Intrroduction to

Commmunication UNIT 4 FORMS OF

O COM
MMUNIC
CATION
N
AT WORK
KPLACE
E
Objectivess

After study
ying this unitt you will bee able to:

● Undersstand the conncept of com

mmunicationn at workplacce;
● Undersstand types oof communiccation at workplace;
● Apprecciate the bennefits of effective commuunication at the workplaace.

Structure

4.1 Introdduction
4.2 Form
mal Communnication
4.3 Inform
mal Commuunication
4.4 Confl
flict Resolutiion at Workpplace
4.5 Crisiss Communiccation
4.6 Benefits of Effective Commu
unication at Workplace
W
4.7 Summ
mary
4.8 Keyw
words
4.9 Self-A
Assessment Questions
4.10 Referrences and F
Further readings

4.1 IN
NTRODU
UCTION
N
We have already discussed that effecttive verbal and nonn-verbal
communicaation is criitical to thee success of o a personn at personnal and
professionaal levels. Sim
milarly, it is important foor the successs and growtth of an
organisation to have a robust communicatioon channel where w the flow
f of
informationn is fast and accurate.Noowadays, orgganisations provide
p preliiminary
training to communicaate effectively at the woorkplace to their emplooyees at
entry-level and organize workshoops in whicch the existing employyees at
various levvels can enhhance their communicat
c tion skills. They
T offer training
t
courses forr soft skills, email writiing skills, competency-b based intervviewing
skills etc. The
T organisaational intennt behind invvesting moneey and resouurces in
such skill enhancemeent training is to incrrease the efficiency e o their
of
employees while comm municating at the workkplace. This will lead too faster
and accuraate commuunication with w reducedd probabilitty of delayys and
minimized transfer of incorrect innformation at the workplace. Any ddelay or
transfer of incorrect information would
w result in loss of prroduction tim me that
equals to looss of moneyy for the commpany.

Large orgaanisations require variouus departmennts to work together annd need

their employees to coommunicate effectivelyy to achievee their operrational
52 goals. The employees in these deppartments coommunicate with each other
o in
 order to exchange essential information. They may interact verbally in a face Forms of
n Communication
to face meeting or over the phone or they may write emails, letters, memos, At Workplace
etc. The nature of these correspondences is mostly formal but at times they
also communicate informally on various occasions. The communication at
the workplace can be internal or external. The employee of an organisation
interacting with each other at various or the same level is internal
communication. The employee of an organisation interacting with people
outside their organisation is called external communication. The external
communication can be between the employees of an organisation and their
clients, prospective customers, service providers, contractors, vendors,
sponsors, investors, media, general public, etc. We give or take orders,
instruct, guide, coach, counsel, write letters/emails/memos, prepare
invoice/account statements, give or participate in a presentation, prepare
promotional and branding material, etc. The goal behind all types of
communication at work is to get the work done quickly and efficiently. The
communication at the workplace follows a proper channel and hierarchy
governed by the system of reporting to one’s manager. In this unit, we will
learn about these formal and informal types of communication at the
workplace and their importance for the growth of an individual and
organisation.

4.2 FORMAL COMMUNICATION

Formal communication or we can call it as official communication which is
governed by specific communication channels, hierarchies and organisational
policies. The examples of formal communication are emails, letters,
applications, minutes or recordings of a meeting, a video or teleconferencing
for business purposes etc. The use of language, tone, pitch, and style of
writing and speaking should display professionalism and should be accurate
for effective communication. The etiquettes of communication at the
workplace are normally predefined and it requires deliberate efforts from the
employees during the process of communication. The employees are bound
to follow the procedures without which the work in progress may face an
impediment and may experience a delay resulting in loss. If the employees do
not follow proper language etiquettes and predefined channels or processes
then they may not be able to leave a good impression of their work ethics
which will eventually result in slowing down their growth cycle. Formal
communication at the workplace has its own pros and cons. Let us have a
look at some of those.
● Formal communication is a reliable form of communication. It normally
has a paper trail and can be traced back to its source. It is more reliable
since it can be documented for future references and therefore has legal
validity.
● Formal communication needs to follow a strict hierarchy or chain of
commands that makes it move slowly. Employees are expected to not
skip the hierarchies and send any request to senior management through
proper channels. The movement of information through various desks

53
Intrroduction to makes it slow. It iss time-consuuming and soometimes ennds up costinng time
Commmunication
and/or money to thhe concerned d people.
● The flow
fl of infformation iss restricted and monitored. It prevents
p
unneceessary gaps iin the comm
munication buut it slows doown the proccess.

● Formal communiccation throuugh proper channelsc is a secure form

f of
commuunication. The access to o informationn is only lim mited to the parties
involveed in the transaction.
t It is not accessible
a too everyone in the
organissation or outtside the orgganisation sinnce it is not available inn public
domainn unless reqquired. For example,
e an email sent by an emplooyee to
his or her
h immediaate manager is only acceessible by thhe two of theem. On
the othher hand, ann email conssisting of geeneral humann resource ppolicies
sent by
b the humaan resourcee manager tto all the employees e can be
accesseed by the em
mployees of that.
t

Formal commmunicationn is broadly divided intoo different categories

c baased on
the organissational hierrarchies andd predefinedd channels. They are vertical
v
(downwardds or upwarrds), horizonntal or laterral, and diaggonal or croosswise
communicaation as show wn in figure 1.

F
Figure 1: Typees of Formal Communicatio
C on based on hierarchies

Let us now
w discuss thesse types one by one.

Vertical Communicattion
The informmation in verrtical commuunication is transferred
t b
between empployees
at differentt levels. It ccan move frrom top to bbottom or from
fr bottom
m to top
following a structuraal hierarchyy, as repressented in figure f 2. Vertical
V
communicaation can be further classsified as folllows for a beetter understanding.

1) Downw
ward Comm
munication
This iss the most coommon form m of formal ccommunicattion at a worrkplace.
The innformation fllows from higher
h managgerial levelss to lower leevels. It
follows a chain oof commandds from a suuperior leveel to a suboordinate
level. They are mostly
m job instructions, policy documents,
d official
announncements, production
p r
reports, proccedure mannuals or anyy other
inform
mation essenttial for functtioning of thhe business processes
p coonveyed
to the employees
e thhrough emaiil, letters, broochures, pam
mphlets, etc.

54
 2) Upward Communication Forms of
n Communication
At Workplace
In this form of formal communication at the workplace, the flow of
information is from bottom to top. It follows a chain of hierarchy from
subordinate levels to superior levels. It normally consists of requests,
work reports, complaints from base level employees to managerial
and/or above levels. This type of communication is essential to keep the
management informed about the viewpoints of employees, the state of
morale at junior levels, to receive the reactions of employees on various
policies and procedures etc. This form of communication takes place in
group meetings, reporting to supervisors, filing complaint or suggestion
forms and dropping in the designated boxes or through email requesting
to redress a grievance, etc.

Figure 2: Vertical communication

Let us learn some of the differences between upward and downward

communication. This is represented in table 1

Table 1: Difference between downward and upward communication

Downward Communication Upward Communication

It is a process of communication
It is a process of communication from
from a subordinate level to a
a superior level to a subordinate level.
superior level.
It is authoritarian in nature. The It is democratic in nature.
employee at the superior or Employees at the subordinate levels
management levels needs to exert do not need to exert any authority
authority while giving instructions for while sending work reports, making
daily business purposes. requests or giving feedback.
The frequency of this type of
The frequency of downward
communication is very low. It only
communication is high because it
occurs when there is a need to
involves important daily business
communicate with the superior
instructions, orders, advice etc.
level.
The purpose of this form of The purpose of this form of
communication is to keep the communication is to give feedback
subordinate informed with the or make requests to the
necessary information. management.
Initiatives are taken by higher Employees at subordinate levels can
management to make the only take initiatives to establish
communication. relationships.
55
Intrroduction to Let us disccuss the advvantages andd disadvantages of verticcal communnication
Commmunication
as given in table 2.

Table 2:: Advantagees and Disad

dvantages of
o Vertical Communica
C ation

Advantagges Disadvvantages
It is mostly documented and a It is a slow movving commuunication
1) comm mands a ceertain level of and generally involves multiple
authoority. partiess in one transsaction.
It is binding
b on the
t sender and
a The trrue intentionn of the seender or
2) receivver since it nnormally haas a receiveer can be hidden unnder the
paperr trail. officiaal message it carries.
It is leess flexible and any chhange or
3) It hass legal validiity.
correcttions requirees official appproval.
It invoolves time anda money to train
Verticcal communnication is
peoplee to comm municate efffectively
4) considered officiaal and
using appropriatee verbal annd non-
autheentic in naturre.
verbal language.
Horizontall or Laterall Communiccation

This form ofo communiication takess place betwween two or more emplooyees at
the same leevel. They m
may be workiing in differeent or the sam
me departmeent.

F
Figure 3: Horiizontal Comm
munication

For examplle, a sales exxecutive commmunicating with anotheer sales executive is

horizontal communicaation. A salees manager communicaating with another a
employee ata similar maanagerial levvel like sales manager, prroduction manager,
m
w be considered under this form of communication.
finance maanager etc. will
This form of
o communiication is a little
l flexiblee since it is happening
h b
between
employees at the same levels and hence
h the ressponse time is low as com mpared
to vertical communicaation. The flow of coommunicatio on in this type
t of
interaction is horizontaal and it faccilitates the ccoordination n between ddifferent
teams of thhe same deppartment or different deepartments. In I other worrds, we
can understtand horizonntal communnication as iinteraction between
b empployees
working at similar or saame levels in n an organisation as show wn in figuree 3.

Look at thhe followingg emails andd identify thhe formal annd informall email.
Discuss whhy they are fo
formal or info
formal in natture.

56
 Forms of
n Email 1 Email 2 Communication
At Workplace

To To

From From

Subject Subject

Dear Sir/Madam, Hi,

I am writing this email in response What’s up? It has been a long day. I
to a job advertisement posted on had so much work. Phew! Hope your
your website. I meet the essential day was better. I Hope to have a
eligibility criteria and have the respite tomorrow. Let's catch up at
desired experience. Please find my our regular place. Ping me back
CV in the attachment. Thanks… Have a good day ……Bye
Kind Regards, bye

Gang Plank
Henry Fayol gave the concept of Gang Plank in communication at the
workplace. It is another type of horizontal or lateral communication. In
modern horizontal communication, the employees working at the same
levels, in the same or different departments, regularly contact each other for
business purposes. There is no need for formal authorization for such
communication. For example, all the managers from various departments in
an organisation report to the vice president. If a sales manager wants to
communicate to his/her counterpart in the purchase department then s/he is
not required to contact the purchase manager through the vice president.
Gang Plank in communication at the workplace operates in a similar fashion.
Let us look at the following picture to understand the theory by Henry Fayol.

Figure 4: Gang Plank by Henry Fayol

There is a chain of authority and Fayol calls this line of authority as the
Scalar Chain. According to Fayol, this chain of authority links employees at
57
Intrroduction to various levvels with ttheir immeddiate managgers. He beelieves thatt every
Commmunication
subordinatee member of an organissation shouldd know his or her superrior for
effective coommunicatioon. And thiss chain of ccommand (sccalar chain) should
always folllow the definned hierarchhies. Howevver, this chaiin of commaand can
be broken in urgent situation sccenarios butt it is impoortant to keeep the
immediate supervisorss of both thhe employeees to be innformed aboout this
o commandd. Let us lookk at figure 44. If F wants to communicate to
bypassing of
P then the message m must pass th hrough all thhe levels off hierarchiess in the
organisation. In a normmal scenario,, the messagge must travel from F too A and
from A to P and all thhe way back to F. It will w result in n a slow andd tiring
process of going throuugh all the ch hannels. But, in an urgeent situationn, F can
send a messsage directlyy to P makinng an ‘FP’ Gang
G Plank.. It is importtant for
both of themm to keep thheir immediaate supervisoors informedd.

This form of horizontaal communiication is noot very popuular in the modern

m
business world. The em mployees at the
t same levvel are not neecessarily boound to
keep their immediate supervisorrs informed about theiir corresponndences
unless it is absolutely nnecessary.

In table 3, we will diiscuss the pros

p and conns of the hoorizontal or lateral
communicaation

Tablee 3: Advanttages and Disadvantagees Horizontal or Lateraal

Com
mmunicationn

Advantagges vantages
Disadv
It faciilitates coorddination
betweeen employeees of the sam me The seenior manageement team may
1) or diffferent deparrtments of ann remainn uninformedd of the
organnisation. Theey can share proceeedings in theese departmeents.
their best
b practicees.
It invoolves less coomplexity ass The fleexibility in this
t form of
compared to vertiical commuunication may facilitate too
comm munication. T The senders much ddiscussion between
b the
2)
and reeceivers of thhe message employyees at the same
s levels. This
enjoyy a certain levvel of may reesult in confufusion and deelay in
flexibbility. completing assigned tasks
Frequeent communnication betw ween
employyees at the same
s level may
m
It cann expedite coommunicatio
on
3) facilitaate too manyy informal
and saave time.
discouurses that maay affect the formal
policiees and procedures at timees.

Diagonal or
o Crosswisee Communiication
This form m of formaal commun nication at the workpplace crossses the
departmenttal and hieraarchical bouundaries. Thhey take place between people
across deppartments annd levels off an organissational struucture. The people
communicaating in thiss form of communication are neithher from the same
levels nor do
d they beloong to the samme department. It referss to communnication
between managers
m annd workers located inn different departmentts. For
58
 example, a sales executive at the base level of organisational structure can Forms of
n Communication
communicate with a manager in the finance department in this form of At Workplace
communication. These employees are from different levels and they are
located in other divisions as shown in figure 5. This form of communication,
along with vertical and horizontal communication has become an integral
part of modern organisations because sometimes it is important for
employees to transcend their level and departmental hierarchies to function
effectively. Think of a situation where an employee in sales discovers a
critical error performed by the marketing team and instead of writing an
email to his or her immediate manager directly informs the manager of the
marketing team. It will help rectify the error quickly since the message will
not get stuck with the chain of organisational commands.

Figure 5: Diagonal Communication

Let us discuss the advantages and disadvantages of diagonal communication

as given in table 4.

Table 4: Advantages and Disadvantages of Diagonal Communication

Advantages Disadvantages
It affects the chain of commands
It is the most direct form of
and breaks the established
1) formal communication at the
hierarchical structure in an
workplace.
organisation.
It is one of the fastest and It can bypass the authority of the
efficient modes of immediate supervisor who may not
communication at the workplace. have any idea about the actions of
2) his or her subordinate and may be
taken by complete surprise if such
interactions create any confusion
or crisis.
It can help deal with critical It can transfer conflicting
situations in the most efficient information if conveyed verbally
3)
way. which may be difficult to verify
and hence can create confusion.

4.3 INFORMAL COMMUNICATION

The interaction between employees of an organisation in performing their
duties is mostly formal in nature, but it is not sufficient because human
beings need to interact with each other without the boundaries and chain of 59
Intrroduction to commands of formal ccommunicatiion to devellop interperssonal relatioonships.
Commmunication
Thus, we establish
e inteeraction withh other mem mbers at our workplace bbeyond
our professsional dutiess. We devellop casual friendly
f relaationships with
w our
colleagues and commuunicate on top pics outside work. It is an
a importantt aspect
of our proofessional llife that gives us resppite from the t boundaaries of
predefined chains of ccommands and a channelss which defi fines our lifee at the
workplace. This form of commun nication is nnatural and hence peopple talk
about varioous topics ooutside workk. People diiscuss sportss, movies, ppolitics,
future plan
ns, etc. moree freely. Thiss type of coommunicatio on is mostly oral. It
moves fasteer between tthe people ass compared to formal coommunicatioon. Due
to its inherrent nature, it does not leave any paper
p trail annd the inforrmation
cannot be validated
v forr its authenticcity.
Informal communicati
c ion often beegins betweeen employeees throughh social
interactionss. In many ccases, such type
t of commmunication at the workpplace is
considered effective ass it helps inn team buildding activitiies and peopple can
come togetther to workk as one uniit. Employeees can also help in mottivating
each otheer by exteending helpp with w work-related issues. Innformal
communicaation can heelp build a strong interrpersonal relationship between
b
employees who can w work together more effficiently as one team towards
t
achieving a common goal. It is important too note that it can leadd to the
spreading of incorrecct informattion and ggossip becaause the fllow of
informationn is not contrrolled and may
m lead to looss of produuction time.
These gosssips can poppularize a ruumour whichh may not be b in the inteerest of
the businesss. It is diffiicult to conttain them inn the initial stage becauuse they
travel quicckly. Inform mal commuunication coomes with its own shhare of
advantages and disadvaantages as giiven in tablee 5.
Table 5: Advantagees and Disad
dvantages of Informal Communica
C ation

Advantagges Disadvvantages
This is a more flexxible form ofo
It cann cause misuunderstandingg and
1) comm munication beecause the
spreadd rumours.
channnel is multidiirectional.
Informmal mode off communicaation
It is difficult
d to co
ontrol the floow of
at the workplace ttravels fasterr as
2) informmation and it i can populaarize
compaared to form mal
inaccuurate data, distort
d facts, etc.
comm munication.
It can provide feeddback aboutt the
Thesee informal coommunicatioons are
behavviour of manaagers to the
orallyy transferredd among peopple. It
seniorr managemennt. A bad or
does nnot leave a paper
p trail. Itt is
3) good manager
m is aalways at thee
imposssible to fix the responsiibility
centree of such infoormal talks and
a
of succh communiication at thee
the infformation reeaches the
workpplace.
seniorr managemennt.
It cann result in thee leakage off
It is a very powerfful tool of confiddential inforrmation. This can
4) comm munication annd can impacct affectt the functionning of the
formaal organisatioonal structurre. businness process and may ressult in
financcial losses.

60
 It is an inexpensive way of Forms of
n communication. The Communication
At Workplace
management team can use this
channel to spread positive A person with malafide intentions
information quickly to a large can spread information that may
5)
amount of information. They can damage the company’s reputation
be positive rumours about that may result in losses.
prospective growth of the
company, a future deal, or high
increment.
A competent management can
use such informal
communication for participatory It is difficult to assess the
decision making where the authenticity and validity of these
6) employees can unofficially give suggestions because a lot of them
their honest feedback about can be based on perceptions and
company policies, procedures word of mouth.
and suggestions for
improvement.
It may become a problem if too
It is non-authoritative and hence many unofficial versions of an
7)
democratic in nature. official policy become popular.

It can destabilize the formal channel

It can supplement the formal of communication at the workplace.
8) channels of communication at the The spread of unchecked rumours
workplace. can become too powerful and
difficult to contain at times.

Types of informal Communication

Informal communications at the workplace are mostly harmless gossip. The
subject of these interactions at the workplace may include information about
sports, movies, entertainment, a person switching jobs, an employee getting
married or divorced, etc. This type of communication is popularly classified
with the term Grapevine. It is an essential characteristic of workplace
communication in all the organisations. Information flows in all directions
through Grapevine. It is governed by personal relationships and social norms
instead of formally recognized rules or procedures. This type of
communication can be vertical, horizontal or diagonal. Prof. Keith Davis
(1979) studied this form of communication and opined that “the grapevine is
a natural part of a company’s total communication system...it is a significant
force within the work group, helping to build teamwork, motivate people, and
create a corporate identity”. He classified it into the following categories as
shown in figure 6.

Figure 6: Types of Informal or Grapevine Communication

61
Intrroduction to Single Stra
and Chain
Commmunication
It involves the transfer of informattion from onne member of
o a line or group
g to
another. Foor example, member A transfers soome informaation to mem mber B.
Then, mem mber B transsfers that infformation too member C who transffers the
same informmation to m member D annd the chainn moves in a similar fashhion as
shown in fiigure 7.

Figure 7: Single
S Strand Chain

In a single strand chainn grapevine, the informaation moves from one peerson to
another in a linear mannner.

Gossip Chain
This type ofo informal ccommunicattion can be uunderstood as a one seekiing and
transferringg informationn to all the other
o membeers of a grouup. This one person
is the key point in thhe spread off informationn. S/he stayys at the ceentre of
informationn exchange. For example, member A can transsfer informaation to
member B, B member C C, member D and so on. Look at a the figurre 8 to
understand it in a betterr way.
The exchannge of inform mation in thiis type of infformal comm
munication ddepends
on person A at the cenntre. S/he actively
a seekks and transffers informaation to
other memb bers activelyy. The otherr members ddo not pass information
i to each
other directtly.

Figure 8: Gossip Chaain

62
 Probability Chain Forms of
n Communication
In this type of grapevine communication, the information is transferred from At Workplace

one person to another randomly. They do not choose a participant. The

information does not move in a sequence or pattern. Here, member A can
transfer information to member B or D or I and so on. Then those members
can transfer the same information in a similar fashion. Let us look at figure 9
and try to understand how it works.

Figure 9: Probability Chain

You can notice in figure 9 that the flow of information is randomly moving
between the participants. Unlike Single Strand Chain or Gossip Chain, it does
not follow any sequence or chain and is not centred on one member to be
transmitted. The information moves more freely and is faster. You may also
notice that it does not involve all the members at times and moves randomly
on the law of probability.

Cluster Chain
The message is transferred to select members and every member who has the
information selects another set of members. The information moves in the
form of a cluster of people communicating, transferring the message to new
members. For example, person A transfers information to B and C. In this
case, person A is the sender of the message and B and C are receivers. Then
the new members take up the role of senders and transfer the information to
new receivers. Let us look at figure 10 to understand how Cluster Chain
Grapevine works.

63
Intrroduction to
Commmunication

Figure 10:
1 Cluster Ch
hain

Look at figgure 10 clossely. You would

w notice that a messsage transferrred by
person A iss further trannsferred by the
t receiver tto a new sett of receiverss. Here,
A transferss the information to B, C, D and F.. Then F traansfers it to G who
again transsfers it to H,, I and J. Thhe receiver is
i taking upp the role off sender
every time after receiviing the inforrmation fromm the previouus sender.

4.4 C
CONFLIC
CT RESO
OLUTIO
ON AT WORKPL
W LACE
The processs of commuunication att the workpllace is not always
a corddial and
about estaablishing goood relationnships. Therre are peopple from ddifferent
families an
nd educationnal backgro ounds workiing togetherr as a teamm in an
organisation. They haave differennt types of personalitiees, exposurees, and
experiencess of life. Annd hence, unnfortunately, they may have
h a differeence of
opinion whhich may resuult in a confflict situationn.
These confflict situatioons may esccalate and bbecome verry large eveentually
disrupting the
t smooth ffunctioning of o business processes
p if not addresseed at an
early stage. They may arise becauuse of personnal or profeessional diffe ferences
and a manaager must handle
h it proofessionally and use efffective strateegies to
reach an ammicable confflict resolutiion. They m may use the following
f strrategies
in the due process
p of coonflict resoluution.
a) Activee Listening
Active listening is onne of the most m importaant steps in becoming a good
communicaator. In a coonflict situattion, the meediator (mannager or peerr) must
listen careffully to undeerstand the issue
i properrly. Both parrties must bee heard
completelyy and patientlly. The meddiator must beb patient andd carefully llisten to
the argumeent of each side withouut any interrruption. Thiis will lead to two
possible beenefits. The parties invvolved in thhe conflict situation
s willl get a
chance to vent
v out theirr differencess and the meediator may be able to coombine
the opposinng ideas annd facilitate a peaceful resolution beneficial
b foor both
parties. Butt, without acctive listenin
ng, one cannoot reach a resolution.
b) Set Gooals
The mediattor is responnsible to set the goals off the meetingg by motivaating all
the parties that they arre here for resolution. TThere shoulld be a williingness
64 from all thhe parties innvolved to reach
r a commmon groun nd for a succcessful
 resolution of the conflict. They should listen to each other actively and Forms of
n Communication
brainstorm about possible common grounds. It is alright to disagree with a At Workplace
colleague’s point of view however in a conflict resolution situation the parties
involved should acknowledge that they are here to solve a problem together
and should work with each other as a team instead of against each other.
c) Stay Professional
The conflict situation at the workplace may arise because of personal
differences between two employees at the same or different levels. The
problems involving personal differences may heighten the emotional
response and intensify the conflict situation. The parties involved in the
process of conflict resolution should keep a check on the emotional responses
and stay calm at all times. It will help maintain a calm and composed
presence. A calm and composed behaviour is a sign of strong professional
etiquette. It also helps in dealing with the conflict situation with a clearer
mind and hence reaching resolution becomes easier.
d) Stay Neutral
This is one of the most important strategies for effective conflict resolution.
A neutral mediator has high acceptance among the parties involved in a
conflict situation. The mediator must listen to all the parties involved
patiently, summarize the point of difference for all of them to display that
s/he is not favouring one party or another. The parties involved in a conflict
resolution are more likely to accept the solution proposed by the mediator if
all the parties consider him or her as a neutral mediator. On the other hand, if
the mediator is perceived as biased then the conflict resolution is more likely
to fail.
e) Fact Check
It is very important to fact check during the process of conflict resolution. It
is the responsibility of the mediator to verify the facts before reaching a
conclusion. It is important to crosscheck all the facts and listen to all the
perspectives thoroughly. The mediator should allow every single party
involved in the conflict situation to present their side of story in detail to get
the relevant facts. It may be very helpful when proposing a solution. A
thorough investigation is essential to establish the correct version of the facts
and propose a solution which will be acceptable by all the parties. The
mediator cannot afford to overlook any of the facts presented during the
process of conflict resolution because it may affect the success of the
proposed solution

4.5 CRISIS COMMUNICATION

This type of communication at the workplace deals with protecting and
defending the employees and company for any unforeseen situation. It deals
with the threat which can cause damage to the entire business at
organisational and employee levels. At the organisational level, crisis
communication is required to deal with situations like a data security breach,
product recall, bankruptcy situations, etc. At the employee level, it may deal
with fire or accident injuries, sexual harassment etc. The goal of crisis
65
Intrroduction to communicaation at thee workplacee is to havve a seamleess communnication
Commmunication
network th hat can effectively deall with the ccrisis situatiion effectiveely and
efficiently. For examplle, you must have particiipated or heaard about firre drills
in an organ nisation. Thhe purpose ofo these drillls is to train
n employeess to act
effectively during a firee accident in
n the companny premises.

We have media
m relatiions expertss working for f an organ nisation. Thhey are
experts wh ho are trained to comm municate efffectively in a situation which
involves thhe media to protect the reputattion of thee business. Crisis
communicaation is inteegral for thee efficient fu functioning ofo an organnisation.
The stakeh holders cannoot afford to take a risk and do not have a struccture in
place to commmunicate iin crisis situuations. An oorganisation must have a robust
communicaation plan annd train emp ployees propperly in ordeer to have efffective
crisis commmunication inn place. It will
w help the organisation ns to be preppared in
case of finaancial disasteer, natural caalamities, peersonal injuries etc.

4.6 BENEFIT
TS OF EF
FFECTIV
VE
C
COMMUN NICATIO
ON AT W
WORKP
PLACE
1) Effectiive communnication at the workplaace can hellp establish strong
interpeersonal skillls among employees.. They can n deal witth any
misundderstanding clearly andd work toggether as a team tow wards a
commoon goal.
2) It helpps in developping a healtthy work cuulture wheree people truust each
other. They
T have fa
faith in the viision, missioon and goals of the comppany.

3) It can promote a positive so ocial environnment. Peop

ple perform
m better
when they
t developp social con
nnections with
w their collleagues. Thhey can
keep eaach other mootivated.
4) Effectiive communnication helpps in buildinng rapport between
b empployees
and management.
m . Clear chaannels of communicattion can im mprove
employyee satisfacction becauuse of thee transparenncy and ease of
commuunication.
5) Comm munication iis necessarry to keepp the instrruction cleaar and
compreehensible. EEmployees will
w easily unnderstand theeir job instruuctions,
policiees, procedurees. This will again improove employeee satisfactioon.
6) Effectiive communnication can promote team spirit. The T employeees will
not onlly work as a team but heelp each otheer achieve thhe goals.

7) It will help to solvve conflict situations

s eassily. It is noot possible too avoid
conflicct situations where peopple come toggether for commonc cauuse. We
have allready discuussed how efffective comm munication can help in conflict
c
resoluttion in previoous sections of this unit..

8) It willl promote a safe environment

e at the workplace.W
w Whenthe
compaanyeffectivelly conveys thhat the organnisation is concerned abbout the
safety and securityy of their em
mployees at thhe workplacce, it is prepaared for
nd of medicaal or naturall emergenciees then emplloyees feel safe and
any kin
66
 secure while discharging their duties. Communicating this information Forms of
n Communication
effectively will increase the morale of the employee and they will be At Workplace
motivated to work hard to achieve the common goals.

Activity 2
Look at the following and classify them as formal and informal
communication at the workplace.

1) A note in an employee’s personal diary.

2) Discussion between employees in the cafeteria.
3) An appraisal discussion in a meeting room.
4) A conflict resolution process through email.
5) An email sent to a colleague using an official email ID regarding
weekend plans.
6) A brochure distributed by the HR manager about the incentive policies
7) A discussion among the team members about applying for a leave to
attend a colleague’s marriage.
Formal Communication at Informal Communication at
Workplace Workplace

4.7 SUMMARY
We have the importance of effective communication at the workplace.
Communication at the workplace can be categorized as formal and informal
communication. Formal and informal communications play an important role
in the growth and success of an organisation and its employees. Formal
communications are authoritarian in nature and follow a proper chain of
commands. On the other hand, informal communications are democratic in
nature and do not follow any established chain or hierarchy of commands. It
is important for an organisation to effectively use both channels of formal
and informal communication to achieve maximum efficiency. And, it is also
important for an organisation to train employees to communicate effectively
in discharging their daily duties to achieve its goals.

4.8 KEYWORDS
Formal Communication: It is the transmission of information via an
approved and predefined medium of communication for official purposes.

Vertical Communication: It is a form of formal communication where

information flows from superior to subordinate and vice versa.
67
Intrroduction to Horizontall Communiication: It iss a form off formal com
mmunicationn where
Commmunication
informationn is exchanged among different departments or divisionss of an
organisation.
Diagonal/C Crosswise C Communicattion: It is a form of form mal communnication
where inforrmation is exchanged
e a
among fferent management
emplooyees at diff
levels in different depaartments or divisions
d of aan organisatiion.
Grapevinee: It is the unnofficial floow of comm munication ammong coworrkers of
an organisaation. It is also known ass informal coommunicatioon

Conflict Resolution:
R IIt is a way of
o finding soolutions for inter-organis
i sational
conflicts am
mong employyees.
Crisis Commmunication: it refers to
t communiication to haandle major threats
faced by an
n organisatioon.

4.9 Seelf-Assesssment Questions

Q
1) What is
i formal com
mmunication
n at the workkplace?
2) What is the diffeerence betw
ween diagonnal communnication andd Gang
Plank??
3) Explain n the advaantages and disadvantaages of skippping the defined
d
hierarcchy of comm
munication att the workplaace?
4) What is
i informal communicati
c ion at the woorkplace?
5) How can a grapeviine be benefi
ficial for a coompany?
6) What is
i effective cconflict resollution? Expllain with exaamples.
7) What is
i crisis com
mmunication??

4.10 FU
URTHER
R READ
DINGS
Overton, R.R (2007).Buusiness Com
mmunication..Martin Boooks, Boat Harbour,
H
Australia.
Snyder, J. L.
L & Forbus, R. (2014). Today's Bussiness Comm
munication: A How-
To Guide for
fo the Modern Professio
onal. United States: Busiiness Expert Press.
Kumar, S. &LLata, P. (2015). CommunnicationSkillls, Second
dia: Oxford U
Edition. Ind University Press.
P
Harvard Buusiness Reviiew. (2013). HBR’s 10 M
Must Read on
o Communiication.
Harvard Bu
usiness Reviiew Press, Boston.
Harvard Business Review. (2011).Harv
( vard Businness Revieew on
Communicaating Effectiively. Harvarrd Business Review
R Presss, Boston.
Bennie, M. (2009). A G
Guide to Goood Business Communica ation: How too Write
and Speak English Weell in Every Business
B Sittuation. Unitted Kingdom
m: How
To Books. Erikson, Thoomas. St. Martin
M Essentiials, New Yoork.

68
 Forms of
n Communication
At Workplace

BLOCK 2
ORAL COMMUNICATION AT WORK

69
Intrroduction to
Commmunication
BLOCK
K 2 ORA
AL COM
MMUNIC
CATION
N AT WO
ORK
Block 2 foocusses on ooral communnication andd its use at the
t workplacce. The
block is divvided into foour units.
Unit 5 Listening and d Reading Skills: In this unit we w will discuuss the
meaning annd importannce of listeniing. The uniit also discuusses the proocess of
listening annd tries to identify the barriers in the processs of listeninng. The
second parrt of this uunit discussees different aspects off reading annd how
important it is to build an effective communicaation processs.
Unit 6Intterpersonal Communiication:Thiss unit focu usses on different
d
aspects of interpersonaal communiccation. The unit has inbbuilt case sittuations
which willl help youu understannd the needd for effecctive interppersonal
communicaation. The uunit also exxplains diffe
ferent modells of interppersonal
communicaation to makke you underrstand the im
mportance of these modells.

Unit 7Com mmunication in Meetin ngs: In thiss unit we haave tried to discus
various conncepts relateed to the usee of communnicationin meetingsas
m m
meetings
arean integgral part of any
a organisaation. This unitu will expplain how meetings
m
can help in effective deecision making.
Unit 8 Preesentation Skills:
S This isi the last unnit of this bllock where we
w will
learn the neeed and impoortance of prresentation skills.
s The obbjective of thhis unit
is to help you design annd give effecctive presenttations.

70