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Whatisagenerallyacknowledgedasthemostpowerfuladvertisingmediumandreachesabroadspectrumofconsumers.()
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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.Communicationisalso
InItaly,whenpeopletouchtheireyes,itrepresents: