Assessing Organizational
Communication:
Strategic Communication Audits
Chapter 4
Choosing Focal Areas to Assess
Phase 3: Diagnosis
Choosing Focal Areas to Assess



Auditors should view communication as
a key organizing process.
As such it should be related to other
organizational processes.
The best assessments:

Cover a broad range of
communication processes

Relate at least some of those
communication processes to other
organizational variables in some
depth.
Phase 3: Diagnosis
Choosing Focal Areas to Assess

Twelve Guidelines
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Examine how the task processes
impact communication.
Determine the adequacy of
information exchange.
Check the directionality of information
flow.
Assess how well employees use the
communication media/technologies.
Be sensitive to differences in
communication functions.
Check the quality of communication
relationships.
Phase 3: Diagnosis
Choosing Focal Areas to Assess

Twelve Guidelines
Plot communication networks.
Review the organization as a
communication system.
9. Relate communication to
organizational outcomes.
10. Link internal communication to
organizational strategies.
11. Assess the impact of new
technologies on communication.
12. Be open to the unexpected.
7.
8.
1. Examine How the Task
Processes Impact Communication

No communication assessment can
be completed without
understanding the task processes
necessary for directing, controlling,
and coordinating work
assignments.
1. Examine How the Task
Processes Impact Communication

Organizational Logic

A listing of the task processes
and a description of how the
organization functions.

By analyzing tasks and how they
fit together, we begin to
understand the demands made
on the communication system.

Table 4.1 Sample tasks in an
Organization
1. Examine How the Task
Processes Impact Communication
1. Examine How the Task
Processes Impact Communication


The auditor should use the logic to
gain insight into how work is done,
as that affects the communication
that needs to occur.
The logic reveals to the auditor
where integration across tasks is
necessary – in other words, where
people/departments are
interdependent.
2. Determine the Adequacy of
Information Exchange
One aim of communication is to
circulate information.
 Three issues are related to how
adequately this is accomplished:
 Type of Information
 Timing of Information
 Information Load

2. Determine the Adequacy of
Information Exchange

Type of Information
 Every audit ought to explore whether
people get the information that they
need to perform their jobs.
 Adequacy can be gauged in two ways:
 Employees know they don’t get all
the information
 Employees sometimes don’t know
information is available
2. Determine the Adequacy of
Information Exchange

Type of Information
 Auditors need to search out what
information is, and should be, made
available to employees and not be tied
to employees’ perceptions only.
 Because communication is one of the
principal ways of integrating people into
an organization, they often want
information not related to their own
processes.
2. Determine the Adequacy of
Information Exchange

Timing of Information
 Since information is only useful if
it is received on time, the auditor
can look for ways of developing a
timely distribution system.
 This is not always easy to do.
2. Determine the Adequacy of
Information Exchange

Information Load
 Load refers to the frequency and
amount of communication that takes
place.



Optimal Load – dictated by the receiver’s
ability to process
Underload – when people think they need or
could use more information
Overload – when people have more
information than they can possibly process.
2. Determine the Adequacy of
Information Exchange

Information Load
 Although the most common
complaint in organizations is that
employees do not get enough
communication, tension usually
develops when moving from
underload to overload.
2. Determine the Adequacy of
Information Exchange

Information Load

Load may also be related to technology



Photocopiers
Computers – email
In a real sense, the best most assessments
can do is to measure whether people feel
underloaded or overloaded, but this is
important information because it reveals
how people are responding to message
exchanges.
3. Check the Directionality of
Information Flow

Downward Flow

Upward Flow

Horizontal Flow
3. Check the Directionality of
Information Flow

Downward Flow
 Refers to those message systems that
proceed vertically down the chain of
command from managers to
subordinates.
 Employees receive a great deal of
information from many different
sources, but how much of this
communication is effective has always
been disputed.
3. Check the Directionality of
Information Flow

Downward Flow
 There has long been a difference
between management’s
perceptions of what employees
need to know and what employees
say they need and want to know.
3. Check the Directionality of
Information Flow

Downward Flow
 Two functions:


Employees need to have the information
necessary to do their jobs. In many
organizations such information is late in
coming or totally lacking
Good downward communication is not
limited to immediate work assignments; it
integrates people into their environments.
This is the aspect that many organizations
neglect.
3. Check the Directionality of
Information Flow

Downward Flow
 Downward communication may be
informal as well as formal; it goes
beyond task information; it focuses
on the employee, the unit, and the
company; it often does not meet the
expectations for employees; and it
must be constantly adapted to
changing circumstances.
3. Check the Directionality of
Information Flow

Upward Flow
Communication also flows from
employees up the chain of command,
either formally or informally.
 Some of the most important information
processing goes from employees at one
level to their superiors.
 Without an effective system of reporting
upward, no organization could possibly
function for long.

3. Check the Directionality of
Information Flow

Upward Flow
Upward communication sets the tone
for the communication climate.
 Whether employees have the freedom
to initiate communication with superiors
characterizes how employees perceive
the communication climate.
 Employees often deliberately filter
upward communication.

3. Check the Directionality of
Information Flow

Upward Flow
Upward communication is important to
the organization as well as to its
individual members.
 Being able to communicate upward
gives one a stake in the organization
and promotes a sense of dignity or
importance.
 Upward communication affects
individuals’ satisfaction levels.

3. Check the Directionality of
Information Flow

Upward Flow
Filtering upward communication can be
dysfunctional for overall organizational
health.
 Upward communication also affects
productivity.
 Thus, auditors need to assess it closely.

3. Check the Directionality of
Information Flow

Horizontal Flow
Much of the communication at work
takes place horizontally with peers,
colleagues, or fellow workers with
whom one does not have a hierarchical
relationship.
 Those interactions often stimulate
organizational commitment.
 Horizontal communication is sometimes
neglected not out of intent but out of
carelessness.

4. Assess How Well Employees Use the
Communication Media/Technologies



Messages have to be transmitted through
some channel or media.
The choice of media is often the key to
whether or not any communication is
effective.
Those choices probably most often reflect
what is convenient for the sender, but the
choices also reflect certain values employees
have about the appropriateness of using
certain media for tasks or about the symbolic
importance of using those media.
4. Assess How Well Employees Use the
Communication Media/Technologies


In many circles, there continues to be a
bias in favor of face-to-face
communication.
“Email is not communication.”
4. Assess How Well Employees Use the
Communication Media/Technologies

Five useful questions to ask:





Are the sender’s objectives compatible with
the attributes of the intended message?
Are the messages sent compatible with the
channels utilized?
Are the sender’s objectives compatible with
the type of channels utilized?
Are the messages compatible with the
receivers’ characteristics?
Are the channels utilized compatible with the
receivers’ characteristics? (Clampitt)
4. Assess How Well Employees Use the
Communication Media/Technologies

Email
 The new appeal of E-mail is the old
appeal of print. It isn’t instant; it
isn’t immediate; it isn’t in your
face.
 What we actually want from our
exchanges is the minimum human
contact commensurate with the
need to connect with people.
4. Assess How Well Employees Use the
Communication Media/Technologies

Two general research approaches
help to define important concerns
that influence communicator’s
perceptions of specific media:
 Media richness theory
 Social information-processing
theory
4. Assess How Well Employees Use the
Communication Media/Technologies

Media Richness Theory - Categorizes
media according to a continuum of
interactivity and cues available.
 Media offering more interactivity and
communication cues (visual and
auditory) are on the “rich end” of the
continuum.
 As media lose their interactivity and
communication cues, they are situated
on the “lean end” of the continuum.
4. Assess How Well Employees Use the
Communication Media/Technologies

Media Richness Theory
 Messages higher in ambiguity
would require richer
communication media, whereas
messages lower in ambiguity
require leaner communication
media.
4. Assess How Well Employees Use the
Communication Media/Technologies

Social Information-processing Theory
 Expands the focus from the specifics
of the task to the participants
involved.
 The meaning and use of specific
media are constructed by the
participants involved.
4. Assess How Well Employees Use the
Communication Media/Technologies

It is critical to explore the characteristics of the
communication media in the context of the
organization’s norms and its formal and informal
communication relationships by following three
steps:



Auditors should assess their client organization’s media
comprehensively.
Gauge employee reactions to these media. Over time,
people develop a general belief that some media provide
important information and others do not.
Evaluate the appropriateness of channel use given the
interrelationships among messages, media
characteristics, and organizational communicators.
4. Assess How Well Employees Use the
Communication Media/Technologies

Because employees have different
channel preferences for receiving
messages, one guideline is to use
multiple channels to send any message.

Channel redundancy helps messages
reach a wider audience.
4. Assess How Well Employees Use the
Communication Media/Technologies

Other guidelines to help auditors make
recommendations:






Does the communication require knowledge sharing?
Do people want to emphasize the message or the
source?
How complicated is the message?
Is immediate feedback desirable?
Is it necessary for the sender and the receiver to
communicate simultaneously?
Is the message persuasive in nature or is it more
informative?
4. Assess How Well Employees Use the
Communication Media/Technologies

Auditors should adapt these recommendations to
the specific context of the client organization.

Auditors should distinguish between formal and
informal channels.



Informal channel generally refers to the grapevine or
rumor mill.
Informal horizontal linkages help employees
accomplish work and establish powerful
communication networks.
Informal channels can compete with formal channels,
but they can also reinforce the formal channels.
5. Be Sensitive to Differences in
Communication Functions






Task/Work Function
Social/Maintenance Function
Motivation Function
Integration Function
Innovation Function
The interdependence among the functions
is key. Sometimes management may value
the task-oriented function most, but a
weakness in any of the other areas can
affect task communication.
6. Check the Quality of
Communication Relationships





Superior-Subordinate Relationships
 Trust
 Amount of message exchange
 Communication style of supervisor
Coworker Relationships
Manager Relationships
Unit Relationships
The Rules Governing Relationships
 Procedures or content
7. Plot Communication Networks




Formal
Informal
Communication Roles
 Isolates
 Group Members
 Liaisons
 Virtual positions
Technology - Email
8. Review the Organization as a
Communication System


Systems theorists look holistically at the
unit being audited. The system is the total
unit or organization being examined, but it
is made up of many subsystems that one
can define according to one’s purpose.
The systems perspective calls attention to
the way things are related, and it
underscores the fact that the isolation of
any one variable often distorts one’s
perceptions.
8. Review the Organization as a
Communication System



An important way to distinguish how systems
operate within their environments is to label
them as closed or open.
The closed system is insulated and has
apparently impermeable boundaries so that it
does not react to and is not influenced by
what goes on around it.
An open system is one in which
communication enables the organization to
sense its environment and to adapt to the
changes taking place.
8. Review the Organization as a
Communication System

Six subsystems:
1.
Individual to individual – same unit
2.
Individual to individual – across
3.
Unit to unit
4.
Individual to organization
5.
Work unit to organization
6.
Environment to each of the other
components
8. Review the Organization as a
Communication System
9. Relate Communication to
Organizational Outcomes
Satisfaction
 Profitability and Costs
 Productivity
 Organizational Commitment

9. Relate Communication to
Organizational Outcomes
Satisfaction – In a real sense most
communication assessments are
heavily based on satisfaction.
 Satisfaction becomes the standard
by which employees judge their
organization.

9. Relate Communication to
Organizational Outcomes

Positive links with Satisfaction and













Openness in communication
Communication relationships
Communication load
Communication apprehension
Nonverbal behavior
Communication style
Amount of feedback
Congruence of communication rules
Accuracy of communication
Organizational commitment
Communication from top management
Communication satisfaction
Communication quality
9. Relate Communication to
Organizational Outcomes

Profitability and Costs
 As important as it is,
communication is costly.
 Expense considerations are
legitimate and necessary aspects
of communication assessments.
9. Relate Communication to
Organizational Outcomes

Productivity
 There is considerable evidence that
communication can be directly related
to productivity.
 Because communication is just one of
many variables affecting productivity,
one needs to be careful in claiming that
a given communication phenomenon
always affects productivity in a certain
way.
9. Relate Communication to
Organizational Outcomes

Productivity
 Specifying exactly how
communication’s particular
components influence behavior
can be difficult.
 Research merely points out that
any aspect of communication may
be related to productivity
9. Relate Communication to
Organizational Outcomes

Productivity

The auditor must look for the connection in a
particular instance keeping several factors in
mind:




The environment has a significant influence.
The link between communication and
productivity may not be direct but may operate
in a two-step approach.
Organizations have multiple productivity goals,
and it is important to sort out which are most
important.
Productivity demands may also become points
of dissatisfaction.
9. Relate Communication to
Organizational Outcomes

Organizational Commitment
 Organizations are concerned about
the “erosion of corporate loyalty.”
 Research shows repeatedly that
across organizations and cultures,
it is the formal communication that
affects employees’ organizational
commitment.
9. Relate Communication to
Organizational Outcomes

Organizational Commitment



Just as there are multiple measures of
productivity, there are also multiple measures
of organizational commitment.
Because each instrument defines commitment
differently, the survey instrument choice
affects auditors’ findings.
Auditors must be cautioned against taking
rigid cause-effect positions on the link
between communication and commitment.
10. Link Internal Communication
to Organizational Strategies
Auditors can add value to their
clients by introducing a strategic
view of communication.
 More and more executives see the
need for tying their communication
thrusts directly to the strategies they
set for the organization.

10. Link Internal Communication
to Organizational Strategies


The focus on strategy requires a paradigm
shift for some auditors if their focus tends
to be primarily on organizational
operations.
Too many managers see communication
initiatives as a quick fix to apply
defensively. This mind-set separates
communication from the daily task of
accomplishing work and achieving goals.
10. Link Internal Communication
to Organizational Strategies


Managers need to see how strategic
communication is an integral part of
achieving the organization’s objectives
rather than a separate function.
Strategic communication is integral to
accomplishing what companies want and
need to do rather than something they do
on the side to make people feel good.
11. Assess the Impact of New
Technologies on Communication

New technologies affect how people
communicate, but they also affect
the network, the task processes, and
the chain of command.
12. Be Open to the Unexpected
Assessments should be open
enough to permit observations about
the unexpected.
 If they are arranged too tightly that
tightness limits the potential for
discovery.

Conclusion
Diagnosis begins with a focus.
 Covering all areas referred to in this
chapter gives a comprehensive
impression of the organization; such
a general overview is described in
terms of a communication climate or
an organizational culture.

Conclusion


These concepts reflect an attempt to
discover those stable communicative
characteristics of the environment,
whether or not created purposefully by the
organization.
To the extent that such climates or
cultures “provide a common frame of
reference for participants, they would be
expected to exert potent influences on
individual performance and satisfaction.”
Assessing Organizational
Communication:
Strategic Communication Audits
Chapter 4
Choosing Focal Areas to Assess
END