COMMUNICATION SKILLS AND JOB PERFORMANCE AMONG STAFF OF NTA, UYO
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
The human communication system is that in which the interdependent participants are engaged in information dissemination, reception and processing and meaning exchange in order to relate with others and adapt to the environment. Through communication, active participants create, acquire, transform, relate, reorder and make use of information in ways that enable them to achieve their goals (Wilson, 2006: p38). In most communication situations , a source transmits a message to a receiver(s) with the conscious intent to affect the latter’s behaviours. Therefore, workers need to communicate effectively through the use of appropriate communication skills.
Communication skill is seen as the competence with which one speaker or writer is able to convey information to another effectively and efficiently (Daramola, 2003:p19). It may also refer to rhetoric; the ability of a speaker to deliver a message. A person is expected to commit to breaking down the barriers that exist in each of the stages of the communication process.
Martinez (2010) posits that seven stages of communication exist. This begins with the sender who knows what to communicate. The second stage is the encoding process where the information is encoded into a form that can be decoded by the receiver. The ability to discard any confusing information is imperative in this stage.
The third stage is the channel. It is the way the message is conveyed. This can be face to face, verbal, non-verbal, telephone calls, e-mails, or text messaging. The fourth stage is the decoding stage. It is where the receiver who takes the fifth stage in the communication process makes meaning out of the information received.
The receiver further responds to the message received which is the feedback stage. In the final stage the context in which the feedback is presented completes the stages of the communication process.
Human communication strives to establish commonness between interlocutors under various social, political and economic structures and conditions. This is achieved through the employment of the expressive and receptive skills of communication. Expressive communication is the process of communication in which messages are presented orally or written by an individual while the receptive communication is the ability of a person to listen to or read and assimilate information. It also includes the ability to store in the memory and remember the information received. The quality of communication is not only expressing views in oral or written forms, it is about the views being understood (Carlson, 2007: p13).Thereby producing an acceptable response.
Communication has become an institutionalized integration of knowledge .This is possible because it begins from the sphere of intrapersonal, through a group and then mass communication (Udom, 2010: p9). The purpose of communication is to get messages across to others clearly and unambiguously. This involves efforts from the sender of the message to the receiver. In the process, it could be fraught with errors. When that happens, messages are often misinterpreted. This could cause confusion, hence the need for an effective communication. Ozomekuri(2007) defines Communication as the process of sharing meanings between the source of the message and the individual or group of individuals.
Gamble (2010) further states that communication is a deliberate or accidental transfer of meaning. As a thread linking the earliest memory of man to the noblest aspirations through constant striving for a better life, communication maintains and animates life. Man owes his success for improving, developing and extending his natural gift to influence himself and society (UNESCO, 1981).
The human communication system serves a number of basic functions; ranging from physiological, safety, belongingness to esteem needs satiation. These functions are carried out through the use of sight (visual communication), touch (tactile communication), smell (olfactory communication) taste (gustatory communication), hearing (auditory/vocal communication) and motion (kinesics).
Communication reduces uncertainty in a vast and challenging world and it is the engine that powers every human activity. Through it, man establishes relationship with himself and things or people in his environment (Akpan, 1987). Thus, it can be a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs or behaviour. Wilson (1997: p.18) posits that through communication man exchanges symbols, establishes relationships, banishes fear and blasts off barriers to oneness and understanding.
The elements of selectivity and interpretation influence the process of information reception among humans which is largely governed by the rules of selectivity, exposure, attention, perception and retention.
The business dictionary defines communication skill as the ability to convey information to another person effectively and efficiently either through verbal, non- verbal or written communication.
Job performance of employees is an important issue for any organization. It refers to whether an employee does his job well or not. Job performance consists of behaviours that employees put up in their jobs that are relevant to the goals of the organization. Thus, skilled employees will show higher performance in their job. Taking into account the increasing competition, fast- paced technology change, globalization and other factors, business organizations are seeking to understand how one of the truly competitive resources can be managed for competitive advantage for achieving organizational superior performance.
The role and importance of communication skill can be seen when good quality communication occurs that prevents misunderstanding, misconduct, miscommunication and conflict.it produces productive work and performance which ultimately impacts the company or organization. It helps shape our personal, social, work and professional relationships.
There are instances where hesitant, garbled or indirect language could create confusion and frustration, keeping the intended message from getting through .Thus the power of well-chosen words, campaigns, and other forms of communication skills can help employees perform better and remain satisfied at work.
Furthermore the importance of communication skills in an organization is that it allows members of staff to express their views and opinion in the language they can understand in order to share meaning that will produce the desired results. If everyone in an organization shares a solid understanding not only of goals but expected time frames to complete tasks, it is possible to reduce costs and run other aspects of the job.
According to Campbell (1990), there are some key features of job performance in an organization that should be considered. These are:
Training: This is the acquisition of skills and knowledge as a consequence of teaching work related competencies. It has specific aims such as improving employees’ capability and performance.
Goal relevance: Performance must be directed toward organizational goals that are relevant to the job or role. Therefore performance does not include activities where effort is expended toward achieving peripheral goals.
Utility: This is defined as the value of a particular level of performance effectiveness or productivity. Utilities of performance, effectiveness and productivity are value judgements.
Interpersonal skills: These are also predictors of job performance. As the work place moves towards teamwork and service oriented jobs, evaluating interpersonal skills becomes very important. Performance however needs to be under the individual’s control regardless of whether the performance of interest is mental or behavioural.
1.1.1 An Overview of The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Uyo.
The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Uyo came into existence in 1988, following the creation of Akwa Ibom State, in pursuance of the policy of locating one NTA station in every state capital.
It commenced transmission in October, 1992 with the General Manager as Ahmadu Aruwa and 19 members of staff seconded from Calabar. The supervisor was Mr. Eyoh Umoh who was assisted by a senior Administrative officer deployed from NTA Lagos. In 1998 the station relocated to its permanent site, Aka Etinan Road, from its temporary office 7, Kevin Street, Uyo.
The present staff strength is ninety-three due to transfers, retirement and government policies restricting staff recruitment. The administrative department has 18 workers, finance department has 11 workers, engineering department has 15 workers, marketing department has 10 workers, programmes department has 24 workers and news department has 15workers. The total number of staff is 93 as at January 2015.
The objectives of NTA, Uyo are as follows:
– To Educate, Inform and Entertain
The vision and mission statement are conceptually a partial outward demonstration of the values currently existing in the work place.
The vision statement is to promote the objective and focus of the authorities to provide patterns on how employees should behave and build the organization’s image.
The mission statements are:
– To be a world class Television Network.
– To provide excellent service and project the true African perspective.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Communication in an organization involves the staff and management in the work place. Lack of effective communication can result in misunderstanding and building emotional barriers which tend to create an unfriendly working atmosphere. Usually, problems encountered in organizations which often result in poor job performance could be due to ineffective communication which is as a result of distortion of information or messages.
Past studies have revealed strong linkage between employees’ performance and communication skills. Hence without a specific or intense focus on skills of communication, organizational performance could be hindered. A survey on the demands in new graduate business hires revealed that over 600 employers want people who can speak well, write well, listen to others, present well, sell ideas to others and negotiate with others in the course of running a business. Of five major skills, employers consider most important when hiring, communication skills top list followed by teamwork, technical leadership and managerial skill.
Since communication skill is an important component in the success of every organization; most institutions of learning and life generally owe their success to their organizational capacity for improving, developing and extending their natural gift to influence themselves and the society.
In the days before the establishment of Human Resources Departments, feedback on employee performance was highly informal, delayed or non-existent. Today`s management scholars suggests that performance management is an on -going conversation that every manager ought to have with employees, during which strategies are reinforced, objectives reviewed, results revealed, and gaps are examined (Bambacas and Patrickson 2009:p35).
In spite of the increasing importance placed on communication skills individuals continue to struggle unable to communicate their thoughts and ideas effectively which tends to influence their performance at work. Failure to perform to standard can mean many things other than employee incompetence; it could be symptomatic of inadequate communication tools or equipment to carry out important tasks in the organization among others. Quite often it is the result of inadequate employee communication and development training. The question then arises: How do communication skills influence job performance among members of staff of NTA, Uyo?
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The set objectives of this study are to:
- Determine the communication skills which the members of staff of NTA, Uyo possess;
- Determine the type of communication skills used by members of staff of NTA, Uyo in their daily assignment;
- Ascertain the relative frequency of the use of communication skills;
- Find out the challenges involved in the use of certain communication skills;
- Assess the impact of communication skills on job performance of members of staff of NTA, Uyo;
1.4 Research Questions
This study sought to find answers to the following research questions:
- What communication skills do members of staff of NTA, Uyo, possess?
- What type of communication skills are used among members of staff of NTA, Uyo, in their daily assignments?
- How often do members of staff of NTA, Uyo, use certain communication skills in their job performance?
- What challenges confront members of staff of NTA, Uyo in the use of certain communication skills?
- What is the impact of communication skills on job performance of members of staff of NTA, Uyo?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The study tested the following hypotheses:
H1: Communication skills have a significant positive influence on job performance of members of staff of NTA, Uyo.
H2: Frequency in the use of communication skills will reduce communication barriers among staff in NTA, Uyo.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The significance of this study could be considered in different ways.
The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Uyo, as a public enterprise not only seeks to satisfy the public but also to make profit. It is therefore hoped that this study will provide a new orientation in employees and management relationship through the use of communication.
Furthermore, it is hoped that the management of NTA, Uyo will find this study an impetus for change in certain departments seeing the need for consistent assessment of her employees and their job performance more frequently through communication audit.
Finally, this study hopes to add to knowledge in the area of communication for all organizations who desire better productivity and proficiency in the output of their employees.
1.7 Limitation of the Study
A work of this nature would probably here benefitted from an experimental design in which case it would have been possible to determine more accurately the impact of communication skills on job performance. However, that would also have created a somewhat unnatural work environment .It was therefore thought right to gauge the contribution of communication skills to job performance in a normal setting, using self- report since work out -put was apparent.
1.8 Delimitation of the Study
This study restricted itself to assessing all the members of staff under the employ of NTA, Uyo, spread into six (6) different departments which are, administrative, finance, engineering, marketing programmes and news.
It also restricted itself to investigating relevant communication skills applicable to the staff of NTA, Uyo which were verbal, non-verbal and written communication.
1.9 Operational Definition of Terms
The following terms are defined in the context of this study as follows:
Assessment: An appraisal or evaluation of work done.
Communication Skills: This refers to the communication activity of effectively conveying information through speech, writing or non-verbal communication.
Employees: These are members of staff of NTA, Uyo.
Management: These are the leaders or supervisors in the organization.
Organization: This is an establishment that employs workers into various departments to provide products and services to its customers.
Information: The systematic impartation of knowledge, ideas, thoughts expectations etc.
Job Performance: This is the output in terms of quantity and quality expected from each employee.
Motivation: This is a reward system for a job well done .It is also seen as an incentive to appreciate or encourage workers in their job performance
Productivity: This is the measure of output being given by the employee to the organization through the use of in-put received.
Skills: This is expertise or dexterity in doing a particular task.
Training: This is any job related instructional programme designed to improve knowledge, skills, and or attitudes of organizational members.
