a varied contact pattern in a
structure. The participants are satis
be desired.
Chain structure is similar with the circle structure.
y p t of view, these communication structures are not the
appear to be just like this. Very often there isn’t enough information received by the
receivers. Information is transmitted from various sources (either trustworthy or not) and
whether or not the communication is effective just so depends on how the receivers
perceive the messages. Therefore employees should be the priority to receive (internal)
information from the managers or higher level management, rather than from unrelated
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.6 Relation between corporate identity and corporate image e identity, strategy and
ees to identify with their company and it will
mpany’s identity.
w ustomers’ confidence in the company’s
ledging the vital role of financial target groups
the financial resources.
hus, in my viewpoint the ways internal and external groups perceive the company’s image
parties or the media. Otherwise, rumours are spread that may cause damage to the
employees’ loyalty and trust to the company.
3Furthermore, in corporate communication, the concept of corporat
image are the main elements that represent an organisation and can not be separated.
Corporate identity means all of the forms of expression that a company uses to convey its
personality to the public, meanwhile corporate image refers to how the company is
perceived. People recognise a company’s corporate identity in expressions such as the
house style, logo, commercials, public relations, internal values and norms. Corporate
image is not only created by the company, other parties like news media, labour union,
environmental organisations, and journalists are also included to create the image. In
addition, corporate image is seen as reflecting the identity of an organisation. A company
that has a strong and convincing corporate identity can achieve more with its target groups.
A strong corporate identity is effective in the following ways:
Raising motivation among employees.
A strong corporate identity enables employ
also affect their behaviour to become more committed to the job.
Inspiring confidence among company’s external target groups.
Various external target groups can develop a clear picture of the co
Acknowledging the vital role of customers
A ell-defined corporate identity inspires c
capabilities and creates a long lasting relationship, which will secure the future of the
company.
Acknow
The suppliers have confidence in the company in supplying
T
identity, and strategies are important for the success of a company. These aspects are
related to one another in concerns of behaviour and employees’ commitment to the job.
Also, when the identity of the company is recognized in a positive way in the public view,
then the employees’ trust and enthusiasm factors are increased because they feel safe to
invest their energy for the company’s benefits. Managers have to share the strategies to
achieve the desired goals with the employees and also involve their participation in
decision-making. By doing this, employees are aware that their contributions are
appreciated and are significant for the company.
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4 Role of Communicat ion
This section defines the communication approaches in an organisation, either formal or
informal; and the essence of the importance an organisation to have an effective internal
communication. Potential communication problems are also mentioned in here.
4.1 Communication flows There are two methods of how the communication flows within the organisation, which are:
formal and informal communication. Each communication flow has its own functions and
communication means in order to achieve the organisational objectives.
4.1.1 Formal Communication
Formal communication is a communication approach through official communication
channels in order to deliver the message between organisational members. The formal
communication system is usually specified in the policy manuals and the organisational
charts. All of the three communication directions: upward, downward and horizontal. Its
functions and purposes are to: interpret, influence and coordinate.
• Upward Communication
Upward communication defines the communication flow of the information/messages from
the lower (subordinates/employees) to higher level (managers/superiors) of the organisation
hierarchy. The types of messages are usually concerning employees’ opinions (any
problems, comments, and suggestions), individual performance report, task-related matters,
and also regarding financial issues.
This flow of communication often experiences difficulty in encouraging a two-way
communication between the subordinates and the managers, while the involvement,
opinion, and commitment of the employees are highly important in order to achieve the
organisation’s goals. The subordinates should feel free to report their problems or give
suggestions to superiors. On the other hand, the superiors have to be open to receive the
proposals or criticisms. Some of the communication channels/ means that will improve the
effectiveness of upward communication are the suggestion systems (suggestion box),
employees’ surveys, face-to-face conversation, open-door policy, management reports.
Managers need to gain employees’ trust and loyalty by encouraging, supporting, coaching,
and regularly organising face-to-face meetings.
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• Downward Communication
ownward communic n ow from higher level of
rganisation hierarchy to the lower level. Managers must have good communication and
sk and its
lationship to the company’s goals or other activities); procedures (policies, benefits);
e report; and indoctrination to encourage employees
dual and groups),
newsletters (electronic or paper), memos, and speeches. Common problems occur with
n inadequacy of information load (not all information are
orizontal communication identifies the flow of exchanging messages across or diagonal
among peers or co-workers at the same functional level of an organisation. This approach
vement or changes according from the
sponses.
D atio refers to the information/messages fl
o
people skills to influence the employees since they are responsible to inform the company’s
goals, values and strategies and also how to achieve the desired results. The types of
messages are related to job instructions and rationale (purpose of the ta
re
individual feedback performanc
commitment to the goals and objectives of the company.
These days, the information usually flows through e-mail (for indivi
downward communication contai
relevant), inappropriate communication means, filtering of information and also often
organisation relies on the means (written, mechanical, electronic) rather than face-to-face
contact. (See Annex 4. The types of information)
• Horizontal Communication
H
facilitates problem solving, shared information and task coordination between departments
or project teams. The problems that occur with horizontal communication are due to issues
like, territoriality, competition, specialization and lack of motivation to expend additional
effort of the task requirement.
My point of view regarding the formal communication flows is that common problems occur
at the upward communication, where employees have less interest in giving feedback to
managers. Although the upward and downward communication approaches are slightly
easier to communicate because the communication structure and the means are accessible.
From what I experienced, big companies often conduct many surveys but after collecting the
results from the employees, the action to follow-up the results is simply not done or not
becoming a priority. Therefore I am able to understand how important it is to gain trust from
the employees and to encourage them of giving feedback. Managers should perform the
follow-up and demonstrate the required impro
re
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4.1
management to other colleagues.
he other colleagues may or may not be aware of the actual information, so the reliability of
open and honest communication with the
mployees and frequently share relevant information with them in order to diminish the
gra v al of organisational communication occurs through
en the internal groups, including employees, management,
orks council, board of directors, trainees, and retired staff. These days, many companies
n organisation (Figure 9). That means that every individual who works in a different
on process (a dialogue, not a monologue) and the involvement of actively
.2 Informal Communication
Informal communication is a social interaction of exchanging information that involves
people in the organisation, where there is no need of using the formal communication
channels. This communication flow is necessary to maintain the aspect of organisational life.
The most regular places where informal communications take place are usually the
canteens, hallways, or smoking rooms.
A main concern of informal communication is about the grapevine or rumours. One person
initiates and discusses an issue regarding changes in the
T
the message is unclear and the rumours may spread. Often rumours happen due to lack of
information and insecurity.
For that reason, I conclude that employees need to receive information about inside issues
of the organisation from the managers or other reliable internal sources, rather than from the
media or external parties. Managers should have
e
pe ine. Although a great de
grapevine. Participants in grapevine communication include all groups in the organisation
(managers as well as employees and men as well as women).
4.2 Significance of internal communication One of the fundamental keys of achieving organisation’s desired objectives is by maintaining
effective communication betwe
w
realise that ‘people’ (internal groups) are the most important asset, which brings the people
as the main priority issue in the organisation.
Internal communication includes all communication that is aimed at the target groups within
a
function level (production staff, management) in an organisation, or organisational part
(division, line department), and at another location (local, abroad) is involved in the process
of exchanging information, creating values and behaviours within an organisation. In
addition, a good structured communication plan with clear strategies, policies, vision, and
objectives is fundamental to achieve the desired results of an interactive two-way
communicati
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cation through available media plays an important part in
urthermore, higher management needs to pay more attention to the internal
needs and circumstances
mployees should inform to the management regarding new technique or new technology
chieving
tween employees and managers need to be
proved so that organisational goals are achieved.
participating employees. Communi
the development of maintaining active internal communication, as well as a face-to-face
meeting which is more personal and effective.
Figure 9. Internal communication: a two-way communication process between management and employees
F
communication matter and place it as main priority in an organisation’s life. The background
reasons are: (See Annex 5. How to motivate employees to work)
• Employees must be aware of organisation’s activities
Employees represent the identity, behaviour and values of the company. The employees
define company’s image when they interact with external groups (i.e. customers,
competitors, government, suppliers).
• Employees should enhance their awareness to changing
E
development in certain areas that can improve the quality or the process of a
company’s desired goals.
• Employees require a higher information need
Employees are primary groups that must receive relevant information in order to diminish
grapevine within an organisation, particularly when organisation experiences major
changes. Thus a two-way communication be
im
• Quality awareness of products and services
Every organisation desires to employ well trained, motivated and loyal employees in order to
improve the quality of products and services. Managers should support employees by
training skills, personal encouragement, and maintaining an open communication.
• Raise employees commitment to the job
Good internal communication can generate a better work atmosphere and prevent
employees from becoming ill or quitting their job. It also makes the process of recruiting new
staff easier.
Management
informs
inform
Management= sender Employee = receiver
Management = receiver Employee = sender
Employees
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26
rganisation. The following are the possible
auses of problems concerning internal communication, based on my experience and
f the internal
• Communication problems between management and employees’, due to lack of
formation or incon ployees are rmation, unless the
anagers deliberately attempt to convey the information.
• The choice of using words or language in exchanging information influences the
uality of communic in tion iven to words and
any factors affect how an individual will attribute meaning to particular words. It is
erbal communication.
d procedures that results in
, they are uncertain of sending information to the right
peo ,
erstand other’s point of view due to stress or pressure at work.
The n portant.
is affected by the past experience with
pirations,
and cal lines. Culture differences such as time,
4.3 Problems Problems are potentially to occur within an organisation, whether it is a big or a small
company, or perhaps local or multinational o
c
literature review: (See Annex 6. Factors that influence the behaviour o
ommunication) c
in sistency. Usually em not aware of the info
m
q ation, such as mis terpreta . Meaning has to be g
m
important to note that no two people will attribute the exact same meaning to the same
words.
• Misreading of body language, tone or other forms of non-v
• No structured and written organisation policies an
insignificant two-way communication or a dialogue between the internal groups.
• Managers have no communication tools to measure the effectiveness of the
communication works, in other words
ple, also not knowing whether or not the receivers understand the message. As a result
people can misinterpret the message and a grapevine can occur easily due to lack of
information.
• Employees misund
y i tend to do what is urgent rather than what is im
• Managers are deficient in communicative skills and are inexperienced in becoming
leaders. Communication problems can arise when managers see no values in
communicating with subordinates or other staff. For instance, managers’ hesitation of being
candid.
• The manner of interpersonal communication
others and also by the organisational relationship two people have. For example,
communication from a superior may be perceived differently than from a subordinate.
• Effective communication requires interpreting the basic values, motives, as
assumptions that operate across geographi
manners, privacy, language, and norms, the opportunities for miscommunication are
expected to happen.
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5 Effect iveness of internal communicat ion
This chapter is about measuring the effectiveness of the action or the means within the
organisation. The communication means is mentioned as well.
5.1
communication approach covers
asp s
es should feel that they are a part of a large whole and have the big picture of the
ove l their
futu
n so their
con
two communication experts, Vos and Schoemaker, communication auditors
ass
user-friendly, such as intranet.
alty to
the g
usually assist managers for support and advice during changing
process in organisation.
Ways to create effective communication Effective communication refers to a successful two-way process of conveying messages
from a sender to a receiver, including feedback given. The
ect of thinking, writing, speaking and listening, as well as formal and informal methods.
I ensure that in real life, no matter the size of the organisation (small, medium or large), the
value of internal communication is essential. Employees who are better informed are more
satisfied, feel more involved and eventually contribute more to the organisations’ success.
Employe
ral company’s objectives and strategies, so they are motivated and feel secure for
re carrier. Managers have to remember to perform follow-up or take action, after
conducting surveys or other activities that involves employees’ participatio
tributions are really valued. (See Annex 7. Key Principles to Effective Internal
Organizational Communications)
Indicators for an effective communication According to
emble several indicators to implement relevant aspects to the internal communication
performance, as follows:
1. Clarity aspects: information for staff and user-friendly communication means.
All the information that employees receive about policies, tasks, social issues, are required
to be complete, easy to understand, up-to-date and accessible. The communication means
are also
2. Environment orientation (internal environment) aspects: commitment and
communication experts deal with changes.
Good communication relationship between the people leads to commitment and loy
or anisation as a whole. Thus, it is important to support the interactive communication
activities that involve people participation, especially from bottom-up level. Higher level
management or the CEO should show their face to the employees (until the lower level).
Communication experts
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3. Consistency aspects: coherence to the Human Resources department and other
com
ternal communication and HR are related because both matters deal with people. There
urvey for instance or other
ommunication issues.
. n skills.
nd strategies about how those goals will be reached.
. Ensure all employees receive employee handbooks containing all the up-to-date
o-way communication can be maintained between staff and
ace-to-face contact with employees, at least once a
7. r accomplishments. This helps employees
munication activities.
In
are clear procedures of the timing of information issued to staff and media. Additionally,
managers need to give time for follow-up, after conducted s
c
4 Responsiveness aspects: communicatio
Managers require having good communication skills to promote response from the people,
and this applies to staff that interrelates with customers.
5. Effectiveness and efficiency aspects: internal audits and image.
Internal communication and the means are being assessed to investigate the effectiveness
and efficiency. Another assessment is referring to the perception of employees to
company’s image. Additionally, the research desires to find out about employees
satisfactory of the job performance and working conditions.
5.2 Basic principles to support the effective communication Downward communication:
1. Ensure all employees receive a copy of the strategic plan, including the organisation’s
mission, vision, values, goals a
2
personnel policies.
3. Ensure all employees have a copy of their job description and organisation chart.
4. Regularly organise management meetings (at least bi-weekly), even if there is nothing to
report. This way tw
managers.
5. Monthly staff meeting to report how the organisation is doing, major accomplishments,
concerns, announcements about staff or changes, etc.
6. Leaders and managers should have f
week.
Regularly hold meetings to celebrate majo
perceive what's important, gives them a sense of direction and fulfilment
8. Ensure all employees receive yearly performance reviews, including their goals for the
year, updated job descriptions, accomplishments, needs for improvement, and plans to
help the employee accomplish the improvements.
Upward communication:
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1.
for the week after and any issues/comments.
d staff meetings to request feedback. It is better that the member of
the feedback session. Therefore
4. ees so they know
ubsequently, I believe that when managers implement the above principles in
communication relation
internal communication is going to be effective and will include
Means or tools in communication refer to the medium that is used to convey the message
ure 10
org
today’s world is all about technology and instant messaging, the common usage means are
For loyees, they are implied to give
the newsletter through the respond column on the company’s intranet site.
Mo ), management
org
very crucial at this point in order to find out whether or not the message send from
eadquarters is fully understood. This kind of problem occurred in PHILIPS Lighting in
Ensure all employees give regular status reports to their supervisors, including previous
tasks done last week, plan
2. Ensure all supervisors meet face-to-face at least once a month with their employees, to
discuss progress, listen to any current concerns, etc. The function of this meeting is to
develop a relationship between supervisor and employee.
3. Use management an
the meeting prepare what they like to mention during
for the meetings chairmen it is advisable to send meeting’s agenda or presentation in
advance.
Perform action after the feedback and maintain updates to the employ
what is happening. This could intrigue active participation and motivation from the
employees when they know that their contributions are valued.
5. The most common form of communication is the grapevine circulation within an
organisation.
S
communication approaches and keep maintaining an active
between the employees, the
the participation of all internal groups.
5.3 Internal communication means
from a sender to a receiver. Referring to the communication approaches, in Fig
(below), it shows the potential communication channels/means that I observe current
anisations mainly use to promote a two-way interaction between the employees. Since
done through the intranet site or by e-mailing system. It is fast, accessible, and user-friendly.
instance, after a manager sends information to emp
feedback through the available means to give comments/suggestions about certain topics in
reover, when dealing with employees abroad (a multinational company
should take into consideration the cultural and language barriers. Although under the same
anisation, each country has its own culture and ways of working. Therefore feedback is
h
Eindhoven.
Figure 10. Communication means
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Upward communication
Face to face meetings
Telephone/tele-conference
Suggestion boxes
Employee surveys
Open door policy
Open forums
Discussion board on
company’s intranet
Training and workshops
Newsletter (written/electronic)
Corporate blogging
Downward communication
Face to face meetings,
team meetings
E-mails, video messages
Leaflets/flyers/posters
Speeches
Newsletters
(written/electronic)
Interactive intranet site
Bulletin boards
Manuals and handbook
Internal magazines
Horizontal Communication
Interdepartmental meetings
Newsletters (written/electronic), magazine
Interactive intranet site
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6 Case studies
The following secti s of how com their internal
. Nederlandse Gas
ederlandse Gasun onal gas company ffice building in
a problem with the internal commu e problem
“How to inform old building to the new ones in
d, about security a k and adequate a way
le? What out the tr e bu ing for shorter or longer periods
very day?”
munica r this which d programme
f printed media, vid n. The m he target group in
visual, interactive . This coherent information package consisted of a
ocumentary film, a computer disc and a set of leaflets. The short, dramatised video
ocumentary gave a fascinating impression of the Security Department, surveillance in the
new building, the coming and going off staff and visitors (ID card system), the activities of
the emergency services in case of tragedy/disaster, and procedures relating to information
security. The computer disc contained information in text and image on safe working
conditions and company security. This disc is interactive and was distributed to all staff after
the (compulsory) viewing of the documentary. On the first day entering the office, all staff
received a number of leaflets: a floor plan of the building, the evacuation procedure,
guidelines for work station furnishing and telephone use, and other important instructions.
The other communication tool was a monthly staff newsletter ‘Gasuniek’ and the company
video (four times a year) was used to bring the forthcoming changes to the attention of all
staff. The security unit was allocated in an office room with video equipment in the entrance
hall, where trainees, holiday workers and staff members of suppliers could be briefly
instructed and informed on security and safety in the new building.
2. Eastman - “The broken record technique” method.
Eastman is a large producer of polyester plastics for packaging and supplier of raw
materials for paints, coatings, etc. Eastman has 15,000 employees in 30 countries, of which
on is a few example panies manage with
communication.
1 unie.
N ie, the Dutch nati , moved into its new o
1994, the Security Department had nication. Th
is: all 1000 staff, who are moving from the
one weeken nd safe working conditions in as quic
as possib ab ainees, who visit in th ild
e
Internal com tion developed a plan fo comprised an integrate
o eo and computer informatio essage reached t
a and readable way
d
d
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,300 are in Europe. One of the effective communication means that Eastman uses is
presenter develop h’ messages instead of waiting
r employees to read the intranet (‘pull’). Netpresenter is a news medium which can be
ees using screensavers for personal pictures, Eastman news appears.
nique” or the power of repetition is the best method of internal
nt, efficient, fast and hardly without any load on the network.
structured Communication plan and practical recommendations are given in order to solve
S: The PHILIPS Lighting internal communication report is presented at an individual
HP serves more than one billion customers in more than 170 countries on six continents.
2
intranet. Net ed a technical system to ‘pus
fo
connected to the intranet and utilises push technology to bring our news to every screen.
Instead of employ
“The broken record tech
effective communication. With Netpresenter, messages that require the attention of
employees are now displayed via screensaver. Using ‘push instead of pull’ technology,
employees don’t have to do anything, news is pushed directly to them. When a computer is
not being used for a few minutes, the screensaver starts and the messages are displayed
again. Manager can easily send message with hyperlink to the full article on the intranet by
using Netpresenter. It is sufficie
3. PHILIPS Lighting - Business Unit Consumer Lamps Europe
One of the Business Units in PHILIPS Lighting, BU Consumer Lamps Europe has a problem
concerning the internal communication. They have various communication means available
to communicate with the employees (including outside the Netherlands), however the
managers receive little feedback from the employees. There are various communication
means available and also many information is send out without verifying the effectiveness of
the messages or the communication means itself.
From the PHILIPS Business Excellence Survey results, it shows that the managers need to
coach and encourage employees more in giving feedback. Also, the lower the management
level, the less feedback is given back to the upper management. This can be caused due to
the distance (outside the Netherlands) and culture differences.
A
the internal communication problem. More dialogue sessions and interactive means will be
used in the future, and of course face to face meetings will be organised more often
because they are more personal. Monthly interactive newsletter and discussion board in the
intranet, regular visit by the CEO to the factories, open-door policy, training and workshops
are some of the recommendations.
(P
report)
4. Hewlett-Packard Company (HP), with the slogan “the HP way”.
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heir business success depends on some of these factors:
opportunities
os from senior management;
Regional site visits, allowing employees to ask the CEO questions;
to develop 30-, 60- and 90-
and creating action plans at the
. FedEx Corporation – slogan: “anytime, anywhere”
HP has approximately 150,000 employees worldwide and their revenue in 2006 is US$88.89
billion. HP's mission is to invent technologies and services that drive business value, create
social benefit and improve the lives of customers — with a focus on affecting the greatest
number of people possible.
T
motivated employees;
trust as the basic guidelines to a high performing workplace;
all employees make contribution;
operate the ‘open door policy’ to create a workplace where everyone's voice is
heard;
communication flows across all levels of the company;
good internal communication to keep employees well informed and provide feedback
These are some other HP communication initiatives:
Employee networks, including web discussion forums and newsletters;
Twice-weekly global e-mail alerts to provide employees with company-wide news;
Senior Leaders meetings, providing managers with important updates for their
teams, occurring every six weeks;
Quarterly business performance review vide
Twice yearly “state of the company” broadcasts from the CEO to all employees.
The detailed presentations of the results are made to all executives and customized reports
are given to each group manager. Managers are then required
day action plans for responding to the data. In addition, HP’s Board of Directors, Executive
Council and CEO Mark Hurd personally share in reading employees’ anonymous written
comments. To complete the feedback loop, results and next steps are shared with
employees after senior management assesses the company-wide data and determines
appropriate next steps. Employees can also expect their managers to share work group
data and solicit their participation in identifying key issues
work group level.
5
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34
sophies and approaches to gain employees commitment and
ialogue that are of interest to this project. Such as “the people service profit, techniques
reatment”, which brings to high
lev y employees were an integral part of the decision-making
pro ill provide the highest
pos l
In a su iew sessions, managers hold feedback with their employees to discuss the
sur department. As a group,
the e
action plan to solve issues, this becomes the responsibility of all the employees in the
workgroup. It’s not just the manager trying to resolve the issues, but it’s the employees and
those issues may be. It’s a means of
eng i ncerns about
issu
FedEx is a global shipping, logistics and supply chain management company. With annual
revenues of US$31 ($40) billion, FedEx operates in about 220 countries and territories
around the world and employs more than 260,000 employees and contractors globally.
FedEx is using some philo
d
used in surveying the workforce, and the guaranteed fair t
els of service demanded b
cess, due to his belief that “when people are placed first they w
sib e service, and profits will follow”.
rvey rev
vey findings and identify problems within and outside of their
y d velop formal, written action plans for solving these problems. Once they develop an
the manager working together to resolve whatever
ag ng all of our employees so that they can participate in expressing co
es and at the same time participate in solving any problems that might arise.
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7 Conclusions
"No manager can be effective in his job unless he is able to communicate. It is the most
essential single skill. I hope that managers everywhere will seek to improve their ability,
for it is one that can be learned."
(Sir John Harvey-Jones, former chairman ICI and renowned European 'trouble-shooter’)
People are the most important asset of an organisation, which means the communication
lation with the internal group must be a top priority in the management’s agenda and
ob
ategy. The
elements of the organisational strategy must be constructed in order to compose the
strategy for corporate communication. An organisational strategy includes: vision, mission,
strategy, goal, policy, aim and tactic.
The management of an organisation use different kind of strategies in communicating with
the internal groups to encourage an active involvement, dialogue and increase the sense of
belonging (the “we feeling”). I offer the following recommendations as the answers for the
above question.
These are the potential steps for managers to improve their competencies in
communication:
1. Construct messages with a clear purpose in mind. Managers should avoid covering too
many issues at one time. Focus on one or a few key points.
2. To persuade and inspire people, aim for true intimacy. Approach the communication
openly, honestly, even vulnerably.
3. Do not forget to listen. Every communication should be structured to invite and
encourage feedback.
4. Pay attention to timing. Managers need to be visible and accessible, ready and willing to
answer questions, provide clarifications, and offer support.
re
budget. According to the quotation from Sir John Harvey-Jones, he stated how essential it is
for managers to be able to practise their communication skills in order to perform the j
well.
This brings back to my main question which is:
“How do managers improve their communication skills?”
A corporate communication strategy is linked and is part of the organisational str
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. Managers need to be aware of their body language and actions. People are alert to any
cues as to what is really go Facial expressions, moods, who
the manager has lunch with, and whether the manager is present during organizational
mal
channels. Create an in that handles communication
. Developing managers’ communication competencies in feedback and coaching. For
een (high level) management with the personnel. Also, by providing facilities and
discounts arrangements stimulate employees to be loyal to the job.
w the task with line manager
and this communication approach usually the most effective one.
and commit to them.
The communication channels should be determined, which ones are mandatory and
In addition, management should review the quality and effectiveness of all
separate within organisations. It does not mean that there is no need for an internal
co uch as PHILIPS) is highly recommended to employ an internal
in
5
ing on in the organization.
events will be interpreted by employees.
6. Stay in touch with the grapevine. The grapevine operates more effectively than for
ternal communication department
issues.
7
instance, employee performance review, reward issue and develop future assignments
with them.
8. Organise social activities and provide facilities to employees.
A recreational event or social activities may help reduce the gap and improve the bond
betw
9. Communication via the line manager.
Employees have an opportunity to ask questions and revie
10. Set a calendar plan for internal communication activities.
Communication activities should be plan in advance and set in the yearly organisation’s
agenda, like group meetings, personal performance review, open forum, social drinks.
11. Openness strategies.
Openness is an essential factor in communication. The openness strategies consist of
closed-door, door-ajar, open-door, and influencing strategy. These strategies define the
quantity of the organisation desires to be open or publish its news/issues to its publics.
12. Set standards
which ones are optional. For instance, a mandatory activity is a town-hall meeting holds
every quarter.
the available channels.
Management and communication are two related subjects that are sometimes difficult to
communication department (if necessary) or a corporate communication department. In a
ntrary, big company (s
communication team or department due to a large number of employees in many countries
the world.
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37
an
ma
Su the employees’ participation and create a warm
As it was mentioned before, communication is a two-way process of exchanging messages,
co
message has been understood or not. When the message is unclear, it is reasonable that
munication means and a
dia
Fu managers regarding
, strategies and how to achieve them. Managers
an
Co end for instance, an
to diminish the gap between
(hig
me er
anagers’ communication skills is the ability to listen. By listening,
em
su
rs master communication skills and actually perform
the
oc
No
ma competencies. Although communication is simply like an easy
ing to do, conscious or unconsciously, problems regularly occur in an organisation.
The managers’ role in daily situations is important because they are the ones who interact
d communicate with the employees. In addition, they have to be the experts in
intaining an active and healthy communication relationship between one and another.
bsequently, managers need to stimulate
working atmosphere for people to eagerly come to work.
when the receiver and the sender perceive the same message that means the
mmunication is successful. A feedback or response is required in order to confirm the
both parties perceive differently. Therefore an interactive com
logue meeting are needed to encourage employees’ participants.
rthermore employees need to be communicated to regularly by the
the company’s vision, mission, objectives
d the CEO must show their face and have personal contact to engage people’s loyalty.
mmunication activities must be scheduled ahead in the yearly ag a,
informal meeting, like social drinks or casual Friday capable
her level) management and employees. This way, employees have the opportunity to
et and talk with the managers openly or at least in a less formal atmosphere. Anoth
important point regarding m
ployees will be willing to speak or giving certain response and being open for any
ggestions will bring confidence and feeling appreciated.
As a result, I believe that if the manage
above steps, improvement and active participation (of managers and employees) will
cur in achieving effective communication in an organisation.
matter how small or how big the size of the organisation, managers must learn and
ster the communication
th
Managers are trained to gain excellent communication skills so that a two-way
communication process (or dialogue) occurs and employees become more motivated to do
their job. When employees are motivated, they execute the duty well and enhance a
commitment to the company.
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38
8 Acknowledgements
- Blundel, Richard. “Effective Organisational Communication: Perspectives, principles and
practices” (2nd edition). Prentice Hall, UK 2004.
- Blundel, Richard. “Effective Business Communication: Principles and practice for the
de.” Wolters-
oordhoff BV, the Netherlands 2005.
i_n14730211
http://www.impactfactory.com/gate/effective_communication_skills_training/freegate_1657-
mmunications.htm?iNoC
.info/2004/08/six-types-of-business-blogs.asp
-http://web.cba.neu.edu/~ewertheim/interper/commun.ht
information age.” Prentice Hall, UK 1998.
- Daniels, Tom; Spiker, Barry & Papa, Michael. “Perspectives on Organisational
Communication” (4th edition). Brown & Benchmark Publishers, USA 1997.
- Hargie, Owen & Tourish, Dennis. “Handbook of Communication Audits for Organisations.”
Routledge, UK 2000.
- Herle, Mariet & Rustema, Carin. “Corporate Communication Worldwi
N
- Jay, Ros. “The Seven Deadly Skills of Communicating.” International Thomson Business
Press, UK 1999.
- van Riel, Cees. “Principles of Corporate Communication.” Prentice Hall, UK 1992.
- Vos, Marieta & Schoemaker, Henny. “Accountability of Communication Management.”
LEMMA Publishers, the Netherlands 2004.
- Vos, Marieta & Schoemaker, Henny. “Integrated Communication: Concern, internal and
marketing communication.” LEMMA BV, the Netherlands 1999.
Online articles links:
- http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4422/is_4_22/a
-
2103-14314.html
- http://hodu.com/management-communication.shtml
-http://www.bdc.ca/en/my_project/Projects/articles/hr_internal_co
- http://www.strategicconnections.com/article_BPPart1.htm
http://www.intranetjournal.com/articles/200510/ij_10_26_05a.html
- http://www.managementhelp.org/mrktng/org_cmm.htm
http://www.melcrum.com/cgi-bin/melcrum/eu_content.pl?docurl=topic%20corporate
http://www.hopkins-business-communication-training.com/articles-on-organizational-
communication.html
- http://www.corporateblogging
9 Annexes
S
e
in the organisation
h company,
s the most in the
less than 10%. So it is clear that the internal communication section
n team
any.
In this section, additional information is presented. The graduation project of the PHILIP
Lighting is pr sented as a separate report.
Annex 1. Internal Communication position
According to the result findings from an organisational communication researc
Melcrum, it states that the Corporate Communication department operate
internal communication function (38%), after that is the Human Resources with 19% and
Marketing division with
is under the Corporate Communication department, which needs its ow
management, especially in a big comp
Organisation divisions responsible for Internal Communication
Corporate Communication
38%
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39
Human Resource 19%
Other22%
Marketing9% CEO's office
6%PR6%
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40
Annex 2. Key aspects to motivate managers of communicating effectively.
Annex 3. Effective inter ication starts at the top
Effective internal communication starts at the top: help executives understand the need for
clear, concise communic
A study conducted for the Allen g up in 2003 to identify the key drivers of
effective change management found a strong statistical relationship between CEO and
divisional executive communication and "organizational satisfaction and culture." This
orrelates strongly with employees' perceptions that "major changes appear well planned"
nd "implementation of changes is well handled," as described in CW. CEO and divisional
xecutive communication was found to be far more likely to influence employees'
erceptions that change was well planned and well implemented than, say, immediate
anager or team communication.
ommunication audit results from other organizations reveal some very untidy scores:
10 percent of employees agreed that executives were aware of their concerns.
15 percent agreed that the head office communicated effectively.
19 percent agreed that senior executives were visible.
19 percent agreed that executives sought their views and listened.
21 percent agreed that they were informed of plans and directions.
* 23 percent agreed that executives communicated well.
nal commun
ation
Consultin Gro
c
a
e
p
m
C
*
*
*
*
*
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41
o put these audit findings into perspective, our research found that, on average, 61 percent
range of such "big
r
popular
EO personally about the future of the business (which was precarious at the time) because
ed by the chief pilot (the senior
town hall meetings don't appear to be the answer, although
types of information that involve in the internal
ommunication function, according to H.Koeleman.
T
of employees are satisfied with communication with their immediate manager, and 63
percent understand the expectations of them in their job roles.
It's not as if employees' demands on senior executives are that taxing. Research of what
topics employees wish to hear about from their CEO reveals a limited
picture" topics as:
* The future of the organization.
* Overall corporate strategy.
* Top-line financial results.
* Major changes (e.g., redundancies).
* Feedback from the board of directors (or, in the public sector, government).
* Major stakeholder issues.
* Responses to media attention.
Employees also understand that the CEO and other executives can't visit often. Fo
example, pilots in a 17,000-employee airline said they didn't need to hear from the
C
"he's too busy." But they did expect to be kept fully inform
executive responsible for them).
Curiously, big road shows or
they feature the CEO and/or other executives "live." Typically, 50 to 60 percent of
employees are satisfied with them, but these events correlate only moderately with their
overall satisfaction with communication.
Annex 4. The types of information
Internal groups should aware of the communication circulation happens in the organisation,
like the kinds of information, the content, the sender and receiver of the information. The
next table explains the various
c
Types of information Content of the message Example
1. Task information Information on how to perform How to organise a me a task, involves work
instructions, working method, and a panswe
process information about production.
eting resentation; how to
r the phone.
2. Management information Information on the organisation Quarterlas a whole. company
y results of the ; ways of working.
3
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42
. Human Resources Information on facilities and The types of salary scale use information benefits of the organisation. in the organisation.
4. Motivational information Information that serves to keep employees motivated for the activities in the organisation.
Social event; individual meeting between manager and team member.
5. Project information Information relating to Qutemporary internal projects. projects.
ality projects; environmental
Annex 5. How to motivate employees to work.
g power to the people’ e fond of declaring that 'people are our most important asset'.
e of how to manage and motivate men and women
in Britain - the
oured more in the breach than the observance.
, Hal Rosenbluth, entitled his book The Customer Comes
econd. People-first, however, is evidently rare in British firms. According to International
make the effort to understand what other people
ally think, what they want and what they can contribute; second, it must create
y in the firm, of what management is doing and why.
rtial knowledge. Where that knowledge
rtial to hieve lity, productivity and
study didn't w their
trategic ignorance must exce ag
as beneficial.
Managers can't communicate on't know. Nor will f they
’Employee Motivation: GivinLarge British companies ar
Surely, too, the knowledge and practic
would be especially well developed and widely applied. In fact - and not only
people priority is hon
US purveyor of customer service
S
Survey Research, British employees are less satisfied with their jobs than any other
European workers. In an era of supposed better management of human resources, the
surveyed Britons have grown increasingly unhappy. ISR found that motivation and
commitment 'were even lower than in the confrontational and destructive industrial relations
climate' of the mid-1970s.
Sensitivity to different cultures, corporate and national, is essential if companies want to
reap the benefits of expansion. The basic elements remain the same, however, in any
environment. Management must, first,
re
understanding, shared by everybod
A research by accountants Ernst & Young explored the extent of knowledge about corporate
strategies. Customers, it turned out, knew nothing about them: suppliers knew little: and,
most disturbing of all, middle managers had only pa
was raised from pa full, big gains were ac d in qua
profitability. The investigate employees belo
ed even that of middle man
management level: but
ers - and curing it must be justs
what they d they motivate effectively i
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43
om overwo hat by
ent s r as their
workforces. The subordinates, moreover, thought very little of the quality of their managers
mplained ack of in g.
That places heavy emphasis inte munications. For best
sults, communication starts, not with articulating a vision or values, but with genuine
it preaches, involved every staff member in
iscussing and then signing its value statement. National Westminster Life, a big financial
ent as a recruiting tool - and the draft
ons and events by emphasizing what went well, and use the
xperience as a learning opportunity.
2. Ask staff. "Have I made our vision, mission, and goals clear and understandable?
s with people with whom you are uncomfortable.
9. Set goals each month on ways to accomplish "Managing by Walking Around."
themselves suffer fr rk, stress and insecurity. T was the sad picture painted
an Institute of Managem urvey, which found its 1,300 espondents as gloomy
in general - and co in particular about l
on the need for excellent
formation, as well as trainin
rnal com
re
participation. One consultancy, practising what
d
services start-up, used a draft vision and values docum
was only finalised after the executive team was complete.
20 Ways to Communicate With Your Employees 1. Include affected employees in goal setting.
2. Give frequent and meaningful recognition for a job well done.
3. Interact with employees on an informal basis.
4. Go to staff's work area. Meet them on their own turf.
5. Ask for staff's opinions and listen with an open mind. Try to understand their point of view.
6. Share non-confidential information with staff, and ask for their input and response on
issues.
7. Offset demoralizing acti
e
8. Listen 80% of the time and talk 20%.
9. Ask staff what rumors they have heard, and address them.
10. Get into the "trenches" with staff. Look for opportunities to understand employees' jobs
better.
11. Give information to staff after management meetings.
1
13. Ask staff, "What can I do to help you with your job, and what am I doing that gets in your
way?"
14. Ask staff "What is making our clients/customers the most and/or the least satisfied?"
15. Praise in public and give feedback in private.
16. Find something to like about each staff member with whom you work.
17. Actively make a point of speaking to all employees seen each day.
18. Build bridge
1
20. Occasionally have lunch with staff members. Use this as an opportunity to build trust.
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44
very individual in the internal groups are required to improve their communicative skills
gain knowledge of the procedure in
g reports, and skills to listening as well as
sible, user friendly and up-to-date.
oyees so that everyone has the same desired goals. Of course, the managers have
r
through formal and informal approaches between
e above factors must be kept in mind when measuring, evaluating and organising
communication process between
. Key Principles to Effective Internal Organizational Communications
ports the premise that organizations must
, the organization
ication by having to
g
asic skills in listening, speaking, questioning and sharing feedback. These can developed
Annex 6. Factors that influence the behaviour of the internal communication
1. Organisational structure
The structure of an organisation must be clear, including the name, position, job description,
responsibilities and functions, otherwise business practises will be interrupted.
2. Organisational culture and leadership style
Organisational culture influences the level of openness and dialogue between employees
and managers. Managers, as the leaders are obligated to listen to employees’ voice (ideas)
and always inform company’s objectives and strategies.
3. Communicative skills
E
through training and practising. They need to
group/individual meetings, presentations, makin
giving feedback.
4. Information systems
Information systems in the organisation should be acces
5. Organisation strategy
The management team has to communicate organisational strategies and goals clearly to
the empl
to assist the employees in implementing the plans to achieve the end results.
6. Group and individual behaviou
Internal communication is also influenced
groups and individual behaviour.
All of th
events in order to increase an effective and active internal
the internal groups in an organisation.
Annex 7
1. Unless management comprehends and fully sup
have high degrees of communications (like people needing lots of water)
will remain stilted. Too often, management learns the need for commun
respond to the lack of it.
2. Effective internal communications start with effective skills in communications, includin
b
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45
me from these
kills is conveying that you value hearing from others and their hearing from you.
re effectively.
with some concerted review and practice. Perhaps the most important outco
s
3. Sound meeting management skills go a long way toward ensuring effective
communications, too.
4. A key ingredient to developing effective communications in any organization is each
person taking responsibility to assert when they don't understand a communication or to
suggest when and how someone could communicate mo