Communication Management

While working with a retail store recently, I came across a challenging problem : the problem of communication gap between the staff members. Communication between the various departments as well as between the members of same department is very crucial in the successful performance of any organization. There was a lack of co-ordination between the staff members, thereby, leading to an in-efficient performance. Based on my experience and observations made thereby, I decided to perform a study on the communication process so as to present the same before the staff members ,thereby, making them realize the value of the communication process

In most cases , a lack of communication is the root cause of many problems in an organization. Many efforts and initiatives are rendered useless in the absence of proper communication. In my case, it was a lack of proper understanding of concepts which, as a result, failed to materialize. So, I set up an objective to make people realize my concepts through a proper means of communication. So it was required to motivate the staff of all departments about the communication process that leads to an understanding of inter departmental concepts and objectives and ,thereby, leading to a successful realization of the common organizational goals. So, here follows my study that I used for my presentation on communication.

I started with the definition of communication. It may be defined in various ways : a meaningful interaction, information sharing, a linking force, understanding each other etc. After all, it's a fundamental requisite of life. It's a two way process . It starts with a communicator who ideates, encodes and transmits a message ,which is then received by a communicatee who responds to it ,thereby , resulting in a desired action. The process of communication includes the following:-

1. Communicator
2. Communicatee
3. Message
4. Medium

Thus, for an effective communication to take place we have to consider all of the above components of communication. Here, an adequate choice of medium is very important to convey the message in a way that has the desired impact.

There are several barriers to communication. These barriers result in distortions and misunderstandings ,thereby, leading to various problems. Some of these barriers may be listed as follows :-

1. Physical barriers e.g. noise, time and distance.
2. Semantic barriers e.g. wrong interpretation of words
3. Inadequate medium of communication
4. Psychological barriers e.g. ego, attitudes, beliefs etc.
5. Lack of information

Presence of one or more of the above factors leads to a lack of communication , which further results in the following:-

1. Information gap
2. Alienation
3. Relationship problems
4. Misunderstandings
5. Crisis situations
6. Organizational conflicts
7. In-efficient performance
8. Disintegration
9. Lack of co-ordination

So , we can say that a lack of communication is the root cause of many organizational problems. For example, while inspecting the retail store, I came to know that most of the floor staff was unaware of the reason and terminology behind the concepts that need to be implemented. Hence, there was an improper implementation of the plans. Why? Just for the simple reason that the concepts were not properly communicated to the ground level staff. As a result, there was a lack of awareness and motivation among them with respect to the implementation of ideas.

Thus , we need to ensure proper communication at different levels ,without which all our efforts go in vain. Here are a few principles that we can keep in mind so as to ensure an effective communication :-

1. Communication is a two way process
2. Decide on what to communicate and why
3. Ensure a proper time and place
4. Be clear about the medium and the language used
5. Avoid irrelevant communication
6. Remember the various barriers to communication ,as stated above

Based on the above study , I made a presentation before the staff members at different levels. This was followed by workshops on communication, whereby, the above mentioned points were practically illustrated in real life situations. Thus, I met my objective to make the staff realize the importance of communication and , thereby, motivating them for an effective communication process.