In my short yet extensive career history I have seen numerous positive and negative examples of organizational communication. Up until recently, I had a supervisor who practiced ineffective organizational communication on a daily basis. As a manager he lacked communication skills, was hard to understand, and he was constantly changing his mind. Meetings with him were often rushed and unproductive. Moreover, his e-mails containing tasks and instructions often left other co-workers and I confused and unsure as to what he was asking for. When my colleagues and I attempted to clear up instructions, my manager could never be found at his desk and he was unreliable when it came to responding to e-mails. Another reason as to why my manager’s actions are a prime example of ineffective organizational communication is due to the fact that once someone managed to complete a project for him he would decide he no longer needed certain parts and would ask that additional information be provided in lieu of what they had already researched. This drastically prolonged the amount of time it took to complete a project. Needless to say, I was not surprised a couple of weeks ago when I found out that our company “no longer needed his services”.
Ironically, my former manager integrated effective organizational communication into the workplace when it came to training employees and addressing their responsibilities. Upon being hired, employees were taken through a thorough training process where individuals were walked through all policies, procedures, and duties. Furthermore, monthly meetings were held in order to go over any new policies/procedures that were implemented. Not only this, but daily goals were posted and communicated to all employees, thus ensuring the everyone was one the same page and that all associates were aware of what goals needed to be accomplished on that particular day.
Hi Caitlin!
ReplyDeleteI can definitely relate to the situation you have been in with your now previous manager. My manager has been exactly the same way. Some days he can be completely unresponsive to emails, his instruction can be unclear and ambiguous, and he can often change his mind depending on what type of mood he is in on a particular day. Clearly, no matter where one works, their will be employees with those characteristics, but it creates a very complex situation for new employees like us, because it seems out of place for a new hire with less than one year experience to critique an experienced manager's communication skills. It is especially frustrating the first few months because you don't dare say anything to the manager about it, in fear of damaging your relationship or your status as an employee. Luckily for you that manager is no longer with the company, and luckily for me I have developed a great relationship with my manager, so if he in unclear in his instruction, I am completely comfortable approaching him and saying the department did not fully understand what he was asking for.
And to think, this is just our first year after undergrad... plenty of time to experience much better and much worse organizational communication.
Have a great week!
From your example, it seems like every workplace has few people with this work habits. I have also experienced similar behaviors from few of my collegues and supervisors during my tenure with Saudi airlines. Since knowing your experience, I am wondering whether people are like this since beginning or they just got developed this way over time at their work. It is obvious that it is not convenient for you to correct your supervisor or senior level employee. Probably I can see that the reporting manager for such employees can make some difference as they migt be getting feedback from others and can plan training programs accordingly. Also, it helps to understand how important communication training that some company provides to their employees periodically.
ReplyDeleteI have also experienced instances in which e-mails from co-workers are unclear, making it extremely challenging to know exactly what a task or project should entail. Yet, as David stated, establishing a good relationship with your co-workers vastly increases your ability to participate in more effective communication. When I find myself uncertain about a particular e-mail message I have found it most effective to have a face-to-face conversation with the individual. This allows each of us to express our outlook and ask questions, resulting in a better understanding of the situation for both parties.
ReplyDeleteGood example of the limitations of email as a communication vehicle. Your post - and those commenting so far - also highlight the stronger face-to-face channel. We will explore this difference more in future classes.
ReplyDeleteEmail, often allows individuals to avoid personal contact with those they disagree with or would rather not deal with. I have had a "boss" with an adversion to the truth and to work and he would use Email as a smoke screen or as a delegation tool. This would drive us all nuts as he would shift his responsibilities to his employees and anyone who complained was delt with via email:)
ReplyDeleteIn my experience I have found that individuals often use e-mail for negative communicaton. I have also found that those who use e-mail for negative communication are often very poor managers and lack the skills that insure employee loyalty.
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