Communication in Organizations

Question: Discuss about the Communication in Organizations. Answer: Introduction Communication is defined as the process by which information is relayed from its source to its recipient and back to its source. Communication is of different forms, including vocal, verbal, non-vocal and non-verbal forms. Furthermore, communication can be intended and unintended. The intended communication is the communication that people are aware of, while unintended communication is that which people use signals involuntarily to pass a message. For people or organizations to develop an understanding of the nominal phases of communication, there is need to comprehend and implement theories of communication. Communication theories purposes at developing knowledge on the ways people communicate. Such theories use facts and mathematics to cultivate comprehensions into the nature of the various sorts of human communication (Cornelissen 2014, p.1). Examples of theories used in communication include; Cognitive Dissonance Theory, which reasons that people are discouraged from taking part in conversations involving discordant beliefs, as they seem aversive, Communication Accommodation Theory, which describes impacts of what ensues when two or more speakers shift their communication styles and the Cultural Studies Theory. This article tends to show the importance of these theories, and how they can be applied in a communication event. Communication Event Depending on the purpose of communication, communication can be between two or more people, or between a person and an organization or between two or more organizations. The most known form of communication is the live communication, where it requires parties to be physical onsite. People or organizations can hold conferences or meetings to relay information to the recipients. A company held an event and invited some members of the public, who were mostly its client. The event was later filled with clients, the company's employees, media personalities and its shareholders. The purpose of the event was to communicate the company's strategies, ideas, and its concepts, as well as get different feedback from the clients (Argenti 2015, p.1). Media personalities held interviews and helped in relaying messages out to a large number of people (Savic 2016, p.609). The event engaged the public, thus captivating them and at the same time, managed to convey important messages. Conversations were held between the clients and the employees, the companys managers and directors with the media and clients (Cooren 2016, p. 395). From the different conversations held, it was evident that behaviors, like maintaining eye contact, showing of interest, avoiding of distractions and asking questions, demonstrated if one was a good listener or not. Good listening is important as it attaches meaning on what is heard. On the other hand, the recipients' feedback were relayed differently. Some were specific, and to the point, other people got personal and deviated a little from the main topic of conversation and others gave negative feedback. Timing was essential, especially when the media personnel held short interviews with some attendees. Non-verbal communication, also known as the kinesics, was also observed in the event; the facial communication, which displayed messages of emotion, the eye communication, and communication through touch like greetings (Burgoon et al. 2 016, p. 2). Paralinguistic was also noted. Theories such as the Cognitive Dissonance Theory, Communication Accommodation Theory, and Cultural Studies theory were used in these different ways of communication. Usefulness of Theories The Cognitive Dissonance theory focuses on the idea that people seek consistency in their attitudes and beliefs in situations where cognitions are not consistent. This causes the introduction of motives that sustain intellectual evenness and thus giving rise to unreasonable and maladaptive behaviors (Martin Clore 2013, p.10). Different people met for the event, and they held various conversations concerning different things in general. It was observed that many of them chose to avoid hearing views that opposed their beliefs. Furthermore, others changed their beliefs so as to match their actions, which forced them to seek reassurance after making decisions that were difficult on their side. Other people however stuck to what they believed and did not try to harmonize the heated conversations between their various beliefs. This led to the emergence of conflicts. Most company employees were noted to have exercised the cognitive dissonance theory to please the clients. The company manag ers too upheld this theory so as to please the company's shareholders. The Communication Accommodation Theory is viewed as a hypothetical theory that is used in examining the consequences and enthusiasms of what comes from two or more speakers alter their communication styles. It is related to the Social Identity Theory and is all about people minimizing social differences by adjusting their communicating ways. This theory argues that people would try to regulate or billet their speaking styles to others and how they would want to positively portray their identities to others (Gallois Giles 2015, p. 2). People in the social event had to adjust their communication styles depending on the different groups they were conversing with. For example, young people in the event had to change the way they addressed the elder people; the employees had to alter their styles depending on how the client talked or gestured. The company's managers and staff had to strive to create an affirmative appearance of themselves, which reflected the company's image. This was do ne by use of words and actions. Theoreticians in the Cultural Studies Theory uphold the fact that the media personnel represents creeds of the principal class in a societal organization. Media is mostly controlled by corporations, and because of this, the information relayed to the public is predisposed and edged with proceeds in mind (Getz Page 2016, p. 21). This is clearly shown by the presence of the media in the event. The media was invited by the organization so that it could deliver positive information and feedback to the public. Though some little negativity was noted, the media conveyed positive information to the public. This shows how power plays a major role in influencing the media in the elucidation of culture. Conclusion Effective communication is an essential skill that enables people and organizations to interact and connect. Communication events are key in upholding successful relationships between an organization and its clients. Communication is essential in perpetuating professional or personal relationships between people. References Argenti, P.A 2015, Corporate communication. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Burgoon, J.K., Guerrero, L, and Floyd, K 2016, Nonverbal communication. Routledge. Cooren, F 2016, 20 Verbal communication in organizational settings. Verbal Communication,3, p.395) Cornelissen, J 2014, Corporate communication: A guide to theory and practice. Sage. Gallois, C, and Giles, H 2015, Communication accommodation theory. The internationalencyclopedia of language and social interaction. Getz, D, and Page, S 2016, Event Studies: Theory, research, and policy for planned events.Routledge. Martin, L, and Clore, G 2013, Theories of mood and cognition: A users guidebook.Psychology Press. Savic, I 2016, Mediatization of companies as a factor of their communication power and thenew role of public relations. Public Relations Review, 42(4), pp.607-615.