Communication

“Communication is the ever-present activity by which people relate to one another and combine their efforts, and is necessary to perpetuate the health of the organization.” (Newstrom, pg. 53) Great communication, in my opinion, seems to be the most important factor of a good business. The way we interact, using both verbal and non-verbal communication, delegates how we see each other. If we do not communicate our thoughts or reactions correctly a psychological distance can be formed. Psychological distance is a “feeling of being emotionally separated- between people that is similar to actual physical distance.” (Newstrom, pg. 60) I have worked in an organization where bad communication caused problems like psychological distance.

Managers must have very good communications skills, especially if they are acting as a liaison between top management and the employees. Downward communication must be relayed correctly to its intended audience. Downward communication is “the flow of information from higher to lower levels of authority.” (Newstrom, pg. 65) In my experience, the managers responsible for downward communication did not effectly know how to relay information. For example, a coworker would be told that the top manager would like a task completed by a department manager. The employee would be given basic instructions, not ask questions and then be sent to complete the task. The department manager would not do a follow-up. The next day the top manager would look to see if the task was completed, only to find it not done correctly. There were many problems with communication in my previous job.