ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION AS A STRATEGIC TOOL FOR ENHANCEMENT OF ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE

INTRODUCTION

1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

All human interactions are form of communication. In this business world, nothing can be achieved without effectively communicating with employers, employees, clients, suppliers, and customers. If you look at the most successful business people in the world, you will see people who have mastered the art of communication. Business all over the world today is very challenging. To stay profitable in the highly challenging and competitive global market economy all factors at production (i.e men, machine and materials), should be wisely managed. Among the factors of production, human resource constitutes the biggest challenge because unlike inputs, employee management demands skilful handling of thoughts, feelings and emotions to secure highest productivity. Effective organizational communication plays an important role in this challenge. Communication has crucial impacts or among work groups in that organizational communication is a channel to flow information, resources, and even policies. “Organizational communication can be broadly defined as communication with one another in the context of an organization (Eisenberg & Good all, 2011; Shockley-Zalabak, 2015)” as cited in Eunju Phd (2009). This type of communication, in turn, includes activities of sending and receiving message through various layers of authority, using various message systems, and discussing various topics of interest to the group we belong to or the company we work for. Organizational communication research has mainly been conducted both in the business management field and in the communication field; however, researchers in the public administration field have provided little knowledge about organizational communication and its roles and effects.

(Eunju Phd, 2009).“Communication refers to the process by which information is transmitted and understood between two or more people” (McShane & Von Glinow, 2014). Communication is an integral part of the organizational process as the flow of communication up and down the organizational hierarchy has its effects on efficiency, decision- making and morale of organizations. Thus, effective communication is regarded as the foundation of organizations today (Witherspoon, 2011; Von Krogh e al., 2016). Communication strategies are common in the business world, where they are used as part of a business plan, detailing how to communicate with various groups of people. A single business may have multiple strategies for different categories of people, such as clients, investors, competitors or employees. Some companies even have an internal communication strategy for communicating within the business itself. These strategies are used to determine things like what information to share with the clients or investors, as well as how that information should be presented. Communication strategy articulates, explains and promotes a vision and a set of well-defined goals. It creates a consistent, unified “voice” that links diverse activities and goals in a way that appeals to your partners, or stakeholders. According to the World Bank, 2014, “ultimate goal of communication is to facilitate a change in behaviour to achieve management objectives”. Communication is both a symptom and a cause of organization performance problems. Poorly designed organizations, ineffective processes, bureaucratic systems, unaligned rewards, unclear customer/partner focus, fuzzy visions, values, and purpose, unskilled team leaders and members, cluttered goals and priorities, low trust levels, and weak measurements and feedback loops all cause communication problems. Several studies emphasize that effective communication can enhance organizational outcomes (Garnelt, Marlowe, & Pandey, 2008; Pandey & Garnelt, 2015). Communication influences the perception and opinions about persons, communities, organizations, governments, and even society. As a managerial tool, communication is frequently expected to share information with members, to coordinate activities, to reduce unnecessary managerial burdens and, rules and ultimately to improve organizational performance. (Eunju Phd, 2009).  In all human organization, the art of communication cannot be overemphasized; it is the means by which people interact and work with one another. Just like blood stream in people, communication represents the bloodstream of organization. This means that nothing can be achieved in an organization without effective communication. Communication skills are important in all human endeavours, including business. Even though communication skills are so important to success in the workplace, there are many individuals who find that there is a limit to their communication skills and those they seen to have reached a stumbling block in their progress. They may sometimes struggle to convey their thoughts and ideals in an accurate manner, making it difficult to reach their full potential as a communicator, a manager, and a leader of others.

1. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Many industrial disputes originate due to failure in communication. Hence it is important to stress that in communication, emotions, environment, psychological and technical characteristics of the medium is relevance to enhance the organizational performance. In the view of Okoye (2008), psychologically transmission goes beyond reception of information but understanding and feedback. Most organizational conflict has been traced to breakage in communication as supported by (Lee, 2010; Scott, 2008). According to Chudi –Oji (2013), In spite of the laudable roles of effective communication in improving organizational performances, it is regrettable that some organizations pay lip service to the maintenance of effective communication systems. Change is a gradual and continuous process, giving room for inputs and adjustments. The new innovations, ICT awareness and appraisal methods are good in itself but the medium and level of communication is problematic. Furthermore, the constant delay in accessing information by staff seems to limit their performance, which could create maladministration in coordinating of organizational activities. Therefore, performance of employees in relation with their duties and responsibility seems to question their communication techniques in terms of performance in organizations. Exposure of staff to the innovations in organizations in terms of communication channels have experienced shortcoming which if not adequately addressed may lead to poor performance of the organization in the stream of affairs among other organizations in the country. These problems mentioned above, has posed the following questions that would guide the study and thereby enhance quality of effective communication in organizations.

1.3 AIMS OF THE STUDY

The major purpose of this study is to examine organizational communication as a strategic tool for enhancement of organizational performance. Other general objectives of the study are:

1. To examine the roles played by management in transmitting and managing information to increase the performance of its staff
2. To examine the factors that determine internal communication effectiveness as a premise for organizational effectiveness
3. To examine the effects of organizational communication as a strategic tool for enhancement of organizational performance
4. To examine the communication techniques that enhances performance.
5. To examine the relationship between organizational communication as a strategic tool and enhancement of organizational performance.

6. To elaborate a set of measures meant to improve the quality of managerial communication and interpersonal communication in the analyzed organizations, with the possibility of being used by companies with similar systems or situations.

1. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
2. What are the roles played by management in transmitting and managing information to increase the performance of its staff?
3. What are the factors that determine internal communication effectiveness as a premise for organizational effectiveness?
4. What are the effects of organizational communication as a strategic tool for enhancement of organizational performance?
5. What are the communication techniques that enhance performance?
6. What is the relationship between organizational communication as a strategic tool and enhancement of organizational performance?

6. What are the set of measures meant to improve the quality of managerial communication and interpersonal communication in the analyzed organizations, with the possibility of being used by companies with similar systems or situations?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

Hypothesis 1

H₀: Organizational performance does not depend on effective communication.

H₁: Organizational performance depends on effective communication.

Hypothesis 2

H₀: Organizational environment does not affect communication.

H₁: Organizational environment affect communication.

Hypothesis 3

H₀: A communication difficulty does not affect various management levels in an organization.

H₁: A communication difficulty affects various management levels in an organization.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The research work will be of immense benefit to various forms of organization in Nigeria at the conclusion of this research work both top and low level managers in Nigeria organization would beable to view communication as a means by which people are linked in an organization to achieve their common objective. The outcome of the research would be to increase the use of communication among the staff and managers of organization. This would lead to networking of the organization and high rating in the world chart of organizations. Also staff would be more equipped to deal with new technology and best practices which most organizations have embraced. Finally the relevance of effective communication and new innovations would ensure high performance of both staff and managers of the organization under study. However, the study results will help the management to identify the role of organizational communication. It will also help the management in planning for the development and implementation of effective and efficient communication that will lead to effective employee performance.

1.7    SCOPE OF THE STUDY 

The study is based on organizational communication as a strategic tool for enhancement of organizational performance.

1.8 LIMITATION OF STUDY

Financial constraint– Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint– The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Organizational communication: A process by which activities of a society are collected and coordinated to reach the goals of both individuals and the collective group. It is a subfield of general communications studies and is often a component to effective management in a workplace environment.
Communication:  Communication is the transfer of information from one person to another.

Organizational Performance: The accomplishment of a given task measured against preset known standards of accuracy, completeness, cost, and speed. In a contract, performance is deemed to be the fulfilment of an obligation, in a manner that releases the performer from all liabilities under the contract.