Assignment of:

Business Communication

Submitted to:
Mr. Subroto Biswas

Submitted by:
Shilpi kesarwani
ID No. - 13MCOM002


Topic:
In a business organization how
will communication flow from
junior most level to senior most
level of the organization.
What are the problems you
perceive can arise within this
flow?
Suggest few ways to reduce
them.


Contents:
Acknowledgement

Introduction

In a business organisation, how will
communication flow from junior most level to senior
most level

What are the problems you perceive can arise
within this flow

Suggest few ways to reduce them

Conclusion



Acknowledgement:
I have been given an assignment titled-
I n a business organization how will
communication flow from junior most level to
senior most level of the organization. What are
the problems you perceive can arise within this
flow? Suggest few ways to reduce them.
I am thankful to few persons who helped me in
the completion of my assignment to its best. I
would like to thank my subject teacher,
Mr. Subroto Biswas for giving his valuable
advice and guidance about this topic and subject.
I would also like to thank my friend Alwyn
James for his guidance and support.


Introduction:
An introduction to the term Communication-
The English word communication has been derived from Latin word communis,
which means common, consequently it implies that the communication is common
understanding through communion of minds and hearts.
Communication is the process of passing information and understanding from one
person to another. It is essentially a bridge of meaning between the people. By using
the bridge a person can safely cross the river of misunderstanding. It may be broadly
defined as the process of meaningful interaction among human beings. More
specifically it is the process by which meanings are perceived and misunderstanding
is reached among human beings. It is the transmission or the transfer of facts, figures,
ideas, emotions, thoughts, information, etc. between two or more persons.
Communication is complete when the receiver understands in the same sense and
spirit that the communicator intends to convey.
Definition of communication by D.E. Mc Farland,
Communication may be broadly defined as the process of meaningful interaction
among human beings. More specifically it is the process by which meanings are
perceived and understanding is reached among human beings.
Communication itself is a complete process as it has a beginning and an end as its
elements:

Sender
Message
Encoding
Channel Receiver
Decoding
Feedback
In a business organisation, how will the communication
flow from junior most level to senior most level of the
organisation:
A Study on Pioneer Companies Limited:
For the purpose of explaining the flow of communication from junior most to senior
most level in an organization, I have taken a hypothetical organisation named as
Pioneer Companies Limited. I have assumed this organization to be an organization
involved in the production of readymade garments. It has a several number of
departments as production department, sales department, finance department,
marketing department, R & D department. This organization has been divided into
three main levels as per the authority and status of human resource in the
organization. These levels are:

Top Level
Middle Level
Lower Level
The organizational structure of Pioneer Companies Limited:
Relations among various departments or individuals in an organization are
established through either pre-specified formal channels or unpredictable natural
channels. Formal channels are those set up by the organization to ensure
communication inside and outside the organization. The natural communication
network, on the other hand, develops spontaneously and ties social groups together.
Organizations employ various methods in communicating with their inner and outer
environments. These methods can be examined under two headings in terms of
structure of communication and the direction of the message flow:

Chairman
Production
Department
Head/Manager
Workers
Sales Deparment
Head/Manager
Workers
Finance
Department
Head/Manager
Workers
Marketing
Department
Head/Manager
Workers
Research and
Development
Head/Manager
Workers
Human Resource
Department
Head/Manager
Workers
Managing Director
Communication in
terms of structural
functioning
Formal
Natural
Communication in
terms of direction
of flow of messages
Vertical
Linear
Diagonal
Upward
Downward
The flow of information between the different levels is done in prescribed rules and
format, due to which such type is also known as Formal Communication.
Communication in Pioneer Companies Limited has been structured broadly on the
basis of hierarchy, authority and accountability. This form of communication here in
this organization or any other organization even is formed, prescribed and followed
under a certain rigid sequence and steps. It is designed to ensure uniformity in
dissemination and transfer of information and to ensure accountability. With this
form, the different levels of Pioneer Companies Limited transfers various information
across the different levels of management in the form of meetings, conferences,
circulars, company news, etc. It passes through line and authority and consequently
ensures the maintenance of authority as well as accountability of the executives in
charge. It develops intimate relations between immediate boss and his subordinates.
Here, the top level can delegate authorities using different channels and the
subordinates can report to them or can even communicate their grievances. It helps
this organization to ensure authenticity and genuineness of the matter communicated
because of responsibility of the person involved irrespective of their status and the
information can be transmitted uniformly.
Flow of communication from senior most level and junior most level in Pioneer
Companies Limited:
Since the communication from junior most level to senior most level is asked to be
described, it shows the flow of information from lower level to higher level showing
an upward trend. Thus, this type of communication is termed as upward
communication. Upward communication aims to inform senior management of what
is going on at subordinate levels. This type of communication includes progress
reports, suggestions, explanations, and information and data necessary for making
decisions.
The lower most subordinates in Pioneer Companies Limited, pass information as how
much work has been done, how far the duties have been followed, where are the
resources as human or material lacking, whether the prescribed time limit was
followed or not, etc. to the middle level. The lower level subordinates also
communicate their grievances regarding payment, salary, working hours, bonus,
incentive, working conditions in this organization to the middle level for its remedies.
The middle level having departmental heads, etc scrutinizes the reports and
grievances of lower level and they pass the relevant and genuine ones further to the
top level so as to help them to analyse till what level has the objectives of this
organization been achieved and it allows the different levels to have a say in the
organization to promote enthusiasm. This flow of information in Pioneer Companies
Limited from lower most level to senior most level can be termed as upward
communication.
The workers of Production department communicate with their head regarding the
amount of work done, the working conditions in the organization, the amount of cloth
required to produce readymade garments to meet the required demand, the garments
produced of different sizes, etc. The production manager further reports to the
managing director about the targets so achieved, and grievances of the workers if
any. The managing thereafter informs the chairman about the working efficiency and
job performance of production departmental head, about the goals achieved by them,
the problems of the manager, and the workers so as to curb them before it increases.
On the other hand, the workers of sales department communicate with their manager
to inform them about the amount of goods dispatched to be sold in market, the
amount required to meet the carriage expenses, the different sizes dispatched in the
market, the quantity and quality dispatched to different dealers, the problems they are
facing etc. The Manager passes on these to the managing director so that he can
compare the equilibrium between the demand and supply of different sizes of
readymade garments in the market. Similarly, the workers of marketing department
communicates to their head about the techniques they think to be the best for
marketing research in the market of readymade garments. The workers of human
resource department will inform their head about the new number of persons to be
recruited, better techniques of training, reasons why they are lacking efficiency, etc.
Similarly, the workers of all the other departments communicate with their managers
to inform about the working in their respective department and the problems and
grievances if they face or have.
The managing director here scrutinizes the individual reports of all the department as
submitted by their respective heads and compiles it in an organized report and
transfers and communicates it to the chairman to inform him about the achievement
of set targets, the loopholes if any, and the demands and grievances of the personnels
and the improvements and suggestions for better efficiency.

The problems that arise in the flow of upward
communication in the Pioneer Companies Limited:-
1. Pioneer Companies limited faces a number of problems which is identical to
the problems faced in case of any and every formal communication. For
instance, it increases the workload of managers of different departments as all
communications are to be transmitted through them.

2. It has been noticed that this upward communication in Pioneer Companies
Limited widens the gap between the chairman and workers of different
departments as a result of which their relationships gets affected, and the junior
most people lack touch and sense of belongingness to the organization.

3. This flow of communication affects the accuracy and transparency of the
messages floated from junior most level because the managers of various
departments manipulate information to please the managing director who
further does filtering and coloring with the messages to please the chairman so
as to get appraisal and other benefits.

4. The Workers and all the people involved here in this flow in this organization
lack enthusiasm in communicating all information since its a delayed
procedure.

5. The lower level workers get pessimists and disheartened due to such delay in
the remedial actions for their grievances.

6. Managers here indulge in premature evaluation to whatever the junior levels
suggest. Due to this, they have an attitude that all the suggestions as given by
junior level whether good or bad will be wrong and as a result they dont
consider them because of which the workers feel de-motivated and loose the
sense of belonging to Pioneer Companies Limited.

7. The problem with the workers is that they get affected with the grapevine
communication prevailing among them. There existed a rumor among junior
level that their wages and salaries will be cut for the following month as a
result of which workers got disheartened and started keeping and reporting
half-heartedly because of which the information eventually gets distorted.

8. It has been noticed that the personnels of junior most level fear the managing
director and chairman as they hardly contact directly, as a result of which they
tend to distort information and do its window dressing so as to please the
higher authorities.

9. Workers and higher levels do misinterpret the information due to lack of
flexibility in the rigid communication channel in Pioneer Companies Limited.
For instance, managers misinterpret and decode the messages wrongly as the
workers sometimes transmits them into their local languages and symbols
which is not clearly understood by managers.

10. In Pioneer Companies Limited, staff meetings are not conducted frequently to
know the grievances and suggestions of workers at lower levels, because of
which the free flow of communication is interrupted and the communication
gap between persons gets widened.











Few suggestions to reduce the above mentioned problems in the
flow of communication in this organisation:
1. Managers and managing director should be encouraged to communicate
accurate information and avoid dressing and coloring of messages. Time to
time check can be done to prevent this. The authorities should always try to fix
and identify the source of information so as to check it accuracy.

2. The communication procedure here should be made efficient and effective and
quick so as to avoid delay.

3. Direct contact and communication between the senior most and junior most
level should be promoted so as to clear doubts, confusions, rumors arouse as a
result of grapevine communication in the organisation.

4. Remedial actions should soon be taken to solve the grievances of the working
staff. A separate entity or helpline can be set up to facilitate these remedial
actions that too without much delay.

5. Managers should develop a healthy and positive attitude towards workers and
they should avoid premature evaluation.

6. Workers advices and suggestions should be welcomed and appreciated as
deserved.

7. Time to time meetings and conferences can be conducted inviting each level of
personnels so as to promote direct touch and sense of belongingness.

8. The flow of messages transmitted from various persons should be transmitted
in a language, sentences and phrases which can be easily decoded and is easily
understood by the receiver.

9. Individual employee problems can be personality conflicts, supervisor issues,
personal trauma, or company structure oriented. Management must learn the
cause of the problem and who or what keeps "fueling the fire." If there is no
clear trigger, the answer could fall back to insufficient or confusing
communications. For example, an employee in a decentralized organization
may feel they must answer to multiple supervisors if the chain of command is
not communicated clearly.

10. The managers and even the personnels at different levels should manage and
resolve the current problem right away, so as to avoid its extension in the
future.

11. The authorities should learn the problem's root causes and should address and
correct these issues to avoid a repetition of the problem.

12. The illogical flow of information should be avoided and the flow of
information between the senior most level and junior most level should be
done on the basis of goals like-giving instructions for job training, giving
information about the practices of the Organization, providing information for
the logical integrity of the Job, raising employees performance, giving
information that facilitates the comprehension of the goals.

13. The communication channels between the seniors and their subordinates need
to be unobstructed in order to reach the organizations goals quickly and
efficiently.

14. The reporting responsibility should be bifurcated among the capable workers
also in addition to managers to report to higher levels so as to reduce his
burden and promote his interest. This will lead to coordination and team spirit
among individuals and ultimately the the flow of communication will be free
from faulty and delayed tactics.

15. The workers and human resource at every level should ensure effective
listening and should be empathetic to the various information transmitted.

16. Pioneer Companies Limited should encourage open communication by
following open-door policy and management by working around. This would
establish a direct link and touch between the junior most level and senior most
level thereby eliminating interruption and distortion of information and will
also at the same time motivate workers at lower level to be free and frank.
Conclusion:
Communication is a social process that allows a constant exchange of information
and opinion between the components of the organization and its environment in order
to ensure its functioning in line with its goals. In this context, communication is the
most important device of organizational management. One of the most salient
features of modern organizations is their ability to make use of their employees
knowledge. Further, ease of information transmission makes it possible to reach the
information at the source, allowing efficient and correct decisions. Communication is
complete when the message is conveyed in the same sense and spirit that sender
intends to convey.

As from the above case study about flow of communication from junior most level to
senior most level in Pioneer Companies Limited, we can very well conclude about
how the communication passes from workers to different people at different levels
and how does it ultimately reaches the senior most level i.e. the chairman in case of
Pioneer Companies Limited.

Through this case study, we can even analyse that there are a number of problems
which may and does arises in such a flow and in such a lengthy procedure as attitude
problem, delayed procedure, confusions and rumors arising out of informal
communication, etc.

These problems and hindrances cannot be removed completely but yes, these can be
reduced to an extent by adopting various remedial measures as conducting time to
time meetings and conferences, maintaining a personal touch, promoting direct
communication, etc. as effective communication are essential for the survival and
success of the organisation. This organisation under study should create conducive
environment for communication, it should ensure two-way communication with
adequate and proper feedback, it should lay proper emphasis on creating proper
organizational structure, proper decentralization and delegation of authority to
strengthen the communication flow, it should follow proper channels and use proper
and adequate media, the various levels in Pioneer Companies Limited should use
proper language consisting of appropriate words, pictures, symbols, etc.







Thank
You