Understanding Approaches to Organizational Communication

Running a business or being in charge of an organization takes more than the daily duties that must be done to keep the organization going but more importantly to run a successful business or organization takes good communication skills.  Being knowledgeable of the different definitions and theories in organizational communication and knowing when to apply these approaches will help workers to   be an important asset to any employer.  

Four major approaches to understanding communication are communication as information transfer, transactional process, strategic control and balance of creativity and constraint.  Communication as Information Transfer is information that is transferred in one direction only, from the sender to the receiver. There isn't any opportunity for the receiver to give feedback to the sender, relying on the receiver to transmit the information in his or her head without distortion or personal interpretation to one another.  One-way communication was emphasized as means of impressing and trying to impress others to want to also try this way of communication.   Viewed this way, communication if defined as “the exchange of information and the transmission of meaning” (Dessler, 1982, p. 94).  Transactional Process is communication that exchanges messages between sender and receiver. Both sender and receiver take turns to send or receive messages. Both “sender" and "receiver" are known as "communicators" and their role reverses each time in the communication process as both processes of sending and receiving occurs at the same time. Strategic Controls are usually carried out by managers or lead communicators in a business or organization so that they can monitor the activities of employees and evaluate if the strategic aims are being performed efficiently and effectively.   They usually work directly with employees so they can influence and help achieve the strategic goals that have been set out to achieve. They need some decision making freedom: either to decide what needs to be achieved,   strategies appropriate to the situation or how best to go about achieving the strategic goals.  Balance of Creativity and Constraint is “moment to moment working out of the tension” refers specifically to the balance of creativity (thinking innovatively, being willing to reexamine taken-for-granted routines and practices, encouraging new ideas, and so on) and constraints (the constructions of reality that limit the individual’s choice of strategic response, such as deadlines, financial limits, organizational rules, and so on) (Eisenberg & Goodall & Trethewey, 2014, page. 38).

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