Page 267 - DMGT402_MANAGEMENT_PRACTICES_AND_ORGANIZATIONAL_BEHAVIOUR

Management Practices and Organisational Behaviour

Notes find it extremely difficult to influence others. Whenever groups of people interact, communication
takes place. Communication is the exchange of information using a shared set of symbols. It is
the process that links group members and enables them to coordinate their activities. Therefore,
when managers foster effective communication, they strengthen the connections between
employees and build cooperation.
Leadership is a key process in any organisation. Coming to business enterprises, people working
there need leaders who could be instrumental in guiding the efforts of groups of workers to
achieve the goals of both individuals and the organisation. Leadership is a process of influence
on a group. Leadership is the ability of a manager to induce subordinates to work with confidence
and zeal.

13.1 Significance of Communication

Communication is an indispensable activity in all organisations. No organisation can think of
its existence without effective communication. That is why Chester Bernard once remarked,
“the first executive function is to develop and maintain a system of communication”. An
organisation’s very survival depends on its employees’ ability to communicate with one another
and with the members of its environment. The free flow of ideas and information is an essential
ingredient in the drive for quality and continuous improvement. The organisation relies on
communications to learn what its customers want, to foster cooperation among its employees,
and to identify and adapt to changes in the environment. An effective communication system is
essential to pass messages, ideas and information for explaining objectives and plans, controlling
performance and taking corrective action.
The importance of communication in management can be judged from the following:
1. Gaining acceptance of policies, winning cooperation of others, getting instructions and
ideas clearly understood and bringing about the desired changes in performance are
dependent upon effective communication.

2. Communication helps the management in arriving at vital decisions. In its absence, it
may not be possible for the top-level management to come in closer contact with each
other and discuss the important problems pertaining to the organisation.

3. Constant communication with personnel helps the management to remain informed about
their problems, difficulties and grievances. Appropriate steps can be taken in time to
remove the worker’s difficulties. Conflicts often arise because of communication gaps.
They can be averted by setting up a regular arrangement of keeping contact with the
workers through communication media.
4. Communication is quite essential for coordination, which is the essence of effective
management. It brings about mutual understanding between the personnel at all levels
and fosters the spirit of cooperation. In the words of Mary Crushing Niles, “Good
communications are essential to coordination. They are necessary upward, downward
and sideways, through all the levels of authority and advise for the transmission,
interpretation and adoption of policies, for the sharing of knowledge and information,
and for the more subtle needs of good morale and mutual understanding”.
5. Greater, better and cheaper production are the aims of all managers. In today’s
organisations, the information passes through a variety of filters and there is always a
chance for misinterpretation. An effective system of communication can play a vital role
in avoiding this illusion. The employees should be told clearly what exactly to do and the
way in which an instruction is to be carried out. In this process, certain directions are to be
given, certain feelings must be expressed and a certain amount of interpersonal perceptions

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