UNIT IV
Communication and Co-ordination
Coordination is the function of management which ensures that different departments and groups work in sync. Therefore, there is unity of action among the employees, groups, and departments.
It also brings harmony in carrying out the different tasks and activities to achieve the organization’s objectives efficiently. Coordination is an important aspect of any group effort. When an individual is working, there is no need for coordination.
Therefore, we can say that the coordination function is an orderly arrangement of efforts providing unity of action in pursuance of a common goal. In an organization, all the departments must operate a part of a cohesive unit to optimize performance.
Coordination implies synchronization of various efforts of different departments to reduce conflict. Multiple departments usually perform the work for which an organization exists.
Therefore, synchronization between them is essential. Lacking coordination, departments might work in different directions or at different timings, creating chaos.
Features of coordination
Coordination is the integration, unification, synchronization of the efforts of the departments to provide unity of action for pursuing common goals. A force that binds all the other functions of management.
The management of an organization endeavours to achieve optimum coordination through its basic functions of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling.
Therefore, coordination is not a separate function of management because management is successful only if it can achieve harmony between different employees and departments. Here are some important features of coordination:
Limitations of Coordination-
2. Loss of time: As a result of the previous disadvantage, the need for excessive data classification can cause too much useful and valuable time to be consumed.
3. Positional problem: If we have a positional problem in one of the departments, because we have personnel that should not be there, communication could cause a failure that can lead to an objective of the organization cannot be met.
4. Lack of understanding: If there is a lack of understanding among employees, this communication may not be successful.
5. Procedure problem: Sometimes communication is interrupted by a procedural problem.
6. Over-specialization: There may be a problem of specialization when organizations do not have uniformity within departments, causing communication difficulties. For example with the procedures or the vocabulary used by the different departments. When this happens, organizations have difficulties to function correctly without problems.
7. Lack of motivation: communication often fails simply because the members of the organization are not willing to make the extra effort that is required. It may require contacting people in other units of the company and the channels and rules of interaction may not be entirely clear. Sometimes we do not know these people and the obligation to communicate with them can make us feel uncomfortable or take too long.
8. Rivalry: rivalry within organizations with communication occurs, for example, when different levels of an organization do not cooperate with each other.
9. Ignore vertical communication: In communication, employees of the same level contact or exchange information with each other. But in most cases they do not inform their superiors in hierarchy, breaking or ignoring vertical communication, which is also necessary.
10. Low productivity: communication often fails simply because the members of the organization are not willing to make the extra effort required and waste useful and valuable time from their superiors, which leads to low productivity.
Key Takeaways-
Nature:
Communications is fundamental to the existence and survival of humans as well as to an organization. It is a process of creating and sharing ideas, information, views, facts, feelings, etc. among the people to reach a common understanding. It is the key to the directing function of management.
The word communication has been derived from the Greek word ‘communis’ which means ‘common’. Thus, it means sharing of ideas in common.
According to Louis A. Allen, “Communication is the sum of all the things one person does when he wants to create understanding in the mind of another. It is a bridge of meaning. It involves a systematic and continuous process of telling, listening and understanding.”
The American Management Association defines communication as, “any behavior that results in the exchange of meaning.”
Koontz and O’Donnell are of the opinion that, “Communication is a way that one organization member shares meaning and understanding with another.”
Thus, communication refers to the whole process of man’s life in relation to the group and includes exchange of information, a system of communicating and a process by which meanings are exchanged among human beings.
Process:
The communication process follows the steps given below:
2. Message: It is the information that is generated by the sender and is then intended to be communicated further.
3. Encoding: The message generated by the sender is encoded symbolically in the form of words, pictures, gestures, etc. before it is being conveyed.
4. Media: It is the manner in which the encoded message is transmitted. The message may be transmitted orally or in writing. The medium of communication includes telephone, internet, post, fax, e-mail, etc. The choice of medium is decided by the sender.
5. Decoding: It is the process of converting the symbols encoded by the sender.
6. Receiver: The person who is last in the chain of communication process is the receiver.
7. Feedback: Once the receiver confirms to the sender that he has received the message and understood it, the process of communication is complete.
Network and barriers
Networks in Communication:
Following are the most common networks in various organizations:
Vertical Network:
This is a kind of a formal network. So consequently it is suitable for communications between different levels of employees. For example a higher ranking manager and a lower-ranking official.
This network thus enables two-way communication wherein immediate feedback is a common practice. This is a direct link between the employees and their subordinates and thus the chance of miscommunication is very low.
Circuit Network:
In this type of network, two people or nodes will communicate with each other continuously. One of the nodes will produce messages and the other a feedback to the messages. The communication is thus two people communicating with each other, sending messages and feedbacks and thus forming a loop or a circuit.
This circuit or loop is what we call the circuit network. Usually, the two people that are interacting via this form of networks are of the same hierarchical level. This is different from the Vertical Network where the feedback and the messages are two-way communication.
Chain Network:
A company or the organization is like a platoon. It has its leader at the front and the troop following right behind. For communications that are for the more than two nodes or more than two levels of employees, we can employ this method of communication.
Here the network traces a chain of command. This may start with a senior or a high ranking employee or a manager, who hands it over to the next level and so on. For example, the communication starts from a C E O and trickles down to the employees of a lower level.
The C E O may pass the information on to the managers who will pass it to the lower levels without alteration. Notice that the message which generates at the higher level has to trickle down to the lowest level without any alteration.
Since in this communication, a large number of nodes or repetition points may be involved, there is a great chance of error and miscommunication.
In addition to this, the chain network is very time consuming and often results in messages that are not understood by at least some people in the chain.
Any parameter that limits the purpose or channel of communication between the transmitter and the receiver is a barrier to communication. A communication barrier may limit or reduce the ease at which we communicate and hence the name barrier. Although the barriers to effective communication may be different for different situations, the following are some of the main barriers:
Barriers To Effective Communication:
The process of communication has multiple barriers. The intended communique will often be disturbed and distorted leading to a condition of misunderstanding and failure of communication. The Barriers to effective communication could be of many types like linguistic, psychological, emotional, physical, and cultural etc. We will see all of these types in detail below.
Linguistic Barriers:
The language barrier is one of the main barriers that limit effective communication. Language is the most commonly employed tool of communication. The fact that each major region has its own language is one of the Barriers to effective communication. Sometimes even a thick dialect may render the communication ineffective.
As per some estimates, the dialects of every two regions changes within a few kilometers. Even in the same workplace, different employees will have different linguistic skills. As a result, the communication channels that span across the organization would be affected by this.
Thus keeping this barrier in mind, different considerations have to be made for different employees. Some of them are very proficient in a certain language and others will be ok with these languages.
Psychological Barriers:
There are various mental and psychological issues that may be barriers to effective communication. Some people have stage fear, speech disorders, phobia, depression etc. All of these conditions are very difficult to manage sometimes and will most certainly limit the ease of communication.
Emotional Barriers:
The emotional IQ of a person determines the ease and comfort with which they can communicate. A person who is emotionally mature will be able to communicate effectively. On the other hand, people who let their emotions take over will face certain difficulties.
A perfect mixture of emotions and facts is necessary for effective communication. Emotions like anger, frustration, humour, can blur the decision-making capacities of a person and thus limit the effectiveness of their communication.
Physical Barriers to Communication:
They are the most obvious barriers to effective communication. These barriers are mostly easily removable in principle at least. They include barriers like noise, closed doors, faulty equipment used for communication, closed cabins, etc. Sometimes, in a large office, the physical separation between various employees combined with faulty equipment may result in severe barriers to effective communication.
Cultural Barriers of Communication:
As the world is getting more and more globalized, any large office may have people from several parts of the world. Different cultures have a different meaning for several basic values of society. Dressing, Religions or lack of them, food, drinks, pets, and the general behaviour will change drastically from one culture to another.
Hence it is a must that we must take these different cultures into account while communication. This is what we call being culturally appropriate. In many multinational companies, special courses are offered at the orientation stages that let people know about other cultures and how to be courteous and tolerant of others.
Organisational Structure Barriers:
As we saw there are many methods of communication at an organizational level. Each of these methods has its own problems and constraints that may become barriers to effective communication. Most of these barriers arise because of misinformation or lack of appropriate transparency available to the employees.
Attitude Barriers:
Certain people like to be left alone. They are the introverts or just people who are not very social. Others like to be social or sometimes extra clingy! Both these cases could become a barrier to communication. Some people have attitude issues, like huge ego and inconsiderate behaviours.
These employees can cause severe strains in the communication channels that they are present in. Certain personality traits like shyness, anger, social anxiety may be removable through courses and proper training. However, problems like egocentric behaviour and selfishness may not be correctable.
Perception Barriers:
Different people perceive the same things differently. This is a fact which we must consider during the communication process. Knowledge of the perception levels of the audience is crucial to effective communication. All the messages or communique must be easy and clear. There shouldn’t be any room for a diversified interpretational set.
Physiological Barriers:
Certain disorders or diseases or other limitations could also prevent effective communication between the various channels of an organization. The shrillness of voice, dyslexia, etc are some examples of physiological barriers to effective communication. However, these are not crucial because they can easily be compensated and removed.
Technological Barriers & Socio-religious Barriers:
Other barriers include the technological barriers. The technology is developing fast and as a result, it becomes difficult to keep up with the newest developments. Hence sometimes the technological advance may become a barrier. In addition to this, the cost of technology is sometimes very high.
Most of the organizations will not be able to afford a decent tech for the purpose of communication. Hence, this becomes a very crucial barrier. Other barriers are socio-religious barriers. In a patriarchal society, a woman or a transgender may face many difficulties and barriers while communicating.
Effective communication is about more than just exchanging information. It’s about understanding the emotion and intentions behind the information. As well as being able to clearly convey a message, you need to also listen in a way that gains the full meaning of what’s being said and makes the other person feel heard and understood.
Effective communication sounds like it should be instinctive. But all too often, when we try to communicate with others something goes astray. We say one thing, the other person hears something else, and misunderstandings, frustration, and conflicts ensue. This can cause problems in your home, school, and work relationships.
For many of us, communicating more clearly and effectively requires learning some important skills. Whether you’re trying to improve communication with your spouse, kids, boss, or coworkers, learning these skills can deepen your connections to others, build greater trust and respect, and improve teamwork, problem solving, and your overall social and emotional health.
Key Takeaways:
Change management is defined as the methods and manners in which a company describes and implements change within both its internal and external processes. This includes preparing and supporting employees, establishing the necessary steps for change, and monitoring pre- and post-change activities to ensure successful implementation.
Significant organizational change can be challenging. It often requires many levels of cooperation and may involve different independent entities within an organization. Developing a structured approach to change is critical to help ensure a beneficial transition while mitigating disruption.
Changes usually fail for human reasons: the promoters of the change did not attend to the healthy, real and predictable reactions of normal people to disturbance of their routines. Effective communication is one of the most important success factors for effective change management. All involved individuals must understand the progress through the various stages and see results as the change cascades.
Nature of Change:
1. A Dynamic process, rather than a Series of Events:
We often talk of Stone Age, agricultural age, machine age and the current information age. The ‘ages’ indicate that society has been constantly changing over time. This suggests that change is, and always has been a continuous process. ‘Every moment the time changes – every second, millisecond, microsecond, nanosecond and attosecond.’ It is this continuity, an indicator of dynamism.
2. Change can be exciting and bring about the best work of a life-time:
Change always gives hope for the betterment, and this hope brings out the best of a person.
3. The Pace, Amount, and Complexity of change only Continue to Rise, with no signs of let up:
We have seen within last one decade that the speed of change has increased many folds. The change is all round. And, there is no likelihood of any slowing of it. Thus, change is also changing.
4. Change does not take place in a vacuum:
Change is when someone is there to feel and something is there to change. Change occurs in a system.
5. Change is an accelerating constant universally:
Change, like death and taxes, is permanent. Somebody has rightly said that nothing (except God) is as permanent as change. Process of change is not restricted to one country or organisation. It is pervasive.
6. Change will generate other changes:
Change always follows systems approach. Hence a change at one place requires simultaneous changes in related aspects as well.
7. Change is not new:
Change has been here for times immemorial, and hence, it is not a new thing.
8. Change is a Natural Phenomenon:
As sunrise and sunset are natural, so is also change.
9. Change is a continuum:
The transition from night today is called dawn whereas the transition from day to night is called dusk. But no one can tell when the day ceases to be day or night ceases to be night. No one can! Since change is a continuum.
Process OF planned change
3. Select a change agent. The change agent is the person who takes leadership responsibility to implement planned change. The change agent must be alert to things that need revamping, open to good ideas, and supportive of the implementation of those ideas into actual practice.
4. Diagnose the current climate. In this step, the change agent sets about gathering data about the climate of the organization in order to help employees prepare for change. Preparing people for change requires direct and forceful feedback about the negatives of the present situation, as compared to the desired future state, and sensitizing people to the forces of change that exist in their environment.
5. Select an implementation method. This step requires a decision on the best way to bring about the change. Managers can make themselves more sensitive to pressures for change by using networks of people and organizations with different perspectives and views, visiting other organizations exposed to new ideas, and using external standards of performance, such as competitor's progress.
6. Develop a plan. This step involves actually putting together the plan, or the “what” information. This phase also determines the when, where, and how of the plan. The plan is like a road map. It notes specific events and activities that must be timed and integrated to produce the change. It also delegates responsibility for each of the goals and objectives.
7. Implement the plan. After all the questions have been answered, the plan is put into operation. Once a change has begun, initial excitement can dissipate in the face of everyday problems. Managers can maintain the momentum for change by providing resources, developing new competencies and skills, reinforcing new behaviors, and building a support system for those initiating the change.
8. Follow the plan and evaluate it. During this step, managers must compare the actual results to the goals established in Step 4. It is important to determine whether the goals were met; a complete follow‐up and evaluation of the results aids this determination. Change should produce positive results and not be undertaken for its own sake.
Keep in mind that a comprehensive model of planned change includes a set of activities that managers must engage in to manage the change process effectively. They must recognize the need for change, motivate change, create a vision, develop political support, manage the transition, and sustain momentum during the change.
Resistance to change is the unwillingness to adapt to altered circumstances. It can be covert or overt, organized, or individual. Employees may realize they don't like or want a change and resist publicly, and that can be very disruptive.
Employees can also feel uncomfortable with the changes introduced and resist, sometimes unknowingly, through their actions, their language, and in the stories and conversations, they share in the workplace.
In a worst-case scenario, employees can be forceful in their refusal to adopt any changes, bringing confrontation and conflict to your organization.1
How Resistance to Change Works
Resistance to change is evident in actions such as:
When employees are poorly introduced to changes that affect how they work, especially when they don't see the need for the changes, they may be resistant. They may also experience resistance when they haven't been involved in the decision-making process.
Resistance to change can intensify if employees feel they have been involved in a series of changes that have had insufficient support to gain the anticipated results. They also become weary when changes happen too frequently, becoming a flavor-of-the-month instead of strategic action.
Whatever causes the resistance to change can be a big threat to the success of your business and can affect the speed at which your organization adopts an innovation. It affects the feelings and opinions of employees at all stages of the adoption process. Employee resistance also affects productivity, quality, interpersonal communication, employee commitment to contribute, and the relationships in your workplace.
Spotting Resistance:
Note whether employees are missing meetings related to the change. Late assignments, forgotten commitments, and absenteeism can all be signs of resistance to change.
Some employees will publicly challenge the change, its purpose, or how it is unfolding. An employee who has a higher position and more seniority may be more resolute in their resistance. Less well-positioned employees may resist collectively in ways such as a work slowdown, staying home from work, deliberately misunderstanding directions, and, in rarer cases, organizing to bring in a labor union.
Employees also resist change by failing to take action to move in the new direction, quietly going about their familiar and accustomed business in the same ways as always, withdrawing their interest and attention, and failing to add to conversations, discussions, and requests for input.
Covert resistance to change can damage the progress of your desired changes seriously as it is more difficult to deal with the resistance that isn't visible, demonstrated, or expressed publicly.
Minimizing Employee Resistance to Change:
Managing resistance to change can be a challenge. Be mindful that you aren't the reason behind the resistance. You can cause serious resistance when you repeatedly introduce change to your organization.
Organizations are constantly evolving, which means change is inevitable. But introducing changes without consulting the people they affect, explaining the need for change, and providing support through the process will alienate your employees and drag down morale.
Something as simple as listening to how employees talk about the change in meetings and hall conversations can tell you a lot about any resistance they are experiencing. Some employees may come directly to you for help navigating the changes. That's a great opportunity to listen to their concerns.
When employees believe their input is considered, they are less likely to experience resistance to change. Smart employers recognize this and collect input before employees are asked to make any changes.
In an organization that has a culture of trust, transparent communication, employee involvement and engagement, and positive interpersonal relationships, resistance to change is easy to see—and also much less likely to occur.
In such a work environment, employees feel free to tell their boss what they think and have open exchanges with managers about how they think the changes are going. They are also more likely to share their feelings and ideas for improvement.
In a trusting environment, employees think about how to make the change process go more smoothly. They are likely to ask their managers what they can do to help.
When a change is introduced in this environment, with a lot of discussions and employee involvement, resistance to change is minimized. Resistance is also minimized if there is a widespread belief that the changes are needed and will have a positive effect. It helps to present your reasoning for why a change is necessary instead of withholding that information. Taking employee feedback into account can help improve the chances of success for your change.
Key Takeaways:
References-
