Communication Management in Organizations

Elizabeth Cieri Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Sao Paulo (PUC-SP)

Ana Lucia Magalhaes

Faculdade de Tecnologia (FATEC) Guaratingueta, SP – Brazil

Abstract

Like any activity in an organization, communication must be managed through policies, clear criteria, methods and goals. The concept of organizational communication management uses as theoretical reference the grouping of communication flows as ascending, descending or horizontal. These flows should be guided by specific rules and ran by professionals at management level. This process should establish customized and targeted communications with formats and contents appropriate to the highly competitive global economy, with focus on processes as much as on products, use of multiple media and aimed at both awakening interest and disseminating information. The manager must be a teacher of discourse: both a mentor and a promoter of dialogue and participation. The responsible for enactment and maintenance of linguistic competence in a corporation must also have sense of organization, command of the language, vocation to teach and awareness of the potential of each of the multiple tools of organizational communication.

Contradictions in an Emerging Country

Brazil has remained in a good measure unscathed by the present world economic crisis. The country is a major producer of commodities, China being an important consumer. It has a good technological base: Brazil is the fourth world producer of airplanes and the only nation to produce and consume biomass as a major source of energy. Commodities themselves are produced with advanced agricultural and mining technology. The banking system is sound and has been managed and regulated, in the last couple of decades, in a similar way to what was done in Canada. Much to the surprise of many Brazilians, the country is now a net creditor in the world financial system, due to consistent trade surpluses. It is also a solid democracy, despite persistent wrongdoings by politicians. As a result of all this, business is booming, unemployment is low, and… manpower is not educated enough to follow that, causing serious problems to business. The problems with education in Brazil are multiple and subject of much debate. Causes are basically historical (illiterate parents, product of that very same system, cannot distinguish between good and bad schools for their children) and political (teachers’ unions resist meritocracy with success and encourage political indoctrination of students as a priority). Whatever the causes are, it is a fact that corporations have a shortage of qualified manpower. Particularly, many otherwise capable people lack language skills. Management of communications becomes a crucial function within organizations. The experience acquired in helping corporations in Brazil to deal with this context provided the material for this study. It is expected that lessons thereby learned will be eventually applicable in a broader environment. In order to understand the foundation of the effort, the basic concepts of information, communication and discourse are presented first, starting with a concise historical background. Corporate Communications are here viewed as comprising a complex set of activities, actions, strategies, products and processes developed to enhance the image of a company or entity (union, government agencies, NGOs, associations, universities, etc.) along with its stakeholders (customers,

employees, opinion leaders, politicians or business, shareholders, journalists, community, academic or financial) or public opinion (Bahia, 1995). It is very much connected with public relations and marketing.

Information, Communication and Discourse

Communication problems within organizations probably started with the industrial revolution in the mid-1700s, when manufacturing problems started to show up. Messages had to be accurate for products to be manufactured. The increase in consumption, and consequently the expansion of the markets made necessary the creation of concise information, development of appropriate speech. This communications revolution determined in its own right global changes in community behavior, with manufactured products increasingly made craftsmanship obsolete. Muscle strength was replaced by machines, whose design, assembly and maintenance became increasingly dependent on information. The process went on along other revolutions, like telecommunications and computers. Kunsch (2009) reminds that the establishment of the telecommunications industry in the third quarter of the 19th century was the beginning of informationalism - expression proposed by Castells in 1999 to designate the increase through telecommunications of the capacity to convey information, or rather the integration of networks between and within businesses, in real time, from rooms and floors of the same building to different continents (the first submarine cable was laid in 1850). Message designers made their appearance: writers, journalists, publicists, filmmakers and others make ended up being forgers of the new languages. This process of creation of new functions and languages repeats itself within every spurt of progress and business does have to catch up for its very survival. This is an important point that can be better explained through a look at some basics. Pignatari (2008) points out that the language designer perceives and creates new relationships and structures of signs in order to follow whatever might be happening in the economy. Such relationship is language itself - it can only be explained in semiotically, since it establishes a bond expressed as language, organized and accurate, in the search for effective transmission of messages. This is precisely where information and communication intertwine. The essentials of information theory define that communication happens when the message is understood, tuned and established. Communication can therefore be considered the essential and primary, in the sense that it makes life possible in society. The improvement of communication skills is therefore a form of extended relationship with the world. To do so, one needs to be able to present in an organized way ideas resulting from access to information, experiences, conversations and readings. Furthermore, human communication operates incessantly with elements that represent the reality, since no one knows reality in its essence, but as it appears for each individual. These are the signs the elements capable of representing reality, and skill is needed to manipulate symbols clearly. These elements may be established by a social contract, an agreement previously accepted. The representation of reality - the sign - may be by means of colors, objects, smells, words. Pignatari (2008) argues that the word would be a symbol, because it is the sign of the sign. The information designer is capable of organizing verbal signs - words - according to the rules that govern relations with its users. These rules reduce the so-called noise or communication disorders. Since no communication system is free of errors, the possibility of good information is larger if the noise ratio is low. Bad grammar, bad spelling and awkwardness are particularly common kinds of communication noise. Language, speech, and discourse are conceptually different. While the language refers to any form of communication because it represents the innate capacity for interaction between people, the speech employs only verbal signs, conventional, used by members of the same community. This paper focuses discourse, the result of the text and context. Therefore, it is hereby proposed that

discourse is the organized way of using language, the methodical and orderly exposure of the text in the construction context, what determines the adequacy of the message. Up to this point, communication and language were discussed ― they are the foundations of discourse, which will be examined from now on.

Communication and Discourse within an Organization

Kunsch (2009) highlights the movement of three types of discourse in organizations: discourse ill-spoken, unspoken and well-told. Pieces of ill-told discourse are those non-authorized, produced outside the conventional channels of communication. Its surreptitiousness appears in expressions like "backbite", "behind the scenes", or ”through the grapevine". Gossips on firings or promotions are a very common example. Discourse left unsaid is a condition of the ill-spoken discourse: it simply cannot be expressed, because it cannot, or should not be said by certain individuals in specific situations. The unsaid is ill-spoken silenced. Comments of sexual nature about coworkers are a typical instance. Well-said pieces of discourse are, directly or indirectly, institutional messages. They are authorized, in some way planned and disseminated through the proper channels of communication, both formal and informal. Internet and Intranet postings, properly written e-mail messages, letters, internal memos all fall into this category (Kunsch, 2009). This paper covers exclusively well-said discourse. Discourse in general is not restricted to the act of transmitting information. It positions the speaker, determining the place that he actually holds or occupies (or thinks he does) in a society (Gnerre, 1985). People speak in order to be heard, respected and to influence others. This applies, for example, to political speeches, sermons, classes, and organizational discourse. All language productions have appropriate rules, taking into account social relations between writer/speaker and audience: (a) the right time to speak, (b) the kind of content permissible, (c) the appropriate linguistic variety (basically the colloquial or non-colloquial nature of speech). The rules are valid for both the writer/speaker and the reader/listener, since in any society members have different degrees of access, typically associated with prestige, to cultured or standard language varieties (Berlo, 1999). According to Therezo (1999), linguistic variety in discourse may reveal about the speaker: region of origin, chosen communication channel, subjective or objective standing, social class and degree of formality in the relationship with the audience. Discourse, therefore, necessarily carries the historical and social heritage brought by each individual. Within corporations, it must be reworked and adapted: the discourse defines success or failure, acceptance or rejection, harmony or conflict of a career (Nassar and Figueiredo, 2000). Corporations by definition ignore the socio-historical learning of the isolated individual and force him to adapt. The formation of the individual, though, is built since its infancy through the influences received from environment t and family. Such influences are particularly strong in Latin America, where families tend to be protective in contrast to a historically harsh environment. Such influences are carried throughout life and hinder the assimilation of certain kinds of new learning. At corporate level, such struggle may hamper professional success. There is a bright side: skills of good communication and good language can be acquired and improved (Miranda, 1999). Nassar (2000) reminded that communication is the very human ability that helped overcome animal nature – in other words, anyone, by making the proper effort, can successfully deal with this kind of difficulty. Fairclough (2001) teaches that the individual exists only in the exercise of a social role. Work in a corporation is a sphere of human activity whose practitioners are subjects that fit into a unified

ideology, given mission and vision established and propagated by internal marketing. A social role is created by the discursive production appropriate to a certain context, in this case the corporation. However, discursive production is heavily conditioned by the audience, in search of adherence to an effective rhetoric. Fairclough confirms this assertion when he argues that it is essential that the subject understands communication as a performative act, intended to effect a favorable reaction. Such favorable reaction depends on preciseness of information. In the next section, we present a basic concept on information completeness and accuracy.

Open and Closed Codes

Entrepreneurial success heavily depends on a system of effective communication, both internally and externally. Imprecise, ambiguous, insufficient communication has caused the downfall of many businesses. One recent example is Kodak, which was technically successful in changing its line of products from film to digital, but could not make the workers adapt to the changes or convince the market that the company was renewed. Now Kodak is manufacturing printers. Berlo (1999) argued that communication becomes effective when the writer, instead of using an open code, uses a closed one. An open code allows for many interpretations, a closed code just one. An example of open code communication is: “I bought a ream of paper”. A closed code message would be: “I bought a ream of 500 sheets of size A4 white paper for inkjet printer s”. Berlo (1999) adds that the writer/speaker must first find out who will be addressed, since aspects such as training, status, level of language proficiency, knowledge and interests influence the understanding of the message by the addressee. More that, in order to achieve effective communication it is necessary to recognize and understand why misunderstandings occur, and then learn how to avoid or at least minimize them. Finally, communication between two employees is effective when the addresee interprets the message as intended by the addresser (Argyris and Bartolome, 1999). In order to improve business communication, Miranda (1999) recommends attention to technical skills, systems and attitudes. Technical skills involve the following questions: (a) how to transmit information, (b) how to educate, (c) how to be clear and concise? Communication in organizations, although a complex process, can be controlled by proper actions. Most of the grievances by employees arise from imperfect pieces of communication that result in clashes between emotions and actions, causing dissatisfaction at work. It is, however, perfectly possible to avoid such resentments through the awareness of each member of the organization of the importance of the communication process and proper training (Freitas, 2006). The communication process within a corporation develops along three flows, which are examined in the following section.

Communications flows within an Organization

Argyris and Bartolome (1999) classified and explained three streams of internal corporate communications: (a) descending - from top to bottom, (b) ascending – from bottom to top and (c) horizontal or lateral. Descending Communications

Employees must receive the information they need to perform their functions and to become (and remain) loyal members of the organization. Communication from the top down refers to the flow of

information from highest to lowest levels of the organization hierarchy and comprises any descending movement amongst levels in between. The most obvious example is a manager passing duties to his assistant. Other examples are a supervisor making an announcement to his subordinates, the president of a company giving a talk to his management team, a job leader explaining an assignment to a team member. Often, employees are left without adequate information. One problem is information overload: employees are bombarded with so much information that they cannot absorb everything. Much of the information is not very important, but its volume causes the loss of relevant points. The smaller the number of levels through which communications must pass, the lesser the loss (or distortion) of information. Argyris and Bartolome (1999) assert that administrators have a number of tools and methods at their disposal to improve descending communications. First, management should develop procedures and communication policies. Second, information must be available to those who need it. Third, the information should be communicated properly and efficiently. Communication lines should be as direct and short as possible; information must be clear, consistent, to the point and neither too early nor (which is a more common problem) very late. Ascending Communications

Communication from the bottom up is less common and has fewer rules. Administrators should facilitate communication from the bottom up, encouraging people to provide valuable information. In societies like the Brazilian society, there is a tendency towards verbosity in ascending communications, due to certain cultural traditions that value size over quality. Whenever that is the case, standardized behavior should be determined for managers to request conciseness. Horizontal or Lateral Communications

A lot of information is always shared between employees of the same hierarchical level. The lateral or horizontal communication can occur between people of the same work team or between individuals from different departments. For example, a report forwarded by purchasing manager to a production manager. Horizontal sharing of information must encouraged, this being particularly true in complex environments in which decisions taken in one unit may affect performance of other units. All communications, along all flows, are effective in the measure that both addressers and addressees understand the significance of developing good language abilities. For that, all have to be aware of such importance. The following section expands on this subject.

Development of language awareness

. The management of corporate-speak, as a process broad and widespread, can help deal with uncertainty, ambiguity, complexity and diversity in organizations. The core of such work is to make each professional aware of the need and the tools for effective communication. Language awareness includes consciousness about two barriers to successful communication: (a) behavioral barrier: has an origin in childhood and basically consists of the willingness to transfer to the addressee all responsibility to understand the message, (b) good command of language: far more important and helps to remove the first barrier as well.

The professional who does not master his or her speech will have difficulties to perform his or her work and to consolidate his or her position in the market. The production of every piece of communication, no matter how unpretentious, involves assessment of the situation, enhancement of content, consideration of the addressees (internal and/or external) and selection of the words that convey the real meaning of what is meant. This process, which with time becomes intuitive, is mandatory to promote higher quality, understanding and security of communications. Discourse in corporations can be persuasive, motivational, informative, responsive, imperative and others. Discourse should be shaped by the situation. Communication is a daily and constant act that may make the difference between success and failure of careers. People must be made to understand that technical competence is not enough – in order to be a better engineer or a better accountant one must acquire competence in the corporate discourse, since social interaction is increasingly demanded for an increasingly multidisciplinary market. Write and speak well are, in fact, among the most valued skills in the corporate world. People should be constantly reminded that a memo, a letter, a final report, the presentation of a product, the selling of an idea or even an e-mail message are always more effective if well written. Each piece of communication has its particular features, but certain principles apply to all: planning, textuality (the attributes that distinguish the text), grammar correctness, knowledge of the audience, keeping the thread of the text, review and editing. A good manager's responsibility is not limited to creating and maintaining efficient products and services, but also to foster language awareness and supervise corporate discourse. The objective of such supervision is to provide incentive to the communicative development of every employee, bringing to consciousness the importance of well expressing ideas to the actual success of his or her work. The next section shows what specifics are required of the manager in charge of communications.

Communications Manager Profile and Job Description

First and foremost, being a skilled communicator is essential to being a good administrator and team leader. In addition to that, communications professionals must have not only knowledge and skills in professional practices, but also a comprehensive view of the market and the business world. More than a mere executor of tasks, the professional must be an executive, a manager able to plan strategically, the communication effort of the organization. A typical and concise job description follows. Internal communications:

design training programs for groups as to ensure that employees have the appropriate skills;

design a support system to enable employees to deliver and share communications; interact with other managers as to develop and deliver a simple coordinated process, and develop regular feedback channels to ensure that communications are being delivered

consistently and timely; perform correcting actions whenever necessary.

External communications: create media strategies and relations, prepare press releases;

assist executives with public speaking engagements; produce and edit and publications and e-bulletins, and

develop, maintain and constantly improve websites, blogs, facebook, twitter. The next section studies a very important aspect of the work allocated to the communications manager. Such aspect permeates all the functions mentioned.

The Manager as a pedagogue of language

Every professional within a corporation must assume his or her share of responsibility in their daily communication in the organizational universe, after all, "communication is everyone's job" (Kunsch, 2009) Each member of the organization should effective communicate at his or her own level according to ability and potential. However, by integrating the shared vision of communication as a tool for open, honest and efficient dialogue, the manager becomes essential as an instructor to disseminate the potential use of each communication tool. He becomes a sort of teacher of discourse, encouraging and guiding areas of communication, motivating and transferring skills to disseminate correct messages. The functions of a pedagogue are here taken as: explaining, demonstrating, collaborating and learning by teaching. The manager is an instructor in the sense that he develops a learning method, suited to the needs of the organization and the individuals, and oversees learning, through the feedback channels he develops. He demonstrates, through his own pieces of communication, which have to function as models. House organ, websites, blogs and even the use of Twitter and Facebook have to be flawless. The communications manager as pedagogue also collaborates, for example when preparing an executive to deliver a public announcement, when he edits a house organ or oversees the website. And finally, he learns by teaching when he encourages other managers to participate in the teaching process and bring him their discoveries. Setting criteria and policies can be considered as the ultimate activity as pedagogue: provides important tools for instruction, demonstrates what is required, is done in collaboration with a large number of people in the organization and, through such interaction, the manager necessarily learns a lot.

Criteria. Goals and Policies

Criteria

Persona (2007) indicated that Corporate Communications has assumed in recent years, greater complexity in view of the need to work with different audiences (hence, different content, speeches and languages), the increased competition, the segmentation of media and accelerated introduction of new technologies.

Kunsch (2009) proposed differences between traditional and contemporary communication. One does not substitute for the other. In many instances, both coexist, as shown in the policy outline shown at the end of this section. One example would be confidential communications, neither

networked nor shared. Another example would be the official presentation of a new product, necessarily massive. Table 1 Comparative Features of Traditional and Contemporary Communications

Traditional Communications Contemporary Communications

Products as main focus Processes as main focus

Vertical/descendent Multidirectional

Non-symmetric: secretive in many instances Networked

Self-centered and self-referent Focus on citizens, users, clients and society at large

Addresser addressee Plural, complex, dynamic process.

Massive Customized, segmented, quasi-individual

Discourse of authority Arguments of subjects

Tool for the exertion of power Tool for solidarity and sharing

Fragmentation Integration

Information as a mirror of reality Information as social construction

Argyris and Bartolome (1999) pointed out that the communication system within an organization is effective when people do not realize that it exists, due to it being natural and harmonic. An organization communicates optimally when employees continuously use the formal and informal channels both in higher and lower levels, as well as within the same level. Goals and policy outline that follow have been tested and proven. Universality cannot be claimed, since every organization has its peculiarities. Goals Goals for external communications: keep and strengthen company image and confidence of stakeholders; share whatever information is relevant for customers, government agencies and the general public; comply with regulations and legislation; support a correct evaluation of the value of company shares. Goals for internal communications: have policies, goals and guidelines duly communicated to every employee, especially any changes that might occur; convey any information needed to increase understanding of company goals and strategies and foster commitment; timely communicate to employees about events and decisions that in some way affect them never later than it is released to the external public; disseminate success stories. Policy Outline Policy outline for external communications: 1. Media relations:

Purpose: provide information in a way the media convey an objective and truthful picture of the

company. Public: journalists

Principles: openness, clarity and completion of information, except for restrictions that apply to companies that have their shares negotiated; whenever a restriction forbids releasing information, explain clearly why.

Responsibility: Chief Information Officer; all managers that have some contact with the press have to be familiar with ethical issues involved.

Channels: company website, press releases, annual report, special reports, meetings with the press and one-to-one contacts with journalists.

2. Investor relations:

Purpose: keep markets permanently informed about company investments, operation and cash flow.

Public: investors, current and potential; financial analysts and journalists specialized in finance; financial institutions.

Principles: reliability – factual and accurate information; timeliness – information released as speedily as practicable; simultaneity: all target groups informed at the same time; long-term concern: predict events and release information in order to avoid surprises.

Responsibility: shared between Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Information Officer.

Channels: company website, press release, annual report, special reports, meetings with

investors; meetings with the press and one-to-one contacts with journalists. 3. Relations with society at large

Purpose: constantly increase public knowledge about the company, with special focus on local

communities.

Public: customers, unions, potential employees, class associations, government authorities, politicians, NGOs and the general public.

Principles: concern about the long-term outlook; openness and clarity.

Responsibility: Chief Information Officer and in pertinent cases Chief Information Officer.

Channels: company website, annual report, special reports, organized meetings and events and

one-to-one contacts with interested parties.

Conclusion

Corporate communications are in constant increase both in importance and complexity, and this applies to companies of all areas and sizes. Company discourse has to be accurate and consistent in ever changing environments. This can only be accomplished with proper communications management, by specialized professionals and according to solidly established principles, rules and methodologies. Manager profile, methodologies and development of employee awareness carry strong multidisciplinary content.

References

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ELIZABETH CIERI is a writer and corporate consultant for development of communication skills in

Sao Paulo, Brazil. She holds a Master’s Degree in Rethoric from the Catholic University of Sao Paulo,

where she belongs to a research group.

ANA LUCIA MAGALHAES is a professor of corporate communications with FATEC, a network of

technical colleges funded by the State of Sao Paulo. She holds a PhD in Rethoric from the Catholic

University of Sao Paulo.