Personal Communication
Discuss about the Management Communication for Networking in Organizations.
Noteworthy, communication is the transfer of information from one person to the other. The transfer could be through various modes, oral, written, verbal or non-verbal .Predominantly, communication can be formal or informal. Grapevine and personal network is a form of informal communication whereas written is more of a formal form of communicating. There are various merits and demerits for all forms of communication. Primarily, written forms of communication can provide records for future reference but at the same time lack confidentiality. The importance of personal networking among managers is being emphasized due to the accruing benefits to the organization with personally networked managers. Despite the danger of losing clients to managers who leave the organization, studies indicate that personal networks are part of the routine for successful managerial performance. Overall, the importance of communication in an organization cannot be underestimated especially by managers.
Primarily, personal forms of communication denote exchange of information through letters, interviews, emails or telephone calls addressed to one recipient only.Primarily,networking is a goal oriented way of association within and outside the organization(Gibson, Buckley & Hardy 2014).The importance of personal networking has been emphasized among organizational circles due to the benefits it accrues to organization through the managers. Through personal networking managers are able to create, cultivate and utilize interpersonal relations for the benefit of the company goals. Networking can be a powerful tool towards achieving organizational goals due to the interpersonal relationship between the involved parties. Due to the personal nature of these form of networking, instant response, feedback, follow-ups and confidentiality can be achieved.in additional, personal networking can be effective in providing wider and newer insights, support and information hence the need for persons in managerial posts to indulge in more personal networking channels for the benefit of the organization(Ibirra& Hunter 2007).
Due to the benefits accruing from personal networking channels such as enhanced professional developments, it is important that managers partake in such networking efforts. Through personal networks, managers get to exercise discretion thus another incentive for engaging in personal networking channels. Through personal networking, new perspectives of running the operations of the organization might come to the attention of the manager thus boosting the organizational management position. In essence personal networks are for the benefits of managers, socially and organizational wise (operational).According to a survey by INSEAD, managers with personal networking channels were considered more successful as compared to those lacking in personal networking (Woodard 2017).Primarily, managers are advised to use their personal knowledge, experience and interests to boost their performance at the organizational level. The performance of networking managers is more successful as compared to the reverse group of management agents. The best performing managers according to the survey had wide personal networks with closely linked contacts thereby boosting their performance at the workplace.
Grapevine
Notably, grapevine is an informal mode of communication. Essentially, grapevine communication can happen between the formal and informal categories of people. Usually grapevine is a horizontal form of communicating information. According to Newstorm and Davis, grapevine is an informal communication that stems from social relations between members of an organization (Vermiers et.al 2015).Predominantly, grapevine communication takes place in four basic patterns. Namely, single, gossip, probability and Gossip chains. The existence of grapevine channels of communicating have some advantages for the company thus the need for managers to encourage the use of grapevine information channels. Predominantly, grapevine information effectiveness lies on the fact that there is transfer of information within the organization without the protocol and company rules thus making the reception of the information more welcome to employees than formal means of communication (Pandey, Pandey &Dutte, 2016).
Also, managers could benefits from the faster pace within which grapevine oriented information circulates. Grapevine can be time saving due to the informal and speedy nature of such conversations. In addition, through grapevine channels, managers are able to informally learn of their employees grievances which is key to the performance of the company (Byakutage et.al 2016).Usually, disgruntled employees are likely to underperform on their mandate thus the need for the >management to understand employee grievance and sort them out. However, formal communication channels are unable to honestly catch up on employee grievance due to the formality of the exercise and fear from employees. Further, grapevine channels can boost organization efficiency due to the fact that employees are likely to converse openly, make suggestions, complaints and compliments which might improve the company performance(Otike 2011).
However, the high likelihood of message distortion can make grapevine information ineffective for managerial objectives (Pandey, Pandey &Dutte 2016).Also, the fact that there is no formal control over what information passes through grapevine channels make it bad for managers (Aschale 2016).Typically, lack of control of the transfer of information can be detrimental to managerial decisions and efforts thus the need to avoid circulation of formal information among such an informal channel.
Owing to the various benefits of written communication, managers opt to adapt written communications modes. Noteworthy, written form of communicating imply any form of communication that involves the use of written words (Sharma 2018).Predominantly, written documents carry legal and authoritative weight behind them due to the fact that it offers a record or documentation of events or decisions (Rasel 201).Due to the sensitive nature of the managerial post, it is important that most activities of the organization be documented as part of the record and also evidence in terms of contention. Usually, written evidence is more persuasive in nature. The fact that written communication ways provide a permanent recollection of events, it is important for managers to use it so as to aid them in the accountability and referral purposes in the conduct of managerial duties. Also, written documents are universally accepted as a formal way of communicating among business partners thus the need for managers to embrace written communication forms due to its universal acceptability (Mohawed&Kabiri 2011).).Moreover,written communication is concise and precise in the sense that there is no mistaking the meaning of what was documented (Mohawed&Kabiri 2011).
Written Communication
Subsequently, this can be advantageous for managers in the sense that there are able to concisely and precisely communicate instructions to their employees and keep records of their decisions and actions for proper action and reference thus making the conduct of managerial duties lighter.Further, written documents are able to contain diagrams, graphs, charts which can be very vital in explaining company performances and other explanations. Unlike oral conversations, written conversation provides boosts understanding due to the ability to view figures, charts and diagrams. Most written forms of communication are viewed as more credible as compared to oral communication.The importance of written form of documentation is that it is more valid as compared to oral conversations thus the need for managers to use written over oral forms of communication ideas, instructions and contractual agreements. For organizational purposes, documentation is a preferred way of doing business.
Wheareas written communication forms might be effective in record keeping and universal acceptability, it has various setbacks which managers ought to be conversant with in order to avoid the setbacks. The fact that writing materials are costly, makes it impractical and expensive for all circulation of information especially in organizations with various global branches. It is important that managers chose communication ways that are affordable and convenient for the company. Moreover, due to the written nature of written forms of communication, it might be considered time consuming as compared to oral communication whose feedback is instant thus the need for managers to choose the best form of communicating based on the urgency of the feedback required (Rolles 2017).The convenience of written communication is based on the level of urgency. For oral communication, instant feedback is instant unlike in writing forms of communicating.
Particularly, there are various forms of written communication such as letters, memorandums, proposals, and reports among other business documents. Additionally, written communication lacks the confidentiality .The fact that some management functions require secrecy doesn’t leave much choice for sole written communication (Sharma 2018).Also, due to the fact that written communication requires skill and knowledge might compromise the use of written communication for illiterate persons or those hindered by language challenges. The effectiveness of written communication depends on the understanding level of what is written. The effectiveness of written communication can be barred by language barriers thus the need for managers to use the appropriate medium of communication in cases that might require translation due to language and other human challenges for effective organizational communication for the realization of organizational goals.
Conclusion
Generally, communication plays an important role in the life of an organization and managers. Due to the nature of their work, managers have to choose the appropriate mode of communication to avoid possible conflicts. Undoubtedly, each of the discussed modes of communication have their merits and demerits thus the need for proper evaluation based on the needs of the organization It is up to the managers to establish what mode of communication best suits the needs of the organization based on the circumstances of the nature of information being passes along. Depending on the nature of the information (confidentiality), urgency, need for feedback among other factors, managers should be able to discern the appropriate communication mode to fulfill the organizational objectives. In addition to formal ways of communication, informal communication has played an equally vital role in communication of ideas, insights and grievances in the organizational context. However, there is need for control whilst dealing with informal communication modes by managers.
Reference List
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