Everyone strives to be understood, but with this desire, not everyone does everything necessary for the meaning of their speech to be clear. In case of misunderstanding, both parties of any communication are most often to blame. In particular, such problems can occur during changes in an organization. People do not always quickly and calmly accept them, so mutual understanding is necessary. In this case, with the right interaction within a company, “all consciously used forms of internal and external communication are harmonized as effectively and efficiently as possible” (Cornelissen, 2017, p. 5). The purpose of this paper is to discuss how poor communication in an organization is related to changes and what methods exist to establish this process.
To achieve the maximum effect of communication, people should be well aware of various speech barriers. Usually, they are characterized by a state of emotional arousal or excitement. They can occur in such forms as stuttering or excessive use of interjections and parasite words. The more a person has mastered communication and public speaking skills, the better he or she controls emotions. When situations of misunderstanding arise in business communication, they are often associated with the fact that the speaker failed to clearly, sequentially, and convincingly present a point of view (Jethwaney, 2019). The less people control their emotions, the more often they create conflicts in communication and get into awkward situations. These employees’ qualities must be identified at the stage of hiring so that in a position of instability, it would be comfortable to communicate with them.
In this regard, it is also essential to understand that people’s life experience largely determines their position in communication. Often, before starting a conversation, people are convinced that the interlocutors are wrong. Therefore, such a discussion cannot be called constructive. It is based on the attitude – the assessment, stereotype, or readiness for a specific action. Once developed, it represents a value scale of an individual. The presence of attitudes adequate to reality and the ability to change them according to surrounding events are also crucial in the company’s interaction process.
The main problem of communication is the lack of mutual understanding. There are several basic principles of understanding in communication. The communicator and the recipient must have a professional vocabulary and correctly use it, describing and explaining situations or objects. The low ability to understand one of the partners in communication should be offset by the high capability of the other to clearly and intelligibly explain the case under discussion. The lack of mutual understanding, provided there is a significant difference in the intellectual development of the interlocutors, makes it impossible to achieve a constructive result. Incomplete, fragmentary communication does not contribute to the emergence of the effect of mutual understanding either (Bitla, 2019). The completeness of the information can be increased by a more detailed presentation of the material and a clear and open way of presenting one’s position.
One of the most critical factors of beneficial influence on the team is creating a trusting and warm atmosphere: the organizational climate. It consists of various elements: quality of management, interpersonal relationships, rules, condition of the office, and other aspects. A cautious attitude towards this allows people to create a sense of security and confidence at work. Due to this, even during the period of changes, employees accept incoming information calmly. They know for sure that they are not in danger at their workplaces, and are ready to adapt to critical situations. This issue must be taken into account from the beginning of the company’s functioning and maintained continuously.
If changes occur, managers should make sure that employees have a shared vision of the problem. To do this, it is necessary to give people complete information, arrange joint meetings, and personally communicate with everyone. This will help to avoid unnecessary disputes regarding the solution of company problems or even their essence, which people look at differently. According to Schein & Schein (2019), “change now involves both new learning and unlearning, giving up certain routines and the beliefs and values on which they were built” (p. 123). Therefore, the stronger the changes occurring in the organization are, the more people need to interact with each other, even though it may seem difficult for them.
An important detail of this aspect is the creation of specific communication structures. Undoubtedly, the CEO of a large company will not be able to speak with each of his subordinates personally. However, each director has a certain number of managers who can broadcast specific ideas in a team. In this situation, it is vital to understand from what point of view subordinates should look at the issue to present them with changes or problems in a particular light (Lerbinger, 2018). HR managers also play a crucial role in this process because they are well versed in organizational psychology and can help deal with conflicts. In addition, any company should have a common information field and a system of instant messengers that allow them to exchange complete information on time.
Organizational changes can sometimes be a painful process for the team. Unfortunately, it is often exacerbated by the lack of established communication between them. In a period of change, it is especially important to maintain this communication, although it should be built at the foundation and development stage of the company. This will allow people to feel confident and protected and to endure any changes steadily.
References
Bitla, S. (2019). Corporate communication for management students. Lulu.com.
Cornelissen, J. (2017). Corporate communication: A guide to theory and practice. SAGE.
Jethwaney, J. (2019). Corporate communication: Principles and practice. SAGE Publications.
Lerbinger, O. (2018). Corporate communication: An international and management perspective. John Wiley & Sons.
Schein, E. H., & Schein, P. A. (2019). The corporate culture survival guide. John Wiley & Sons.