Abstract

The flow of Information is an inevitable aspect of organizational functioning. When information flow is not effective, effectiveness toward the organization is inevitable as a result of information gaps.

The main aim of this study is to examine the extent to which organization communication influences employee’s efficiency in HTTTC Bambili and specifically the study sort to examine how;

Written communication in an organization do influence employees efficiency, Verbal communication in an organization do affect employees efficiency and Grapevine communication in an organization affects employees efficiency.

The study adopted the correlational research design with a target/sample population of 73 employees of HTTTC Bamenda who were conveniently selected to participate in the study. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire, consisting mainly of closed-ended questions.

The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, and percentages using SPSS version 20 with the use of Pearson product-moment correlation used in verifying the hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance.

Findings from this study show that the place of written communication cannot be overemphasized as most of the respondents clearly stated that written communication helps in laying down apparent principles, policies and rules for running an organization thereby influencing effectiveness,

Verbal communication is more flexibility in written communication as it makes decisions more quickly than you can in writing,

it promote employee morale and maintains energy and enthusiasm within a team and the result further reveals that most of the respondents hold some negative view on the effectiveness of grapevine information flow within an organization.

It was then recommended that institutions should strongly manage the various form of communication as it brings in some returns such as Tackle Queries of Employees, Generate Community Spirit, Build Trust, Motivate Employees, Employee Commitment and Reduce Uncertainty.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

 Background of the study

Organizational Communication is an inevitable aspect of organizational functioning. The flow of information in enhancing employee commitment in achieving employee’s effectiveness cannot be overemphasized especially in modern complex organizational structures today. 

Most organizations that existed in the past were functioning with no formal information guidelines and this had an impact on productivity since sufficient flow of information is needed by managers in facilitating decision making in order to meet set organizational objectives. Researchers have argued and continue to argue on the importance of communication in achieving employee’s effectiveness regardless of the nature of the organization.

The information has therefore been considered a major control system for determining employee’s effectiveness the reason why most organizations are striving on how best to improve their structures to facilitate the ease of access and flow of information. Through effective communication, leaders are able to lead. In the same way, good communication fosters trust, understanding, inspiration, and allows employees to effectively follow (Barrett, 2006).

More so, most of the techniques often used by organizations in attempting to enhance effective communication still desire some trickle-down effects on productivity and performance. This is because a high degree of communication increases coordination and more ‘visibility’ especially in upward movements of information.

In this regard managers will be able to make the right judgments and ensure successful coverage of the organizational goals since workers will be able to know where, when and how, to get and communicate a message. Also when communication cuts across the organization, it creates relieve to its workers and assures stability and greater conformity.

In this regard, if effective organizational communication is to be achieved, then there must be the presence of sufficient information resources to ease the transmission of messages. Therefore, the availability of these resources is also one of the major dimensions of efficiency since result-based and time management are concepts used in large organizational structures in boosting productivity.

With these prevailing difficulties, this research is out to determine the significance or the extent to which communication impacts employee’s efficiency. This will help proffer solutions for policy options to managers, business experts and researchers.

Organizational Communication is a subset of effective business communication, which is built around the simple foundation that communication is a dialogue, not a monologue. In fact, communication is a dual listening process. So communication in a business context is the dialogic process between employees and employer.

However, many times the latter process is forgotten by strategists and PR professionals and the role of communication in building corporate brands seem to have received less attention in the academic literature as organizations usually concentrate more on their external publics (Hopkins, 2006). Bartlett and Ghoshal (1989) refer to communication as being the lifeblood of the organization. In other words, the maintenance of an organization requires an effective flow of information.

The importance of having effective communication is not only relevant for the basic maintenance of the organization but also because communication can act as a source for exchanging knowledge and ideas. The reason for this is that information is the currency of communication. Therefore, the rapid and steady flow of information enriches and empowers an organization, just as the flow of money creates wealth.

Today, employees are a different person in terms of values and needs than his or her counterpart in earlier decades. Most of today’s employees are well educated, have higher expectations of what they will get out of their careers than their parents did, and want to understand more about the companies they work for. The workplace of today is also different – tighter staffing, longer hours, greater workloads, and more emphasis on performance and the norm.

The increasingly complex and highly competitive nature of today’s business environment puts greater pressure on employees and also calls for more concerted effort in the area of information. According to Lattimore et al. (2004), when organizations achieve effective communication, the results include more satisfied and productive employees, improved achievement of organizational goals, and improved customer, community and investor relations.

Employees work in organizations with specific cultures. Effective communication depends on the establishment of positive organizational culture, through clear communication policies, programs, and assistance with organizational change. The flow of information will help employees become well informed about their organization and encourage them to express their views to management.

When organizations commit themselves to the effective flow of information with their employees, a number of important benefits result in Quirk (1996) explained that well-informed employees are usually satisfied employees and will likely remain committed to the organization. They are better, more productive workers who get more out of their work and do a better job for the organization.

Employees will be the first spokespersons for their organization outside of work. Well-informed employees interacting with the organization’s stakeholders will have a significant positive influence on relations with customers, the community, investors, and the media. When lines of communication are opened between employers and employees, superior to subordinate and vice versa organizational goals are likely to be achieved.

According to Miller (2006), communication does not refer only to those few “official” channels of communication within your organization, such as internal newsletters, notice boards or staff meetings. It is not a process that goes from the top, the chief, to the bottom, the intern.

Rather, communication refers to the almost constant interactions within your organization that convey meaning. Therefore, communication encompasses both overt communication like meetings, memos etc, and more casual forms of communication such as gossip, pleasantries and body language.

This study is done because well-organized communication is very essential for the employees to be able to delegate work as well as inform others about their status in projects and tasks. To be able to do that one has to communicate correctly, with the right and effective channel.

There should be a functional way to keep everyone informed about things that everyone should
know. One of the aims of this thesis is to find functional guidelines for communication at the company that could be taken into use in everyday life in the office.

Statement of the problem

An implicit assumption in the communication process is that a free flow of information exists between the sender and receiver. This process portrays communication as a continuous and dynamic flow, but communication involves a constant interpretation of messages by the sender or receiver. As a result, problems or barriers arise that can inhibit or impede the free flow of information during a communication exchange.

The functions of communication in contemporary organizations have been demonstrated by scholars in various areas of study in the last decades. Organizational commitment is found to be related to the effectiveness of the organization and the output of individuals. Communication regarding management is proved to be a predictor of employees’ commitment to the organization.

There are also times when members of organizations talk about non-work related topics which are described as “social-emotional-oriented communication”  in HTTTC Bambili, communication move via different modes such as written, verbal and grapevine and both have their own contribution to the effectiveness of an organization.

Employees may use the various modes of communication (verbal, written, grapevine) to disagree and argue with each other and with management in HTTTC. However, Conflict causes tension among employees and can halt operations, disrupt meetings and prevent task completion.

Sources of conflict include employees feeling that their needs are not being met, lack of structure, and lack of transparent communication and personality differences. Organizational leaders also use communication to mediate and control conflict to lessen the effects of employee disagreements.

However with the ever-decreasing level of productivity and increased inefficiency orchestrated by poor and long communication chain, internal constraints such as a nonexistent chain of command or structural difficulty, poor information flow, undefined lines of authority and control, non-specification of formal roles in workgroups, role-taking, and no feedback mechanisms.

Communication gaps can be devastating for any business in today’s competitive and fast-paced environment. Employees within organizations need to be well informed about the policies and issues happening within their working environment. When communication is not effective, effectiveness toward the organization is inevitable as a result of information gaps.

Both management researchers and managers of organizations are still to realize the significant role of information flow via written, verbal and grapevine in enhancing employees’ effectiveness which brings about an increase in productivity. 

However, since the factors for effectiveness in most organizations vary and are not clearly elaborated our interest in communication will be to determine those elements of written, verbal, and grapevine which thus contribute to the effectiveness of employees in an organization.

With these uncertainties in which workers communicate it is worthwhile tackling problems relating to organizational communication such as structural obstacles, as well as the conditions in which organizations communicate best when confronting their environment.

Objectives of the study

General objectives of the study

To find out the extent to which organization communication influences employee’s efficiency in HTTTC Bambili

Specific objectives of the study

Specifically, the study seeks to examine how;

• Written communication in an organization do influence employees efficiency
• Verbal communication in an organization does have an effects on employees efficiency
• Grapevine communication in an organization d has an effect on employees efficiency

 Research questions

 General research questions

To what extent does organizational communication influence employee’s efficiency?

Specific research questions

• To what extent does written communication in an organization affect employee’s efficiency?
• To what extent does verbal communication in an organization affect employee’s efficiency?
• To what extent does grapevine communication in an organization affect employee’s efficiency?