Communication Channels
Communication channels
A large number of cases point out that using communication channels properly would greatly improve the organization in some aspects. Without understanding communication channels, on the opposite, would have bad effects on the organization. It is not exaggerate to say that communication channels play a significant role in management and good managers will never miss them. In this essay, I will generally talk about three different communication channels which are formal channel, informal channel and grapevine activity and then analyze each of them in details in order to make good comparison. By doing so, the differences among them are shown clearly. Some examples will be given to illustrate how important a good manager who understands communication channels and what benefit he would bring to the organization.
Communication channels can be classified into three parts which are formal channel, informal channel and grapevine activity. A formal communication channel identifies individuals who are the official sources of information and the information that is their special concern(Johnson, Donohue&Atkin,1994). Since relationships are determined by one 's role, structure is viewed by managers as a static entity which conforms to a top down configuration (Monge & Eisenberg, 1987). This point of view emphasizes the configurations resulting from formal authority relationships represented in the organizational hierarchy. An official meeting which held by organization is an exmaple of formal channel. On contrast, an informal communication channel is designed for varieties of needs such as social ones and it is based on the social contact as well as the personal affection of administrative staff. This approach maintains a sense of personal integrity and team cohesiveness. Apart from the above two channels, grapevine activity is also counted. However, grapevine activity is a major medium of informal channel. As the name suggests, the
A large number of cases point out that using communication channels properly would greatly improve the organization in some aspects. Without understanding communication channels, on the opposite, would have bad effects on the organization. It is not exaggerate to say that communication channels play a significant role in management and good managers will never miss them. In this essay, I will generally talk about three different communication channels which are formal channel, informal channel and grapevine activity and then analyze each of them in details in order to make good comparison. By doing so, the differences among them are shown clearly. Some examples will be given to illustrate how important a good manager who understands communication channels and what benefit he would bring to the organization.
Communication channels can be classified into three parts which are formal channel, informal channel and grapevine activity. A formal communication channel identifies individuals who are the official sources of information and the information that is their special concern(Johnson, Donohue&Atkin,1994). Since relationships are determined by one 's role, structure is viewed by managers as a static entity which conforms to a top down configuration (Monge & Eisenberg, 1987). This point of view emphasizes the configurations resulting from formal authority relationships represented in the organizational hierarchy. An official meeting which held by organization is an exmaple of formal channel. On contrast, an informal communication channel is designed for varieties of needs such as social ones and it is based on the social contact as well as the personal affection of administrative staff. This approach maintains a sense of personal integrity and team cohesiveness. Apart from the above two channels, grapevine activity is also counted. However, grapevine activity is a major medium of informal channel. As the name suggests, the
References: Crampton,SM,Hodge,JW&Mishra,J1998, ’The informal communication network: factors influencing grapevine activity’, Public Personnel Management, viewed 11 April, 2010,< http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=5001405428>. He, LH2001,‘Brief Comments on Informal communication’, Journal of Changsha university, Vol.15, No.1, pp.42-43. Johnson, JD,Donohue,WA,Atkin,CK&Johnson,S1994,’Difference between formal and informal communication channels’, Journal of Business Communication, Vol.31,No.1, pp.239-241. Weedman,J1992, ‘Informal and Formal Communication Channels in Boundary - spanning communication’, Journal of American society for Information science, Vol.4,No.1,pp.257-267. Zhao,XL2009,’Improve communication channels and construct good environment for corporate development’, Journal of BPMTI, Vol.5,pp.67-72.