Organizational Structure and Communication Strategies
Departmentalization
Departmentalization is the grouping of jobs, tasks, processes, and resources into logical units to perform operations within an organization. The criteria for departmentalization include:
- Skill: The variety of talents required to complete a task. Work requiring initiative and creativity tends to be more skilled than operational and repetitive work.
- Autonomy: The extent to which an individual performing a task has the freedom to plan and schedule the work program.
- Dimension: Work involving the completion of a product may provide greater satisfaction and create a clearer job identity than being a small part of the overall process.
- Significance: The extent to which work affects other people, either in terms of health and safety, or the dependence of others on task completion.
- Feedback: The extent to which an individual receives information about the effectiveness of completed work.
Authority and Delegation
Authority is the power related to each position within the organization; it involves the right to give orders, make decisions, and spend resources. Power is the ability to carry out an action. Responsibility is an obligation to be liable for a task, decision, or action.
Consultation and Negotiation
Negotiation means that two or more parties meet to reach a solution systematically. Consultation may provide:
- A communication channel where management informs employee representatives of decisions already made.
- A forum where management seeks employee views, feelings, and ideas before making a decision, while retaining the right to make that decision.
- A structure by which employee views become part of a joint decision process.
Negotiating Skills
Negotiating skills involve:
- Testing and summarizing agreements to ensure everyone interprets the substance the same way. Small points of dispute can hinder effectiveness.
- Understanding the other side’s needs to discover and explore common ground.
- Communicating the reasons for suggestions or actions so the other side understands the motives behind a policy.
- Assessing the negotiation process to identify potential improvements.
Organizational Communication
Organizational communication is the provision and passing of information and instructions that enable a company or employing organization to function efficiently and keep employees properly informed about developments. It covers all kinds of information, the channels through which it passes, and the means of passing it (ACAS).
Types of Communication
- Downwards communication: From managers to other employees, including house journals and company newspapers.
- Upwards communication: To tap into employees’ knowledge and opinions, using suggestion schemes and attitude surveys.
- Horizontal communication: Between individuals and teams, or between departments or work groups.
- Electronic communication: Including e-mail and Intranet.
Models of Communication
One criticism of the Shannon and Weaver model is that communication is seen as only a one-way process. Refer to pages 250 and 254 for further details.