Formal and Informal Communication in an Organization

Communication in the workplace is a process used to transfer information or instruction from one individual to a group or another individual.

Communication is the foundation for sharing information between people to ensure that everything is understood and the correct action can be taken in a timely manner. Good communication is essential to complete the mission at hand. Without good communication to your chain of command it makes it impossible for your leaders to communicate to their superiors about problems or issues that you or others may be having. The (National Joint Committee for the Communicative Needs of Persons with Severe Disabilities, 1992, p. 2) defines communication as "Any act by which one person gives to or receives from another person, information about that person's needs, desires, perceptions,

Formal communication is a type of verbal presentation or document intended to share information and which conforms to established professional rules, standards, and process. There are four types of formal communication such as: Upward or Bottom-up, Downward or Top-down, Horizontal or Lateral, and Crosswise or Diagonal. Upward or Bottom-up, is the communication in which the flow of information goes from sub-ordinate to superior authority. Next is Downward or Top-down, which is the communication in which the flow of information goes from superior to sub-ordinates. Another one is Horizontal or Lateral, which is the communication between two employees of different departments working at the same level. Last is Crosswise or Diagonal, which is the communication between the employees of two different departments working at different levels (Surbhi, 2016).

Managers promote poor communication when it is not planned out correctly, which can cause chaos and friction within the department. Emotions can cause a barrier and result in a communication breakdown. Poor communication is not always at the fault of the manager, poor listening on the staff’s part can

Communication is “the process of relaying information between or among people by the use of words, letters, symbols, or body language” (Cherry & Jacob, 2011, p. 381). Communication is a two- way process; the message conveyed by the sender needs to be heard and understood by the receiver. It is important for “leaders to communicate regularly and consistently with staff” (Shifflet & Moyer, 2010, p. 252). Some

Lateral communication occurring with management’s knowledge and support can be beneficial even if it does not follow the formal vertical structure.

1. What is the difference between downward communication and upward communication?  What is the primary purpose of each? Is lateral communication any different?

Lateral communication (as known as horizontal communication) is a very informal way to communicate within an organization. Lateral communication allows organizational peers to open communicate with one another without having to go through middle or upper management first. Lateral communication allows employees to brain storm and encourage provocative thinking. This open door communication policy can be very effective in many different ways. As a result of this, employee morale will improve as employees feel valued. When employees are happy they tend to work harder for the overall betterment of the organization. Lateral communication with all its advantages can also have a disadvantage. The disadvantage will arise when a company’s

Communication is the conveyance and flow of ideas from one person to another. The exchange of information takes place through letters, words, symbols and nonverbal behaviors. It involves the transmission of ideas from the sender to the receiver. Communication is effective only if the receiver fully understands the transmitted information. Many problems and failures occur in organizations due to poor communication. Objective and goals fail due to misunderstandings in the organization. Effective communication provides a chain of understanding to all participants in the organizational framework. It promotes the flow of information both vertically and horizontally.

Question 5: At what level does the communication flow to the lowest level of the organization?

While I was in the military, I got to experience how ineffective and problematic vertical communication is. It was very aggregating when leaders would only provide small pieces of the puzzle even though I was key personnel in charge of the Battalion’s logistics. In chapter one, it talks about how communication is not linear but must operate circular (Hackman & Johnson, 2013, p. 8-9). Communication that comes full circle provides transparency at every level. Transparent communication will also show your followers how much you value and trust their abilities. It is amazing what people can accomplish if you provide them the whole picture. Leaders that use transactional communication are able to simultaneously recognize and respond to emotions

Firstly, according to article “formal communication methods”, SkillMaker (2014) showed that formal communication utilizes the formal network to transfer information and follow the position, role and rules which include sending an email to superior or holding a formal meeting to discuss business. In the case study, Margaret face office bullying due to cultural differences. The difference is Margaret learn how to respect a person from her father but Dana hasn’t. From perspective of organizational communications, Margaret try to talk to her boss Mr. Tannen and write an email to the director of her department Mr. Gallow to complain about the rude behaviors of Dana.

Communication is the transfer of information in either a written or verbal form or by pictures. Managers spend a lot of time receiving different kinds of communication and analyzing the information and then passing forward the necessary information to others. This can be done either informally or in a formal setting.

The communication system at my company is primarily formal and the majority of communication moves downward (Ober, 2009). The best example I can site of information precisely following the power structure of our company is our phone tree. The phone tree mirrors the power structure of our organization and is used for communicating to staff in the event of a disaster or severe-weather closing. The President contacts members of senior management, who then contact the middle management, who then contact the department supervisors, who finally contact the lower level employees. It is important to be aware of the power structure in an organization for communication in order to determine if the communication structure is formal or informal based on how information moves within the power structure. If the flow of communication is directional within the power structure, the communication structure is formal. If information bounces randomly from one person to another regardless of their place in the hierarchy of power, the communication is informal.

Communication is an essential component in any relationship, including how it affects organizational behaviors. Too much, or lack thereof, can determine if the message was properly sent, understood, and received. According to Popovic and Hocenski (2009), leaders need to be able to communicate to their subordinates in language they can understand regardless of their level within the organization (Popovic & Hocenski, 2009, pp. 15-16). Because communication is a vital part of organizational structure, leaders need to have a thorough understanding of communication. “To determine which verbal communication behaviors are commonly used, one needs to first establish the relationship between