1-3 Why Communication is so Important for

Businesses

Businesses are, by their very nature, also organizations. An organization is defined as one
or more people pursuing a common purpose. Businesses and organizations are made up of
individuals. The term “professional” describes an individual working within an organization.

Why Do Organizations Need to Communicate?

In order for an organization to fulfill its purpose (it’s primary reason for existing), everybody in
the organization needs to have a shared understanding of what that purpose is. Without that
shared understanding, the purpose won’t be realized or won’t be realized effectively or
efficiently. Further to purpose, organizations will have a number of goals or objectives. These
objectives could be financial in terms of revenue and profitability. They can also be based on
market share and productivity. In order to meet their objectives, organizations must
communicate solutions, offers, requirements, commitments, expectations, performance, and
feedback extensively with their,

● Employees ● Partners
● Customers ● Government
● Markets ● Community
● Supply chain ● Stakeholders

In collaborating with each of the above parties, communication is critical to,

● Product / service definition ● Expectations management

● Capturing customer requirements ● Defining objectives and
● Role clarification deliverables
 ● Performance ● Problem Solving and Improvement
● Keeping commitments ● Efficiency and effectiveness
● Processes and systems ● Health, safety, and wellness
● Productivity / service levels ● Quality and Innovation

Miscommunications can lead to misunderstanding, confusion, apathy, stress, and conflict.

They significantly reduce productivity, teamwork, innovation, customer service, and
employee engagement.

The Cost of Poor Organizational Communication

Ineffective communication has significant and quantifiable impacts on all types and sizes of
organizations.

● Studies identified the primary cause of employee dissatisfaction is communication

based. This includes unclear leaderdership direction, change management, and
generally feeling uncommunicated with. (Survey, About.com, 2014)
● In 2014, a study of 400 large organizations with 100,000 employees reported losing
$62.4M USD annually due to poor communication. This figure would be worth
$73.2m USD in 2020. (Grossman, 2011)
● The majority of small to medium sized organizations also cite ineffective
communication as their primary problem. This ineffectiveness costs them an average
of $500k USD annually (Survey, hrdqstore.com, 2018)

The Business Case for Communications

Improved communication delivers considerable competitive advantages for organizations
including,

● Organizations highly effective at communicating are almost 50% more profitable than
their poorly communicating competitors (Towers Watson, 2014).
● Organizations communicating effectively establish a 350% performance advantage
as compared to market competitors (Watson Wyatt, 2014).
● Organizations that prioritize communication have increased employee satisfaction,
retention, and lower turnover (Towers Watson, 2014).
EXERCISE
With a partner, discuss the images and answer the following questions. Answers will vary

a.What point is the cartoonist making about perception?

b.How do you think perception affects communication in the workplace?

c.Can you think of an example of when you perceived something completely different to
another person and you were both convinced that you were right? Describe the event and
the outcome. How was the miscommunication resolved?

d.Can you name 6 perception filters that you have?