THE COMMUNICATION PROCESSES

Communication Processes of a Multinational Business

Communication Processes of a Multinational Business

Introduction

Communication is an integral part of business conduct as it allows all stakeholders to understand what the business is about. Internally, people need to understand how they fit in and what company expects of them. Whilst externally, it helps to educate people on how the business (or products/services) may fit into their life.

Communication in business drives by goals. The identity, policies and culture of an organization have to be communicated to both people within and outside the company. Business communication governs by certain principles and norms. Effective and efficient communication serves a business in lots of ways. It helps the company to interact with the interested parties and help them understand what the business is, what it offers and what can these parties do to support to business in any way.Modeling Effective Communication in Multinational Businesses

Communication can be defined as the process by which an idea transfers from a source to a receiver, the intention being to change receiver behavior. The main components in the process typically include source, message, channel, receiver, effect, and feedback (Rogers & Agarwala-Rogers, 2000. P.55-65). It is suggested by several multinational organizations that high-speed management reflects an effective communication system employed by well-managed companies, who rapidly reorient the organization to a changing environment to retain competitive advantage.

A theory of communication then should reflect effective communication, which follows a strategy of co-alignment of diverse interests, concerns, and contributions through the use of an open flexible communication system allowing for the co-alignment of both similarities and differences in an innovative, flexible, and rapid response system. Thus, communication systems and organizational and cultural values should be interdependent.

Communication in Multinational Organizations - a Theoretical Model

Despite the availability of communication models, it appears that there is substantial theoretical work to be done to explain the complexity of communication in modern-day multinational organizations. As a starting point for this work, the suggestion is that a theoretical focus on communication as contextual would be beneficial, in as much as it would include the cultural traditions of the organization but would also incorporate the new. The newness would include developments and shifts in communication styles, modes, and values which are common to organizational networks, cliques, liaisons, or groups, in all or parts of the multinational organization.

The Role of Networks in Multinational Organizations

Formal versus Informal Communication Networks

The formal network of a multinational organization can typically be represented by the organizational chart which reflects prescribed patterns for officially sanctioned messages. A network consists of interconnected individuals who link themselves by patterned communication flows. Identified four kinds of formal networks: the regulative (e.g., plans, regulations), the innovative (e.g., flexibility and change), the informative-instructive (e.g., productivity), and the integrative (e.g., maintenance of employee morale). Formal channels can be found to be an inefficient means of meeting unanticipated communication needs, for managing crises, or for dealing with complex or complete problems. On the other hand, the informal network comprises spontaneous, emergent patterns resulting from individual choices. Informal networks help organizations by compensating for ...