FUNCTION OF COMMUNICATION IN ORGANIZATION/GROUPS

The literature on communication generally acknowledges that the basic function of communication is to affect receiver knowledge or behavior by informing, directing, regulating, socializing, and persuading. Neher (1997) identifies the primary functions of organizational communication as:

Compliance-gaining

Leading, motivating, and influencing

Sense-making

Problem-solving and decision-making

Conflict management, negotiating, and bargaining.

Neher (1997) and Rogers and Rogers (1976) emphasize the social and organizational functions of organizational communication as a whole rather than focusing on the functions of specific communication exchanges. Thus they combine the functions of informing, directing, and regulating into the broader category of behavioral compliance. They also give greater emphasis to the role of communication in managing threats to organizational order and control, identifying problem solving and conflict management, negotiation, and bargaining as key functions of organizational communication.

Myers and Myers (1982) combine similar functions into a higher level common function and provide a particularly succinct and clear version of the functions of organizational communication. They see communication as having three primary functions:

Coordination and regulation of production activities: This function of communication has changed the most over time. In traditional bureaucratic views of the organization, prescription – clearly communicating behavioral expectations and the behavioural consequences associated with complying or not complying with these expectations—and monitoring are considered to be the basis of organizational order and control. This function of organizational communication was seen as involving fairly proceduralized, rule-oriented, one-way, top-down communication. Tasks in many organizations have become more complex, less routine and repetitive, tightly coupled, and interactive (Perrow 1986) and, as such, the traditional bureaucratic view of organizational communication is no longer sufficient. Production activities of this nature require dynamic, reciprocal, lateral communications between production workers and non- routinized, two-way, vertical communications between production workers and managers. Communication as a means of coordination and regulation becomes more important, complex, and difficult.

Socialization: The socialization function of communication is stressed in the human relations perspective of organizations (see Chapter 1) which asserts that capturing the hearts and minds of organizational members is necessary to effectively coordinate organizational action in the pursuit of collective organizational goals. Communication directed at socializing organizational members focuses on articulating and reinforcing organizational values and aligning individual goals with organizational goals. It is directed at establishing an appropriate organizational culture and climate. This form of communication cannot be one-way or top-down. It must occur reciprocally between organizational leaders and organizational members.

Innovation: The organizational communication literature is increasingly addressing the importance of communication in promoting innovation as well as control and coordination. Communication to promote innovation is associated with strong communication within and beyond the organization.

This approach focuses on the functional goals of organizational communication, rather than on the near-term outcomes of particular acts of communication, such as to make a decision, to persuade, or to resolve a conflict. The more specific functions of specific acts of communication or sets of communication exchange (decision-making, informing, persuading, negotiating, problem-solving) are subsumed into each of the three higher-level functional objectives.