Internal Communication Case Study

2.2.3 Leadership and Internal Communication

D’Aprix (1996, pp. 131-132) declares the dark side of organizational life to be the misuse of power and the abuse and devaluation of employees. There is however, nothing wrong with hierarchical structures, he adds. Some of them are very effective and even efficient in their ability to concentrate solutions on serious problems, he explains. In an emergency there is no substitute for a strong authority figure who can mobilize the co-workers into action, he continues. Yet, most of organizational life is not an emergency, rather an effort to lead the employees in the accomplishment of group objectives in support of the organization’s larger objectives. It calls for teamwork and integration of individual

82) mentions physical distance as another challenging factor for effective communication within organizations. The physical distance does not only refer to long distances between organizational units, she explains, but distances between buildings or within the same building, and between individual co-workers as well. The physical distance may lead to changes in the communication in several ways, she argues, with regard to frequency and technical use. The geographical distance reduces the likelihood of making contacts with other units since the costs that come with that are increasing, she elucidates. Consequently, the contacts within these units may increase. The reasons for making such contacts are mostly time and cost related, or of a social character, for example it might be easier to associate with people with the same background. Other changes in communication is that the lost external contacts, involved in transferring to another location, are replaced with new contacts at the new place, she finally

57) using co-workers as communication channels brings both benefits and disadvantages. The information provided by the management may not always be up-to-date; it may concern tasks by routine, or be too general in its character. Co-workers that possess knowledge or experience within this particular area, compose a great help in interpreting such matter, he argues. Although communicating information via co-workers may be a positive measure – not least due to its social function - there is a downside to using this channel, Strid (1999, pp.57-58) declares. A given problem closely related to this communication channel is the risk for rumors, which includes information that has not been confirmed by the management, circulating among the co-workers, he continues. This is a common occurrence when there is great interest for a certain topic, he claims, and there is a lack of information about the specific area. In order to prevent rumors from occurring, Petersson and Petersson (1992, p. 126) suggest the official information to be fast and easily accessible so that only a minor number of employees will miss it. Furthermore, they recommend the information to build a trustworthy base, as well as supply full coverage facts that leave the receivers with no