TheImportanceofGoodCommunications Effectivecommunicationisessentialforallorganizations.Itlinkstheactivitiesofthevariouspartsoftheorganizationandensuresthateveryoneisworkingtowardsacommongoal.Itisalsoextremelyimportantformotivatingemployees.Staffneedtoknowhowtheyaregettingon,whattheyaredoingrightandinwhichareastheycouldimprove.Workingalonecanbeextremelydifficultanditismucheasierifsomeonetakesaninterestandprovidessupport.Employeesneedtounderstandwhytheirjobisimportantandhowitcontributestotheoverallsuccessofthefirm.Personalcommunicationshouldalsoincludetargetsetting.Peopleusuallyrespondwelltogoals,providedtheseareagreedbetweenthemanagerandsubordinateandnotimposed. However,firmsoftenhavecommunicationproblemsthatcanunderminetheirperformance.Inmanycases,theseproblemsoccurbecausemessagesarepassedoninaninappropriateway.Thereare,ofcourse,severalwaysofconveyinginformationtoothersintheorganizationwhichincludespeakingtothemdirectly,e-mailing,telephoningorsendingamemo.Themostappropriatemethoddependsonwhatexactlyitisyouarecommunicating.Forexample,anythingthatisparticularlysensitiveorconfidential,suchasanemployee'sappraisal,shouldbedoneface-to-face. Oneofthemainproblemsforseniorexecutivesisthattheydonothavethetimeorresourcesneededtocommunicateeffectively.Inlargecompanies,forexample,itisimpossibleforseniormanagerstomeetanddiscussprogresswitheachemployeeindividually.Obviouslythistaskcanbedelegatedbutatthecostofcreatingagapbetweenseniormanagementandstaff.Asaresult,managersareoftenforcedtouseothermethodsofcommunication,likememosornotes,eveniftheyknowthesearenotnecessarilythemostsuitablemeansofpassingonmessages. Theuseoftechnology,suchase-mail,mobilephonesandnetworksystems,isspeedingupcommunicationimmensely.However,thisdoesnotmeanthatmoreinvestmentintechnologyautomaticallyprovesbeneficial:systemscanbecomeoutdatedoremployeesmaylackappropriatetraining.Therearemanycommunicationstoolsnowavailablebutafirmcannotaffordallofthem.Evenifitcould,itdoesnotactuallyneedthemall.Thepotentialgainsmustbeweighedupagainstthecosts,andfirmsshouldrealizethatmorecommunicationdoesnotnecessarilymeanbettercommunication." Asthenumberofpeopleinvolvedinanorganizationincrease,theuseofwrittencommunicationrisesevenfaster.Insteadofaquickconversationtosortsomethingoutnumerousmessagescanbepassedbackwardsandforwards.Thiscanleadtoatremendousamountofpaperworkandisoftenlesseffectivethanface-to-facecommunication.Whenyouareactuallytalkingtosomeoneyoucandiscussthingsuntilyouarehappythattheyhaveunderstoodandfeedbackisimmediate.Withwrittenmessages,however,youareneverquitesurehowitwillbereceivedwhatyouthinkyouhavesaidandwhattheotherpersonthinksyouhavesaidcanbeverydifferent. Theamountofwritteninformationgeneratedinlargeorganizationstodaycanleadtocommunicationoverload.Somuchinformationisgatheredthatitgetsinthewayofmakingdecisions.Takealookattheaveragemanager'sdeskandyouwillseetheproblem--itisoftencoveredwithletters,reportsandmemos.Thisoverloadcanleadtoinefficiencies.Forexample,managersmaynotbeabletofindtheinformationtheywantwhentheyneedit.Communicationisalsobecomingmoredifficultwiththechangesoccurringinemploymentpatterns.Withmorepeopleworkingpart-timeandworkingathome,managingcommunicationisbecomingincreasinglycomplex. 1.InthefirstparagraphthewriterrecommendsthatcommunicationwithstaffshouldincludeA.somefeedbackontheirjobperformance. B.anexplanationofhowcompanytargetshavebeenset. C.informationonpromotionprospectswithinthecompany. D.anindicationofwhichdutiestheycanexpectassistancewith.areastheycouldimprove 2.Accordingtothewriter,thebestwayofachievingeffectivecommunicationistoA.adaptthemessagetosuitaparticularaudience. B.makethecontentofmessagesbriefanddirect. C.selectthemostsuitablemeansofconveyingaparticularmessage. D.ensurethatinformationistargetedattheappropriategroupofpeople. 3.Whatdoesthewritersayaboutthecommunicationoptionsavailabletoseniormanagers?A.Sendingmemostostaffisoneofthemostefficientmethods. B.Itisimportanttofindthetimetodiscusscertainmatterswithstaff. C.Theyshouldincreasetherangeofoptionsthattheyuse. D.Gettingjuniormanagerstotalktostaffcancreatedifferentproblems. 4.Whatadviceisgivenaboutthecommunicationtoolsmadeavailablebytechnology?A.Aimtolimitstaffuseofcertaincommunicationtools. B.Evaluatethemintermsoftheexpenditureinvolved. C.Selectthemonthebasisofthefacilitiestheyoffer. D.Encouragemorestafftoattendtrainingcoursesintheiruse. 5.Accordingtothewriter,aproblemwithwrittencommunicationisthatA.themessagecanbeinterpreteddifferentlytowhatwasintended. B.itcanbeeasyforpeopletoignorethecontentsofawrittenmessage. C.mostpeoplearemorecomfortablewithface-to-facecommunication. D.itispossibleforcorrespondencetogetlostwithinalargeorganization. 6.Accordingtothearticle,whatistheeffectofreceivinglargeamountsofwritteninformation?A.Itiscounter-productive." B.Itcausesconflictinacompany. C.Itleadstochangesinworkpatterns. D.Itmakesthemainpointsmoredifficulttoidentify.